QLS Classic: Kwamé (Part 2)

What classic 90's jam did Kwamé partially ghostwrite? Find out the answer and much more on part 2 of the Questlove Supreme interview with Kwamé.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Of Course Love Supreme is a production of I Heart Radio.
This classic episode was produced by the team at Pandora.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to part two of Quamite's interview
on QULIS Classic from October two thousand and eighteen. He
went through so many stories about his childhood and growing

(00:22):
up in his father's house and then working with Herbie
love Bug and you know, Atlantic Records and that whole
like connection with Philly rappers and also the idol majors
with Salt and pepper Kid and Play and all that stuff.
You know, so much crazy buckout stories. Hope you enjoy
Part two of quls Classic and Quamity previously on West

(00:55):
Love Supreme. Uh, the legendary Qualmine talks about growing up
in Queens, discovered hip hop and rising and touring with
the likes of Pepper Kit and play in way all
that stuff and when you know, we're gonna get into
that leag thing as well. So here's part two of

(01:16):
of Course I Love the Supreme with uam Okay. So
I the one important aspect of your career that we've
yet to get into, which is very vital to your career,
is your sense of style and what you brought to it, Um,

(01:40):
Polka dots, the you know, two tune hair, the crazy
haircuts and and the kind of the g Q dressing
like you were. Couldn't get I couldn't get that I
had a polka dot shirt. My mom on, let me
get the diamond. She would she wouldn't go, pil you
don't get a polka dot shirt, wouldn't let me get
this known Me and Treka brothers like we basically would

(02:02):
just share three shirts like I had. I had the
urban now Fitters love shirts doing it yeah me and
share that shirt the preppy bit of time to the
Coca Cola sweaters and all that stuff. Like, So, I
mean your style was definitely it was it was. It
was preppy and kind of progressive hip like it wasn't

(02:28):
the street. You know, it wasn't dapper Danish. So what
made you in the era where Dapper Dan was running
ship and track suits and you know even with Philly,
like with Alpianas and you know, the drug dealer looked
like what made you like, Okay, I'm gonna go with this,
Like I think, Um, because of my influences and because

(02:53):
of parental guidance. Actually you know, like one of the
biggest fights that I ever gotten to what my father
was the fact that I went and I had a
job at a sea town actually, and saved up my
money and bought this fake fat rope. Was sick giant
fat rope, and my godfather, who was a cop, confiscated

(03:18):
a beeper and gave it to me. So I had
the beeper and the fat rope, and my father came
downstairs and and that was just my rapper constume. And
my father came into my room, I guess to get
laundry or whatever he did, and he saw the fat
rope and the peper and he threw him out. So
when I came home, like it was my fat rope

(03:38):
with my peoper, I'm about to go to this party,
I gotta look like me um, and my Pop's like,
you're not wearing that ship outside. You're not gonna, you know,
look like a drug dealer. You know, on my watch,
you're not doing that. No, But that's what I gotta do.
That's that's me. That's that's that's I'm a rapper. Said, no,
you you're like an idiot, you know, like that's not
even you. You're not You're not from that you wear
you like to wear suits, you don't even wear eekers,

(04:00):
you like to wear shoes. You asked me for money
to buy you know. I definitely was into balleys and
wing tips and all this stuff. What are you doing?
You know? And and we got into this knockdown, drag
out fight, you know, like almost physical, like my pops
had to like grip me up because I was popping
so much. Ship like you don't go in my room
touch my ship, you ship boom, you know what I'm saying. It.

(04:24):
It was like it was one of those things and
it was almost like a wake up call because when
I sat there and I was like, you know, I
cannot afford Dapa dad mhm. I don't like to be
fake in any way, shape or form. So I'm walking
around with this orange, yellow and white looking chain that's

(04:44):
been turning like the earth, and it's like, you know,
the beeper don't work. You can't put the four one
one on the nine one one, and me so like,
what it's not It's not me, you know. And and
I like to dress up, but then at the same
time I know that I'm not I'm a different kid.

(05:09):
I'm just I'm different, and I don't have a problem
with expressing that there is a side of me that
does like some of the hip hop things. So like
if you look at like, for example, my first album
cover Boy Jenius, I'm sitting there, I have on a
preppy Mickey Mouse shirt. Um you know, but I do

(05:29):
have a sick cable tucked in the shirt. But and
it was a real one. But that was like saying that, Okay,
look I can I can go here, but I choose
to go there, and you know at my nerd uh
wayfair glasses on, and and it wasn't necessarily a gimmick
at all. It was just saying that, look, man, I

(05:51):
gotta set myself apart. Now. The polka dots came in
three things when I was, like I said, I was
super big Prince fan, and Prince used to rock these
Kea outs on the Love Sexy Tour and eighty seven,
and I just thought it was cool. And I used
to love the Madhouse album covered with the chick um
with the polka dot skirt on it, and I just

(06:12):
wanted her to be my wife, man, I just like
I know, I wanted them. Yeah yeah, yeah, so so
I was like, you know, she can be my girlfriend
and I can just you know, but I can hip

(06:33):
hop these like polka dots out a little bit. But
then I'm like an overthinker. So I'm like, you know,
any time I look at I'm a heavy comic book guy.
So like anytime somebody has like on polka dots, he's
either the nerd or the clown or just the the
weird guy. So I think I'm gonna I like that.
And like how you said you would share with with Terek,

(06:55):
I just had one polka shirt I swept and I
used that like five different ways. It was the shirt
on my back of the album cover, same shirt. It
was white, black dots, and I was like, I can
find so many ways to match black and white. Yeah,
my my polka dot shirt was black with white dots,
so I just had my my white shirt black dots.

(07:16):
I had a black tie with white dots, so if
I had the shirt in that tie, I could just
go crazy with the black and white and not spend
any money. And then in the video it was my
pajamas and and then on stage it was you know,
my my stage stuff. But it never went really past
the first album covered in the video until I did
my first show, and everybody in the audience had on

(07:37):
polka dots and streaks in their hair, and so I
was like, Okay, somebody threw a joke on me, blah
blah blah, and everywhere I would go, man, who was
your polka dot? And also I would never shop at
normal stores. I was shot. There was a store in
the village called Reminiscence, and Reminiscence only did repro fifties clothes.
So I bought all my polka dot ties from Reminiscence,

(07:59):
all my poking out shirts, everything I wore were reproduction
fifties outfits. And and then whatever thrift store I would
find whatever. I would get everything from thrift stores and
not spend. I was not chasing Gucci, I wasn't chasing
Louis Vatano Dapper Dan, and that just that was it.

(08:21):
I was like, I'm not gonna do that. I see,
I can buy an MPC sixty instead of a fat chain.
I can buy an SP twelve hundred instead of a
two finger ring. And that's where it's just all snowball
from how did you sign? Who signed you to your
first deal to Atlantic? So so Herbie love Bug went

(08:41):
to Sylvia Rhone and um, so I got this kid
act blah blah blah, and he you know, the deal
was met based on the fact that he was going
to produce me. But Herbie was just so busy. Most
of the album was already done. I'd saved up my money,
and um, if anybody who's really deep into hip hop,

(09:02):
as a guy named Paul C. Paul somewhat, Paul taught
me how to use the sp twelve and um, well
basically it was a music It was called the Music
Building and Queens and um, Paul had a studio, Studio
twelve twelve, and um, I've saved my money. And I

(09:25):
found out about it from a mutual friend. And I
didn't understand what Paul was doing, you know four hip
hop at the time. I just knew it was a
place I can record for cheap. So I went there
and I was like, Um, I got this amount of money,
how many hours can I get? Eight hours? Cool? When
can I get it Christmas? What damn midnight to eight

(09:49):
o'clock in the morning Christmas Day? You want to do it?
Fucking Yeah? So I went and I did, say five
of the eight songs on the boy jeans that on
those eight out because I figured that was all I'm
gonna get came on. That's that's how the line kind

(10:10):
of um formed itself because it was like, I gotta
do this Christmas so so um. But it really didn't
mean anything because my father was like a devout Muslim,
so I didn't really celebrate Christmas anyway. So um, I
did did most of that album there, but gave it
to Herbie. This was the second demo gave the her
the first demo he was not rocking with, so I

(10:30):
gave the second demo and the demo that demo had.
If anybody's familiar with the album and had the song
you had the rhythm on it, Um, the mic is mine, UM,
keep on doing example, Yeah, the first one to use it.
There was another song called the New Beginning that never
made the album. Is another song called mind Power that

(10:52):
didn't make the album. Um, and I want to say
one more. I came got down. Excuse me, dumb question.
So how much of your albums do my too? As soon?
Did you produce everything that you wrapped on? Yeah? So
so Herbie, so she to Herbie takes it in. Yeah,

(11:15):
Herbie takes it in and you know, so this is
what I produced, and so she Sylvia gives me the deal.
And I didn't have a problem with her be producing
a record for me because you know, you know, I
learned from him, so you know, hey, why not, well
seeing his name on there let me that gave me
the green lay. I don't know if I've been so
quick to if you were just you and your name alone.

(11:37):
The video was dope enough to make me buy it,
but definitely see yeah, I was like, oh, I gotta
buy this because back then you brought the Birds of
a Feather thing and so and then it said produced
by Herbie loved Buck and the Invincibles. So I was like, yo, man,
I'm not gonna get no crazy. So now you the Invincibles.
So who was the Brother's Grim. The Brother's Grim was
just me and my boy a are out. We used

(12:01):
to like to come up with a lot of concepts,
so so so we would just sit around and come
up with concepts. So just it was just like, you know,
we're the brothers, Graham and Grim. We we have our
own we used to have our own little language. And yeah,
we used to tell Grim's Grims were lies basically, so

(12:24):
like safe for example, I would say your fante Um
ninth one that said that you never wrote none of
your raps and you would be like, we are you
talking about? I said, no, I don't know. I was.
I was. I was in a studio and he was
just talking about talking so greasy about you. Man, I
don't understand why why would he do that? And we

(12:46):
would sit there and watch you just get heated. Oh no, no, no,
I'm talking about We've had like Salt wanting to go
fight MC light, like like we would be terrible. So
those were Grims. So when you get to your hottest point,
we were like Graham. So so that's where the brothers

(13:10):
Graham came from, because that's all to the point where
people would be like, look when they come around, don't
say nothing. Yeah. So that that was how so Sylvia
got the Um the first demo, and I just spent
days and days and days waiting for her we to
show up to give me a record, and I was like, man,

(13:32):
I'm just gonna finish this ship up myself. And then
you know, records like and this is how I met
Slick Rick. For example, sweet thing I did sweet thing
and then somebody from the studio, and the studio was
out of a house. It was a regular house in
racist Bayside Queens like we would I'm talking about. It
was to the point where it was like old school
seventies dudes with mullets and muscle cars would get out

(13:55):
of the town nigger and chase something. We have to
run into this house. And the house was owned by um,
a man dave In so it's like a Chinese family.
So run into the Chinese house. And downstairs was like
the most incredible history making studio. Also and Pepper Records
all Kidn't Play records, all of my records, day of
Dane Records. Everything was made out of this house. And
Push the bathroom like where they did the yesh it's

(14:18):
all in the vocals in the bathroom. No, No, we
had a we had a vocal vocal booth. But then
there's you know between Herbie's bedroom, which was probably the Push.
It was probably done there. But um, between Herbie's bedroom
and this studio and Bayside called Bayside Sound, that's where
everything was done. And I remember somebody calling me It's
like yo, um, I think you need to get here quick.

(14:39):
So I'm running to the studio and I hear a
beat that sounds like Sweet Thing playing. I'm like, yo'
jacking my ship. And then I get into the room
and then you know, we had the two inch tapes,
so I saw my two inch tape next to theirs,
so I'm like, oh, somebody's really jacking. So I'm beefing, like, yo,
who the fun? So this dude is in there producing

(15:01):
this beat off the Sweet Thing. I'm like, what the
fun man jacking my ship? And then Dana comes running out. No, no,
that's Rick man, it's my man, Rick, this slick Rick
or about to go crazy. I'm like, well, you know,
just because I was just seeing Flames. Man, my album
didn't even come out yet, and somebody's trying to jack it.

(15:23):
And Rick was like, nah, you know he let me here.
I didn't know, so we're not gonna use this because
Rick was producing a record for Dana and you know,
and that's you know, my my introduction to click Rick.
But um, it was crazy. So so back to the question.
So Sylvia sign me I was waiting for her read
to finished producing. I was sixteen, so I had to

(15:45):
get like I had to go to court and get
a parental waiver to de sign the deal. Um, and
I just used to always be at the record label,
just like a kid, hanging around, like anybody understands Lantic records,
like running into the office and not this is pre them,
but running around and I'm running into I'm at Ernigan's

(16:10):
private office where he had made, serving him breakfast and luncheon,
like telling him how cool the record label is, and
he's looking at me like, I don't even know who
you are. You're signing here? Okay, well, you know, and
just hanging out with Sylvia, hanging out with the different
because back then A and rs there were no and
rs in our age range in any way, shape or form.

(16:31):
Everybody was like my parents hate you know, like my
A and R was like the old jazz A and
our guy who plays an election? Yeah you know, did
you work with Craig comment at all when he was
or what about who's that guy? Reef? Oh yeah no,
so so my and R, Well, Sylvia was in my

(16:53):
original and and R. And then um, there was a
guy named Merlin Bob Lecture. Yeah he was, yeah, he was.
He was under Sylvia. And then when Sylvia and Merlin
were able to take over. When Silvia was able to
take over Electra and the change the name to East
West UM Merlin went with her and I felt like

(17:14):
mad a bandit. So then my UM and I was
got named Richard Nash. Richard Nash is now the head
of promotions at BMG, if I'm not mistaken, But Richard
Nash was the head of Atlantic and he took my UM.
He took over, and he used to always confuse me
with K solo but that's fine, yah. Both He would

(17:35):
introduce me, this is our our artist case solo, the
opposite of you and and exactly and and but see
what they were doing at that time. They were hiring
house DJs to be a and also Merlin Bob was

(17:55):
a big house DJ. UM My other and and I
was a guy named Kevin Woodley. He was a big
house DJ, and they were bringing them in. And then
the first hip hop guy that came in was Clark Kent.
So then they bring Clark Kent in UM, but he
wasn't UM and and that's when it started to kind
of start. The industry started turning over, and you're starting

(18:16):
to let people who actually know the music in into
the business. Um, but it was real weird. They did
not understand what to do with my records. They didn't
really understand how to promote them. I was the first
you know, solo male act signed. It was me. I
want to say d O C. But d O C

(18:37):
was with Priority so it didn't really I mean ruthless,
so it didn't really count. Um they were handling their
own stuff. Um M c Light was with first Priority,
so she was handling her own stuff. But I was
the one guy directed on Atlantic and it was just like,
you know, my my publicist was you know, in her
sixties at the time. Uh, it was just you know,

(19:01):
it was just figure it out, man. It was real
when the record became a success. What what was it
like to be sixteen years old in high school with
like a hit record. It was weird because by the
time the record came out, Um, they put me immediately
on the tour. So I went to like this, I

(19:23):
don't know why I went to this thing, but I
went to this alternative school in Bushwick, Brooklyn for like
bad kids or pregnant teams or kids that risk I
have to go to work to support a family. And
but I was like full blown quam at the time,

(19:44):
so I had to go to this after that neighborhood
was crazy. The school, I don't know. The school wasn't bad.
I don't think. I don't know because I wouldn't. I
didn't see anything. I had security guards and he locked
me up in this closet to do my work. I
couldn't interact with the kids. Yeah, so I had to

(20:06):
be in I'm like, this is whack, and and it was.
You know, Herbies management company recommended it because Pinderella had
to go there, so so she went there the year before.
And you know, I'm like, this is kind of whack.
And I remember being in my regular high school and
I would show up. This is pre me realizing who

(20:29):
I need to be, you know. I I reverted a
little bit. I got my advanced money, and then I
reverted to the gold chains and and everything. I would
like wear my goal chains. Then I would borrow Herbie's
gold chain. Then I borrowed Herbie's brother gold chain, and
I reverted to these gold chains. And I would walk

(20:49):
around school, and they thought I was a drug dealer,
so they would have they would hire a detective to
follow me around. And when I found that out. I
went to the principals office and this is how foul
this was. Went to the principal's officer and showed him
to layout of my album cover. I UM showed him

(21:10):
to contract and said, well, this is what I do.
I'm after school, I make I recall, I'm recording an album.
So the principal looked at me and was like, well,
if you're doing all this, why don't you just drop outation?

(21:31):
He said, why don't you just drop out? I don't know.
Why would I do that, I'm saying because I was
asking for permission to go on this n w A tour.
And that's like, I know that there's a work study program.
You know his name, I don't even remember. I don't
remember half of my teachers na um, And I was like,
there's a work study program. Why can't I just do that? Now?

(21:56):
You're gonna be a big star, right, What do you need?
What do you need this for? You know? And this
is not the first time my teacher has told me that.
Pre that, when I was in eighth grade, my math
teacher was like, why would you go to art school?
Or you do is sit around and try to wrap
You're never going to become an artist, you can might
as well just go to your own school, you know.

(22:17):
So it's so it shows you like those type of
teachers that didn't look like me and didn't understand what
I do or what my perspective was. I was not
a bad student in any stretch of the imagination. I
may have been bored half the time so wouldn't show
up to a class. But anybody to tell you I
wasn't bad? What was your advance at that time? How

(22:39):
much did they give you that much? The first album
cost sixty dollars to make and I got eleven thousand
out of it. That was my advance eleven I mean
compared to other eighty nine brothers we heard that was
Sylvia was sort of nice because Daylight So was there.

(23:05):
It was supposed to be a UM but that wasn't
a major label. Oh where do you say that? Because
I remember that Funky Diva's budget was two point five million.
That was a lecturer, right, But so sixty and the
reason it was supposed to be a hundred and twenty

(23:26):
but it was going to be an ep M. And
I turned in the remainder of songs and like she
didn't just giving an album. It's like, you can make
it album of ween giving no more money. And I
was like, I just thought the term having an EP.
I thought that was just whack. I was like, no,
I want an album. So it was just an eight
cut album supposed to be five cuts, not turning the
last three songs? Um, what were the last three you remember?

(23:48):
I don't. I don't. I think I think UM the
mamor on a Love Sweet Thing. I don't even remember,
to be honest, because always they seemed like the dope
should always come at the end. I was it was
never the beginning of the and it's just like I
got three more songs to give you all. It wasn't
you know. It wasn't like UM recorded in a certain
way like oh this is the this is the hot one,

(24:08):
It's the last song that I'm going to record. I don't.
It wasn't done that way. You didn't even know, like
what your singer is going to be, like the rhythm,
did you know? I had no idea. You know, we
thought the man that we didn't hear. They didn't hear
a commercial single off of that album. So the most yeah,
of course, they were definitely looking forward so and I

(24:31):
was very you know, in the beginning, I was very
I was into being lyrical um and telling stories and
and more serious about UM and the many on No.
One Love was a parody record technically, and I was
if you look on the on the vinyl, it doesn't

(24:52):
say it was performed by me. It was a character
that I had called he Me and he is me,
so so he Me that was just like a parody
of just bugging out. That was like a bugout, you know.
That was like a throwback to Prince when Prince had
his little coming on. So so he Me was like that,
and they were like, we want this to be the single.

(25:12):
I'm like, what, that's a record that's not even supposed
to be. You're like, now, it's very entertaining. And so
you know, you can visualize the um and and my
man Paris Barclay um who like video, Yeah he directed
the video. Is he still alive? Yeah, Paris is on
you know, shout to Paris, because you know, Paris is

(25:34):
dope now, like he he goes in like he's responsible
for sons of anarchy. Yeah, we gotta get somewhere around away, girl,
Just because I have never heard anybody talking about her
in the last two years. Anybody seem big last all
the time she was at my house, not even a
year ago. She's in l A Yep, I can she's

(25:59):
in my neighborhood. I can link check it out. So
so um so so Paris, you know, me and Paris
came up with the idea for the Mamory on No.
One Love and you know you mentioned Malcolm. Malcolm was
studying under Paris to direct, and so Malcolm wanted to learn.

(26:20):
So he came on the set and I was like,
you know, you want to get into videos, like yeah,
but you gotta let my homeboy Brian in and so
so this is a random kid like in the beginning,
you know, in all the faces that you know, and
it's like a one guy that you don't know and
that's his homeboy, so you know, because Brian was trying
to be an actor at the time, so you know,
it was just but and that was another thing that
I don't think happens anymore. If you got win that

(26:44):
there was a video being filmed, everybody showed up, you
might not be in the video. Like for example, um,
I remember what E. P. M D record this was,
But I remember that We've got when that they were
filming in Central Park. We got to Central Park and
I remember seeing Malcolm then I'm like, what you're doing here?
I'm just here and I was like, where's the video? Yo?

(27:06):
It's underground? Like what yeah? Yeah, So we climbed down
the sewer. Yeah, and everybody's in this. I'm like, how
did y'all get a permit in? It was like it
was like a whole city under Central Park, you know.
And and I think everybody if you found out that

(27:26):
there was a video, everybody would show up just you know,
you may get in, you may not get in it.
But it was like you know, on set, party it
all times. So so so, um wait, a question about
your performances because and sort of slick Rick mode or
what you were saying your Prince Camille thing, because you

(27:49):
did these character voices, uh, sometimes using a natural voice,
sometimes very speeding your higher voice. How would that come
off in concert? Because I mean sometimes you were like
three you were like your own muppets almost You're like
three characters. I would do it. I would just you know,

(28:10):
um oh, I love you, you know, just saying those voices.
You know, it was just like you know, I would
just do it, or but the aid of the audience
they would know some of those parts too, so so
um it was never um, I never thought about like that.
But what's your question? Oh put you on this spot? Yeah,

(28:33):
this is It has to do with the second album too,
almost there anyway, So on the second album, you introduced
me to an album that I actually wouldn't hear for
another four years. And I want to know if you
cleared the sample on Skinny Mother. Yeah wait, what how
Prince you clear George? Okay, but what I want to

(28:54):
do further, even further than that, he'll out me to use.
I went prints crazy on my third album, and I
don't know yet. I don't know who who who called me?
Two people. I got like super permission from two like

(29:17):
whoever was running Joe Bett Music. Somebody from Joe Beck
called my house. My mother answered the phone. Somebody Joe Bett.
I'm like, wait a minute, like you know what we
you know, we really like what you're doing. Whatever Joe
Records you ever want to use, you can you have
full I'm all right? And Controversy music. I don't know

(29:41):
who it was. I don't know when they called it
was like, yo, man, it's not a problem in you know,
and and you know, my my my experience, you know,
I think you know, I know you you've had better
experiences with him than I have. I've never had. I
don't think I've had a good experience with him. But

(30:03):
but he allowed me to use music when he wasn't
allowing anybody to use What does that mean? I'm sorry,
I mean I never had a good experience Prince, because
I kind of viewed you as a prince like figure
because you did it all and I was cool with
like me and Jerome Benton was super cool. Me and

(30:24):
Mars were cool, you know. So I don't I don't know.
And I know that members like Tony m and other
members of the crew would tell me that they listened
as a collective listen to my music. So so I
guess that was in and around. I guess that helped out.

(30:45):
But like I said, my personal interactions with him personally
was never like it was not a super dope experience.
Talking about Tasha, I'm like, I have I have a
think where I just always keep tabs on, like all

(31:06):
like obscure army singers. Tasha, this is a very interesting
story and I never let her live it down. Man
kid it every time. So Tasha and my girl Angie.
Angie would later on going to write Empire State of

(31:27):
Mind the singing part Um but Angie and Tasha Angie
I used to know my boy alt. Angie introduced me
to Tasha. I used to think she looked like shot
and then she said she could sing. So I wanted
to make like hip hop shot A records. And they

(31:48):
were a group. I can't remember the group that I
named them. They were like my version of Salt and
Pepper but singing and rapping, and I made like the
worst records for them. They were like the worst. They
had a single called the mic is My Boyfriend. It
was like it was like this super whack record. I
don't know what I was. It was very whack. But

(32:10):
Only Only You was made for two reasons. One, Vanessa
Williams was looking for a hip hop dance type record,
and I wanted to marry Vanessa Williams, so I wrote
only You for her and our only girl female singer

(32:33):
and no no, and he goes even bigger thing to
Sheina Arnold little sisters and they went to school with
me and Zane Is a incredible singer. So Zany I
brought Zane from school sin can you sing this song
I wrote called Only You? So Zany sings only You
and I want Zanna to be down. But they were

(32:55):
very religious and their pops was not been the secular music,
not at all. So the second singer they only knew to.
The second one was Tasha where from Tasha's from Brooklyn,
from East flat Bush, Brooklyn. So Tasha comes in and
if you really listen to Only You, you will hear

(33:15):
two separate singers. So Tasha's singing, Tasha singing the lead
and a lot of the ad libs, but the first hook,
the first hook ad libs is an A and the
harmonies or is in A and then Josha comes in
after that. So that I didn't care because it was

(33:36):
a demo for Vanessa Williams. Wait supposed to say I
can't and that was comfort. This would have been given
you the benefit. I don't know what replaced nothing replaced

(34:04):
it because I missed the album. Okay, so Herbie pretty
much put me onto it. Excuse me, and Herbie wanted
I think Herbie wanted me to do it. And then
he was gonna say he produced it, and so it
just didn't happen. But then at the same time, radio
was doing this campaign against rap and they would do

(34:25):
this thing called the No Rap Work Day was the
first station, but it was around the country or no
rap crap yes you know, so so from six am
to six pm, no rap was allowed. So my thing was, Yo,
put this record out. Don't say it's a rap record.

(34:49):
Act like it's an R and B record from Atlantic.
Um you know, let the arm because because Atlantic was separating,
it was Atlantic Street in Atlantic Street would do all
hip hop. Atlantic Proper would do like in the InVogue
records and everything. So I'm like, no, let the Atlantic
Proper push this record to radio and let's see what happens.

(35:11):
Wake up six in the morning. It goes only you.
So it was just like it was really a social
social experiment. But back to Tasha, I'm rambling. Um so
Tasha Sylvia gave Tasha deal. So I go in the
studio and while I'm recording my second, my third album,
I'm recording Tasha's album at the same time. UM we

(35:33):
actually and why you probably saw me in Philly a
lot uh Stone Creek STUDIOSUM boys man Studios used to
be a studio called KJIM and I pretty much owned KJIM.
I had a house in man Young that I rented,
and I lived in KJM, and you know all the owners,

(35:56):
you know, we were all good friends. And I was
doing the two albums, was at the same time, and
the album got finished. I don't know if it was good,
and I'm honestly, I can't say if it was good
because I wasn't like my my boyfriend so but my
R and B chops wasn't where they like they are now,

(36:18):
So it was just it wasn't Yeah, yeah, I would
bring I would bring some you know, like I can't
play every instrument in the world, so I would bring
people in. But um, you know, I would play it,
you know, electronically first and then you know, have somebody
coming and so so um mainly strings, mainly horns. I

(36:39):
don't like. I don't like fake strings and horns for nothing,
and I don't like fake guitars or baits, so you know,
those four elements always um put in. And then after
recording that album, Tasha and I were in a relationship,
and during that we stopped being in a relationship and

(37:04):
she became she became and you know, she got into
a high school boyfriend, high school sweetheart and later her husband,
and so they're in their relationship and he's full roster.
So she becomes full roster dead in the middle of this.
What does that mean? What does that tell me? Because
you know, she starts her you know, she starts coming

(37:26):
in locks, she starts coming in looking like Freddie from
different different world and and and um. For me, I
understood that the nineties were coming in and that was
the wave. But for me, I was like, yeah, if
it ain't g Q, it ain't strictly GQ going some fly. Na, man,

(37:47):
you're looking crazy out here looking. Yeah, I was one
of them. So um, you know, you know it's like no,
I don't you know people were, you know, replacing flattops
for locks. And it was like, no, you gotta gotta
keep sharp, you know. I was just on my little
one year dumb stuff. So so she and and and

(38:09):
you know, nothing against anybody who partakes in in the
Mary Jane, but I'm not. I don't drink, I don't smoke,
and I don't want that in my environment, my work environment.
I want my work environment conducive to how I live
so I can have the best creative process. That's just me.
So if you're so so, um, when you're full blown roster,

(38:39):
your your your outlook is different than that. So we
started clashing creatively, but we still pushed on. But then
from roster they became like super saved Christian. So the
super like I'm talking to about, it's quite a swing,

(39:02):
but that's that's Tasha. So she knows that I'm I'm
not saying anything bad about her. She understands that teaser
every I talked to her all the time. So so
Tasha becomes you know, the female Jerry Farwell or somebody.
She's like, she's like a missionary, like everything is God
is great, Guy is good good cool. No, no, no,

(39:24):
she's back to so she's like a mix of everything.
Though actually she's half ross to have Tasha, to have evangelists. So, um,
the album is done and it's being mastered. At this point,
her solo album, she calls Sylvia. The Lord tells me

(39:45):
I cannot move any further Lord with this music, but
her signature saying something different though I request and my
church request, let me out of my car track. Yeah,

(40:06):
m whatever, because you think about it, like this. A
lot of artists don't seem to understand there are two
and I think Tsha probably fell into this category. And
you know, artists will never want to admit it or
or fear to fear this, but there are certain artists

(40:27):
that are signed just for a tax right off. A
label gets a high budget every quarter, so you gotta
you have to do something that you gotta dump that money. Man.
So you give me a hundred and twenty grand to
duke Toosha's album and it don't come out, that is
a right off. That is a good thing for you
and your your your your your quarterly balanced because it

(40:49):
was something you spent. It didn't work cool, but it
was an expense. It was a loss. And now we
don't have to pay this much tax, so I think so. So,
you know, at that time, Sylvie had Keith Sweat, she
had Gerald Overt, she had Um in Vogue. Um Buster
was coming in. You know, it's like, you know, and

(41:12):
and nothing against the music that I did or Tasha,
but it was just you know, it wasn't it didn't
It didn't make a dent in her. So but then
Tasha Um started working for as Cap and became a
head of special awards at as cap and Um. She
did that for a while. You know, her and her

(41:33):
husband got married at a child they opened his dope
um candy store in Park Slope, Brooklyn called Rappers Delight
put a dope candy store, you know, you know, and
that that lasting for a few years and then you know,
she just she's living life. She you know, she sings
when she feels like singing, but you know, she just
she's a mom. Okay, I have a question that concerns

(41:55):
my group. How did you discover come on when he
was newborn? You don't know that was a newborn. He
kind of had a cover of uh, I forget their name.
They sound like a law for him. So came out

(42:16):
newborn newborn. I make comal. I'm sorry. Jim Jimmy, well
he was Jimmy at the time. Dave Howard was Jimmy
like he was fourtune um, so Jimmy always out well,
like I said, he was a cute fourteen, he was fourteen.
I was nineteen so eight yeah, I was like nineteen

(42:40):
and the owner of Kjim Studios, my man Kurt Kurt Shure.
Kurt brought the group to me and there was a
group out of North Philly. He was a young kid
at the time, he was seven years old, and he
was a drumming prodigy. His name is Sammy, and Sammy

(43:03):
was he was a prodigy, and his father was a prodigy,
Big Sammy, and so they wanted to form a hip
hop Jackson five things. So it was Sammy on the
drums and rhyming, and his sister on a keyboard, and
there was a cousin on the base. No, there was

(43:23):
a brother, Mike. Mike was on the base, and then
another cousin played another keyboard, and that was the group.
But the music didn't wasn't wasn't dope, and they had
a deal. I can't remember what deal. I think there
was like tv T. I can't remember what label this was. Um,
they had a deal, but it just wasn't dope. So

(43:46):
they brought me in to clean up. They brought me
in to rewrite all the rhymes, teach him out of rhyme,
redo all the ideas that they already had relativity, yes, um,
teach him how to do you know, redo the record?
So you know, I was the clean up man. But

(44:06):
the father wasn't having it. He was like I don't
want to say Joe Jackson, Yo. It was It was different, man.
It was like that fall in the Love record that
I did did very well in certain regions. So we
were performing at six Flags and I would be in
the group. I would be like how how like how

(44:28):
you would have like the shot smith on the drum
machine while the real band I would be like on
my MPC playing with the band and and probably a
keyboard here and there, just to keep that element going.
And they were so afraid of their dad that they
would perform to the side to him. There would be

(44:49):
ten thousand people in the audience, but they will performed
to the dad. And if father would be giving thumbs
up and thumbs down during the performance, and extremely abusive,
extremely abusive to the point where he had to get
dealt with, like between me and the dad, you know.

(45:10):
And I think my bond would Kamal was based on
that because we weren't when Camal. Kamal was on the guitar,
so when he was brought in he was the guitar
player slash barber. He played guitar with us sometimes before.

(45:34):
So Kamal and I bonded because we were we were
the outside guys. We weren't in their family, so it
would be like, yo, man, did you see what the
pops just did to the brothers, like you know, and
and and I kind of like gripped him up like
little brother, you know what I'm saying. And and um
and and that's how we we bonded from that group,

(45:57):
because we would go on the road like and and
like Gilly the kids. Pops was down with the whole
thing too, so young Gilly would be around like kid, um,
you know. So so it would be like and you know,
the rest rest in peace because all the Sammy's dead,

(46:18):
so I can tell the story. Um, we were being
kjim and I remember, you know, they were getting their
advance and the father had no teeth in his mouth.
Father would come and like, you know, man, you know,
we write these records and we do these things man,
and you know, um, you know, I like the fact
that you came in with your published with your records

(46:39):
and everything. But you know, I gotta say I wrote
them records, man, Like well, first of all, you know,
I'm not homie from down the block, you know, Like
I do have a name to myself, you know, So
let's let's not forget this second of all, there's no
way you're gonna get my publishing. Oh man, I'm getting
that published. And you ain't gonna leave the studio without

(47:01):
it a word. So we get to rumble and in
the studio what so like you very much? So I
don't you know, but but so we're we're in the
studio and and it doesn't turn out well for Sammy.
But the funny thing is we have to go on
tour the next day, so I wish I could find

(47:23):
this video. We're sitting on the plane, Sammy got the
busted lip. I gotta busted lip. We're all sitting there
like the next thing we gotta do is uh six
Flags show? And then I was like why am I
and me? And Kamal was like why are you even here?
Like why are you even dealing with this? And I'm
like why are you dealing with this? And then I

(47:45):
remember he called me up one day He's like yo,
man being another group what He's like, you're the route,
I'm gonna be in the boots like yeah right, And
I remember he gave me the call the day whatever
whatever y'all did. Yeah that that because a matter of fact,
me and him. I went to see y'all at the

(48:06):
track of Darrow I believe opening for Trip Yeah, and
I was like, Yo, that is the dope group. It's like, yeah, man,
they do sheep and so for them to tell me,
for him to call me, it's like maybe they group
be seen. Yo, I'm in that group now, And I'm like, sure,
that's what you want to do? You know? Is there
anything like Newborn Now? It's like the real everybody knows

(48:28):
how to play the music, you know, not like just
one person. So so you know, you know, that's how
you know we our bond is you know, our bond
is that old. So now you know why I hang
out backstage. You've seen me when I'm doing I'm gonna
I'm gonna ask this question from a different angle. All right.

(48:52):
Have you and Biggie ever had a sit down or
talk before? Never? Yes? Oh more than that? What was
huh Olive branch or can you tell us you made
you made a record on him? No? I never. I
never made a record video on Biggie. But the video

(49:14):
had visuals that that record was done, right, it was
like a year before Ready to that even came out.
That record was done. Um, going through a real whack
period on a real whack independent label. And yeah, it's
that was the that that experience as a movie in itself.

(49:36):
Atlanta Kenna saw Georgia and it was it was run
by an old English, proper englishman named John. And John
would sip his tea every day at four o'clock and yeah,
and he would tell us what to you know, we

(49:56):
do not want samples on this record. We would like
you to like, oh your life instrumenttion and you know,
very proper, and you know, you were going to John's
office and you're like in somewhere in Surrey, somewhere. You know,
it wasn't like anything. You didn't even think you were in.
Georgia had like toy trains and weird stuff. So but

(50:19):
so we do this in your bond record. This is
the Incognito. Yes, Incognito album actually my favorite, one of
my favorite productions, honestly because I was forced to learn
not to sample, you know, I was forced to bring
in a lot of live instrumentation and and and singers
and just re imagine things that I could have easily sampled.

(50:42):
And it was like, now now I'm gonna go in
and actually be a producer that I did. I become
so um so with big I never took it personally.
Somebody sent me the tape, a tape of the song
like maybe six months before a record came out. I

(51:03):
thought it dope, But I love the record. I love
Unbelievable and I think people made it bigger than what
it was because the wave change so drastic that whatever
bad Boy said or whatever death Row said was long.

(51:24):
So here you go somebody like me. You know, I
have no beef with nobody. You know, I'm not that
type of guy in any way, shape or form, you know,
for the most part, and and everything that I represented
was about, you know, just being laid back, cool, fun,
having fun, blah blah blah. So then you have Biggie

(51:46):
come out say that, you know, my style in life
has played out like the Polka dozs blah blah blah.
It's cool. But then people take that literally. You know,
it's like it was a literal thing. I would come
something going somewhere and it's like I don't let quam
and he's played out, like what stupid sh like that?

(52:09):
So Incognito album comes out, and my only way to
address it, because this is not like the land of
you know, you can make an album. You know, you
have forty eight hours to respond. You know, that doesn't
happen in so it's like I gotta go and make

(52:33):
a record, you know what I'm saying. I gotta make
a whole full record and get it pressed up and
hand it to DJ. You know, like I don't have
time or money for that, you know. Um, So the
only way to respond some way is to put a
Biggie look alike in the What's It Like? Video? And
it was just him in the background and people throwing

(52:53):
stuff at him while he was on stage in the
in the in his shirt said sad boy or whatever.
And the thing was, Biggie was so hot at the time.
Even the extras was not trying to do it. It
was like, yeo, man, we can't do that, man, you know,
if we come in here. They thought everything he said
was like, really he might shoot us, man, he might,
you know, like they were so brainwashed, and some people

(53:18):
still are, you know, like you know, it's like he's
got to a lot of people, so you know, the
brainwash was serious. So there was this thing if you actually,
if you listen to reasonable doubt, there's a skit in
the lady named Maria Davis, and she does a thing
called Mad Wednesdays. So that's a real thing, so Mad Wednesdays.

(53:39):
So on Mad Wednesday, I was supposed to perform. Was
Big he's supposed to perform, Dave? Or was he just there? Yeah?
So everybody came out to see to see me before,
and Big was there. I mean and say anything, put
my just like straight instigated it. Man. She was like,

(54:04):
you here, bigg he's here. Why don't you just deal
with it now? Oh my god, you don't want you
deal with it now? Why don't you'll just deal with
it now? Just you know how y'all want to do it.
Y'all can take it to the stage. I can take
it outside. How y'all want to do it, But y'are
both here. We can't have you're both here and have

(54:26):
this issue. So it's so funny because it's like, come
in full I'm still me. So I'm in a remember
exactly what I was when I was in a full
black like Almani suit with slip slip ons and a
black turtleneck looking like shaft. And I remember Bigg and

(54:50):
one of those nasty looking cooljie sweaters, and he came
over and he's like five times bigger than me. I'm
like only five six, so he's like six two six three.
He comes over and he's rolling like the biggest blunt
I've ever seen in my life. It was like the
size of this microphone is roll Like, you gotta problem

(55:12):
with me? I was like, no, you gotta problem with
So we're in they're talking and I'm like, what am
I gonna do with this big This big motherfucker's gonna
kill me and all his boys on And the funny
thing is I know so many people from so many places,
which is a good thing. Like a lot of the

(55:33):
people that's from his area I knew. So it was
like it was just weird to know that I just
had a problem with this guy for no real reason. Yeah,
I world just like he said things like that about
so many people on that album. But I don't know
how I caught that bullet. So we're in there just

(55:53):
popping shipped to each other, and I remember little Seeds
came in between us. Man, I think Clay, that's supposed
to be loving you and being and all, it's just
all this commotion. Remember the dudes that I was with,
I'm naming no names. I'm not gonna say you, Dave,
where are you there? Where are you there? So back

(56:19):
to yo, I never knew that the two guys that
I was with knew how the moon walk so well,
oh no, oh my god, there was moonwalking and and
so it's just me in a suit, biggie and every
person in Brooklyn, everybody in the seven one area code

(56:41):
was right there. And I was like, this is some ship.
What am I going to do? So so so so
then it turned into y'all not gonna fuck this place up.
Buff y'all get the funk out. So they kicked him
out the front to kick me off the back. And
luckily I knew the area very well, all angles, just

(57:05):
Brooklyn dudes and all. And I was like, oh, man,
am I gonna I can talk my way out of anything?
But I don't think I could talk my way out
of But I don't know if it would have came
down to it, but yo, my ninja skills was on
ten billion, and yeo, man I there you go, and

(57:30):
and and and that was and then I think I
saw and it was always weird moments like that that
I would run into him. Like one time I was
in his neighborhood with a girl and it was in
the million of the night. We're walking down the street
by BAM music by Bam in Brooklyn, and there was

(57:53):
like this little alley between right when you get Flatbush
and Fulton, there's like a small alley, and I decided
to cut down the alley. In the alley is Biggie
and his boys. I'm like, but I knew. I knew

(58:16):
the car that he drove, you know, I knew. So
his head was turned and I was just like like, man,
I'm just not going to deal with this man, uh exactly,

(58:38):
you know. And it was it was always something like that.
Or it would be like in a party, like there
was the next time I was in the party and
I'm trying to cut through the party and I go
through the shortcut one into its just me and him.
He's like he just it was just so fucking funny.
We just laughed and then I just walked the other
way and he was you know, it was just those
kind of kind of experiences and and it's just so

(59:00):
weird because I was super cool with puff and and
and we never really addressed it. But then we ended
up working together at time. You know, I've ended up
working with everybody pretty much around the situation. So it's
just like I think it was just more of a
trump up. Well, I thank you, because at the end
of the what They Do video, he was after He's like, yo,

(59:25):
the nickel with the stick. I'm gonna sum up. He
said that he told Dreams hated that old nickel with
the stick, and we specified with the stick acord for him. Wow.

(59:47):
So y'all never talked like y'all never like I guess squat.
It just kind of just faded away whatever. They just
boot walked right out and got my I got my
my my Billy Jean jacket on my little boa time. Okay,
so before we close, because I feel like the world

(01:00:07):
really doesn't know. You didn't go anywhere, but you elevate
it to the next level of production. So was it
just a do or die moment for you? Like I
used to go out like I am you know what
I think? Um? For me, music is just m It's

(01:00:28):
not just what I do. You know a lot of
people like you don't you know, it's not who you are,
it's what you do. Know. For me, being creative. Doing
music in some shape or form is pretty much my
full makeup. And so you perplexed when people because I'm
certain that people see you as cooment, like ye know,
what the hell you've been like whatever he fell up

(01:00:49):
and like when you say like no, I'm K one Mill,
no is it like it's not even that because like
the K one thing that that that probably lasted two records,
and it was because somebody talked me into like, yo,
your name is mud Man, you gotta you gotta switch
that you were producing No, so it was like the

(01:01:13):
Lloyd Banks on Fire and I did a group of records.
I did a Mary J. Blige record on her Normal
Drama album and to l O Cool J Records, so
four records and all in total. Tweet that yeah. So
so after after that it came I love her Joo

(01:01:40):
is actually dope her Week and rendition. I heard that
first album. I remember we put it on like what yeah.
So I think one of the the changing points to
not use k Kane one Mill is LLL. When I

(01:02:01):
got to the studio, You're like why are you here?
And I was like, because I'm doing the record, and
like I'm on the record. With him and the whole thing.
He's like, wait, that's you. He's like, why are you
what the fund is that? K one mill? Like what
the hell is that? And then you know, it was
like you know what, yeah, and I'm like, you know,
why am I allowing? Why am I allowing others? And

(01:02:26):
and and it was done. It wasn't done in malice,
you know, shouts to my man Ron Lawrence, because he
Ron Lawrence. Yes, I'm in, I'm in wrong. He's from
my neighborhood as well. And he pretty much put me
back in. You know what I'm saying. He threw his
through his connections and his production. He put me back in.

(01:02:47):
But he was like, yo, man, don't use quam a
because people they're associated with something old and go by
K one mill and K one mill was a joke.
Actually it was me playing around on the microphone. I
was acting like a robot. I am K one mail
and I'm here too. It was that that's literally what
I was doing, bugging out and so um. So that

(01:03:09):
turned into when l was saying that and didn't realize
that I was there. I was like, look, man, I can't,
I can't I am who I am? And and I'm
not gonna allow things to cut that short. So either
you're gonna accept this music if you don't accept the brand,

(01:03:32):
I can't. I just guess this is not for me.
But the music should be able to speak for itself.
And and I never wanted to be the producer that
just did one type of genre, one type of artists.
So I would you know, I'm doing say Switch from
Will Smith and you know that record Criminal but it
was a number one countries. You know what I'm saying,

(01:03:56):
you know, and and and and people every but he
told me, don't do that. It'll destroy your life, like
changed my life, you know. But so you have Switched
on one side, with Lloyd Banks on the other side,
and then you have tweet over here. And then then
I do a Christina Aguilera record and a Pussycat Dolls
record and the Mary J. Blige record, and then you know,
they'll they'll be things for movies like Step Up and

(01:04:19):
you know, just little things falling in to too. It's places,
and um, you have we had music in that HBO
movie Dancing in September. That was the first thing that
was the first thing that you know that was like
actually like kind of like my coming trying to really
really come back, and it was dominated for emmy foot,
you know. So it was one It was like Bamboozoo.

(01:04:41):
Nicole are Parker was in it and uh and your boy.
Um that was on grades but got fired. Um asaia
asaia Watchington. Yeah, I think that take place in Baltimore. Now,
she just run Baltimore. There was like a TV and
we forgot something. We skipped over something major. Okay, what poison?

(01:05:03):
Excuse me? Wait what excuse me? What are you saying?
What are you saying? You wrote that right? I wrote?
I wrote, I wrote, um, I wrote, technically wrote the
rhymes and then it just turned into Ronnie de Vot's rhyme.
But it was wait what Yeah, it was the funny
thing I never told anybody because so so the secretary me,

(01:05:34):
this is the weird story. I was in l A.
I was staying in like that that that summer I
lived in l A. One house party was being filmed
and I ended up not doing anything but messing around
with chicks. So this is one girl I was dealing with,
and it was just it was so weird. Man. I
was like staying at this girl's house and she had

(01:05:55):
a job, so I would like she would just leave
me in her house with a little brother. And then
a brother was like, hey man, you're like new addition. Yeah,
I guess, so you want to meet him? Sure, so
he takes me to Ralph's house. Shall we go to ralsehouse? Like,

(01:06:21):
so we go to Ralph's house. We're all in the
valley somewhere. I have no idea where I'm at. I
cannot because I was staying at this this apartment complex
called Oakwood. So Oakwood was in in proper l A
and I was somewhere out in the valley. I have
no idea because I had to wait for her to
come home and take me back. So so the so
the brother takes me to Ralph's house. So I spend

(01:06:44):
like half the morning me and Ralph just chopping up,
getting super cool talking and everything. And he say, hey,
you want to meet the rest of you guys. So
then we go to this other house in the hills
and Ronnie, Ricky and um Um you know Ronnie and
Ricky were living together. Mike was there. So everybody's playing

(01:07:09):
sega all day. So then Michael was like, hey, man,
you want to hang out tonight? I'm like, sure, sure,
I'm gonna let you hear some stuff because we're all
gonna be a group. Who's the group us three, We're
gonna be a group, yo. Man. I was like, get
the two nights. I was like, man, y'are bugging. What's

(01:07:33):
the name is? Go bbd yo exactly. So, so that night, me, Mike, Dana, Dane,
and our homeboy Dug well In. He had a Jeep Cherokee,
brand new Jeep Cherokee. We thought it was the dopest

(01:07:54):
car in the world. And we're driving to this club
called the Palladium and he puts on the demo the
beat of Poison, and I was like, y'all just jacked
only you. That's almost like and and so I'm like,

(01:08:18):
all right, they get me. You should write some rind
for us. And I heard like it was like a
loose singing, and I'm like, this is the worst thing.
And that was kind of offended because the beat reminded
me only you. So I was just like, I was like,
give me a napkin. So in the napkin like poison,

(01:08:42):
deadly moving and slow looking for a mellow you don't
know how money. I was like, here this will never
come out, and I was like, play the beat, this

(01:09:04):
is how you say it, you know, I said it
to the beat, and it was like, hey man, I
think I got I think I got it. And the
next year and you didn't ask any publishing and that
like that, please tell me you did. It worked out
after the but on the album it just says thanks,

(01:09:25):
but technically I have a technically can you can? You
You could live off of this this song alone? And
I already learned in previous episodes that when there's more
than one unless you publishing, okay, so okay, you sneak
money money? Did you say sneak? Ali Willis? Yeah, she

(01:09:49):
was the worst example. She really did. She waited and
do you know Ali Willis, She wrote September she was
the black whisper, the black barbecue whisper. Automatic. Yeah. I
love Automatical friends the friends no seriously colored purple. The
lyrics to Automatic are incredible, Like I love that song

(01:10:14):
Pointer Sisters Automatic, Yes, just making sure automatic lyrics. Yeah,
Neutron dance. Yeah, maybe I was wrong something about Automat
I love that and um but um yeah. So that's

(01:10:35):
how that's how poison I was. I was in the video.
I was at the video. I didn't get in the video.
I can't believe you didn't know that. Matter of fact,
the girl I was messing with was the poison girl.
I was like making sure, yo, y'all, just you know
you can sing about her. But but are there any

(01:10:59):
other ghost weird stories that I don't know that on
that level? No, I don't. I don't think so, I
don't know. Do you ask the random so Ben Diesel
was the cousin, but he didn't help you get out?
Was your cousin? Yeah, he's my cousin. But he's not
just the bouncer at the club. I thought it once

(01:11:22):
two a time in his life. So would I want
to call him up to fight nobody? But different die?
But but he's in. He's in. He's in my nasty video,
the nasty video. He's dancing. No, he's the boyfriend that
trying to beat me up in the nasty video. Hold on,
because that means he has hair, you know, he has

(01:11:43):
from us? So we and the funny thing is me
I was gonna. I was gonna put him before he
wanted to. Well, he was always acting and stuff. He
was just a creative guy into the arts and he's
he's my he's my older cousins and he's not like
we're not the same age, so they would have to
watch me and types Um. He has a twin brother.
Him and his twin brother, I used to always hang out.

(01:12:06):
But Paul, his brother, Paul, he's a he's a dope
video I mean film editor, like trailers and actual films
like Paul. You look at my Paul vincent Um and
their younger sister, Samantha. That's she's my so we used

(01:12:26):
it more. I need to see this hair texture. Hold On,
I got to get one of these siblings. Hold On.
There's a running theme on Cosslet Supreme about a mere
getting in trouble for records that our guests have done,
but on this episode, we're gonna do a little different.
This time. It's me that got in trouble for a

(01:12:46):
qualm for a um what I did with a qualm
a record? My parents got an answering machine shortly after
the second album came out, and if you know how
you remember the first album, The second album starts starts
with quam, leaving an outgoing message welcome to the bony.
One day when my parents were out. I replaced our

(01:13:09):
outgoing voicemail message with kwame. My parents were not pleased. Well,
that was fucking stupid. Should I do it? That was
what I mean. It was the first answer machine my
dad had, you know, some generic, boring outgoing messages like no,
we can't be lame, like oh wow, we gotta put

(01:13:31):
something cool on there, and you that was your outgoing message.
Was our outgoing message for like an hour. So somebody
calling like told your mom, like, yo, what is going on?
They're like, what is It's on your outgoing Like y'all
need to change that. So, you know, I got on
punishment for a while. I got the public punishment that

(01:13:55):
that ain't weapons. You know, it's funny. I don't I
can't go back and listen to the old records, not
that I don't like them, I just just don't listen
to him. I don't watch videos, I don't watch old records.
And the only time that the old record will come
on the mind that I listen to, it's because it's
it's on Shuffle Shuffle. I thought you're gonna it's on

(01:14:20):
Fresh Prince. But you know what, I didn't see that
episode too, Like ten years after I think Jeffreys dancing
to it. Yeah. Yeah, it's called the episodes Loving the
Elevator and then they use it again on another episode.
But but now those checks were yes, and I bought

(01:14:44):
some milk and there was there was some lean years
and those those uh fresh prince and I let Will know.
It's like, let me tell you something man Will has
definitely Will shows up in my life and very pivotal points.
So so the first time I met Will back of vantage.

(01:15:07):
The first time. The first time I met was in
eight nine and l A and Um I met him.
He hosted a show. It was me um uh mc
hammer um, I want to say too short and Tony

(01:15:32):
Tony tone and he hosted this show. And it was
actually that day I met ice Cube. He introduced, Man,
my name is ice Cube. I was about to say,
everyone this show those love shirts, but then ice Kid
came in with a black T shirt, So so I
was Will saw me in the crowd. I used to

(01:15:53):
go out into the crowd and try to get girls,
and he just saw me in the crowd not be
as professional as I could be. So I didn't know.
I didn't know. He's like, yo, let me pull He
pulled me to side. Let'm talking to you for a second.
So you gotta understand what you're doing. You know, you
gotta you don't act like you're better than anybody else,

(01:16:14):
but you have to understand that you have to put
yourself on a level and and and even if you're
not on that level yet, prepare yourself for the next level.
And and and prepare yourself to be on the next level.
You know, like, I'm like, what that's most preaching to me?
And but he you know, he kept talking, and you know,
and it it kind of changed my attitude at the time.

(01:16:39):
And then he had like this house party and he
had a house in Gladwin, all right, I think, he said.
But he has this house and Gladwin, Pennsylvania. And we
went to the party and he's like, man, you know,
I want to show you something I don't know, all right,
So he takes me to like the living room or
whatever and whatever the grammars he had at this point

(01:17:01):
it was I think it's like three at the time.
He's like, you know, I want you to understand why
I'm showing you this, he said, because you know, I
don't know if you'll ever win one, if you ever won't.
But a lot of times people don't set to achieve
something because they can't visualize it, they don't see it,
they don't understand it. So I think that you can

(01:17:22):
at some point be able to achieve this. So I
just wanted you to see what it's, what this is
and and and understand. He was like, you know, he
showed me the cribments. Like you know, like a lot
of rappers they just try to buy chains and cars
and clothes or whatever. But you know, you know, should
really point at real estate. You should really point looking
at you know, understanding what the mortgages. He was just

(01:17:43):
doing all this real talking, you know, like preaching fatherly stuff. Yeah,
and and and well and he was saying that and
and so that was another point. And then when I
needed money the most, the Fresh Prince of bel Air

(01:18:04):
show did only you and that helped, you know. And
then um to bring me to another level as a producer.
He shows up again and he picks switch and you
know and even recording switch, just having real in depth

(01:18:24):
life conversations. Um, you know. And also he had a
video so Fresh and it was him and Bisin Markey
and I was like, at a you know, there was.
Like I said, there was a period of time. It
was nothing popping, you know, I just I did not
have any paper. You know. He reached out and said,
your man getting the video. You know, blah blah blah.
Um allowed me to be in a video. You know,

(01:18:46):
it gave me some you know, some cool exposure. So
there was always little points of points of light that
that will will Um put down. So you know, I
definitely appreciate him for that. You should probably hang out
with him more often, you know, on the regular. Actually, Okay,
before I wind up, it's probably my last chance to

(01:19:10):
have this moment to ask this question. Oh yeah, dog,
do you have any Latin Quarter stories? I was waiting
for this. I don't because I was too young to
get in there. So so so so Latin. So there

(01:19:32):
was three clubs that that meant something, the Latin Quarter,
the Union Square, and Red Parrot Um Red Parrot that
was like the Mellie Mail crowd. But you know, you
hear about the Red Parrot. You gotta go. So I
was able to. Sometimes I would tag along with Salt
and Pepper and Herbie and Dana and sneak in places.
But the Latin Quarter and Union Square that I don't know.

(01:19:56):
I'm pretty sure you've heard a million stories. But when
I tell you it's like beyond the thunder Dome, you
don't yet. I've been. I've been outside the Latin Quarter.
I've been at the door and the door swings open
and everybody runs out. But wait outside is probably the

(01:20:21):
most We've heard more stories about outside the Latin Quarter
than probably inside. Outside was grimy, Inside was grimy the eighties. Man,
Like y'all don't understand New York City in the eighties.
It's the Latin Quarter. That's the least of your worries,
like going to a club like they were going to

(01:20:42):
the Union Square or even the tunnel, you know, early tunnel.
It's the train ride home, you know, it's that's the
that's the that's the Russian Roulette. Yeah, it's the train
ride home. It's trying to get in, it's trying to
get out. It's it's yo, man. And and I don't
understand everybody body played that Russian Roulette. They get their chain,

(01:21:04):
they get there whatever. You know, you would get sliced
for polo, Like if you got on a polo visor,
you would get lumped and you were fresh all the time,
so like it wasn't risky for you to be well,
my fresh was thrift store fresh, so it wasn't like
we don't want that. But then at the same time,

(01:21:24):
like I said, you weren't out, you weren't there would
be ballets, but then in the thrift store everything else,
because all the money would be at the battot on
on the Baalley. So yeah, So so it was never sneakers,
you know. So you know, like when Jordan's once came,
it was like the first hundred dollar sneaker. So it
was like I was not I wasn't doing that. Um,

(01:21:46):
but outside of that, it was I'm telling you, man,
like a shock. I lent him had a goose that
resembled a polo goose. It was like polio by Ralph Krampton.
It wasn't me. And and he he got sliced on

(01:22:09):
the four train, some shoulder to hit and they sliced them.
They sliced through the jacket and the slice was so clean.
He didn't know until he got home and he's like
they were like, yo, your back is wet. It just

(01:22:30):
they sliced it. And I don't know what the commotion was,
but it was my coat, and so I didn't put
this way. He told me he got sliced, but he
never told me he got sliced for my coat, and
I didn't find out for like years. I was like,
when are you gonna get my cold back? Oh? Man,
my mom put it somewhere. I can't find it. He would.
He was just so ashamed to tell me that that's
why he got sliced, and I felt terrible. I'm lending

(01:22:52):
him my my googles. My mother is like, I bought
you this coat and you're not. You don't wear it.
I said, I don't know what the al had it
stopped lending your clothed Alan, because we used to trade
like you, you know, like you and we would trade
clothes and stuff. So that's like how it was going
to these clubs. So you would literally if you didn't know,

(01:23:12):
if you didn't have a crew, it was like the warriors. Man.
It's like that's the best way to describe it. Like,
you know, you and your six guys got together. What
we're gonna do tonight, We're gonna go to Latin Quarters.
You're ready for this? Will listen to some songs we
made meet a girl We made dance, but you don't

(01:23:32):
know that we are fighting our way out and it's
gonna be we have to be one for all on
his train. So it would and and then you know,
like I said, my age, I'm fifteen, you know, fourteen fifteen,
Latin clos is really popping. So there's no way I'm
just going to get in. Um. I wasn't savvy enough

(01:23:52):
for the fake guy demon like the fat boys, right, Um,
I couldn't do that. And Herbie was like, no, man,
I can't subject you to this like you're you're a
little kid. You can't do it, man. So we would
just sneak around. But you know, from okay, that's a

(01:24:14):
non Latin quarter story enough to warrant this anything to
warrant that. It's so it's the perfect conclusion. Ka, man, wow,

(01:24:44):
this is way beyond my expectations for this man. It
was life lessons. It was a journey. It was everything
that I year old dream come true. Man, I don't
know Scots who you know. He talks about how like
you were his favorite rapper and stuff, like me and
him we talk about it and like I just want
to just thank you man, like you really you were

(01:25:05):
like just the memories I have in my childhood of
like buying your take. You were my first. You were
like the only music that my pop's ever bought me.
You remember when we first met, when was this Sean
Burke Center, Harlem? It was this was was it that
thing that like it was like a form or some ship.
Stop the violence, you know, because there was violence in

(01:25:26):
two thousands six. Now I wasn't by It was like
it was like where we get together to talk about
like images and media. Like I got super cool night
from there. And you know, I always thought that y'all
was like super You know. My thing is it's it's
cool to meet people on a musical level, but I'm

(01:25:47):
more on a personal level and how people are as
as people. You know, what we do is what we do,
you know, and it's it's always a matter of opinion
to whoever listened to it. But when you meet people
on a personal level, I think that's I just wanted
to drop down, man, Thank you much appreciated man. The
same to you, like just just thank you for them
with certainly inspirational and beautiful music together. Thank you. You

(01:26:13):
know that's you know, real quick, I know you want
to wrap up but you know, luckily, UM, you know,
I always wanted to control my own music and control
the fate of my music. Being a producer, you just
get a check and you don't know which if you're
number one on the album, number seven on the album,
you don't know if it's going to be single or not.
And if it is the single, you don't know. You
don't know the ins and outs. So UM, I have

(01:26:36):
a label, Make Noise, and it's distributed through Caroline Capitol Records,
and the first artist on that label is Verbing Green
from Philly and UM and the way that turned out
it was it's weird because it turned out me trying
to suggest that she makes a certain type of record

(01:26:57):
and she's not being with it at all, and I'm
sending her tracks and song ideas and everything, and we
recalled this one record called get Right Back to My
Baby on them over Frankie Beverley, UM sample and UM,
I just threw it out there without her knowing, and

(01:27:17):
you know, it became it became a barbecue type hit record,
you know, the piggyback off of the original record, and
and and it spawned the whole label deal and everything.
So so you know, I enjoy. I'm at a point
in my career that I don't know where things are
gonna go. I don't know if it's gonna be a

(01:27:38):
super hit record or whatever. But I'm also at a
point where my concern isn't there. As long as I
have an outlet to put something out creative, I don't
know what's gonna happen. So like with the Vivian records,
you know, each record that we put out for the
charts that she's on in the UC charts were like
number ten, five to three, you know. So so we

(01:28:01):
do well in that space, and it's cool. We do great,
you know, I perform with the band, you know, it's
it's it's great. You know, we do arenas, we do clubs,
we do and she's doing more than ball. Yeah, and
that's another thing. It's like I like, I like live energy,
like live musical energy. So so it just gives me

(01:28:22):
an outlet to to do that amongst you know, the
other artists that I'll have coming later. But you know,
there's another artist out of Philly named Michelle Um. She's
out of Bucks County that that Um more of a pop, pop,
electoral artist. So that gets me to explore that side
of UM production as well. So that's that's the next

(01:28:43):
situation coming just Michelle. She didn't want to change. Hey man,
it's the way you're spelling is a my s H
G L. Hey man, you know, psychological exactly what can

(01:29:04):
you do? Man? It's like, you know, I think a name,
a name definitely is very important. And I think an
artist before they come out has a million names. So
if it's Michelle now, it could be poop by the end,

(01:29:27):
by the end it comes out, you know. And and
and I'm glad you guys are saying that. I'm glad
you guys are you're you're you're saying what you're saying
because sometimes artists need to hear that. You know, there's
another rapper. There's another rapper that I work with now
UM phenomenal rapper, but the stuff isn't not yet. You know,
he his name his he goes by the name of

(01:29:48):
Bobby J. So it's like, why are you using why
are you saying that there's nothing against me? Because you
are a great lyricist, you're a great MC. But sometimes
artists feel like they are married to a name for
a certain reason, and sometimes it works sometimes we'll hear

(01:30:10):
her name and like what but it still works. Like
when I heard Lady Gaga for the first time, I
was like, what is that? You know? And it but
it worked. When I see her, I was like so
so so you never know where it falls. But it's
always good for that constructive criticism to hit you, you know,
because I could have been Jazz kg Q and y'all

(01:30:33):
would not been talking about would you be quest for Love?
What was it? My first question? Question? The rhythm? Well,
first I was a sample and then I was another
name that divine technician and brother you know you know, yeah,
but that's why he left K one. Your name is

(01:30:58):
your name, yeah, because you know, like you know and
out now you don't want to be a real affiliated yeah,
you know, and that's killing niggas in d C. O
K two is the mounta that the yo. If you

(01:31:20):
ever see somebody in real life on that run, you're
gonna eat your face. This we did. We did a
show in d C and these firemen with it. He
was like, you want to show you something, man. We
had to stop this guy on K twelve and he
showed me the video. This dude was butt naked in
the middle of street doing his crazy dancing and starting
to roll around. He thought monsters were eating him. That's

(01:31:41):
something real. That's it's definitely like me once only had
brownie too. We no, I just guess, Yeah, it was bad,
so I have I have a brownie experience. It was

(01:32:01):
everything happens in l a. Man. I swear I got
this weed cookie and I swear like I thought aliens
were coming to get me. I thought Feds were coming
to get me. I thought it was like I was
driving home and I was like super paranoid. I was like,
if they stopped me and he can check my DNA,
I wanted to go out. I can't say bad man.

(01:32:24):
I was like, I don't know what is the car
actually dry? I was so fucked up. Many Yeah, I
want a cookie. Whatever I want. It won't do it again, Steve.
It won't do it for you, And it's for them
because they're you know, light weight. What's wrong about is
there a third story? You got that ben a time
jack at all? Because Barcelona? I'm sorry you about the

(01:32:55):
light weight? What about the hat though? We're can we
get one of the hats? Um? Actually with the logo,
what I'm doing it's going to be a thirty anniversary
of boy Genius coming up next year. So all the
like paraphernalia like um dad caps, fitted pins, buttons, you know,
like exclusive um let him in jackets, all that, even

(01:33:17):
a BMX bike we're doing. Yeah. Yeah, and the desktop
that was on the front of that old yeah, that
old everything. Alright you can find no, let me say
my social media. I think that's everything. So at at
um quam a vision on Instagram and kuam a did

(01:33:38):
it on Twitter, and I'll post I post a lot.
So but I'll post, you know, information about the paraphernalia
and all that kind of stuff. Okay, we will definitely, yeah,
you will make sure that the socials get all the information. Uh.
Like I said, it's been real. Thank you man, thank
you for having me. It's been fun. And as a kid,

(01:33:59):
I still getting over the poison. Just where's that napkin
instag checks playing? Yes, you know what Instagram said that
I was not worthy of a blue check. Let me
let me vouch. I'll make some phone call. I got you,

(01:34:20):
I got you, all right. Yes, I was just saying
thank you for company me on all those school bus rides. Yes,
I'm having a moment. Yeah, I really, Lama, what's that
dude for me? Back to the damn thanks that straight

(01:34:40):
up kids anyway, Steve and then Sugar Networks, Why are
you hating after that? I'm sorry? Yeahs say that out loud.
Uh Fontigo, it's like you. It's still like you. Uh
boss Bill, unpaid Bill, Thank jam Thank you very much.

(01:35:02):
We will see you on the next go round of
coests Love Supreme. My name is courts Love and this
is Pandora. See you later, m. Courts Love Supreme is

(01:35:22):
a production of I Heart Radio. This classic episode was
produced by the team at Pandora. For more podcasts for
my heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.