Kenyon Dixon

On this week's episode of The R&B Money Podcast, Tank and J Valentine sit down with acclaimed R&B artist and songwriter Kenyon Dixon. They dive into Kenyon's musical journey, from singing in church as a kid to touring with the likes of Justin Timberlake and Kirk Franklin. Kenyon shares stories about collaborating with artists like Tyrese, YG, and others early in his career.

The fellas talk about Kenyon's songwriting, his approach to crafting songs people connect deeply with, and his mission to advocate for real R&B music. They discuss the ups and downs of the music business, lessons learned from difficult record deals, and the hard work required to sustain success as an artist.

With 9 albums under his belt, Kenyon has certainly put in that work and it shows. His latest release, The R&B You Love, embodies his goal to recreate the feeling of classic R&B tracks we all know and love.  Enjoy Kenyon Dixon now on The R&B Money Podcast

 

Extended Episodes on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/RnBMoneyPodcast

Follow The Podcast:

Tank: @therealtank  

J Valentine: @JValentine

Podcast: @RnbMoneyPodcast

 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
R and B Money.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
We are.

Speaker 1 (00:07):
Thanks take valoti.

Speaker 3 (00:11):
We are the authority on R and B.

Speaker 1 (00:18):
Ladies and gentlemen.

Speaker 3 (00:18):
My name is Tank and this is the Army Money Podcast,
the authority.

Speaker 1 (00:23):
Come on on all things, come on, come R and B.
Fix your beanie, man, your beanie not coming out. We
got my line of beanies is coming up.

Speaker 4 (00:30):
Blax.

Speaker 1 (00:31):
You know what I said. We've been working on this.
We got an R and B.

Speaker 3 (00:35):
Singer Huh in the house, songwriter, songwriter, vocal production producer,
put it together. Performer RTIs artist huh cut himself.

Speaker 1 (00:50):
I always got on some cool pants to always keep
a cool pant, lonely and a cool shade.

Speaker 3 (00:57):
One of the most talented brothers I've I've ever come across.

Speaker 1 (01:01):
Man, Please we got him here.

Speaker 2 (01:03):
Ken Yeah, get out my goddamn comments.

Speaker 4 (01:11):
I had.

Speaker 1 (01:12):
I would be rich a dollar. But every time somebody like,
when are you doing it? But they was doing it
like we don't know you Like I'm like, you do
know that. I heard of a guy you got to
love him trying to hit us over the head with.
If y'all was a real pod, y'all would have Keny

(01:36):
Dixon wrote, you know what right? No, I love it though.
That's real support.

Speaker 2 (01:41):
That's the ship that we need as an independent artist
as well as Tyree would say, you know, because I'm
I'm I'm independent. Indeed, Yeah, that's right there. You at
the right level to with the deepens is not.

Speaker 1 (01:54):
Indeed, he got marble behind it. You got marble.

Speaker 3 (02:00):
Transforming twenty seven, he furious talking about. Indeed, stop this ship, man, Kenya.
We've been doing this for a long time, man. We
we've we've been on the road together, We've been in
a studio together. He got T G T story as

(02:29):
as you were kicking ass on stage during and during
that tour. Let's just throw that out there. But you
know how we do you know what I'm saying, like
we we we love to go back, you know to
the beginning as we were talking our Church stories before
you know, before the camera came on. We're not going
to tell you all all the stuff we was talking about.

(02:49):
Just know Church was in trouble. Where does it all
start for Kenyon Dixon? Man, where does it all start?
Where you identified that you know.

Speaker 4 (03:00):
It?

Speaker 1 (03:01):
I got something in Church? Probably not where somebody said
you know that yd damn boy right there? Man? Uh yeah,
church man, I'm born and raised in church, Ko koch kid.
My mother is like still right now, like a district evangelist,
like district, Like yeah, serious.

Speaker 2 (03:24):
So it's a government in the sense you say district.
It's like I'm thinking of jurisdictions. Yeah, no, it's like congress. Yes, essentially,
in local government. That's what's the president of the church.

Speaker 1 (03:36):
There are just the president.

Speaker 3 (03:39):
There's there's no one one president. But there are guys
who are powerful that sit on the board up top,
you know what I'm saying, Bishops and Patterson and Blake
and yeah, okay, yeah.

Speaker 1 (03:53):
You're saying, you know, I ain't ain't ko no, but
that was my upbringing. But yeah, man, in church, my
super musical family. I'm the youngest of seven in total. Shit,
six of us grew up in the same household. Everybody's
musically inclined to some extent. My pops guitarist, quartet singer.

(04:17):
My mother she sing so like it started in church
for sure, man, singing in the youth choir and like,
you know, leading songs. When was your first solo? Well,
what was your first song? The song was? I just
I remember the lyrics. It's like you say that you
are my sheep, why aren't you following me? I can't
think of what the name of the whole song is.

(04:38):
That was my first solo. But you know, crazy enough,
even though it started in church and it was genetic, like,
I didn't love it singing in church. It wasn't like
because I had a family full of singers. So me
being the youngest, I'm like, I don't want to like
singing ain't really cool like that, like y'all all do it.
I gotta find something that you know, I can do
myself that y'all can't do, because that would make me

(05:00):
feel better. So I think I didn't really like develop
that love for singing until I was able to like
step back from church a little bit and started like
exploring on my own. That's when when I really like
fell in love with music.

Speaker 3 (05:14):
I would say, do you think like I mean, as
most of us in church, you know, it starts off
as very much a requirement, like you know, a role
of the house. This is where you will be on Tuesday,
this is where Wednesday, this is where you will be
on Saturday.

Speaker 1 (05:31):
Yeah, and this is where you will be on Sunday.

Speaker 3 (05:33):
Yep, it was a and do you think that that
contributed to not feeling so great about it because it's
just like I gotta go to church, man.

Speaker 1 (05:45):
Yeah, that I would say it did, man, because my
parents were like, you know, they were also preachers, so
they were heavily involved in the church. So my mother
was like teaching Bible studies. She was teaching YPWW and
YWCC all like the little program for you know, and
we were at quir rehearsal. Like, so I was at
church like Monday through Sunday pretty much like doing homework

(06:07):
on the pews, sleep in the back in the back
of the church, like you know what I mean. And
so I think it was also grew up in a
project so very different dynamic from the church setting number one,
So like what was happening outside and what I was
exposed to church just wasn't cool. That was just what
I knew because yeah, yeah, born and raised in Jordan

(06:27):
Dann's so like it wasn't it wasn't cool necessarily, and
not cool at school either, Like school culture was a
lot different. You know, like the amount of kids that
were okay with talking about that they went to church
like very small, but you're you kind of just listening, like, oh,
I identify, but I'm not going to tell y'all that
like this is this is my life. So I think

(06:48):
for a long time, yeah, it I would say it
contributed to it because I felt like this wasn't cool
like outside of here, like nobody, the majority of the
people around me and my daily life don't share this experience.
Like I'm seeing what they're doing. I'm seeing their parents
pull up playing uh all of the music I want

(07:09):
to listen to, you know what I mean, Your your
parents pull up, you get in the car and they
got John p Key on, Like it's like it was different.
It was different culture, you know what I mean. So
I think when I yeah, when I got the opportunity
to step away from it, I was I was like
happy because I felt like, all right, cool, now finally
get to like do what I want to do. Find
some of.

Speaker 2 (07:29):
Your household like canes and minister society.

Speaker 1 (07:35):
So I mean, it's George Down's.

Speaker 2 (07:38):
They shot in the project and he had the grandfather
that was you know.

Speaker 1 (07:44):
Have you ever given any.

Speaker 2 (07:51):
Man?

Speaker 1 (07:52):
It was again that that outside dynamic was definitely like comparable,
but inside of the house, like like my mother used
to make us like pray as a family before we
left for school in the morning, Like I had the
most coaching parents. Yeah, like you could ever have, you
know what I mean. And so like yeah, they they

(08:12):
cracked the whip in the house as soon as as
soon as you walked out that door. I'm a different
person because I've been to your projects before.

Speaker 2 (08:19):
Yeah, I don't care how much church you go to.

Speaker 1 (08:25):
Yeah, it's a whole world. And it had it had
to be too because they think about it. Like I mean,
you know, like from the hood, so gang culture is
you know what it is. Once you're especially in like
middle school, you kind of got to roll with your
people because also, like what's interesting you you was coaching
cuz from.

Speaker 2 (08:46):
I'm changing, I'm changing all my handles.

Speaker 1 (08:52):
I've been known to make up names that I'm rolling
one I'm rolling with coach cuz. But the the unique
thing about Watch is that you know, there are like
four different like main projects, yes, that share a lot
of the same spaces. Like one of the high schools
is Jordan High is connected to my projects. Like so

(09:15):
we had middle schools like I went to mark them
for a second, and that one you got people from
every hood like going to the schools. So the crazy
thing about like growing up in the hood is like
when you went there, they had to know like where
you were from because you had to kind of like
roll with your people the school. Did everybody at the school, Yeah,
like they kind of had to know, like, oh, you're
from this area because if not, you get back home,

(09:37):
you're gonna have trouble in your own neighborhood because everybody
is kind of prison. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (09:42):
Yeah, that's actually is exactly if you think about it,
that's exact. So they were preparing some of these students, yeah,
for what they would have to do at reception. That's
the that's the school. The prison pipeline too, right, that's
where that's where it starts. And most of us don't
even think of it in those ways, but that's literally
already programming yep.

Speaker 1 (10:02):
Literally on the yard and you're with you stay in
your corner with your people, you know what I mean.
And it was just like it was like an unspoken
territorial thing because it's like where you're from over here,
just naturally you don't talk to them lunches for you,
so tables, yep. But the whole time, I'm a church kid,

(10:22):
So like imagine that I'm here, like, yeah, I'm from
my area, but like it's like I can't even listen
to the music y'all listening to and I'm over here
like having to, you know, say like yeah, this.

Speaker 2 (10:32):
Is my area, which is was there anyone else even
just not even at school, but even in the Jordan
Downs that went to church with y'all? Are we y'all
literally in the church house.

Speaker 1 (10:46):
We were we were for sure the church house. Yeah,
we were for sure the church house. There was a
there's also our church wasn't in the neighborhood though, So
I went to church, grew up in the church called
Great Shop on eighty fourth and away and so whole
different hood. By the way, that also translates gang cultures.
Gang culture, it don't matter where you are. So also

(11:08):
going to church over there a lot of activity because
you're in a completely different hood. So you have people
from everywhere coming to church, but you got to still
watch your surrounding. So like crazy, it's crazy. So that's crazy.
There was a church called Holy Tabernacle that was like
the project church. That's the church all the game angers

(11:29):
will go to on Sunday. But like you just go
because you know on Sundays, you're supposed to go.

Speaker 2 (11:34):
To church, you know what I mean. So everybody there
was a gang. There's a gang church every hood. That
one just yeah, because this one was right. This one
was right on the side of the projects, like in
the in the backstreets.

Speaker 1 (11:47):
It was right there. So it was like and then
you know, like we talked about this off camera, but
ministry and outreach then was going into the neighborhoods. And
so that that's how everybody knew to come to these churches.
It's like, yo, if y'all ever want to come and
have a different experience, this is the church over here.
But see, like we didn't need that because I was

(12:09):
born and raised in the church. Yeah. So it's like
even for the people in my neighborhood that went to church,
their experience was still very different. They walk out of
the church in their back too, you know what I mean.
You in it the Monday through Sunday, like I couldn't.
Even when people say, like, growing up in church, you

(12:30):
can listen to R and B Like I mean, like
I would get like whoopings for listening to R and
B music, Like if my mom found CDs that we
got from anybody else. I remember she found like a
tape from like when the box was cracking, Like you
had the box and somebody made my sister a tape
of a whole bunch of videos. My mom found that
and like went crazy, Oh my god, it's VHS tape, man.

(12:53):
And so they were tough, but I think, you know,
the underlying is always when your parents see kind of
the possibility of what can be created in those type
of environments, they think that that's what offsets it. Let
me be extremely tough on you to make sure that
you stay away from this because I don't want you

(13:13):
to be anything like it.

Speaker 4 (13:14):
But they don't know.

Speaker 1 (13:15):
Like a lot of times that creates more interest because
you want to know, like what am I missing? Because
it looks more fun on the outside, Like church doesn't
look fun.

Speaker 4 (13:23):
You're just in it.

Speaker 2 (13:24):
So what's the first secular I'm sorry, bro, what's the
first secular record you heard?

Speaker 1 (13:30):
Where you was like, what's that? I found it?

Speaker 4 (13:34):
Man?

Speaker 1 (13:34):
You know, it's like there's like parts to it. So
I remember listening to Anita Baker at a young age
because I had an older sister who by the time
she got out of the house, she was already into
like because you know, Anita Baker is like, if you
grew up in the church, you easy, that's easy. I'm

(13:58):
not just gonna tell me you heard pretty Ricky. I'm
not in the morning. It was like I need hey,
that's why I said. It's part too, you know.

Speaker 2 (14:11):
But She's like, that's like church adjacent because its soul
still in his love.

Speaker 4 (14:15):
So like.

Speaker 1 (14:17):
Like all of those side a sister who you know,
that's what she was listening to. So when I would
go and hang with my sister, I was able to
hear like stuff like that. And then Tyrese Is ironically
being from Watch he came and did it's like maybe
like a giveaway at will Rogers Park, and I had

(14:37):
to you know, I was like probably like twelve or something,
maybe even younger, and he gave away his CDs and
like you know, he performed. It was right at the gym,
and that was something like Tyese's music, ironically was some
of the first music that I remember listening to, which
was also interesting. And then find out my taste in

(14:59):
R and B once I got into it because it
was the same people. It was y'all, it was the underdogs.
It was you know what I mean. And I was
listening to Dawkins and Dawkins as a kid, so I
didn't even realize that that's what formed my my taste
in R and B music. To come to find out
it was the same people that was doing you know,
those records. So yeah, I remember a lot of his music,
and I got a little My mom gave me a

(15:22):
little room for it because it was like he was
more visible. This is somebody from the neighborhood. It seemed
like more of it seemed more inspirational than it did.
You're listening to second music. Yeah, so yeah, man, I
guess I still started off kind of on the safe
side of R and B, but but I was dancing too.

(15:42):
That's a whole other side to the thing. Because we church.
They think that because we're from church. Yeah yeah, yeah, here,
you know what I'm saying. We'll get all of it, bro. Yeah,
that's you know, that's LA culture. And I grew up

(16:03):
that was prime time, bro. I grew up like in
the middle of the battle zone that travels is it
Tommy Clown? That's so that was that was like my
middle school experience. Bro. That's when everybody was into like
clown dancing, and so that's when I got exposed to
the music that that was ying and everything. So that

(16:27):
was different. But my mom still, like I think she
kind of started accepting my interest, but it was church.
Parents are like, if that's what you're gonna do, find
somebody that's basically gonna look after you, because I don't
want no parts of it. And that's what happened. Like
I had like basically a chaperone who was responsible for

(16:47):
me in any space that wasn't that wasn't church, and
she would have to like who was that? It was
my godmother, Jacqueline Sims, And she used to work at
the gym and the projects and the Jordan Downs. She
would see me dancing. She saw that I had, like
you know, she felt like I had more potential than
the what was what could be cultivated in the environment.
Basically it's like I want to take you over here.

(17:09):
She took me to a real dance studio. I still learning,
but my mom because it wasn't church, it wasn't gospel,
it was like she got to do it. Like my
mom didn't really she didn't come to no shows, no,
like she was very very strict church KOJK, like they're
not having it. So but she still allowed you to
do it, She allowed me to do it. Yeah, I

(17:30):
just basically had to make sure I don't want to
say it wasn't visible, but basically like non existent to her,
you know what I mean.

Speaker 3 (17:38):
So or there was probably framed a certain way. Yeah,
just so that you know, even if she wasn't so much,
you know, rooting for it. Yeah, yeah, she could at
least respect it against it.

Speaker 2 (17:52):
Yeah, And it's really it's all about like optics too,
and perspective, because you know, church people are like extremely judgmental.
I've never I've never talked to my mom about this,
but I would bet that a huge part of the
reason was because of what she thought other people would think, Like,
are you're letting your kids be out here?

Speaker 1 (18:12):
You know what I mean?

Speaker 2 (18:13):
That's church culture the best exactly. So to a certain degree,
you are heathen. Oh absolutely, just for to go dance.

Speaker 1 (18:20):
And complete rebel. And I was cool with that. I
was cool with it. Yeah, I knew. I knew, Like
once I got my first real taste of R and
B music, I'm like, oh no, this is me screen different. Yeah. Yeah,
I'm like I'm not I'm not supposed to do gospel,
and that's such a tricky thing because you know, in
the church, they believe you're not even using your gifts

(18:43):
unless you are contributing to gospel. So that was also
like a weird space to have to work out of
because it's like, here's something that I feel I'm like
super purposeful in and there's a lot of connectivity here,
and I'm battling with having to convince myself that i
should be doing it because based on what y'all are

(19:04):
telling me, this is something that I shouldn't even have
interest in. So it was it was crazy dynamic.

Speaker 2 (19:12):
Man.

Speaker 1 (19:12):
It takes like.

Speaker 3 (19:14):
It has taken some time, and it's still taking, I
think time for church people to understand that God is
not just in church and that the opportunities that that
God awards you, yeah, they're not just in church, you know.

Speaker 4 (19:39):
What I mean.

Speaker 3 (19:40):
Like the idea that this song about my life is
changing my life, my family's life, the life of people
who are listening to it.

Speaker 1 (19:52):
I'm getting I'm able to.

Speaker 3 (19:54):
See the world as a result of this song that
I've written and sang with the gifts that God has
given me. Yep, somehow especially back then with the days
we're talking about, that's not of God. Yeah, and it's
a total contradiction to everything that God represents in terms

(20:14):
of how I know, you know what I'm saying, like
the gift was given to me for a reason, right,
and so for me, like it's always, it was a
it was a it was a battle at first because
it was just like I was. I was so I
won't say beat over the head, but I was just
so it was it was preached into me that unless

(20:38):
you're doing it for God, yeah.

Speaker 1 (20:40):
It means nothing. Nothing. Yeah, let's talk. When was the first.

Speaker 3 (20:58):
I want to know, I want to know your first
like real R and B upper level professional experience.

Speaker 1 (21:08):
Man, let's see, I take you back to the beginning. Man,
my first like professional gig, first ever, because you know,
I got into the game background. I was singing background
for DJ Quick and it was like me Teres Martin,
my sister was singing with me, h D. Halloway on drums.
It was like a big like La squad. And so

(21:31):
that was my first most talented people of man. Yeah, yeah, literally, man,
that was my first like yeah first and I was
like right out of high school. So it was also
crazy because I had just decided that like all right,
I'm gonna do music for real, like I want to sing.
So I started there and I felt like my next

(21:52):
gig that kind of then opened up the portal. I
started singing with Tyresse. That was my first So you
went from quick to Tyresse. Yeah, so like and I
still you know what I mean, I still and the
introm was still doing like kangeroom Man, like Cozies and
like you know what I mean, I still did all
of our spots and had the proper progression to prepare

(22:14):
me for you know, being in that space. But working
with Tyrese, I feel like that's where that kind of
started to form form my real career for like, okay, cool,
this is who I am, this is what I'm doing,
and like so many experiences started started there.

Speaker 3 (22:37):
For sure, He's definitely like your number one fan, oh
for sure. Like all I used to hear is man.

Speaker 1 (22:45):
Stigga Ken did it again. You know he's just you know,
he's just that voice.

Speaker 4 (22:52):
Clear.

Speaker 1 (22:52):
He's a prolific writer, the nigga singer's ass off. You
know everything that you hear me doing people him, you know,
one is here the other one is seized. My god,
ye loves loves.

Speaker 2 (23:12):
Against y'all too, like if it was if it was
if this was a sport. Yeah, he's picking y'all as
y'all y'all in the in the Big three, ty y'all
to Tyrese has gotten me in siege, into arguments with
people that we didn't even have nothing to do with
what No he said he had he had seized in
a full beat war. I'm like with with with Swiss beats.

Speaker 1 (23:35):
I'm like, I'm like, didn't even ask for that? Oh
my god, Yeah, he's just killing the goat. I don't
think he asked you to do that. That's him.

Speaker 4 (23:45):
Man.

Speaker 2 (23:46):
I for sure been thrown into some fire like king.
He'll wipe anybody in here. I'm like, bro, here's what's
crazy about you though. It's like you just be sitting
there like sneakers to stop talking. Bro, your face don't
looks like you don't want it. But because you're just
always cool, you're not reactive.

Speaker 1 (24:07):
It's just like this, I'm nice, but I just don't
want to everywhere it's love.

Speaker 3 (24:15):
Yeah, But I say that because yeah, his favorite that's
when I first heard about you, Yeah, is when he
was when he was throwing you out there like this
niggas college, I was like, okay, he he nice.

Speaker 2 (24:27):
And then was tg T right after that. Gg T
was right after because I did I worked on Open Invitation,
and then it was when you worked on T G
T YEP that I was like, you wrote, you wrote
a few things on yeah.

Speaker 1 (24:44):
Uh f y h and co wrote hurry and uh
sex never felt better the single yeah we we when
I F y Yeah.

Speaker 2 (24:57):
Yeah, that's when I was like, okay, this niggas called
because he pushed, he pushed heavy for you to be
a part of that project Heavy.

Speaker 1 (25:09):
Yeah. I remember the battles because it was a battle
of where we were going to create the music. You know,
you know Tyrese has his ideas of everything should be
done here in his camps. Yeah yeah, yeah, So it
was a you know, just a battle of how it
was going to work, which was even the story of
like touring. I mean, I'll go back to the songwriting,

(25:30):
but to that point of being thrown into the fire.
I don't know if you remember. We did a show
in Detroit and it was the I think it was
the last show of the tour, and we all got
solos and everybody did their solo and after my solo,
Tyree says we won and starts crip walking, and I'm like, bro,
because then yes, Rick, So then we get backstage and

(25:53):
now Linni, Linnie and Resa in a full blown argument
bro because all because Reese was like like.

Speaker 2 (25:59):
Yo, Ken, I smoked y'all. I'm like, bro, like these
my homies. Bro, you can't just say stuff like that,
and like they were line. He was like his backstage
like I smoke you though, that's yo, that's you know,
Lonnie ready, broady.

Speaker 1 (26:16):
All over all over a solo. Yeah, that is like
you don't want to see me though. Liken was ready
for the singing battle. The battle Tyre, the sun came up.

Speaker 5 (26:28):
But in all fairness, you did, Cook, I appreciate you,
shout out to my brother.

Speaker 1 (26:42):
It's just you know, he just got to be extra
like why would you start crip walking? He started crip walking.
I was like, we won real loud on the mic.
I didn't. I didn't. I didn't think it was weird
because I felt he was he was claiming you.

Speaker 3 (26:55):
Yeah, when I was like, first of all, he's he's
all us okay, right, yes, for all of us.

Speaker 1 (27:05):
That's how I felt, man. But those those uh, those sessions, yeah,
we were figuring out because we started. We started prematurely
again true to Tyrese. We we basically had an album
done before y'all even decided that y'all were working on
the album as as a group. So we had a
we had a whole other song out. He did I

(27:29):
had shot was in the streets heavy. He had other plans,
so we were in there. We were in there working
bro and and with the fy H record. It was
crazy because he had I think he had just played
it for you, y'all may have been at the Underdogs.
We were at his house working on something completely different.
I was working on another song for something else, and

(27:49):
he called like, because when I wrote the song first
did it at the crib first verse hook? You know,
because everybody writes, so it's like, you need to write
a whole song first verse hook. He called me like,
we need the second verse now. I was like, okay,
So we stopped. We were doing in the session. Mahomie
Javonte was with me in that session, so he helped
me with that second verse and we got we just

(28:11):
knocked it all out and sent it back. So I
think that was probably that first time that you heard
heard the record. You know, it only takes a little
bit of something for him to go all the way.
So even if everybody was like, this is a nice record,
that's probably what that call was, like, Yo, you gotta
we need this right now. Everybody's ready to record it.
Nobody probably said that they were ready to record.

Speaker 4 (28:32):
You know.

Speaker 1 (28:35):
Yeah, he looked out for me though. Absolutely.

Speaker 3 (28:42):
We gotta think of a more powerful word. He's new here,
he's leading, leading, leading the witnesses. Bro.

Speaker 1 (28:52):
When you sent when I heard that B section, I
was like, yeah, that's that's one of my favorites on
the project. Appreciate you man. I was like, you smashed
that joint.

Speaker 3 (29:01):
Man.

Speaker 1 (29:01):
I said this, niggas, I'll take the be sections I had.
We had a we wanted you to when we did Hurry,
you were supposed to take the verse that Reese was singing,
but he snatched it and was like, because that's why
I had the falsetto in there.

Speaker 3 (29:20):
Okay, I didn't. I didn't. I didn't want to do Hurry.
I didn't like Hurry at first, and I think I
think that wasn't me. I don't think it was more
so much so of me not liking the record. It
was just at that time, Reese was just pushing every
record he had. You know what I'm saying, like fuck
hurry and fuck the other songs you brought, and you like,

(29:43):
these are the songs we're gonna gehan. I was just
in that space, and then as the project started progressing,
I went back and listened to it and I.

Speaker 2 (29:51):
Was like, this is cold, all right, I'm recorded. That
was an Isa is like the genius behind that record?

Speaker 1 (30:03):
Who sing the who sing the demo? So there's ia
she had. She has a demo version where it's just her.
Then there's a version that's me. Uh see Lacey and
Aaron Sledge who sing the first verse? First verse is
Aaron Sledge. I feel like yep, it feels like yep.
First verse Aaron Sledge. See Lacey's second verse. I was

(30:24):
the third verse which we were trying to have you
do and Reese is like nah, because he's used to
me do Tayloring.

Speaker 2 (30:32):
Everything to yeah, yeah you have you had his formula.
I remember we were mad though. I was like, man,
I really wanted him to have that that verse.

Speaker 1 (30:39):
Man, you know, Reese don't singing falsetto at all, so
we lost all the falsetto. He killed it still, but.

Speaker 3 (30:46):
It's like, damn, man, you're writing credits, you know, if
we could ever get that album licensed, some money waiting
on both of us.

Speaker 4 (30:57):
Yeah, yeah, hey man.

Speaker 3 (30:59):
And then so is that soon after that you start
going into like solo mode and kind of creating your
own thing.

Speaker 1 (31:07):
Or were you already doing that? I was already a
solo artist, man, like putting out music or just yeah.
I started on MySpace, bro, and then went into like SoundCloud.
A lot of my following came from from SoundCloud, Like
I used to do a bunch of covers and release
like originals, but my first so starting off like doing
live shows outside of like the open mic stuff. Me

(31:29):
and yg Bro. We used to do shows together at
the Knitting Factory all the time, Knitting Factor and even
everyore and so at the time you didn't know the
power in that, like those hard tickets. We were like
seniors in high school and like fresh out of high
school as well, we were doing them shine heey shows
where you got to sell a hundred tickets per ticket.

(31:52):
After that, like it was something crazy, but we didn't
you know, we didn't know, and we were like selling
these shows because it was our homies. We had a
big followings, la, you know what I mean. And I
have been doing my own music since then, and so
when I got into background singing, you know, at first,
it's the you're excited because it's like, dang, I'm working

(32:13):
with all these cool people, you know what I mean,
on the roll with this person and this person doing
all these shows. But I was still doing my own music.
So it got to a point to where like I
had to learn how to like position it. When I
started to realize, like, nah, I really am an artist,
Like this is what what I want to do. And
at one point when I toured, I mean fast forward,

(32:33):
but I was touring with Justin Timberlake in like twenty eighteen.
Maybe we can we can we say how you got there? Though? Yeah? Yeah, yeah, yeah,
that's not a I got Yeah. You go from I know,
Jordan down yeah to Justin Timberlin.

Speaker 2 (32:53):
Let's there's a process in there and people should understand
that other than just thinking, oh, well I'm gonna do
what Kenyon Dickson.

Speaker 1 (33:01):
Do you know what I mean? Yeah, those points like
this is and how many years. But let's see man
so so again. Starting with quick went to Tyrese start
working with tg T you was you was singing Pitcheon
on the party.

Speaker 2 (33:17):
I was.

Speaker 1 (33:21):
Everything, yeah, yeah matter you know? So Tyree was Scooter,
Scooter slash BJ's brother. Scooter was the m D. I
got a call about about like, uh, I mean, you know,
like when you sing around the city, everybody knows. That's
kind of how it worked out here, like being at

(33:41):
Cozy's and like our different spots Foxhole. It was like
all the m d s and the musicians that m
D the artists are always there, so when it's time
for singers, it's like, well we know who to you
know to call. So I got a call from Scooter
like it was an audition for a Tyree show, but
like also not really an audition. It was like we're rehearsing.

(34:02):
It was for like a it's called like the norm
Convention or something. We're rehearsing for this convention. Tyree needs
some singers like we're they're at sir, It's like you
can get down here, like it's yours.

Speaker 2 (34:13):
I'm like all right, So I called some singers too,
like yo, y'all. Yeah, you know, pull up because we
know the unit.

Speaker 1 (34:18):
We've worked together, so I go in there after Like
my first show with Tyres, most of us that were
singing with him like didn't stay on the gig, but
they were like kept me there, Like y'all want you
to be the one like in charge of the vocal
So I became like Tyree's like vocal director. Like at
one point I was the only singer on the road

(34:39):
traveling with him, you know what I mean, And like
sometimes they have me working out overtime, but sometimes I
would like be sending out charts and break down some
song parts to like other singers that were about to
meet in the city at a show, Like we got
a show in Atlanta. I need two singers, but I'm
the constant. So I'm ana see y'all at sound check.
Here go the notes in whichy'all need to know, Like

(35:00):
you know what I mean. So I was doing that
after tyresee, I got a call randomly from Onetzsche to
sing background with Mike Posner. Adam Blackstone was at the time,
and so we did Ellen first with Mike Posner, then

(35:20):
started singing Kelly Rowland. Everything just kind of start you
remember play in the league with us.

Speaker 2 (35:25):
Of course, Mike hysterical, we have to touch No, Mike
Posner was one of the funniest teammates I ever had
in my life. Yeah, because he did not give a fuck, right,
Because yeah, I think this that it was an NBA
entertainment league. So you got the biggest egos possible playing basketball,

(35:52):
but guys that can't play basketball with that same ego, right,
So you just used to that You're like the little
nigga from mackham in the middle thing he on score,
its terrible whatever whoever it is, right, Yeah, And I
remember meeting Mike and I hadn't put two and two
together that he was the guy with the song that
I like, Right, But I'm like, he's actually really a

(36:15):
cool ass, little white nigga.

Speaker 1 (36:17):
Ain't tripping like Mike you want to go sorry, I'm like, bro,
she's going for a minute. Mike was cool. It's hell.

Speaker 2 (36:30):
He was just like the nicest dude who had no
complaints about nothing. Nobody really paid him no attention. And
then heone was gonna do Arenas.

Speaker 1 (36:39):
And it was like just like wait, what wait, you
know what I'm say? You notice the.

Speaker 2 (36:43):
Same guy who now I guess you see that shitn't
be doing now he's like walking the country. Yes, absolutely,
the niggas walking the country.

Speaker 1 (36:53):
Polar opposite from like he's walking, he's walking.

Speaker 2 (36:57):
He's just living life, bro that he's walked pretty much
from New York to.

Speaker 1 (37:01):
L A already. Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, why why not?
He wants to experience the country. It is kind of that,
but it's more it's more how far far?

Speaker 3 (37:20):
So?

Speaker 1 (37:20):
What are you gonna walk the whole country?

Speaker 2 (37:24):
It's just one of those if you've accomplished all your
goals and now you're like, what else can I do?

Speaker 1 (37:28):
That's what it feels like. No, no cocaine, hey man,
and every city I got you, but no man. I
started so the Mike Posner, Mike Posner. Then you know, uh,

(37:51):
I started working Kelly, rolling that tour with Kelly, and
then there's you know, there's like a bunch of like
random one offs. You became, you became the go to,
you came to go to sing with Carl Thomas, and
like just a bunch of you know, a bunch of people.
So in like twenty sixteen, I get a call from
Kirk Franklin. Funniest call by the way, I get a

(38:12):
call from Kirk Franklin. He's doing his twenty years. Actually
before that, I was with Nick Jonas right before Kelly.
I got a call from You're going, this is the
range in this. It prepared me than me. You know
what I mean? You see motivation what? Yeah? But it
was great, bro, and it was me putting every growing

(38:36):
up having all these talents didn't make sense. It was
I was starting to see why that helped. Because you
sing with somebody like Kelly. They decided it would it
would look a lot better if we could minimize the
singers in the stag get singers who can dance. Well,
guess who's the singer that can dance. I go with

(38:57):
Nick Jonas and it's like, man, we need don't validating
his bullshit. Man, you brought you brought me into that.

Speaker 2 (39:06):
There's no videos.

Speaker 1 (39:07):
Oh my damn, with genuine dancing. Later he's singing, we
need the videos because that would have been your time.
That would have been your time. Keep it, keep it
a buck. He didn't want me to do all that.
Keep it a buck. Did you have one of them?
About the videos.

Speaker 3 (39:25):
Part they made up the ambulance ambulancer, They made the avalance.

Speaker 1 (39:30):
That's d left supposed to be coming up something something.
I think they say, something happened to him. That is
that's one of the most man, you got the worst script.
They said, I think something that had happened to him.
Oh my god, bro, I'll never forget that man watching
that in real time after school, it's crazy.

Speaker 2 (39:51):
Yes, that bro, that's crazy. Alright, you're doing this and
now you're dancing and yeah, literally getting on all these
that require both.

Speaker 1 (40:01):
And I'm like, okay, this makes sense now, you know,
because I had transition out of the dance world, like
I was dancing for real and it got to the point.
This is like when dance like took a turn and
you got auditions and stuff like that, and it was
it was now about like the who you know in
the room. So you'd be wasting your time if you
walk in there and you don't know nobody, Like just

(40:22):
being good, ain't it? Didn't you know, didn't do anything.
So that's why he stopped.

Speaker 4 (40:28):
Just being good wasn't enoughing.

Speaker 1 (40:31):
Man, So I uh get a T shirt shirt. I
need the video. It's personally I got you. You know
what I'm saying. Where full choreography? Baby? I got you choreography.
Ro shout out to Roro. He you know, say less.

Speaker 2 (40:51):
He always shouts rot because you know, everybody know Roro.
They don't know about his dancing, but they know everybody.

Speaker 4 (40:58):
Who does.

Speaker 3 (40:59):
Sure, come coach me for the dream Girls audition, the
dance part of it, which I killed. If that's all
tape to audition, lose that tape. Oh God, burn that file.

Speaker 1 (41:13):
Hey, hey, hey people, we need to find tank.

Speaker 2 (41:15):
Stumps for the love of that's out there somewhere. If
that is a career killer, it's a career killer, it's
a career killer. Okay, So you dancing and singing.

Speaker 1 (41:27):
I was dancing and singing auditioned for dream Girls, by
the way, for like a part it was like a
random this is when I was still dancing. It was
like a random group that's shown when they do this
like commercial in there and they're singing this like Jackson
five type song. That was like. That was also like
one of my like last dance auditions. I knew, like cool,

(41:48):
I just want to sing. But I get a call,
you know, so I after work on all these people,
I get a call like I want you to come,
And it was Kirk Franklin like he calls me literally
calls me like I know who you are. It was
so like anonymous. It felt like like this Kirk Franklin
like you know, I know you are, calls you like
like prince basically I know. Yeah. He's like, He's like,

(42:11):
I got a tour coming up in February, and I
want you to come and work with me. And at
the time it was tricky because I had got a
call that I would have possibly been going on this
Rihanna tour. Of course I would have loved to do that.
So I'm like, but Kurk needed an answer like right away,
and I'm like, oh my god, cause if I tell

(42:32):
you no and then this don't come through now, don't
got nothing, you know what I mean. So he was like,
I just need to know, and like he ended up
being like can you let me know boy this date.
I was like, all right, cool. But the funny thing
about Kirk Kirk is Kirk, you know what I mean.
I grew up in church like Kirk is Michael Jackson
to me, you know what I mean.

Speaker 2 (42:50):
Kirk is like yeah, man, So like I promise you
I'm a good person, like I know, you know, like
he mentioned some people that he knew.

Speaker 1 (42:57):
I knew. It was like, and you can ask him
about me. And I'm like on the phone cracking up
cause I'm like, nigga, you Kirk Franklin yourself yet like, yeah,
I'm going regardless, man. So I go with Kirk. I
do the twenty years in one night tour. First, we
do some one offs.

Speaker 2 (43:16):
Gospel different first of all, and let me also put
it out there.

Speaker 1 (43:21):
Touring with Kirk. That's probably some of the best money
I ever made in my life. Kirk is a person.

Speaker 2 (43:26):
He makes like he's competitive when it comes to being
in that space, and I really appreciated that because the
you know, the thought is if I go to god
like gospel, I'm about to take some l's because y'all
ain't gonna pay.

Speaker 1 (43:40):
Like Kirk was like, what you need, We're good.

Speaker 2 (43:44):
So the other thing though, because it's gospel, everybody's just
good already.

Speaker 1 (43:51):
So I'm used to like preparation, like send me a
set list, send me. And we had a show coming
up before we even started rehearsing for tour, and I
was book for that show and I felt like that
show was like the kind of like the audition like,
let's see, nobody had a set list, and I kept
being like, you know, like what songs do I need
to know? When I got in the car and asked

(44:12):
about like sound check, everybody was like laughing. It was
kind of like, oh, we don't do that, like we
just get on stage and kill.

Speaker 2 (44:19):
So gospel is equivalent to the All Star Game depending
on who you're working with right now.

Speaker 1 (44:25):
I mean, like I'm talking about at the highest level.

Speaker 2 (44:27):
Yeah, like so because like you said, everybody, yeah, everybody's
they're they're already good that these people are already been
so they've been going to church for Monday through Sunday.

Speaker 1 (44:40):
So it's perfecting their craft yep. And you know, like
for me on the inside, I'm like, oh my god,
Like I'm in the in the van, like I'm just
about to walk on stage. I don't know any of
I know how to find a part from church, you
know what I mean. Everybody's yeah, so I'm.

Speaker 2 (44:57):
Like cool, I could sing, I know how to not
go down and flames. Most importantly, so like we.

Speaker 1 (45:03):
Did that show, it was like no pressure, Like either
Kirk really knew because he told me. When Kirk called me,
I was honest with him. I was like, I said, look, man,
I'm an R and B singer. Like at that point,
I was already you know what I mean, like putting
on my own music. I was like, I don't like,
I'm not gospel, So like, if you that you're looking for,
I don't think I'm gonna be a good fit. And

(45:24):
Kirk was like, I'm not looking for a gospel singer.

Speaker 3 (45:26):
Bro.

Speaker 1 (45:26):
He's like, I'm like, if your heart, I could tell
if your heart is in the right place. Like He's like,
I want to show. I want to show and a
good person, a person, a good person. You got all
of that, and then you start really growing in your

(45:50):
solo space. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (45:51):
Do you feel like those moments and being, you know,
having those connective tissues with those artists and the support
I would imagine, Yeah, those artists really helped you start
to really grow in the space of your solo space
where it really started pushing detraction for you.

Speaker 1 (46:08):
I think it. I think it gave me a different
level of confidence and enhanced my vision because much like
anybody else who's like interning, are you know in that space,
I'm literally seeing what it is I desire, So like
talking about manifestation, it couldn't be more real. I'm literally
standing feet from where I would like to be, you

(46:30):
know what I mean. So, and then you know, there
are like certain things I learned from every artist that
I work with. With JT. It is that it was
that the show business aspect of it, how to get
out there and really, you know what I mean. Working
working with with y'all, with the fellas is like Tyrese
is the it's the persona with you, I'm it's like
seeing like go for it, you know what I mean?

(46:52):
Like g is that that performance aspect, how to be
how to be the ladies man, y'all all are though
that's literally R and B, you know what I mean.
So I've learned like something from every single person I've
been on stage with. And I think that that even indirectly,
like being around everybody has somehow everybody's played the part

(47:13):
in who I've become.

Speaker 2 (47:15):
To be sure, Yeah, should as you should. It's preparing
you for for your moment. Yeah yeah, And you got
how many projects out? Because you know we're talking about
this area. What you got nine?

Speaker 1 (47:30):
It might be like nine only considered three of them albums,
but the other ones were like I had.

Speaker 3 (47:35):
To buy, yeah, because to thank you for buying it.
There's there's a purchase. They're not just you know, they
wouldn't give away. I only consider three when they I
bought nine, so it's all of them at least.

Speaker 1 (47:50):
No, that's what's the name of say that again? What's
the name of your label? The R and B Love? Yeah,
R and B Love, the R and BU Love of
the R and BU label. I've officially locked it in
the R and B You Love because I was album Yeah,
but you love. That's that's kind of my That's that's

(48:11):
my It kind of embodies everything that I do, man,
because I think I'm like a walking poster of.

Speaker 2 (48:22):
Modern R and B influenced by the R and B
we Love. When we talk about the R and B
we Love, it's really it's really.

Speaker 1 (48:28):
The feeling and how to experience those feelings that we
got when we listen to certain stuff, when we watch
certain stuff like so I'm really like a student of
the game at all times. And when I make my music,
like my last album, and I did it with the
album before that, I would put on like even videos
of of Anita, of Luther, of like Joe and like

(48:51):
I mean you name it, mut it and try and
recreate that feeling in the music of what I'm looking at,
you know what I mean, And that's how I knew.
That's how I know when my albums are done, and
when I can listen to a song and it feels
like what I felt. That's why I call it the
R and B you love because it's it's literally I
think there's a formula there, and if you could tap

(49:11):
into the formula and not be scared. It takes a
little more time because everybody's exposed. There's massive exposure to
something that's the opposite of what it is you're trying
to create. But if you're down for the long game,
which aren't, that's really what R and B is, then
you know what I mean, You're cool with making it.
So R and B you love, you love with you?

(49:32):
Do you know all of your albums off hand? I should? Okay,
I want you to name.

Speaker 3 (49:41):
The albums, and as you name the albums, he's gonna
flash the album.

Speaker 2 (49:46):
Because what we got to get into is we got
to get into selling this product. Okay, okay, okay, let's go.

Speaker 1 (49:53):
So are we are we naming just the ones on
streaming platforms all of all of them, Okay. So I
started with an EP called it Ain't Easy, It Ain't
it Ain't Easy. Then I put out a project called
Hollywood and Highland that was like my first like LP
technically street. Yeah, that was my first LP. From there,

(50:19):
I went to Higher Ground, Higher Ground. From there, From
Higher Ground, I think I went to project called twenty
four from twenty four we Should Talk. I think.

Speaker 2 (50:41):
From We Should Talk, a few of these might be
out of order, but these should be all albums.

Speaker 1 (50:45):
From We Should Talk, I did a project called R
and B Kenny, which is where the moniker came from.
Just you know, after we Should Talk, I mean, after
R and B Kenny, I put out a project called
Niggas Getting Motional Too. I felt that title, Yeah, yeah, yeah,
I felt that that was one of the ones, man,
it was. It was a very honest project feelings. So

(51:09):
after after that, I put out Expectations, and that's that
was during the pandemic. That's when, like, that's the project
that kind of started my ascension as an artist. After
that project, actually before Expectations, it was an EP called
Switch that turned into Expectations. After Expectations, I dropped Closer,

(51:35):
which is my album before the last one and my
my latest album, The R and B Love. So I
feel like, yeah, I feel like that's all over you.
It'll be somebody in the comments. Won't sound class my
favorite one. Yeah, countless covers, countless covers like those count

(51:58):
But we want to move your product. Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely,
that's why here. That's why we're here, man.

Speaker 2 (52:14):
We're here to promote the culture, yes, sir, all forms
of especially when.

Speaker 1 (52:18):
It's independent, the real independent.

Speaker 2 (52:22):
See he said he don't got Marvel behind his own
real the real You don't got Marvel, don't.

Speaker 1 (52:28):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (52:29):
And then I need god, I need you to say,
needs you to say, this is the greatest album you
ever heard.

Speaker 1 (52:34):
Then I feel a jingle coming.

Speaker 2 (52:37):
Listen, you got his piano and ship man? You did
you bring the drums with you?

Speaker 1 (52:42):
I got I got twenty dollars. You got it in one?
Do you got it in one?

Speaker 3 (52:49):
You know?

Speaker 5 (52:49):
You know me?

Speaker 1 (52:50):
N you know I have it in one? Of course,
of course I got a stack in the house.

Speaker 6 (52:55):
Man.

Speaker 1 (52:55):
My wife being like, why do you have all these ones?
Just don't care. I don't make it.

Speaker 3 (53:02):
We gotta where is the supreme shooter? We need that
you remember you would have the Supreme No, you had it.

Speaker 1 (53:09):
I did not see. I think I did take it.

Speaker 4 (53:12):
On the road.

Speaker 1 (53:13):
We had had a supreme shooter. They used to shoot
the ones we're going. We were going, Yeah, yeah, I'm
not way.

Speaker 4 (53:24):
Wait out nowhere you're going? Man, Kenyon Dixon, is.

Speaker 3 (53:36):
This the kochk virsion, all your all your adventures songs
you weren't supposed to hear, Yeah, songs you are finally
now a part of you.

Speaker 1 (53:54):
You've seen, you've heard, You've sang a lot of rhyme
with me. If we want to know how of all
these tunes, what's your.

Speaker 4 (54:14):
Top five?

Speaker 1 (54:17):
Top five in the morning? Your top five?

Speaker 3 (54:23):
Top five?

Speaker 1 (54:27):
Your top five? A beasinger.

Speaker 6 (54:32):
Throwing all me so, yes, yes, sir, we wanna know.
You all want to know the twenty dollars I wanna drove?

Speaker 4 (54:44):
Let me know your.

Speaker 1 (54:49):
Yeah, Yes, ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen walking down Doc.

Speaker 3 (55:25):
Dixon, Yes, sir, your top five? Man, that was the
hell of an intro bro every show every Tuesday, Yeah Man,
Top five R and B singers, Top five bro.

Speaker 1 (55:44):
Anita Baker's first introduction in Yeah, she got like it's
a little cry that she has that justdents so emotionally spiritual.
Just yes, Jesus, I'm going to need a Joe Thomas.

Speaker 3 (56:02):
Why Joe Thomas is a hero man. He's one of
the greatest crispy to this day. Incredible.

Speaker 1 (56:12):
I'm gonna go Mario Brom Come on, Mario Mario mm hmm,
it's co hero Listen. I just he really sings.

Speaker 2 (56:20):
I just said this on my Live there that Mario
was the next Generations. Joe one hundred percent agree with that,
and he has an accuracy. Ye, Joe is Joe every
single time.

Speaker 1 (56:35):
Everything. It's crazy. I'm going tank, Yeah, I have to,
brocause let me tell you why.

Speaker 2 (56:41):
Bro.

Speaker 1 (56:42):
How what I was saying earlier about the representation that
the church kids phil for us, hearing you that for
a church kid, it was like, wait, I know this,
It's in different context where I know this. I know
you know what I mean? Like that was that wasn't
an important you were an important bridge for my generation

(57:03):
of church kids who got into R and B. Like
hearing slowly that's a church song, bro, Like, of course
we knew you know what I mean? Yeah, we knew
that already. That's also dance. Although I got into her
later because I couldn't listen to it when it first
came out. I'm going, Brandy, your top five R and

(57:24):
B songs, that's good. Yeah, let's get interested top five
R and B songs. Everybody's expecting me to say Return
of the Mac because that's my favorite song in the world.
It's just it's just get me off the couch. Son,
It's just it's just one of them. You hate it,

(57:46):
so off, Okay up here, I found my people. I
found my people. I get so much hate, he can
tell you. That's my number one song ever. It's one
of the most incredibly stylistic.

Speaker 2 (58:07):
The lyric in itself, you lie to me, you lie
to me, and the mood is exactly the same.

Speaker 1 (58:13):
Every time. He wanted to be right, Bro. He wanted
to be right to her. Bro, he wanted to do
the right thing. He wanted to turn in his player,
talk to talk.

Speaker 4 (58:24):
About it.

Speaker 1 (58:24):
And you lied, lied to him, So now turn Yeah.
I didn't even want to have to do you like that?

Speaker 4 (58:33):
You know what I mean?

Speaker 1 (58:34):
Yeah? I do do.

Speaker 2 (58:40):
Man.

Speaker 1 (58:40):
Hey, the coldest stylistic song.

Speaker 4 (58:46):
I love to.

Speaker 1 (58:48):
Articulation. I gotta meet bro at some point.

Speaker 2 (58:52):
Hey, Lovers and Friends y'all find everybody find lovers and friends,
festival finds. Everyone got to five Mark Morrison, then I
believe I would believe it with your your brand.

Speaker 1 (59:04):
If y'all find you know what you know, bring them
out on my set.

Speaker 2 (59:08):
Yes, when we do the R and B money music
fast we find it what you seen background for, I'll
do it.

Speaker 4 (59:16):
Please.

Speaker 1 (59:18):
I wish you on that one. All right, let's see,
I'm going back. I'm going to return the mac this
R and B soul but uh, no one in the
world and need a bigger It's that perfect display of
of how to emote properly. I listened to that song
to learn how to properly convey emotion. I've literally like

(59:38):
listened to it and it's the second verse specifically, like
she those lyrics. I've never I can't name you many
songs that have a better connection between the lyrics, emotion
and like how it's delivered like that's that's one of
the records to me, It's so into you. It's also
one of my It's I'm a I'm a field person

(59:59):
the way that record feels. If I had to you
be crying, don't you a little bit? A little bit
not a whole much like only like when I buy myself. Yeah,
I turned, I just turned it real loud, you know
what I mean. But that song that feels like girl
asked you on your you had your heart, you know
what I mean.

Speaker 3 (01:00:20):
And that's what I was listening to I was on
tour with to me, Oh my god, bro all them
dates we did every night out there like that song.

Speaker 1 (01:00:29):
Fit that feels like love to me. If I had
to describe, like like love and a song that, it's
something so pure about it, pure about her delivery and
simple and simple but real crazy what you do super simple.
What's crazy about it, though, is then she collaborated with
fab and it did not lose the emotion of this
not lose the emotion the best R and B laugh,

(01:00:58):
I can't get the motherfucker word out little.

Speaker 2 (01:01:00):
That's collaboration of all time, all times. I'm a collaborator.
Nobody wraps on R and B better than fabulous. I'm
willing to agree with that.

Speaker 1 (01:01:13):
Nobody.

Speaker 3 (01:01:14):
I'm willing to agree with that man. He understands the
net of it. Drake, My one is fade, listen, and
that would be a good fade.

Speaker 1 (01:01:24):
My one is fade. But fabulous, but fabulous, but we're
fab wins.

Speaker 2 (01:01:32):
Fab Drake can sing on the record strictly rap, strictly raps. Yeah,
that is crazy to think about, man, Now, Drake ain't
no slaps now. I think Cole should do more because
them that them cold them Cole, Miguel Collab.

Speaker 1 (01:01:52):
I cannot. That is Collab moving right now and not
argue with you, my friend. I can. But the only
reason I give it the fast years is because the
span of time years true, it's proven, the span of time.
He never misses and so into you. In twenty twenty four,
it is still as important as it was in ninety eight. Yeah,

(01:02:20):
I'm trying to choose. I'm out a tie for this song.
The artist s Faith Devans. I'm between come Over as
soon as I get home. But that bridge on Comeover
is one of the best bridges I've ever heard in
R and B. I'm gonna go with so as soon
as I get home, any either of them, that Faith

(01:02:41):
has to be. That's my personal out of those two.

Speaker 2 (01:02:45):
At home, it's just Mark Morrison Anita to me, Faith,
you got a five my fifth?

Speaker 1 (01:02:55):
How could you? Mario?

Speaker 2 (01:02:57):
That's a record and he's singing and the bridge, all
the elements of the R and B.

Speaker 1 (01:03:15):
I didn't even know. Oh my god, bro, you sing
somebody thinking about a ghetto common him.

Speaker 2 (01:03:24):
The only that that song when people when we talk
about the elements of R and B, and then if
you try to use a modern artist, it makes sense
that song has all of the elements that it has,
the feel, it has, the it has the production that
the correct chord changes the bridge.

Speaker 3 (01:03:41):
He's really singing like Lawless record. It's like, man, thank
you Lawless. Yeah, shout out to my guysds.

Speaker 1 (01:03:48):
We did that record. I'm an underdog, stand.

Speaker 2 (01:03:51):
I feel like my sole purpose in R and B
is to convince everybody that the underdogs created, like all
all of my favorite records again goes back to me
first kind of getting hip to Dawkins and Dawkins, so
like that's it's like a lineage there and like a

(01:04:13):
bunch of consistency all of like a huge majority of
my favorite records are all underdog records.

Speaker 4 (01:04:20):
Her jeans and.

Speaker 1 (01:04:23):
I like your style. I like what's going.

Speaker 4 (01:04:28):
What we got.

Speaker 1 (01:04:29):
I feel like we got a cold chick a moment.
Come on. Taking back to Jordan Down, I ain't saying
no Nicks. I ain't saying no name. Hey, I ain't
saying no names, saying what you don't say. She, I

(01:04:51):
ain't saying no name.

Speaker 2 (01:04:58):
Y.

Speaker 1 (01:05:00):
Oh my god, man, that was I'm sick of Oh
my god. That's good. We know that he's not coming
back to play for us next week. He just hit
the last This might need a raise, you might need alo.
That's good. That's good in church, man.

Speaker 2 (01:05:25):
All right, So you know this segment, man, it's a
very important segment of the show. It's called I Ain't
saying no names? Will you tell us a story funny
or fucked up? Funny and fucked up? And the travels
of Kenya and Dixon.

Speaker 1 (01:05:36):
Mm hmm, the Coach of Crypt, the Coach of Crip,
my god, the Lucky Man himself. You know what I mean?

Speaker 2 (01:05:45):
Because you know, we need to make sure that we
put that in it. We put that in the atmosphere. Man,
if you win this Grammy that's coming.

Speaker 1 (01:05:52):
Up, get that. Let's get that for you.

Speaker 2 (01:05:55):
I'm sorry because I don't. I got to actually relook
and see the rest of the people.

Speaker 1 (01:05:59):
That's in it. But I'm yeah, I'm voting for you
because I am a voter. I appreciate you man, you
know I want you to win. I appreciate it. But yeah, man,
we need we need a story. Man, I ain't saying
no name stories. I got it some good. I know
you do. I know you do because you know you've
been there. I'll tell you one. This is more so
like I like this story because there's a lesson in it.

(01:06:22):
There's a lesson in artists and songwriters needing to know
their business and what they're into. So my first you know,
I had signed my first pub deal. I was young,
you know what I mean. Now, I would know, don't
sign this until you have already had records that would

(01:06:45):
you know, increase your leverage and negotiating. But you're young.
The money looks like it's more than I ever had,
so you know what I mean, So sign a pub deal.
I had an M D R C deal because they
don't exist anymore. My deal with percentages, So it's been
everybody watching. Yeah, it's been mentioned on this show, so

(01:07:05):
you know, like it was based on percentages. It was
like two point five but a half songs, well two
hundred and fifty percent as a co writer. If I'm
walking in sessions though, and I'm only getting something out
of fifty percent of the composition.

Speaker 2 (01:07:23):
That's ten songs, that's twenty songs, that's that's it would
have songs whatever.

Speaker 1 (01:07:28):
Yeah, yeah, and you know how you do it a
long time, our com a very long time. So I
was like, I was in a deal, and I was
actually like turned off by collaborating early on because my
mind was thinking, you're never about to get two hundred
and fifty percent, especially like exactly you know, when you

(01:07:48):
do sessions, like when you're just starting with like you know,
publishers they put you in sessions. It's like five five
other people. So some sitting in the session like, man,
I'm gonna walk out of here with three percent, and
I got to get to two hundred and fifty. That
is a lot of songs. And even like as a
as a writer like young coming up in the game
at the time, even if you land a big record,

(01:08:11):
you're not about to get the whole fifty percent of
what you know, what you what you wrote. So I'm like, okay,
So all of my money, I mean, all of my
fulfillment of the contract was based on a project I
had written on and I had written a bunch of
songs and I'm like, I'm counting. I'm like, yeah, we're

(01:08:31):
finna get out of here, going to get to this
next it's actually gonna roll me over into the next option.
And then because only had one option in this contract,
and I'm like, all right, I'm gonna be good.

Speaker 2 (01:08:40):
Niggas be doing publishing numbers like niggas be doing prison center.

Speaker 1 (01:08:47):
On this one charge. So they're gonna let me out,
you know what I mean for good behavior? Yo, that's
I got times.

Speaker 2 (01:08:54):
That's essentially what happened. It's just what, Oh my god,
this is jail talk, bro, if a show felt like jail.

Speaker 1 (01:09:00):
So I'm like, I'm like, okay, cool, I'm counting. I'm
literally like looking in my at my splits every other
day to make sure that the numbers that I'm calculating
are real. I'm like, okay, so this's thirteen, it's twenty five.
I'm like that add up, we got we crossed two
hundred and fifty percent. I'm sure.

Speaker 2 (01:09:19):
Finally time turning the records. The artist went independent in
the middle of that process. Oh no, So little did
I know in my contract independent doesn't count.

Speaker 1 (01:09:33):
Be a major release. I had to be a major release.
The independent didn't count. So here I am with like
with like seven eight raand all of it, all of it,
and they're like, yeah, no, none of this counts. Go
back to yourself. Literally That's what I felt like, Bro.

Speaker 2 (01:09:50):
So that I just remember, like, bro, that had like
turned me off from music because I'm just like, I'm
never getting out of this publishing deal because you you know,
like when you're in and especially like when you're young
like that, you think the only way out.

Speaker 1 (01:10:05):
Is if they let you out based on you fulfilling everything.
I'm not thinking there's no loopholes or like. So I
just remember like feeling defeated. I'm like, I'm never writing
another song, doing another session, like you know what I mean.
And it just so happened that the publishing situation just
kind of like resolved itself, and luckily I was just

(01:10:26):
able to get out of the deal with no real
like no real consequences. I was able to just kind
of get out. I had to let go in order
to get out, I gave up a lot of publishing
on songs that I had already written. That's how bad
I wanted to get out of the deal. However, I
was smart. I read my statements. I knew, you've made

(01:10:49):
all the money you gonna make already. You've made all
the money you're gonna make already. I knew what songs. Yeah,
that made sense to give up. But that for me, man,
that felt like the end of the world. And then
the money had been going like yeah, that advance I'm
talking about. As soon as I got it, I went.
First thing I did I get I went to the
Beverly Center. Bro brought some Gucci shoes. You gotta go,

(01:11:09):
And I was young, you know what I mean. It
was I first yo, I was about center. I was like,
you got to go about it. Five thousand cash, I
mean with with the with the bank envelope, like you
want to envelope?

Speaker 4 (01:11:24):
Yeah, I want to.

Speaker 1 (01:11:25):
I want to envelope take with me.

Speaker 2 (01:11:26):
Too, Bro.

Speaker 1 (01:11:27):
I spent forty dollars on something. I was like, I
was like twenty one. I was like twenty one, twenty two.
I was super young.

Speaker 2 (01:11:36):
So that that money, that money was called you know
what I mean, like it was It wasn't a lot
like so I uh, just thinking like about the reality
of being stuck in this deal and if I go
make some money.

Speaker 1 (01:11:49):
Basically y'all still get to take it. I gotta live
off of you know what I mean, what y'all gave
me that's been gone, like it ain't there no more.
Thank God for touring, because then that's the money I
can make that y'all don't touch. So it's like, I just, yeah,
it put me in a weird position, man, and it
turned me off for a long time, and it took
me a minute to start collaborating, especially because thinking about

(01:12:14):
having to get to that two hundred and fifty percent
made me be like, man, I'm just gonna write everything
by myself because I don't want to have to, you know,
go through that. So yeah, that was a testament to
like it was. It was weird because when I talked
about it after, had a whole bunch of people around
me like, oh, everybody knows not why y'all niggas don't

(01:12:35):
tell me this, Why y'all let me just sign you
know what I mean? So I talk about it because
I want to inform other writers and the artists coming up, like, YO,
know what you're getting into before you should start signing.

Speaker 2 (01:12:48):
But I think the other thing that the artists and
writers should be mindful of too, is that there's this
thing car renegotiation, you know what I mean? Ye yea yeah,
And and I wish someone would would have would have
been able to have that conversation with you before you
got into the mindset of I'm so turned off by
this and I don't because the.

Speaker 1 (01:13:09):
Truth of the matter is that the work will get
you out. Yep, you know what I mean.

Speaker 2 (01:13:12):
It may not be that the work for doing those songs,
that that many and that, but if you get the record, yeah,
that shifts everything, you know what I mean. And you
know we spoke about justin Timberlake earlier. Justin Timberlake was
the shift for me. Me writing Celebrity for InSync completely

(01:13:34):
obliterated my whole deal. Like it was, it was a rap, like, oh,
y'all think I'm gonna show up for what y'all gave
me for before I had celebrity, y'all shure rabbit ass mine.

Speaker 1 (01:13:48):
I need it. I need it.

Speaker 2 (01:13:50):
So either y'all gonna give me this crazy amount I won't,
or y'all gonna let me walk, or we're.

Speaker 1 (01:13:54):
Gonna figure something out.

Speaker 2 (01:13:56):
But it's you know, it's the success and it is
but changes these deals, like people try to people try
to fix their situations without having success. Right, most people
complain about the you know, the bad deal or the

(01:14:17):
bad person when they don't have more success. I don't
give a fuck about who or what I dealt with
early on in my career. Mm hm, that shit was
par for the course for me. That's just me personally,
you know what I mean. And some people are like, oh,
every deal ain't gonna be It's not going to be fair,

(01:14:39):
especially to.

Speaker 1 (01:14:41):
The party that has no success yet. It's going to
be lopsided.

Speaker 2 (01:14:48):
Your first deal is going to be like, why would
I give you more when I have to invest? You're
not going to run to the bank and say, yeah,
so I won't buy this house, right, I think you
should give me this long.

Speaker 1 (01:15:08):
And I shouldn't have to pay none of it back.
Why do you sound crazy? It's not our business works.
We gotta start.

Speaker 2 (01:15:17):
We gotta really start understanding and preaching business to people.
I guess, okay, you should know what you're signing one
so that you can be at one with what that
deal says, because you maybe you need that opportunity, and
if you don't need that opportunity, you don't have to
sign it. But stop saying what somebody made you sign

(01:15:40):
unless they actually physically you know what I mean, if
you signed it up on your own free will and
you were grown up, I want to hear that shit man,
not me, And it ain't Nobody can say I signed
them to a bad deal because I haven't done no
bad deals with no people, you know what I mean.
But I'm saying for people who have done deals they
consider to be bad. Hey, man, if you signed under

(01:16:04):
your free will, you got to deal with the consequences
of that deal. There's some ship that I was signed
to that I was signed to for years.

Speaker 1 (01:16:11):
I had to work my way out of it.

Speaker 5 (01:16:12):
Bro.

Speaker 1 (01:16:13):
I took a lot of money, you know what I'm saying.
I needed that money. Was a signist. I mean, I
was signis some good ship. But it was just.

Speaker 3 (01:16:24):
None of the ship was honored. That's a whole other conversation.
It just wasn't honest by But.

Speaker 1 (01:16:33):
I'm supposed to get you facts.

Speaker 4 (01:16:38):
Man.

Speaker 1 (01:16:38):
It took, and it only took. See for me, that
was my that was my first like just introduced to
the game and introduced to a contract. So it was like,
and what's crazy is the lawyer, you know, you gotta
be careful who you have do these deals because sometimes
they know who they're negotiating for it. And like this

(01:17:00):
went back. Yeah, friends say yeah, So like for me,
it was like to the lawyer, you know, it probably
wouldn't that wasn't a big deal. He probably does like
fifteen of these every day where he's just like, yep,
let's go another one. So like, I'm grateful for the
lessons I learned from it, because now I won't sign

(01:17:23):
anything without understanding what I'm signing. So that's what that's
the that's the positive in it. If it made me
learn everything I could every term. If I don't understand,
I'm looking it up, I'm asking questions. I want to
know what this is. What does this mean?

Speaker 2 (01:17:38):
Like information is available to you, Yep, that's the that's
the key right there. The information is available to you,
right And but what sometimes isn't available to you. It's
how you're gonna pay your rent. Sometimes you have to.
That is a trade off. I did not want to

(01:17:59):
have to move back home. Yeah, I don't want to
have to move back home. Actually I wanted an actual
bed at the time.

Speaker 4 (01:18:07):
Have no bed.

Speaker 2 (01:18:07):
I'll sleep on the floor, you know what I'm saying.
So I'm like, ship, I gotta do this deal, man. Yeah,
we'll see how it works.

Speaker 1 (01:18:16):
That's a very real part of it.

Speaker 3 (01:18:17):
It's a very real part of this business, bro. So
it takes the stories man like that, Like nobody doesn't.
Nobody's really in this ship. Don't have a story like that.
You have to because this ship takes all this part
of it. Yeah, it takes all you got.

Speaker 1 (01:18:36):
I'm glad you didn't stop.

Speaker 3 (01:18:37):
Bro.

Speaker 1 (01:18:38):
We need you in this ship absolutely. You know what
I'm saying.

Speaker 4 (01:18:41):
Like you you are a.

Speaker 1 (01:18:43):
Needed needed voice pin the R and B. We love
the R and B. We love man, appreciate your career.
That's good ship.

Speaker 4 (01:18:52):
I love that you love.

Speaker 1 (01:18:55):
I need a T shirt. I got the merch crack
for you.

Speaker 3 (01:19:00):
Come on, give me easy, ladies, ladies and gentlemen. My
name is Tank Valentine. This is the R and B
Money Podcast, the authority Yes on all things R and B,
especially the R and B.

Speaker 1 (01:19:17):
You love talk about it. You're gonna be doing this
for a long time, my brother.

Speaker 3 (01:19:23):
You have in no way people. You are going special places, man. Yeah,
and I pray and believe that for I.

Speaker 1 (01:19:29):
Appreciate you got a home here, man, good Way. We're
waiting on God, They're gonna be wait you. R and
B Money.

Speaker 2 (01:19:46):
R and B Money is a production of the Black
Effect podcast Network. For more podcasts from iHeart Radio, visit
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 Jay Valentine and at the Real Tank. For

(01:20:07):
the extended episode, subscribe to YouTube dot com, forward Slash,
R and B mon