March 20, 2024 • 73 mins
On this week's episode of The R&B Money Podcast, Tank and J Valentine welcome the unparalleled Marsha Ambrosius. The talented singer-songwriter opens up about her incredible musical journey, from her early days crushing on a McDonald's employee in London to working with legends like Michael Jackson and Dr. Dre. Marsha shares intimate details about the creative process behind some of her most iconic songs, including "Say Yes" and "Butterflies." She also discusses the challenges of being a Black woman in the music industry and the importance of maintaining artistic integrity in the face of a rapidly changing landscape. Tune in for an unforgettable conversation filled with laughter, wisdom, and a sneak peek at what Marsha has in store for her fans this summer. Marsha Ambrosius is Now on The R&B Money Podcast!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
R and B Money.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
We are.
Speaker 3 (00:07):
Thanks take valoti.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
We are the authority on.
Speaker 4 (00:15):
R and B.
Speaker 5 (00:18):
Ladies and gentlemen, money is tank This, my friend, Come on,
is the R and B Money podcast. This is the
authority on all things R and B.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
What the fun is your accent?
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Heard on?
Speaker 3 (00:33):
My friend?
Speaker 5 (00:36):
Be careful, my friend, what you asked for? Because it's
a flow in my spirit? Show is going to have
a certain flow today.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
Come on mate, you know mate, come on, bro.
Speaker 5 (00:51):
Where we try to organize this thing as it flows?
Speaker 3 (00:54):
Is it is?
Speaker 1 (00:55):
It reaches your spirit in your inside.
Speaker 5 (00:59):
It it kind of models poetry.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Yeah, yes, it does flow so well.
Speaker 6 (01:06):
It flows so well, The flows so well, and you
put it together and as like a fluid creek kind
of thing. Ladies and gentlemen, it just got expensive. It's
just the level of gift has gone.
Speaker 5 (01:22):
To the stratuspheares and outer fears and galaxies that we've
never seen. I'm just excited to be here to to
talk to this young lady who's just one of the
most talented human beings I've ever seen in my life.
Than her name, Let's see her name correctly because it
(01:44):
deserves reference.
Speaker 4 (01:46):
Marcia Ambrosious, amazing amazing.
Speaker 7 (01:54):
One more time to me Ambrocious Ambrosious. Okay, so some
people do say Ambrosius, right, Okay, then it's Ambrosious. I
don't even know how to pronounce my own name anymore.
I've heard it back to me so many times wrong.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
How did you were born?
Speaker 7 (02:15):
When I was born, Darling, I came out of the
woman and they said, this is Marcia Ambrosius.
Speaker 4 (02:23):
Ambrosius, that Ambrosius ambros So when I got to America
was like, what's up the Martian Ambrosious or Ambrose or
Ambarrose or ambros Ambrosias.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
So it's like a z I kind of like Marcia amburrows.
Speaker 7 (02:41):
I was referred to us, not even Marsha Amberrose. Oh
they go Marcia amber Ambarrosia Amberrows. I just left it,
you know what. Being in Philadelphia that long, it was
what it was.
Speaker 4 (02:57):
But I love it, Ambrosious.
Speaker 7 (03:02):
With your wonderfully awful British accent.
Speaker 5 (03:06):
Well, are a lot of things I don't do, so
I like to put all of them on display.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
This is why we hear.
Speaker 7 (03:14):
What's up? Guys. I feel like.
Speaker 5 (03:20):
You're like you're like one of the rare artists, one
of the rare entities where you've that you've been able
to maintain a mystique about you, But every time your
name is brought up, it's like a real thing.
Speaker 7 (03:40):
Still to this day, it's lovely to hear.
Speaker 5 (03:43):
I mean, you're you've, you've your your imprint, and I
think it's it's it's because you're wonderfully talented. It is
because you're an awesome human being, but you're very distinct
in how you approach all of it, like it's very
much yours.
Speaker 7 (03:58):
I've been intent My intentions have always been to do
just that. I think I've been such a unique individual
in this very when I say urban space, in our
R and B field. Unfortunately, on one side, it's been
deemed as one thing, one toned, it's this box. And
(04:21):
then you try and do that one thing that makes
you outstanding, and you're seeing how long that can sustain,
and you're like, Okay, how long can I get away
with B and myself before I'm then forced into having
to fine tune this thing that people are grasping towards.
Because what R and B has been the driving force
of our space for however long, And it's wild that
(04:45):
I remember doing my first solo project with late nights
and early mornings, and I had so many gems in
the cut, and I'm like, oh, I can't wait to
put this record out. And there's this one thing I
hope she cheats on you a basketball player, which playing
basketball my entire life just felt like a funny little joke,
(05:06):
a little free STYLI did on what was it ustream
we used to have at the time, freestyled it on
and that's the thing that takes off, not far Away,
not Sour Times, not Lose Myself, not any other record.
The Ratchet one the outlandish statement, and I was like, hmm,
I see R and B and hip hop doing this
(05:27):
fusion thing where the shift is about to happen and
people are going to go ratchet, and there's nothing that
we can do other than hold onto the reins and
still try and find yourself within it. But coming from
a space of I've been able to say what the
fuck I want for so long, it's I should be
(05:49):
able to say what the fuck.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
I want, absolutely absolutely know.
Speaker 7 (05:54):
But you have to stand on that in R and
B and some people have a way of doing it.
Anyone can sing your song and there's no uniqueness to it.
It's just a good song and anyone can sing it,
name an artist, give it to them. But then there's me,
and there are very few people that are just going
(06:14):
to say, Okay, I'm going to sing a Marsha song
because it's such a signature, it's so unique, even if
it's even if it's I'm trying to touch on this
little thing that I think R and B is for
a joke. I hope she cheats. I hope she chooses
the most ratchet thing I think I did with my
space in all of its uniqueness.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
I mean, is it just like or is it just
the truth?
Speaker 7 (06:46):
It's just real I'm saying ratchet coming from me, where
people are like, oh my god, Marshia like say yes,
Marsha like you know. So it's it's the.
Speaker 8 (06:55):
Difference, and maybe we may look at it because we
know you exactly a differently. You know, it didn't surprise me,
of course. In the record, I'm like you, she feel
a way about these lebrons.
Speaker 7 (07:11):
I'm a little better, just a little better. I'm doing
better now. And that was the song, and you know,
but it was still very much R and B.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
Absolutely it's called the truth.
Speaker 7 (07:24):
And that's what R and B is it's just the truth.
You can interpret how it should.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
Should be the truth.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
RB should be the truth, and that's the uniqueness that
stands the test of time.
Speaker 7 (07:35):
And I feel like I can stand on saying that
I've done so for twenty plus years now. That's crazy
to say that you sustain that. But in also praising
what this platform is as well, you and I have
brushed shoulders that entire time. That's insane to go into
(07:58):
this being well not front row. I've only got like
third row tickets to your concerts. I couldn't. It was
sold out by the time I was getting this, so
we've got freebie got in anyway. So there, I am
a tank like your lungs and I'm a fan. And
then coming into it, we're sharing stages together. Absolutely so
(08:20):
not saying your age and I think you've been doing
this one, but it's like to do that in our
field and really claim to not only have made R
and B money, still making R and B money, still
have R and B money. There's a big difference in
(08:40):
that because in our field, a lot of money is.
Speaker 8 (08:44):
I just play private school tuition, so I don't really
get too much R and B money.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
Left this week.
Speaker 7 (08:49):
The fact that you can say that you had it
to give that up, I know what that is.
Speaker 5 (08:55):
It hurts that I got a pond and ship you can.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
It will?
Speaker 7 (09:10):
I hate it. No, we're not claiming that we're actually
going to stand on businesses say that we make and
still and laugh about the luxury in private school because
of what we've done for two plus decades now, that's
insane and incredible, with more to come. I haven't written
(09:33):
my best song yet.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
Talk about loads of them.
Speaker 7 (09:37):
I can write so much more like and Will. There's
too much life to be had. It's too many memories
to make, and just to see the reaction from people
in the audience listening to these songs that we made
over that course of time and it resonated in a way.
It's powerful and I respect that power, which is why
(09:59):
I've only least so much like I've actually contained because
it's a responsibility. You're responsible for someone's happiness, heartache, love, life, hate,
just through the songs that we make. It is a responsibility,
and I do take it seriously. It's terrible, but.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
It should be though.
Speaker 7 (10:23):
Not My music isn't for play play like, don't play
it if you don't mean it like you want to
one night stand and you want to play a Marsha record,
it might turn into forever.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
Listen, I can think you know what, no white ship.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
Have a wife?
Speaker 1 (10:46):
What are we doing? How do let's go back to
the beginning. When does when does someone say? And in
the beginning, give me give me the birthplace of your
unique self?
Speaker 7 (11:03):
Having a crush on the guy that worked in McDonald's
in Campbewell, London, England, South London. He was a friend
of a kid that lived down the street. His name
was Mark. I don't even know his friend's name. I
just knew that he had the old school brown McDonald's uniform, remember,
(11:24):
like the shitty brown with the hat and the clean
pressure like that McDonald Like I have not the big Mac.
So my school was within five minutes walking distance. McDonald's
(11:44):
was like seven minutes the opposite direction. I didn't need
to be over there, but would go over there and
just stand outside the window salivating over well the cheeseburger,
but him as well. And this song I wrote in
my head at the time was called Gonna Get You,
(12:05):
So I was out to get it like like it
was called gonna get You like I was walking down
the road, saw your face. It was so terrible. You
looked at me, Yeah, you were away. It was like
really corny, really cheesy, but the core of it of
it twelve thirteen year old melody. Years go by. Now
(12:31):
I'm in my teens, teens, teens where feelings are true feelings.
And that turned into butterflies. So it was I just
want to touch and kiss and I wish that I
could be with you tonight. You would be butterflies. So
I wrote Butterflies about him at what age I was
(12:53):
like sixteen? I had to be sixteen seventeen because I
was definitely going to that bust up to get the
thirty five thirty five bus to Brixton to play for
the Brixton Topcats. I was still playing ball at that time,
and I would go to that McDonald's every single time
get the bus.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
How long did he work at that McDonald's. It was
like three four years he put it in time.
Speaker 7 (13:17):
I just remember the uniform going from dusty brown to
you know, the white shirt. So maybe it was flipping
burgers at first and then sweeping the floor like the
big exactly exactly, So butterflies happens from that. So my
(13:42):
unique perspective on seeing this very monotonous scenario come from
innocent feelings like oh, one day I'm gonna get you.
I'm gonna get you to I have feelings you give
me butterflies, like all you're gonna do is just walk
away and pass me by. I don't even acknowledge my
smile when I tried to say hello to you. M Yeah,
(14:07):
so I felt that, but really melodically and in composing
certain songs like that stemmed from my obsession with Jodasy.
Speaker 3 (14:18):
There's always that, yeah.
Speaker 7 (14:20):
Like Jodasy has been my reason. Okay, so Prince Michael Stevie,
no particular order, favorite artists of all time, and they're
like the umbrellas of then everyone else because I can
say all the other names, they just go in those brackets. Stevie,
every performer, writer, musician, prince, complete, rock star, abstract in
(14:43):
his own way. Michael was just a fucking star. Yeah, yeah, stars,
legend star of stars, hits of hits, and I loved
them all dearly. I didn't want to make music until
I heard the production of Davante make music like sit there, figure.
Speaker 3 (15:05):
Out anybody in your family making music? Though, or not dad,
your dad.
Speaker 7 (15:09):
My dad was a musician and basketball coach, hence me.
So it was him playing bass or league guitar, singing
in a seventies funk band called Supercharge that were actually
signed to Virgin You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (15:25):
I like that.
Speaker 7 (15:28):
When I was born one and that like Supercharger is
doing it. So I had that background. And there's me
watching my dad play all these instruments and don't touch that,
and he you know, missing me into Okay, I'm gonna
touch it. I'm play this bass real quick, and play
these keys real quick, and play you know. So the
(15:48):
love for music came from just it being around me.
But listening to that Jodicy era, the New Jack Swing era,
I was like, what I think doing? What is this thing?
Let me figure out these chords, Let me listen to
these harmonies. What do you do again? And then I'm
the fifth member of joy Bocally. I can find the
(16:11):
other harmony in anything like.
Speaker 5 (16:13):
It's insane, like maybe I was the fifth member. Do
you think you can be sick?
Speaker 7 (16:16):
We can fight, we can fight.
Speaker 3 (16:20):
He said that way too confidently. I don't know if
you've met.
Speaker 7 (16:28):
You gave yourself a name nice to meet you, Jayon.
Speaker 8 (16:32):
Misters because I'm both mister mister, yeah, I feel you.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
I don know this episode we had.
Speaker 7 (16:44):
And he verified this. Yeah, I don't know we actually verified.
But other than thanked you for being so craciously, I'm kind.
But I will say without I don't know.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
Fifty six. There's a lot of us out here.
Speaker 7 (17:09):
There's no me, there's nine.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
Seriously, I'm going to.
Speaker 7 (17:16):
List all right, listen to any one of my songs
a cappella and really hear my harmony arrangements and just
know where that comes from so you can claim whatever
your spot is. I just know from you. It's all
in there, all of that influences in there. And my
reasons why to create the way I create stemmed from
(17:40):
really picking apart what that was, and it was from
the the interludes, like the nerve of the interludes. We're
just outrageous in nineties R and B and to want
to carry that further and keep the integrity of what
my R and B for me is what I pursued
(18:01):
this entire time. And the longevity in that is why
you can sustain that. Because people want to feel exactly that,
they want to fight for their sixth or seventh position
that they so claim your.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
Set, don't make me called casey.
Speaker 7 (18:20):
I got I'll call the family.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
I'll yeah, I'll.
Speaker 3 (18:26):
Call this mama.
Speaker 8 (18:27):
How about that you love you love?
Speaker 3 (18:32):
I gotta step I gotta step aside on that.
Speaker 7 (18:34):
Okay, So yeah, I might have to bow down to
That's that's that's that's fine.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
I say.
Speaker 7 (18:39):
The worst thing are we fighting over twenty thirty years
from now?
Speaker 3 (18:44):
The worst thing is don't go to an NBA game
with Tank?
Speaker 8 (18:48):
Why every NBA niggas, Mama are the biggest Tank fans
you've ever met in your life. It's the craziest. It's
the craziest thing in the world. I'm like, wait, wait,
who mama is that?
Speaker 3 (19:03):
Oh? You know that's that's that's just man. You know
I had to go saying Hay birthday, I graduated. That's
how he Trump's that all arguments.
Speaker 4 (19:14):
I call the mom that's not fair.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
I get their mama's tickets.
Speaker 3 (19:21):
Their mama's tickets. It's true.
Speaker 7 (19:24):
Yeah, there's nothing you can do about that.
Speaker 8 (19:26):
Nothing Like So when you were so, when you're going
through this phase right where you're you're becoming this songwriter
and you're loving the music, you're also playing basketball.
Speaker 3 (19:38):
How are you.
Speaker 8 (19:41):
Juggling too, because what you're talking about musically is not
a locker room conversation. No, that's not like you're not
taking the Jogsy tapes into the basketball locker room and
y'all talking about the divante harmonies in the in the in.
Speaker 3 (19:56):
The piano.
Speaker 7 (19:58):
That was having well the Walkman at the time, which
is shaky, juggly cassette tape advancing into the CD. It
was me with my headphones and all of the teammates, oh,
sing that song again. Yeah, So that was my way
of sharing it and then getting the you know, still
(20:21):
very insecure in that aren and I didn't really want
to be on any stages, didn't want to be seen,
but my teammates through.
Speaker 3 (20:28):
Your height.
Speaker 7 (20:30):
That again your wife, you can sing, and I'm like.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
You putting in your time.
Speaker 7 (20:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
So that was my.
Speaker 7 (20:35):
Very intimate first experience of putting myself out there. So
that was my version of Okay, maybe I'm onto something.
So I wasn't juggling, not according to my dad, who
was very much you're going to be about this possible
life one hundred percent, or you're going to take music seriously.
And I didn't take music seriously until I tore ligaments.
(20:58):
Can we get the violins or something that moment, because
it was we got devastating, devastating, it was tragic. Keep on.
I heard the crunch, but in America, I wasn't. I
(21:19):
was still overseas. I was playing a three on three
pickup game at Elephant and Castle Gym, and we hadn't
lost the game, and I just wanted to play one
more game. We lost the last game and I was like, nah,
I'm not leaving the floor until we win again. Played
(21:40):
music again, played music. So I played that last game,
and I remember receiving the ball m Remember it was
like yesterday. I went to crossover and as soon as
(22:02):
I hit that pivot crunch, It's like a bricocheted through
the entire gym, and I just want to break down
the crack.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
Lord help me.
Speaker 7 (22:36):
Yeah, it was over then, and then you can start
now after that the whole world and no, there's no
need to get sad.
Speaker 1 (22:45):
It's so great with your extity and we've done nothing.
Speaker 7 (22:50):
So that's what happened. It was a movie scene. It
was like slow motion, and I hadn't seen my life
without basket until that morning, heartbreaking me, crushing, like you
(23:21):
don't picture your life without the thing that you love
until you've lost it. So music hobby can listen to
music all day. My mother's vinyl collection outrageous, Go in
the crib Basketball. I'm up first thing in the morning.
It's late nights and early mornings for basketball. For me,
it was practice Monday through Friday, away game, Saturday, home game,
(23:45):
Sunday repeat. I didn't have a day off, not with basketball.
And then it's gone and I was like, Okay, what
am I going to do. I'm going to write about it.
And I got home, got a diary, got in front
of my piano, and I wrote the song If I
Was a Bird, and that was about losing basketball, which
(24:09):
was then a part of the first Flowsry album. So
If I Was a Bird stemmed from Michael Jordan's documentary
at the time, Come Fly with Me. I used to
watch that'll repeat every day day and it was without basketball,
my life is incomplete. So it's like you have me
(24:29):
caught up in this starry eyed well the dreams, and
it's that one last shot.
Speaker 8 (24:40):
All these songs are about flipping burgers and shooting baskets.
Speaker 7 (24:44):
Regular I take the most regular ship and I make
it your every day like most of my prolific long
jevity long game. I want this music to in the
space forever. A basic sayings it's what you're going to
do is say yes, getting late? Why are you going
(25:04):
to be here?
Speaker 2 (25:05):
Hello?
Speaker 7 (25:06):
How are you? Were you up to nothing? I hope
you choose on you with a possible player. It's very
matter of fact, yeah, far away and every minute you're
going to missing you. So it's going to be a
late night early morning when I come home.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
It just feels like.
Speaker 5 (25:23):
Not not that your universal calling, will you know, make
the floor a little extra slippery at that time or
make your shoes stick to the parquet so that your need.
Speaker 3 (25:38):
Goes to that.
Speaker 5 (25:39):
Not that it does that, right, but your calling has
a way of showing itself and showing up to where
you ultimately don't have a choice.
Speaker 7 (25:57):
I agree with that, and that just comes with what
is our gift. We can run from it if we
want to, and it's gonna be right there going up.
Excuse me. The gift that I gave you, it's time
for you to give it to the world because that's
what you've been blessed with and regardless of where your
head's face is. That what you think this is about
(26:18):
to be, this is actually what it is. So even
when I wanted to quit, like very recently, not quit,
I just feel like I've completed well. I wanted out
of this space. It's like Super Mario Brothers Level eight.
I jumped over the Dragon and Save the Princess. I'm out,
(26:39):
Like it's done. I don't need to do anymore. There's
nothing to prove. I wanted to sell a couple million records,
work with my favorite artists, and I did all of
the things that should be someone's bucket list very early on,
like how a song that I wrote about the Doo
(26:59):
Doo Brown Michael, I mean McDonald's his name might have
been Michael. I don't know, Like who knows. We're just
trying to figure out where are you? I really want
to know where this guy is. I didn't know. Years later,
Michael Jackson would hear a demo that was presented to
(27:20):
him by John McClain, presented to him as a flower
Tree album like look, I want you to hear these Girls,
and a part of that demo package where the original
Flowa Tree album, including two songs that were just demos.
Say Yes was one of them. Say Yes was written
for Rod Eisley and Me and Drey Harris did that
(27:42):
he didn't take, but it was specifically catered to him,
but he didn't take it. So he ended up doing
a duet with Jill Scott for that project and didn't
take Say Yes to Say Yes is just sitting there
is this lonely demo shipped to bab Babyface didn't want it,
so now it's just this outstanding song as well as Butterflies. So, Mike,
(28:03):
is this butterfly song on this flow at You demo?
Speaker 1 (28:07):
Like?
Speaker 7 (28:08):
What's that?
Speaker 1 (28:08):
Though?
Speaker 7 (28:08):
Can I have that?
Speaker 3 (28:09):
Mike?
Speaker 7 (28:10):
You can have the entire album? You know just what
kind of that's two coming to America. That's why, like
between the Big Bucks and this. Okay, so I didn't
know that that's how these things were going to transpire,
but you dream big enough, big dreams happen, So when
(28:33):
it starts to happen, I can't then say not I quit,
but there's gonna be more in me. If that was
my start, I can't start there. And then where do
you go from there? Though?
Speaker 3 (28:51):
Wherever?
Speaker 1 (28:51):
You just keep going?
Speaker 7 (28:53):
And that's exactly what I did. That was the year
two thousand that that demo resurfaces, is repurposed and Andre
Harris and myself go in the b room of a
Touch of Jazz and I'm like, look, I have this record. Ray,
I know that you are the guy you did Long
Walk the Way like my favorite Jill Records. I no issue,
(29:15):
Let's get this. We do that demo. By March of
two thousand and one, we're in the studio with Michael
Jackson telling him what to do and how to do it,
like he's behind the glass like your mike one more time,
bit pitchy one time, me with the talk back, telling
Michael Jackson, I'm twenty three at that time.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
You guys don't yet.
Speaker 7 (29:37):
We signed our deal December, so the end of that year,
so we were already at DreamWorks and then the album's done.
So we're literally waiting for papers at that point to
illegal aliens trying to get this record deal. So it
was hey, let's get you some visas so we can
put you.
Speaker 3 (29:54):
Is that yeah?
Speaker 7 (29:56):
So the album, our album didn't drop until October that
following year. I think by the time all that was
squad Away. Yeah, there's Michael Jackson like Michael mother Jackson.
Speaker 8 (30:10):
And the thing too, like you said, it all comes
from your demos going through the hands of John McClain,
who are and at this point he's at DreamWorks. If
you sign anywhere else for what Michael Jackson never hears.
We just always we like to connect it, you know,
(30:31):
we like to connect the dots. And you know when
people are thinking of why I did this or why
I didn't do this and all these other things, and
what didn't come from something like just signing to this,
you know, Boutiquet.
Speaker 7 (30:50):
Supposed to be with Motown and then it's John McClain
and Michael Jackson and it's might want to go that
route because yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:00):
I'm gonna need these butterflies.
Speaker 7 (31:02):
Yes, And that's how business wise, that's how that all
kind of transpired, which is crazy about Michael Jackson himself
telling me, you know, if this is your beginning, imagine
where you're gonna go.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
Right.
Speaker 7 (31:15):
So Flow Tree go on to go platinum, couple of
Grimy Nuds and toured for years and then.
Speaker 5 (31:21):
So here's a question before you go there, does the
Michael Jackson work Just that being in that conversation and
being in that room make the flow a tree that
much more urgent to the building.
Speaker 3 (31:39):
Did you guys become more of a priority?
Speaker 7 (31:41):
Yeah, well, like you said before, it was still very
much boutique. So it's on the rock side, it was
what alien Ant Farm. On the urban side, it was ourselves,
ron Issley, what's her name? Why am I missing that
right now? I really? Oh no, what you came before? Sorry,
(32:06):
I think, lovely girl, we've actually had conversations. No, I
don't think so. It was very It was this is
two thousand when we signed, but two thousand and one
when all of these things started to happen. So I'm
not saying there was a level of urgency now that
these I think it was a talking point. So even
(32:29):
with our papers not being done, it wasn't like we
could release the album that day and Flower try the
floetic album. We're talking a completely different time in industry,
like our first video was up for a vm A,
like we're up against cold Play like we were. We
had different budgets back then, and so it was it
(32:49):
was different. So I had a different spoiled experience of
what industry was like. And I don't think even with
a Michael Jackson coming into play, when the album was released,
Butterflies were still very much in his the demo on
the actual album, the Butterfly's demo that Marsh was saying,
and this is why.
Speaker 3 (33:10):
Yeah, the fact that you guys were able to use
it on the album too, that was.
Speaker 7 (33:14):
A dream work. It's play and they could because it
was the same building and it was like the the
Silent not so Silent co sign had no Michael, he's
my girls.
Speaker 3 (33:25):
They looked out for me. I'm looking out and that's
what that was.
Speaker 1 (33:29):
I think you should use it as well.
Speaker 7 (33:32):
Do you think he said it just like that?
Speaker 3 (33:34):
Oh you know the voice of everybody be throwing around it.
Speaker 7 (33:36):
Just use this shit man, the Michael voice he gives.
You're a singer. I know you have a deep, husky voice,
but preservation is key. I feel like he only had
that voice. He was preserving every single ounce of his
vocal to just be the icon and performed that.
Speaker 3 (33:59):
He was Jackson talking with the talks off.
Speaker 8 (34:02):
When they talk to you, they talk about they don't,
they don't, they don't project, they don't do a whole bunch.
Speaker 1 (34:06):
Of cracking jokes and laughing and drinking.
Speaker 7 (34:11):
I was in the studio, me and Andre Harris in
the studio with Michael Jackson. It was nothing but jokes.
Speaker 1 (34:18):
Did you have completely full.
Speaker 7 (34:21):
Beverages you beves? No kids?
Speaker 3 (34:26):
What about?
Speaker 7 (34:29):
But we did have smothered turkey chops and mac and
cheese and strawberry shortcake from a soul food spot in
New York called Jezebels. We had that every day, every day,
every day I put on.
Speaker 5 (34:44):
No.
Speaker 7 (34:44):
It was was lovely like Paris and Prince when they
were very very young, just kids chilling in the studio
like it was very family environment. It was a wild time.
Speaker 8 (34:55):
So when you get this record placed, have you done
getting your record deal done?
Speaker 3 (35:01):
Have you done your publishing deal yet? Or did people?
How did that go?
Speaker 7 (35:04):
Okay? So I already had a dusty your first publishing deal,
you know, one of those. So they're just very much
doing me in the studio with whoever see what sticks.
And then I've gone to the States on a whim
to do this flowtry thing that pans out ultimately, and
(35:26):
then it's hey, I've got you know, a placement on Michael.
So we're only up the ante for me and lent
to there like oh ship, We've got a writer who's
got Michael Jackson Record.
Speaker 3 (35:40):
Did you renegotiate absolute.
Speaker 7 (35:46):
In retrospect, you kind of wish you just cashed out
then and ship.
Speaker 8 (35:51):
Yes at the time, but you didn't know that that
money got you to.
Speaker 7 (35:57):
America coming to a May game and had the means
to do it.
Speaker 8 (36:02):
So yeah, yeah, if you don't mind me asking, how
did they give you for your before before you.
Speaker 7 (36:07):
Did ten grand? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (36:11):
Did you have a crazy commitment?
Speaker 7 (36:14):
No, it wasn't that bad of a commitment, but there.
Speaker 9 (36:17):
If it was an MDRC though, absolutely, Okay, Okay, So
if you look at it, like you never had a
record deal yet and you didn't know where these placements
were even coming from, outrageous deal that I was.
Speaker 7 (36:30):
Then stuck into four years because of the renegotiation. Now
they're trying to hold onto you and you're like, well
help me.
Speaker 5 (36:37):
Yeah, but you got in at the time, give us
before the threshold were created, so.
Speaker 3 (36:45):
You were able to with that one album to.
Speaker 7 (36:48):
What needs to do?
Speaker 1 (36:50):
Yeah, move through a turn right, even.
Speaker 7 (36:54):
Up until late nights and early mornings, which is what
twenty eleven, twenty twelve, that wasn't so bad. And I've
had this conversation before with record deals that were signed
pre dating this streaming eerror is how are we supposed
to fulfill album commitments in terms under those same contracts?
Because tower records don't exist. We can't do it in
(37:15):
store signing. There's nothing physical for me to actually give you.
So what stipulates in my deal that I haven't turned
that around already because the stream is not going to
do it the dollar amount my contract, everyone has to
go back to the table. We're like stuck on a deal.
I'd be in a five album deal for one hundred
and twenty seven years now.
Speaker 3 (37:39):
Tape don't count until it reaches.
Speaker 7 (37:43):
Two billion streams like.
Speaker 5 (37:47):
Physical discount for this much of it. The digital only
counts for this.
Speaker 7 (37:53):
But where does it say that in your contract? And
where's the clause that even automatic?
Speaker 1 (37:59):
The automatic based on their negotiations.
Speaker 7 (38:02):
With Right, they've been talking to the digital service platforms,
which is insane. So if you write a lot of
your songs and produce, so that's your hundred percent, and
you might break off a producer if they came in
and say, Okay, I'm going to layer up, so I'm
going to take let's go with eighty twenty. So out
of eighty percent of that record, that you have and
(38:23):
you put it on iTunes or Amazon and you put
it for sale, you're getting a substantial amount of your
eighty percent as it pertains to a sale. What are
you getting now is a stream point the fact that
you said.
Speaker 3 (38:40):
Point fact it starts to start that point it starts.
Speaker 7 (38:46):
So imagine signing these contracts back in the day, your hype.
You've got a record deal, you write, you produce, you
know that your fraction of that portion of the entire
composition is solely yours. Like but Flies seven zero percent,
mind seventy I have that so when it was out,
it's seventy, mine all of it. Now streaming it, seventy
(39:10):
percent of Butterflies by Michael Jackson is reduced to a
point something.
Speaker 3 (39:16):
Yeah, depending on what platform, it could be point zero.
Speaker 7 (39:20):
Appreciate that zero zero seven in my contract.
Speaker 5 (39:25):
Here's also the question, though, because that's seventy still performs
well in in the traditional spaces that it performed in. Right,
you do this? This digital seventy is brand new, brand.
Speaker 3 (39:47):
New, absolutely icing.
Speaker 5 (39:49):
It's like, now we were just talking about this. It
has to be negotiated, right, better.
Speaker 7 (39:55):
Right, But who starts these conversations like.
Speaker 8 (39:59):
Well, ultimately we have to but you. But we have
to do it in a sense outside of the major corporations.
We have to we have to start it from an
independent sense of saying I will not give you my
product like.
Speaker 3 (40:14):
I don't like, I don't care.
Speaker 8 (40:16):
It's the same thing is if if you're Nike and
foot Locker is saying, well, we want to sell your
shoes for this, this is what we want to give you, right,
and you being able to say I don't want to
put my shoes in foot Locker. I'm going to put
them in Champs, right, And you have to you have
to make that right. Yes, costs right, So, and I
think we also have to get into the super fan
(40:38):
space of literally going direct to consumer.
Speaker 7 (40:43):
So think about just saying that. Imagine when iTunes was
iTunes and if I go, oh shit, Tank has a
new release this what was it tuesdays back then? Whenever
day it was, and I'm like, I want to buy
your song. It's ninety nine cents or ninety nine pen
in the UK, I'm going to spend that entire for
just you. Now with a subscription, you've reduced me to
(41:03):
a monthly fee. So I, as the consumer have access
to everything not to specialize in exactly what it is
that I want. I just have this plethora of music
to go through and scroll through and not spend or
invest any time, and it's kind of what the fuck
do we doing?
Speaker 8 (41:23):
But what it is, though, is that it becomes it
becomes a form of just radio in a sense, which
isn't fair.
Speaker 7 (41:32):
It's not fair. It's not fair. It's not a fair game, like.
Speaker 3 (41:40):
To be fair.
Speaker 7 (41:41):
It's never been fair. But we've managed to get the
R and P money where we can and where we
have and sustained it. Not a lot of us can
still get on a stage live and do that part.
It's very much okay, let me rely on what the
wave is right now. Gets something that's trending, and that's
(42:01):
my money, if that's the money. Like, I've never been
in it for that. I've been in it for the
art and I've made money because of it. So I
feel like my intentions were different, like recently having got
in the studio with Doctor Dre and Doctor Dre very
unrealistically saying do whatever the fuck you want? Does that
(42:23):
mean I can play Jesus with music? And that's exactly
what we did in the studio for this project, Casablanco, like,
even when you say it's just this mysterious, Yeah, it's
a bit bigger than an album. And you know, everyone,
marsh Wednesday, it's a bit bigger than just an album.
(42:47):
We're talking doctor dre here. So yeah, what took us
ultimately two weeks to get the grasp of what the
album actually was, to implement the strings into informent having
to clear what we decided to borrow and take from
this time capsule of music during a time when we
(43:09):
didn't know where the world was going, during the pandemic
fucked up out here. So I'm like, if we had
to take the music that we cared about and make
it one thing and listen to it in one space,
what would that be? So it's the audacity to take
Duke Kellington and Michael Jackson and George Benson and Patrice
(43:29):
Russian and Wu Tang and Frank Sinatra and random things
that identify us as musicians as a whole and put
it in one space to then be reduced to giving
it away as a SoundBite or radio.
Speaker 3 (43:52):
You have to you have to now be.
Speaker 8 (43:57):
More what would be the word for just you have
you have to take a different chance with the music
and and not go into these spaces that have just
always been what they are and where people are making
up terms and making of new ways to do bad business,
which you can say, listen, you just have to you
(44:19):
have to take ownership and it completely. It's just my opinion,
especially when if I'm fucking doctor Dre.
Speaker 7 (44:25):
And I'm using as an example.
Speaker 8 (44:28):
You can release it how you please, of course, but
if you want to be a part of their platforms,
the only way is to give it to them either
at their whatever whatever their pricing is, or say, hey,
let's negotiate if you want this album.
Speaker 3 (44:45):
This is the negotiation to it.
Speaker 8 (44:47):
This is these are the numbers that we want or
not are I'm going to now vinyl is getting cracking again.
I'm going to I'm gona press it up in vinyl.
Speaker 3 (44:56):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 7 (44:57):
That's that's the game we're in. That is where we
consumers to absolutely get from any arts that they care about.
It's just where are.
Speaker 1 (45:05):
You going to find it?
Speaker 5 (45:06):
But I think it's a way to do both right.
There's a way to you know, feed the system, but
also from a super fan aspect or from the desire
of the super fan still supply the experience in a
way that you want them to have by creating the
(45:29):
space that they have to come and get it from.
If you are a super fan, if you desire to
really experience this the way it's supposed to be experienced
out there, it's just that just they have the music.
Speaker 7 (45:44):
You like, radio your boom bucks and wait for the
radio stations to come on and praying that they play
that record and pressing record, even with the DJ yelling
all over that shit and you rewind it, crying it
up until the end when it's fading out. There's no
urgency with music like that anymore, or listen to in
(46:06):
a way where we had. It's like we had a
spoiled experience of the way we listen to music or
the way it was presented to us. Like right now,
it's may as well be friggin what's the singles? Websites,
tenders sipe left of? You don't like it, you don't
like it, So yeah, it was Creating orgasms through music
(46:38):
is my thing. So we imagine having Casa Blanco as
a landscape and this very unrealistic, elevated version of life
from a billionaire's perspective, what are those orgasms like now?
So walking to that studio and hearing I mean imagine
(47:00):
hearing say yes for the first time. But the melodies
I heard for this were the first time. I now
have to create different orgasms. So without getting too kinky
for me, no, this is how I operate. By walking
to a studio, I'm seducing every single instrument that's implemented
(47:21):
into the composition. We fucking. Basically, you have to fuck
the music. You have to fuck that shit up, and
you can't. There's no friction there. It's all smooth. So
with every musician that doctor dra had in that studio,
(47:42):
whether that was bluetooth, focus, trev them, joints, sly, all
of these elements had to get fucked up to make
it one thing. So when you press play and it's
this symphony, all of these elements have given each other
(48:03):
space and energy and intimacy all at the same time.
So depending on where your spot is, if it's sometimes
it's my neck, sometimes it's my kneecap, sometimes it's a
brush of my arm, and it's seductive. That's what music
is supposed to do. And I've been doing that for
(48:24):
two decades. Plus starting from that one, I'd say that
was the sexiest song to that particular timeframe that I'd done,
and continue to go on and do way more, whether
that was sixty nine and so Good with the interns
and even late nights and early mornings with Rich Harrison.
(48:45):
It was just all of these moments of sex through music,
and you want to be that. You want to be
that you do when you do your concerts. You're like,
I'm your three some, I'm the threesome. You're in that
room you're listening.
Speaker 1 (49:05):
To I'm the tour. I'm stealing so much of your lingo.
I'm down my credit.
Speaker 7 (49:14):
What you say, I'll say, I ain't taking point nothing
nine compositions, right, that's what we do.
Speaker 5 (49:33):
There's a there's like a there's there's a hierarchy of
of a sensual moments, and say Yes is right on
that top tier with Untitled. That's that's like there's a
(49:55):
high level of songs that are automatically intimate, automatically yeah,
no one's talking, everyone's just trying to figure out who's
gonna go first. That's it. Those top tiers like the
(50:21):
song just don't read the.
Speaker 3 (50:24):
Room right.
Speaker 8 (50:28):
First, and the room ain't really trying to go with you.
Speaker 1 (50:32):
They played it was a time I was earlier.
Speaker 7 (50:38):
There is a time and place, but it's great to have,
you know, the moment in the show where you're like, okay,
you know where this is going. You play that first.
Speaker 5 (50:49):
During my piano segment, I've performed oh with my shirt.
Speaker 7 (50:55):
You know what You've seen that effects, so you understand
the power in that.
Speaker 5 (51:02):
And as you said, I become the threesome not you know,
not figuratively, because I.
Speaker 7 (51:11):
Want the audience to have that experience. It's such a compliment,
like having been coined a lesbian for so long. Yeah,
it's it's yeah the lesbian. There she is. It's not
like I don't know. I've been completely comfortable with my
(51:32):
sexuality for It's the last thing I would hide about
me based on the music that I'd be like, why
I don't mind that attention or that want for you
to me to be it's intimate. That's perfectly fine. It's
the music. I want to be your threesome. However that
(51:53):
goes whatever your preference. It's you give your it's the
power in it. You give that sex away. You can't
help who's going to be turned on.
Speaker 1 (52:04):
I can't.
Speaker 7 (52:04):
You don't know what turns on.
Speaker 3 (52:07):
I can't.
Speaker 1 (52:07):
I'll be trying to tell my wife, babe, you can't manage.
It's how it comes to me. You can't and don't.
Speaker 7 (52:17):
Get and your wife knows. I love, don't stab him.
But this is the responsibility of what it is. You're superheroes, straight, gay,
whatever it is. The music is whatever it is. We
give it away and it's intimate.
Speaker 1 (52:36):
And you let the people interpret it, let them dance
with Yeah, it's intimate.
Speaker 7 (52:41):
Like one night stand. This song One night stand. When
the concept of the song came to me, it was
because of how the music sounded, and I was like, oh,
this is the morning after we sucked. For sure, this
exactly sounds like the triumphant Who the fuck is that
in the covers? I don't even know? The was amazing?
Speaker 3 (53:02):
Who is that in the covers?
Speaker 7 (53:04):
We will never know? Look check the toes like boomerang.
Oh yeah, I know who exactly who that is. And
that's perfectly fine. But it was that morning after sex.
Speaker 4 (53:13):
It was.
Speaker 7 (53:15):
You're under those covers looking at the ceiling like we
should fuck again one more time, just to make sure
it was that good. And then you do You're like,
oh shit, is this forever?
Speaker 2 (53:26):
Then?
Speaker 7 (53:26):
Are we in love? No, it was just one night.
Speaker 3 (53:29):
You say that earlier. If they listened to the.
Speaker 7 (53:31):
Music, your one night could be And that's okay too,
and that's how we made Yeah, eighteen years from now,
I shall not be responsible for any child support incurred,
nor the godmother of any of you.
Speaker 5 (53:49):
Are you giving us a wind though? Like like a wind,
like you're really giving us. You're giving us the magical pitch, right,
You're giving us all of the Do we get all
the intimate details.
Speaker 7 (54:02):
And the camera and I can I can tell you
that's ladies and gentlemen, can I give Can I say
eight days? I'm looking off camera right now, so we
can say a March date. You will be getting something
and the March something is coming and it's going to
(54:24):
be a cool summer.
Speaker 3 (54:29):
Yeah, come on you piano, Come on man.
Speaker 1 (54:35):
You know, I just.
Speaker 5 (54:39):
To speak of us being superheroes. Respect the fields. A
lot of the music that we've sang and we've written
and produced, and there's a lot of music that has inspired.
Speaker 3 (55:06):
You to do what you do.
Speaker 2 (55:10):
Mm hmmm.
Speaker 5 (55:13):
So the people who watch the R and B Money podcast,
they want to know what they want.
Speaker 10 (55:17):
To know you.
Speaker 4 (55:19):
They want to know.
Speaker 10 (55:22):
I want to know top fave, your.
Speaker 2 (55:34):
Top five bot top five?
Speaker 5 (55:42):
You're top five are besing, are and B songs.
Speaker 2 (55:52):
We want to know.
Speaker 1 (55:54):
We want this slow. Just let it go and let
us know your top.
Speaker 2 (56:04):
Yeah five, it's really good.
Speaker 1 (56:39):
Your top five R and B singers.
Speaker 7 (56:47):
No particular order. Two of those spots will be placed,
whether they should or shouldn't be anyone's top five, but
they're the vocalists of vocalists for me, Luther Whitney, those
(57:09):
two spots are just taken. Yes, So now I'm down
to three. Michael Jackson takes like three versions of himself
because I love ABC Mike, I love Off the Wall, Mike,
the Dirty Diana. Mike did something else to me. So
(57:32):
it's almost like he's three and one.
Speaker 1 (57:35):
Not almost, he absolutely is.
Speaker 3 (57:37):
He's him.
Speaker 7 (57:39):
Can you have Casey and Jojo as one? Okay? Now?
For two voices to be so different and compliment each
other in such a way that made them one hasn't
been matched to this day to me, because listening to
(58:01):
the difference of a very sensitive, almost soprano jojo and
its pure high tone to Casey's growl, it's almost like
you'd be threatened to sing after case, but not if
you're Jojo anyone else. But you know what I'm saying, like,
(58:22):
and it's only because it's been recently, like Donny Hathaway,
and it took me a couple of different people that
would have been in my top five. But someday we'll
all be free that song. I don't think I could
not cry if I hear it, And it's the power
(58:43):
in a vocal being able to do that to me.
And five is unfair because it means I don't get
to mention who currently holds spots, whether that's Jasmine Sullivan,
you know what I mean, Like I'm what she can
do with her vocal, Tina Marie what with her vocal?
(59:10):
Something like this, But this is all Stevie Wonder. It's
not fair the stories that he can tell with his
tongue before even lyrics come into it and claims he
can't see. We know that you can see.
Speaker 8 (59:26):
It's fine, you're going it okay because I'm not getting
in that you in tank.
Speaker 3 (59:33):
I'm not getting in that.
Speaker 1 (59:34):
Agree.
Speaker 3 (59:35):
I didn't. I didn't agree.
Speaker 7 (59:43):
I see us in the park, do you.
Speaker 3 (59:48):
Man? I don't want to smoke Steve. I don't want to.
Speaker 1 (59:53):
I love Steve from when I heard Stevie Fack.
Speaker 3 (59:56):
I'm not gonna do this with you. Watch go do
switch cap.
Speaker 7 (01:00:04):
It's not fair. How dead there's a ribbon in the
sky for our love?
Speaker 2 (01:00:09):
Is there?
Speaker 7 (01:00:12):
Is it up there for our lives?
Speaker 3 (01:00:16):
I've actually never seen one in the sky.
Speaker 11 (01:00:19):
So he did.
Speaker 3 (01:00:23):
He has? That was a lot. I think I left handed.
Speaker 1 (01:00:31):
Wade.
Speaker 5 (01:00:31):
Okay, here we go, get your top five R and
B songs.
Speaker 7 (01:00:39):
Five okay, because we didn't say that because we didn't
need to get Okay. I want to spend the Night
by Bill Withers.
Speaker 3 (01:00:53):
We go Bill Weathers.
Speaker 7 (01:00:57):
I want Anthony Hamilton to cover it. And I feel
like you get a Grammy. You heard that's one of
my favorite songs, the breakup song by me?
Speaker 1 (01:01:12):
Mmm, okay, come on mine as.
Speaker 8 (01:01:13):
Well, because like, get off publishing for all your niggas
out there making y'all playlist.
Speaker 7 (01:01:19):
The breakup song was like listen to that ship that came.
Speaker 3 (01:01:24):
From a Really that's your favorite song of yours?
Speaker 7 (01:01:26):
No, I have way more than that. But we're talking
about you said, what if I was doing with songs
like you? Wrote that ship melodically did that.
Speaker 3 (01:01:35):
That's you.
Speaker 1 (01:01:38):
It's in there.
Speaker 7 (01:01:41):
I can't help it. Thank you Stevie to give him that.
Speaker 3 (01:01:46):
To Mike looking out for the bro.
Speaker 7 (01:01:48):
Definitely looked out for the bro.
Speaker 3 (01:01:51):
Mm hmmm.
Speaker 1 (01:01:52):
What a joint to.
Speaker 7 (01:01:56):
Say with this five the bad album?
Speaker 1 (01:02:00):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 7 (01:02:01):
Can we have that as like one entire album off
the respect almost I am album ever creates thriller? Okay, fine,
you're doing what you're doing still to this day to
follow that ship up and have the nerve to say
(01:02:21):
there's no skips on there. That's one whole thing. Remember
the time is not ship Okay, forever, my lady Joy.
Because they were four very young black men with Dr
(01:02:42):
Martin's on and like see through the zipper Johns. So
you're having my baby and it means so much to me.
Speaker 1 (01:02:55):
That is nothing more pressure.
Speaker 7 (01:02:59):
You know what I'm saying. It's the narrative that we
were giving nineties black men to love and support the
family bond.
Speaker 1 (01:03:11):
I'll be talking in my accent after you've.
Speaker 7 (01:03:14):
Got the rest of your.
Speaker 3 (01:03:17):
Seen too many episodes of Ti Boy Gangs of London,
that's a good one.
Speaker 7 (01:03:24):
I've lived in America for like twenty plus years, so
if I'm around you guys, I'm Philadelphia on the camera.
You know what, see kind of.
Speaker 1 (01:03:45):
One more second? Can we get it, Jack?
Speaker 3 (01:03:48):
We need it, We get it, We need it.
Speaker 11 (01:03:50):
I ain't saying no names. I ain't saying no names,
no names. Name what you.
Speaker 7 (01:04:14):
Five facts?
Speaker 3 (01:04:14):
Ye m perfect time and perfect time and very special
segment of the show card.
Speaker 8 (01:04:23):
I ain't saying no names. Will you give us a
story funny or fucked up? Funny and fucked up only
rude to the game. You can't say no names. I
mean it could be overseas, middle c under the sea,
wherever you want to be. Oh, you got to do
(01:04:45):
just tell the story without saying names.
Speaker 7 (01:04:49):
Okay. There was this one time, oh yeah, on tour
and there was a day off in Amsterdam, so said
(01:05:17):
artists decided to partake in what you do when you're
in Amsterdam, which was get high, like really high, like
spark up in the hotel. The concierge lit you up
high and it's you just checked in. It's noon, and
(01:05:41):
that artist proceeded to smoke go to a cafe across
the street. There was a menu full of delicious treats
like marshmallowsmores and cookie dough and stuff like that, and
(01:06:01):
it infused with more with.
Speaker 3 (01:06:06):
More of it.
Speaker 7 (01:06:07):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Amsterdam. So of course they picked the
marshmallow small one took that to the face and they
were even more high. So on this day off, before
you know it, sun up, sun goes down. What happens
(01:06:27):
in Amsterdam red light district. So that artist in the
band decide to go down there and see what all
the fuss is about. So in doing so, you look
through a couple of those glass windows. It's some sexy
shit and you find yourself in there and you're high.
(01:06:52):
So this artist goes in there, gets up to whatever,
comes back outside, finds a sex shop, goes in the
sex shop and buys a sex toy. So this artist
then decides that it would be a good idea to
(01:07:14):
go back to the hotel and try this thing out
from Amsterdam. Might be a different feeling, I don't know.
So lobby call for the departure of the tour bus
to take that artist to the next city was coming up,
(01:07:36):
so they decided to take all of this stuff out
the room, take the sex toy, get on the bus
before anyone else gets on this actual bus, and partake there.
So they wouldn't pass out in the room. And you know,
miss lobby call made sense to that artist at the time.
(01:08:00):
So get all the stuff, get the code to the bus,
put the bags, you know where they're supposed to be.
Get in the bunk. Now, if you've been on tour,
you know when the generator is not on, pitch black
on them buses. Pitch can't see shit. But work out
(01:08:22):
one bunk, two bunk, feel your way down to the bottom.
You're in the middle bottom bunk knows that artist, not
the one on the right, the one on the left.
I told them to get in that bunk. So the
artists got in the bunk that belonged to them, or
(01:08:44):
so they thought. Batteries were included, and they proceed to
go to town with this toy for however long.
Speaker 3 (01:09:00):
It took.
Speaker 7 (01:09:02):
To not only forget what actually happened, but wake up
the following morning as the bus is in motion. So
whatever happened in between going gazoo has just done a
don't recall. What the fuck. The artist then woke up
(01:09:24):
while the bus is moving. So the bus is moving,
that means everybody's on the bus. Yeah, where the fuck
is the fucking sex toys? This artist thinking they go
to what did they say they went to lean up
to go it's still in between said thighs where it
(01:09:48):
previously allowed the artist to pass out, and it's still on.
It switches on because the artist is now having what
feels like a mold support orgasm while banging their head
on the top of the other bunk, trying to pretend
that nothing's happening, that they've lost something or you can't
(01:10:10):
find you can hear commotion, what the fuck is going on?
Finally find the switch, it's off. They look out the bunk.
Everyone's kind of you know, rustling curtains to like seeing
what the fuck has happened? And the sex toy packaging.
(01:10:31):
It's just everywhere, like you know that plastic that you
can't regard. Get kid, You're like, why the fuck did
I get this ship? I don't even know how. You can't.
There's no scissors for it. You're breaking ship. And I
think that artist was talked about for the rest of
(01:10:52):
the tour, and that's the story. I'm sticking to it.
No names.
Speaker 8 (01:11:00):
Wow, they really wanted it. Whoever was could not wait.
Speaker 1 (01:11:08):
I just couldn't to have it.
Speaker 7 (01:11:10):
A bunch of them. It was amazing. So they told
me Amsterdam days off in Amsterdam. It's a song, Drake,
I'm telling you now.
Speaker 1 (01:11:31):
Of Asterdam.
Speaker 3 (01:11:34):
I just wanted it's a great way to wrap it up.
Speaker 5 (01:11:37):
First of all, thank you so much for coming. You
know what I mean, you are you know we consider
your family and but your time, your energy, your artistry,
all of these things mean something to us, and so
we value your presence and we value march.
Speaker 7 (01:11:59):
Yeah said one night stands only that's what that's what
you say. They turn into forevers and then you're welcome.
Speaker 3 (01:12:08):
You're welcome.
Speaker 7 (01:12:10):
Listen.
Speaker 5 (01:12:11):
Sometimes you got to experience what the experience is going
to be like in order to know if you want
to continue experiencing the Thanks so, thank you, We appreciate you.
This is here for you anytime, any any anytime. And
and thank you.
Speaker 1 (01:12:31):
My family, ladies and gentleman.
Speaker 5 (01:12:33):
In his take, and this is the Army Money podcast,
the authority on all things R and B and she
is her my shirt roses.
Speaker 3 (01:12:56):
Come on from the Womb.
Speaker 2 (01:12:59):
Money.
Speaker 8 (01:13:01):
R and B Money is a production of the Black
Effect podcast Network. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, 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
Jyvalentine and at the Real Tank. For the extended episode,
(01:13:22):
subscribe to YouTube dot com, Forward, slash r, and b
Money
R and B Money.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
We are.
Speaker 3 (00:07):
Thanks take valoti.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
We are the authority on.
Speaker 4 (00:15):
R and B.
Speaker 5 (00:18):
Ladies and gentlemen, money is tank This, my friend, Come on,
is the R and B Money podcast. This is the
authority on all things R and B.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
What the fun is your accent?
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Heard on?
Speaker 3 (00:33):
My friend?
Speaker 5 (00:36):
Be careful, my friend, what you asked for? Because it's
a flow in my spirit? Show is going to have
a certain flow today.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
Come on mate, you know mate, come on, bro.
Speaker 5 (00:51):
Where we try to organize this thing as it flows?
Speaker 3 (00:54):
Is it is?
Speaker 1 (00:55):
It reaches your spirit in your inside.
Speaker 5 (00:59):
It it kind of models poetry.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Yeah, yes, it does flow so well.
Speaker 6 (01:06):
It flows so well, The flows so well, and you
put it together and as like a fluid creek kind
of thing. Ladies and gentlemen, it just got expensive. It's
just the level of gift has gone.
Speaker 5 (01:22):
To the stratuspheares and outer fears and galaxies that we've
never seen. I'm just excited to be here to to
talk to this young lady who's just one of the
most talented human beings I've ever seen in my life.
Than her name, Let's see her name correctly because it
(01:44):
deserves reference.
Speaker 4 (01:46):
Marcia Ambrosious, amazing amazing.
Speaker 7 (01:54):
One more time to me Ambrocious Ambrosious. Okay, so some
people do say Ambrosius, right, Okay, then it's Ambrosious. I
don't even know how to pronounce my own name anymore.
I've heard it back to me so many times wrong.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
How did you were born?
Speaker 7 (02:15):
When I was born, Darling, I came out of the
woman and they said, this is Marcia Ambrosius.
Speaker 4 (02:23):
Ambrosius, that Ambrosius ambros So when I got to America
was like, what's up the Martian Ambrosious or Ambrose or
Ambarrose or ambros Ambrosias.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
So it's like a z I kind of like Marcia amburrows.
Speaker 7 (02:41):
I was referred to us, not even Marsha Amberrose. Oh
they go Marcia amber Ambarrosia Amberrows. I just left it,
you know what. Being in Philadelphia that long, it was
what it was.
Speaker 4 (02:57):
But I love it, Ambrosious.
Speaker 7 (03:02):
With your wonderfully awful British accent.
Speaker 5 (03:06):
Well, are a lot of things I don't do, so
I like to put all of them on display.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
This is why we hear.
Speaker 7 (03:14):
What's up? Guys. I feel like.
Speaker 5 (03:20):
You're like you're like one of the rare artists, one
of the rare entities where you've that you've been able
to maintain a mystique about you, But every time your
name is brought up, it's like a real thing.
Speaker 7 (03:40):
Still to this day, it's lovely to hear.
Speaker 5 (03:43):
I mean, you're you've, you've your your imprint, and I
think it's it's it's because you're wonderfully talented. It is
because you're an awesome human being, but you're very distinct
in how you approach all of it, like it's very
much yours.
Speaker 7 (03:58):
I've been intent My intentions have always been to do
just that. I think I've been such a unique individual
in this very when I say urban space, in our
R and B field. Unfortunately, on one side, it's been
deemed as one thing, one toned, it's this box. And
(04:21):
then you try and do that one thing that makes
you outstanding, and you're seeing how long that can sustain,
and you're like, Okay, how long can I get away
with B and myself before I'm then forced into having
to fine tune this thing that people are grasping towards.
Because what R and B has been the driving force
of our space for however long, And it's wild that
(04:45):
I remember doing my first solo project with late nights
and early mornings, and I had so many gems in
the cut, and I'm like, oh, I can't wait to
put this record out. And there's this one thing I
hope she cheats on you a basketball player, which playing
basketball my entire life just felt like a funny little joke,
(05:06):
a little free STYLI did on what was it ustream
we used to have at the time, freestyled it on
and that's the thing that takes off, not far Away,
not Sour Times, not Lose Myself, not any other record.
The Ratchet one the outlandish statement, and I was like, hmm,
I see R and B and hip hop doing this
(05:27):
fusion thing where the shift is about to happen and
people are going to go ratchet, and there's nothing that
we can do other than hold onto the reins and
still try and find yourself within it. But coming from
a space of I've been able to say what the
fuck I want for so long, it's I should be
(05:49):
able to say what the fuck.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
I want, absolutely absolutely know.
Speaker 7 (05:54):
But you have to stand on that in R and
B and some people have a way of doing it.
Anyone can sing your song and there's no uniqueness to it.
It's just a good song and anyone can sing it,
name an artist, give it to them. But then there's me,
and there are very few people that are just going
(06:14):
to say, Okay, I'm going to sing a Marsha song
because it's such a signature, it's so unique, even if
it's even if it's I'm trying to touch on this
little thing that I think R and B is for
a joke. I hope she cheats. I hope she chooses
the most ratchet thing I think I did with my
space in all of its uniqueness.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
I mean, is it just like or is it just
the truth?
Speaker 7 (06:46):
It's just real I'm saying ratchet coming from me, where
people are like, oh my god, Marshia like say yes,
Marsha like you know. So it's it's the.
Speaker 8 (06:55):
Difference, and maybe we may look at it because we
know you exactly a differently. You know, it didn't surprise me,
of course. In the record, I'm like you, she feel
a way about these lebrons.
Speaker 7 (07:11):
I'm a little better, just a little better. I'm doing
better now. And that was the song, and you know,
but it was still very much R and B.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
Absolutely it's called the truth.
Speaker 7 (07:24):
And that's what R and B is it's just the truth.
You can interpret how it should.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
Should be the truth.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
RB should be the truth, and that's the uniqueness that
stands the test of time.
Speaker 7 (07:35):
And I feel like I can stand on saying that
I've done so for twenty plus years now. That's crazy
to say that you sustain that. But in also praising
what this platform is as well, you and I have
brushed shoulders that entire time. That's insane to go into
(07:58):
this being well not front row. I've only got like
third row tickets to your concerts. I couldn't. It was
sold out by the time I was getting this, so
we've got freebie got in anyway. So there, I am
a tank like your lungs and I'm a fan. And
then coming into it, we're sharing stages together. Absolutely so
(08:20):
not saying your age and I think you've been doing
this one, but it's like to do that in our
field and really claim to not only have made R
and B money, still making R and B money, still
have R and B money. There's a big difference in
(08:40):
that because in our field, a lot of money is.
Speaker 8 (08:44):
I just play private school tuition, so I don't really
get too much R and B money.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
Left this week.
Speaker 7 (08:49):
The fact that you can say that you had it
to give that up, I know what that is.
Speaker 5 (08:55):
It hurts that I got a pond and ship you can.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
It will?
Speaker 7 (09:10):
I hate it. No, we're not claiming that we're actually
going to stand on businesses say that we make and
still and laugh about the luxury in private school because
of what we've done for two plus decades now, that's
insane and incredible, with more to come. I haven't written
(09:33):
my best song yet.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
Talk about loads of them.
Speaker 7 (09:37):
I can write so much more like and Will. There's
too much life to be had. It's too many memories
to make, and just to see the reaction from people
in the audience listening to these songs that we made
over that course of time and it resonated in a way.
It's powerful and I respect that power, which is why
(09:59):
I've only least so much like I've actually contained because
it's a responsibility. You're responsible for someone's happiness, heartache, love, life, hate,
just through the songs that we make. It is a responsibility,
and I do take it seriously. It's terrible, but.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
It should be though.
Speaker 7 (10:23):
Not My music isn't for play play like, don't play
it if you don't mean it like you want to
one night stand and you want to play a Marsha record,
it might turn into forever.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
Listen, I can think you know what, no white ship.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
Have a wife?
Speaker 1 (10:46):
What are we doing? How do let's go back to
the beginning. When does when does someone say? And in
the beginning, give me give me the birthplace of your
unique self?
Speaker 7 (11:03):
Having a crush on the guy that worked in McDonald's
in Campbewell, London, England, South London. He was a friend
of a kid that lived down the street. His name
was Mark. I don't even know his friend's name. I
just knew that he had the old school brown McDonald's uniform, remember,
(11:24):
like the shitty brown with the hat and the clean
pressure like that McDonald Like I have not the big Mac.
So my school was within five minutes walking distance. McDonald's
(11:44):
was like seven minutes the opposite direction. I didn't need
to be over there, but would go over there and
just stand outside the window salivating over well the cheeseburger,
but him as well. And this song I wrote in
my head at the time was called Gonna Get You,
(12:05):
So I was out to get it like like it
was called gonna get You like I was walking down
the road, saw your face. It was so terrible. You
looked at me, Yeah, you were away. It was like
really corny, really cheesy, but the core of it of
it twelve thirteen year old melody. Years go by. Now
(12:31):
I'm in my teens, teens, teens where feelings are true feelings.
And that turned into butterflies. So it was I just
want to touch and kiss and I wish that I
could be with you tonight. You would be butterflies. So
I wrote Butterflies about him at what age I was
(12:53):
like sixteen? I had to be sixteen seventeen because I
was definitely going to that bust up to get the
thirty five thirty five bus to Brixton to play for
the Brixton Topcats. I was still playing ball at that time,
and I would go to that McDonald's every single time
get the bus.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
How long did he work at that McDonald's. It was
like three four years he put it in time.
Speaker 7 (13:17):
I just remember the uniform going from dusty brown to
you know, the white shirt. So maybe it was flipping
burgers at first and then sweeping the floor like the
big exactly exactly, So butterflies happens from that. So my
(13:42):
unique perspective on seeing this very monotonous scenario come from
innocent feelings like oh, one day I'm gonna get you.
I'm gonna get you to I have feelings you give
me butterflies, like all you're gonna do is just walk
away and pass me by. I don't even acknowledge my
smile when I tried to say hello to you. M Yeah,
(14:07):
so I felt that, but really melodically and in composing
certain songs like that stemmed from my obsession with Jodasy.
Speaker 3 (14:18):
There's always that, yeah.
Speaker 7 (14:20):
Like Jodasy has been my reason. Okay, so Prince Michael Stevie,
no particular order, favorite artists of all time, and they're
like the umbrellas of then everyone else because I can
say all the other names, they just go in those brackets. Stevie,
every performer, writer, musician, prince, complete, rock star, abstract in
(14:43):
his own way. Michael was just a fucking star. Yeah, yeah, stars,
legend star of stars, hits of hits, and I loved
them all dearly. I didn't want to make music until
I heard the production of Davante make music like sit there, figure.
Speaker 3 (15:05):
Out anybody in your family making music? Though, or not dad,
your dad.
Speaker 7 (15:09):
My dad was a musician and basketball coach, hence me.
So it was him playing bass or league guitar, singing
in a seventies funk band called Supercharge that were actually
signed to Virgin You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (15:25):
I like that.
Speaker 7 (15:28):
When I was born one and that like Supercharger is
doing it. So I had that background. And there's me
watching my dad play all these instruments and don't touch that,
and he you know, missing me into Okay, I'm gonna
touch it. I'm play this bass real quick, and play
these keys real quick, and play you know. So the
(15:48):
love for music came from just it being around me.
But listening to that Jodicy era, the New Jack Swing era,
I was like, what I think doing? What is this thing?
Let me figure out these chords, Let me listen to
these harmonies. What do you do again? And then I'm
the fifth member of joy Bocally. I can find the
(16:11):
other harmony in anything like.
Speaker 5 (16:13):
It's insane, like maybe I was the fifth member. Do
you think you can be sick?
Speaker 7 (16:16):
We can fight, we can fight.
Speaker 3 (16:20):
He said that way too confidently. I don't know if
you've met.
Speaker 7 (16:28):
You gave yourself a name nice to meet you, Jayon.
Speaker 8 (16:32):
Misters because I'm both mister mister, yeah, I feel you.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
I don know this episode we had.
Speaker 7 (16:44):
And he verified this. Yeah, I don't know we actually verified.
But other than thanked you for being so craciously, I'm kind.
But I will say without I don't know.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
Fifty six. There's a lot of us out here.
Speaker 7 (17:09):
There's no me, there's nine.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
Seriously, I'm going to.
Speaker 7 (17:16):
List all right, listen to any one of my songs
a cappella and really hear my harmony arrangements and just
know where that comes from so you can claim whatever
your spot is. I just know from you. It's all
in there, all of that influences in there. And my
reasons why to create the way I create stemmed from
(17:40):
really picking apart what that was, and it was from
the the interludes, like the nerve of the interludes. We're
just outrageous in nineties R and B and to want
to carry that further and keep the integrity of what
my R and B for me is what I pursued
(18:01):
this entire time. And the longevity in that is why
you can sustain that. Because people want to feel exactly that,
they want to fight for their sixth or seventh position
that they so claim your.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
Set, don't make me called casey.
Speaker 7 (18:20):
I got I'll call the family.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
I'll yeah, I'll.
Speaker 3 (18:26):
Call this mama.
Speaker 8 (18:27):
How about that you love you love?
Speaker 3 (18:32):
I gotta step I gotta step aside on that.
Speaker 7 (18:34):
Okay, So yeah, I might have to bow down to
That's that's that's that's fine.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
I say.
Speaker 7 (18:39):
The worst thing are we fighting over twenty thirty years
from now?
Speaker 3 (18:44):
The worst thing is don't go to an NBA game
with Tank?
Speaker 8 (18:48):
Why every NBA niggas, Mama are the biggest Tank fans
you've ever met in your life. It's the craziest. It's
the craziest thing in the world. I'm like, wait, wait,
who mama is that?
Speaker 3 (19:03):
Oh? You know that's that's that's just man. You know
I had to go saying Hay birthday, I graduated. That's
how he Trump's that all arguments.
Speaker 4 (19:14):
I call the mom that's not fair.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
I get their mama's tickets.
Speaker 3 (19:21):
Their mama's tickets. It's true.
Speaker 7 (19:24):
Yeah, there's nothing you can do about that.
Speaker 8 (19:26):
Nothing Like So when you were so, when you're going
through this phase right where you're you're becoming this songwriter
and you're loving the music, you're also playing basketball.
Speaker 3 (19:38):
How are you.
Speaker 8 (19:41):
Juggling too, because what you're talking about musically is not
a locker room conversation. No, that's not like you're not
taking the Jogsy tapes into the basketball locker room and
y'all talking about the divante harmonies in the in the in.
Speaker 3 (19:56):
The piano.
Speaker 7 (19:58):
That was having well the Walkman at the time, which
is shaky, juggly cassette tape advancing into the CD. It
was me with my headphones and all of the teammates, oh,
sing that song again. Yeah, So that was my way
of sharing it and then getting the you know, still
(20:21):
very insecure in that aren and I didn't really want
to be on any stages, didn't want to be seen,
but my teammates through.
Speaker 3 (20:28):
Your height.
Speaker 7 (20:30):
That again your wife, you can sing, and I'm like.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
You putting in your time.
Speaker 7 (20:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
So that was my.
Speaker 7 (20:35):
Very intimate first experience of putting myself out there. So
that was my version of Okay, maybe I'm onto something.
So I wasn't juggling, not according to my dad, who
was very much you're going to be about this possible
life one hundred percent, or you're going to take music seriously.
And I didn't take music seriously until I tore ligaments.
(20:58):
Can we get the violins or something that moment, because
it was we got devastating, devastating, it was tragic. Keep on.
I heard the crunch, but in America, I wasn't. I
(21:19):
was still overseas. I was playing a three on three
pickup game at Elephant and Castle Gym, and we hadn't
lost the game, and I just wanted to play one
more game. We lost the last game and I was like, nah,
I'm not leaving the floor until we win again. Played
(21:40):
music again, played music. So I played that last game,
and I remember receiving the ball m Remember it was
like yesterday. I went to crossover and as soon as
(22:02):
I hit that pivot crunch, It's like a bricocheted through
the entire gym, and I just want to break down
the crack.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
Lord help me.
Speaker 7 (22:36):
Yeah, it was over then, and then you can start
now after that the whole world and no, there's no
need to get sad.
Speaker 1 (22:45):
It's so great with your extity and we've done nothing.
Speaker 7 (22:50):
So that's what happened. It was a movie scene. It
was like slow motion, and I hadn't seen my life
without basket until that morning, heartbreaking me, crushing, like you
(23:21):
don't picture your life without the thing that you love
until you've lost it. So music hobby can listen to
music all day. My mother's vinyl collection outrageous, Go in
the crib Basketball. I'm up first thing in the morning.
It's late nights and early mornings for basketball. For me,
it was practice Monday through Friday, away game, Saturday, home game,
(23:45):
Sunday repeat. I didn't have a day off, not with basketball.
And then it's gone and I was like, Okay, what
am I going to do. I'm going to write about it.
And I got home, got a diary, got in front
of my piano, and I wrote the song If I
Was a Bird, and that was about losing basketball, which
(24:09):
was then a part of the first Flowsry album. So
If I Was a Bird stemmed from Michael Jordan's documentary
at the time, Come Fly with Me. I used to
watch that'll repeat every day day and it was without basketball,
my life is incomplete. So it's like you have me
(24:29):
caught up in this starry eyed well the dreams, and
it's that one last shot.
Speaker 8 (24:40):
All these songs are about flipping burgers and shooting baskets.
Speaker 7 (24:44):
Regular I take the most regular ship and I make
it your every day like most of my prolific long
jevity long game. I want this music to in the
space forever. A basic sayings it's what you're going to
do is say yes, getting late? Why are you going
(25:04):
to be here?
Speaker 2 (25:05):
Hello?
Speaker 7 (25:06):
How are you? Were you up to nothing? I hope
you choose on you with a possible player. It's very
matter of fact, yeah, far away and every minute you're
going to missing you. So it's going to be a
late night early morning when I come home.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
It just feels like.
Speaker 5 (25:23):
Not not that your universal calling, will you know, make
the floor a little extra slippery at that time or
make your shoes stick to the parquet so that your need.
Speaker 3 (25:38):
Goes to that.
Speaker 5 (25:39):
Not that it does that, right, but your calling has
a way of showing itself and showing up to where
you ultimately don't have a choice.
Speaker 7 (25:57):
I agree with that, and that just comes with what
is our gift. We can run from it if we
want to, and it's gonna be right there going up.
Excuse me. The gift that I gave you, it's time
for you to give it to the world because that's
what you've been blessed with and regardless of where your
head's face is. That what you think this is about
(26:18):
to be, this is actually what it is. So even
when I wanted to quit, like very recently, not quit,
I just feel like I've completed well. I wanted out
of this space. It's like Super Mario Brothers Level eight.
I jumped over the Dragon and Save the Princess. I'm out,
(26:39):
Like it's done. I don't need to do anymore. There's
nothing to prove. I wanted to sell a couple million records,
work with my favorite artists, and I did all of
the things that should be someone's bucket list very early on,
like how a song that I wrote about the Doo
(26:59):
Doo Brown Michael, I mean McDonald's his name might have
been Michael. I don't know, Like who knows. We're just
trying to figure out where are you? I really want
to know where this guy is. I didn't know. Years later,
Michael Jackson would hear a demo that was presented to
(27:20):
him by John McClain, presented to him as a flower
Tree album like look, I want you to hear these Girls,
and a part of that demo package where the original
Flowa Tree album, including two songs that were just demos.
Say Yes was one of them. Say Yes was written
for Rod Eisley and Me and Drey Harris did that
(27:42):
he didn't take, but it was specifically catered to him,
but he didn't take it. So he ended up doing
a duet with Jill Scott for that project and didn't
take Say Yes to Say Yes is just sitting there
is this lonely demo shipped to bab Babyface didn't want it,
so now it's just this outstanding song as well as Butterflies. So, Mike,
(28:03):
is this butterfly song on this flow at You demo?
Speaker 1 (28:07):
Like?
Speaker 7 (28:08):
What's that?
Speaker 1 (28:08):
Though?
Speaker 7 (28:08):
Can I have that?
Speaker 3 (28:09):
Mike?
Speaker 7 (28:10):
You can have the entire album? You know just what
kind of that's two coming to America. That's why, like
between the Big Bucks and this. Okay, so I didn't
know that that's how these things were going to transpire,
but you dream big enough, big dreams happen, So when
(28:33):
it starts to happen, I can't then say not I quit,
but there's gonna be more in me. If that was
my start, I can't start there. And then where do
you go from there? Though?
Speaker 3 (28:51):
Wherever?
Speaker 1 (28:51):
You just keep going?
Speaker 7 (28:53):
And that's exactly what I did. That was the year
two thousand that that demo resurfaces, is repurposed and Andre
Harris and myself go in the b room of a
Touch of Jazz and I'm like, look, I have this record. Ray,
I know that you are the guy you did Long
Walk the Way like my favorite Jill Records. I no issue,
(29:15):
Let's get this. We do that demo. By March of
two thousand and one, we're in the studio with Michael
Jackson telling him what to do and how to do it,
like he's behind the glass like your mike one more time,
bit pitchy one time, me with the talk back, telling
Michael Jackson, I'm twenty three at that time.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
You guys don't yet.
Speaker 7 (29:37):
We signed our deal December, so the end of that year,
so we were already at DreamWorks and then the album's done.
So we're literally waiting for papers at that point to
illegal aliens trying to get this record deal. So it
was hey, let's get you some visas so we can
put you.
Speaker 3 (29:54):
Is that yeah?
Speaker 7 (29:56):
So the album, our album didn't drop until October that
following year. I think by the time all that was
squad Away. Yeah, there's Michael Jackson like Michael mother Jackson.
Speaker 8 (30:10):
And the thing too, like you said, it all comes
from your demos going through the hands of John McClain,
who are and at this point he's at DreamWorks. If
you sign anywhere else for what Michael Jackson never hears.
We just always we like to connect it, you know,
(30:31):
we like to connect the dots. And you know when
people are thinking of why I did this or why
I didn't do this and all these other things, and
what didn't come from something like just signing to this,
you know, Boutiquet.
Speaker 7 (30:50):
Supposed to be with Motown and then it's John McClain
and Michael Jackson and it's might want to go that
route because yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:00):
I'm gonna need these butterflies.
Speaker 7 (31:02):
Yes, And that's how business wise, that's how that all
kind of transpired, which is crazy about Michael Jackson himself
telling me, you know, if this is your beginning, imagine
where you're gonna go.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
Right.
Speaker 7 (31:15):
So Flow Tree go on to go platinum, couple of
Grimy Nuds and toured for years and then.
Speaker 5 (31:21):
So here's a question before you go there, does the
Michael Jackson work Just that being in that conversation and
being in that room make the flow a tree that
much more urgent to the building.
Speaker 3 (31:39):
Did you guys become more of a priority?
Speaker 7 (31:41):
Yeah, well, like you said before, it was still very
much boutique. So it's on the rock side, it was
what alien Ant Farm. On the urban side, it was ourselves,
ron Issley, what's her name? Why am I missing that
right now? I really? Oh no, what you came before? Sorry,
(32:06):
I think, lovely girl, we've actually had conversations. No, I
don't think so. It was very It was this is
two thousand when we signed, but two thousand and one
when all of these things started to happen. So I'm
not saying there was a level of urgency now that
these I think it was a talking point. So even
(32:29):
with our papers not being done, it wasn't like we
could release the album that day and Flower try the
floetic album. We're talking a completely different time in industry,
like our first video was up for a vm A,
like we're up against cold Play like we were. We
had different budgets back then, and so it was it
(32:49):
was different. So I had a different spoiled experience of
what industry was like. And I don't think even with
a Michael Jackson coming into play, when the album was released,
Butterflies were still very much in his the demo on
the actual album, the Butterfly's demo that Marsh was saying,
and this is why.
Speaker 3 (33:10):
Yeah, the fact that you guys were able to use
it on the album too, that was.
Speaker 7 (33:14):
A dream work. It's play and they could because it
was the same building and it was like the the
Silent not so Silent co sign had no Michael, he's
my girls.
Speaker 3 (33:25):
They looked out for me. I'm looking out and that's
what that was.
Speaker 1 (33:29):
I think you should use it as well.
Speaker 7 (33:32):
Do you think he said it just like that?
Speaker 3 (33:34):
Oh you know the voice of everybody be throwing around it.
Speaker 7 (33:36):
Just use this shit man, the Michael voice he gives.
You're a singer. I know you have a deep, husky voice,
but preservation is key. I feel like he only had
that voice. He was preserving every single ounce of his
vocal to just be the icon and performed that.
Speaker 3 (33:59):
He was Jackson talking with the talks off.
Speaker 8 (34:02):
When they talk to you, they talk about they don't,
they don't, they don't project, they don't do a whole bunch.
Speaker 1 (34:06):
Of cracking jokes and laughing and drinking.
Speaker 7 (34:11):
I was in the studio, me and Andre Harris in
the studio with Michael Jackson. It was nothing but jokes.
Speaker 1 (34:18):
Did you have completely full.
Speaker 7 (34:21):
Beverages you beves? No kids?
Speaker 3 (34:26):
What about?
Speaker 7 (34:29):
But we did have smothered turkey chops and mac and
cheese and strawberry shortcake from a soul food spot in
New York called Jezebels. We had that every day, every day,
every day I put on.
Speaker 5 (34:44):
No.
Speaker 7 (34:44):
It was was lovely like Paris and Prince when they
were very very young, just kids chilling in the studio
like it was very family environment. It was a wild time.
Speaker 8 (34:55):
So when you get this record placed, have you done
getting your record deal done?
Speaker 3 (35:01):
Have you done your publishing deal yet? Or did people?
How did that go?
Speaker 7 (35:04):
Okay? So I already had a dusty your first publishing deal,
you know, one of those. So they're just very much
doing me in the studio with whoever see what sticks.
And then I've gone to the States on a whim
to do this flowtry thing that pans out ultimately, and
(35:26):
then it's hey, I've got you know, a placement on Michael.
So we're only up the ante for me and lent
to there like oh ship, We've got a writer who's
got Michael Jackson Record.
Speaker 3 (35:40):
Did you renegotiate absolute.
Speaker 7 (35:46):
In retrospect, you kind of wish you just cashed out
then and ship.
Speaker 8 (35:51):
Yes at the time, but you didn't know that that
money got you to.
Speaker 7 (35:57):
America coming to a May game and had the means
to do it.
Speaker 8 (36:02):
So yeah, yeah, if you don't mind me asking, how
did they give you for your before before you.
Speaker 7 (36:07):
Did ten grand? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (36:11):
Did you have a crazy commitment?
Speaker 7 (36:14):
No, it wasn't that bad of a commitment, but there.
Speaker 9 (36:17):
If it was an MDRC though, absolutely, Okay, Okay, So
if you look at it, like you never had a
record deal yet and you didn't know where these placements
were even coming from, outrageous deal that I was.
Speaker 7 (36:30):
Then stuck into four years because of the renegotiation. Now
they're trying to hold onto you and you're like, well
help me.
Speaker 5 (36:37):
Yeah, but you got in at the time, give us
before the threshold were created, so.
Speaker 3 (36:45):
You were able to with that one album to.
Speaker 7 (36:48):
What needs to do?
Speaker 1 (36:50):
Yeah, move through a turn right, even.
Speaker 7 (36:54):
Up until late nights and early mornings, which is what
twenty eleven, twenty twelve, that wasn't so bad. And I've
had this conversation before with record deals that were signed
pre dating this streaming eerror is how are we supposed
to fulfill album commitments in terms under those same contracts?
Because tower records don't exist. We can't do it in
(37:15):
store signing. There's nothing physical for me to actually give you.
So what stipulates in my deal that I haven't turned
that around already because the stream is not going to
do it the dollar amount my contract, everyone has to
go back to the table. We're like stuck on a deal.
I'd be in a five album deal for one hundred
and twenty seven years now.
Speaker 3 (37:39):
Tape don't count until it reaches.
Speaker 7 (37:43):
Two billion streams like.
Speaker 5 (37:47):
Physical discount for this much of it. The digital only
counts for this.
Speaker 7 (37:53):
But where does it say that in your contract? And
where's the clause that even automatic?
Speaker 1 (37:59):
The automatic based on their negotiations.
Speaker 7 (38:02):
With Right, they've been talking to the digital service platforms,
which is insane. So if you write a lot of
your songs and produce, so that's your hundred percent, and
you might break off a producer if they came in
and say, Okay, I'm going to layer up, so I'm
going to take let's go with eighty twenty. So out
of eighty percent of that record, that you have and
(38:23):
you put it on iTunes or Amazon and you put
it for sale, you're getting a substantial amount of your
eighty percent as it pertains to a sale. What are
you getting now is a stream point the fact that
you said.
Speaker 3 (38:40):
Point fact it starts to start that point it starts.
Speaker 7 (38:46):
So imagine signing these contracts back in the day, your hype.
You've got a record deal, you write, you produce, you
know that your fraction of that portion of the entire
composition is solely yours. Like but Flies seven zero percent,
mind seventy I have that so when it was out,
it's seventy, mine all of it. Now streaming it, seventy
(39:10):
percent of Butterflies by Michael Jackson is reduced to a
point something.
Speaker 3 (39:16):
Yeah, depending on what platform, it could be point zero.
Speaker 7 (39:20):
Appreciate that zero zero seven in my contract.
Speaker 5 (39:25):
Here's also the question, though, because that's seventy still performs
well in in the traditional spaces that it performed in. Right,
you do this? This digital seventy is brand new, brand.
Speaker 3 (39:47):
New, absolutely icing.
Speaker 5 (39:49):
It's like, now we were just talking about this. It
has to be negotiated, right, better.
Speaker 7 (39:55):
Right, But who starts these conversations like.
Speaker 8 (39:59):
Well, ultimately we have to but you. But we have
to do it in a sense outside of the major corporations.
We have to we have to start it from an
independent sense of saying I will not give you my
product like.
Speaker 3 (40:14):
I don't like, I don't care.
Speaker 8 (40:16):
It's the same thing is if if you're Nike and
foot Locker is saying, well, we want to sell your
shoes for this, this is what we want to give you, right,
and you being able to say I don't want to
put my shoes in foot Locker. I'm going to put
them in Champs, right, And you have to you have
to make that right. Yes, costs right, So, and I
think we also have to get into the super fan
(40:38):
space of literally going direct to consumer.
Speaker 7 (40:43):
So think about just saying that. Imagine when iTunes was
iTunes and if I go, oh shit, Tank has a
new release this what was it tuesdays back then? Whenever
day it was, and I'm like, I want to buy
your song. It's ninety nine cents or ninety nine pen
in the UK, I'm going to spend that entire for
just you. Now with a subscription, you've reduced me to
(41:03):
a monthly fee. So I, as the consumer have access
to everything not to specialize in exactly what it is
that I want. I just have this plethora of music
to go through and scroll through and not spend or
invest any time, and it's kind of what the fuck
do we doing?
Speaker 8 (41:23):
But what it is, though, is that it becomes it
becomes a form of just radio in a sense, which
isn't fair.
Speaker 7 (41:32):
It's not fair. It's not fair. It's not a fair game, like.
Speaker 3 (41:40):
To be fair.
Speaker 7 (41:41):
It's never been fair. But we've managed to get the
R and P money where we can and where we
have and sustained it. Not a lot of us can
still get on a stage live and do that part.
It's very much okay, let me rely on what the
wave is right now. Gets something that's trending, and that's
(42:01):
my money, if that's the money. Like, I've never been
in it for that. I've been in it for the
art and I've made money because of it. So I
feel like my intentions were different, like recently having got
in the studio with Doctor Dre and Doctor Dre very
unrealistically saying do whatever the fuck you want? Does that
(42:23):
mean I can play Jesus with music? And that's exactly
what we did in the studio for this project, Casablanco, like,
even when you say it's just this mysterious, Yeah, it's
a bit bigger than an album. And you know, everyone,
marsh Wednesday, it's a bit bigger than just an album.
(42:47):
We're talking doctor dre here. So yeah, what took us
ultimately two weeks to get the grasp of what the
album actually was, to implement the strings into informent having
to clear what we decided to borrow and take from
this time capsule of music during a time when we
(43:09):
didn't know where the world was going, during the pandemic
fucked up out here. So I'm like, if we had
to take the music that we cared about and make
it one thing and listen to it in one space,
what would that be? So it's the audacity to take
Duke Kellington and Michael Jackson and George Benson and Patrice
(43:29):
Russian and Wu Tang and Frank Sinatra and random things
that identify us as musicians as a whole and put
it in one space to then be reduced to giving
it away as a SoundBite or radio.
Speaker 3 (43:52):
You have to you have to now be.
Speaker 8 (43:57):
More what would be the word for just you have
you have to take a different chance with the music
and and not go into these spaces that have just
always been what they are and where people are making
up terms and making of new ways to do bad business,
which you can say, listen, you just have to you
(44:19):
have to take ownership and it completely. It's just my opinion,
especially when if I'm fucking doctor Dre.
Speaker 7 (44:25):
And I'm using as an example.
Speaker 8 (44:28):
You can release it how you please, of course, but
if you want to be a part of their platforms,
the only way is to give it to them either
at their whatever whatever their pricing is, or say, hey,
let's negotiate if you want this album.
Speaker 3 (44:45):
This is the negotiation to it.
Speaker 8 (44:47):
This is these are the numbers that we want or
not are I'm going to now vinyl is getting cracking again.
I'm going to I'm gona press it up in vinyl.
Speaker 3 (44:56):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 7 (44:57):
That's that's the game we're in. That is where we
consumers to absolutely get from any arts that they care about.
It's just where are.
Speaker 1 (45:05):
You going to find it?
Speaker 5 (45:06):
But I think it's a way to do both right.
There's a way to you know, feed the system, but
also from a super fan aspect or from the desire
of the super fan still supply the experience in a
way that you want them to have by creating the
(45:29):
space that they have to come and get it from.
If you are a super fan, if you desire to
really experience this the way it's supposed to be experienced
out there, it's just that just they have the music.
Speaker 7 (45:44):
You like, radio your boom bucks and wait for the
radio stations to come on and praying that they play
that record and pressing record, even with the DJ yelling
all over that shit and you rewind it, crying it
up until the end when it's fading out. There's no
urgency with music like that anymore, or listen to in
(46:06):
a way where we had. It's like we had a
spoiled experience of the way we listen to music or
the way it was presented to us. Like right now,
it's may as well be friggin what's the singles? Websites,
tenders sipe left of? You don't like it, you don't
like it, So yeah, it was Creating orgasms through music
(46:38):
is my thing. So we imagine having Casa Blanco as
a landscape and this very unrealistic, elevated version of life
from a billionaire's perspective, what are those orgasms like now?
So walking to that studio and hearing I mean imagine
(47:00):
hearing say yes for the first time. But the melodies
I heard for this were the first time. I now
have to create different orgasms. So without getting too kinky
for me, no, this is how I operate. By walking
to a studio, I'm seducing every single instrument that's implemented
(47:21):
into the composition. We fucking. Basically, you have to fuck
the music. You have to fuck that shit up, and
you can't. There's no friction there. It's all smooth. So
with every musician that doctor dra had in that studio,
(47:42):
whether that was bluetooth, focus, trev them, joints, sly, all
of these elements had to get fucked up to make
it one thing. So when you press play and it's
this symphony, all of these elements have given each other
(48:03):
space and energy and intimacy all at the same time.
So depending on where your spot is, if it's sometimes
it's my neck, sometimes it's my kneecap, sometimes it's a
brush of my arm, and it's seductive. That's what music
is supposed to do. And I've been doing that for
(48:24):
two decades. Plus starting from that one, I'd say that
was the sexiest song to that particular timeframe that I'd done,
and continue to go on and do way more, whether
that was sixty nine and so Good with the interns
and even late nights and early mornings with Rich Harrison.
(48:45):
It was just all of these moments of sex through music,
and you want to be that. You want to be
that you do when you do your concerts. You're like,
I'm your three some, I'm the threesome. You're in that
room you're listening.
Speaker 1 (49:05):
To I'm the tour. I'm stealing so much of your lingo.
I'm down my credit.
Speaker 7 (49:14):
What you say, I'll say, I ain't taking point nothing
nine compositions, right, that's what we do.
Speaker 5 (49:33):
There's a there's like a there's there's a hierarchy of
of a sensual moments, and say Yes is right on
that top tier with Untitled. That's that's like there's a
(49:55):
high level of songs that are automatically intimate, automatically yeah,
no one's talking, everyone's just trying to figure out who's
gonna go first. That's it. Those top tiers like the
(50:21):
song just don't read the.
Speaker 3 (50:24):
Room right.
Speaker 8 (50:28):
First, and the room ain't really trying to go with you.
Speaker 1 (50:32):
They played it was a time I was earlier.
Speaker 7 (50:38):
There is a time and place, but it's great to have,
you know, the moment in the show where you're like, okay,
you know where this is going. You play that first.
Speaker 5 (50:49):
During my piano segment, I've performed oh with my shirt.
Speaker 7 (50:55):
You know what You've seen that effects, so you understand
the power in that.
Speaker 5 (51:02):
And as you said, I become the threesome not you know,
not figuratively, because I.
Speaker 7 (51:11):
Want the audience to have that experience. It's such a compliment,
like having been coined a lesbian for so long. Yeah,
it's it's yeah the lesbian. There she is. It's not
like I don't know. I've been completely comfortable with my
(51:32):
sexuality for It's the last thing I would hide about
me based on the music that I'd be like, why
I don't mind that attention or that want for you
to me to be it's intimate. That's perfectly fine. It's
the music. I want to be your threesome. However that
(51:53):
goes whatever your preference. It's you give your it's the
power in it. You give that sex away. You can't
help who's going to be turned on.
Speaker 1 (52:04):
I can't.
Speaker 7 (52:04):
You don't know what turns on.
Speaker 3 (52:07):
I can't.
Speaker 1 (52:07):
I'll be trying to tell my wife, babe, you can't manage.
It's how it comes to me. You can't and don't.
Speaker 7 (52:17):
Get and your wife knows. I love, don't stab him.
But this is the responsibility of what it is. You're superheroes, straight, gay,
whatever it is. The music is whatever it is. We
give it away and it's intimate.
Speaker 1 (52:36):
And you let the people interpret it, let them dance
with Yeah, it's intimate.
Speaker 7 (52:41):
Like one night stand. This song One night stand. When
the concept of the song came to me, it was
because of how the music sounded, and I was like, oh,
this is the morning after we sucked. For sure, this
exactly sounds like the triumphant Who the fuck is that
in the covers? I don't even know? The was amazing?
Speaker 3 (53:02):
Who is that in the covers?
Speaker 7 (53:04):
We will never know? Look check the toes like boomerang.
Oh yeah, I know who exactly who that is. And
that's perfectly fine. But it was that morning after sex.
Speaker 4 (53:13):
It was.
Speaker 7 (53:15):
You're under those covers looking at the ceiling like we
should fuck again one more time, just to make sure
it was that good. And then you do You're like,
oh shit, is this forever?
Speaker 2 (53:26):
Then?
Speaker 7 (53:26):
Are we in love? No, it was just one night.
Speaker 3 (53:29):
You say that earlier. If they listened to the.
Speaker 7 (53:31):
Music, your one night could be And that's okay too,
and that's how we made Yeah, eighteen years from now,
I shall not be responsible for any child support incurred,
nor the godmother of any of you.
Speaker 5 (53:49):
Are you giving us a wind though? Like like a wind,
like you're really giving us. You're giving us the magical pitch, right,
You're giving us all of the Do we get all
the intimate details.
Speaker 7 (54:02):
And the camera and I can I can tell you
that's ladies and gentlemen, can I give Can I say
eight days? I'm looking off camera right now, so we
can say a March date. You will be getting something
and the March something is coming and it's going to
(54:24):
be a cool summer.
Speaker 3 (54:29):
Yeah, come on you piano, Come on man.
Speaker 1 (54:35):
You know, I just.
Speaker 5 (54:39):
To speak of us being superheroes. Respect the fields. A
lot of the music that we've sang and we've written
and produced, and there's a lot of music that has inspired.
Speaker 3 (55:06):
You to do what you do.
Speaker 2 (55:10):
Mm hmmm.
Speaker 5 (55:13):
So the people who watch the R and B Money podcast,
they want to know what they want.
Speaker 10 (55:17):
To know you.
Speaker 4 (55:19):
They want to know.
Speaker 10 (55:22):
I want to know top fave, your.
Speaker 2 (55:34):
Top five bot top five?
Speaker 5 (55:42):
You're top five are besing, are and B songs.
Speaker 2 (55:52):
We want to know.
Speaker 1 (55:54):
We want this slow. Just let it go and let
us know your top.
Speaker 2 (56:04):
Yeah five, it's really good.
Speaker 1 (56:39):
Your top five R and B singers.
Speaker 7 (56:47):
No particular order. Two of those spots will be placed,
whether they should or shouldn't be anyone's top five, but
they're the vocalists of vocalists for me, Luther Whitney, those
(57:09):
two spots are just taken. Yes, So now I'm down
to three. Michael Jackson takes like three versions of himself
because I love ABC Mike, I love Off the Wall, Mike,
the Dirty Diana. Mike did something else to me. So
(57:32):
it's almost like he's three and one.
Speaker 1 (57:35):
Not almost, he absolutely is.
Speaker 3 (57:37):
He's him.
Speaker 7 (57:39):
Can you have Casey and Jojo as one? Okay? Now?
For two voices to be so different and compliment each
other in such a way that made them one hasn't
been matched to this day to me, because listening to
(58:01):
the difference of a very sensitive, almost soprano jojo and
its pure high tone to Casey's growl, it's almost like
you'd be threatened to sing after case, but not if
you're Jojo anyone else. But you know what I'm saying, like,
(58:22):
and it's only because it's been recently, like Donny Hathaway,
and it took me a couple of different people that
would have been in my top five. But someday we'll
all be free that song. I don't think I could
not cry if I hear it, And it's the power
(58:43):
in a vocal being able to do that to me.
And five is unfair because it means I don't get
to mention who currently holds spots, whether that's Jasmine Sullivan,
you know what I mean, Like I'm what she can
do with her vocal, Tina Marie what with her vocal?
(59:10):
Something like this, But this is all Stevie Wonder. It's
not fair the stories that he can tell with his
tongue before even lyrics come into it and claims he
can't see. We know that you can see.
Speaker 8 (59:26):
It's fine, you're going it okay because I'm not getting
in that you in tank.
Speaker 3 (59:33):
I'm not getting in that.
Speaker 1 (59:34):
Agree.
Speaker 3 (59:35):
I didn't. I didn't agree.
Speaker 7 (59:43):
I see us in the park, do you.
Speaker 3 (59:48):
Man? I don't want to smoke Steve. I don't want to.
Speaker 1 (59:53):
I love Steve from when I heard Stevie Fack.
Speaker 3 (59:56):
I'm not gonna do this with you. Watch go do
switch cap.
Speaker 7 (01:00:04):
It's not fair. How dead there's a ribbon in the
sky for our love?
Speaker 2 (01:00:09):
Is there?
Speaker 7 (01:00:12):
Is it up there for our lives?
Speaker 3 (01:00:16):
I've actually never seen one in the sky.
Speaker 11 (01:00:19):
So he did.
Speaker 3 (01:00:23):
He has? That was a lot. I think I left handed.
Speaker 1 (01:00:31):
Wade.
Speaker 5 (01:00:31):
Okay, here we go, get your top five R and
B songs.
Speaker 7 (01:00:39):
Five okay, because we didn't say that because we didn't
need to get Okay. I want to spend the Night
by Bill Withers.
Speaker 3 (01:00:53):
We go Bill Weathers.
Speaker 7 (01:00:57):
I want Anthony Hamilton to cover it. And I feel
like you get a Grammy. You heard that's one of
my favorite songs, the breakup song by me?
Speaker 1 (01:01:12):
Mmm, okay, come on mine as.
Speaker 8 (01:01:13):
Well, because like, get off publishing for all your niggas
out there making y'all playlist.
Speaker 7 (01:01:19):
The breakup song was like listen to that ship that came.
Speaker 3 (01:01:24):
From a Really that's your favorite song of yours?
Speaker 7 (01:01:26):
No, I have way more than that. But we're talking
about you said, what if I was doing with songs
like you? Wrote that ship melodically did that.
Speaker 3 (01:01:35):
That's you.
Speaker 1 (01:01:38):
It's in there.
Speaker 7 (01:01:41):
I can't help it. Thank you Stevie to give him that.
Speaker 3 (01:01:46):
To Mike looking out for the bro.
Speaker 7 (01:01:48):
Definitely looked out for the bro.
Speaker 3 (01:01:51):
Mm hmmm.
Speaker 1 (01:01:52):
What a joint to.
Speaker 7 (01:01:56):
Say with this five the bad album?
Speaker 1 (01:02:00):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 7 (01:02:01):
Can we have that as like one entire album off
the respect almost I am album ever creates thriller? Okay, fine,
you're doing what you're doing still to this day to
follow that ship up and have the nerve to say
(01:02:21):
there's no skips on there. That's one whole thing. Remember
the time is not ship Okay, forever, my lady Joy.
Because they were four very young black men with Dr
(01:02:42):
Martin's on and like see through the zipper Johns. So
you're having my baby and it means so much to me.
Speaker 1 (01:02:55):
That is nothing more pressure.
Speaker 7 (01:02:59):
You know what I'm saying. It's the narrative that we
were giving nineties black men to love and support the
family bond.
Speaker 1 (01:03:11):
I'll be talking in my accent after you've.
Speaker 7 (01:03:14):
Got the rest of your.
Speaker 3 (01:03:17):
Seen too many episodes of Ti Boy Gangs of London,
that's a good one.
Speaker 7 (01:03:24):
I've lived in America for like twenty plus years, so
if I'm around you guys, I'm Philadelphia on the camera.
You know what, see kind of.
Speaker 1 (01:03:45):
One more second? Can we get it, Jack?
Speaker 3 (01:03:48):
We need it, We get it, We need it.
Speaker 11 (01:03:50):
I ain't saying no names. I ain't saying no names,
no names. Name what you.
Speaker 7 (01:04:14):
Five facts?
Speaker 3 (01:04:14):
Ye m perfect time and perfect time and very special
segment of the show card.
Speaker 8 (01:04:23):
I ain't saying no names. Will you give us a
story funny or fucked up? Funny and fucked up only
rude to the game. You can't say no names. I
mean it could be overseas, middle c under the sea,
wherever you want to be. Oh, you got to do
(01:04:45):
just tell the story without saying names.
Speaker 7 (01:04:49):
Okay. There was this one time, oh yeah, on tour
and there was a day off in Amsterdam, so said
(01:05:17):
artists decided to partake in what you do when you're
in Amsterdam, which was get high, like really high, like
spark up in the hotel. The concierge lit you up
high and it's you just checked in. It's noon, and
(01:05:41):
that artist proceeded to smoke go to a cafe across
the street. There was a menu full of delicious treats
like marshmallowsmores and cookie dough and stuff like that, and
(01:06:01):
it infused with more with.
Speaker 3 (01:06:06):
More of it.
Speaker 7 (01:06:07):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Amsterdam. So of course they picked the
marshmallow small one took that to the face and they
were even more high. So on this day off, before
you know it, sun up, sun goes down. What happens
(01:06:27):
in Amsterdam red light district. So that artist in the
band decide to go down there and see what all
the fuss is about. So in doing so, you look
through a couple of those glass windows. It's some sexy
shit and you find yourself in there and you're high.
(01:06:52):
So this artist goes in there, gets up to whatever,
comes back outside, finds a sex shop, goes in the
sex shop and buys a sex toy. So this artist
then decides that it would be a good idea to
(01:07:14):
go back to the hotel and try this thing out
from Amsterdam. Might be a different feeling, I don't know.
So lobby call for the departure of the tour bus
to take that artist to the next city was coming up,
(01:07:36):
so they decided to take all of this stuff out
the room, take the sex toy, get on the bus
before anyone else gets on this actual bus, and partake there.
So they wouldn't pass out in the room. And you know,
miss lobby call made sense to that artist at the time.
(01:08:00):
So get all the stuff, get the code to the bus,
put the bags, you know where they're supposed to be.
Get in the bunk. Now, if you've been on tour,
you know when the generator is not on, pitch black
on them buses. Pitch can't see shit. But work out
(01:08:22):
one bunk, two bunk, feel your way down to the bottom.
You're in the middle bottom bunk knows that artist, not
the one on the right, the one on the left.
I told them to get in that bunk. So the
artists got in the bunk that belonged to them, or
(01:08:44):
so they thought. Batteries were included, and they proceed to
go to town with this toy for however long.
Speaker 3 (01:09:00):
It took.
Speaker 7 (01:09:02):
To not only forget what actually happened, but wake up
the following morning as the bus is in motion. So
whatever happened in between going gazoo has just done a
don't recall. What the fuck. The artist then woke up
(01:09:24):
while the bus is moving. So the bus is moving,
that means everybody's on the bus. Yeah, where the fuck
is the fucking sex toys? This artist thinking they go
to what did they say they went to lean up
to go it's still in between said thighs where it
(01:09:48):
previously allowed the artist to pass out, and it's still on.
It switches on because the artist is now having what
feels like a mold support orgasm while banging their head
on the top of the other bunk, trying to pretend
that nothing's happening, that they've lost something or you can't
(01:10:10):
find you can hear commotion, what the fuck is going on?
Finally find the switch, it's off. They look out the bunk.
Everyone's kind of you know, rustling curtains to like seeing
what the fuck has happened? And the sex toy packaging.
(01:10:31):
It's just everywhere, like you know that plastic that you
can't regard. Get kid, You're like, why the fuck did
I get this ship? I don't even know how. You can't.
There's no scissors for it. You're breaking ship. And I
think that artist was talked about for the rest of
(01:10:52):
the tour, and that's the story. I'm sticking to it.
No names.
Speaker 8 (01:11:00):
Wow, they really wanted it. Whoever was could not wait.
Speaker 1 (01:11:08):
I just couldn't to have it.
Speaker 7 (01:11:10):
A bunch of them. It was amazing. So they told
me Amsterdam days off in Amsterdam. It's a song, Drake,
I'm telling you now.
Speaker 1 (01:11:31):
Of Asterdam.
Speaker 3 (01:11:34):
I just wanted it's a great way to wrap it up.
Speaker 5 (01:11:37):
First of all, thank you so much for coming. You
know what I mean, you are you know we consider
your family and but your time, your energy, your artistry,
all of these things mean something to us, and so
we value your presence and we value march.
Speaker 7 (01:11:59):
Yeah said one night stands only that's what that's what
you say. They turn into forevers and then you're welcome.
Speaker 3 (01:12:08):
You're welcome.
Speaker 7 (01:12:10):
Listen.
Speaker 5 (01:12:11):
Sometimes you got to experience what the experience is going
to be like in order to know if you want
to continue experiencing the Thanks so, thank you, We appreciate you.
This is here for you anytime, any any anytime. And
and thank you.
Speaker 1 (01:12:31):
My family, ladies and gentleman.
Speaker 5 (01:12:33):
In his take, and this is the Army Money podcast,
the authority on all things R and B and she
is her my shirt roses.
Speaker 3 (01:12:56):
Come on from the Womb.
Speaker 2 (01:12:59):
Money.
Speaker 8 (01:13:01):
R and B Money is a production of the Black
Effect podcast Network. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, 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
Jyvalentine and at the Real Tank. For the extended episode,
(01:13:22):
subscribe to YouTube dot com, Forward, slash r, and b
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