Episode Transcript
Money.
We are.
Speaker 2Take Melchi, we are.
Speaker 1The author or indeed, hey, what's going on?
My name is Tank let him say that?
Speaker 3And DC is the only money podcast.
You know nothing about writing songs.
You know nothing about writing hits.
You're not from the Caribbean.
You're not either, you are I am not either.
I have been there.
We have to day on the pod.
One of the most electrifying talents.
Speaker 1Did we have a scene?
He writes it, he sings it, he feels it deeply in the buildings to run down?
Ye, I love it.
I love it.
You know, guys, I feel it.
You know what I'm saying?
You got nice?
Yes, Yes, encourage me.
Yes.
Virgin isand is right, Yes.
Saint Thomas Virgin Islands.
Saint Thomas Virgin Island home of Tim Duncan.
Yeah, Tim Duncan is from Saint Croix.
But a good friend.
Big up to Tim Duncan.
That's why his team was the Spurs is my favorite team until he left.
We didn't we don't have a team.
We had one player, Tim Duncan, so I was a Spurs fan.
One player.
Yeah, yeah, we had one superstar player, which is Tim Duncan from Saint Croix and I was a Spurs fan until he retired.
Wow, and now I'm just like, you know, basketball is on the TV.
Speaker 2Give me, ex give me, give me.
That was very coming to America.
Speaker 1Touchdown yes time, I know.
Speaker 2Okay, come down, iverages that that's good.
Give me, give me because we have so much to unpack.
Bro, You've done so much marvelous work in this in this music industry, you are.
You are well respected and and very much called upon man to deliver, like you're one of the guys that's like, you know, for for for record companies to sing we need it.
Speaker 1Yeah.
Speaker 2No, he's a designated hitter designated WATA.
No, ain't a sports sports whatever whatever.
So a designated hitter is somebody that they put in baseball.
They put in the game to get hits.
They're like, okay, this guy, we need a hit right now.
Speaker 1That's it.
It's the d H.
Speaker 2They only have it on one side for some weird reason.
It's only in the American League.
I don't think it's in the National League.
Speaker 1But yep, this is what this guy is paid to do.
It.
Speaker 2We need a hit right now.
You've been sitting on the bench the entire game.
And when I put you in.
I believe you're going to hit the ball.
They've been working with other people for a year and a half.
Yeah, and then they called we got.
Speaker 1The body of work.
We need tran.
Speaker 4You hear my accent?
Speaker 1You need this is cool?
We need to n.
Speaker 2Designated hit, designated hitter?
What was give me?
Growing up in the version of.
Speaker 4You and Timothy?
Speaker 1Give me me and my shout out to Timothy.
Shout out to my brother Timothy, one of my favorite human beings in the world.
I love you if you're watching this.
Growing up in Saint Thomas.
So we started out, me and my brother started out living in a in a shack, which was the place that my mom was raised with her nine sisters and one brother.
And then my mom, my mom, and my dad ended up staying there.
So we lived there, and my mom got really really mad at my dad because she was mad, like, why am I still in the place my childhood place?
What do you mean by that?
You ever seen the Sorry Miss Trackson video by Outcasts?
Yes?
Yes, that house.
So you know, our door couldn't close, We had to tie close.
The bathroom was outside with no lights.
We had to take bats before six pm because it would go dark.
There was holes in the floor, so we'd have straight dogs or straight cats or animals just crawl inside the house.
And you know, my dad was a trash man, so he would get our beds from the trash came.
But we never had the bed spring or the head border.
We never had none of that.
We just had the master mattress, you know what I'm saying.
But it had the little things in it, so it poke you when you sleep, you know what I'm saying.
So me and my brother would argue on which side somebody would sleep, you know, and you know me, you know, I'm forty now, and you know, and my brother and I shared a bed till I was about twenty seven year years old, you know what I mean.
And that's a funny that's a funny story because I'm gonna jump back, but we share a bed because we got an apartment in Atlanta when we finally like got our own place, two bedroom and we're in our bedrooms yelling at each other, like, yo, what are you doing?
Man?
I also watched that movie what are you doing?
Texting some gil my boy this folk feel weare dog?
Yeah, And I just went in my brother room and we we shared a bed to the point that our best friend lost his apartment and we let him stay in the other room.
Yeah, We're like, yo, bro, you could, yo, you can come in, you can help pay bills to ship, bring groceries in his mouth.
Speaker 5Yeah.
Speaker 1So, you know, so we started in a shack.
My mom was mad, you know, somewhat broke up with my dad was like, you gotta get it together.
You you know what I'm saying.
We can't be living like this with our kids.
And they used to be a project in Saint Thomas called Dunu or Dounu gut right, and it's my aunt, my mom's sister Natalie lived up there with my cousin Orshanna Kelly and Kelly.
So they lived in New So we went to stand Do New with my aunt and I remember my dad coming to surprise us because you know, him and my mom wasn't really messing with each other.
Well, they you know, they got back and then oh my god, I'm so sorry I'm here.
Yeah, so they bothe.
My my dad went to my mom was like, yo, I got a surprise for you, and they're like, hey, everybody, come on, and you know, so we got in the car and he drove us to where we grew up.
Is a project in Saint Thomas called Housing.
The politically correct name is osweld Hires Court.
So he drove us to housing, brought us in there, and Saint Thomas apartments don't come and nothing in it, you know, Like when we moved to the States and we had ac we was like, y'all, nigga's rich.
What do you mean by don't come with it nothing?
It just comes with walls, concrete walls.
There's no fridge or stove or washer, art stole.
No, it don't come with nothing in it.
It's walls.
You gotta buy every thing.
Speaker 2So when we move any anywhere you move, you have to have, I mean all the appliances with you.
Speaker 1I want to say, nine wow other places.
So when we moved in and bruh, So we coming from the shack, ain't no holes in the floor, ain't no straight upgrade to us.
Yeah, bruh, moving on up.
Hey, we me and my you know, we little too.
We got to be like six or seven, seven and eight.
Speaker 2Just like whoo look at these wall like yeah, yeah, yeah, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1And and we grew up there, so you know, so growing up in the project.
But it's different.
Man, how important it is to have a dad because we had our mom and our dad.
So we in the hood now and all our friends, you know whose mom go to work and they dad ain't there.
They they street niggas and they you know that my walking with them, my little knife or you know what I'm saying.
They selling their little weed and shit.
And we talking about ten eleven, twelve years old type shure, right, you know, and me and my brother is just like our dad got us in the music, you know, nine years old.
I remember watching I remember seeing Criss Cross on TV because we started out as a backup dancers for a local hip hop group called uh Rock Saying and Katie or Cody, I was messed up the name, but it's Rock Saying and something.
And we would be dancing because you know, back then, everybody in the eighties, everybody was dancing and shit, you know, and we dancing and then next thing you know, Chris Cross comes out and I'm screaming to the top of my lungs.
Mommy day they run in what happen?
I want to do that that right there, that's what I want to do.
My dad's like, okay.
My dad is like, this is how I'm gonna get my sons out the projects.
They gonna get out the projects doing that.
And he would just take us through the island performing, doing stuff, and you know, and so I end up writing because this dude used to write for us, this high school kid, right, and then he just was like, man, I don't want to do that no more.
I want to be a solo artist and focused on myself.
So my dad is like, y'all gott to write y'all own songs, and nobody could ever write a song for you ever.
Again, it was like because he put.
Speaker 4You on a weird spot.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1And so I started to get into it because I had an English teacher that introduced me to poetry and I just had a fascination with words, rhyming.
Man.
I thought that was the coolest thing in the world.
And so you know, I started writing songs.
I brought a song to my dad.
He's like, man, I'm telling you that well, it's like a poem, but I tried to add melody.
He was like, this is crazy.
He's like, I'm telling you're amazing.
And I remember writing my first song, right, my first song ever.
I was twelve years old.
I still remember it.
So it's like fresh ill done fresh hata depress on nickboy Wan for test me.
I put them through the test, so can't not test I lyric call it test lyrics from Remo Manna Gi your less, I is sexy.
Oh my name one for feed up midchest because it's me again, Yes, Smith, come fresh and Nigga.
I just thought I was the greatest thing that ever happened to me.
I don't even know great to me.
I'm in so.
Speaker 2Yeah, you know, me and my brother we a group.
We're going around with doing show tops.
The biggest fan.
He's your he's your first super fan.
Speaker 1He's he's the first super fan.
He the greatest man ever lived on this planet.
Yeah, he's the greatest human being I've ever met in my life.
And and he's like, this is what you're gonna do.
And he was like, Yo, when you grow up, you're gonna be writing songs with Babyface.
You know that's crazy.
I had a crazy emotional moment because my dad had passed and then I wrote a song with baby Face and I called my brother crying and I was like, I said, Timothy I'm not sad.
I'm not sad.
I'm just so happy.
How did he know?
Because he told me this when I was a little boy, Like, hey, babyface, you know singing and out.
He's like, oh, you're gonna see You're gonna be writing songs and singing with them.
And he refused to let us compete with people from the Virgin Islands.
Yo, my dad used to be like, yo, my dad would be like he was a gangster.
B He be like, Yo, no, no of these fucking people ain't never make it.
You can't compete with somebody and never do it.
Your competition is the jay Z and damn people on TV.
If you ain't bothered on them, we ain't gonna never leave this place.
He used to make us rehearse two hours a day, you know what I'm saying every day, so we couldn't go outside to play unless we make him stand up.
So my dad would sit there, me and my brother start saying and he would be like, terrible, I'm your father and I love you.
You can't make me move.
How are you gonna make a stranger move?
I'm like it wasn't.
So he's like, I need to see the show every time, so we keep getting intenser and intenser, and then he'll stand up, Yes, this is white need, this is the only way you gonna do it.
And so you know, so if you ever had the opportunity to see me and my brother live, we're like, you know, we're like jumping exactly and justice that's why.
So you know, not knowing that songwriting is a job, you know.
So we became the biggest group in the Virgin Islands.
But again, my dad is like, I've never seen nothing like this.
People would ask us for autographs.
Yo, we live in the projects.
We're poor.
I had my first job at twelve.
I worked at a grocery store.
I would bad groceries and get tips and bring home bread and cheese to help my mom.
Help my mom with a light build.
Like we was.
We didn't have nothing.
So yeah, but bro, I remember I got my first job, like real job where I could get a paycheck at full locker and girl and I got fired at foot locker because girls would come to a foot locker and be like yeah and be like, oh my god, can you give me an autograph?
You know?
Or back then they didn't have camera phones, bro, they'd have the little disposable cameras and be like, yo, let me take a picture with you in the in the uniform.
Speaker 4Yeah, you got the referee.
Speaker 1Yeah, And I'd be like and my dad would be like, bro, y'all are special.
I've never seen nothing like that.
Y'all.
Y'all ain't on TV.
They they was.
They thought we were somebody, and we did that until so when we graduated out of high school, our parents give us the choice.
They said, if y'all go to college, his parents, we have to try to help y'all don't.
We don't know how, but we're gonna help y'all.
But if y'all don't want to go to college and y'all want to go, pursue y'all dream y'all are man, and then you gotta figure it out.
It was like, I'm like, I hated school.
I was like, I could do what everybody want.
Oh man.
I got on the first thing smoking told my brother, hey, bet we moved to Miami.
Baby.
It was the cheapest plane ticket.
So that's the closest that's the closest place.
So we got on a plane and we went to Miami and my dad's half brother lived there.
My uncle Trent who passed and he was in Florida and he had like a one bedroom condos, so he was like, man, I don't really have room for y'all.
Y'all can stay as long as y'all want, but I know this saint comfortable.
And my cousin O'shanna.
That's the closest thing I have to assist.
My aunt Natalie from Dunau, her daughter, she was like, I would love for y'all to stay with me, but I got like female roommates.
But her boyfriend at the time, his name was Jason Roberts.
Jason was trying to start a record label and he was the biggest, biggest fan of me and my brother musically, so he's like, oh, they could stay with us, but he had five roommates, so we used to so we used to sleep in his dining room on a blanket.
Speaker 2But again, me and my brother, we like, ye'ah come from that, bro, We come listen brouh, Like you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1We come from nothing, brother, this is this is as long as we got somewhere to sleep, and we stayed there and we was like yo, man.
Ten months later, Miami wasn't working out.
We was like, nothing, ain't moving.
We was like, yo, we can move to Atlanta or New York.
Like right.
While saying that, a promoter from Saint Thomas that lived in Atlanta, one of my dad's closest friends, his name is Perella, calls us on the phone and say, hey, Yo, there's a big show in Atlanta that I'm trying to do.
I'm pay you and your brother two hundred and fifty dollars and give you a hotel.
We was like, okay, hung up the phone and I said, timent to be moving to Atlanta and fifty dollars.
Yeah, yeah, what year is this?
This is two?
This is O one.
Speaker 2We're moving to Atlanta, moving, Yeah, but it's two fifty cause you know, you know, my my my high school sweet Ill who was my girlfriend at the time, was there, and so we go there.
Speaker 1You know, she had a job and credit and shit.
So she was a person that could get in an apartment and you know, and we we had one night in a hotel and two hundred and fifty dollars and we was like, yo, we got to figure out how to make money.
But we was like, we're not gonna get jobs, are you crazy?
Bro?
We came here to do music.
So we find out in Atlanta they be doing talent shows and you can win.
So we started to do talent shows and then we won.
No lie, We won every single talent show except for this one talent show, which to this day, I really feel like we got cheated.
But it's all good.
You know what I'm always you know what I'm saying.
You know what I'm saying politics, But it's all good.
And what happened was we won so much that they was like, hey guys, you guys can only be special guests.
You can't compete no more.
And we was like, bro, we only here for the money, right we You know, none of these people don't practice like we practice.
We practice every day like me and my brother and I DJ Bennie, one of my best friends, Benny.
We rehearsed every day.
People like, no, bro, what you rehearsing for?
What do you mean for a show?
What show?
Whenever one comes, we just would rehearse.
So Bro, we got on stand, we would whoop everybody ass and we would win, and we would win.
No, we knew we was gonna win.
We were so confident.
Call it arrogance, whatever you want, to call it before the show.
We would be like, Okay, so tonight we're gonna win two fifty.
Bennie's light bill is one twenty five, so we're gonna let him get that, and Benny, you're gonna let me and Timothy get the rest because we gotta put some groceries in our refrigerator and we're gonna bust it down like that.
We're good with that.
Well, yeah, we were going there.
Yeah, we we just you know that's and then they literally just like, oh man, we love y'all, man, but y'all, y'all can't compete.
People don't want to sign up no more because they like anytime they see y'all name, they're like, come on, bro, we're not we're not being the yeah, and so you know, we're going through the motions and what's not so life starts, you know, you know, when real life happens.
Bro, My my my high school street at the time, gets pregnant.
My brother went back to Saint Thomas.
We like this music, shit ain't really gonna work.
I got to grow up, you know what I mean?
Speaker 2And this is after how long in Atlanta?
Know, just how long have y'all been in America at this point a couple of years.
Speaker 1It's about four years, four years, four years in or something like that.
I want to say about four years because no, no, no, no, I'm lying.
Yeah yea, yeah, cause it's like two thousand and one.
Two.
My daughter's born in two thousand and three, so my brother back in Saint Thomas, you know.
And I want to quit music at this point.
I'm like, everybody keeps telling me how good I am they lion, and I don't like that.
I wish they would tell me what I was doing wrong, because if they did, I would change it.
But oh man, it's so awesome.
I'm not awesome.
I ain't making no money.
People who are awesome are making money.
Yeah, So I need to know what the problem is so I can fix it.
And my manager Ray, you know, y'all.
Speaker 2Know Ray right now, let.
Speaker 1Me tell you how I met Ray.
Ray and I have been friends for nineteen years.
This is the first time I ever met him.
My daughter's mother is pregnant with my daughter.
She ain't born yet.
We got a two bedroom apartment in the east side of Atlanta in a place called the Polo Club.
And this dude named Mike l who once I was broke, couldn't buy nothing for my daughter's mom, So I used to write her love songs.
I still got a backpack full of songs that I just I used to write love songs.
And She'll come home from work and I'll be singing, and she'd be like, Nigga, I don' want no fucking song.
I want you to get a job.
You know what I'm saying.
Nothing, no, no, no, no, no, no, no no no.
I mean, you know, at the time, keeping it all the way fund this bro She was one hundred percent right too.
But I'm just but you know, you know, sometimes sometimes you got to be stupid for your dream in order for it to work, you know what I'm saying.
So I'm in there writing love songs or whatever, and Ray comes in and Michel says, Yo, this the dude I was telling you about in the group with his brother.
Remember our artist name used to be too Equipped, he said, too equip.
Ray said, oh yeah, man, I heard about y'all niggas.
Speaker 2Man.
Speaker 1That'shit y'all doing whack it Fu.
Sounds just like right in my house.
The first time I ever met him, Within the first five minutes, I said Michel says, what the fuck are you doing?
Bro?
I said, hold on, why you think it's wat?
He said, come on, bruh, he saw us breaking shit down to me.
I said, brouh, can you tell me more about that.
He's like yeah.
Michael was like, Bro, I need you to bring him in the city tomorrow.
Man.
I want him to write with me.
Bro.
He's like, hey, man, he want me to drive you.
But I ain't really got no.
It's like to be riding around ray broke too.
I said, hey, dude, I got an extra room.
You can stay in there.
He said, Bro, you just met me.
I said, You're the first person I ever met that I feel honest.
Wow, that man stayed in my house.
He's been my friend for nineteen years since that day.
Speaker 2Wow, no ship, that's how he became I would have never thought that's how he became my friend because he told me what I needed to hear at the time, and I took it and it changed my life.
Changed my life.
Speaker 1Look, this came wrong's your character were back?
Baby, were back?
Baby, were back?
Baby.
You know what I'm saying.
The lights ain't going off.
Everybody good And now from this point on, we're like Okay, now let's place ourself.
Speaker 4Yeah, you know what I'm learn your lesson.
Speaker 1Let's place ourself.
You know, we plan on being here for a long time.
We've been here for a long time.
We was like, yo, relax, we're playing on being there for a long time, you know what I mean.
And after that, I want to say.
Ray comes to me and he said, yo, man, I think y'all should I think y'all should stop trying to be artists.
I was like, damn, what do you mean.
He's like, if we get hot at songwriting, they're gonna want to give us whatever we want.
But we gotta be hot at something.
I'm like, man, that actually makes sense.
Ray again, Man, raise a great coach.
Brother.
Speaker 4So y'all go full throttle on right songwriting.
Speaker 1Nigga all the way in and we write a song.
Let me see what are the songs?
We can't stop?
Twenty three?
Pour it up, all of it, all of the same, all around the same exact time.
God.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay, let's go.
Speaker 6I remember I was at uh I want to say, gray Stone, you could have been place, and that motherfucking beat dropped and it said part part up.
Speaker 4I said, oh my god, what the fuck is that?
Speaker 1So I have a bunch of so so the way that I look at music, I have a bunch of theories, and I wrote and when I did pull it up.
The problem that I had with music is that whenever women, whenever female songs came on, men I left the dance floor and it bothered me.
Hmm, like a girl song would come on and dudes, okay, the same for us.
And I was like, I want to say something that, you know, because I feel like the new independent woman is not like I got my own money and that shit.
You know, they've been having that pressed women want to say exactly what we said.
So I was like, I want to write a song for a man and have a girl say it because as a man, I'm going to sing along with her.
You know what I'm saying.
And so this is a controversial thing that I'm about to say.
But I've never liked bridges.
I never wanted to write bridges.
I don't like bridges.
I don't want them in my song.
And if you realized that, pour it Up has two verses because in the Caribbean and if you listen to dance all music, it's two verses.
In the first verse repeats they don't bridges, that's my culture.
And Neo and Sean Garrett and John Tey and The Dream, they was just whooping my ass.
I couldn't beat them.
They were incredible and I just was like, how do they do that?
And I was like, the only thing that these niggas can't out do me by is being Caribbean.
And if I could, if if I could bring music to my culture, I'm going to whoop all the ass back.
And I was like, how am I going to do that?
And at that point in time, I kept saying, your music is going to be ratchet.
He was like, what I said, hip hop is the new rock and roll, and hip hop is going to be the new pop music.
And if I can pull it into my culture, not not like Dan Saul as far as the rhythm and stuff, just like the lyrics and the yeah yeah, because I just want to say crazy ship and it'd be like, yo, man, we can't say that.
You know, you got to find a clever way to say it.
And I'm like, hat that why you gotta find a clever way?
Speaker 2Man?
Speaker 1Fuck?
Don't you know?
I didn't want to say that?
So so you know, I have so for unapologetic for Rihanna, Me and my brother we wrote twenty eight songs.
Poored of being a twenty eight song.
The last one, the last one, we Can't Stop was one of those songs, and you know it didn't it didn't fit where Rihanna was going.
And and in hindsight, now that I hear it, it is it was better for Miley than it was, you know, for better for who Miley?
Sorry, yeah them out, Yes, y'all so funny man, So so you know I ever gave you two million for you know, go ahead, man ahead, Oh man, you know what I'm saying.
God is good all the time.
You know what I'm saying.
You know what I mean?
And so so we So I'm in Atlanta and we can't stop in twenty three and Karen Quark hears we can't stop and say, y'all want to fly y'all to la you Timothy, Mike will to do some stuff for Rihanna.
Rihanna don't want to do.
We can't stop.
They're like, damn, bruh.
And I done wrote so many songs to this girl.
I'm like man, and we out there writing, and then the ASCAP Awards was in La and I went to the ASCAP Awards, me, my brother and Ray and they were honoring Quincy Jones.
I've never met Quincy Jones in my life.
I've only met him one time.
And this is the time.
I was outside on my phone.
If anybody knows me, I'm usually in my phone texting on a game on Instagram or something.
Quincy Jones walks up to me and he said, hey, young blood, how you doing, dag Let me tell you something to take my chades off of this one.
And he's and I say, I'm good, mister Jones.
How you doing?
He said, I'm good man.
How's the songwriting coming?
I'm like, s Quincy Jones know me, but I'm like, it's the ASKAP Awards.
Everybody hears a writer.
Maybe that's what it is.
I'm like, man, it's going good, man, you know it's going good.
He said, you want a secret to writing hits?
Yeah?
Yeah, fuck them verses man.
The people want hooks man, Give the people hooks hooks man.
And I was like, thank you, and he walks away.
The conversation was over.
I go to Timothy and Rand said, Quincy Jones spoke to me.
What do he say.
He said, don't write no verses, just write hooks.
And the next day I went to the studio, strip clubs and dollar bills and I still got more money.
Patrol shots.
Can I get a refill?
And I still got more money.
I said, I gotta repeat it all the time.
It's like, why are you repeating that the whole song?
Because Quincy Jones told me not to write no fucking verses.
He told me to write hooks, nigga.
And it was random, and I look at it as a sign, so I have to do this this way.
Speaker 4You know, it's crazy.
Speaker 2I was at that award show, yeah, because he spoke when he yeah, he spoke, And I always remember the term, but I still use it when it rains get wet.
Speaker 1Oh man, I like that.
I didn't remember that one.
I was too busy thinking of what he told me.
Speaker 4No niggase, he stopped you and talked to you.
Speaker 1But I remember a quote he said, when it rains get wet.
Bruh.
I love that.
But like I said, that man really told me that after we did it the full hook.
That record is a full hook.
Yeah, you know that record is a is a full chorus and Maley Syrus ended up getting a thing and.
Speaker 4Wait, so you played that for Miley first?
Speaker 1That was na first and then it didn't go to Rihanna and end up going to Maley.
Maley heard she loved it, end up going to Moley and Doctor Luke did Wrecking Ball for Maley.
Cyrus and Doctor Luke wanted wrecking Ball to be the first single, and they was like, nah, it's we can't stop.
Who didn't we can't stop?
Mike Will and rock City?
Who the fuck is rock City?
He's like, I don't know these guys.
I'm doctor how they get in the first thing.
I'm supposed to have the first single?
So you like, I want to meet these guys.
So we go to the Soho house and we go sit down with Luke, me and my brother, Caribbean kids from the Islands.
You don't know who the fuck this white boy is and at this point of time, with no disrespect, we don't give a fuck, and we're like okay, and Luke is like Ray, He's like, yo, bro, he does Katie Perry, he does all that.
He's like, okay, cool, cool, cool, you respect my boy.
I'm going to steal that.
Speaker 4No respect my boy, respect my boy very disrespectful.
Speaker 1We didn't meet it in a disrespect were just like they're like, okay, yeah, respect my boy.
And we go and we start working with Luke and we had a mutual friend called Groove from Atlanta.
And Luke calls Groove and say, yeah, man, I'm working with these guys from Rock City man from they live in Atlanta like you.
Speaker 7He's like what he said, Nigga, Oh, I know they're out of here now.
Speaker 1He's like yeah.
He's like, He's like, Luke, I'm so happy you signed them.
He's like, no, I'm not signing them.
We're just writing songs, he said, writing songs for what, Like you know, we're working on Becky g And you know, he said, nah, bro, you need to do that artist shit.
Bro.
By the way, we stopped being artists for like four years, just focused on writing.
Now the artist Shiit comes around, Luke comes.
He says, hey man, we're in the studio writing songs.
He said, hey man, I'm just curious, what would your music sound like if you did it with me?
What do you mean, like you guys an artist?
Right?
Yeah, if you made music with me, what would it sound like?
Nigga?
Me and my brother's like, nigga, this is what we've been trying to do our whole life.
Yeah, we go, we go, nigga, we start making music.
Ray comes back trying to hear Katie Perry songs.
Luke plays him eight Rock City songs.
Ray's like, yo, man, I want to sign the guys.
Man I got a label.
Man over at Sony, we want to do this.
He's like, oh shit, like guys like Ray is like what I tell you, if you get hirt at something, they don't come for everything everything.
So like cool.
And so we do a whole album with Luke and Circuit shout out to my boys, Circuit and we drop a hit called locked Away with Adam Levian and you know, it went number one, and you know, we went on tour with Maroon five and my and my whole life.
I wanted to be an artist and then I went on tour and I was like this is stupid.
Speaker 4I'm cool.
Speaker 1I like going and doing shows back in the Islands and performing and I was like, man, I don't want to be famous.
I'm like, bro, I just want you know, I just want to take my son to get ice cream, you know what I'm saying.
And we was already making money, it was already successful.
So I was like, what am I missing in life?
You know what I mean?
I was like, that was my dream when I was eighteen.
I was thirty four, and everybody kept telling us you're too old.
Why would y'all be doing music right now?
Why would Luke sign them?
That's so dumb, you know what I'm saying.
We dropped locked away and they was like, man, them niggas be writing them heads though.
Speaker 4Yeah, ain't that my nigga be writing them here?
Speaker 1La Reid told me someone when I sat in this office for the first time, because I went to play my record right and I never forgot this.
He said, whatever you do when you're in this business, never count out the talent.
Ever, he said.
No matter what he said, listen to me, if they talented, because everybody going to be like they too old, everybody gonna be like their last album flopped, Everybody going to be like, oh man, they had this amount of record deals, It might be different with you.
If they talented.
Never count them out.
And so you know, me and my brother man we really, you know, really talented, and we put we put out our album What Dreams Are Made of in twenty fourteen, and then you know ship.
After that, everything kind of went crazy with everything like Luke Luke got in like a whole crazy thing with the with the Casher situation, and pop radio said we're not playing no songs produced by him and me and my brother was like that man produced every single song and our whole album sh wow.
And I looked at it as a sign.
I was like that Ship might not be what I was.
Speaker 4Because that's a different politic.
Speaker 1And we had to go sit our asses down again and it was like eh, bruh.
But but I was like, hey, you know what, none of your niggas can't say I can't do it.
I had a number one and if I want to have a number one for myself again, I really believe I could do it tomorrow, you know what I'm saying.
And so you know, now, me and my brother's like we're trying to figure it out.
My brother ain't really into songwriting as much as me.
He'll write songs, but I'm more political.
I'm more the guy that's like, you know, a tank is being an asshole, but I'm gonna come in here and play politics.
Finish the song.
And my brother is like, yo, big money, Well you want to do something Yo, you can't, Yo, bro, we can't.
My brother yeah, my brother, yeah, my brother.
My brother's like, Yo, what wrong would you?
Big mama?
What you train to do?
We train and make music?
Are you making fun?
And It's like and I don't want no smoke.
I'm like, whoa whoa hey, hey Timothy nah t run meaning a fuck make boy?
Yea we gonna whoop his ass?
Oh yeah, yeah yeah, I'm talking my listen, I'm talking my brother off Alledgeigg twenty four.
I was a day William Babathy, Yeah, Timothy and Babathi bruh my nigga, you know, bibity bobbity booth nigga.
That man is ready.
And I just I just love this shit.
Man.
This is my basketball court.
Speaker 2You know.
Speaker 1In my life, I never felt like I was too good at too many things, man, but I just really felt like I was good at that.
And I just started being with Luke all the time, letting him teach me because I remember having poured up and all that and Luke saying, I mean, yeah, good, but you're not that good.
Speaker 6Hmm.
Speaker 1Biggest records in the world matches in my mind.
He was like, I mean, and that man really taught me.
That man really made me better.
I really, you know, it's certain people in the music meanings that I would say, like Luke made me better talent wise, like just hearing a hit, seeing your head, understanding melody.
Polo helped me with confidence, like Yo, shout out to Polo to don I always said.
I used to go hang with Polo and Polo used to tell me I was the best song writer and I would be like, I mean, I think I'm good, but the best.
He said, Nigga, you the best songwriter in the game right now, nobody better than you.
And he told me that every day for like two months.
I would just go and every day he see me, he said, nigga, you're the best.
You don't get it.
And I'd be like, you know, Polo talk, you know Polo.
You know Polo talk like Black Elvis Presley.
You don't get it what I'm trying to tell you.
You the best fos trying you the best.
Speaker 4You don't get because I'm the ship.
Speaker 1I'm ship.
I know, I know what brouh yo.
And he told me that all the time, and I ain't gonna lie to y'all with Luke teaching me structure and science of songwriting, and Polo telling me you're really that nigga, and my dad saying I knew you was going to be this person.
Since I knew you was going to be this person when your mom named you t Ryan, I was like, one day I woke up and I really believed that was that nigga.
Yeah, you know what I'm saying.
You got busy and I went and I went and I went and I went crazy.
You know, but my first crazy failed.
It didn't fail.
That's a wrong term to use.
So James fot Leroy is like, literally like one of my heroes.
I've never said this to his face, but you know, but he's like one of my heroes because he did like all of Bruno and all of Justin Timberlake, and I was like, man, I wish I could do that, like a whole project with like a superstar.
That would be so cool.
I thought that was amazing.
I was like, I need to do that.
I want to try it.
So, you know, this sweater guy, super Dukes calls me in a Sunday Super Duke say, hey, Taran, I said, what yo?
I mean, why I do.
I regault about my Rihanna and I was like, okay, cool, you already talked to rock Nation.
No, man never talked to nobody.
I said, you talked to Rihanna.
No, so how you gonna do it?
But just feel like if me on you getting the stool joke?
I met the music, should I go make our regat?
I said, you serious?
I said, Okay, flew to Miami, started making reggae music.
You know, rock Nacious flies out to London.
One day, Rihanna comes to the studio.
We play like seven reggae songs and Rihanna said, oh, man, man made the reggae.
I look at what I said, Yo, I said, Nigga God is with us.
And then you know, and then you know, I don't know what went on or what happened, but you know what I'm saying.
And so years is going by and the album ain't coming out, and everybody's telling me Luke ain't got no songs on the radio, he ain't hot, Rihanna ain't putting music out.
It's like three years.
I've had to hit on the radio like every year consistently at least one thing that's going and they're like Why are you, Why are you working with Luke?
Why you keep doing this?
You need to be in the rooms with this person.
You need to work with more people.
You need to do more of this.
And I'm like, I just believe in Luke, man.
I believe in what I'm trying to do, and I and I believe in what I'm doing over here.
I remember I was on my way for Paris and I had the longest layover in history, and my good old friend man shout out to c C told me, hey, toront come to the studio, and she was working at some random studio.
Bro with j R.
Wrote him pregnant and we wrote a song called Level Up because I was in the club with Usher and he's.
Speaker 4Doing a lot of champagne around.
Speaker 1Man, I don't, I don't know, I don't, I don't know.
Speaker 4I mean, if you're getting wet by all.
Speaker 1Stories because I'm telling to the club and my friend C yeah, case she got my bad, My bad, man, I'm telling her area.
I'm telling you all the true story.
Speaker 2It's totally different once you take a glad y ah.
Man, No, it's the true story.
Man, I'm in the studio and I'm in the club, with usher.
And so I have this theory about about music.
If you want to know what tempo it is, follow the drugs.
Okay, So when when the Beatles were making music, they want LSD, and then it went into psychedelics, and then when cocaine came in, disco hit hard and then it takes you to make a thing go right.
And then crack came in and it was boom boom cac boo boom boo boom cac.
And then when pop came back is when ecstasy was big, and dance and all of that took over.
But what happened is niggas starts smoking weed, drinking lean and popping Perky's, which are downers, and so the temple slowed down in like.
Speaker 1Sixty two beats a minute, you know.
So I was like, So, I was like, it was this song that I heard in the club, fuck it up, fuck it up, fuck it up, fuck it up.
Throw that ass in a circle.
And they was mixing it with slow songs and they was like, oh no, it's halftime.
I didn't know what that it meant.
And I was like, ohha, this is the tempo.
This is where the future is going.
He's like oh, you think like Nigga, the tempo is coming back.
So I get in with Sierra and I said, Sierra, I want us to flip this song.
I'm with j R.
Road him the best flipper.
He flipps, he's a flipper.
I'm like, Yo, I got this idea and I want to flip this song and I gotta be fast.
She's like, Toron, Toronto, you think it's too fast.
I said, see, see, bitch is just doing coke in the club again.
I'm telling you they ready to dance, you know.
And Sierra's like Toron's so crazy.
She thinks I'm insane, right, And I'm like yo.
So I'm like, yo, we're gonna do this thing.
Level up, level up, level up, level up, you know.
And so we did the song and she was signed to Warner Brothers at the time.
And then I go to Paris and you know, I'm in Paris and working on music and whatever, and Sierra comes in.
She's like, hey, man, trying.
You know, I'm leaving Warner They didn't get the vision.
I'm like, damn, man, but you know, they let it go with all our masters.
And she's like, I think I'm gonna put out this song and she shot a video.
I've never told this to Sierra.
I swear to God, never told u.
Seer.
She comes to Lane and she comes to me and she shows me the video and I don't like it at all.
Speaker 7I hate it with all my heart.
I'm like, oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God.
Speaker 1And right now I'm ice cold.
I'm ice cold.
I'm like, oh my god, they gonna say I'm why everybody's gonna they gonna say him wet.
And Sierra is so excited.
And I believe in her so much because she has this thing that she says that when she says it, I don't fight her.
She says, Turan God told me, I swearch.
Look, she said that to me about three or four times.
And if Sierra tells me Turan God told me, I'm like, it's the one.
I don't care what I believe.
If God said it to c C, it's the one that's what I believe.
And she said, Tron God told me this is the way to do it.
And I was like, you know what, that made me feel bad, sweat.
I was like, yo, that made me feel a little better.
And she puts it out and it's out and I do not want to read the comments.
I'm so afraid.
I'm like, please be good because I need something.
God, I need something good right now because nothing is going good and everybody he's telling me I ain't good no more, and I'm falling off and I need to work with other people and stop.
No dead serious bro.
And my brother calls me, t run.
Yeah what you saying, Timo, you do that new seear I sign I leveled up?
Fuck yeah, my boy, the fucked nastymen something.
Speaker 5You like it?
Speaker 1He said, t run that's the bodies tune ever?
Speaker 2Main boy?
Speaker 1You serious?
He said, t run the fuck all the head.
I was like, y'all can't tell me shit.
My brother told me he's out of here, so you'll start reading the comments.
I'm like, everybody likes it.
I said, oh my god, this is crazy.
So now while that's going on, there's a girl in Atlanta working on music and Ray's like, Yo, Tron.
I'm at the house chilling in the bed with my wife.
He's like, Yil Toron, is this girl I want you to meet?
Fro I think this girl is fire.
You're gonna love her.
He's like, cool, I come to the studio.
You introduce me to Lizo hm hm, and you know he's like, yo, she got this song where she marrying herself.
He shows me the truth Hurts video.
Yeah okay.
I was like yo.
And then we went in the back and we try to write a song, the worst song I've ever written in my life.
And I'm like this black girl is never gonna work with me ever again.
It is a rap.
And then she calls me.
She was like, yo, man, I'm working on this album.
Man, I would like you to come out to LA and help me out.
I would love to, but I really thought o bomb, like if that was an audition, nigga, I fucked it up.
And we go out to LA and you know, we do some songs.
And with that being said, now Dojah Cat been signed.
Doja Cat has been signed to Luke.
From when locked Away it was out, Doja Cat was round.
You know, she was just younger, so so peep game.
Dojah Cat puts out a song, bitch I'm a Cayle And now now the Noor Riot he's going there.
Now Luke and her is getting in the studio and Luke plays me a song.
I keep it juicy juicy, you know he plays me that song.
I'm like, oh, man, this girl is fired.
He's like, yeah, man, I think she you know, I think it's gonna be dope.
So I'm in the studio with Yo Gotti and I write this chorus for Gotti.
I was like, Yo, man, you and oh my god, what's what's the girl from Detroit?
Please sweet hot cash Doll?
Please don't text me and say or tweet me and say I'm a terrible person.
I just couldn't remember off the top.
So Cash Doll, I want to cash all to sing the hook.
I love cash Doll.
I was like, man, I wanted her to sing this chorus.
Play with my pussy, but don't play with my emotions.
If you spend some money that nigga just might fuck your damn right.
So I wrote this hook.
Yo.
Gotti was like, man, that ship you know that ship hard man, But I don't know if fit the project.
And Luke played for Dojah and Doja said, Nigga, whoever wrote this, I want to meet them, meets me.
And I did another song with Dojah on the first album called That's My Ship, That's my way doing it like that nah Bale.
So we get money there no Yo, wait, so you want to do something yo, so nigga.
So we do that and then me and we us in Lizzo were working and so I'm working with Lizo, I'm working with Dojah, and then Lizzo comes out.
She's like going crazy.
Dojah comes out, She's going crazy.
Well, you know, Warner Warner wants to get Luke in the studio with Sweetie and sweet and Luke calls me and he's like, Yo, tea, you know I'm gonna be working with this girl.
Sweety man, you should come out, you should, you should work with me.
I was like, hell fucking yeah, nigga, I fucked with Sweetie, you know.
And I was like cool, I go.
You know, everybody's like, I'm the Lizo guy, you know, so I'm heating up.
I'm not.
I don't want to use the word hot, but I'm like, you know, they're like, Okay, he might be cool.
You know what I'm saying.
Because the little record is which one I did juice for Lizzo and uh me and what's another song?
What's the name of the song?
Tempo with Lizzo and co Missi and then another song exactly how I feel with Liz on Gucci Man and a song on an album called Linger.
Speaker 4Yeah you jumped out there.
Speaker 1Oh you know God is good?
So I.
Speaker 4So now you go work with Sweeten.
Speaker 1I go work with Sweetie and everybody keeps saying we don't want any samples because she had had so many sample records, and I'm like, she's from the Bay, I'm from Saint Thomas, I'm from the band no every So what I'm saying is every song don't cross the water.
Speaker 6That one.
Speaker 1Everybody know that one.
So I'm like, that's the biggest song from the Bay.
That's the biggest song from the Bay.
Why would we not use the biggest song from the Bay from a girl from the Bay.
And Luke did the beat in two seconds and then I'm writing all kinds of shit and it's booty as hell, I'm like, And then we connect with my boy lunch Money.
Y'all know lunch Money, and me and lunch Money got it to thegether, and then Sweetie came in and got it together because again Sweetie was like, she was telling me, this is how we're talking to Bay and this is how it goes, and this is what I gotta be and da da da da Da, and I was like, oh, this girl is fire.
She knows a fucking shit.
You know what I'm saying, you know, like and so tap and then but guess what I did best Friend first?
So I did best Friend before best Friend before.
Yeah, I did best Friend before I did top tap in.
But I was like, this song is gonna be fire for TikTok because girl's gonna be with their homegirls and you know what I'm saying, and it's gonna be cool.
Well, we thought best Friend was coming out next, but it didn't.
Back to the Streets Light Loud of and that came out and their best Friend.
But then we got DOJ your own best Friend born.
Speaker 4He's going to his keyboard.
Oh, he's going to his keyboard.
Speaker 5Top five, Top five, what's your what's t RN's top five?
Speaker 1Top five?
Your top five?
Speaker 4Top five R and b.
Speaker 1Artists Top five I'm still singing the side t rod let me cook.
Speaker 7Wow?
Speaker 1Time five R and b artists, your favorite it's your world?
Time five, My top five favorite R and B artists of all time.
Okay, I was born in eighty two, so my top five you know, but you were born in eighty two.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, so coming in in number five, I ain't even gonna lie to y'all.
I'm gonna have to say this because I saw him live before he passed, and I didn't want to go to this concert and my best friend made me go, and it's one of the best concerts I've ever been to my wife to this day.
So I would say, like number five is like Luther Van Draws because I because I saw him live.
Speaker 5You know.
Speaker 1And then number four, I'm gonna say Mary J.
Blige, Yeah, yeah, Mary J Blige.
That's a special woman.
I got a chance to meet her and work with her.
The song never came out, but she don't understand, like just you know, just like how excited.
So that's number four.
Number three gotta be Stevie Wonder.
I just think he's not only one of the best R and B artists, he's one of the best songwriters ever because to my understanding, he was born blind and he just writes from a place of things that I've seen, And I'm like, how does he know that it's pure heart when he makes music.
It's pure like feeling and true emotion, you know.
So yeah, Luther, Mary Stevie, Yo, this man changed my life when I heard his music, and you know, I hope nobody gets mad at me for saying his name because I understand that he might not be the greatest person.
But R Kelly Brother just musically, I mean he talks.
Yeah, he taught.
He taught me, you know, just music when I when I listen to his music and number one baby ice raymon, Ice, raymon, Baby.
I ain't gonna lie to you.
I ain't gonna lie to you.
I can't watch this.
I don't mind.
We don't buy usher usher up the top.
I don't calljah.
Speaker 4Did you say hallelujah as you were writing this work?
Speaker 1Two three?
I guess you leaving with me?
Gonna get that money money, money, money, money, because I know how it is.
Don't money money, money, money, money, money and put something.
Speaker 4Offer and play.
Speaker 1Girl, and I don't mind.
Oh, I don't mind.
Yeah who he wrote that for me?
Speaker 4Man?
Speaker 1I you know I have great you know, quick, great great story about that song because I was in the studio, me and Luke was in the studio with Katy Perry.
Katy Perry's coming to work with us, and Katy Perry went to do vocal warm ups and so why Katy Perry's doing vocal warm ups.
Luke was playing this thing on his guitar and I started saying, I don't mind, and it was super lovey and romantic, and Luke was like, no, I can't do that.
The beat is already pretty.
We need edge.
I said, what the heck you want me to say like, I don't mind, like I love a stripper.
It's like you tripping bro, like yeah, you know, out of frustration because we had I had been trying.
He said, yeah, I want you to say that.
What Yeah, And I was just fascinated with Atlantic culture and I was like, Yo, all of this Atlanta ship they doing is pop.
And I said, Yo, we need you know this.
We need to take all of these things.
And you know, nobody ain't really was doing that, you know, outside of the Migos.
Nobody had put it in a pop song, you know.
And I just was like, Yo, let's do it like this.
And we had did it and send it to Usher and and oh yeah, I remember Katy Perry walking in and heard the song, was like, that's an Usher song and we hadn't say who he did it for it.
We was like, yeah, that's crazy.
We was gonna send it to him.
She was like, oh my god, I can't wait to hear him sing that.
And I was like, wow, and you know, so so Usher did it.
And I ain't gonna lie to you that that's that's that's one of my favorites that I did with him, because I did a couple with him.
What did I do?
We did no limit together.
We did that together limit.
You know, I'm really good.
You're welcome.
Speaker 2Girl, you know, but this is you know what, this is one thing because you keep this name.
He's popped up a few times doctor Luke.
Uh huh, this is my camera, right guys, Yes, doctor Luke.
Speaker 6I don't know if you remember you still owe me five hundred dollars.
Speaker 1Oh man.
Speaker 6I don't want the money.
I just want to be able to say you owe me five forever, oh my, because you got plenty five hundred dollars.
Speaker 1You got plenty plenty five hundred dollars.
Oh man, you owe me five hundred and Luke five hundred and Luke.
Back, here we go.
We're back.
I don't even need to sing top five R and B songs.
Dang, that's a hard one.
Oh man, I think I know what my number one is.
For sure, but top five R and B songs.
Mm hmmm, over joy I'm beating my castle love.
Come on man, Yeah, come on man.
You can't, y'all can't.
He's so.
Speaker 2He made complicated things seems so simple.
And that's from a from a musician standpoint, Like he made the most complicated movements and key changes or like scale manipulation.
Speaker 1He made it digestible to every day people.
I don't know how he did that.
People.
I gotta say this song, bro, I gotta say this song.
It's a neo soul song, but I'm gonna put it in this because girl, I know them seems I'm out of order.
That is the most player ship I've ever heard in my life.
Speaker 6That man.
Speaker 1If I played that song for my son, I said, listen to me.
When you approach a woman, this is exactly how you talk.
This is what you say.
This is the sincerity that you gotta have.
And and I remember driving in the car and my son just smiling like we had a moment, and I was like, it was from that song.
It was from that song.
He get on my nerves too, Yeah, music man, and I had the opportunity to work with him.
He's one of the best Monster, incredible Monster.
I'll be your group baby, because you owe my soup pasta.
No but one fan, give me your autograph.
I hate pool Bear forever for that one because he's incredible.
Speaker 2I hate Pool Bear turning the air conditioner up everywhere he goes.
Listen, if you hop in the car with Poop Bear, it's gonna feel like it's two degrees and that thank you for letting me know I'm Caribbean.
I can't get it's not my birthday, man, heavy birthday, Yeah birthday, so no, this is real talk that that song right there.
Speaker 1Oh, I've been doing my own things.
Love is always all the way of having bad timing.
Speaker 4Shot my nigga, Bryce Wilson.
Speaker 1Okay groove and guess what I never knew I could sing.
I started out as a rapper and doing like Dan saw reggae, you know.
And then it was one song that we performed live for the first time and I just knew the words.
I just felt to sing it.
And this, this song is the reason.
This is the first time I ever felt like, Okay, I could do melody, My I Love do you ever dream?
Candy Cold Rain Dry?
Yeah, Y're the same.
My Candy Rain.
Yeah.
So look and by the way, to anybody who's like that show, listen, bro.
Every song that I mentioned had a very special moment in my life I can remember, and it did something that shifts, shifts the moment for me.
So I picked those five.
To be honest, it's too many to mention.
I feel like I'm doing it this justice.
There's a bunch of songs that I probably am forgetting, but I think I'm gonna go.
I'm comfortable with ye.
Okay, is Jams, Let's go there.
Speaker 2We're gonna make a voltron.
Okay, We're gonna make We're gonna make your R and B artists, Okay, okay, we're gonna build him from the vocal performance, style, styling, and passion.
With building your voltron, what artists are you grabbing the vocals from?
Speaker 4Who's gonna sing all them great songs?
Speaker 1You write?
What we're gonna do?
I'm gonna say, sure, I'm gonna go with us.
I'm gonna go with Usher.
I'm gonna go with usher Man.
I gotta go with Usher, Bro, I know I have to, because it's no you can't sing, It's.
Speaker 4Not that nothing.
Speaker 1He make everything sound good and that's the biggest problem.
He'll make a bad song sound great and to be like, hold on, hold on, I have to listen to it.
On the twelfth song, youre incredible as he also owns it though, no, no, no, he's the best you know, owns it?
Okay, what's next?
That's the voice, It's voice, the voice, performance style, Chris Brown, Chris Brown, Chris Brown, Chris Brown.
Guess what the next answer?
Guess what's probably Chris Brown again.
Give it to them, the styling of it, Chris Brown.
Let me tell y'all something, Can you tell ya something?
I think that motherfucker exudes cool.
I think that man exudes cool.
I think that man wakes Chris Brown and dye his head red, dye his hair purple.
I've never Chris Brown tries things that nobody on earth could get away with, but Chris Brown.
The only thing Chris Brown ain't did yet is dreads.
And if Chris Brown do dreads and dreads look fire on Chris Brown.
I personally want to fight him in a cage match because at this point I feel like it's you're just doing too much, my nigga, Like you gotta really come on, bro, stop man, okay, who you're getting the passion from the heart of the artist, the heart and the passion, the art and the passion.
Damn b Chris Brown.
Sorry, mad hey man, Hey, hey man, monster.
Speaker 4Come on, man, talk about somebody who hadn't been through it all.
Speaker 1Oh, come on, man, At some point we gonna got to stop playing with like this nigga.
Yo, Bro, this nigga has been incredible for years and been one of the best and been in your top five, top two, number one, number one, this number one dancer, all with both his hands tied behind his back.
Talk about it.
I ain't never seen nothing like him.
I've never seen nothing like him.
I've listened, my brother.
I don't know if you see this, if you're going to see this, guess what.
I haven't spoke to this man.
We didn't text before this.
You know, my favorite R and B artist is Usher, But I don't know what it is with that dude.
Bro, That dude, that dude was touched bro by God for sure, like with his eyes closed.
I never seen nothing like it.
Man, Yo.
This man paints like paints like Bro.
I got a painting that he gave me in my house and I'm like.
Speaker 4He does everything.
Speaker 1Why well, he acts, he sings, this nigga can backflip into a Did y'all know that I'm just that's where it was going.
Didn't y'all know that he is incredible?
And I just feel like he's a He's a human being that deserves like all his flowers, because I really personally believe that by the time that everybody on this planet starts to give him his flowers, he may not be here to see him give it to him.
And and and I want to tell him Listen my kids, bro, that man is incredible, you know.
And he said happy birthday to my son too, So it's like you're gonna have a special place.
Listen, you do something for my babies.
Good dude, good dude, You're unbeatable.
I'll help you fight.
I'll see you and they'd be like, what are you doing.
Speaker 4We're gonna have to go get Timothy.
Speaker 1You know, incredible bro, my brother.
And guess what's so funny if you meet us, people think I am the aggressive one and he is the calm one.
And it is the Listen to me, my brother is like t run when I see this mon right, not Timothy, not nah, just cool.
Look cool, I'm gonna talk to him mean my brother favorite thing mean.
Speaker 6Enough fuck, my boy, that's how he gonna talk to him.
Speaker 1No, my brother, he it means like I'm not with that.
So like if somebody say, yo, mean enough, fuck like y' I'm not trying to hear what you're telling me right now when I see this and he's like, no, no, no, yo, bro, it's all love.
Let me just talk to him.
He may not even understand t run mean enough fun I'm watching you across the room coming towards me.
My brother is like, I'm like, oh my god, I'm trying to tell you yo yo yo yo, I'm gonna come to you.
Yeah yeah, no, no, no, no, no, nah you got to you what that's great?
Bro?
Yeah you good?
Yeah.
Speaker 6So got this segment of the show brother, what's it called?
It's called I Ain't saying no.
Speaker 1Name, saying no name, No, I ain't no listen, no names, no names none.
Speaker 4So tell us the story funny or fucked up?
Speaker 1Okay, are funny and okay all of the.
Speaker 4Same damn time.
You know what I mean because that's the song you was listening to when your manager told your.
Speaker 1People don't need you yeah, music.
Speaker 2Yeah, tell us that story man, you know you in your travels of this music business man.
Speaker 6And the only rule you cannot say the names.
Speaker 1Of the people in this story.
I'm not saying anybody's name.
I'm gonna tell it.
Can I say the name of the song?
Go ahead?
Okay?
Speaker 2Yeah?
Speaker 1Yeah yeah?
Yeah so you okay, So right now this is tran rock City.
Speaker 4Rock City version Islands.
Speaker 1I ain't saying okay, cool, I ain't saying on names, but I will say we was We was in the state Los Angeles at a studio saying the name of the studio, and it was a song that we wrote, and it was a song called MSUs Glass.
That's the name of the song.
It wasn't big or it did nothing, you know what I'm saying.
And the person that ended up having this song ain't the person that this is about.
And a couple of people tried this song, so it could be anybody.
But in this particular day, we're at the studio and the artist is supposed to be coming in and they're like, Hey, the artist is gonna come in, but just to give you guys a head up, heads up, the artists would like to change a couple of things, personalize it for themselves.
Oh man, we're all.
We're all for that.
That's good.
It might even be better.
Person came in with a guitarist and personal assistant and a bottle of Hennessy and a bottle of wine.
Were like, okay, cool, you know what I'm saying.
We have we and the the person who is engineering just so happened to be the person that made the beat, and and well and and me who I say, I'm the trick for lated music business because I'm in a service business.
I like, I like to give a good service.
I said, hey, today it's about you.
However you want to do it, whatever makes you comfortable.
I've been told you had your reservations about singing the song.
This is no this is a no pressure zone.
Let's get it to a place that will make you feel comfortable.
Oh man, thank you so much.
That was so nice.
So now time is going to buy.
The Hennessy is going down, and you know, and the Hennessy is gone, and now there's a glass of lineport.
And I was like, I don't think I saw anybody else.
I didn't have none, and he didn't have none.
To day, didn't have none.
You know what I'm saying, Mine in my business, the name of my company, mine in our business.
Also, and I go and I come in and I said, okay, it's taking the lines.
He's like, yo, Bro.
When we record the song, I'm like, oh my bad.
Oh I'm sorry.
Hey, were ready?
We ready, you know, guitarists already laid the electrical guitar.
Pard, We're ready for you to cut.
And then the artist looks at me and then whispers into the person next to them's ear.
And the person next to them said, the artist, so and so feels like the song doesn't personally speak to their heart.
Speaker 4Y'all all in the same room together, Oh, bro.
Speaker 1We disclose.
So I see, whenever I get offended, I talk in my accent, you know, because I don't.
So now I'm talking very like you know, man, y'all nigga fucking with me?
Man?
Why hey?
Look, so look, so this is what I'm thinking.
We start with the hook, see how you feel with it, and then we go from there.
This this song doesn't match.
So and so says to tell you that this song doesn't match it?
Chie did gi ah?
You're fucking with me right now?
That's a joke.
No, you mean to tell me this person?
Bro?
Literally we disclosed, So you mean to tell me this person right head next to you.
It's telling you to tell me.
No man, you ah fucking with me.
This gotta be a joke.
God, we would joke.
I was just talking to you word whisper again.
So and so say no, no, no, so and so and said fucking nothing.
That's so I'm so done.
I walk out.
I gone to my I gone to my people.
I say, hey, I know what pan ain't they doing right now?
Why you lying?
You lying?
Trust me?
Watch this, y'all gotta come see this come back.
It was already gone.
So so we like the lave.
Yeah, the girls said that.
She said to say that she ain't feeling it.
I wait, so she didn't even sit by she tells it.
I don't.
I went home.
I was so mid was my all night.
And I've never worked with that person ever again in my life.
Wow, true story, baby, Ah, this music I was just talking to I was just talking to you, talking to you.
Speaker 4It's never that serious.
Speaker 1It's never the vibe is not that serious.
Speaker 4It's never get lost in the vibe.
Speaker 1This is what this is.
Speaker 2How I'm supposed to act.
Man, don't do that, young artist, old artists, any artists don't do that.
Speaker 1Why why, I don't know.
It was it was very It was very you know what at the point at the moment, I was upset and I felt disrespected.
And now it's one of my favorite stories that I like.
It's one of my favorite stories that I like to tell when people come to my house, you know, especially when especially if somebody says the artist's name in my house, I'd be like, oh, let me tell you what happened.
I can't wait to tell you this story.
Whispers just try that, try just maybe you can make it a TikTok.
And then if it's a prank and you tell Now, if it's a prank and you're like, we're just talking with you, that's a fire prank.
But bro dead serious what I mean.
And I'm like standing they sitting in a chair like that in the couch, and I'm standing up looking down and they ain't getting up.
Every time I talk and I'm not talking to her.
I'm talking to this one.
And when I talked to her, she will whispered in her ear and then she will talk to me.
Speaker 4I ain't talking this nigga.
Speaker 1No mom.
Speaker 4So he's like, that's what she's saying.
Speaker 1But we're just talking to you.
What me?
What me?
Speaker 4Somebody else?
Speaker 3It wasn't me.
Speaker 1Yeah me.
You know, she pulled a shaggy on me fast.
I'm sorry that this is man.
It's incredible man.
Yeah.
Speaker 2So those experiences are great, great, great, and especially early in your career to be like, okay, cool, okay, this is something that happens.
Speaker 1Okay, I'm prepared.
Speaker 2It's a wild niggas in this sh wow.
I mean you got to you got to clear the hallway.
Speaker 1Niggas.
Speaker 2Oh my god, you got to.
You know what I'm saying, my eyes.
Don't look me in my eyes, my eyes, you can't look.
Speaker 1You can't do me.
Nok for me, it's like you can't do me.
No, I'm taking our person.
I'll just go home.
It's not that serious for me.
And and you know what, Like again, my dad was incredible.
I ain't never there's only one famous person that I've ever been like, whoa to me?
Jay Z?
Baby?
That was my favorite artist.
Why he's the only rapper that ever said Saint Thomas and his raps, what up to my Miami and Saint Thomas connects, and I was like.
Speaker 4He was locked in.
Speaker 1I told you as a little boy, I thought you'll didn't know we existed, right, I did.
And I loved them because I've always felt like an outsider.
I've always been the guy that been like, yo, I'm from Saint Thomas and I'm kind of awkward.
I really don't know how to move.
I don't want to be so bro.
When I'm in La Bro, I be in my hotel, I be in the I go to the movies like I went to the movies the other night.
I go to the studio and I go back to the hotel.
Speaker 4We'll come fuck with.
Speaker 1Us, man.
I would love to, you know, yeah, I would love to man with I would love to.
Speaker 4We appreciate you pulling up.
Speaker 1Thank you, thank you for having me.
This ship was incredible.
It was a big time pull up.
Man.
Speaker 2You know what I'm saying, Like, we don't.
We don't take it for granted.
Man, you know what I'm saying.
And we we tap it and when we see each other and it's always love.
But you trying to get you and your wife to move to Atlanta for a long time.
Speaker 1No, no, no, I ain't go ahead.
I'm now set my sights on on on South Florida.
Okay with that state task still the South, I said, I take it.
You know what I'm saying it.
You know I'm working on her.
I heard in California.
Speaker 4I just got in front of I'm never leaving California.
Speaker 1I gotta Porto Rico plug that.
I just you know, we'll talk about.
Speaker 4Saint Thomas might be a place to man.
Speaker 2Man.
Speaker 1See you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2We're gonna make it do but your high level, bro and man, we give you your flowers, bro, and we celebrate you, bro.
Speaker 1And and and when you win, brother, we dance.
Speaker 4All of us.
Speaker 1Look at it.
I appreciate we look at it.
Thank you what I'm saying, you're you're you're one of our elite.
You know what saying.
So nigga keep going, God will keep going.
You know what I'm saying.
Write me one, Yes, there, no, I would.
I would love it.
You gotta write me one.
Speaker 2And you got to write him one because we're the first manager the artists, artists, man, artist manager.
Speaker 1You know what we're doing, man, ladies and gentlemen.
Speaker 2My name is Tank Valentine and this is the R and B Money Podcast, the authority on all things R and B and tonight, we have got a special man in the building game, but with that real pin, with that real pan, really pimped his pin.
Really listen man from from the shock to to the to the sky, not even ding for real yad man, Good work man, Thank your money Money.
Speaker 6R and B Money is a production of the Black Effect Podcast Network.
For more podcasts from iHeart Radio, is it the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows, don't forget to subscribe to and rate our show, and you can connect with us on social media at Jyvalentine and at the Real Tank.
Speaker 2For the extended episode, subscribe to YouTube dot com or slash R and B Money
