June 26, 2024 • 62 mins
Part 2 of James Poyer's in-studio conversation with Questlove Supreme celebrates the last 30 years of Black Music. James reflects on experiences working with Erykah Badu, D'Angelo, Common, and Lauryn Hill. He details the genesis of great songs from classic albums. This career lookback includes humor and some insider access.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Questlove Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
What's Up Everybody?
Speaker 3 (00:09):
This is Shuga Steve from questlov Supreme and we are
back with part two of our conversation with the incredible
James Poyser. We all make fun of each other, but
James is a dear friend who has been a joy
to work with over the last twenty I did not
write this. This is clearly written by somebody else. You
have heard him join QLs for our Fred Hammond interview
a few years ago, and he popped into let US's
(00:29):
Chat earlier this year. But this time James is in.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
The hot scene.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
If you haven't go listen to part one, where he
talks about growing up in West Philly, his years as
a gospel musician, and ultimately getting down with DJ Jazzy, Jeff,
Grandmaster Vic and Gamble and Huff as we celebrate Black
Music Month. James Poyser has been at the Ebby Center
of It for nearly thirty five years, and don't enjoy
and thank you James.
Speaker 4 (00:54):
Your first year of rotation with Professon Ales, I assume
ninety one ninety ninety three, Yeah, who are you gigging with?
Because I know probably the number one thing I'm asked,
like in my d M, it's just like can I.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Get a gig? Wow?
Speaker 5 (01:12):
Same?
Speaker 4 (01:13):
And you've never had to go through this. You never
had to Never audition that the guy because I don't
think I would get to work. I definitely wasn't getting chosen.
So you hear about the gig and you'd have to
go to audition. And I remember going to this. I'm
not gonna say that you audition for Boys to Men.
Speaker 6 (01:30):
You were just about to say it.
Speaker 7 (01:34):
That was incredible, Toll brothers and y'all ready each other's mind.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
It was cute.
Speaker 8 (01:38):
Oh, you were about to say that. But this wasn't
the Philly band. This was a New York band that
was doing it. I'll never forget. I took the train
up here to rehearsal and boys and Men walked in
and they was like, okay, let's do the song. And
I was like, I don't know the song and just
let this go. And I've never heard the song, so
that everybody's playing and I'm like, and I think boys
(01:59):
and Men said something walked down the MD was like, yo, man,
you need to know the music.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
It's like, nobody sent me to music.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
How I was supposed to know what.
Speaker 8 (02:05):
I don't know because we already established I think because
the MD at the time was just like.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
You messed up. Damn, I got to send you the tape.
Speaker 4 (02:23):
Yes, I thought, now I'll admit that I didn't know
about like the auditions for that, And after the four
I was like, Yo, why did y'all call me for it?
We thought you knew about it? Everybody knew about it, but.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
I didn't know musicians at all, And so like, how
do you know?
Speaker 8 (02:41):
It's just being in those circles, you know, being around
you're on the church scene, or around the boys and
guys in the club scene. You hear about things, Hey,
so and so looking for a band I put a
band together or YadA YadA.
Speaker 4 (02:53):
All right, So today, of course, if you're six degrees
to Blackstone, six degrees to Omar, I don't know who
else is man man all of them. Yeah right, So
if your six degrees to them, chances are you're going
to find some work, because I mean, Adam controls at
(03:15):
least seventeen acts, so.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
He's looking for it, you know what I mean?
Speaker 4 (03:20):
But what was the lay of the land in the
early nineties, Like who should I have known to make
my dad. My dad wanted me in that session circle thing.
So who should I have known too? Because even Clayton
sears like audition for boys and minute I'm.
Speaker 8 (03:38):
Like, yeah, Clay, Clay Clay. So it was just guys.
Speaker 6 (03:46):
I can't really put a you have to play with people.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
Who's the black See. I thought knowing Bill jolly Bill, jolly.
Speaker 6 (03:54):
Jolly Bill, jolly Bill, jolly Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
I thought knowing him would be like, you're in.
Speaker 8 (04:01):
What's crazy is that it seems to me that the
guys that have those runs as mts are mostly bass players.
It's kind of funny. Ricky Minor, Yeah, current Kurrent Brantley
was a guy back in that area that ran pretty
much put all the bands together and that was that
was black you know, Black Store.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
So the bass players are Randy.
Speaker 4 (04:24):
Jackson, Randy, Yeah, it makes sense to Rachel, right.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (04:31):
So just being around and I was so I was
playing with the wedding bands too at the time that
if I didn't mention that, oh my god, I was
playing the wedding bands and that was I was making
money on the wedding. I would play like I would
play the opening whatever that is. Then the ceremony and
the cocktail and then the actual.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Is there a fake book for the wedding circuit?
Speaker 8 (04:54):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, but it's just the top all the
top forty stuff, right and the whole. Yeah. Yeah, we
were played. We were played a hard like shouting music.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Everybody dancing the drunk, so they.
Speaker 5 (05:11):
Don't know what's going on.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
All these city line avenue weddings. Yeah.
Speaker 8 (05:19):
It was now my last wedding that I did. I
had to drive on a half to this country club.
I did the opening thing whatever, just a lot of
stuff is piano only, and then the party is with
the full band. So I did that, did the ceremony,
did the cocktail, did the party after us, I'm exhausted,
(05:41):
carrying my keyboard, I had my black tucks on both
camera stuff to my car and this little old lady
dismissively without looking at me, passing me up a valet
ticket and here get my car from what?
Speaker 5 (05:54):
And I quit the next day?
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Yeah, we pass I wish you would have took the
car and just took high school teams would have done
that ship all right.
Speaker 4 (06:09):
So I remember the first time we played together, and
I've told this story before the last day of Hilladolph
Half Life.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
DiAngelo came to Philly.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
To record The Knotic The Hypnotic and then we had
like six hours of spirit. We did a whole lockout,
but we knocked the Hypnotic out in like ninety minutes.
Like that's how fast he was with harmonizing.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Yeah, Dangelo works really fast.
Speaker 4 (06:35):
Yes, And so we took a food break and then
it was like, well shit, we got you know, time
on the clock and we did the whole do you
know the song? Do you know this song? Do you
know this song? Do you know this Song's you on
the song? I was like, oh, damn, all right, he
knows what he's doing. And that's when Rich said to me,
(06:58):
well not for nothing, because in my mind I was like, yeah, man,
this out these types of chords, this is what I want.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
Come on you no no, no, no, no, no no. And
Rich was like, well not for nothing.
Speaker 4 (07:09):
I said, you got someone does better chords than him
in Philadelphia, you know, in the backyard. I was like, oh,
he's like James Poyser. I was like, who's James Spoyser.
He's like, you don't know James Poyser. You know the
guy He's like describing it wasn't coming to me, and
he said Philly International And I was like, then, I
remember the Apollo in London and that stuff. I was like, oh,
(07:30):
that guy he plays keyboards, and so he said, yeah,
matter of fact, I'm gonna call him. Kadar want sister
work with one of his clients, and she's gonna come
in from Dallas.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
And this was maybe four or five days later. So
what I do remember.
Speaker 4 (07:49):
Though, is because she was young, fresh and new, he
going back to uh sugar Steve with doing everything. This
is the one time I remember Michael D'Angelo Archers showing up, No,
(08:11):
three hours early.
Speaker 6 (08:13):
Wow, he's fine, still fine.
Speaker 4 (08:16):
He was already back in New York. And I was like, yeah, man,
I said, we're working with the.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Girl Eric abad.
Speaker 8 (08:25):
As.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
I said, what what? I said? Yeah, we're working with
Eric Abadu. When when?
Speaker 4 (08:37):
When I said, uh, I don't know, a couple of
hours when she gets here. She she's taking the bus
down and we're gonna work with her. Said oh, we're okay,
So how long? I said, probably like three days or
something like that. Oh we're three days. Huh, she's staying there.
I'm not even knowing. I'm falling trap. I said, she's
(09:00):
staying down there. I said, I think so, I said, actually,
I think some convention in town. So she can't even
I don't know if she's like coming from New York
or whatever the case. I think she's like gonna crashing
Tarik's house. I'm not exaggerating what I said. Yeah, because
(09:26):
she the first week of Batleism, Tarik let her stay
in his apartment because he was doing something else. Yeah,
she's gonna stay with Trekan the Motherfuckers was at Sigma
and so then we had a jam that night.
Speaker 8 (09:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
Yeah, we I mean we even get the story so well.
Speaker 4 (09:46):
I mean this is that I listened to the work
cassette of day one. We basically I think the other
side of the game came within damn near three minutes
instant aaneously.
Speaker 6 (10:00):
Can you so tell us about the song's workload situation,
because I'm like, so.
Speaker 8 (10:05):
Can I go back a little bit?
Speaker 4 (10:06):
Yeah?
Speaker 8 (10:06):
So at Filly National and I started working with this
guy's his name is Fatiene Dance. So me and fatimare
writing songs here and there, doing some gigs. I would
go to overbook and play and he would say, you
know whatever, And one day he hit me like, Yo,
just these girls, I'm writing for it because of Jazzy,
fat nasty.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
Come on, man, come down.
Speaker 8 (10:28):
So that's when I first met Rich at the house.
And so he came to the house. Yeah okay, and
you guys are on the road I think at the time.
Speaker 4 (10:36):
Yeah, absolutely, So I brought the jazz us to Philadelphia
to you know, hopefully work with him or whatever.
Speaker 8 (10:42):
So so that's when me and Rich developed this relationship.
Rich Nichols, Rich Nichols, and and that's why Rich already
about me.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
What was that?
Speaker 2 (10:53):
So was y'all what's the record? Uncle? Vention?
Speaker 1 (10:55):
Ways?
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Was that?
Speaker 1 (10:56):
Yah? Yeah he did that?
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Yeah, Nah, I love that record. Man, That was my one.
Speaker 4 (11:02):
But I will still maintain that, you know, of all
the projects we had our hands in, I felt that
we went by that project totally wrong. Now, granted, the
fifth beatle Ms situation was Mercedes' brother Jay Swift, producer
of the Far Side, and way before I became known
(11:25):
for being god guy for j Dill's music, the shit
that he did on their record was and this is
way before like what's the four to one one? Really
was the first? Yeah, singers can do what rappers do
to type of thing, because I remember, like when we
first got that thing, we just looked at each other
(11:47):
in the van, like, wait, she an't allowed to sing.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
On No Loops? Like what the fuck?
Speaker 4 (11:52):
It's like a rap record, like singers allowed to make
you know, like we were.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
I was against it. I was like, no, it's like
a rap that record.
Speaker 4 (12:00):
No, And you know, but before that just broke me
down to like, Okay, this is where R and B
and hip hop really meet, Like the far Side record
was the far Side. The Jazzy Fat Nasty album, or
at least the seven songs that he did was just
like I never heard that level break beat and beat
(12:22):
chopping and all that stuff. And then they got the Philadelphia.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
And we just undid all day.
Speaker 4 (12:29):
Yeah, and it was cool, but like at one point
they could have pulled a fantastic Volume one, Volume two
level of holy shit that's allowed on the record. And
that's that's the one thing I regret about, like the
world and not seeing the Jazzy Fat Nasties that I saw.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
Because those j Siff records would never released.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
Yeah no, they weren't. They weren't.
Speaker 4 (12:55):
I think at one point we put like one of
their songs in that far and give a dog a
bone was kind of that, like, but yeah, so the
team brings you to the full, which makes total sense.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
We were on tour, so we really weren't.
Speaker 6 (13:12):
So what's the plan forotball? Doism y'all come?
Speaker 7 (13:14):
Like?
Speaker 6 (13:14):
How do y'all decide what's what needs to be done?
How her vision she was just.
Speaker 4 (13:18):
Full of like I never saw someone just full of
a bunch of ideas. And she mentioned like I'm gonna
I got something that's gonna flip like bad boys, what
you're gonna do like that sort of thing. And I
was like, oh, that's cute. Like she always she had
a lot of courses ready. She was the first person
I met that like instantly had a clever course ready
(13:40):
just in the stash. And so I remember when we
sat down three minutes in instantly, like the first course
he played was just the beginning, matter of fact, what
you're going right? I'm sorry, yes, other side of the game.
So literally, when you hear the work tape and it's
(14:03):
not like you had it in the chamber or something, it.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
Just you just all right, bridge here and you just do.
Speaker 4 (14:12):
That's dope, and literally we cut that's the take that's
that's the take. Literally, like yeah, so whatnut, What you
know is the other side of the game was musically
a first take and then you and Rich did a
lot of sweetening it up, like the horns, and so
I just knew it as a rhythm track me Hub
(14:33):
and you, and then it came. Yeah, it was like
a full song by the time I got home off
the road and oh, this girl is gonna make it,
you know that sort of thing. And yes, Afro was real,
it was flat. I was asleep by that point, Like I.
Speaker 9 (14:51):
Don't with Erica, man, I want to talk specifically about
Mama's Gun. That was your kind of you know, I
don't say your moment, but that was as I understood
that they seeing it top the bottom, that was kind
of your executive you know, this producer decision. Talk about
(15:11):
that record, man oh man.
Speaker 8 (15:13):
So just know that I had to leave the Voodoo Tour.
Speaker 6 (15:20):
I was I don't even know who did y'all replace?
Speaker 8 (15:24):
Change?
Speaker 6 (15:25):
Okay, okay, okay, JS.
Speaker 4 (15:28):
We started the Voodoo Tour in March first of two
thousand and all I remember is that we had the
eighty six Natalie Cole out of the theater for fight I.
Speaker 6 (15:39):
Don't understand what you're saying.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
I don't understand what the women were.
Speaker 6 (15:43):
I know what that means, dude.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
The first week of Voodoo at the House of Blues
was like Chippendale, and then it got bad.
Speaker 8 (15:55):
It was then halfway through the tour take it.
Speaker 4 (15:59):
Off the first eighteen minutes and mind you, we're preparing
like this three hour extravaganza of every musical reference in
the sun. Amazingly, they're looking at they watched it. Okay,
what song are you gonna take your shirt off on?
Speaker 7 (16:14):
Which is crazy because to me, that at least to
where he is today and not like that just ran
him away from wanting to be that person anymore in.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
A way, but he's actually back to that day.
Speaker 6 (16:23):
Oh is it? Look at you?
Speaker 7 (16:29):
No pressure, mister, no pressure, Do what you need to
do to be comfortable and healthy.
Speaker 6 (16:33):
Sir, good, yeah, mama, yes, yes, yes.
Speaker 8 (16:37):
So yeah. That album almost killed me man, like well
towards the end of it, where we were working in
four different studios at the same time, and I like
all three rooms an electric lady, and I was stuck
in the studio without going to the hotel for a
few days, and I had a beard I'm a common
(16:59):
come into this and I want to post a note
like help. And then I had a stress attack and
the top half of my body stopped working. I couldn't
move my own Yeah, I had.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
It was that extreme.
Speaker 8 (17:12):
I went to the hospital. I thought they thought I
had a stroke, but it was just a stress attacking. Wow,
it was I was dealing with I was dealing with Erica,
and I was I was trying to insulate her from
the label they were, you know, doing it. I was, Yeah,
I was dealing with all of that, and it was
it was a lot. What was what were they pushing for?
Let's get this going now, we need this record now,
(17:33):
we need to get this record now. And Erica was
just like, I'm moving to my own speed, you know
what I mean. And Erica's funny, man, because I don't
know if y'all knowiced, Well should I say this, yes?
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (17:44):
If you look at the c D, oh the track
list is wrong?
Speaker 8 (17:47):
No no, no, Not only that, yeah, that, but the color
if you look at the color on the outside and
then look at the actual color of the CD, two
different reds. If you notice that. And that was just
her being like, ya, ain't tell me what to do.
Speaker 1 (18:02):
That's wait, okay, sidetrack.
Speaker 4 (18:06):
When you buy the forty five of what's going on,
towards the last thirty seconds, there's this thing where you
are the fake going on and literally Marvion, that was
Marvin Gaye's middle finger in the back, like, tell me
what to do?
Speaker 2 (18:22):
I want to do that right and wow.
Speaker 7 (18:25):
So it doesn't give you warm and fuzzy feelings to
talk about it?
Speaker 6 (18:28):
Do I really want to ask you about green Eyes?
Speaker 8 (18:29):
It's like, that was one of the greatest experiences I
had in this business.
Speaker 6 (18:34):
Erica's no, I know that amazing.
Speaker 8 (18:37):
She's called me. I'm a she's my studio wife. I'm
a studio husband.
Speaker 6 (18:42):
So can you talk about green Eyes? I'm just my
mom's gonna come just because.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
So green Eyes we wrote in Dallas.
Speaker 8 (18:47):
She has this old beat up green upright piano that's
out of tune AND's got paint on it and champbell
wax everywhere and have the piano key sts and we
wrote the song there. You know, it went down there.
Speaker 7 (19:02):
And it just when did you decide to like, did
the song always have so many changes in it? Because
that to me great, That's why it stands out because
it's like it changes with her mind.
Speaker 8 (19:10):
That's her, that's she's she's super creative and wants to
you know, she you know, she'll do wherever. You know
you got to try and you don't want to. You
can't ring her in, but you just let her do
what she wants to do, and just trying to help
her get her ideas out.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
And you know, I remember, was y'all forcing me? I was.
Speaker 4 (19:30):
I was definitely the night of the ok Player, New
York Show. Were y'all on that tour with us? This
was old The cover of the Roots Come Alive is
that the night of.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
I wasn't there that night. I didn't we ain't come
alongst like old.
Speaker 4 (19:43):
Three ish stell okay, okay later yeah, yeah, Like all
I remember was that I was throat bleeding level of sickness.
Speaker 8 (19:53):
And you were asleep on the dones well playing dog anything.
Speaker 4 (19:57):
Clever, we're not only tracking in vidual songs like from
what I remember, Clever kissed me on my neck like
she wanted to do it as a sweet and I
was like, look, let's just cut one song. And then
you know when you go to master like a hatchet
and make it like no, she's right, Booty and the
(20:20):
three of them, and she came in gave me a
barth bucket. There's one point in at the very end
of Clever, I'm so mad you all to me, you know,
the anger that you feel on on wake Up when
we didn't put the delay or what's the last song.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
Waiting for Superman?
Speaker 4 (20:41):
That's all yes, and we didn't put the I'm so mad,
Like I was trying to sabotage Clever so that y'all
can say, look, just go home and come back again.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
So this is a point where I started doing.
Speaker 4 (20:59):
Like I was like, I'm drumming bass right now on
the rim Shot, and I was just trying to funk.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
Up on purpose, and y'all kept all this.
Speaker 5 (21:10):
That's what you get.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
Man.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
Did your production work as well?
Speaker 9 (21:14):
Man, My probably my favorite projectably both of y'all was
one of my favorite projects, the Algreen Laid Down album.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
Man, I want to talk.
Speaker 9 (21:21):
I mean, I thought y'all just did just an incredible
job of, you know, being bringing like his original sound,
like those all those things we loved about the old records.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
But it didn't feel like just you know, cosplay.
Speaker 9 (21:33):
It wasn't like, oh, let's just make it sound old
like they really sounded like they were great songs, and
you know, and I.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
Just I thought y'all did a great job of that.
What was it like working?
Speaker 1 (21:42):
It was a crazy thing.
Speaker 8 (21:43):
We cut all them songs and what sweet Days?
Speaker 2 (21:46):
Yeah? What?
Speaker 8 (21:47):
Because he would just walk in and start singing whatever
came that was the song. He was like the kool
aid man like.
Speaker 4 (21:55):
Matter of fact, if I recall correctly, and I have
this on tape, I think we were just messing around
with the idea of the title track, laid down, and
then he just walked in and started singing.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
Like we didn't meet him yet.
Speaker 7 (22:08):
Yeah, we didn't need him yourror.
Speaker 4 (22:15):
We didn't shake his hand or nothing. He just walked
in and when we and when we heard his voice,
I think I was trying to text James like on
the thing you see me, like like what the fuck
are right now? But he started singing, So I don't
want to be like, sir, this is really an honoritive
the Yeah, he just came in and started freestyling, and then.
Speaker 8 (22:39):
And then walked off the room and saw Sky was
like Spanky Chamers Alfred.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
Yes, he knew Spanky. Everybody if we talk about songs.
Speaker 7 (22:53):
Can I just throw out one real quick with the y'all,
I would like to throw out sometimes blow. I would
like to talk about that song and how that came
together in such magnificence because it's one of my favorite
Mirror James collaborations.
Speaker 4 (23:05):
You know, teasing, teasing common wait wait wait we we
kind of I know we wait wait wait, hang on, okay,
I literally just found a bunch of the Algreen kind
of words.
Speaker 1 (23:22):
No, just on just the the demos and stuff.
Speaker 5 (23:27):
Wills Mirror is always like I just found that like
poof right, like.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
So we tried this once.
Speaker 4 (23:34):
Uh remember we tried to convince him to cover crazy
uh with Sharon Jones and we played him see Little
Green's version. He just felt like that sounds like there's
something about the cords that he's I don't like that.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
That's that's the mind. But typically we would just play.
We were playing.
Speaker 8 (24:04):
It was the one plan that I think we both
had was we gotta have and each song have a
break that somebody would want to sample.
Speaker 5 (24:13):
Right exactly, good plan, Oh my god.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
But literally we were just this is out. Every session
is with us. We'll just play.
Speaker 4 (24:31):
I didn't know that you're supposed to like pre write Elsewhere, demo.
Speaker 5 (24:36):
Elsewhere, No wonder things go so quickly and then go
in the studio and do it like we just go
in the studio and write this.
Speaker 4 (24:48):
I've told this story a few times, but common thought
that he was going well. He sprung on us that
he was going to be an actor, and literally we
were like like behind the.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
Back, like.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
I've heard this, and so uh.
Speaker 4 (25:05):
Yeah, he comes in all excited and it's like yeah, man, uh,
I'm gonna do Carmen, Carmen Robert Townsend and Mike uh
what's his name that used to run the Source doing
a hip hopera thing, and he's like, yeah, old girl
from Destiny Shout, it's gonna be like old Girl gonna
be you know, leading lady and all that stuff. And
(25:26):
instantly I was like, yo, we're gonna duct her in
the soul queries.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (25:32):
Wow, all of At this point, while his relationship flourished
with his work wife.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
Yes, mine was souring a little bit. I'm not on
Worldwide Underground.
Speaker 6 (25:44):
I didn't want to say yeah yeah, and so.
Speaker 4 (25:48):
My thing was like okay, so I'm gonna bring more
energy into the full.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
This is the one time where I was actively.
Speaker 4 (25:54):
Campaigning, like yo, we're gonna bring her into the and
we were this close, like we were we were close anyway,
so you know, he came in the audition all excieity.
He wore like a vest in his Jeff hat, like
like he's going to the club, like his audition closed
and everything, and he.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
Goes there and we're like, yo, you gotta do it,
you gotta do it.
Speaker 4 (26:16):
And he came back and I didn't get it, and
we just got right and then he said it, and
then he said most got the role, and instantly a
four hour session ensues with us any given chance playing,
Umi says. And then James really brought up the temperature
(26:36):
where he started singing, and then after two hours of
doing that ship then Bloud just started singing to it.
Speaker 8 (26:46):
I was like, okay, well it was like a joke, like.
Speaker 4 (26:50):
Sometimes I wish I would have passed that audition, and
and then suddenly it was like whoa, this is something like.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
Right, So that's how that got made.
Speaker 4 (27:03):
And well Chicken Grease also, Chicken Grease was definitely a
common song.
Speaker 8 (27:09):
It was a common song. It was studio see Electric Lady.
Speaker 1 (27:13):
Yeah, yeah, up.
Speaker 4 (27:16):
All I remember was that D'Angelo was working on the
City okay, because CDs can only hold yeah, seventy two
seventy well, seventy nine minutes for some plants, but d'angelo's
plant was seventy two, so he had to drop. The
second song off of Voodoo was a song called the City,
(27:37):
which was really like a Roy Hargrove tutorial of just
like amazingness. And I remember de was working on the
City downstairs, and we were working on chicken grease upstairs,
thinking it was common shit, And I remember D'Angelo walked
in and he kind of looked at.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
Me and James like, now, y'all know, like but it
was the thing, you know. Com was all geeked like, yeah, man,
I got it.
Speaker 4 (28:06):
And then when I went to the bathroom, you know,
like Tupac was waiting for Omar Epps around the locker
and Juice.
Speaker 1 (28:16):
I got out of the bathroom and he says, yo, man, bro,
you know good and well, that boy don't know what
to do with that funk. He's gonna waste that song.
I was like, what did you say? He said, I
gotta have that song. That's my song.
Speaker 4 (28:37):
Y'all, y'all, y'all doing me without me in there, and
I was like, come on, man, like, just let him
have it. O man, that's my funk, Like, don't give
him my funk. And then I was like trade off.
So it just so happens that two days ago before then,
we were trying to find a song for Miss Hill to.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
Come and do with it. Like it was. It was
like any day now she'll come off the road. No,
they had they had they had a quick pro crow arrangement.
He was gonna do nothing either.
Speaker 6 (29:16):
I remember the story in the time she was gonna do.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
Well. I mean eventually that there was a Diller song,
didn't do it, she didn't show up it, and then
what we know is Ghetto Heaven.
Speaker 6 (29:30):
I remember that.
Speaker 4 (29:31):
We just did that that day and I said, look,
you don't want the Ghetto Heaven's at the times the
Gang Star song, and so I had the broker the trade.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
Between Common and D'Angelo to take each other's song.
Speaker 9 (29:43):
So yeah, you talk about Common, man, uh, Electric Circus,
I want you to talk about new wave because I
swore that was a stereo lab like I thought they
you know.
Speaker 2 (29:55):
What I'm saying.
Speaker 9 (29:55):
I got the credits, so I thought it was just
so dope. How you captured their sound? I mean you
like it sounded like a stereo lab joint, but you
captured it perfectly.
Speaker 4 (30:04):
Man, Well that's a mirror. Oh okay, that was no
I played it, but we had the part that Common
was rapping over. That was the whole song, and we're like, yeah,
we're gonna send this the stereo lab and then you
came in the studio was like, no, man, it needs
a different hook. Yeah, they got it, like knowing I
was always listening to dots and loops, and then I
(30:27):
put Dyla onto it, and so basically I just went
and brought all their CDs and like, this is the
kind of happy ship they sing to. So you guys
gotta find a way to amalgamate that into the song socause.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
Yeah, because Dylan and him did that track together.
Speaker 8 (30:43):
And he walked in, so let me think to change
your hook and then and then we just created that.
But if you can go back to Chicken grease. So
I think we left the studio around five am. I
left because I was when them two get together, Man,
they start talking about and they start geeking out about music.
Speaker 5 (31:03):
It's like I love music, but it's like lost Supreme
episode without I feel like I know this feeling.
Speaker 8 (31:09):
You love music, but I love music, but I don't
love it like y'all love it.
Speaker 4 (31:15):
So I was like, I'm taking a cab to the hotel.
So I get in the cab, I have to walk
out the eighth Street at five in the morning. Finally
got a cab and I get out in the hotel
and these range over pulls up with him in the
mirror and and they're like yo.
Speaker 8 (31:30):
I was like, what cause I'm dead tired. They getting
back seat and I was held hostage in that back
seat for like another two hours while they listened to
that song.
Speaker 1 (31:41):
Over over over which one chicken grease. Yes, yes, this
is vocals on it, This is no, this is just
the just the track.
Speaker 8 (31:55):
You know.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
Them two get together and I'm on the.
Speaker 8 (31:57):
Tour bus and voodoo. Them two will be at the front,
like watching James Brownie. Look he moved his left knuckle
and the band and the band went to gh and
I'll be like, I'm going to the I'm going to the.
Speaker 4 (32:13):
Here's the thing though, I don't know if you remember this, man,
but speaking of new wave, you know that was the
last thing that Mary sang one. Really she the bike accident,
she did her vocals, She went to the studio to
do her vocals on that bike ride home.
Speaker 8 (32:32):
Oh, I didn't know what.
Speaker 6 (32:34):
Is talking about.
Speaker 9 (32:35):
This is Mary Mary Han, Mary Hanson of stere to
Vote Mary Hanson. Yeah and yeah, Mary, she died in
the biking accident. I didn't know that was her last record.
That was one of her last records.
Speaker 4 (32:50):
It wasn't after she did it was it was something
related either like Dubley had to communicate with like either
her check or something like that. But all I remember
was that like Doubly had dealt with her hours before
and then as soon as we got to the studio.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
It was like she passed away. I have a question,
shut up stage.
Speaker 5 (33:11):
I know, I feel like we haven't done that much.
Speaker 3 (33:13):
Yeah, it was time for one. We've heard a lot
of about Amir's relationship with Dyla. What was your like
when did you meet him? And this was, uh like
water for chocolate, you know.
Speaker 8 (33:25):
Com was like, yo, man, we gonna go to Detroit
and uh, I'm working with Dylan and I've never met Dyla,
never seen him. And of course I love the music,
but in my mind, I'm like Dyla was six eight
three hundred pounds.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
I remember. I remember going to the private and they
opened the door and I'm looking up like.
Speaker 5 (33:49):
Oh that's true.
Speaker 8 (33:53):
What's up man?
Speaker 1 (33:55):
Yep yep, yep, yep, yep, yep, yep, yep.
Speaker 8 (33:58):
So that same that day we wonte Literally the same
thing happened, just instantly. Questions and I forget what else but.
Speaker 9 (34:09):
Questions, Yeah, cold blood.
Speaker 1 (34:12):
Question uh no doing it yeah not We're doing it funky.
Speaker 8 (34:19):
For you, all right? So I mean I was just
a fan again, the not only his approach to drums,
but what I loved about him being a piano player,
his approach, the way he would put samples together. Changes, Yeah,
the changes. It was almost like he instead of twelve
(34:43):
notes and it was like there was like eighteen notes
in it. Because just the way that things would mesh
that you wouldn't imagine. And you can try and play
the stuff, but your fingers can't really do its, you know.
So I love that about him, and you know that
was that was my guy.
Speaker 1 (35:03):
When the Anthenyum was a five star hotel, oh.
Speaker 8 (35:06):
I stayed the Infinium Hotel all the time.
Speaker 1 (35:08):
Infinium now is like a one and a half star hotel.
Speaker 7 (35:13):
Can I ask y'all to a question sol aquarians how
I don't even know where to start, but I kind
of want to say, in twenty twenty twenty four, how
do y'all see the sol aquarians?
Speaker 6 (35:23):
And what do you in retrospect?
Speaker 1 (35:25):
Like, Man, it's weird, all right.
Speaker 4 (35:28):
So Roch called me yesterday, Roch Common and he's been
getting poached by you know, Hollywood connection on that stuff.
And you know, the idea of it is nice. But
I'm really at a place now where I want a
(35:50):
stress free existence.
Speaker 5 (35:53):
In some friends.
Speaker 6 (35:54):
But y'all are older people. Okay, I got you.
Speaker 3 (35:57):
Yeah, But it's just like, you know, maybe just do
an updated photo shoot and be dumba there we go.
Speaker 1 (36:03):
But even that would take twelve years. That would take
twelve years.
Speaker 4 (36:08):
I mean, I'm not trying to be like overly dramatical,
like talk a bunch of shit and then cut to
all right, guys, let's organize and do it together.
Speaker 1 (36:16):
But it's just like I, for one, similar to you.
Speaker 4 (36:21):
I'll say that I've had four secret hospital trips in
the last twenty years. Four of them were always sold
queer and related just the stress the stress of you know,
and I can't.
Speaker 6 (36:41):
Do that anymore.
Speaker 4 (36:44):
Yeah, but no, no, no, not to this level. So I mean, yeah,
I love the history of it. And plus it's also
like I went through so much drama after that photo
was taken, where really the story was like.
Speaker 6 (36:58):
Look left out.
Speaker 4 (37:00):
I remember that yet not left out, but it was
just like the territorial pissing part of it. You know,
that story should have been in a mere story. But
because I was in a place where I didn't want
to own or whatever, the whole anti Flower ship, I
was like, put everybody in it because it's all it's
like all of ours and yeah, it's just.
Speaker 6 (37:23):
What's the James translation?
Speaker 4 (37:25):
What was your James had a nice coat? I was like, wait,
why am I the dn't asked Marie Malone's T shirt Erica,
Like I got you this shirt, but.
Speaker 1 (37:39):
James got a hair coat, Like.
Speaker 8 (37:43):
Hey. That whole experience to me was was funny because
I always I was looking at like I am I
am very happy to be here, you know what I mean.
It's just me, Like it was like just everybody around,
even the musical side of it. Before this, I was like,
(38:04):
you gotta understand what what I've said a lot of
the stuff was created instantly, So to me it was like,
oh man, I'm just playing and it's people like it.
So it was. It was everything was a bit of
a surprise to me at that time, like I'm just here,
you know, everything was. I was right out and bushytailed
and everything.
Speaker 4 (38:24):
So mind beautiful when it works, it's beautiful, but it's
just lead.
Speaker 6 (38:31):
But it's still working a little bit. For James and
way like you, y'all, love of my life was postal.
Speaker 8 (38:36):
I'm just talking about all that, like the drama and stuff.
I wasn't really that's what I'm I saw it was
affecting him, but I was like, I am just here.
Speaker 2 (38:43):
I'm just a piano man.
Speaker 1 (38:45):
You look like, oh, I'm just the money you meant
in the bus. And to be honest with you, like
we've never broken up.
Speaker 4 (38:53):
I mean at the moment that the wants to go
in the studio, chances are he's gonna hit me up
or something like that. And ship we just started working
on even though the small steps.
Speaker 1 (39:05):
Actually none of those Pete.
Speaker 8 (39:08):
Uh, I'm sorry.
Speaker 6 (39:10):
Oh, I mean he's edited himsel because he said something shouldn't.
Speaker 1 (39:12):
Go ahead it right?
Speaker 4 (39:13):
No, no, no, no, I was gonna say Oh, by the way,
none of our interludes made it because.
Speaker 1 (39:19):
It is my record. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (39:20):
So, James, you look like the soul Quarian's pimp. It's
like it's like they're all dressed for something cool. He's like,
better pay me, bitch.
Speaker 6 (39:33):
He looks expensive.
Speaker 7 (39:38):
I'm just ask the question as safe and as possible, James,
what was the biggest lesson you learned, especially coming from
a finance background and your experience working on the album
that should not be named Ah because you touched it?
Speaker 2 (39:57):
What is the album that should not be named.
Speaker 1 (40:00):
Oh, got you Miss Lady?
Speaker 7 (40:02):
The mis education of Lauren Hill Jack education.
Speaker 1 (40:08):
I mean, the finance thing is if you're gonna look.
Speaker 6 (40:11):
At it from that, keeping it safe, so but you
can go.
Speaker 8 (40:14):
I'm just saying, if you're looking from that point of view,
it's like, be careful what you're invest in.
Speaker 6 (40:19):
Okay, Okay, you know what I mean.
Speaker 8 (40:21):
Some things that you think you're investing in, the returns
don't come back the way they're supposed to come back.
Speaker 5 (40:28):
If you want to talk, Yeah, that ambiguous and fantastic going.
Speaker 8 (40:33):
I'll say the really so it started with uh one
day will all make sense for common.
Speaker 1 (40:43):
You know what I asked doing those those Common sessions.
Speaker 4 (40:47):
I was like, dog, do you not realize like back
then we heard that ship and I was like, oh man,
it was like a Calvin got a job moment. I said,
but you do realize that that's one of the most
tune death Like, yeah, it really doesn't have Every time
it started playing, we thought we thought it was like.
Speaker 6 (41:06):
Two hundred and fifty dollars work.
Speaker 1 (41:10):
Yeah, but yeah, we laughed and he's like, yeah, I
realized I was going it started.
Speaker 8 (41:16):
So with that song, you know, Common was in the
in the session in New York with No ID and
they were like, yo, when I'm working on a song
with Lauren Hill, but the vibe ain't right, can you
come up? So I took the train up sort of
reworked the song with him, and it came out great,
and Long was excited. Yeah. So I get a call
a couple months later and Long was like, can you
(41:36):
come up to Jersey? So I go up to Jersey
to our house and I met We'll never forget this conversation.
Sitting there, she's eating breakfast. Yeah, I want you to
come in and help me work on this album. Play
some stuff, write some stuff, produce, some stuff on the album.
Speaker 6 (41:51):
Those three things play right produce so.
Speaker 8 (41:53):
Cool chicks, so you know, and we developed a relationship.
Speaker 1 (41:59):
You know.
Speaker 8 (41:59):
It was like yo, ell el boogie, you know, learn
what up. I'll go up there. I would Spade stay
days at the house I was. This was when I
was staying in Sion's bedroom the baby at the time,
you know, working in the studio. She she already had
a crew of guys that she's working with, the Newark guys,
Vader and them, and also my brother Chay Pope was
(42:21):
working on some stuff also, So me and Chay, who's
still like he just text me, you know, we're still together.
But we were working on things for I was playing
on some things. It was just a lot of moving
parts and a lot of stuff happening, even though some
of the other projects she was working on, like Aretha
Franklin Rose, you know, I remember her calling me. I
(42:44):
think it was like because it's you too.
Speaker 1 (42:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (42:46):
I was in my studio in Philly and I think
it was eight o'clock at night, Can you come to
New York? So I jumped to my car, drove out there,
played on the Rose and still the Rose, you know,
crashed at the crib crib whatnot. So those kind of
things was happening at all times. So was the end
of when the albums being wrapped up. That's when things changed.
That's when I couldn't get along on the phone without
(43:07):
the manager being on the phone. And it was like, oh, yeah,
you you did agree to that work for hire thing.
I was like, what what youre talking about? Willis?
Speaker 2 (43:16):
You know?
Speaker 1 (43:18):
Long story shirt?
Speaker 8 (43:19):
I uh, you know, I did follow a lawsuit, but
then I dropped the lawsuit because I just I was
at the time, I wasn't strong enough to deal with
it because it was a lot of stress. You know,
it was a lot of and you know, I chalked
it up to a loss and a learned experience.
Speaker 7 (43:36):
And while the urban legend goes that James Foult, he
did and he won. He got a lot of money.
I just need you to know that that was the
urban legend.
Speaker 1 (43:41):
No, no, he was. He was part of the He
was the.
Speaker 7 (43:44):
One that start, the first one that started the legitious situation,
and so nobody did anybody ever.
Speaker 8 (43:52):
Yeah, it took him a while a few years, right, yeah,
But I was like, I'm just washing my hands of
it and move on. I've been cool ever since you know,
I'm good. So, yeah, it happened, you know, learning experience.
Speaker 4 (44:06):
Do you feel in general, because I hear a lot
that like everyone's writes a passage or trial by fire
thing is like the getting gang story. Yeah that it
is absolutely, absolutely it is. Well someone's gonna get jerked.
Speaker 7 (44:22):
Yeah, yeah, So what is the thing that you now
do different you had started doing different from that moment,
Like even is it a paperwork thing, is it a
conversation that you now have before or.
Speaker 5 (44:30):
A lawyer or if it's a lawyer.
Speaker 8 (44:33):
Here's the thing, though, everything that I did in that
situation is what I've done with other artists and have
continued to do, and it's all been cool.
Speaker 1 (44:43):
It was just that it was just that kind.
Speaker 4 (44:45):
Of thing, not not that my two senses needed in
this matter. But I think a lot of the unspoken
elephant in Room of it All is that perhaps maybe
she was under the impression of you know, this whole
like the Stevie the Prince written and produced the arrange
and da da da da dad like that.
Speaker 1 (45:04):
But I don't know any.
Speaker 4 (45:05):
Situation that doesn't require a village, Like even all the
Prince's stuff was you know, here revolution members now saying
I wrote that baseline and that sort of thing, you know.
I wish that she knew that, because I often wonder
if she's punishing herself by stalling.
Speaker 1 (45:30):
As a means to.
Speaker 4 (45:33):
If it was humiliating to get caught out there with
the hand and her cookie jar, Like does she think, like, see,
we told you she wasn't no real producer, da da da.
She had people to do it for, but it's like
dude like productions literally giving your two cents to what
you think the musicians should do, and the you know,
that sort of thing. But I don't know, I feel
(45:55):
like if she has a better relationship that like, I'm
not judging her because of that.
Speaker 1 (46:00):
It's like surprise, everyone works on everyone's records, and.
Speaker 9 (46:04):
That doesn't take away from my enjoyment of those records
by knowing, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (46:09):
If it's dope, it's dope.
Speaker 1 (46:10):
But almost feel as though, like.
Speaker 4 (46:13):
The the insular side of her story starts with you know,
the revolution, you know, because the way that she initially
I guess she initially won the case, and then and
then the last minute, eleventh hour videotape revelation of the.
Speaker 6 (46:30):
Proof that they were doing other people were right.
Speaker 4 (46:32):
That came into play and then it's you know, and
I almost felt like, wow, she probably feels like we're
judging it and all that stuff.
Speaker 3 (46:39):
But no, didn't Michael Jackson scrubs someone's name off off
the credits or something like that.
Speaker 4 (46:44):
Or.
Speaker 9 (46:49):
Great feeling games writing the bridge on everybody.
Speaker 1 (46:54):
It's listen.
Speaker 8 (46:55):
It's like, you know, I didn't write one hundred percent
of the song. I will be the first submitted. She
absolutely it is supremely talented. But you know, my little
played a small part. Just give me that credit. The
small part.
Speaker 1 (47:09):
I get it.
Speaker 4 (47:16):
Damn this is I feel like this is a special
episode of good Times when nig Mamas just passed and whatnot.
Speaker 6 (47:23):
Just happy. James felt comfortable having that conversation.
Speaker 4 (47:25):
So this is what I always want to know, because
you know, you could tell the fiber of America based
on interactions and airports and yeah, to this day, that's.
Speaker 5 (47:36):
Not what I thought you were gonna say.
Speaker 1 (47:39):
I don't know, but not that I agreed, like I
know what you're talking about. No, I'm just saying.
Speaker 4 (47:46):
Man Yay once famously said that you know, he'll sit
in airports like when he designs an easy sneaker. He
hints the not like the whatever the medicine shoes or
the geriatric shoes or whatever they call it. But you know,
everyone always comes up to me and says, hey, I
love your CNN special on racism and all that stuff.
Speaker 1 (48:11):
But I know post thank you notes.
Speaker 4 (48:15):
I know that post thank you notes, your life might
have to be somewhat hellish of people.
Speaker 2 (48:20):
Nelson George, shut up. I never seen Nelson George and
James poising.
Speaker 1 (48:29):
The same room.
Speaker 6 (48:31):
That is hilarious.
Speaker 1 (48:40):
That's going to live rent for you my head. No,
that is crazy.
Speaker 8 (48:44):
That's funny.
Speaker 5 (48:48):
I never thought about it between pimp Aquarius and.
Speaker 6 (48:55):
No.
Speaker 4 (48:55):
But I'm just saying that. You know, and I know
this is very weird to say, but you being.
Speaker 1 (49:00):
That is you? Yes, you forgot what he looked like.
I'm pretty sure that's you.
Speaker 5 (49:08):
Okay, sorry you, but you.
Speaker 4 (49:11):
Being uh highly utilized and recognizable Jiff.
Speaker 1 (49:16):
It's actually not none of the scot fat either.
Speaker 2 (49:20):
Because that's new celebrity now.
Speaker 1 (49:22):
That's yeah. I'm not a Jiff, you know what I mean.
Speaker 5 (49:25):
You are.
Speaker 1 (49:26):
I'm a gift, but I'm not a go.
Speaker 6 (49:28):
To like James.
Speaker 4 (49:29):
Yeah, if it's shade or citizens this space comes up first.
Is that a weird feeling for you?
Speaker 2 (49:41):
It is to be because you.
Speaker 1 (49:46):
I get recognized.
Speaker 8 (49:47):
It's crazy that I get recognized. And it's the funny
thing is always older grandmother.
Speaker 5 (49:53):
Yeah, they love Nelson, Joe.
Speaker 1 (49:56):
They watched the Tonight Show. They watched the Tonight Show.
Speaker 8 (50:00):
And I can hear I'm walking up here and I
hear James shut. So when I hear that, I'm instantly
I noticed it, Like, Hey, I don't like, I don't know, that's.
Speaker 9 (50:13):
Like the new sampling. Like it really like means that's
like the new sampling. Like it totally just exposes you
to a new audience that never would have got to
you otherwise.
Speaker 7 (50:22):
So yeah, on a follon note a mirror, I just
like to ask you, like, why did you feel like
you had to.
Speaker 6 (50:29):
Have James on this this ride?
Speaker 4 (50:31):
Mostly we wanted to double down on every instrument because
one person as a keyboard player, then if James is sick,
you know, our parents are up there in age anything,
you know what I mean, we need to double down.
So there's always like two keyboard players, two drummers.
Speaker 6 (50:53):
Two drummers.
Speaker 1 (50:54):
Wait, Elliott, Okay, I'm in a band called The Root.
Speaker 7 (50:58):
But okay, don't do that because this people don't think
drummer Strow.
Speaker 6 (51:01):
Okay, because they see Strow, I don't do that. They
see him on a little thing.
Speaker 3 (51:05):
I think a lot of what happens on the Tonight
show is kind of like live scoring of like what's
whatever's happening on the stage. And so James is good
at that.
Speaker 6 (51:16):
I thought that's what he was going. What's that where
I thought he was going to go with more with I.
Speaker 3 (51:19):
Mean, there's other reasons, but that's one of the reasons
I see.
Speaker 1 (51:23):
I'm sorry.
Speaker 4 (51:25):
Well, besides, he could play his ass off obvious things.
Speaker 1 (51:28):
I thought we knew that already. You're reading, right my
reading think necessary? No, Well, so I can.
Speaker 5 (51:40):
I can write piano music, but I can't play it
for the ship like two staffs at the same time. Nope,
not happening.
Speaker 8 (51:45):
The guys that can read, is it worth it?
Speaker 5 (51:47):
It depends on your profession in my opinion.
Speaker 4 (51:49):
I don't know, man, I feel like, I mean, once
I found the Philadelphia school curriculum is dropping cursive writing
and penmanship, Well that's different.
Speaker 6 (51:59):
They can't get rid of it. Come on, imagine Kaplain
and I haven't it.
Speaker 1 (52:02):
They don't have it. They're not reading music.
Speaker 7 (52:04):
No, no, oh yeah, no, I know the chur curses
a rape.
Speaker 1 (52:10):
Is there anything we didn't cover?
Speaker 6 (52:13):
It was just too much.
Speaker 4 (52:14):
You're doing it now, like talk about talk about the
TV shows. Yeah, like your your life as a score
and thank you for totally awesome by the way, I
think you could.
Speaker 1 (52:24):
That movie was hilarious.
Speaker 2 (52:27):
That movie that was like a.
Speaker 9 (52:28):
Spoof movie with Chris Chris I think it was Chris
the Brand directed.
Speaker 8 (52:35):
Yeah, Neil, Neil.
Speaker 2 (52:38):
This is.
Speaker 5 (52:40):
James's current job is the Jason Siegel character on whatever
that show is. He just plays low tones and like actually.
Speaker 1 (52:47):
He said in front of TV.
Speaker 4 (52:51):
Say it was frustrating for me because they never know
what they want.
Speaker 1 (52:55):
They know what they don't want.
Speaker 8 (52:57):
That's it. That's the thing. You got to learn to
break the notes writing whatever they tell you. You know, I've
had to learn that.
Speaker 1 (53:04):
Take a huge broke you.
Speaker 9 (53:06):
I learned that you were a big part of teaching
me that when we did that Fame record, because you know,
you talk about me telling you the truth, like I
would send the joint and you came back. It was like, okay, man, Yeah,
this is dope. But I think, you know this part
you should change and do a little bit whatever. And
that was the thing that taught me of like listen, man,
like this is not yours.
Speaker 2 (53:23):
You're working in service of something bigger. So if they
want more cowvill, just give them more for exactly. That's
the end of it.
Speaker 8 (53:30):
I had to you know, I didn't realize I had
an ego, but that part the first time you hear
when somebody says that's cool, but no, wow, when.
Speaker 4 (53:40):
You get the equalizer, how is it fed to you
when you're giving scenes like we need something here?
Speaker 8 (53:47):
Yeah. So I'm co scoring that with a guy named
Robert Duncan, who's done who did it from the beginning
for the first free seasons. I came on on the
third season. I'm in season four now. So he was
a true vet at the stuff. So I'm he's been
teaching me a lot.
Speaker 4 (54:04):
Uh. Dana and Sha called me when I was like,
I really want to do the scoring thing. I reached
out to a lot of people like, hey.
Speaker 8 (54:13):
If you need music for anything, I'm trying to do it.
And hit me back.
Speaker 1 (54:16):
You know, it's a whole the brain side.
Speaker 8 (54:18):
It's not It's not like a whole d M. I
was like, yo, if so, she hired me for Cherished
Today and I did. I did the first three episodes.
Speaker 1 (54:30):
We got fired.
Speaker 8 (54:33):
You got listen when I got fired, my agent said,
you're officially in a composer.
Speaker 1 (54:39):
Wow, oh what's that like? It sucks?
Speaker 8 (54:43):
It sucks, but it is, it is what it is.
Speaker 6 (54:45):
You learn from You are so blessed. That's beautiful. That
was a beautiful question.
Speaker 5 (54:48):
I got fired before I got fired by Terry Gilliam,
you know.
Speaker 1 (54:52):
Wow.
Speaker 5 (54:52):
Yeah, I did some like weird it was like some
NASCAR thing and it just wasn't happening. I got the uh,
it's going on away different, like a whole different direction.
Speaker 1 (55:05):
I know it was.
Speaker 2 (55:05):
It was for me.
Speaker 5 (55:06):
I just didn't have it.
Speaker 3 (55:08):
I got fired from Schizzler for stealing Fried Trimp.
Speaker 2 (55:18):
So the scoring you do that pretty much from the crib.
Speaker 8 (55:21):
Yeah, from from the house. Yeah, you're working on Equalizer.
Started a new show which I can't really talk about
right now, comedy. It's actually a crime drammer, a bunch
of actually it's not that's more Equalized. This is more
string quartet, right yeah.
Speaker 2 (55:43):
And a lot of stuff.
Speaker 6 (55:45):
When can we talk about it?
Speaker 8 (55:48):
When it comes out because you don't know when you're
gonna get fired.
Speaker 5 (55:52):
Preach you like writing for strings that it's it's something new,
you know.
Speaker 8 (55:57):
Again, I'm pretty much educated and a lot of that stuff,
but I had to YouTube. University is a beautiful place.
Speaker 1 (56:07):
What's the crunch education version of scoring? Like what did
you have.
Speaker 8 (56:11):
To learn the it's not and it wasn't anything musical Again,
It's what we talked about, losing the ego and learning
really really truly learning that you got to do what
they want period right period, So you can be as
musical as you want to be. If that ain't it,
that ain't the picture.
Speaker 1 (56:30):
Stick to the picture.
Speaker 8 (56:31):
You have to stick to what they what they want.
Speaker 4 (56:33):
Well, I always you know, the first thing they always
lose when I got called was no drums.
Speaker 5 (56:38):
So you're like.
Speaker 1 (56:41):
Because it gets in the way of the dialogue, and
I'm like, well, I'm not this is not for me.
Speaker 8 (56:45):
It's funny though that I've read and seen that there's
a lot of like really heavyweight producers that try to
do this and they can.
Speaker 9 (56:53):
They don't like being told no, yeah, and to like
doing working on TV that's a different timeline, Like you
don't have time to sit and talk for two hours
about It's like we need this ship now, Yeah.
Speaker 4 (57:04):
That's what it is, all right, So we got to
get you past Ludwig. Like for me, Ludwig is the
try that has to Yeah.
Speaker 1 (57:12):
I mean he started a community and then he did
all He's Cold lover stuff.
Speaker 4 (57:16):
He's amazing, and then he did Black Panther and behind
it just one Gordons and the composer.
Speaker 6 (57:24):
I got context clues I figured out about.
Speaker 1 (57:29):
Yeah, but you know him.
Speaker 8 (57:31):
Chris Bowles is another one that's.
Speaker 4 (57:33):
Just like, ah, yeah, Chris, So those are the mountains
you have to climb to get to the prime stuff.
Speaker 1 (57:39):
Yeah, what is it that you want to score?
Speaker 8 (57:42):
I would love to do some big budget Hollywood John
Williams ship.
Speaker 6 (57:49):
Action, action, don't matter.
Speaker 8 (57:51):
Yeah, you know I love all kinds of film, you
know I love.
Speaker 3 (57:55):
Maybe you want to circle back to common or maybe
maybe a question the guy who you made fun of
not getting the gig, maybe you should call him.
Speaker 1 (58:06):
Movies these days?
Speaker 4 (58:11):
Like for you is besides the never released Randy Watson record?
Speaker 1 (58:17):
Is there? You've done everything? Now?
Speaker 4 (58:21):
Like, what is your preferred method of creativity? Do you
prefer live ship? Do you prefer creating a record from
Souper Nuts.
Speaker 8 (58:31):
It's a combination of all of it.
Speaker 1 (58:33):
You know what I mean doing it? You wish you
were doing what's over there.
Speaker 8 (58:38):
For me, if I do too much of one thing,
I get kind of cranking. It's like I gotta go.
I need to go to a jam session or go play.
You know, it's crazy. We only play. We play less
than ten minutes of music on the show. Really, so
you want to play.
Speaker 1 (58:53):
You know.
Speaker 8 (58:54):
That's why we started doing those jazz gigs around town
just so we could.
Speaker 7 (58:58):
Did you could just pop up at all.
Speaker 4 (59:01):
He was at Djengo at the Django, which was like
a really hip New York jazz jazz in the ground spot.
Speaker 1 (59:07):
But now Chief has Uncle Chiefs have you guys.
Speaker 8 (59:10):
Don't get played. I played that before. It's great.
Speaker 4 (59:12):
Yeah, so yeah, Dave Guy and Ian Hendrickson and James.
Speaker 1 (59:19):
James is really uh.
Speaker 4 (59:20):
He downplays his actual piano ability. Let me find out
that James doesn't think that he's a good piano player.
Speaker 6 (59:29):
I'm still learning, as you should. There's nothing wrong with that,
but not.
Speaker 4 (59:33):
Even like he's a very capable piano player, because we
wouldn't utilized them all these decades.
Speaker 8 (59:41):
Shut up but the best thing is the balance of
sitting in front of a computer screen doing whatever, playing
with the band, playing live, you know, just the combination
of all of those things, doing session work. You know,
that's just I love it all. I love it.
Speaker 6 (59:58):
What's the next record that you are working?
Speaker 7 (01:00:00):
Like?
Speaker 6 (01:00:00):
Artists wise, I'm working with Tank, Tanking, the Bankers.
Speaker 8 (01:00:05):
Poetry album, Tanking, the Bangers.
Speaker 6 (01:00:08):
But first of all, either way, I'm good, okay, but Tank, I.
Speaker 1 (01:00:11):
Feel like you're given I feel like you were given
other tank energy.
Speaker 6 (01:00:15):
I was given other Tankery because I was just jameson.
Speaker 8 (01:00:23):
If she's listening, what up be that's my that's my
New Orleans as she hates.
Speaker 6 (01:00:31):
She's been on this show.
Speaker 5 (01:00:32):
Sounds Jamaican does That's what she said.
Speaker 4 (01:00:36):
Okay, So before we wrap up, Stevens, there anything else
you want to add?
Speaker 3 (01:00:39):
James Poison is a legend, totally.
Speaker 1 (01:00:41):
No real bro.
Speaker 8 (01:00:42):
Thank you, thank you man.
Speaker 4 (01:00:44):
You know I will say that you know, of all
the keyboard players in the world from West Philly, Kate Bourne,
extremely specific.
Speaker 5 (01:01:06):
Like Nelson George, Yes exactly, I wouldn't.
Speaker 6 (01:01:09):
You in a room. No, that's that's a bit though,
that Nelson George saying.
Speaker 4 (01:01:15):
I gotta find that on my damn so now, thank
you for doing this and you know taking flowers and serious.
Speaker 1 (01:01:22):
Thank you man, thank you for always being a big
brother man.
Speaker 8 (01:01:25):
Appreciate it.
Speaker 7 (01:01:28):
In the film the TV world like that's dope, like
that theis of that is like, oh no, that was.
Speaker 1 (01:01:33):
My first you guys except for.
Speaker 4 (01:01:41):
James and Phil and like in Fanto and Sugar uh
this of course Love Supreme will see you all next week.
Speaker 1 (01:01:49):
This is Sugar Steve.
Speaker 3 (01:01:50):
Thank you for listening to Quest Love Supreme. This podcast
is hosted by a mere Quest Love Thompson, Saint Clair,
Ponte Colman, Sugar Steve Mandel, and unpaid Bill Fairman. The
executive producers are a mere Quest of Thompson, Sean Ge
and Brian Calvin, produced by Britney Benjamin, Jake Payne and
Liiah Saint Clair, edited by Alex Conroy. Produced for iHeart
(01:02:14):
by Noel Brown and.
Speaker 1 (01:02:23):
What'stlum. Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 4 (01:02:31):
For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Questlove Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
What's Up Everybody?
Speaker 3 (00:09):
This is Shuga Steve from questlov Supreme and we are
back with part two of our conversation with the incredible
James Poyser. We all make fun of each other, but
James is a dear friend who has been a joy
to work with over the last twenty I did not
write this. This is clearly written by somebody else. You
have heard him join QLs for our Fred Hammond interview
a few years ago, and he popped into let US's
(00:29):
Chat earlier this year. But this time James is in.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
The hot scene.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
If you haven't go listen to part one, where he
talks about growing up in West Philly, his years as
a gospel musician, and ultimately getting down with DJ Jazzy, Jeff,
Grandmaster Vic and Gamble and Huff as we celebrate Black
Music Month. James Poyser has been at the Ebby Center
of It for nearly thirty five years, and don't enjoy
and thank you James.
Speaker 4 (00:54):
Your first year of rotation with Professon Ales, I assume
ninety one ninety ninety three, Yeah, who are you gigging with?
Because I know probably the number one thing I'm asked,
like in my d M, it's just like can I.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Get a gig? Wow?
Speaker 5 (01:12):
Same?
Speaker 4 (01:13):
And you've never had to go through this. You never
had to Never audition that the guy because I don't
think I would get to work. I definitely wasn't getting chosen.
So you hear about the gig and you'd have to
go to audition. And I remember going to this. I'm
not gonna say that you audition for Boys to Men.
Speaker 6 (01:30):
You were just about to say it.
Speaker 7 (01:34):
That was incredible, Toll brothers and y'all ready each other's mind.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
It was cute.
Speaker 8 (01:38):
Oh, you were about to say that. But this wasn't
the Philly band. This was a New York band that
was doing it. I'll never forget. I took the train
up here to rehearsal and boys and Men walked in
and they was like, okay, let's do the song. And
I was like, I don't know the song and just
let this go. And I've never heard the song, so
that everybody's playing and I'm like, and I think boys
(01:59):
and Men said something walked down the MD was like, yo, man,
you need to know the music.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
It's like, nobody sent me to music.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
How I was supposed to know what.
Speaker 8 (02:05):
I don't know because we already established I think because
the MD at the time was just like.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
You messed up. Damn, I got to send you the tape.
Speaker 4 (02:23):
Yes, I thought, now I'll admit that I didn't know
about like the auditions for that, And after the four
I was like, Yo, why did y'all call me for it?
We thought you knew about it? Everybody knew about it, but.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
I didn't know musicians at all, And so like, how
do you know?
Speaker 8 (02:41):
It's just being in those circles, you know, being around
you're on the church scene, or around the boys and
guys in the club scene. You hear about things, Hey,
so and so looking for a band I put a
band together or YadA YadA.
Speaker 4 (02:53):
All right, So today, of course, if you're six degrees
to Blackstone, six degrees to Omar, I don't know who
else is man man all of them. Yeah right, So
if your six degrees to them, chances are you're going
to find some work, because I mean, Adam controls at
(03:15):
least seventeen acts, so.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
He's looking for it, you know what I mean?
Speaker 4 (03:20):
But what was the lay of the land in the
early nineties, Like who should I have known to make
my dad. My dad wanted me in that session circle thing.
So who should I have known too? Because even Clayton
sears like audition for boys and minute I'm.
Speaker 8 (03:38):
Like, yeah, Clay, Clay Clay. So it was just guys.
Speaker 6 (03:46):
I can't really put a you have to play with people.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
Who's the black See. I thought knowing Bill jolly Bill, jolly.
Speaker 6 (03:54):
Jolly Bill, jolly Bill, jolly Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
I thought knowing him would be like, you're in.
Speaker 8 (04:01):
What's crazy is that it seems to me that the
guys that have those runs as mts are mostly bass players.
It's kind of funny. Ricky Minor, Yeah, current Kurrent Brantley
was a guy back in that area that ran pretty
much put all the bands together and that was that
was black you know, Black Store.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
So the bass players are Randy.
Speaker 4 (04:24):
Jackson, Randy, Yeah, it makes sense to Rachel, right.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (04:31):
So just being around and I was so I was
playing with the wedding bands too at the time that
if I didn't mention that, oh my god, I was
playing the wedding bands and that was I was making
money on the wedding. I would play like I would
play the opening whatever that is. Then the ceremony and
the cocktail and then the actual.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Is there a fake book for the wedding circuit?
Speaker 8 (04:54):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, but it's just the top all the
top forty stuff, right and the whole. Yeah. Yeah, we
were played. We were played a hard like shouting music.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Everybody dancing the drunk, so they.
Speaker 5 (05:11):
Don't know what's going on.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
All these city line avenue weddings. Yeah.
Speaker 8 (05:19):
It was now my last wedding that I did. I
had to drive on a half to this country club.
I did the opening thing whatever, just a lot of
stuff is piano only, and then the party is with
the full band. So I did that, did the ceremony,
did the cocktail, did the party after us, I'm exhausted,
(05:41):
carrying my keyboard, I had my black tucks on both
camera stuff to my car and this little old lady
dismissively without looking at me, passing me up a valet
ticket and here get my car from what?
Speaker 5 (05:54):
And I quit the next day?
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Yeah, we pass I wish you would have took the
car and just took high school teams would have done
that ship all right.
Speaker 4 (06:09):
So I remember the first time we played together, and
I've told this story before the last day of Hilladolph
Half Life.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
DiAngelo came to Philly.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
To record The Knotic The Hypnotic and then we had
like six hours of spirit. We did a whole lockout,
but we knocked the Hypnotic out in like ninety minutes.
Like that's how fast he was with harmonizing.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Yeah, Dangelo works really fast.
Speaker 4 (06:35):
Yes, And so we took a food break and then
it was like, well shit, we got you know, time
on the clock and we did the whole do you
know the song? Do you know this song? Do you
know this song? Do you know this Song's you on
the song? I was like, oh, damn, all right, he
knows what he's doing. And that's when Rich said to me,
(06:58):
well not for nothing, because in my mind I was like, yeah, man,
this out these types of chords, this is what I want.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
Come on you no no, no, no, no, no no. And
Rich was like, well not for nothing.
Speaker 4 (07:09):
I said, you got someone does better chords than him
in Philadelphia, you know, in the backyard. I was like, oh,
he's like James Poyser. I was like, who's James Spoyser.
He's like, you don't know James Poyser. You know the
guy He's like describing it wasn't coming to me, and
he said Philly International And I was like, then, I
remember the Apollo in London and that stuff. I was like, oh,
(07:30):
that guy he plays keyboards, and so he said, yeah,
matter of fact, I'm gonna call him. Kadar want sister
work with one of his clients, and she's gonna come
in from Dallas.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
And this was maybe four or five days later. So
what I do remember.
Speaker 4 (07:49):
Though, is because she was young, fresh and new, he
going back to uh sugar Steve with doing everything. This
is the one time I remember Michael D'Angelo Archers showing up, No,
(08:11):
three hours early.
Speaker 6 (08:13):
Wow, he's fine, still fine.
Speaker 4 (08:16):
He was already back in New York. And I was like, yeah, man,
I said, we're working with the.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Girl Eric abad.
Speaker 8 (08:25):
As.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
I said, what what? I said? Yeah, we're working with
Eric Abadu. When when?
Speaker 4 (08:37):
When I said, uh, I don't know, a couple of
hours when she gets here. She she's taking the bus
down and we're gonna work with her. Said oh, we're okay,
So how long? I said, probably like three days or
something like that. Oh we're three days. Huh, she's staying there.
I'm not even knowing. I'm falling trap. I said, she's
(09:00):
staying down there. I said, I think so, I said, actually,
I think some convention in town. So she can't even
I don't know if she's like coming from New York
or whatever the case. I think she's like gonna crashing
Tarik's house. I'm not exaggerating what I said. Yeah, because
(09:26):
she the first week of Batleism, Tarik let her stay
in his apartment because he was doing something else. Yeah,
she's gonna stay with Trekan the Motherfuckers was at Sigma
and so then we had a jam that night.
Speaker 8 (09:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
Yeah, we I mean we even get the story so well.
Speaker 4 (09:46):
I mean this is that I listened to the work
cassette of day one. We basically I think the other
side of the game came within damn near three minutes
instant aaneously.
Speaker 6 (10:00):
Can you so tell us about the song's workload situation,
because I'm like, so.
Speaker 8 (10:05):
Can I go back a little bit?
Speaker 4 (10:06):
Yeah?
Speaker 8 (10:06):
So at Filly National and I started working with this
guy's his name is Fatiene Dance. So me and fatimare
writing songs here and there, doing some gigs. I would
go to overbook and play and he would say, you
know whatever, And one day he hit me like, Yo,
just these girls, I'm writing for it because of Jazzy,
fat nasty.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
Come on, man, come down.
Speaker 8 (10:28):
So that's when I first met Rich at the house.
And so he came to the house. Yeah okay, and
you guys are on the road I think at the time.
Speaker 4 (10:36):
Yeah, absolutely, So I brought the jazz us to Philadelphia
to you know, hopefully work with him or whatever.
Speaker 8 (10:42):
So so that's when me and Rich developed this relationship.
Rich Nichols, Rich Nichols, and and that's why Rich already
about me.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
What was that?
Speaker 2 (10:53):
So was y'all what's the record? Uncle? Vention?
Speaker 1 (10:55):
Ways?
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Was that?
Speaker 1 (10:56):
Yah? Yeah he did that?
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Yeah, Nah, I love that record. Man, That was my one.
Speaker 4 (11:02):
But I will still maintain that, you know, of all
the projects we had our hands in, I felt that
we went by that project totally wrong. Now, granted, the
fifth beatle Ms situation was Mercedes' brother Jay Swift, producer
of the Far Side, and way before I became known
(11:25):
for being god guy for j Dill's music, the shit
that he did on their record was and this is
way before like what's the four to one one? Really
was the first? Yeah, singers can do what rappers do
to type of thing, because I remember, like when we
first got that thing, we just looked at each other
(11:47):
in the van, like, wait, she an't allowed to sing.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
On No Loops? Like what the fuck?
Speaker 4 (11:52):
It's like a rap record, like singers allowed to make
you know, like we were.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
I was against it. I was like, no, it's like
a rap that record.
Speaker 4 (12:00):
No, And you know, but before that just broke me
down to like, Okay, this is where R and B
and hip hop really meet, Like the far Side record
was the far Side. The Jazzy Fat Nasty album, or
at least the seven songs that he did was just
like I never heard that level break beat and beat
(12:22):
chopping and all that stuff. And then they got the Philadelphia.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
And we just undid all day.
Speaker 4 (12:29):
Yeah, and it was cool, but like at one point
they could have pulled a fantastic Volume one, Volume two
level of holy shit that's allowed on the record. And
that's that's the one thing I regret about, like the
world and not seeing the Jazzy Fat Nasties that I saw.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
Because those j Siff records would never released.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
Yeah no, they weren't. They weren't.
Speaker 4 (12:55):
I think at one point we put like one of
their songs in that far and give a dog a
bone was kind of that, like, but yeah, so the
team brings you to the full, which makes total sense.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
We were on tour, so we really weren't.
Speaker 6 (13:12):
So what's the plan forotball? Doism y'all come?
Speaker 7 (13:14):
Like?
Speaker 6 (13:14):
How do y'all decide what's what needs to be done?
How her vision she was just.
Speaker 4 (13:18):
Full of like I never saw someone just full of
a bunch of ideas. And she mentioned like I'm gonna
I got something that's gonna flip like bad boys, what
you're gonna do like that sort of thing. And I
was like, oh, that's cute. Like she always she had
a lot of courses ready. She was the first person
I met that like instantly had a clever course ready
(13:40):
just in the stash. And so I remember when we
sat down three minutes in instantly, like the first course
he played was just the beginning, matter of fact, what
you're going right? I'm sorry, yes, other side of the game.
So literally, when you hear the work tape and it's
(14:03):
not like you had it in the chamber or something, it.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
Just you just all right, bridge here and you just do.
Speaker 4 (14:12):
That's dope, and literally we cut that's the take that's
that's the take. Literally, like yeah, so whatnut, What you
know is the other side of the game was musically
a first take and then you and Rich did a
lot of sweetening it up, like the horns, and so
I just knew it as a rhythm track me Hub
(14:33):
and you, and then it came. Yeah, it was like
a full song by the time I got home off
the road and oh, this girl is gonna make it,
you know that sort of thing. And yes, Afro was real,
it was flat. I was asleep by that point, Like I.
Speaker 9 (14:51):
Don't with Erica, man, I want to talk specifically about
Mama's Gun. That was your kind of you know, I
don't say your moment, but that was as I understood
that they seeing it top the bottom, that was kind
of your executive you know, this producer decision. Talk about
(15:11):
that record, man oh man.
Speaker 8 (15:13):
So just know that I had to leave the Voodoo Tour.
Speaker 6 (15:20):
I was I don't even know who did y'all replace?
Speaker 8 (15:24):
Change?
Speaker 6 (15:25):
Okay, okay, okay, JS.
Speaker 4 (15:28):
We started the Voodoo Tour in March first of two
thousand and all I remember is that we had the
eighty six Natalie Cole out of the theater for fight I.
Speaker 6 (15:39):
Don't understand what you're saying.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
I don't understand what the women were.
Speaker 6 (15:43):
I know what that means, dude.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
The first week of Voodoo at the House of Blues
was like Chippendale, and then it got bad.
Speaker 8 (15:55):
It was then halfway through the tour take it.
Speaker 4 (15:59):
Off the first eighteen minutes and mind you, we're preparing
like this three hour extravaganza of every musical reference in
the sun. Amazingly, they're looking at they watched it. Okay,
what song are you gonna take your shirt off on?
Speaker 7 (16:14):
Which is crazy because to me, that at least to
where he is today and not like that just ran
him away from wanting to be that person anymore in.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
A way, but he's actually back to that day.
Speaker 6 (16:23):
Oh is it? Look at you?
Speaker 7 (16:29):
No pressure, mister, no pressure, Do what you need to
do to be comfortable and healthy.
Speaker 6 (16:33):
Sir, good, yeah, mama, yes, yes, yes.
Speaker 8 (16:37):
So yeah. That album almost killed me man, like well
towards the end of it, where we were working in
four different studios at the same time, and I like
all three rooms an electric lady, and I was stuck
in the studio without going to the hotel for a
few days, and I had a beard I'm a common
(16:59):
come into this and I want to post a note
like help. And then I had a stress attack and
the top half of my body stopped working. I couldn't
move my own Yeah, I had.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
It was that extreme.
Speaker 8 (17:12):
I went to the hospital. I thought they thought I
had a stroke, but it was just a stress attacking. Wow,
it was I was dealing with I was dealing with Erica,
and I was I was trying to insulate her from
the label they were, you know, doing it. I was, Yeah,
I was dealing with all of that, and it was
it was a lot. What was what were they pushing for?
Let's get this going now, we need this record now,
(17:33):
we need to get this record now. And Erica was
just like, I'm moving to my own speed, you know
what I mean. And Erica's funny, man, because I don't
know if y'all knowiced, Well should I say this, yes?
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (17:44):
If you look at the c D, oh the track
list is wrong?
Speaker 8 (17:47):
No no, no, Not only that, yeah, that, but the color
if you look at the color on the outside and
then look at the actual color of the CD, two
different reds. If you notice that. And that was just
her being like, ya, ain't tell me what to do.
Speaker 1 (18:02):
That's wait, okay, sidetrack.
Speaker 4 (18:06):
When you buy the forty five of what's going on,
towards the last thirty seconds, there's this thing where you
are the fake going on and literally Marvion, that was
Marvin Gaye's middle finger in the back, like, tell me
what to do?
Speaker 2 (18:22):
I want to do that right and wow.
Speaker 7 (18:25):
So it doesn't give you warm and fuzzy feelings to
talk about it?
Speaker 6 (18:28):
Do I really want to ask you about green Eyes?
Speaker 8 (18:29):
It's like, that was one of the greatest experiences I
had in this business.
Speaker 6 (18:34):
Erica's no, I know that amazing.
Speaker 8 (18:37):
She's called me. I'm a she's my studio wife. I'm
a studio husband.
Speaker 6 (18:42):
So can you talk about green Eyes? I'm just my
mom's gonna come just because.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
So green Eyes we wrote in Dallas.
Speaker 8 (18:47):
She has this old beat up green upright piano that's
out of tune AND's got paint on it and champbell
wax everywhere and have the piano key sts and we
wrote the song there. You know, it went down there.
Speaker 7 (19:02):
And it just when did you decide to like, did
the song always have so many changes in it? Because
that to me great, That's why it stands out because
it's like it changes with her mind.
Speaker 8 (19:10):
That's her, that's she's she's super creative and wants to
you know, she you know, she'll do wherever. You know
you got to try and you don't want to. You
can't ring her in, but you just let her do
what she wants to do, and just trying to help
her get her ideas out.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
And you know, I remember, was y'all forcing me? I was.
Speaker 4 (19:30):
I was definitely the night of the ok Player, New
York Show. Were y'all on that tour with us? This
was old The cover of the Roots Come Alive is
that the night of.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
I wasn't there that night. I didn't we ain't come
alongst like old.
Speaker 4 (19:43):
Three ish stell okay, okay later yeah, yeah, Like all
I remember was that I was throat bleeding level of sickness.
Speaker 8 (19:53):
And you were asleep on the dones well playing dog anything.
Speaker 4 (19:57):
Clever, we're not only tracking in vidual songs like from
what I remember, Clever kissed me on my neck like
she wanted to do it as a sweet and I
was like, look, let's just cut one song. And then
you know when you go to master like a hatchet
and make it like no, she's right, Booty and the
(20:20):
three of them, and she came in gave me a
barth bucket. There's one point in at the very end
of Clever, I'm so mad you all to me, you know,
the anger that you feel on on wake Up when
we didn't put the delay or what's the last song.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
Waiting for Superman?
Speaker 4 (20:41):
That's all yes, and we didn't put the I'm so mad,
Like I was trying to sabotage Clever so that y'all
can say, look, just go home and come back again.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
So this is a point where I started doing.
Speaker 4 (20:59):
Like I was like, I'm drumming bass right now on
the rim Shot, and I was just trying to funk.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
Up on purpose, and y'all kept all this.
Speaker 5 (21:10):
That's what you get.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
Man.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
Did your production work as well?
Speaker 9 (21:14):
Man, My probably my favorite projectably both of y'all was
one of my favorite projects, the Algreen Laid Down album.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
Man, I want to talk.
Speaker 9 (21:21):
I mean, I thought y'all just did just an incredible
job of, you know, being bringing like his original sound,
like those all those things we loved about the old records.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
But it didn't feel like just you know, cosplay.
Speaker 9 (21:33):
It wasn't like, oh, let's just make it sound old
like they really sounded like they were great songs, and
you know, and I.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
Just I thought y'all did a great job of that.
What was it like working?
Speaker 1 (21:42):
It was a crazy thing.
Speaker 8 (21:43):
We cut all them songs and what sweet Days?
Speaker 2 (21:46):
Yeah? What?
Speaker 8 (21:47):
Because he would just walk in and start singing whatever
came that was the song. He was like the kool
aid man like.
Speaker 4 (21:55):
Matter of fact, if I recall correctly, and I have
this on tape, I think we were just messing around
with the idea of the title track, laid down, and
then he just walked in and started singing.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
Like we didn't meet him yet.
Speaker 7 (22:08):
Yeah, we didn't need him yourror.
Speaker 4 (22:15):
We didn't shake his hand or nothing. He just walked
in and when we and when we heard his voice,
I think I was trying to text James like on
the thing you see me, like like what the fuck
are right now? But he started singing, So I don't
want to be like, sir, this is really an honoritive
the Yeah, he just came in and started freestyling, and then.
Speaker 8 (22:39):
And then walked off the room and saw Sky was
like Spanky Chamers Alfred.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
Yes, he knew Spanky. Everybody if we talk about songs.
Speaker 7 (22:53):
Can I just throw out one real quick with the y'all,
I would like to throw out sometimes blow. I would
like to talk about that song and how that came
together in such magnificence because it's one of my favorite
Mirror James collaborations.
Speaker 4 (23:05):
You know, teasing, teasing common wait wait wait we we
kind of I know we wait wait wait, hang on, okay,
I literally just found a bunch of the Algreen kind
of words.
Speaker 1 (23:22):
No, just on just the the demos and stuff.
Speaker 5 (23:27):
Wills Mirror is always like I just found that like
poof right, like.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
So we tried this once.
Speaker 4 (23:34):
Uh remember we tried to convince him to cover crazy
uh with Sharon Jones and we played him see Little
Green's version. He just felt like that sounds like there's
something about the cords that he's I don't like that.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
That's that's the mind. But typically we would just play.
We were playing.
Speaker 8 (24:04):
It was the one plan that I think we both
had was we gotta have and each song have a
break that somebody would want to sample.
Speaker 5 (24:13):
Right exactly, good plan, Oh my god.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
But literally we were just this is out. Every session
is with us. We'll just play.
Speaker 4 (24:31):
I didn't know that you're supposed to like pre write Elsewhere, demo.
Speaker 5 (24:36):
Elsewhere, No wonder things go so quickly and then go
in the studio and do it like we just go
in the studio and write this.
Speaker 4 (24:48):
I've told this story a few times, but common thought
that he was going well. He sprung on us that
he was going to be an actor, and literally we
were like like behind the.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
Back, like.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
I've heard this, and so uh.
Speaker 4 (25:05):
Yeah, he comes in all excited and it's like yeah, man, uh,
I'm gonna do Carmen, Carmen Robert Townsend and Mike uh
what's his name that used to run the Source doing
a hip hopera thing, and he's like, yeah, old girl
from Destiny Shout, it's gonna be like old Girl gonna
be you know, leading lady and all that stuff. And
(25:26):
instantly I was like, yo, we're gonna duct her in
the soul queries.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (25:32):
Wow, all of At this point, while his relationship flourished
with his work wife.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
Yes, mine was souring a little bit. I'm not on
Worldwide Underground.
Speaker 6 (25:44):
I didn't want to say yeah yeah, and so.
Speaker 4 (25:48):
My thing was like okay, so I'm gonna bring more
energy into the full.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
This is the one time where I was actively.
Speaker 4 (25:54):
Campaigning, like yo, we're gonna bring her into the and
we were this close, like we were we were close anyway,
so you know, he came in the audition all excieity.
He wore like a vest in his Jeff hat, like
like he's going to the club, like his audition closed
and everything, and he.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
Goes there and we're like, yo, you gotta do it,
you gotta do it.
Speaker 4 (26:16):
And he came back and I didn't get it, and
we just got right and then he said it, and
then he said most got the role, and instantly a
four hour session ensues with us any given chance playing,
Umi says. And then James really brought up the temperature
(26:36):
where he started singing, and then after two hours of
doing that ship then Bloud just started singing to it.
Speaker 8 (26:46):
I was like, okay, well it was like a joke, like.
Speaker 4 (26:50):
Sometimes I wish I would have passed that audition, and
and then suddenly it was like whoa, this is something like.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
Right, So that's how that got made.
Speaker 4 (27:03):
And well Chicken Grease also, Chicken Grease was definitely a
common song.
Speaker 8 (27:09):
It was a common song. It was studio see Electric Lady.
Speaker 1 (27:13):
Yeah, yeah, up.
Speaker 4 (27:16):
All I remember was that D'Angelo was working on the
City okay, because CDs can only hold yeah, seventy two
seventy well, seventy nine minutes for some plants, but d'angelo's
plant was seventy two, so he had to drop. The
second song off of Voodoo was a song called the City,
(27:37):
which was really like a Roy Hargrove tutorial of just
like amazingness. And I remember de was working on the
City downstairs, and we were working on chicken grease upstairs,
thinking it was common shit, And I remember D'Angelo walked
in and he kind of looked at.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
Me and James like, now, y'all know, like but it
was the thing, you know. Com was all geeked like, yeah, man,
I got it.
Speaker 4 (28:06):
And then when I went to the bathroom, you know,
like Tupac was waiting for Omar Epps around the locker
and Juice.
Speaker 1 (28:16):
I got out of the bathroom and he says, yo, man, bro,
you know good and well, that boy don't know what
to do with that funk. He's gonna waste that song.
I was like, what did you say? He said, I
gotta have that song. That's my song.
Speaker 4 (28:37):
Y'all, y'all, y'all doing me without me in there, and
I was like, come on, man, like, just let him
have it. O man, that's my funk, Like, don't give
him my funk. And then I was like trade off.
So it just so happens that two days ago before then,
we were trying to find a song for Miss Hill to.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
Come and do with it. Like it was. It was
like any day now she'll come off the road. No,
they had they had they had a quick pro crow arrangement.
He was gonna do nothing either.
Speaker 6 (29:16):
I remember the story in the time she was gonna do.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
Well. I mean eventually that there was a Diller song,
didn't do it, she didn't show up it, and then
what we know is Ghetto Heaven.
Speaker 6 (29:30):
I remember that.
Speaker 4 (29:31):
We just did that that day and I said, look,
you don't want the Ghetto Heaven's at the times the
Gang Star song, and so I had the broker the trade.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
Between Common and D'Angelo to take each other's song.
Speaker 9 (29:43):
So yeah, you talk about Common, man, uh, Electric Circus,
I want you to talk about new wave because I
swore that was a stereo lab like I thought they
you know.
Speaker 2 (29:55):
What I'm saying.
Speaker 9 (29:55):
I got the credits, so I thought it was just
so dope. How you captured their sound? I mean you
like it sounded like a stereo lab joint, but you
captured it perfectly.
Speaker 4 (30:04):
Man, Well that's a mirror. Oh okay, that was no
I played it, but we had the part that Common
was rapping over. That was the whole song, and we're like, yeah,
we're gonna send this the stereo lab and then you
came in the studio was like, no, man, it needs
a different hook. Yeah, they got it, like knowing I
was always listening to dots and loops, and then I
(30:27):
put Dyla onto it, and so basically I just went
and brought all their CDs and like, this is the
kind of happy ship they sing to. So you guys
gotta find a way to amalgamate that into the song socause.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
Yeah, because Dylan and him did that track together.
Speaker 8 (30:43):
And he walked in, so let me think to change
your hook and then and then we just created that.
But if you can go back to Chicken grease. So
I think we left the studio around five am. I
left because I was when them two get together, Man,
they start talking about and they start geeking out about music.
Speaker 5 (31:03):
It's like I love music, but it's like lost Supreme
episode without I feel like I know this feeling.
Speaker 8 (31:09):
You love music, but I love music, but I don't
love it like y'all love it.
Speaker 4 (31:15):
So I was like, I'm taking a cab to the hotel.
So I get in the cab, I have to walk
out the eighth Street at five in the morning. Finally
got a cab and I get out in the hotel
and these range over pulls up with him in the
mirror and and they're like yo.
Speaker 8 (31:30):
I was like, what cause I'm dead tired. They getting
back seat and I was held hostage in that back
seat for like another two hours while they listened to
that song.
Speaker 1 (31:41):
Over over over which one chicken grease. Yes, yes, this
is vocals on it, This is no, this is just
the just the track.
Speaker 8 (31:55):
You know.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
Them two get together and I'm on the.
Speaker 8 (31:57):
Tour bus and voodoo. Them two will be at the front,
like watching James Brownie. Look he moved his left knuckle
and the band and the band went to gh and
I'll be like, I'm going to the I'm going to the.
Speaker 4 (32:13):
Here's the thing though, I don't know if you remember this, man,
but speaking of new wave, you know that was the
last thing that Mary sang one. Really she the bike accident,
she did her vocals, She went to the studio to
do her vocals on that bike ride home.
Speaker 8 (32:32):
Oh, I didn't know what.
Speaker 6 (32:34):
Is talking about.
Speaker 9 (32:35):
This is Mary Mary Han, Mary Hanson of stere to
Vote Mary Hanson. Yeah and yeah, Mary, she died in
the biking accident. I didn't know that was her last record.
That was one of her last records.
Speaker 4 (32:50):
It wasn't after she did it was it was something
related either like Dubley had to communicate with like either
her check or something like that. But all I remember
was that like Doubly had dealt with her hours before
and then as soon as we got to the studio.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
It was like she passed away. I have a question,
shut up stage.
Speaker 5 (33:11):
I know, I feel like we haven't done that much.
Speaker 3 (33:13):
Yeah, it was time for one. We've heard a lot
of about Amir's relationship with Dyla. What was your like
when did you meet him? And this was, uh like
water for chocolate, you know.
Speaker 8 (33:25):
Com was like, yo, man, we gonna go to Detroit
and uh, I'm working with Dylan and I've never met Dyla,
never seen him. And of course I love the music,
but in my mind, I'm like Dyla was six eight
three hundred pounds.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
I remember. I remember going to the private and they
opened the door and I'm looking up like.
Speaker 5 (33:49):
Oh that's true.
Speaker 8 (33:53):
What's up man?
Speaker 1 (33:55):
Yep yep, yep, yep, yep, yep, yep, yep.
Speaker 8 (33:58):
So that same that day we wonte Literally the same
thing happened, just instantly. Questions and I forget what else but.
Speaker 9 (34:09):
Questions, Yeah, cold blood.
Speaker 1 (34:12):
Question uh no doing it yeah not We're doing it funky.
Speaker 8 (34:19):
For you, all right? So I mean I was just
a fan again, the not only his approach to drums,
but what I loved about him being a piano player,
his approach, the way he would put samples together. Changes, Yeah,
the changes. It was almost like he instead of twelve
(34:43):
notes and it was like there was like eighteen notes
in it. Because just the way that things would mesh
that you wouldn't imagine. And you can try and play
the stuff, but your fingers can't really do its, you know.
So I love that about him, and you know that
was that was my guy.
Speaker 1 (35:03):
When the Anthenyum was a five star hotel, oh.
Speaker 8 (35:06):
I stayed the Infinium Hotel all the time.
Speaker 1 (35:08):
Infinium now is like a one and a half star hotel.
Speaker 7 (35:13):
Can I ask y'all to a question sol aquarians how
I don't even know where to start, but I kind
of want to say, in twenty twenty twenty four, how
do y'all see the sol aquarians?
Speaker 6 (35:23):
And what do you in retrospect?
Speaker 1 (35:25):
Like, Man, it's weird, all right.
Speaker 4 (35:28):
So Roch called me yesterday, Roch Common and he's been
getting poached by you know, Hollywood connection on that stuff.
And you know, the idea of it is nice. But
I'm really at a place now where I want a
(35:50):
stress free existence.
Speaker 5 (35:53):
In some friends.
Speaker 6 (35:54):
But y'all are older people. Okay, I got you.
Speaker 3 (35:57):
Yeah, But it's just like, you know, maybe just do
an updated photo shoot and be dumba there we go.
Speaker 1 (36:03):
But even that would take twelve years. That would take
twelve years.
Speaker 4 (36:08):
I mean, I'm not trying to be like overly dramatical,
like talk a bunch of shit and then cut to
all right, guys, let's organize and do it together.
Speaker 1 (36:16):
But it's just like I, for one, similar to you.
Speaker 4 (36:21):
I'll say that I've had four secret hospital trips in
the last twenty years. Four of them were always sold
queer and related just the stress the stress of you know,
and I can't.
Speaker 6 (36:41):
Do that anymore.
Speaker 4 (36:44):
Yeah, but no, no, no, not to this level. So I mean, yeah,
I love the history of it. And plus it's also
like I went through so much drama after that photo
was taken, where really the story was like.
Speaker 6 (36:58):
Look left out.
Speaker 4 (37:00):
I remember that yet not left out, but it was
just like the territorial pissing part of it. You know,
that story should have been in a mere story. But
because I was in a place where I didn't want
to own or whatever, the whole anti Flower ship, I
was like, put everybody in it because it's all it's
like all of ours and yeah, it's just.
Speaker 6 (37:23):
What's the James translation?
Speaker 4 (37:25):
What was your James had a nice coat? I was like, wait,
why am I the dn't asked Marie Malone's T shirt Erica,
Like I got you this shirt, but.
Speaker 1 (37:39):
James got a hair coat, Like.
Speaker 8 (37:43):
Hey. That whole experience to me was was funny because
I always I was looking at like I am I
am very happy to be here, you know what I mean.
It's just me, Like it was like just everybody around,
even the musical side of it. Before this, I was like,
(38:04):
you gotta understand what what I've said a lot of
the stuff was created instantly, So to me it was like,
oh man, I'm just playing and it's people like it.
So it was. It was everything was a bit of
a surprise to me at that time, like I'm just here,
you know, everything was. I was right out and bushytailed
and everything.
Speaker 4 (38:24):
So mind beautiful when it works, it's beautiful, but it's
just lead.
Speaker 6 (38:31):
But it's still working a little bit. For James and
way like you, y'all, love of my life was postal.
Speaker 8 (38:36):
I'm just talking about all that, like the drama and stuff.
I wasn't really that's what I'm I saw it was
affecting him, but I was like, I am just here.
Speaker 2 (38:43):
I'm just a piano man.
Speaker 1 (38:45):
You look like, oh, I'm just the money you meant
in the bus. And to be honest with you, like
we've never broken up.
Speaker 4 (38:53):
I mean at the moment that the wants to go
in the studio, chances are he's gonna hit me up
or something like that. And ship we just started working
on even though the small steps.
Speaker 1 (39:05):
Actually none of those Pete.
Speaker 8 (39:08):
Uh, I'm sorry.
Speaker 6 (39:10):
Oh, I mean he's edited himsel because he said something shouldn't.
Speaker 1 (39:12):
Go ahead it right?
Speaker 4 (39:13):
No, no, no, no, I was gonna say Oh, by the way,
none of our interludes made it because.
Speaker 1 (39:19):
It is my record. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (39:20):
So, James, you look like the soul Quarian's pimp. It's
like it's like they're all dressed for something cool. He's like,
better pay me, bitch.
Speaker 6 (39:33):
He looks expensive.
Speaker 7 (39:38):
I'm just ask the question as safe and as possible, James,
what was the biggest lesson you learned, especially coming from
a finance background and your experience working on the album
that should not be named Ah because you touched it?
Speaker 2 (39:57):
What is the album that should not be named.
Speaker 1 (40:00):
Oh, got you Miss Lady?
Speaker 7 (40:02):
The mis education of Lauren Hill Jack education.
Speaker 1 (40:08):
I mean, the finance thing is if you're gonna look.
Speaker 6 (40:11):
At it from that, keeping it safe, so but you
can go.
Speaker 8 (40:14):
I'm just saying, if you're looking from that point of view,
it's like, be careful what you're invest in.
Speaker 6 (40:19):
Okay, Okay, you know what I mean.
Speaker 8 (40:21):
Some things that you think you're investing in, the returns
don't come back the way they're supposed to come back.
Speaker 5 (40:28):
If you want to talk, Yeah, that ambiguous and fantastic going.
Speaker 8 (40:33):
I'll say the really so it started with uh one
day will all make sense for common.
Speaker 1 (40:43):
You know what I asked doing those those Common sessions.
Speaker 4 (40:47):
I was like, dog, do you not realize like back
then we heard that ship and I was like, oh man,
it was like a Calvin got a job moment. I said,
but you do realize that that's one of the most
tune death Like, yeah, it really doesn't have Every time
it started playing, we thought we thought it was like.
Speaker 6 (41:06):
Two hundred and fifty dollars work.
Speaker 1 (41:10):
Yeah, but yeah, we laughed and he's like, yeah, I
realized I was going it started.
Speaker 8 (41:16):
So with that song, you know, Common was in the
in the session in New York with No ID and
they were like, yo, when I'm working on a song
with Lauren Hill, but the vibe ain't right, can you
come up? So I took the train up sort of
reworked the song with him, and it came out great,
and Long was excited. Yeah. So I get a call
a couple months later and Long was like, can you
(41:36):
come up to Jersey? So I go up to Jersey
to our house and I met We'll never forget this conversation.
Sitting there, she's eating breakfast. Yeah, I want you to
come in and help me work on this album. Play
some stuff, write some stuff, produce, some stuff on the album.
Speaker 6 (41:51):
Those three things play right produce so.
Speaker 8 (41:53):
Cool chicks, so you know, and we developed a relationship.
Speaker 1 (41:59):
You know.
Speaker 8 (41:59):
It was like yo, ell el boogie, you know, learn
what up. I'll go up there. I would Spade stay
days at the house I was. This was when I
was staying in Sion's bedroom the baby at the time,
you know, working in the studio. She she already had
a crew of guys that she's working with, the Newark guys,
Vader and them, and also my brother Chay Pope was
(42:21):
working on some stuff also, So me and Chay, who's
still like he just text me, you know, we're still together.
But we were working on things for I was playing
on some things. It was just a lot of moving
parts and a lot of stuff happening, even though some
of the other projects she was working on, like Aretha
Franklin Rose, you know, I remember her calling me. I
(42:44):
think it was like because it's you too.
Speaker 1 (42:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (42:46):
I was in my studio in Philly and I think
it was eight o'clock at night, Can you come to
New York? So I jumped to my car, drove out there,
played on the Rose and still the Rose, you know,
crashed at the crib crib whatnot. So those kind of
things was happening at all times. So was the end
of when the albums being wrapped up. That's when things changed.
That's when I couldn't get along on the phone without
(43:07):
the manager being on the phone. And it was like, oh, yeah,
you you did agree to that work for hire thing.
I was like, what what youre talking about? Willis?
Speaker 2 (43:16):
You know?
Speaker 1 (43:18):
Long story shirt?
Speaker 8 (43:19):
I uh, you know, I did follow a lawsuit, but
then I dropped the lawsuit because I just I was
at the time, I wasn't strong enough to deal with
it because it was a lot of stress. You know,
it was a lot of and you know, I chalked
it up to a loss and a learned experience.
Speaker 7 (43:36):
And while the urban legend goes that James Foult, he
did and he won. He got a lot of money.
I just need you to know that that was the
urban legend.
Speaker 1 (43:41):
No, no, he was. He was part of the He
was the.
Speaker 7 (43:44):
One that start, the first one that started the legitious situation,
and so nobody did anybody ever.
Speaker 8 (43:52):
Yeah, it took him a while a few years, right, yeah,
But I was like, I'm just washing my hands of
it and move on. I've been cool ever since you know,
I'm good. So, yeah, it happened, you know, learning experience.
Speaker 4 (44:06):
Do you feel in general, because I hear a lot
that like everyone's writes a passage or trial by fire
thing is like the getting gang story. Yeah that it
is absolutely, absolutely it is. Well someone's gonna get jerked.
Speaker 7 (44:22):
Yeah, yeah, So what is the thing that you now
do different you had started doing different from that moment,
Like even is it a paperwork thing, is it a
conversation that you now have before or.
Speaker 5 (44:30):
A lawyer or if it's a lawyer.
Speaker 8 (44:33):
Here's the thing, though, everything that I did in that
situation is what I've done with other artists and have
continued to do, and it's all been cool.
Speaker 1 (44:43):
It was just that it was just that kind.
Speaker 4 (44:45):
Of thing, not not that my two senses needed in
this matter. But I think a lot of the unspoken
elephant in Room of it All is that perhaps maybe
she was under the impression of you know, this whole
like the Stevie the Prince written and produced the arrange
and da da da da dad like that.
Speaker 1 (45:04):
But I don't know any.
Speaker 4 (45:05):
Situation that doesn't require a village, Like even all the
Prince's stuff was you know, here revolution members now saying
I wrote that baseline and that sort of thing, you know.
I wish that she knew that, because I often wonder
if she's punishing herself by stalling.
Speaker 1 (45:30):
As a means to.
Speaker 4 (45:33):
If it was humiliating to get caught out there with
the hand and her cookie jar, Like does she think, like, see,
we told you she wasn't no real producer, da da da.
She had people to do it for, but it's like
dude like productions literally giving your two cents to what
you think the musicians should do, and the you know,
that sort of thing. But I don't know, I feel
(45:55):
like if she has a better relationship that like, I'm
not judging her because of that.
Speaker 1 (46:00):
It's like surprise, everyone works on everyone's records, and.
Speaker 9 (46:04):
That doesn't take away from my enjoyment of those records
by knowing, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (46:09):
If it's dope, it's dope.
Speaker 1 (46:10):
But almost feel as though, like.
Speaker 4 (46:13):
The the insular side of her story starts with you know,
the revolution, you know, because the way that she initially
I guess she initially won the case, and then and
then the last minute, eleventh hour videotape revelation of the.
Speaker 6 (46:30):
Proof that they were doing other people were right.
Speaker 4 (46:32):
That came into play and then it's you know, and
I almost felt like, wow, she probably feels like we're
judging it and all that stuff.
Speaker 3 (46:39):
But no, didn't Michael Jackson scrubs someone's name off off
the credits or something like that.
Speaker 4 (46:44):
Or.
Speaker 9 (46:49):
Great feeling games writing the bridge on everybody.
Speaker 1 (46:54):
It's listen.
Speaker 8 (46:55):
It's like, you know, I didn't write one hundred percent
of the song. I will be the first submitted. She
absolutely it is supremely talented. But you know, my little
played a small part. Just give me that credit. The
small part.
Speaker 1 (47:09):
I get it.
Speaker 4 (47:16):
Damn this is I feel like this is a special
episode of good Times when nig Mamas just passed and whatnot.
Speaker 6 (47:23):
Just happy. James felt comfortable having that conversation.
Speaker 4 (47:25):
So this is what I always want to know, because
you know, you could tell the fiber of America based
on interactions and airports and yeah, to this day, that's.
Speaker 5 (47:36):
Not what I thought you were gonna say.
Speaker 1 (47:39):
I don't know, but not that I agreed, like I
know what you're talking about. No, I'm just saying.
Speaker 4 (47:46):
Man Yay once famously said that you know, he'll sit
in airports like when he designs an easy sneaker. He
hints the not like the whatever the medicine shoes or
the geriatric shoes or whatever they call it. But you know,
everyone always comes up to me and says, hey, I
love your CNN special on racism and all that stuff.
Speaker 1 (48:11):
But I know post thank you notes.
Speaker 4 (48:15):
I know that post thank you notes, your life might
have to be somewhat hellish of people.
Speaker 2 (48:20):
Nelson George, shut up. I never seen Nelson George and
James poising.
Speaker 1 (48:29):
The same room.
Speaker 6 (48:31):
That is hilarious.
Speaker 1 (48:40):
That's going to live rent for you my head. No,
that is crazy.
Speaker 8 (48:44):
That's funny.
Speaker 5 (48:48):
I never thought about it between pimp Aquarius and.
Speaker 6 (48:55):
No.
Speaker 4 (48:55):
But I'm just saying that. You know, and I know
this is very weird to say, but you being.
Speaker 1 (49:00):
That is you? Yes, you forgot what he looked like.
I'm pretty sure that's you.
Speaker 5 (49:08):
Okay, sorry you, but you.
Speaker 4 (49:11):
Being uh highly utilized and recognizable Jiff.
Speaker 1 (49:16):
It's actually not none of the scot fat either.
Speaker 2 (49:20):
Because that's new celebrity now.
Speaker 1 (49:22):
That's yeah. I'm not a Jiff, you know what I mean.
Speaker 5 (49:25):
You are.
Speaker 1 (49:26):
I'm a gift, but I'm not a go.
Speaker 6 (49:28):
To like James.
Speaker 4 (49:29):
Yeah, if it's shade or citizens this space comes up first.
Is that a weird feeling for you?
Speaker 2 (49:41):
It is to be because you.
Speaker 1 (49:46):
I get recognized.
Speaker 8 (49:47):
It's crazy that I get recognized. And it's the funny
thing is always older grandmother.
Speaker 5 (49:53):
Yeah, they love Nelson, Joe.
Speaker 1 (49:56):
They watched the Tonight Show. They watched the Tonight Show.
Speaker 8 (50:00):
And I can hear I'm walking up here and I
hear James shut. So when I hear that, I'm instantly
I noticed it, Like, Hey, I don't like, I don't know, that's.
Speaker 9 (50:13):
Like the new sampling. Like it really like means that's
like the new sampling. Like it totally just exposes you
to a new audience that never would have got to
you otherwise.
Speaker 7 (50:22):
So yeah, on a follon note a mirror, I just
like to ask you, like, why did you feel like
you had to.
Speaker 6 (50:29):
Have James on this this ride?
Speaker 4 (50:31):
Mostly we wanted to double down on every instrument because
one person as a keyboard player, then if James is sick,
you know, our parents are up there in age anything,
you know what I mean, we need to double down.
So there's always like two keyboard players, two drummers.
Speaker 6 (50:53):
Two drummers.
Speaker 1 (50:54):
Wait, Elliott, Okay, I'm in a band called The Root.
Speaker 7 (50:58):
But okay, don't do that because this people don't think
drummer Strow.
Speaker 6 (51:01):
Okay, because they see Strow, I don't do that. They
see him on a little thing.
Speaker 3 (51:05):
I think a lot of what happens on the Tonight
show is kind of like live scoring of like what's
whatever's happening on the stage. And so James is good
at that.
Speaker 6 (51:16):
I thought that's what he was going. What's that where
I thought he was going to go with more with I.
Speaker 3 (51:19):
Mean, there's other reasons, but that's one of the reasons
I see.
Speaker 1 (51:23):
I'm sorry.
Speaker 4 (51:25):
Well, besides, he could play his ass off obvious things.
Speaker 1 (51:28):
I thought we knew that already. You're reading, right my
reading think necessary? No, Well, so I can.
Speaker 5 (51:40):
I can write piano music, but I can't play it
for the ship like two staffs at the same time. Nope,
not happening.
Speaker 8 (51:45):
The guys that can read, is it worth it?
Speaker 5 (51:47):
It depends on your profession in my opinion.
Speaker 4 (51:49):
I don't know, man, I feel like, I mean, once
I found the Philadelphia school curriculum is dropping cursive writing
and penmanship, Well that's different.
Speaker 6 (51:59):
They can't get rid of it. Come on, imagine Kaplain
and I haven't it.
Speaker 1 (52:02):
They don't have it. They're not reading music.
Speaker 7 (52:04):
No, no, oh yeah, no, I know the chur curses
a rape.
Speaker 1 (52:10):
Is there anything we didn't cover?
Speaker 6 (52:13):
It was just too much.
Speaker 4 (52:14):
You're doing it now, like talk about talk about the
TV shows. Yeah, like your your life as a score
and thank you for totally awesome by the way, I
think you could.
Speaker 1 (52:24):
That movie was hilarious.
Speaker 2 (52:27):
That movie that was like a.
Speaker 9 (52:28):
Spoof movie with Chris Chris I think it was Chris
the Brand directed.
Speaker 8 (52:35):
Yeah, Neil, Neil.
Speaker 2 (52:38):
This is.
Speaker 5 (52:40):
James's current job is the Jason Siegel character on whatever
that show is. He just plays low tones and like actually.
Speaker 1 (52:47):
He said in front of TV.
Speaker 4 (52:51):
Say it was frustrating for me because they never know
what they want.
Speaker 1 (52:55):
They know what they don't want.
Speaker 8 (52:57):
That's it. That's the thing. You got to learn to
break the notes writing whatever they tell you. You know, I've
had to learn that.
Speaker 1 (53:04):
Take a huge broke you.
Speaker 9 (53:06):
I learned that you were a big part of teaching
me that when we did that Fame record, because you know,
you talk about me telling you the truth, like I
would send the joint and you came back. It was like, okay, man, Yeah,
this is dope. But I think, you know this part
you should change and do a little bit whatever. And
that was the thing that taught me of like listen, man,
like this is not yours.
Speaker 2 (53:23):
You're working in service of something bigger. So if they
want more cowvill, just give them more for exactly. That's
the end of it.
Speaker 8 (53:30):
I had to you know, I didn't realize I had
an ego, but that part the first time you hear
when somebody says that's cool, but no, wow, when.
Speaker 4 (53:40):
You get the equalizer, how is it fed to you
when you're giving scenes like we need something here?
Speaker 8 (53:47):
Yeah. So I'm co scoring that with a guy named
Robert Duncan, who's done who did it from the beginning
for the first free seasons. I came on on the
third season. I'm in season four now. So he was
a true vet at the stuff. So I'm he's been
teaching me a lot.
Speaker 4 (54:04):
Uh. Dana and Sha called me when I was like,
I really want to do the scoring thing. I reached
out to a lot of people like, hey.
Speaker 8 (54:13):
If you need music for anything, I'm trying to do it.
And hit me back.
Speaker 1 (54:16):
You know, it's a whole the brain side.
Speaker 8 (54:18):
It's not It's not like a whole d M. I
was like, yo, if so, she hired me for Cherished
Today and I did. I did the first three episodes.
Speaker 1 (54:30):
We got fired.
Speaker 8 (54:33):
You got listen when I got fired, my agent said,
you're officially in a composer.
Speaker 1 (54:39):
Wow, oh what's that like? It sucks?
Speaker 8 (54:43):
It sucks, but it is, it is what it is.
Speaker 6 (54:45):
You learn from You are so blessed. That's beautiful. That
was a beautiful question.
Speaker 5 (54:48):
I got fired before I got fired by Terry Gilliam,
you know.
Speaker 1 (54:52):
Wow.
Speaker 5 (54:52):
Yeah, I did some like weird it was like some
NASCAR thing and it just wasn't happening. I got the uh,
it's going on away different, like a whole different direction.
Speaker 1 (55:05):
I know it was.
Speaker 2 (55:05):
It was for me.
Speaker 5 (55:06):
I just didn't have it.
Speaker 3 (55:08):
I got fired from Schizzler for stealing Fried Trimp.
Speaker 2 (55:18):
So the scoring you do that pretty much from the crib.
Speaker 8 (55:21):
Yeah, from from the house. Yeah, you're working on Equalizer.
Started a new show which I can't really talk about
right now, comedy. It's actually a crime drammer, a bunch
of actually it's not that's more Equalized. This is more
string quartet, right yeah.
Speaker 2 (55:43):
And a lot of stuff.
Speaker 6 (55:45):
When can we talk about it?
Speaker 8 (55:48):
When it comes out because you don't know when you're
gonna get fired.
Speaker 5 (55:52):
Preach you like writing for strings that it's it's something new,
you know.
Speaker 8 (55:57):
Again, I'm pretty much educated and a lot of that stuff,
but I had to YouTube. University is a beautiful place.
Speaker 1 (56:07):
What's the crunch education version of scoring? Like what did
you have.
Speaker 8 (56:11):
To learn the it's not and it wasn't anything musical Again,
It's what we talked about, losing the ego and learning
really really truly learning that you got to do what
they want period right period, So you can be as
musical as you want to be. If that ain't it,
that ain't the picture.
Speaker 1 (56:30):
Stick to the picture.
Speaker 8 (56:31):
You have to stick to what they what they want.
Speaker 4 (56:33):
Well, I always you know, the first thing they always
lose when I got called was no drums.
Speaker 5 (56:38):
So you're like.
Speaker 1 (56:41):
Because it gets in the way of the dialogue, and
I'm like, well, I'm not this is not for me.
Speaker 8 (56:45):
It's funny though that I've read and seen that there's
a lot of like really heavyweight producers that try to
do this and they can.
Speaker 9 (56:53):
They don't like being told no, yeah, and to like
doing working on TV that's a different timeline, Like you
don't have time to sit and talk for two hours
about It's like we need this ship now, Yeah.
Speaker 4 (57:04):
That's what it is, all right, So we got to
get you past Ludwig. Like for me, Ludwig is the
try that has to Yeah.
Speaker 1 (57:12):
I mean he started a community and then he did
all He's Cold lover stuff.
Speaker 4 (57:16):
He's amazing, and then he did Black Panther and behind
it just one Gordons and the composer.
Speaker 6 (57:24):
I got context clues I figured out about.
Speaker 1 (57:29):
Yeah, but you know him.
Speaker 8 (57:31):
Chris Bowles is another one that's.
Speaker 4 (57:33):
Just like, ah, yeah, Chris, So those are the mountains
you have to climb to get to the prime stuff.
Speaker 1 (57:39):
Yeah, what is it that you want to score?
Speaker 8 (57:42):
I would love to do some big budget Hollywood John
Williams ship.
Speaker 6 (57:49):
Action, action, don't matter.
Speaker 8 (57:51):
Yeah, you know I love all kinds of film, you
know I love.
Speaker 3 (57:55):
Maybe you want to circle back to common or maybe
maybe a question the guy who you made fun of
not getting the gig, maybe you should call him.
Speaker 1 (58:06):
Movies these days?
Speaker 4 (58:11):
Like for you is besides the never released Randy Watson record?
Speaker 1 (58:17):
Is there? You've done everything? Now?
Speaker 4 (58:21):
Like, what is your preferred method of creativity? Do you
prefer live ship? Do you prefer creating a record from
Souper Nuts.
Speaker 8 (58:31):
It's a combination of all of it.
Speaker 1 (58:33):
You know what I mean doing it? You wish you
were doing what's over there.
Speaker 8 (58:38):
For me, if I do too much of one thing,
I get kind of cranking. It's like I gotta go.
I need to go to a jam session or go play.
You know, it's crazy. We only play. We play less
than ten minutes of music on the show. Really, so
you want to play.
Speaker 1 (58:53):
You know.
Speaker 8 (58:54):
That's why we started doing those jazz gigs around town
just so we could.
Speaker 7 (58:58):
Did you could just pop up at all.
Speaker 4 (59:01):
He was at Djengo at the Django, which was like
a really hip New York jazz jazz in the ground spot.
Speaker 1 (59:07):
But now Chief has Uncle Chiefs have you guys.
Speaker 8 (59:10):
Don't get played. I played that before. It's great.
Speaker 4 (59:12):
Yeah, so yeah, Dave Guy and Ian Hendrickson and James.
Speaker 1 (59:19):
James is really uh.
Speaker 4 (59:20):
He downplays his actual piano ability. Let me find out
that James doesn't think that he's a good piano player.
Speaker 6 (59:29):
I'm still learning, as you should. There's nothing wrong with that,
but not.
Speaker 4 (59:33):
Even like he's a very capable piano player, because we
wouldn't utilized them all these decades.
Speaker 8 (59:41):
Shut up but the best thing is the balance of
sitting in front of a computer screen doing whatever, playing
with the band, playing live, you know, just the combination
of all of those things, doing session work. You know,
that's just I love it all. I love it.
Speaker 6 (59:58):
What's the next record that you are working?
Speaker 7 (01:00:00):
Like?
Speaker 6 (01:00:00):
Artists wise, I'm working with Tank, Tanking, the Bankers.
Speaker 8 (01:00:05):
Poetry album, Tanking, the Bangers.
Speaker 6 (01:00:08):
But first of all, either way, I'm good, okay, but Tank, I.
Speaker 1 (01:00:11):
Feel like you're given I feel like you were given
other tank energy.
Speaker 6 (01:00:15):
I was given other Tankery because I was just jameson.
Speaker 8 (01:00:23):
If she's listening, what up be that's my that's my
New Orleans as she hates.
Speaker 6 (01:00:31):
She's been on this show.
Speaker 5 (01:00:32):
Sounds Jamaican does That's what she said.
Speaker 4 (01:00:36):
Okay, So before we wrap up, Stevens, there anything else
you want to add?
Speaker 3 (01:00:39):
James Poison is a legend, totally.
Speaker 1 (01:00:41):
No real bro.
Speaker 8 (01:00:42):
Thank you, thank you man.
Speaker 4 (01:00:44):
You know I will say that you know, of all
the keyboard players in the world from West Philly, Kate Bourne,
extremely specific.
Speaker 5 (01:01:06):
Like Nelson George, Yes exactly, I wouldn't.
Speaker 6 (01:01:09):
You in a room. No, that's that's a bit though,
that Nelson George saying.
Speaker 4 (01:01:15):
I gotta find that on my damn so now, thank
you for doing this and you know taking flowers and serious.
Speaker 1 (01:01:22):
Thank you man, thank you for always being a big
brother man.
Speaker 8 (01:01:25):
Appreciate it.
Speaker 7 (01:01:28):
In the film the TV world like that's dope, like
that theis of that is like, oh no, that was.
Speaker 1 (01:01:33):
My first you guys except for.
Speaker 4 (01:01:41):
James and Phil and like in Fanto and Sugar uh
this of course Love Supreme will see you all next week.
Speaker 1 (01:01:49):
This is Sugar Steve.
Speaker 3 (01:01:50):
Thank you for listening to Quest Love Supreme. This podcast
is hosted by a mere Quest Love Thompson, Saint Clair,
Ponte Colman, Sugar Steve Mandel, and unpaid Bill Fairman. The
executive producers are a mere Quest of Thompson, Sean Ge
and Brian Calvin, produced by Britney Benjamin, Jake Payne and
Liiah Saint Clair, edited by Alex Conroy. Produced for iHeart
(01:02:14):
by Noel Brown and.
Speaker 1 (01:02:23):
What'stlum. Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 4 (01:02:31):
For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Hosts And Creators
Laiya St. Clair
Questlove
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Decisions, Decisions
Welcome to "Decisions, Decisions," the podcast where boundaries are pushed, and conversations get candid! Join your favorite hosts, Mandii B and WeezyWTF, as they dive deep into the world of non-traditional relationships and explore the often-taboo topics surrounding dating, sex, and love. Every Monday, Mandii and Weezy invite you to unlearn the outdated narratives dictated by traditional patriarchal norms. With a blend of humor, vulnerability, and authenticity, they share their personal journeys navigating their 30s, tackling the complexities of modern relationships, and engaging in thought-provoking discussions that challenge societal expectations. From groundbreaking interviews with diverse guests to relatable stories that resonate with your experiences, "Decisions, Decisions" is your go-to source for open dialogue about what it truly means to love and connect in today's world. Get ready to reshape your understanding of relationships and embrace the freedom of authentic connections—tune in and join the conversation!