September 24, 2025 • 65 mins
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Big Daddy Kane — hip-hop pioneer, Grammy-winning MC, and one of Brooklyn’s finest — sits down with Shannon Sharpe at Club Shay Shay for an in-depth conversation on his 40-year journey in the culture, from early block parties to influencing some of the biggest artists of all time.
Kane opens up about his roots in Brooklyn, discovering hip-hop through legends like DJ Kool Herc, Melle Mel, Afrika Bambaataa, and Grandmaster Flash, and finding his voice in the early 1980s. He recalls hearing kids rhyme on the block, crafting his first slick lines from hustler slang, and eventually linking with Biz Markie, the man who gave him his first big break. From battling in the streets to recording demos no one heard, Kane explains how persistence turned him into one of rap’s sharpest lyricists.
He reflects on the next wave of Brooklyn talent — Biggie, Jay-Z, Lil’ Kim, Foxy Brown, Mos Def, Busta Rhymes, Joey Bada$$, and Pop Smoke — and how the streets shaped their stories. Kane shares memories of having Biggie and Tupac freestyle at Madison Square Garden, his friendship with Pac dating back to Digital Underground, and why he believes Biggie could’ve been the greatest MC and Pac the “Michael Jackson of hip-hop” if they had lived longer.
The conversation moves into the industry’s highs and lows: lines wrapped around the corner for vinyl releases, the frustration of streaming payouts today, and how fast-food culture has replaced patience and truth in music. Kane talks about turning down Suge Knight’s $1 million Death Row East offer, performing alongside Bobby Brown, and how collaborations with artists like Quincy Jones, Tito Jackson, Wu-Tang Clan, and Madonna gave him some of his most unforgettable experiences.
As hip-hop evolved, Kane watched the role of freestyle, lyricism, and beef change. He looks back at battles like LL Cool J vs. Kool Moe Dee and compares them to today’s Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar, pointing out how competition sharpens MCs but can hurt careers if it spills into reality. He also breaks down why artists like Rakim, J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, Lady London, Conway the Machine, and Benny the Butcher keep the spirit of lyricism alive.
Kane doesn’t shy away from bigger reflections either — from fashion’s roots in Black culture, to working with icons like Marvin Gaye, Patti LaBelle, Luther Vandross, Ray Charles, and Miles Davis. He explains why his Grammy isn’t on display, why fan appreciation means more than trophies, and how hip-hop grew from neighborhood block parties into global festivals.
Finally, Kane shares his perspective on the next 50 years of the culture. He wants to see young artists who write songs that impact lives, who give unforgettable performances, and who respect the generation that paved the way. From freestyling with Pac and Biggie to mentoring today’s lyricists, Big Daddy Kane delivers rare stories, sharp insight, and a masterclass on what it really means to be an MC — and what it takes to last in hip-hop.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thank you for coming back. Part two is underway. You
were up close and personal with the rap beasts because
I and my nineteen eighty seven we had an intermeal
basketball team and the name of my team was the
Juice Crew All Stars featuring Oh my Goodness. I wish
mister Magic was allowed to hear that man, and I
(00:22):
would try I would try to find I would try
to find that shirt because that was the day. But
Juice Crew All Stars and and I go when I
go back and look, bro y'all were loaded, y'all.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Cougie Rap, j Polo.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Yourself, Uhismark Bismark Yes, yeah, glamorous that Molly Mack Master
Ace Craig g Yeah, tragedy Yeah, how y'all?
Speaker 2 (00:48):
How did all y'all come together?
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Well, I mean I would, I would because that kind
of where you got your start, right, Yeah, I would
credit that to fly Tie and Marli mal Okay, you know,
did you realize that you were a part of something special?
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Then? Absolutely you did you knew it? Well?
Speaker 1 (01:08):
I mean, mister Magic was the official voice of hip
hop radio, Okay, you know, like he's the person that
broke hip hop records and I'm part of his crew, right,
so I don't have to wait outside BLS.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
He is. Yeah, you know, just a new joint.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
I'm part of the grow, right, you know what I'm saying, right, Yeah,
So I knew I was part of something special lyricists.
You mentioned in nineteen eighty six, rock him thinking of
a master playing but it ain't nothing but sign my hand.
So I that song that took rap to another level
(01:50):
because at that point in time, nobody had ever really
sounded like him. I mean, he was very methodical. You
could hear every every word he said. You could hear it.
It wasn't no this now came.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
I think that what rock Kim did was brought lyricism
back into the game because you know, it's like it
was to me, the most important m see ever is
Melly Mel. Okay, you know, because I feel like, you know,
Cats in the seventies was basically trying to either sound
(02:25):
like DJ Hollywood, Eddie Cheaper A love Buck Starsky, and
Mellie Mel is the one that presented lyricism. He started
lyricism in the game with the message no No long
before that. Yeah, and it was like, you know, when
(02:46):
he did that, I think it made people start really
paying more attention to the MC because back then it
was really all about the DJ Flash Africa, bambody, yep,
who heard you know breakout? It was about the DJ.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
You know.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
I think Mellie Mel gave the MC an identity because
he put lyricism in it, you know, so it's like
he he created something that that that gave us an identity.
But then as we started making records at seventy nine
and stuff, you know, the records had more of a
party feel, so the focus wasn't really on the lyricism.
(03:27):
And then like when rock Kim come in eighty six,
he brought it back to that. Yes, you know, but
he felt that you told you rapped about a song
and he's, I see leaders in that laugh, and he
thought you was taking a shot atty say what yeah,
I was.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
I was.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
He thought you were subliminately dissing him in a song
by saying I see leaders in that laugh.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Nah. What happened was he what was the line? He
had uh.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
Word to Daddy? It was a di song. No no, no,
he had I think follow follow the Leader. He had
a song called follow Leader, and he said word to Daddy. Indeed,
I took it as a this, you know. So I
did write, you know, a line. But what happened was
(04:22):
one night because you got to say it. Eric be
Brother was my road manager, so like me and Eric,
you know, was solid.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
You know.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
So this girl got in the car one night and
she gave me a photo and the photo said, did Kane,
I want to set it off and get r a
w Ain't no half stepping because.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
I'm gonna break your wrath in half.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
So when I saw it, because at the same time
you talked about Dad, they were saying that Rod Kim
had a song called break the Raft in Half.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Just in me. Oh okay, So.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
I gave a picture of that Eric Brother and he's like, yo,
what you mean by break the raff in half?
Speaker 2 (05:03):
And she like, oh, yeah, Eric got this here song.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
I mean Eric and Rock Kim got this song called
break the Raft in Half trying to diss you.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
I heard it and he's like, you heard it. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
He played it for me on Jamaica Avenue and I'm
sitting here crying, laughing. I'm crying laughing, like and every
time I'm looking at Eric brother aunt, you know, we
just started laughing.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
So finally the girl she looks at Aunt.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
She's like, yo, why he keep looking at you and laughing,
saying what you work with Eric or something?
Speaker 2 (05:29):
And Aunt was like, no, I live with him. That's
my brother. Wow.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
And she said, well, you know how niggas talk. So
Aunt was like, yo, it's going too far. Y'all need
to talk. When you talked to him, I'm like, I
don't care. So he called Rock Kim put him on
the phone and but Rock Kim, see you telling me
(05:53):
new stuff. I never he never mentioned that line when
we talked on the phone. He asked me about saying
when I said rap soloist, you don't want none of this.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
I want to send it off.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
And I was like, no, no, no, I'm saying that
I'm a rap soloist. Competition, don't want none of this, right,
because he had a song where he said and you
know that I'm the soloist. So I was clamming it
up like nah nah, I said, I'm the rap soloist, competition,
don't want none of this. Anybody that ram alone is
a rap soloist, right, And he was like, oh, okay,
and I'm not talking about anybody in particular. Yeah, I'm
(06:22):
saying I'm rapped total. No. Well, when I'm playing competition, right,
whoever can get it right? You know what I'm saying.
But that's what I'm saying. But you you were saying
I was not specifically talking about you, Rocky. I was
from me, right, I was calling myself a rap solo right,
not saying that you are rap soloist.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
You don't want none of this.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
So he said okay, And I'm like, well, what about
this word to daddy? Indeed, like that sounds I mean,
I'm big daddy Kane. Yeah, that's not like you're coming from.
And he was like, nah, you know other cats say,
you know, word to mommy. In Long Island, we say
word to daddy. That's like, you know, just that's that's
our slang. I'm like, oh, okay, my bad. And that
was that. That was the end of it.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
I was inter it. Ever since then, we've been cool.
Why can't guys do that today? I don't know.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
I don't know you see how you just got to
hey picking up the phone, because everybody know everybody. If
I don't know you personally, I know your manager, I
know somebody close to you, and then I can pick
up the phone and say, man, look here, man, this
is foolish.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
This is ridiculous. Man. Let's let let's talk this thing. Hey, bro,
check this out. Man.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
Well that was a fortunate situation because, like I said,
you know, me and Eric was cool, right, and his
brother was my road manager.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
So his brother, you know, orchestrated it where like, you know,
let me get him.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
That could have a lot of different ways had that
not been the case, okay, because you probably would have responded.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Well, yeah I did.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
I mean, yeah, I had the line, but you know,
once we talked, I took it out and he told
me that he had some stuff that you know, he
took out.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
So you know, we was good. Right.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
This mixed probably fifty to fifty beefts this Are they good?
Are they bad for rat? I think that they're bad
for careers. I think they're good for MC's. I mean,
(08:18):
I'm a battle rapper, so I love you know, you
love that one on one. You love to back your
fad because it keeps you on your toes. Oh he said, what.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
You know?
Speaker 1 (08:32):
It keeps as an MC keep you on your toes
career wise. It can be career ending and it and
it can cause someone's death or you know, someone seriously
getting hurt because the fans can take it too far.
It's not the individual, it's the people around the individual.
You're right, And now if we just gonna keep this
thing on wax, I'm cool with it long as it
(08:54):
don't bleed into reality. Yeah, that's the problem that you
have because we thought Jay z Knov battling and now
they cool.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
I don't know if Bigger in Park would have been cool.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
I doubt that. I don't. I doubt that.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
Because sometimes you have a line you go too far.
You talk about you talk about that.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Man.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
I'm not gonna get into that, but yeah, I doubt
I doubt.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
Let me ask you this, can can Drake and Kendrick
come back? I think so? I think so, I think so.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
I mean, I know, I know some some crazy things
was well, there were some crazy allegations, but you know.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
On both sides.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
Yeah, but I mean if if, if, if, if none
were proven, then you can get I think you can
get past move past it.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Yeah, how'd you mean? Hold?
Speaker 1 (09:47):
Uh? There were these guys and queens called the shirt Kings,
and one of them they made spray paint shirts, and
one of them asked me about doing a mixtape with
jazz O, and I was like, all right, yeah, we
(10:08):
do it. So we went to Brooklyn to my man
Fresh Gordon Crib. He's supposed to be doing this mixtape
and then jazz O was like, Yo, can my man
rhyme on the tape too?
Speaker 2 (10:18):
And that was jay Z. So we did was it
at this time? I don't know. I don't know. I
don't know how old he was.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
I mean, because I think Jay is like a year
and a half younger than me, so I mean, I
don't know, could have been twenty nineteen, I don't know.
But he asked his man rhyme on the tape and
I was like yeah, So we did the tape. And
then when we're riding back to my crib, my man
(10:44):
Night from the Shirt Kings, He's like, Yo, we really
wanted you to do this because we want you to help,
you know, to get jazz another deal. And you know,
I was like, honestly, I kind of like the light
skin do better.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
As I came from work with him.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
You know, and that's how you know, we connected, right,
you know, and we uh we started you know, working
on stuff. Was we was working on music, and you know,
I was shopping his music, you know, the different labels
and things of that nature. And then I ended up
doing the Feels Like Another one with Patty LaBelle right.
And while we were on tour, you know, I'm noticing
that Patty is doing outfit changes. So I'm like, I'm fascinated,
(11:29):
and I'm like, nobody in hip hop doing this.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
Oh, I can't wait to get back out of the road.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
So when I finished the tour with Patty, went back
out on my tour, I grabbed jay Z and another
rapper by the name A Positive K. You know, he
had a big song pause, K. Yeah, I got a man. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
So I grabbed both of them and brought them on
the man got to do with me? You right.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
I brought them both on the road with me, and
like I would let them come out and perform in
the middle of my show while I do outfit change.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
Okay, so him and jay Z would be on stage rapping. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
Did you know when you heard this nineteen twenty twenty
one year old old Rappid, did you ever think he'd
become Vince No? No, I mean it's crazy because see,
there's one thing about jay did I didn't really understand
until much later, because Paz would be in the drum
(12:21):
or in the studio and very much involved. Sauce Money
would be in the drum or in the studio, very
much involved.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
Jay would always be quiet.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
Yes, that's the story everybody tells. So it was a
type of thing where I'm like, you know, you gotta,
you know, you make your presence feel you gotta. So
I didn't see it, But what I didn't understand was
that Jay was being quiet for a reason.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
Jay studies everything.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
Like years later, I started thinking about all types of
stuff numerous nights when he would point out something I
did on stage, mention it. Oh yeah, real funny dude,
the way you did such and such. He noticed everything.
So he was sitting there studying, you know, And I
think that that attributed, you know, to his greatness.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
Writing.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
It's funny that, you know, you said that real MC's
write their own verse. But some of the some of
the great songs that's been recorded by them, c oh,
I guess they can't call him in MC if you
don't write has been written for written by someone else. Yeah,
there's a lot of you know, great songs that were
written by other people. But I mean that's normal in
(13:34):
the music industry. Now, not when you not when you
were coming up, did you guys that well, I mean
I wrote most of biz marky first album, Okay, you know,
I mean I've written for other people. You know there
were artist Yeah, there were artists. You know that that
that that that wrote big songs for other people. Right,
(13:55):
But it was you know, really ghostwriting, real real ghostwriting, right.
You know what I'm saying, Like, you're not really a
ghost writer. If you wrote a song for somebody and
tell you tell them about it that I wrote down Rod,
that's not a ghost Adults are supposed to be something
that you can't see, you tell it me.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
Yeah, so it is.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
It happened back then, but I mean, now it's standard practice.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Why do you think Jay got turned down by so
many labels? You know what.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
If I sat and told you some of the stuff
that people said to me when I played they demo,
you know.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
What do you say? I mean, I'm not.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
Gonna go into because I don't want nobody running with it,
you know what I'm saying, turning into not negative bad,
but I mean the stuff that people said. But I'm
gonna say this, Shannon, I'm gonna say this. I'm glad.
I'm glad they turned them down for the simple fact
that at that point in time, that's when Jay's he
was doing that that real fast rappids. Yeah, that was
(15:07):
a fad hip hop and it didn't last long, you
know what I'm saying. So had he came out doing that,
he may have been successful for a year or two
and then he would have faded out with that style.
He came out the right time, talking about the right stuff,
doing the right thing, and he ended up having amazing
(15:28):
state power.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
So I'm glad I couldn't get him a deal.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
I think that what he did years later with Dame
Dash and IRV Gotti and whoever else, that's what was
supposed to happen, and I'm so happy for him to
see him be successful.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
Nas.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
You have a lot of respect for Nads, and he's
another great lyricist that explains things and can talk.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
What's your favorite Nad story? My favorite Nads story.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Would be probably when we first met he said unique
Studio and I told him how much I love ill Matic,
and he asked me, well, what do you think is
wrong with it? I'm like nothing, I'm like, you know
how people be saying this a five mic album.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
This a lot of times.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
Nah, it might be a four mic, it might be
a four and a half mic, but you got a
five mic album. The album is amazing. I don't think
anything is wrong with it. But he wouldn't let it go.
He would not let it go. He just kept But
but I'm saying, like, what do you think I should have?
Did you know different? I'm like, I don't think you
should have did anything different. I think it's but what
(16:41):
would you have done different? I'm like, I mean, me,
I would have probably had one song on there for
the ladies at least, But you, not me.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
You did what you're supposed to do.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
And it's amazing, you know, But I mean it was
just it was like, you won't just let it go
and be great man, leave it alone. Man, this album
is amazing. You don't do nothing you should have did different.
I think the fact that he had so much respect
for you and to hear you say that, and it's like,
let me just make sure he ain't just saying that
because I'm standing here in front of him. Let me,
(17:13):
let me, let me, let me try a different way. Okay,
the album was good, you say, it's five mics. No,
I just say it was good. I said it was great. Yeah,
five mics. Uh huh.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
But if you would have done it, okay, you would
do it.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
Oh so you said my next album, I should have
one one song for the ladies. He had Eric B
call me. I think maybe a year or two later
he had Eric Be called me. I was at a
car dealership and he had Eric Be called me and
he's like, yo, nads won't to holler at you. He
puts him on. He said, yo, I did want for
the You you heard the owe me back. I did
want for the I'm excited about it, but I mean
(17:49):
it was like, you know, yo, Ell Mattic is a
master ps. You know, that's like one of my favorite
hip hop albums of all time. This is just not
in the rap industry, this is almost every industry. Do
you feel this younger generation give the older generation the
respect like Nahs and jay Z like they respect you
(18:12):
and you respect the others. Do you feel this younger
draft generation give the adequate, adequate respect to the older generation.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
No, not at all, But I mean you know I don't.
I don't. I don't blame them.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
You know, it's it's it's it's what they're taught, you know,
Like the word irrelevant carries a lot of weight in
the music industry today.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
It's a word that's thrown around on social media a
whole lot.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
So it's it's been, you know, instilled in the younger generation.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
Head.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
So I don't blame the young kids. I just think
that we have to figure out a way to bridge
the gap because I would love to see, you know,
even if it's not my generation, even if it's the
eminem Kanye generation, artists from that talking with these young kids,
giving them game. Don't do this, don't do that, watch
out for that, don't sign something that says, you know,
(19:08):
I would love to see that, you know, to try
to help them, you know. But no, the respect is
not there because it's like, you know, it's things that's
instilled in the younger generation mind. What's Kane's responsibility to
this younger generation. My responsibility is to try to educate them.
(19:28):
I have a documentary or excuse me, docu Sirius called
Paragraphs are manifest. It's talking about the importance of lyricism
and hip hop and the reason why I really wanted
to do this. So the younger generation can see how
important the lyrics are, to see how when you focus
on the lyrics, your song can have stay power and
(19:48):
touch someone's heart. Your song can last for years upon
years because of the way this person felt about what
you said. And it's called paragraphs I manifest. It features
on J cole Or Snoop Dogg, jay z MC, Light,
Lady London, eminem Common several you know.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Yeah, Travis Scott recently rear viral.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
He said, I swear the old Ann's killed me, no
matter why Ann's feel me talking about push your t
What are your thoughts in that line?
Speaker 2 (20:24):
Because it's and I hate it. I don't.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
I've never had a I've never had a problem came
because I understand where I am today. There had to
be people before me that stand in these varioushoes that
wasn't it's prosperous, that didn't get the attention, that didn't
get the notoriety, that didn't make the money that I made.
And so it's my job to pay homage for those
that happened to be born at a time in which
the money wasn't what it is. So I never had
(20:48):
problem giving people credit.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
Never.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
Never, I think these young guys. I mean for whatever reasons. Yeah,
and you you you that irrelevant. But the question is,
forty years from now, will you still be relevant? Because
at one point in time I stood in your shoes
and I don't think people realize that I got a
(21:13):
T shirt that says I'm the age that I used
to think was old. Can I remix your statement? Go
ahead ten years from now, will you still be relevant? Ten?
Speaker 2 (21:23):
Wow? We don't need forty we need a decade. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
Yeah, because the life span today of an artist is
usually about eight months.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
So I guess you better get everything you can in
those eight months because you're not promised another eight months exactly.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
Another young rapper that always giving you respect is Eminem.
He's an anomaly. He's to wrap what Tiger Woods was
to go.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
He came in.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
And if wordplay, cadence all that, but he's one of
these guys that's never had had a problem showing the
older generation respect. Eminem is a student of the game.
He is an amazing student of the game, and without
(22:24):
trying to tell too much in my documentary, he pointed
out something that I did that I never paid attention to.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
Wow, Like after the interview.
Speaker 1 (22:35):
I went back and started listening to artists you know
before me, to see if someone else did this, because
he was pointing out that I'm the first person he
ever heard do this, and.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
I'm like, you had to have been someone before me.
Like he's a student of the game that way, he
got deep in it. Yeah. But you know, I'm gonna
tell you man.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
Em is an amazing artist, super talented, super lyrical. But
I think the thing I think it's so dope about
Eminem is like, you know, when hip hop began, you know,
this was we're talking about a New York thing, right, Yeah, Okay,
(23:17):
all of a sudden you.
Speaker 2 (23:19):
Got n w A talking about straight out of Compton. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
Now it's on the West Coast. You hearing about a
West Coast hood. You know what I'm saying, That ain't
our hood. You know, we don't do that in New York.
But you're hearing about you know, the low Riders and
all this thing. But you're learning about the hood in
the West Coast. Correct got the ghetto boys, you know,
talking about you know, the Wards whatnot, you know, and
(23:43):
like now you hear about you know, the Texas the
hood in Texas, you know, atl they talking about you know,
you know, I mean Lil Wayne master P talking about
new workers. Yeah, it's like you hearing about these hoods
in all these different regions.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
Right. Eminem talked about his.
Speaker 1 (24:03):
Hood, talked about eight Mile, but he not talking about
you know, the projects in Detroit.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
He talked about trailer parks stuff. He talked about white
hood shit. Yep, you know what I'm saying. Yep.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
I thought that that was just so dope. You know
what I'm saying, because this is this is white ghetto stuff.
You know what I'm saying that we're learning about that.
I'm like, Yo, this is this is so this is
so dope, you know. And I respect him for that
because he wasn't trying to pretend to be something he wasn't.
He talked about his hood, hood, you know what I'm saying,
where he grew up, at his life experiences.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
Yeah. So, I mean I have a lot of respect
for him. Man, What what did em get right that
Vanilla I's got wrong? I think that last part I said.
But but I.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
Mean, hey man, you know Vanilla Ice. You know he
put that song bad. Hey, Yeah, he became very successful.
He had a you know, a mega hit. I mean,
it's dude had a movie, you know, you know, you
know he had you know, one hit and they had
a movie. I mean, so he did his thing. Man,
so saluted for their lives.
Speaker 2 (25:10):
Man. Hip hop is hip hop dying? Is hip hop dying?
Speaker 1 (25:19):
Ah? I don't think that hip hop is dying because
what you gotta understand is that when hip hop first started,
it was nothing but block parties.
Speaker 2 (25:38):
It wasn't all wax, Yes, it was just block parties.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
So looking at what's going on right now when they
have those type of hip hop festivals or intimate hip
hop events, you know you hearing that classic material, you
know that that you know that defines what hip hop
(26:02):
is really about.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
Right, So I don't know. Maybe I don't think it's dying.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
Maybe it's going back to where it's supposed to be, right,
you know, what is the substance? Because you talked about
like how m spoke about things that he experienced. He
wasn't trying to be somebody else. Yeah, he talked about
the trailer parks. That's where he grew up, That's what
he knew, that's what he experienced. He talked about his
mother's situation, he talked about things that were there. It
(26:28):
seems like now the substances is that the hot thing.
And let's talk about this even though I haven't experienced it.
Oh you said, even though I haven't experience you know
what I'm saying, that's what the rap is now. Yeah,
a lot of rapper about the brow. You not no gangster.
Yeah in the studio you wields, but you are, but
not in reality.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
But I mean, you know, we we live in you know,
a social media world. So it's like whatever's trending, whatever topic.
You know what I'm saying, whatever's trending, that's you know,
like I I was leaving, I was at I can't
know where I was. I was vegaus weballs. I have
(27:09):
my my Dora case with me. Yeah, I'm checking it
at the airport, and the lady at the airport talking, okay,
you got your cowboy hat, you got your your boots
and your luggage. I'm like, nah, sweet, my boots ain't
on the ground. I'm just that's just a regular for door.
It's not a cowboy hat. But you know, that's what's trending.
(27:31):
You know what I'm saying right now, that's what's trending.
So everybody in their mama coming out to the concert with.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
And the hat.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
You know what I'm saying, it's whatever's trending. Drake called
the stir. He said, UK rappers are better than us
A rappers lyrically. I'm just saying, you can't say you
looking at me, man, I ain't got no h You
wanted me to respond, Yeah, yeah, I ain't got but
one head, man, You look at me like I had
(28:00):
three heads.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
He said that.
Speaker 1 (28:02):
I I feel that with the amount of success that
Drake has had in this game, he's entitled to his opinion.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
You know.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
In fact, I'm sorry, I think that everything. Everybody is
entitled to their opinion. You know, that's the beautiful thing
about an opinion. Everyone can have one. Rather I just
whether I agree or disagree, You agree or disagree. Everybody's
entitled to have an opinion, correct, you know, But I mean,
if that's what Drake feel, Hey, man, go ahead on me.
(28:44):
You were trends that are because you had the high
top fade, you drafted, had the rags on. How did
you determine what would your persona going to be on
the stage? Well, as I was saying earlier, you know,
like you see, like the pimps and the hustlers pull
up and deduceive, I saw how all the other kids
(29:05):
in the neighborhood gravitated to that.
Speaker 2 (29:07):
That was a look, you know what I'm saying. And
then my pops was a fancy dresser.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
My pops wore three four piece suits, you know, Persian
lamb coats. You know the duster that's the four piece. Yea,
so I saw you Yeah. I was like, yeah, yeah, nah,
this the pants, the vest, blazer, and the duster. Okay,
that's the four piece. But you know I saw, you know,
this is this is what I saw. Like for example,
(29:34):
I did our senior hall and they had built the
whole set with garbage cans and graffiti and all this
this stuff.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
And I had them tear down and I.
Speaker 1 (29:43):
Told them to put me some of that sexy shit
back up, like how you had it when I was
here with Quincy. You know, it wasn't because I was
against graffiti or or the street. It was because it's
like me, as a kid, I'm used to seeing, you know,
the pimps, the hustlers pull up with the fur coats
on that type of stuff.
Speaker 2 (30:03):
And when we went to block parties.
Speaker 1 (30:04):
We put on the ol pack of sweaters, the mock necks,
the British Walker shoes.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
You know, we wanted to look fly, you know what
I'm saying, Like, I mean I didn't. I didn't.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
I didn't actually see breakdancing until the movie Wild Style
came out.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
Wow. I mean, like, I mean actually on the street, right,
you know what I'm saying, I didn't. Actually you don't
see it, you know.
Speaker 1 (30:24):
So it was like, I'm like, that's not the background
that I'm a philiate, it's it's it's hip hop, right,
it's hip hop. It's you know, one of the graffiti
is one of the elements of hip hop. But I
mean it's like, that's not what we did on Lewis
Avenue where I came from.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
So I wanted to represent my hood. You know what
I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (30:41):
Yep, fashion today, What do you like or dislike? But
what you see today because you know LLL was in
the sweat suit, had his shirt off, he had you know,
had a tracksuit on, taking shirt off, big gold chain
run DMC had the Adidas outfit, uh, the shell told
fast shoes. All it all depends are you, I mean,
(31:03):
are you still you still yeah, I'm sure. I mean,
look at you coming today. You come to White Path
as well, you know ALB kicks. So you're still a
fashion like. You're still in the fashion like that, right?
Do you like the way fashion is headed? You see
kind of where its going now. I'm gonna say this,
I feel that we as the Black youth were trend setters.
(31:31):
We were trend setters, you know, and not just the artists.
Shout out to Dappa Dan, April Walker called Kanai. You know,
we were on the Shabbaz Brothers. You know, we were
all trend setters. And I think that now I see
(31:54):
uh a lot of younger cats catering to you know,
what's popular or fashion week as opposed to your own creativity. Correct,
you know what I'm saying, taking those those hood elements
and mixing them together, making them look fly, especially if
(32:16):
you're a rich artist, because you can take it to
the whole next, a whole other level, because you got
the money to do so to become that trendsetter. You know,
when Dappa Dan took the job at Gucci, you know,
all he had to do was just remake the stuff
(32:37):
he was making in the eighties, you know, what I'm
saying that Gucci never made you see what I'm saying. So,
I mean it's like, you know, I feel like you
have that power to just grab those street elements, that
stuff that you know look hood sexy, and you know,
bring it together and create a Look.
Speaker 2 (32:55):
How do you become a ladies man? The hell of
I know. Shiner just rode with it.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
Man, Yeah, I know you rode with it because you
had two shows that they apollowed. They sold out for
women only. Yes, sir, I only know two other another
artist only. One of the artists that I know of,
Teddy Pendograd, used to have women only.
Speaker 2 (33:11):
That's what we got the idea from.
Speaker 1 (33:14):
It was an idea from lady to work the Warner
brothers uh Kiera and we uh yeah, we decided to
do two shows at the Apollo for ladies only because
she she broke it down cause she went to the
Teddy show.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
So she was like so she was like, well, you know.
Speaker 1 (33:34):
He had Teddy bears in every seat that said, you know,
hug on Teddy. So I was like, okay, we gotta
flip that. Put candy canes in every seat and let
us say suck on cane.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
So that's you know, that's that's what we did, you know, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (33:54):
I remember his documentary where he was they were telling
the story. He was telling that story part of it.
And then man, do you think, I mean, think about it,
came a rapper sow that shows women only? A rapper
to sow that shows women only? Is that possible today?
Speaker 2 (34:19):
Drake? Do you think Drake could do it? Hell? Yeah,
hell yeah and do it first?
Speaker 1 (34:24):
Yeah yeah yeah, rap wise, yeah, I was the first,
but I mean Drake, yeah, absolutely, I mean, you know,
you know, dude has a massive crowd. He has so
many hits for the ladies. Yes, you know, yeah, yeah, yeah,
Drake could do it.
Speaker 2 (34:38):
How do you even get into modeling?
Speaker 1 (34:44):
I can't remember whether it was April Walker or oh man,
I can't remember who it was who asked me to wear.
There's stuff on the runway and like I was in
my zone. I was in my and honestly, I was
nervous because because I know how my bop walk is.
I know, and I didn't want to do that on
(35:04):
the runway and what I did because I remember when
I when I told them afterwards, they was cracking up laughing.
Speaker 2 (35:10):
I was like the.
Speaker 1 (35:12):
Whole time, even though the house music stuff was playing
or whatever was playing, the whole time, I was humming
the baseline to Richard Pryor Which way is up? While
I was walking Boom boom boom boom boom boom.
Speaker 2 (35:24):
Boom boom boom boom boom boom. That's what I was
humming in my head so that I walked straight, you know.
Speaker 1 (35:29):
Yeah, and that well, yeah, anytime, anytime I was on
the runway, that's what I would do. But you was
also offered an opportunity for to be and playgirl. No, no, no,
you took it. Yeah, we went for it. It started
as a joke, right.
Speaker 2 (35:50):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (35:53):
The publicist from Warner Brothers, Jeane Shelton, he had just
got me an Essence magazine and he was like, man,
young blood, I've done so many things for you and
your rap career that I never thought I could do
for no rap artists. Man. You know, like I'm having
so much fun working with you. Like we don't we
done been in Jet magazine?
Speaker 2 (36:14):
We doesnet been?
Speaker 1 (36:14):
You know, so that's all that we done? Did everything? Yeah,
you know, I was He's like, ain't nothing left?
Speaker 2 (36:21):
You know.
Speaker 1 (36:22):
I was like, and I'm just I just made a joke.
I was like, Lessen is like, you like like Playboy magazine.
He's like, you mean Playgirl. I'm like, yeah, yeah, play girl.
I was like, unlet's we go do something like that.
And we laughed and then we we look at each other.
You were laughing though you were dead a ship. Let's
do it, you know. Yeah, Ma Donna asked you to
(36:44):
pose for our sex books.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
Yeah, Warner brother sent us on a promotional tour.
Speaker 1 (36:50):
Okay myself, Madonna color me bad. And we were like
going to like you know, Upscale hospital, you know, you know,
like the patients in there were like, you know, young
white kids. They didn't really know who I was. And
you know, uh, Madonna's sitting there talking me. You know
(37:12):
who that is. That's Big Daddy Kane. He's a famous rapper.
Speaker 2 (37:16):
Here.
Speaker 1 (37:17):
Let me hear you say, ain't no halfs And I'm like,
Madna know my shit, Oh wow, I'm bugging man. So
afterwards were outside and I'm like, hey, thank you so much,
you know for acknowledging me. I appreciate that. And she
was like no, no, my pleasure. She was like, listen,
(37:38):
I'm doing a book. It's just photographs. Not you know,
talking just photographs. I would love to have you involved.
I would like, I would be honest, And she was like,
but it's you know, probably gonna be real racy, like
nude photos.
Speaker 2 (37:51):
I was like, shit, even better, let's do even better.
Speaker 1 (37:55):
Yeah, but let me tell you how real Madonna up.
Speaker 2 (38:02):
Was bag.
Speaker 1 (38:02):
I mean, it was like the day started off so
much fun where I'm like, okay, yeah, this is the
place to be.
Speaker 2 (38:08):
This is cool. Okay.
Speaker 1 (38:10):
When I got to the set, Madonna comes running across
the room for the ass snackerd Gane.
Speaker 2 (38:19):
So glad you made it. Let me tell you.
Speaker 1 (38:21):
I was just standing outside in the middle of the
street in between them divide her just like this, no
clothes on, with my thumb out, taking photos. But not
one single car stop. Can you believe that fucking Madonna?
Nobody stopped for me.
Speaker 2 (38:35):
I'm like, oh, yeah, this is gonna be an amazing day, right,
I'm like this, they gonna be amaze because she won
ten already. I'm like, yo, yeah, she wild already. I'm like, yeah,
it's gonna be fun.
Speaker 1 (38:47):
Do you believe there's a rapper today that could do
play girl or do a sex book photos? Like what Madonna.
Did I think that there's rappers to day that's coming
from doing that to become of that movies Brown Sugar,
(39:12):
you also equalized with Coueen Latifa. Is that something you
wish you had a partaken in more?
Speaker 2 (39:21):
Yeah? Yeah, I wish I would have.
Speaker 1 (39:26):
Stayed, you know, focused on that and you know, can
you know, continued pursuing, you know, my film career.
Speaker 2 (39:37):
I think that I could have.
Speaker 1 (39:38):
I could have done a whole lot more, had a
much bigger impact. But I mean, you know, hey man,
you know it ain't too late, you know, I mean
you know, look how you know where Age Morgan Freeman
was when he made.
Speaker 2 (39:50):
His bones, So you know it ain't too late. It's
not because I remember he was an easy reader and
let your company. Yeah yeah, that's right.
Speaker 1 (40:01):
That's what That's what I do. And the next thing,
you know, I get older, here the move like hold on,
that's easy reader.
Speaker 2 (40:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (40:06):
But I mean right now, with this hit point, I
probably was more focused on, you know, my son, you know,
his film career, because I truly believe that he's more
of a natural than I am.
Speaker 2 (40:17):
Right, he just got it, had it.
Speaker 1 (40:20):
Yeah, Okay, you thn Dave Chappelle's block party.
Speaker 2 (40:23):
What was that experience, like.
Speaker 1 (40:26):
I mean to actually see Dave Chappelle in his element. Yeah,
I mean when I saw the movie, I was upset
about so much funny stuff that didn't make the movie
crazy stuff I heard him say, you know while we
were there, you know, filming, But it was great to
(40:47):
be a part of it because Dave Chappelle is that
dude right now. He is I think he is, you know,
the best comedian of today. And he's such a hip
hop fan and eligible. Yeah you know what I'm saying. Yes, knowledgeable,
he knows, he know the history. So you know, I
have nothing but the upmost respect hunt and I thank
(41:09):
him so much for, you know, include me in that
your song was featured in Grand Theft, Auto and Andreas.
I mean that when you when you hear your music
and things like that, how does that make you feel?
I mean, it's it's amazing because you gotta understand these
are kids, yes, and it's like you're saying, this is
(41:29):
big Daddy Kane and it's like who And then they
find they hear a woman upcine and then that that's you.
Speaker 2 (41:38):
Oh, I know that from Grand Theft. You know, so
you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (41:42):
It gives me that feeling of of my girl. Yeah,
it's children today that know my girl from top to bottom,
but don't know the temptations, correct, you know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (41:55):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (41:56):
Women rappers? I mean you you the exception you mentioned,
you know Rock sand Shante, give me, give me your
give me your five. I mean there's a great one.
They're not And you know you're probably gonna take some
people off because you have. When you say five of anything,
that means you leave something off. Give me your five
women's rappers. That's right. That's why I'm not gonna give
(42:21):
you my five. But I will say that some of
my favorites I'm gonna try to go from then till
now would be uh Shah, Rock, Wut Rock, Sane, Schante,
(42:48):
Salt and Pepper, Queen, Latifa, m C Light, Eve, Foxy Kim,
uh Lady of Rage, Lady of Rage, they forgot If
if you call Lauryn Hill a rapper, I like to
(43:12):
because she's a monster with the bars. Yes, yes, I'd
say Lauryn Hill, Lady London low Lebrook.
Speaker 2 (43:27):
I'm probably forgetting a few. But yeah, who is this said?
Speaker 1 (43:30):
I forget who said it that he believes female rappers
are becoming over sexualized. Well, I mean it's like, you know,
that's what they did to them back in the days,
you know what I'm saying, trying to force them, you know,
to to to be sexy. That's that's one of the
(43:50):
main things that you know, I've always respected about Queen Latifa, right,
you know, she was like, I'm gonna keep it apros
centric and I'm gonna be the Queen. I'm not putting
that tight shit on, you know, I'm you know, that's
that's That's what about Queen the teeth I've always respected. Yes,
she did it her way. Queen has always been to queen.
(44:12):
I mean you meet I mean, when you meet her
behind the scenes, in front, she the queen. Yeah, bro,
I need to know we you got me in North
Carolina from you, from you, from Brooklyn, New York. There
could not be anything more different than Brooklyn, New York
(44:34):
than North Carolina.
Speaker 2 (44:37):
How why.
Speaker 1 (44:41):
Well, you know, yeah, I'm from Brooklyn, best style of Brooklyn,
but I hadn't lived there since nineteen eighty seven. Really, yeah,
I mean I said the same same thing the biggie
said when I first made a record I ain't never
(45:03):
leave in the Hood, but then I realized that I had,
you had to, you know what I'm saying. I felt
like I wanted to be here with my people. You
know what I'm saying. We're gonna walk this walk together.
But then I realized that, you know, your people start
looking at you different differently. So, you know, I hadn't
lived in in the Hood since eighty seven. I moved
(45:28):
to Jamaica Estates and Queens. Okay, so I was, you know,
in like kind of like a suburban area almost, you know,
and I had a lot of friends in Long Island
that lived in the real, real suburbs, you know what
I'm saying. So when I came down here in the
nineties and did a show, because like my family is
(45:49):
from South Carolina, Okay, you know what I'm saying, we're
you know, dirt roads and stuff like that. You know,
people don't know you gonna walk up and be where
your name is. You know, that's where you know where
I spent my summer in South Carolina. So when I
came to North Carolina and sawt it, Nah, this ain't country,
(46:11):
you know, just laid back. Yeah, it looked just like
long hour raised a family. I was like, I actually
live here, right, and I did it? Wow, when you
were growing up, did you want to do anything else
other than music? Did you want to play sports? Did
you think that basketball or any like a sport was
gonna be your avenue out of the hood.
Speaker 2 (46:34):
I played basketball the seventh grade. But you know I.
Speaker 1 (46:43):
Got, I got, you know, kicked off the team and
out the school.
Speaker 2 (46:48):
So what did you do?
Speaker 1 (46:49):
Came, Uh, I did something bad. How you tell your mom?
How you tell your mom you got kicked out of school?
You go home and tell your mom and you randm
on your parents. How you tell them I ain't gonna
be able to go to school tomorrow. I don't know
when I will be able to go to school.
Speaker 2 (47:05):
To gain.
Speaker 1 (47:08):
Nah, I you know, I explained, you know, what I
was upset about, and you know, she understood where I
was coming from. But it was like, you know, like
you still shouldn't have did that. You should still shouldn't
have handled it that way. You should have just you know,
so you know, it was what it was, and it
ended up going to a different school and by the
(47:30):
time you know, I got to like arm.
Speaker 2 (47:35):
Like finished eighth grade. I wanted to be an MC,
so sports didn't matter anymore. Yeah, because see, like.
Speaker 1 (47:42):
I said, when I sit in like in the seventies,
when I saw Master D, I wanted to be a DJ.
Speaker 2 (47:47):
So that's how it started.
Speaker 1 (47:48):
I was like DJ Sir Romeo, and someone broke in
my grandmother crib stole my turntables.
Speaker 2 (47:54):
Well, you're not the DJ themore.
Speaker 1 (47:55):
Yeah, So I became you know, Tony T. Okay, Yeah,
I left that name of all right, I became Yeah,
I became Tony T. And you know, then when I
became MC came, you know, that's when I started, you know,
really like like focusing holding on the craft of that.
Speaker 2 (48:15):
You know. But I mean, so I wasn't really thinking
about basketball anymore. So you're a Knicks or Hornets fan? Now, Knicks?
Speaker 1 (48:22):
Come on, man, I mean you you I come from
where with Michael Jordan's come and drop fifty five on
the Knicks, he got to leave with a thirty four
D on his eye. That's where I come from. You know,
I come from from Oakley, Anthony Mac Yeah, Patrick Ewing, Yeah,
(48:46):
come on, man. That legacy alone, Yeah, that legacy alone.
Gotta love the Knicks, man, regardless of who come afterwards,
just for what they they was gangsters.
Speaker 2 (48:56):
So you're Giants or a Jets fan. I don't watch football.
You don't watch you don't watch nah man, no disrespect
about it, can I can? I just explain, all right?
And again no disrespect.
Speaker 1 (49:09):
But it was like I couldn't wait to go to
a Super Bowl party because I'm always hearing about them, right,
So finally I go and we're sitting there.
Speaker 2 (49:19):
Finally watch a football game.
Speaker 1 (49:20):
We're watching and the cameras zoomed in on the dude
ass and span dex and all of a sudden, the
play happens and everything happened in like five seconds, it's over,
back to the dude ass and span dex. I'm like,
and this is what y'all watch all day. I'm like,
I can't do it. I'm good, I'm out good. I
(49:42):
just couldn't do it. I just couldn't do it. Yeah,
I just couldn't do it. I didn't cause you like,
with basketball, you seen him running up down yeah, you
know the court, you know, you know, even like hockey,
you know.
Speaker 2 (49:54):
It was like I just felt like, nah, I can't
watch this. Yeah, you use.
Speaker 1 (49:59):
A a lot of boxing references in your in your songs,
you boxing, clearly you got to be a boxing fan.
I guess is that that's my favorite sport. That's your
favorite spot. Yeah, who's your favorite boxing?
Speaker 2 (50:10):
Ali?
Speaker 1 (50:11):
Like that's how I used a lot of Ali stuff
to win battles. Because you know you're going to somebody
else's turf. Yes, so already, Like when I go there,
I want to make him uncomfortable on his own turf.
Or I want to make his boys be into me,
you know what I'm saying. Yeah, I want his boys
(50:32):
to like be like you know, to to to to
to like what I'm saying, you know, yeah, because you
know they they did to boom me anyway, right because
they would with with this guy. You know, you got
Canelo or you got budd.
Speaker 2 (50:53):
Mhmm. I want to say, I want to say, but.
Speaker 1 (51:01):
I I can't really say until I until I see
the weight, right, I can't really say until I see
the weight right, But I mean just awful, like so
far what I've been putting together. Right, I would say,
but wow, that's you were really close with Beers. Be
(51:24):
has passed away with type two diabetes. I think irv
Gotti had diabetes. And you become very very health conscious.
What when when did you start prioritizing your health because
I mean obviously, like I said, you were very close being.
Speaker 2 (51:41):
Bes I mean I was, you know, with that uh
way way way prior. You know, like when I started
like learning you know, like what how long beef stays
in your system? You know, like that was like eighty
seven when I stopped eating beef? Yeah really yeah? So
(52:02):
you chicken, turkey fish.
Speaker 1 (52:03):
I stop eating chicken. I stop eating poultry period in
eighty nine. Just pescatarian. So your pescatary. Okay, so you pescatary.
You've pescatarian before it was even in bold. I mean
now you know.
Speaker 2 (52:15):
You peskeytarian, you vegan or you know, whatever the case
may be. But yeah, yeah since eighty nine.
Speaker 1 (52:20):
Yeah, wow, you were a member or you were in
the five percenter? What did you learn from your time
in that?
Speaker 2 (52:30):
I mean, you know, I still I still flame five percent?
You know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (52:34):
It's it's like, I mean, well, first of all, knowledge yourself,
yes you know what I'm saying, understanding who you are
as a black man, and you know, and your power,
how much power you have? You know, and you know
I mean, so that's that's one of the main things.
But then also you know, how to you know, try
(52:55):
to deal in equality with others. You know what I'm saying,
how to try to inequality and try to bring others
up and teach the youth all that stuff you learn
you know, you know from Islam. Okay, thoughts on councel
culture that you know, you have a mistake, you have
a slip up, and then that's the.
Speaker 2 (53:16):
End of it.
Speaker 1 (53:18):
I mean, I think that anybody is entitled to make mistakes.
You know, the name of the game is do better. Yes,
you know, don't make that same mistake twice. Yeah, you know,
anybody is entitled to make mistake. You know, it's just
(53:42):
do better. You made this mistake, What did you learn
from it? You know what I'm saying, What did you
learn from it? Don't make this mistake again? You know
what I'm saying. How you're going to do better, How
you're going to improve on the relationship you destroyed? Or
what's you the black crowd cloud that you created? How
(54:04):
you gonna what you're gonna do to fix that? Right,
you know what I'm saying. But anybody is entitled to
make a mistake. And I'm saying, let me add one
more thing to that. What's funny to me is that
if the whole cancel culture thing, they'll do that to
someone over the slightest little thing that they did wrong,
(54:24):
and it'd be.
Speaker 2 (54:25):
That one thing. But I know of a guy that do.
Speaker 1 (54:31):
Wrong things every day that everybody just sweep under the rug.
Speaker 2 (54:38):
So, I mean, you know, what the hell really is
cancer culture? True? What's your favorite era of music? My
favorite era of music? Mm hm.
Speaker 1 (54:56):
Oh man, that one's hard, Shannon. It's like, I like
the music better in the seventies, but the sixties had
some hellified stories like oh man, Smokey Robinson. Well sixties
(55:22):
with motown, Yeah, Smoky Robinson. But I mean, like I'm
just talking about the stories like Smokey Robinson. Uh uh,
Chris Christofferson. There was there was, There was there were
some writers that were their pen was just goodness that
Like what was you thinking? Man?
Speaker 2 (55:42):
Seventies had some good music too, though.
Speaker 1 (55:44):
No, it's not saying like music and even like in
the with the writing in the seventies you had some
you know, some amazing people Ashvin and Simpson.
Speaker 2 (55:54):
Uh, hell of a pen game, I see, I like
the big band in the seventies. See, I like cooling, the.
Speaker 1 (55:58):
Gang, Ohio Players, the stylistic, the Barka's lakeside.
Speaker 2 (56:02):
Okay, seee, I'm just talking about the right side music shide. Now,
the music side. I mean yeah, he waves, yeah, waves, yeah, cameo.
Speaker 1 (56:13):
Yeah yeah, cooling the game, cooling, cooling the game, yeah
yeah all that. Who the uh can't see in the
Sunshine band can't? I mean everything was bands back then,
and they and they could do it. I still, you know,
I still like to go. I still, you know, occasion
if I can catch them, you know, go see Ohio Players.
(56:34):
I love I love band. I want to catch excuse me,
cooling the game. I want to catch the Ohio Players
because they were the first group. I mean, all these
songs one word, roller Coaster, entire fire, Firecracker, you know
what I'm saying they didn't have, but that slow song
they had rig House nah less Love. Yeah it's al
(56:56):
and oh yeah that was my joint.
Speaker 2 (57:00):
What are your thoughts on New York losing the.
Speaker 1 (57:03):
Crowd is best rap city? You know we got that
at Ma. I'm just saying that that we got it now,
we got it. Absolutely, No. I mean, you know, I
think that, you know, hip hop is universal, and you know,
everybody you know deserved it shot, you know. I remember
when the West Coast had it, you know. Yeah, I
(57:24):
mean it's like this here. If it's entertaining, I'm there
for it. I'm here for it, right, you know, like
Out of the South. I love listening to se Loo.
I love listening to Outcast.
Speaker 2 (57:40):
T I.
Speaker 1 (57:41):
You know, I love t I. You know, just Luda
oh Man, Luda. Forget about it, love Luda.
Speaker 2 (57:48):
You know. I mean, I've always youen. I tell you
a funny story.
Speaker 1 (57:53):
I remember when Juvenile first came out with her Yeah,
and the video came on video jukebox, and I'm, you know,
in New York with you know a lot of my boys,
you know, from the hood, and they came on and
they like, Yo, this is what hip hop is becoming.
This ship here, this is what we gotta listen to now.
(58:15):
And I just turned my back. I turned my back.
I started doing some other stuff because I like the back.
Speaker 2 (58:23):
You know what I'm saying. It was right, you know
what I'm saying. I don't. I think I'm the only
one that I'm like, am I the only one to
think this shit is hut, you know, and I'm sitting there.
Are you about to treat your nose? You know what?
I love that song, man, I loved it. You know.
Speaker 1 (58:35):
Yeah, you mentioned you said you like like because when
I ask you about the women you like, you named
off for about ten or twelve. You feel the same
way about the guys that's like like like five of
your if I gave you, If I gave you five
guys and say came for the next ten years, you're
(58:56):
gonna listen to five?
Speaker 2 (58:59):
Who you playing?
Speaker 1 (59:00):
You only got five guys? You only got five rappers
past or present that you could listen to who you rocket?
Speaker 2 (59:08):
First of all? Now you you you're you're you're getting
real grade at this wording that.
Speaker 1 (59:19):
We're gonna get you down on something. You got five?
You got five? Well, I mean, you know, honestly, it
may not be the five that I think are the
greatest lyricists, right.
Speaker 2 (59:37):
It might be it would probably be the ones who
I just like like listening to. Correct you know what
I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (59:44):
So you know we be talking about you know, Chuck
d Uh slick Wreck uh uh jay z h.
Speaker 2 (01:00:07):
I don't know Chuck geez. Look Meck jay Z. I
don't know. I don't know.
Speaker 1 (01:00:13):
Honestly, I don't know. Oh, I would say Celo and
chub Rock. Okay, but see, like I said, man, because
it's like I love Selo voice.
Speaker 2 (01:00:28):
Man, you love Selo voice? Yeah? And I love Chuck
rock voice. You know. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:00:34):
Have you ever met Chuck Rock? I have never met
Chub Rock. Do you know he talks like that in
real life? Really?
Speaker 2 (01:00:38):
Yeah, he talks like that in real life.
Speaker 1 (01:00:42):
Like my brother tripped out when the first time heard
Chuck Rock because he's he's in the studio and Chuck
Chuck just walked into the studio.
Speaker 2 (01:00:48):
He's like, Yo, okay, that's John Blaze. Man who did
that mob? He talks like that in real life.
Speaker 1 (01:00:54):
I tell people the same thing about Eve forty. Yeah, yeah,
yeah forty exactly like you here him.
Speaker 2 (01:01:00):
That's how Faulty talked. Like we met, we're doing a
movie together, and like I'm sitting there just staring at him, like, yo,
is he messing with me? Or he really talked like this? Yeah? Yeah.
You once said Eminem is the Kobe of rap? Who's Mike?
Who's Lebron?
Speaker 1 (01:01:20):
I don't, I don't, I don't honestly don't know how
to answer that, Shannon, I don't know how to answer
that because I don't I don't know what's the qualifications
of a mic, what's the qualifications of a Lebron. I
don't know what the qualificifications off of Kobe when you're
making a reference to Rapp.
Speaker 2 (01:01:33):
So I don't really know how to answer that one.
Speaker 1 (01:01:36):
You're still performing and Uh, there's a situation where I
think it was bow Wow. I think it was Fat Joe.
They had a coup at Sea World. Did you see that?
Speaker 2 (01:01:46):
No? I heard about it. You you you hop on
the mic and see world? Not now? Not now? Not now.
I mean they got a little check. They got a
little check for you, kn't you know?
Speaker 1 (01:02:01):
I mean, I don't know, man. I'm just gonna say this, man,
Fat Joe is a hip hop legend by while it's
a young hip hop legend man, and both those guys
did a lot for the game. Whatever decisions they make
(01:02:22):
or they decide to do, I respect it.
Speaker 2 (01:02:25):
You know.
Speaker 1 (01:02:27):
The next fifty years, I think RAP just had its anniversary,
fifty year anniversary. The next fifty years, what would you
like to see for Rap?
Speaker 2 (01:02:39):
Rap?
Speaker 1 (01:02:40):
I would like to see young hip hop artists that
focus on writing songs that impact their fan based life
and step on stage and be great performers, whether they
(01:03:03):
got production behind them or not.
Speaker 2 (01:03:06):
You know, even if you don't have.
Speaker 1 (01:03:08):
No led lights and stuff, you still know how to
rip that stage apart.
Speaker 2 (01:03:14):
Right.
Speaker 1 (01:03:15):
You know, we're gonna wrap. Thank you for coming on
Club Sha shay. Anything. You got a book Just Rhyming
with Beers, a documentary paragraphs I manifest any new music.
I heard you dropping your own wine and cookie show.
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah long wine, yeah, am Ontario.
You know, yeah, yeah that.
Speaker 2 (01:03:36):
You know.
Speaker 1 (01:03:36):
The book Just Rhyming with beis talking about, you know,
is discovering me and getting me a record deal and
all the madness we went through trying to get on,
you know. And I'll tell you about the documentary docuseries
rather you know, right Lyricists kr Is One, J G Rock,
cam Rizzer, Method Man.
Speaker 2 (01:03:55):
L O J.
Speaker 1 (01:03:56):
Cole, Kendrick Lamar, Low, Wayne Big Daddy, Kane, Slick Red.
Will we ever because KRS One rock him y'all in
the LLL. A lot of you guys were in the
same era, same It's kind of like if you'd had Lebron,
Kobe Jordan's Bird Magic, Johannis Yo Kicch. If you'd had
(01:04:21):
the ten you know, ten and all of them in
the same same era.
Speaker 2 (01:04:26):
Ja.
Speaker 1 (01:04:26):
Let mean just think you Jay z all you got
J Cole method all your guys in the same era.
Speaker 2 (01:04:34):
You ever thought about that, what it would be like if,
like man if man, what.
Speaker 1 (01:04:36):
Would it be like if I was in this era
with J Cole and Kendrick Lamar and Lil Wayne. What
would it be like if they were in my era
with X Y and Z You Have you ever thought
of it like that?
Speaker 2 (01:04:48):
Yeah? I mean I could tell you what it been like.
Speaker 1 (01:04:50):
You know, I would have been on the sneaker tongue.
Speaker 2 (01:04:58):
Ben goaty k K. Thank you man for jo the club.
Shait yere bab. We appreciate it. Broth all my.
Speaker 3 (01:05:05):
Life and grinding all my life, sacrifice, hustle back the
price Wanta slice, got to brow the dice, swap all
my life.
Speaker 2 (01:05:13):
I've been grinding all my life. Yeah, all my life
and grinding.
Speaker 3 (01:05:17):
All my life, sacrifice, hustle, pay the price in Wanta Slice,
got to brow the dice, swap all my life. I've
been grinding all my life, h.
Thank you for coming back. Part two is underway. You
were up close and personal with the rap beasts because
I and my nineteen eighty seven we had an intermeal
basketball team and the name of my team was the
Juice Crew All Stars featuring Oh my Goodness. I wish
mister Magic was allowed to hear that man, and I
(00:22):
would try I would try to find I would try
to find that shirt because that was the day. But
Juice Crew All Stars and and I go when I
go back and look, bro y'all were loaded, y'all.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Cougie Rap, j Polo.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Yourself, Uhismark Bismark Yes, yeah, glamorous that Molly Mack Master
Ace Craig g Yeah, tragedy Yeah, how y'all?
Speaker 2 (00:48):
How did all y'all come together?
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Well, I mean I would, I would because that kind
of where you got your start, right, Yeah, I would
credit that to fly Tie and Marli mal Okay, you know,
did you realize that you were a part of something special?
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Then? Absolutely you did you knew it? Well?
Speaker 1 (01:08):
I mean, mister Magic was the official voice of hip
hop radio, Okay, you know, like he's the person that
broke hip hop records and I'm part of his crew, right,
so I don't have to wait outside BLS.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
He is. Yeah, you know, just a new joint.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
I'm part of the grow, right, you know what I'm saying, right, Yeah,
So I knew I was part of something special lyricists.
You mentioned in nineteen eighty six, rock him thinking of
a master playing but it ain't nothing but sign my hand.
So I that song that took rap to another level
(01:50):
because at that point in time, nobody had ever really
sounded like him. I mean, he was very methodical. You
could hear every every word he said. You could hear it.
It wasn't no this now came.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
I think that what rock Kim did was brought lyricism
back into the game because you know, it's like it
was to me, the most important m see ever is
Melly Mel. Okay, you know, because I feel like, you know,
Cats in the seventies was basically trying to either sound
(02:25):
like DJ Hollywood, Eddie Cheaper A love Buck Starsky, and
Mellie Mel is the one that presented lyricism. He started
lyricism in the game with the message no No long
before that. Yeah, and it was like, you know, when
(02:46):
he did that, I think it made people start really
paying more attention to the MC because back then it
was really all about the DJ Flash Africa, bambody, yep,
who heard you know breakout? It was about the DJ.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
You know.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
I think Mellie Mel gave the MC an identity because
he put lyricism in it, you know, so it's like
he he created something that that that gave us an identity.
But then as we started making records at seventy nine
and stuff, you know, the records had more of a
party feel, so the focus wasn't really on the lyricism.
(03:27):
And then like when rock Kim come in eighty six,
he brought it back to that. Yes, you know, but
he felt that you told you rapped about a song
and he's, I see leaders in that laugh, and he
thought you was taking a shot atty say what yeah,
I was.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
I was.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
He thought you were subliminately dissing him in a song
by saying I see leaders in that laugh.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Nah. What happened was he what was the line? He
had uh.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
Word to Daddy? It was a di song. No no, no,
he had I think follow follow the Leader. He had
a song called follow Leader, and he said word to Daddy. Indeed,
I took it as a this, you know. So I
did write, you know, a line. But what happened was
(04:22):
one night because you got to say it. Eric be
Brother was my road manager, so like me and Eric,
you know, was solid.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
You know.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
So this girl got in the car one night and
she gave me a photo and the photo said, did Kane,
I want to set it off and get r a
w Ain't no half stepping because.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
I'm gonna break your wrath in half.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
So when I saw it, because at the same time
you talked about Dad, they were saying that Rod Kim
had a song called break the Raft in Half.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Just in me. Oh okay, So.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
I gave a picture of that Eric Brother and he's like, yo,
what you mean by break the raff in half?
Speaker 2 (05:03):
And she like, oh, yeah, Eric got this here song.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
I mean Eric and Rock Kim got this song called
break the Raft in Half trying to diss you.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
I heard it and he's like, you heard it. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
He played it for me on Jamaica Avenue and I'm
sitting here crying, laughing. I'm crying laughing, like and every
time I'm looking at Eric brother aunt, you know, we
just started laughing.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
So finally the girl she looks at Aunt.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
She's like, yo, why he keep looking at you and laughing,
saying what you work with Eric or something?
Speaker 2 (05:29):
And Aunt was like, no, I live with him. That's
my brother. Wow.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
And she said, well, you know how niggas talk. So
Aunt was like, yo, it's going too far. Y'all need
to talk. When you talked to him, I'm like, I
don't care. So he called Rock Kim put him on
the phone and but Rock Kim, see you telling me
(05:53):
new stuff. I never he never mentioned that line when
we talked on the phone. He asked me about saying
when I said rap soloist, you don't want none of this.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
I want to send it off.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
And I was like, no, no, no, I'm saying that
I'm a rap soloist. Competition, don't want none of this, right,
because he had a song where he said and you
know that I'm the soloist. So I was clamming it
up like nah nah, I said, I'm the rap soloist, competition,
don't want none of this. Anybody that ram alone is
a rap soloist, right, And he was like, oh, okay,
and I'm not talking about anybody in particular. Yeah, I'm
(06:22):
saying I'm rapped total. No. Well, when I'm playing competition, right,
whoever can get it right? You know what I'm saying.
But that's what I'm saying. But you you were saying
I was not specifically talking about you, Rocky. I was
from me, right, I was calling myself a rap solo right,
not saying that you are rap soloist.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
You don't want none of this.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
So he said okay, And I'm like, well, what about
this word to daddy? Indeed, like that sounds I mean,
I'm big daddy Kane. Yeah, that's not like you're coming from.
And he was like, nah, you know other cats say,
you know, word to mommy. In Long Island, we say
word to daddy. That's like, you know, just that's that's
our slang. I'm like, oh, okay, my bad. And that
was that. That was the end of it.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
I was inter it. Ever since then, we've been cool.
Why can't guys do that today? I don't know.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
I don't know you see how you just got to
hey picking up the phone, because everybody know everybody. If
I don't know you personally, I know your manager, I
know somebody close to you, and then I can pick
up the phone and say, man, look here, man, this
is foolish.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
This is ridiculous. Man. Let's let let's talk this thing. Hey, bro,
check this out. Man.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
Well that was a fortunate situation because, like I said,
you know, me and Eric was cool, right, and his
brother was my road manager.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
So his brother, you know, orchestrated it where like, you know,
let me get him.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
That could have a lot of different ways had that
not been the case, okay, because you probably would have responded.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Well, yeah I did.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
I mean, yeah, I had the line, but you know,
once we talked, I took it out and he told
me that he had some stuff that you know, he
took out.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
So you know, we was good. Right.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
This mixed probably fifty to fifty beefts this Are they good?
Are they bad for rat? I think that they're bad
for careers. I think they're good for MC's. I mean,
(08:18):
I'm a battle rapper, so I love you know, you
love that one on one. You love to back your
fad because it keeps you on your toes. Oh he said, what.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
You know?
Speaker 1 (08:32):
It keeps as an MC keep you on your toes
career wise. It can be career ending and it and
it can cause someone's death or you know, someone seriously
getting hurt because the fans can take it too far.
It's not the individual, it's the people around the individual.
You're right, And now if we just gonna keep this
thing on wax, I'm cool with it long as it
(08:54):
don't bleed into reality. Yeah, that's the problem that you
have because we thought Jay z Knov battling and now
they cool.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
I don't know if Bigger in Park would have been cool.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
I doubt that. I don't. I doubt that.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
Because sometimes you have a line you go too far.
You talk about you talk about that.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Man.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
I'm not gonna get into that, but yeah, I doubt
I doubt.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
Let me ask you this, can can Drake and Kendrick
come back? I think so? I think so, I think so.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
I mean, I know, I know some some crazy things
was well, there were some crazy allegations, but you know.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
On both sides.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
Yeah, but I mean if if, if, if, if none
were proven, then you can get I think you can
get past move past it.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Yeah, how'd you mean? Hold?
Speaker 1 (09:47):
Uh? There were these guys and queens called the shirt Kings,
and one of them they made spray paint shirts, and
one of them asked me about doing a mixtape with
jazz O, and I was like, all right, yeah, we
(10:08):
do it. So we went to Brooklyn to my man
Fresh Gordon Crib. He's supposed to be doing this mixtape
and then jazz O was like, Yo, can my man
rhyme on the tape too?
Speaker 2 (10:18):
And that was jay Z. So we did was it
at this time? I don't know. I don't know. I
don't know how old he was.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
I mean, because I think Jay is like a year
and a half younger than me, so I mean, I
don't know, could have been twenty nineteen, I don't know.
But he asked his man rhyme on the tape and
I was like yeah, So we did the tape. And
then when we're riding back to my crib, my man
(10:44):
Night from the Shirt Kings, He's like, Yo, we really
wanted you to do this because we want you to help,
you know, to get jazz another deal. And you know,
I was like, honestly, I kind of like the light
skin do better.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
As I came from work with him.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
You know, and that's how you know, we connected, right,
you know, and we uh we started you know, working
on stuff. Was we was working on music, and you know,
I was shopping his music, you know, the different labels
and things of that nature. And then I ended up
doing the Feels Like Another one with Patty LaBelle right.
And while we were on tour, you know, I'm noticing
that Patty is doing outfit changes. So I'm like, I'm fascinated,
(11:29):
and I'm like, nobody in hip hop doing this.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
Oh, I can't wait to get back out of the road.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
So when I finished the tour with Patty, went back
out on my tour, I grabbed jay Z and another
rapper by the name A Positive K. You know, he
had a big song pause, K. Yeah, I got a man. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
So I grabbed both of them and brought them on
the man got to do with me? You right.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
I brought them both on the road with me, and
like I would let them come out and perform in
the middle of my show while I do outfit change.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
Okay, so him and jay Z would be on stage rapping. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
Did you know when you heard this nineteen twenty twenty
one year old old Rappid, did you ever think he'd
become Vince No? No, I mean it's crazy because see,
there's one thing about jay did I didn't really understand
until much later, because Paz would be in the drum
(12:21):
or in the studio and very much involved. Sauce Money
would be in the drum or in the studio, very
much involved.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
Jay would always be quiet.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
Yes, that's the story everybody tells. So it was a
type of thing where I'm like, you know, you gotta,
you know, you make your presence feel you gotta. So
I didn't see it, But what I didn't understand was
that Jay was being quiet for a reason.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
Jay studies everything.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
Like years later, I started thinking about all types of
stuff numerous nights when he would point out something I
did on stage, mention it. Oh yeah, real funny dude,
the way you did such and such. He noticed everything.
So he was sitting there studying, you know, And I
think that that attributed, you know, to his greatness.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
Writing.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
It's funny that, you know, you said that real MC's
write their own verse. But some of the some of
the great songs that's been recorded by them, c oh,
I guess they can't call him in MC if you
don't write has been written for written by someone else. Yeah,
there's a lot of you know, great songs that were
written by other people. But I mean that's normal in
(13:34):
the music industry. Now, not when you not when you
were coming up, did you guys that well, I mean
I wrote most of biz marky first album, Okay, you know,
I mean I've written for other people. You know there
were artist Yeah, there were artists. You know that that
that that that wrote big songs for other people. Right,
(13:55):
But it was you know, really ghostwriting, real real ghostwriting, right.
You know what I'm saying, Like, you're not really a
ghost writer. If you wrote a song for somebody and
tell you tell them about it that I wrote down Rod,
that's not a ghost Adults are supposed to be something
that you can't see, you tell it me.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
Yeah, so it is.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
It happened back then, but I mean, now it's standard practice.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Why do you think Jay got turned down by so
many labels? You know what.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
If I sat and told you some of the stuff
that people said to me when I played they demo,
you know.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
What do you say? I mean, I'm not.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
Gonna go into because I don't want nobody running with it,
you know what I'm saying, turning into not negative bad,
but I mean the stuff that people said. But I'm
gonna say this, Shannon, I'm gonna say this. I'm glad.
I'm glad they turned them down for the simple fact
that at that point in time, that's when Jay's he
was doing that that real fast rappids. Yeah, that was
(15:07):
a fad hip hop and it didn't last long, you
know what I'm saying. So had he came out doing that,
he may have been successful for a year or two
and then he would have faded out with that style.
He came out the right time, talking about the right stuff,
doing the right thing, and he ended up having amazing
(15:28):
state power.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
So I'm glad I couldn't get him a deal.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
I think that what he did years later with Dame
Dash and IRV Gotti and whoever else, that's what was
supposed to happen, and I'm so happy for him to
see him be successful.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
Nas.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
You have a lot of respect for Nads, and he's
another great lyricist that explains things and can talk.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
What's your favorite Nad story? My favorite Nads story.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Would be probably when we first met he said unique
Studio and I told him how much I love ill Matic,
and he asked me, well, what do you think is
wrong with it? I'm like nothing, I'm like, you know
how people be saying this a five mic album.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
This a lot of times.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
Nah, it might be a four mic, it might be
a four and a half mic, but you got a
five mic album. The album is amazing. I don't think
anything is wrong with it. But he wouldn't let it go.
He would not let it go. He just kept But
but I'm saying, like, what do you think I should have?
Did you know different? I'm like, I don't think you
should have did anything different. I think it's but what
(16:41):
would you have done different? I'm like, I mean, me,
I would have probably had one song on there for
the ladies at least, But you, not me.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
You did what you're supposed to do.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
And it's amazing, you know, But I mean it was
just it was like, you won't just let it go
and be great man, leave it alone. Man, this album
is amazing. You don't do nothing you should have did different.
I think the fact that he had so much respect
for you and to hear you say that, and it's like,
let me just make sure he ain't just saying that
because I'm standing here in front of him. Let me,
(17:13):
let me, let me, let me try a different way. Okay,
the album was good, you say, it's five mics. No,
I just say it was good. I said it was great. Yeah,
five mics. Uh huh.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
But if you would have done it, okay, you would
do it.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
Oh so you said my next album, I should have
one one song for the ladies. He had Eric B
call me. I think maybe a year or two later
he had Eric Be called me. I was at a
car dealership and he had Eric Be called me and
he's like, yo, nads won't to holler at you. He
puts him on. He said, yo, I did want for
the You you heard the owe me back. I did
want for the I'm excited about it, but I mean
(17:49):
it was like, you know, yo, Ell Mattic is a
master ps. You know, that's like one of my favorite
hip hop albums of all time. This is just not
in the rap industry, this is almost every industry. Do
you feel this younger generation give the older generation the
respect like Nahs and jay Z like they respect you
(18:12):
and you respect the others. Do you feel this younger
draft generation give the adequate, adequate respect to the older generation.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
No, not at all, But I mean you know I don't.
I don't. I don't blame them.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
You know, it's it's it's it's what they're taught, you know,
Like the word irrelevant carries a lot of weight in
the music industry today.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
It's a word that's thrown around on social media a
whole lot.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
So it's it's been, you know, instilled in the younger generation.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
Head.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
So I don't blame the young kids. I just think
that we have to figure out a way to bridge
the gap because I would love to see, you know,
even if it's not my generation, even if it's the
eminem Kanye generation, artists from that talking with these young kids,
giving them game. Don't do this, don't do that, watch
out for that, don't sign something that says, you know,
(19:08):
I would love to see that, you know, to try
to help them, you know. But no, the respect is
not there because it's like, you know, it's things that's
instilled in the younger generation mind. What's Kane's responsibility to
this younger generation. My responsibility is to try to educate them.
(19:28):
I have a documentary or excuse me, docu Sirius called
Paragraphs are manifest. It's talking about the importance of lyricism
and hip hop and the reason why I really wanted
to do this. So the younger generation can see how
important the lyrics are, to see how when you focus
on the lyrics, your song can have stay power and
(19:48):
touch someone's heart. Your song can last for years upon
years because of the way this person felt about what
you said. And it's called paragraphs I manifest. It features
on J cole Or Snoop Dogg, jay z MC, Light,
Lady London, eminem Common several you know.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Yeah, Travis Scott recently rear viral.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
He said, I swear the old Ann's killed me, no
matter why Ann's feel me talking about push your t
What are your thoughts in that line?
Speaker 2 (20:24):
Because it's and I hate it. I don't.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
I've never had a I've never had a problem came
because I understand where I am today. There had to
be people before me that stand in these varioushoes that
wasn't it's prosperous, that didn't get the attention, that didn't
get the notoriety, that didn't make the money that I made.
And so it's my job to pay homage for those
that happened to be born at a time in which
the money wasn't what it is. So I never had
(20:48):
problem giving people credit.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
Never.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
Never, I think these young guys. I mean for whatever reasons. Yeah,
and you you you that irrelevant. But the question is,
forty years from now, will you still be relevant? Because
at one point in time I stood in your shoes
and I don't think people realize that I got a
(21:13):
T shirt that says I'm the age that I used
to think was old. Can I remix your statement? Go
ahead ten years from now, will you still be relevant? Ten?
Speaker 2 (21:23):
Wow? We don't need forty we need a decade. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
Yeah, because the life span today of an artist is
usually about eight months.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
So I guess you better get everything you can in
those eight months because you're not promised another eight months exactly.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
Another young rapper that always giving you respect is Eminem.
He's an anomaly. He's to wrap what Tiger Woods was
to go.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
He came in.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
And if wordplay, cadence all that, but he's one of
these guys that's never had had a problem showing the
older generation respect. Eminem is a student of the game.
He is an amazing student of the game, and without
(22:24):
trying to tell too much in my documentary, he pointed
out something that I did that I never paid attention to.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
Wow, Like after the interview.
Speaker 1 (22:35):
I went back and started listening to artists you know
before me, to see if someone else did this, because
he was pointing out that I'm the first person he
ever heard do this, and.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
I'm like, you had to have been someone before me.
Like he's a student of the game that way, he
got deep in it. Yeah. But you know, I'm gonna
tell you man.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
Em is an amazing artist, super talented, super lyrical. But
I think the thing I think it's so dope about
Eminem is like, you know, when hip hop began, you know,
this was we're talking about a New York thing, right, Yeah, Okay,
(23:17):
all of a sudden you.
Speaker 2 (23:19):
Got n w A talking about straight out of Compton. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
Now it's on the West Coast. You hearing about a
West Coast hood. You know what I'm saying, That ain't
our hood. You know, we don't do that in New York.
But you're hearing about you know, the low Riders and
all this thing. But you're learning about the hood in
the West Coast. Correct got the ghetto boys, you know,
talking about you know, the Wards whatnot, you know, and
(23:43):
like now you hear about you know, the Texas the
hood in Texas, you know, atl they talking about you know,
you know, I mean Lil Wayne master P talking about
new workers. Yeah, it's like you hearing about these hoods
in all these different regions.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
Right. Eminem talked about his.
Speaker 1 (24:03):
Hood, talked about eight Mile, but he not talking about
you know, the projects in Detroit.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
He talked about trailer parks stuff. He talked about white
hood shit. Yep, you know what I'm saying. Yep.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
I thought that that was just so dope. You know
what I'm saying, because this is this is white ghetto stuff.
You know what I'm saying that we're learning about that.
I'm like, Yo, this is this is so this is
so dope, you know. And I respect him for that
because he wasn't trying to pretend to be something he wasn't.
He talked about his hood, hood, you know what I'm saying,
where he grew up, at his life experiences.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
Yeah. So, I mean I have a lot of respect
for him. Man, What what did em get right that
Vanilla I's got wrong? I think that last part I said.
But but I.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
Mean, hey man, you know Vanilla Ice. You know he
put that song bad. Hey, Yeah, he became very successful.
He had a you know, a mega hit. I mean,
it's dude had a movie, you know, you know, you
know he had you know, one hit and they had
a movie. I mean, so he did his thing. Man,
so saluted for their lives.
Speaker 2 (25:10):
Man. Hip hop is hip hop dying? Is hip hop dying?
Speaker 1 (25:19):
Ah? I don't think that hip hop is dying because
what you gotta understand is that when hip hop first started,
it was nothing but block parties.
Speaker 2 (25:38):
It wasn't all wax, Yes, it was just block parties.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
So looking at what's going on right now when they
have those type of hip hop festivals or intimate hip
hop events, you know you hearing that classic material, you
know that that you know that defines what hip hop
(26:02):
is really about.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
Right, So I don't know. Maybe I don't think it's dying.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
Maybe it's going back to where it's supposed to be, right,
you know, what is the substance? Because you talked about
like how m spoke about things that he experienced. He
wasn't trying to be somebody else. Yeah, he talked about
the trailer parks. That's where he grew up, That's what
he knew, that's what he experienced. He talked about his
mother's situation, he talked about things that were there. It
(26:28):
seems like now the substances is that the hot thing.
And let's talk about this even though I haven't experienced it.
Oh you said, even though I haven't experience you know
what I'm saying, that's what the rap is now. Yeah,
a lot of rapper about the brow. You not no gangster.
Yeah in the studio you wields, but you are, but
not in reality.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
But I mean, you know, we we live in you know,
a social media world. So it's like whatever's trending, whatever topic.
You know what I'm saying, whatever's trending, that's you know,
like I I was leaving, I was at I can't
know where I was. I was vegaus weballs. I have
(27:09):
my my Dora case with me. Yeah, I'm checking it
at the airport, and the lady at the airport talking, okay,
you got your cowboy hat, you got your your boots
and your luggage. I'm like, nah, sweet, my boots ain't
on the ground. I'm just that's just a regular for door.
It's not a cowboy hat. But you know, that's what's trending.
(27:31):
You know what I'm saying right now, that's what's trending.
So everybody in their mama coming out to the concert with.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
And the hat.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
You know what I'm saying, it's whatever's trending. Drake called
the stir. He said, UK rappers are better than us
A rappers lyrically. I'm just saying, you can't say you
looking at me, man, I ain't got no h You
wanted me to respond, Yeah, yeah, I ain't got but
one head, man, You look at me like I had
(28:00):
three heads.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
He said that.
Speaker 1 (28:02):
I I feel that with the amount of success that
Drake has had in this game, he's entitled to his opinion.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
You know.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
In fact, I'm sorry, I think that everything. Everybody is
entitled to their opinion. You know, that's the beautiful thing
about an opinion. Everyone can have one. Rather I just
whether I agree or disagree, You agree or disagree. Everybody's
entitled to have an opinion, correct, you know, But I mean,
if that's what Drake feel, Hey, man, go ahead on me.
(28:44):
You were trends that are because you had the high
top fade, you drafted, had the rags on. How did
you determine what would your persona going to be on
the stage? Well, as I was saying earlier, you know,
like you see, like the pimps and the hustlers pull
up and deduceive, I saw how all the other kids
(29:05):
in the neighborhood gravitated to that.
Speaker 2 (29:07):
That was a look, you know what I'm saying. And
then my pops was a fancy dresser.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
My pops wore three four piece suits, you know, Persian
lamb coats. You know the duster that's the four piece. Yea,
so I saw you Yeah. I was like, yeah, yeah, nah,
this the pants, the vest, blazer, and the duster. Okay,
that's the four piece. But you know I saw, you know,
this is this is what I saw. Like for example,
(29:34):
I did our senior hall and they had built the
whole set with garbage cans and graffiti and all this
this stuff.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
And I had them tear down and I.
Speaker 1 (29:43):
Told them to put me some of that sexy shit
back up, like how you had it when I was
here with Quincy. You know, it wasn't because I was
against graffiti or or the street. It was because it's
like me, as a kid, I'm used to seeing, you know,
the pimps, the hustlers pull up with the fur coats
on that type of stuff.
Speaker 2 (30:03):
And when we went to block parties.
Speaker 1 (30:04):
We put on the ol pack of sweaters, the mock necks,
the British Walker shoes.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
You know, we wanted to look fly, you know what
I'm saying, Like, I mean I didn't. I didn't.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
I didn't actually see breakdancing until the movie Wild Style
came out.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
Wow. I mean, like, I mean actually on the street, right,
you know what I'm saying, I didn't. Actually you don't
see it, you know.
Speaker 1 (30:24):
So it was like, I'm like, that's not the background
that I'm a philiate, it's it's it's hip hop, right,
it's hip hop. It's you know, one of the graffiti
is one of the elements of hip hop. But I
mean it's like, that's not what we did on Lewis
Avenue where I came from.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
So I wanted to represent my hood. You know what
I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (30:41):
Yep, fashion today, What do you like or dislike? But
what you see today because you know LLL was in
the sweat suit, had his shirt off, he had you know,
had a tracksuit on, taking shirt off, big gold chain
run DMC had the Adidas outfit, uh, the shell told
fast shoes. All it all depends are you, I mean,
(31:03):
are you still you still yeah, I'm sure. I mean,
look at you coming today. You come to White Path
as well, you know ALB kicks. So you're still a
fashion like. You're still in the fashion like that, right?
Do you like the way fashion is headed? You see
kind of where its going now. I'm gonna say this,
I feel that we as the Black youth were trend setters.
(31:31):
We were trend setters, you know, and not just the artists.
Shout out to Dappa Dan, April Walker called Kanai. You know,
we were on the Shabbaz Brothers. You know, we were
all trend setters. And I think that now I see
(31:54):
uh a lot of younger cats catering to you know,
what's popular or fashion week as opposed to your own creativity. Correct,
you know what I'm saying, taking those those hood elements
and mixing them together, making them look fly, especially if
(32:16):
you're a rich artist, because you can take it to
the whole next, a whole other level, because you got
the money to do so to become that trendsetter. You know,
when Dappa Dan took the job at Gucci, you know,
all he had to do was just remake the stuff
(32:37):
he was making in the eighties, you know, what I'm
saying that Gucci never made you see what I'm saying. So,
I mean it's like, you know, I feel like you
have that power to just grab those street elements, that
stuff that you know look hood sexy, and you know,
bring it together and create a Look.
Speaker 2 (32:55):
How do you become a ladies man? The hell of
I know. Shiner just rode with it.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
Man, Yeah, I know you rode with it because you
had two shows that they apollowed. They sold out for
women only. Yes, sir, I only know two other another
artist only. One of the artists that I know of,
Teddy Pendograd, used to have women only.
Speaker 2 (33:11):
That's what we got the idea from.
Speaker 1 (33:14):
It was an idea from lady to work the Warner
brothers uh Kiera and we uh yeah, we decided to
do two shows at the Apollo for ladies only because
she she broke it down cause she went to the
Teddy show.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
So she was like so she was like, well, you know.
Speaker 1 (33:34):
He had Teddy bears in every seat that said, you know,
hug on Teddy. So I was like, okay, we gotta
flip that. Put candy canes in every seat and let
us say suck on cane.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
So that's you know, that's that's what we did, you know, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (33:54):
I remember his documentary where he was they were telling
the story. He was telling that story part of it.
And then man, do you think, I mean, think about it,
came a rapper sow that shows women only? A rapper
to sow that shows women only? Is that possible today?
Speaker 2 (34:19):
Drake? Do you think Drake could do it? Hell? Yeah,
hell yeah and do it first?
Speaker 1 (34:24):
Yeah yeah yeah, rap wise, yeah, I was the first,
but I mean Drake, yeah, absolutely, I mean, you know,
you know, dude has a massive crowd. He has so
many hits for the ladies. Yes, you know, yeah, yeah, yeah,
Drake could do it.
Speaker 2 (34:38):
How do you even get into modeling?
Speaker 1 (34:44):
I can't remember whether it was April Walker or oh man,
I can't remember who it was who asked me to wear.
There's stuff on the runway and like I was in
my zone. I was in my and honestly, I was
nervous because because I know how my bop walk is.
I know, and I didn't want to do that on
(35:04):
the runway and what I did because I remember when
I when I told them afterwards, they was cracking up laughing.
Speaker 2 (35:10):
I was like the.
Speaker 1 (35:12):
Whole time, even though the house music stuff was playing
or whatever was playing, the whole time, I was humming
the baseline to Richard Pryor Which way is up? While
I was walking Boom boom boom boom boom boom.
Speaker 2 (35:24):
Boom boom boom boom boom boom. That's what I was
humming in my head so that I walked straight, you know.
Speaker 1 (35:29):
Yeah, and that well, yeah, anytime, anytime I was on
the runway, that's what I would do. But you was
also offered an opportunity for to be and playgirl. No, no, no,
you took it. Yeah, we went for it. It started
as a joke, right.
Speaker 2 (35:50):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (35:53):
The publicist from Warner Brothers, Jeane Shelton, he had just
got me an Essence magazine and he was like, man,
young blood, I've done so many things for you and
your rap career that I never thought I could do
for no rap artists. Man. You know, like I'm having
so much fun working with you. Like we don't we
done been in Jet magazine?
Speaker 2 (36:14):
We doesnet been?
Speaker 1 (36:14):
You know, so that's all that we done? Did everything? Yeah,
you know, I was He's like, ain't nothing left?
Speaker 2 (36:21):
You know.
Speaker 1 (36:22):
I was like, and I'm just I just made a joke.
I was like, Lessen is like, you like like Playboy magazine.
He's like, you mean Playgirl. I'm like, yeah, yeah, play girl.
I was like, unlet's we go do something like that.
And we laughed and then we we look at each other.
You were laughing though you were dead a ship. Let's
do it, you know. Yeah, Ma Donna asked you to
(36:44):
pose for our sex books.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
Yeah, Warner brother sent us on a promotional tour.
Speaker 1 (36:50):
Okay myself, Madonna color me bad. And we were like
going to like you know, Upscale hospital, you know, you know,
like the patients in there were like, you know, young
white kids. They didn't really know who I was. And
you know, uh, Madonna's sitting there talking me. You know
(37:12):
who that is. That's Big Daddy Kane. He's a famous rapper.
Speaker 2 (37:16):
Here.
Speaker 1 (37:17):
Let me hear you say, ain't no halfs And I'm like,
Madna know my shit, Oh wow, I'm bugging man. So
afterwards were outside and I'm like, hey, thank you so much,
you know for acknowledging me. I appreciate that. And she
was like no, no, my pleasure. She was like, listen,
(37:38):
I'm doing a book. It's just photographs. Not you know,
talking just photographs. I would love to have you involved.
I would like, I would be honest, And she was like,
but it's you know, probably gonna be real racy, like
nude photos.
Speaker 2 (37:51):
I was like, shit, even better, let's do even better.
Speaker 1 (37:55):
Yeah, but let me tell you how real Madonna up.
Speaker 2 (38:02):
Was bag.
Speaker 1 (38:02):
I mean, it was like the day started off so
much fun where I'm like, okay, yeah, this is the
place to be.
Speaker 2 (38:08):
This is cool. Okay.
Speaker 1 (38:10):
When I got to the set, Madonna comes running across
the room for the ass snackerd Gane.
Speaker 2 (38:19):
So glad you made it. Let me tell you.
Speaker 1 (38:21):
I was just standing outside in the middle of the
street in between them divide her just like this, no
clothes on, with my thumb out, taking photos. But not
one single car stop. Can you believe that fucking Madonna?
Nobody stopped for me.
Speaker 2 (38:35):
I'm like, oh, yeah, this is gonna be an amazing day, right,
I'm like this, they gonna be amaze because she won
ten already. I'm like, yo, yeah, she wild already. I'm like, yeah,
it's gonna be fun.
Speaker 1 (38:47):
Do you believe there's a rapper today that could do
play girl or do a sex book photos? Like what Madonna.
Did I think that there's rappers to day that's coming
from doing that to become of that movies Brown Sugar,
(39:12):
you also equalized with Coueen Latifa. Is that something you
wish you had a partaken in more?
Speaker 2 (39:21):
Yeah? Yeah, I wish I would have.
Speaker 1 (39:26):
Stayed, you know, focused on that and you know, can
you know, continued pursuing, you know, my film career.
Speaker 2 (39:37):
I think that I could have.
Speaker 1 (39:38):
I could have done a whole lot more, had a
much bigger impact. But I mean, you know, hey man,
you know it ain't too late, you know, I mean
you know, look how you know where Age Morgan Freeman
was when he made.
Speaker 2 (39:50):
His bones, So you know it ain't too late. It's
not because I remember he was an easy reader and
let your company. Yeah yeah, that's right.
Speaker 1 (40:01):
That's what That's what I do. And the next thing,
you know, I get older, here the move like hold on,
that's easy reader.
Speaker 2 (40:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (40:06):
But I mean right now, with this hit point, I
probably was more focused on, you know, my son, you know,
his film career, because I truly believe that he's more
of a natural than I am.
Speaker 2 (40:17):
Right, he just got it, had it.
Speaker 1 (40:20):
Yeah, Okay, you thn Dave Chappelle's block party.
Speaker 2 (40:23):
What was that experience, like.
Speaker 1 (40:26):
I mean to actually see Dave Chappelle in his element. Yeah,
I mean when I saw the movie, I was upset
about so much funny stuff that didn't make the movie
crazy stuff I heard him say, you know while we
were there, you know, filming, But it was great to
(40:47):
be a part of it because Dave Chappelle is that
dude right now. He is I think he is, you know,
the best comedian of today. And he's such a hip
hop fan and eligible. Yeah you know what I'm saying. Yes, knowledgeable,
he knows, he know the history. So you know, I
have nothing but the upmost respect hunt and I thank
(41:09):
him so much for, you know, include me in that
your song was featured in Grand Theft, Auto and Andreas.
I mean that when you when you hear your music
and things like that, how does that make you feel?
I mean, it's it's amazing because you gotta understand these
are kids, yes, and it's like you're saying, this is
(41:29):
big Daddy Kane and it's like who And then they
find they hear a woman upcine and then that that's you.
Speaker 2 (41:38):
Oh, I know that from Grand Theft. You know, so
you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (41:42):
It gives me that feeling of of my girl. Yeah,
it's children today that know my girl from top to bottom,
but don't know the temptations, correct, you know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (41:55):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (41:56):
Women rappers? I mean you you the exception you mentioned,
you know Rock sand Shante, give me, give me your
give me your five. I mean there's a great one.
They're not And you know you're probably gonna take some
people off because you have. When you say five of anything,
that means you leave something off. Give me your five
women's rappers. That's right. That's why I'm not gonna give
(42:21):
you my five. But I will say that some of
my favorites I'm gonna try to go from then till
now would be uh Shah, Rock, Wut Rock, Sane, Schante,
(42:48):
Salt and Pepper, Queen, Latifa, m C Light, Eve, Foxy Kim,
uh Lady of Rage, Lady of Rage, they forgot If
if you call Lauryn Hill a rapper, I like to
(43:12):
because she's a monster with the bars. Yes, yes, I'd
say Lauryn Hill, Lady London low Lebrook.
Speaker 2 (43:27):
I'm probably forgetting a few. But yeah, who is this said?
Speaker 1 (43:30):
I forget who said it that he believes female rappers
are becoming over sexualized. Well, I mean it's like, you know,
that's what they did to them back in the days,
you know what I'm saying, trying to force them, you know,
to to to be sexy. That's that's one of the
(43:50):
main things that you know, I've always respected about Queen Latifa, right,
you know, she was like, I'm gonna keep it apros
centric and I'm gonna be the Queen. I'm not putting
that tight shit on, you know, I'm you know, that's
that's That's what about Queen the teeth I've always respected. Yes,
she did it her way. Queen has always been to queen.
(44:12):
I mean you meet I mean, when you meet her
behind the scenes, in front, she the queen. Yeah, bro,
I need to know we you got me in North
Carolina from you, from you, from Brooklyn, New York. There
could not be anything more different than Brooklyn, New York
(44:34):
than North Carolina.
Speaker 2 (44:37):
How why.
Speaker 1 (44:41):
Well, you know, yeah, I'm from Brooklyn, best style of Brooklyn,
but I hadn't lived there since nineteen eighty seven. Really, yeah,
I mean I said the same same thing the biggie
said when I first made a record I ain't never
(45:03):
leave in the Hood, but then I realized that I had,
you had to, you know what I'm saying. I felt
like I wanted to be here with my people. You
know what I'm saying. We're gonna walk this walk together.
But then I realized that, you know, your people start
looking at you different differently. So, you know, I hadn't
lived in in the Hood since eighty seven. I moved
(45:28):
to Jamaica Estates and Queens. Okay, so I was, you know,
in like kind of like a suburban area almost, you know,
and I had a lot of friends in Long Island
that lived in the real, real suburbs, you know what
I'm saying. So when I came down here in the
nineties and did a show, because like my family is
(45:49):
from South Carolina, Okay, you know what I'm saying, we're
you know, dirt roads and stuff like that. You know,
people don't know you gonna walk up and be where
your name is. You know, that's where you know where
I spent my summer in South Carolina. So when I
came to North Carolina and sawt it, Nah, this ain't country,
(46:11):
you know, just laid back. Yeah, it looked just like
long hour raised a family. I was like, I actually
live here, right, and I did it? Wow, when you
were growing up, did you want to do anything else
other than music? Did you want to play sports? Did
you think that basketball or any like a sport was
gonna be your avenue out of the hood.
Speaker 2 (46:34):
I played basketball the seventh grade. But you know I.
Speaker 1 (46:43):
Got, I got, you know, kicked off the team and
out the school.
Speaker 2 (46:48):
So what did you do?
Speaker 1 (46:49):
Came, Uh, I did something bad. How you tell your mom?
How you tell your mom you got kicked out of school?
You go home and tell your mom and you randm
on your parents. How you tell them I ain't gonna
be able to go to school tomorrow. I don't know
when I will be able to go to school.
Speaker 2 (47:05):
To gain.
Speaker 1 (47:08):
Nah, I you know, I explained, you know, what I
was upset about, and you know, she understood where I
was coming from. But it was like, you know, like
you still shouldn't have did that. You should still shouldn't
have handled it that way. You should have just you know,
so you know, it was what it was, and it
ended up going to a different school and by the
(47:30):
time you know, I got to like arm.
Speaker 2 (47:35):
Like finished eighth grade. I wanted to be an MC,
so sports didn't matter anymore. Yeah, because see, like.
Speaker 1 (47:42):
I said, when I sit in like in the seventies,
when I saw Master D, I wanted to be a DJ.
Speaker 2 (47:47):
So that's how it started.
Speaker 1 (47:48):
I was like DJ Sir Romeo, and someone broke in
my grandmother crib stole my turntables.
Speaker 2 (47:54):
Well, you're not the DJ themore.
Speaker 1 (47:55):
Yeah, So I became you know, Tony T. Okay, Yeah,
I left that name of all right, I became Yeah,
I became Tony T. And you know, then when I
became MC came, you know, that's when I started, you know,
really like like focusing holding on the craft of that.
Speaker 2 (48:15):
You know. But I mean, so I wasn't really thinking
about basketball anymore. So you're a Knicks or Hornets fan? Now, Knicks?
Speaker 1 (48:22):
Come on, man, I mean you you I come from
where with Michael Jordan's come and drop fifty five on
the Knicks, he got to leave with a thirty four
D on his eye. That's where I come from. You know,
I come from from Oakley, Anthony Mac Yeah, Patrick Ewing, Yeah,
(48:46):
come on, man. That legacy alone, Yeah, that legacy alone.
Gotta love the Knicks, man, regardless of who come afterwards,
just for what they they was gangsters.
Speaker 2 (48:56):
So you're Giants or a Jets fan. I don't watch football.
You don't watch you don't watch nah man, no disrespect
about it, can I can? I just explain, all right?
And again no disrespect.
Speaker 1 (49:09):
But it was like I couldn't wait to go to
a Super Bowl party because I'm always hearing about them, right,
So finally I go and we're sitting there.
Speaker 2 (49:19):
Finally watch a football game.
Speaker 1 (49:20):
We're watching and the cameras zoomed in on the dude
ass and span dex and all of a sudden, the
play happens and everything happened in like five seconds, it's over,
back to the dude ass and span dex. I'm like,
and this is what y'all watch all day. I'm like,
I can't do it. I'm good, I'm out good. I
(49:42):
just couldn't do it. I just couldn't do it. Yeah,
I just couldn't do it. I didn't cause you like,
with basketball, you seen him running up down yeah, you
know the court, you know, you know, even like hockey,
you know.
Speaker 2 (49:54):
It was like I just felt like, nah, I can't
watch this. Yeah, you use.
Speaker 1 (49:59):
A a lot of boxing references in your in your songs,
you boxing, clearly you got to be a boxing fan.
I guess is that that's my favorite sport. That's your
favorite spot. Yeah, who's your favorite boxing?
Speaker 2 (50:10):
Ali?
Speaker 1 (50:11):
Like that's how I used a lot of Ali stuff
to win battles. Because you know you're going to somebody
else's turf. Yes, so already, Like when I go there,
I want to make him uncomfortable on his own turf.
Or I want to make his boys be into me,
you know what I'm saying. Yeah, I want his boys
(50:32):
to like be like you know, to to to to
to like what I'm saying, you know, yeah, because you
know they they did to boom me anyway, right because
they would with with this guy. You know, you got
Canelo or you got budd.
Speaker 2 (50:53):
Mhmm. I want to say, I want to say, but.
Speaker 1 (51:01):
I I can't really say until I until I see
the weight, right, I can't really say until I see
the weight right, But I mean just awful, like so
far what I've been putting together. Right, I would say,
but wow, that's you were really close with Beers. Be
(51:24):
has passed away with type two diabetes. I think irv
Gotti had diabetes. And you become very very health conscious.
What when when did you start prioritizing your health because
I mean obviously, like I said, you were very close being.
Speaker 2 (51:41):
Bes I mean I was, you know, with that uh
way way way prior. You know, like when I started
like learning you know, like what how long beef stays
in your system? You know, like that was like eighty
seven when I stopped eating beef? Yeah really yeah? So
(52:02):
you chicken, turkey fish.
Speaker 1 (52:03):
I stop eating chicken. I stop eating poultry period in
eighty nine. Just pescatarian. So your pescatary. Okay, so you pescatary.
You've pescatarian before it was even in bold. I mean
now you know.
Speaker 2 (52:15):
You peskeytarian, you vegan or you know, whatever the case
may be. But yeah, yeah since eighty nine.
Speaker 1 (52:20):
Yeah, wow, you were a member or you were in
the five percenter? What did you learn from your time
in that?
Speaker 2 (52:30):
I mean, you know, I still I still flame five percent?
You know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (52:34):
It's it's like, I mean, well, first of all, knowledge yourself,
yes you know what I'm saying, understanding who you are
as a black man, and you know, and your power,
how much power you have? You know, and you know
I mean, so that's that's one of the main things.
But then also you know, how to you know, try
(52:55):
to deal in equality with others. You know what I'm saying,
how to try to inequality and try to bring others
up and teach the youth all that stuff you learn
you know, you know from Islam. Okay, thoughts on councel
culture that you know, you have a mistake, you have
a slip up, and then that's the.
Speaker 2 (53:16):
End of it.
Speaker 1 (53:18):
I mean, I think that anybody is entitled to make mistakes.
You know, the name of the game is do better. Yes,
you know, don't make that same mistake twice. Yeah, you know,
anybody is entitled to make mistake. You know, it's just
(53:42):
do better. You made this mistake, What did you learn
from it? You know what I'm saying, What did you
learn from it? Don't make this mistake again? You know
what I'm saying. How you're going to do better, How
you're going to improve on the relationship you destroyed? Or
what's you the black crowd cloud that you created? How
(54:04):
you gonna what you're gonna do to fix that? Right,
you know what I'm saying. But anybody is entitled to
make a mistake. And I'm saying, let me add one
more thing to that. What's funny to me is that
if the whole cancel culture thing, they'll do that to
someone over the slightest little thing that they did wrong,
(54:24):
and it'd be.
Speaker 2 (54:25):
That one thing. But I know of a guy that do.
Speaker 1 (54:31):
Wrong things every day that everybody just sweep under the rug.
Speaker 2 (54:38):
So, I mean, you know, what the hell really is
cancer culture? True? What's your favorite era of music? My
favorite era of music? Mm hm.
Speaker 1 (54:56):
Oh man, that one's hard, Shannon. It's like, I like
the music better in the seventies, but the sixties had
some hellified stories like oh man, Smokey Robinson. Well sixties
(55:22):
with motown, Yeah, Smoky Robinson. But I mean, like I'm
just talking about the stories like Smokey Robinson. Uh uh,
Chris Christofferson. There was there was, There was there were
some writers that were their pen was just goodness that
Like what was you thinking? Man?
Speaker 2 (55:42):
Seventies had some good music too, though.
Speaker 1 (55:44):
No, it's not saying like music and even like in
the with the writing in the seventies you had some
you know, some amazing people Ashvin and Simpson.
Speaker 2 (55:54):
Uh, hell of a pen game, I see, I like
the big band in the seventies. See, I like cooling, the.
Speaker 1 (55:58):
Gang, Ohio Players, the stylistic, the Barka's lakeside.
Speaker 2 (56:02):
Okay, seee, I'm just talking about the right side music shide. Now,
the music side. I mean yeah, he waves, yeah, waves, yeah, cameo.
Speaker 1 (56:13):
Yeah yeah, cooling the game, cooling, cooling the game, yeah
yeah all that. Who the uh can't see in the
Sunshine band can't? I mean everything was bands back then,
and they and they could do it. I still, you know,
I still like to go. I still, you know, occasion
if I can catch them, you know, go see Ohio Players.
(56:34):
I love I love band. I want to catch excuse me,
cooling the game. I want to catch the Ohio Players
because they were the first group. I mean, all these
songs one word, roller Coaster, entire fire, Firecracker, you know
what I'm saying they didn't have, but that slow song
they had rig House nah less Love. Yeah it's al
(56:56):
and oh yeah that was my joint.
Speaker 2 (57:00):
What are your thoughts on New York losing the.
Speaker 1 (57:03):
Crowd is best rap city? You know we got that
at Ma. I'm just saying that that we got it now,
we got it. Absolutely, No. I mean, you know, I
think that, you know, hip hop is universal, and you know,
everybody you know deserved it shot, you know. I remember
when the West Coast had it, you know. Yeah, I
(57:24):
mean it's like this here. If it's entertaining, I'm there
for it. I'm here for it, right, you know, like
Out of the South. I love listening to se Loo.
I love listening to Outcast.
Speaker 2 (57:40):
T I.
Speaker 1 (57:41):
You know, I love t I. You know, just Luda
oh Man, Luda. Forget about it, love Luda.
Speaker 2 (57:48):
You know. I mean, I've always youen. I tell you
a funny story.
Speaker 1 (57:53):
I remember when Juvenile first came out with her Yeah,
and the video came on video jukebox, and I'm, you know,
in New York with you know a lot of my boys,
you know, from the hood, and they came on and
they like, Yo, this is what hip hop is becoming.
This ship here, this is what we gotta listen to now.
(58:15):
And I just turned my back. I turned my back.
I started doing some other stuff because I like the back.
Speaker 2 (58:23):
You know what I'm saying. It was right, you know
what I'm saying. I don't. I think I'm the only
one that I'm like, am I the only one to
think this shit is hut, you know, and I'm sitting there.
Are you about to treat your nose? You know what?
I love that song, man, I loved it. You know.
Speaker 1 (58:35):
Yeah, you mentioned you said you like like because when
I ask you about the women you like, you named
off for about ten or twelve. You feel the same
way about the guys that's like like like five of
your if I gave you, If I gave you five
guys and say came for the next ten years, you're
(58:56):
gonna listen to five?
Speaker 2 (58:59):
Who you playing?
Speaker 1 (59:00):
You only got five guys? You only got five rappers
past or present that you could listen to who you rocket?
Speaker 2 (59:08):
First of all? Now you you you're you're you're getting
real grade at this wording that.
Speaker 1 (59:19):
We're gonna get you down on something. You got five?
You got five? Well, I mean, you know, honestly, it
may not be the five that I think are the
greatest lyricists, right.
Speaker 2 (59:37):
It might be it would probably be the ones who
I just like like listening to. Correct you know what
I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (59:44):
So you know we be talking about you know, Chuck
d Uh slick Wreck uh uh jay z h.
Speaker 2 (01:00:07):
I don't know Chuck geez. Look Meck jay Z. I
don't know. I don't know.
Speaker 1 (01:00:13):
Honestly, I don't know. Oh, I would say Celo and
chub Rock. Okay, but see, like I said, man, because
it's like I love Selo voice.
Speaker 2 (01:00:28):
Man, you love Selo voice? Yeah? And I love Chuck
rock voice. You know. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:00:34):
Have you ever met Chuck Rock? I have never met
Chub Rock. Do you know he talks like that in
real life? Really?
Speaker 2 (01:00:38):
Yeah, he talks like that in real life.
Speaker 1 (01:00:42):
Like my brother tripped out when the first time heard
Chuck Rock because he's he's in the studio and Chuck
Chuck just walked into the studio.
Speaker 2 (01:00:48):
He's like, Yo, okay, that's John Blaze. Man who did
that mob? He talks like that in real life.
Speaker 1 (01:00:54):
I tell people the same thing about Eve forty. Yeah, yeah,
yeah forty exactly like you here him.
Speaker 2 (01:01:00):
That's how Faulty talked. Like we met, we're doing a
movie together, and like I'm sitting there just staring at him, like, yo,
is he messing with me? Or he really talked like this? Yeah? Yeah.
You once said Eminem is the Kobe of rap? Who's Mike?
Who's Lebron?
Speaker 1 (01:01:20):
I don't, I don't, I don't honestly don't know how
to answer that, Shannon, I don't know how to answer
that because I don't I don't know what's the qualifications
of a mic, what's the qualifications of a Lebron. I
don't know what the qualificifications off of Kobe when you're
making a reference to Rapp.
Speaker 2 (01:01:33):
So I don't really know how to answer that one.
Speaker 1 (01:01:36):
You're still performing and Uh, there's a situation where I
think it was bow Wow. I think it was Fat Joe.
They had a coup at Sea World. Did you see that?
Speaker 2 (01:01:46):
No? I heard about it. You you you hop on
the mic and see world? Not now? Not now? Not now.
I mean they got a little check. They got a
little check for you, kn't you know?
Speaker 1 (01:02:01):
I mean, I don't know, man. I'm just gonna say this, man,
Fat Joe is a hip hop legend by while it's
a young hip hop legend man, and both those guys
did a lot for the game. Whatever decisions they make
(01:02:22):
or they decide to do, I respect it.
Speaker 2 (01:02:25):
You know.
Speaker 1 (01:02:27):
The next fifty years, I think RAP just had its anniversary,
fifty year anniversary. The next fifty years, what would you
like to see for Rap?
Speaker 2 (01:02:39):
Rap?
Speaker 1 (01:02:40):
I would like to see young hip hop artists that
focus on writing songs that impact their fan based life
and step on stage and be great performers, whether they
(01:03:03):
got production behind them or not.
Speaker 2 (01:03:06):
You know, even if you don't have.
Speaker 1 (01:03:08):
No led lights and stuff, you still know how to
rip that stage apart.
Speaker 2 (01:03:14):
Right.
Speaker 1 (01:03:15):
You know, we're gonna wrap. Thank you for coming on
Club Sha shay. Anything. You got a book Just Rhyming
with Beers, a documentary paragraphs I manifest any new music.
I heard you dropping your own wine and cookie show.
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah long wine, yeah, am Ontario.
You know, yeah, yeah that.
Speaker 2 (01:03:36):
You know.
Speaker 1 (01:03:36):
The book Just Rhyming with beis talking about, you know,
is discovering me and getting me a record deal and
all the madness we went through trying to get on,
you know. And I'll tell you about the documentary docuseries
rather you know, right Lyricists kr Is One, J G Rock,
cam Rizzer, Method Man.
Speaker 2 (01:03:55):
L O J.
Speaker 1 (01:03:56):
Cole, Kendrick Lamar, Low, Wayne Big Daddy, Kane, Slick Red.
Will we ever because KRS One rock him y'all in
the LLL. A lot of you guys were in the
same era, same It's kind of like if you'd had Lebron,
Kobe Jordan's Bird Magic, Johannis Yo Kicch. If you'd had
(01:04:21):
the ten you know, ten and all of them in
the same same era.
Speaker 2 (01:04:26):
Ja.
Speaker 1 (01:04:26):
Let mean just think you Jay z all you got
J Cole method all your guys in the same era.
Speaker 2 (01:04:34):
You ever thought about that, what it would be like if,
like man if man, what.
Speaker 1 (01:04:36):
Would it be like if I was in this era
with J Cole and Kendrick Lamar and Lil Wayne. What
would it be like if they were in my era
with X Y and Z You Have you ever thought
of it like that?
Speaker 2 (01:04:48):
Yeah? I mean I could tell you what it been like.
Speaker 1 (01:04:50):
You know, I would have been on the sneaker tongue.
Speaker 2 (01:04:58):
Ben goaty k K. Thank you man for jo the club.
Shait yere bab. We appreciate it. Broth all my.
Speaker 3 (01:05:05):
Life and grinding all my life, sacrifice, hustle back the
price Wanta slice, got to brow the dice, swap all
my life.
Speaker 2 (01:05:13):
I've been grinding all my life. Yeah, all my life
and grinding.
Speaker 3 (01:05:17):
All my life, sacrifice, hustle, pay the price in Wanta Slice,
got to brow the dice, swap all my life. I've
been grinding all my life, h.
Host
Shannon Sharpe
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