January 26, 2022 • 55 mins
Once upon a time in late December of 2021 Quest and Team Supreme had one of the realest conversations ever with your favorite MC's favorite MC and ghostwriter. This 2 part conversation with the artist some call Skillz, now back to his original moniker Mad Skillz, touches on this intriguing hip hop journey, the mysteries behind his highly anticipated annual Rap Up's and some Hip Hop Confessions that knock Quest and Team Supreme off their feet! Put your seatbelts on!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Question. Love Supreme is a production of I Heart Radio.
Put Up y'all so find out. You should have gotten
to last week's episode, Part one if I sit down
conversation with Skills a k A. Mad Skills. Now it's
(00:21):
time to get into part too. You ready, Let's go,
Steve bro keep talking about anything was that this past year?
There you go? Um classic Steve, Yeah, records? Anything? Not really?
(00:45):
Elvis Costello didn't release a record this year. So no,
the answer is no, Actually he did, didn't He Yeah,
he's commented records. But as far as pop culture YouTube,
I've been watching a lot of European news. Yeah, BBC
(01:06):
like to be honest, I mean, I'm still an MBSNBC person,
but bb BBC World News is kind of the and
I just want to say bb D drop the new albums.
I also wanted to shout out to b and see
that happened in one the Black news channel. My mother
would be very upset if I did not mention that.
I mean, we did some special in man, he created
(01:31):
a miracle. All right, This is all I know. I
was in St. Louis. It's getting real mean up in
this ship. Go ahead. I was in St. Louis. You know,
I've been on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
committee for like eleven twelve years now, we got it. Yeah,
(01:51):
I'm part of the committee, and I knew. I knew
that we weren't going to have anything appealing that would
make jay Z want to come and accept his award,
because I mean, the thing is is that when you're
paying tribute to an artist from the fifties, sixties and seventies, Yeah,
you can get blah blah blah the single Linda Ronst
(02:13):
that song. You can, you know, sort of get somebody
to sing. You know. Last year was like dire Straits
and whatever. But with hip hop especially, there's just some
artists that I don't think are coverable or any of
those things, you know what I mean, right, And I
knew starting this year it's gonna be problematic. Maybe if
(02:36):
Eminem gets in next year, you know, there's got to
be someone that that he hasn't burned a bridge with already, Like,
so no Machine Gun Kelly. I don't know if they
made up or whatever, but I'm just saying that I
love to see in sync rap Eminem lyrics at his
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction that should be.
Imagine imagine Lance Bass coming out of St. Name Is.
(03:03):
For next year, I will make that happen. No, it
was just with this year. I knew that there's nobody
that the Internet or critics or anyone, especially with jay
Z with deem satisfactory to do his material. So I
had to wrack my brain out. And the thing was,
(03:25):
I was driving back from St. Louis. We had a
gig in St. Louis, and we were do in New
York the next day, and I decided, well, I got
fifteen hours ahead of me. You know, I'm gonna getting
my bag. I mean, you know, in my vehicle by myself.
(03:45):
And then Michael Kay Williams passed away. He and that
ship fucked like fucked me up. And then suddenly the
Rock and Roll like so I was trying to mourn
that ship, and then the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame people called. It was like, we gotta figure out
something in the next ten hours or as jay Z
(04:08):
is not coming, and you know I'm already in my
bag and ship, you know, the edible is about to
hit it and all that ship. I was just so
messed up that day and I don't know, like I
was just trying to figure out, like how can I
And for some reason, I don't know why I was
on YouTube, you know what it was. I went, I
was looking up the Supernatural Battle with Craig g I
(04:34):
was looking mad up and your name was on the side,
and I was just like, damn, what can I do?
What can I do? And the song that I referenced,
that freestyle that you did at Stretching Barbatos where you
kind of took everyone's line like I don't know what
what the proper title is called, but basically that came
(04:55):
up and I thought, Okay, this is a job for Skills.
So basically, League, I had a vision that was gonna
find fifty celebrities, fifty notable people to say one jay
Z line each and the way that Skills crafts his lyrics,
like for him to put this ten thousand piece puzzled
(05:15):
together in seven days. So I thought, I'm so not
an m C. And I think that was like your
worst nightmare. I believe when the phone call came, do
you remember what you said to me? I was high Skills.
I do not remember. Hey, hey this niggas said. That's
(05:36):
how the conversation went, hello, Yo, what's up? Yo? When
did you stop listening to jay Z? I said, Nigga,
what when did you stop listening to jay Z? I said,
I'm mirror. What the fund are you talking about? No? No, no,
I remember I remember hearing you a Reek talk like
and I remember you saying one time. I remember, I
(05:58):
never forget it. You said you used to be able
to hear like a jay Z line and you could quote,
you can hear jay Z versus you could go to
the barbershop the next day and quote the whole ship.
I said, yeah, yeah, like yeah, that's how we all
were with early whole ship. He's okay, when did that
stop for you though? I said, probably, like maybe like
after like American Gangster, maybe Magna Carter, Holy Girl. Okay, bad,
(06:20):
all right, okay, yeah all right, yeah, So what I
need you? So he goes, He says, he says, I
need you to I need to stretching Barbado freestyle of
all the jay Z ship. But it's gotta be all
wholes like you know, from from from you know, artists
(06:41):
to you know, from Foo Snikins to to hustler to
thinking man to businessman to the shaman Hove from Riggy
from Riggety Riggety to Shaman Hove to cover the whole basis.
I said, okay, and then he goes, I need this
ship in like nine days yo. I was like, I'm Herror, No, no, no,
(07:05):
you got it. You gotta, you gotta. I just want
to make sure you was down because I'm about to
pitch it. To be honest, are you in? I said, funk, yeah,
bam man, alright, cool, I call you back. And that
was it, like it was textbook. I'm Herror, but and
I'm just sitting there to you like this ship ain't
gonna happen, Like I'm not thinking of no jay Z ship.
(07:26):
I'm chilling. I'm watching TV. Three hours later, no not
be Yeah she turned it down like we're gonna have
to come with something else. Three hours later, Yeah she's in.
So yeah, I need it, and I gotta go through
hose whole fucking from from a sky? Can I get
open to you know what I mean? And I'm just
(07:49):
like this is this is insane. I put the Barnes
and Noble started buying books de Coded. I brought the
book I already had decoded, but I couldn't find it,
so I had to buy that ship again. Can I
ask a real civilian question, just because we're not the
only ones having this conversation, Like people are listening and
(08:10):
they probably may have the same question. Does a situation
like this pay well? Because I feel like people don't
understand when it comes to you. And even sometimes when
I feel like Fonte and MCS like y'all who have
alternative livings when it comes to what y'all do with
your talents, they I don't think they get that, like, yeah,
(08:31):
you can do this ship. Yeah yeah, yeah. So that's
why I'm asking. I'm not trying to be in your pocket,
but I'm like, you do things like this, and I'm
just curious. I'm like. The funny part is when when
Sean hit me and was like yes and just you know,
tell me, you know what, Like I'm talking to them now,
so I need something. And I was like shying, I
don't want your money. I want a job, NIGI, and
(08:55):
he was like okay. I said I don't want y'all money,
like I don't want money from you our mirror and
then Sean goes, it ain't me and our mirrors money,
and I was like, oh, I bet um. Yeah that
was already I don't say good. Yeah, yeah it was.
(09:20):
It was definitely. It was definitely worth my time and
my effort. But but man, at the end of the day,
BRO like to see to see how the world to
see whole tweet when he tweeted, like when jay Z tweeted,
and jay Z don't even tweet like that, what did
he tweet? He tweeted after he saw it. Yeah, he tweeted,
(09:42):
thank you to everyone in that video package. I'm definitely
gonna cry in the car when I saw that tweet,
I was like, he did, oh shit, he know that?
That that really? You know that you good at that stuff?
It just, you know, just on my the things arguing
because the thing is I had a Christmas list of
(10:04):
who I wanted to be in the joint. Yeah, but
then I had a lot of mountains to climb. You know,
you gotta explain to like Obama's people want to know
who else is immage John before he doesn't. You gotta
explain the rock Nation that this person is air this
(10:26):
year on HBO. Right, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame video.
But if we would have gotten our wishless not saying
people aren't still talking about it. If we had gotten
our whist list, that ship would be like that would
have wanted, that would have been in the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame by itself. Who else who was
on the list of you couldn't get or didn't get? Well,
(10:48):
I mean initially, my my first true yes was Obama
because my thing was like, was like, if Obama says yes,
then everybody else is going to and so we just
want Obama say I will not lose, and he was
about to do it, and then like the thing is
(11:08):
always like a circle of twelve, that's like well, you know,
and they was like, was this looking presidential? And Obama,
you have a deal at Netflix, broke your content creating
our car and say, had I had the previous line
before I had? I had a set up so perfect,
bro if he would have got to that, I would
(11:29):
not lose, right, I mean, I will say that, you know,
for me, like Letterman taking a lout, like when it
played yes, like that got such a like let well,
first of all, we were in Cleveland, so whenever lebron
showed up, that was a happy moment for them. But
(11:49):
I'll say that Letterman stole the show in that particular
setting in that night, Kanye would have done it. Like
the thing with Kanye was sort of like he was like,
all right, send a camera crew to Paris, and then
we sent a camera crew there, and and then he's
in Italy alright today and then well Fante asked the
(12:11):
question about Yeah, I know you said him, him, who else?
Who else? But who else did y'all want else? Lest
I wanted Michael Jordan's to say Jackson Tyson Jans he was,
he was golfing. I had a I had a Jordan
plug and we but there was an important golf game
(12:35):
that we couldn't um. And the crazy, the crazy part
is so the crazy part is like like like a
Mire said, like, once we got Obama, ain't none of
y'all motherfucker's cooler than him. So anybody that says no,
like you ain't cooler than Obama. So we did have
one issue and I ain't I'm not gonna say the
(12:56):
person's name, but our mirror hits me blindly one day
and says, yo, can you find a line that goes
with this? And I was like, I'm here, that's that's
not in the that's not in the verse. I was like,
why you gotta say that, and he was like no, no,
because you know what I'm saying. So and so was here.
Now that's the line they want to say. I said,
(13:17):
I'm herre. My first day of shooting was like I
was tried by fire because this particular person was like
already doing a long press day for the project that
they had going on. Like that's we had to get
in with, like if someone was doing a press junket somewhere,
and then like we sent our crew real quick to
(13:38):
get them to say this one line for five minutes
and whatever. You know. So I caught somebody at the
end of like a long press junket day of like
seven hours of interviews. They want to go home. They
happen to have a line. They happen to have a
line that wasn't like everyone wanted to like an impactful
line or to know, okay, who who gets this line?
(13:59):
Who gets the punch line? And there's some lines where
you have to set it up so that you know
someone else gets it. Someone has to set up the
alley shot and someone shoots it in And there's just
one of these moments where this particular person had an
alley oop shot tossing to someone else that gets the
punch line. So they felt like their line wasn't cool,
(14:22):
so they just decided, well, I'm gonna I'm gonna do
my favorite jay Z line and y'all, y'all can just
work with that. And I was like, no, it doesn't
work like that, like you gotta you know. So he
calls me. He calls me and tay you, I ain't
gonna say the person name, but the line was no
chrome on the wheels, I'm gonna growing up for real, right.
(14:43):
So I'm sitting there looking at I'm looking at my
phone like that's not no bar like that ain't even
he like, but that's what they want to say. So
I go, I said, yeah, that's not in the scene
that I mean, that's not in the in the well,
how am I supposed to tell her that? I that
you tell that person that this is our movie and
(15:06):
this is their line, like your screw kids, like, nig
you can't audition to play Bishop and then go yeah,
but I don't want to get killed, but nigga, you
don't want to play Mitchell movie. So he goes with skills.
I mean, what am I supposed to say to her,
and I was like, I said what I said, I'm here.
(15:27):
This is what you do from here on out. Any
time somebody looks at a piece of paper and says, yo,
man who said this line, I want to say this line,
tell them Obama already said, because the ain't none of
your niga. In fact, I had to do that twice,
by the way, like I learned early not to show
anyone the entire script for them to say, you know,
(15:49):
I want to say, allow me to reintroduce myself. I'm like, yeah,
now you can't. There's there's two people not talking to
me now because there's two people not I'll get to
me now, because uh, they claimed that I underused them
so and and for million. But it was a trial
by fire on what directing is really like. So for
(16:15):
me to to do it, and then you know, going
back and forth with our mirror over it, and we
like we were really in the trenches on this ship,
and then October thirty first comes and hope, it's one
thing to write something, but it's one thing to write
something that I know the person that is about what
it's gonna see it firsthand. So when I when I
(16:38):
hit him, I hit I saw Jay's tweet and you know,
I'm on the East coast as it happened, so you know,
I saw Jay's tweet and then I hit our mirror like, yo,
how did it go? He was like Yo, he was floored,
and I'm like, oh, ship, like that's good. And then
I go to sleep and I mirror text me and goes, yo,
J about to hit you, and like I wake up
(17:00):
to a to a to a text from Hose like
like I was floored, like and don't get me wrong,
like I I've spoken to J a few times, but
I ain't spoke the billion that J in a minute
so so forth, so for to wake up to a
text message from him expressing his gratitude and how thankful
he was and how brilliant he thought of when he
(17:20):
said he said they're like, Yo, that was brilliant, Like
that was dope, Like and I knew he was going
through a court case at the time, like he had
to go to court the next day. So speaking of gratitude,
fante the internet and you're present and explain loves for me,
(17:45):
it was it was very important, Like it was kind
of awesome seeing you and pooh wait am I am?
I correct and met you guys have your complete masters
back from the listening and we got the listening other
mistreal show. We don't have those. That one is still
under a rhino. They have them, but we've been in
contact with them and we've been talking with them and
(18:07):
like working that out, you know what I'm saying. So there,
So throughout the whole process, again, I had no smoke
with Atlantic Records. Atlantic Records, they were cool with us,
like they were fine. It was a b B that
was on that fun. But now we got our shipp back.
That's dope. Man. I'm happy for y'all. Remember when I
started tweet and uh you put it up and said
(18:28):
that you know, y'all were in control of those records.
I knew how much that meant you as an artist.
I knew how much that meant to you and poop.
So I was quick man behind like you know, I
think my my core was. I love it when the
plan come together, like y'allah. I remember that. I'm thanking man.
It was thank you. More happy than that then day
like getting their masters back, Like I'm more happy for
you guys in this situation specifically, Yeah, you know, I'm like, well,
(18:54):
I mean, we hadn't really talked about it at all,
and uh, we wasn't. You know, it wasn't anything that
we was, you know, we were just kind of dealing
with on our own, kind of privately. And then when
we woke up and saw that the the they had
repressed the vinyl and it was just like, oh, nigga,
now you just think you're gonna play in my face
with this ship, you know what I mean? And so
(19:15):
my my immediate response, I was like about the Gold
Fund and I was like, hold up, I hit pool.
You know what I'm saying. Look bro exactly. I'm like, yo, Bro,
I said, how you want to do this? You want
to go quiet or you want to get loud? Because
we can, I can. We can do it either way.
He was like, let's get loud. I said, all right,
let's go. So that was it and it worked. Man.
That was dope. Man. So in this particular situation, you
(19:37):
and Poo are the owners of the listening. Yeah, we
took our ship back, all right YouTube alone? Yeah yeah, yeah,
yeah yeah. The unmentioned third factor doesn't have stakes in
the game of ownership. No. Ninth was a He was
compensated for his time and Little Brother when he was
in a Little Brother, But since two thousand seven and
(20:00):
Little Brother has creatively, contractually and financially been a duo
and it will remain that way. For your brave question,
you go, no, no, no, because I just did. It's
all good. I'm so, I'm sure it was. I'm sure
it with somebody else listening that probably want today. Thank you.
(20:20):
I'm glad you. Yeah, No, that's dope, man, I'm happy
for you. Speaking of record labels, Steve, you're you're jazz label.
You've established a jazz label, yes, and I do want
to talk about that, but I haven't answered your earlier
question about one entertainment Summer of soul. Come on, you
(20:41):
already talked about this now you're just working with you okay, Well, yes,
thank you for bringing that up. In mirror j M
I Recordings, uh from working on a lot of records recently.
We've got a lot of records coming out in two
and David Murray and UH sacerber Lenner and Log Lund
(21:04):
a Swedish star player, and UH all kinds of records.
Jami Recordings dot com. We can buy records. What's going on?
What does it for you to ask me. What M
I stands for doesn't matter. Doesn't matter now, it doesn't
(21:27):
matter to E M I. Uh no it we're we're
modeled after C T I actually and little a little
bit of E C M. But UM, we're the We're.
We're completely analog label. We record and mixed and master
all analog tape and UH only print up vinyl records.
(21:47):
And we work with the greatest artists around today, including
the great David Murray, UM and Quest. We need, We're
gonna do it. We're gonna do an album with you
next year with to do the duo record with David Murray.
But this is not streamable at all. You can only
buy UH mostly just final but we do have a
(22:08):
few of the albums are up on streaming stuff. But
we don't really care about just skills. Sorry, hold on, skills,
took it off. Let's let's lift this up. I mean, yeah, skills.
I want to send you a bunch of the jam
I stuff. Okay, awesome, man, I would love to I
(22:29):
would love to have some. So I got your number.
So all right, I cut somebody off. Sorry, thanks, trying
to get delighted to see her how her creative Oh
it was good. I mean I picked up another podcast,
pick up Jill Scott and Age grad and dance Slur.
(22:50):
How's that going? I was good. I love it. We
get to talk about some pretty cool things and so
you should listen to that. That's everywhere. And then of
course still doing it. You know you you started off
my year on one of my other podcasts, which is
one of my co host favorite moments of the year,
quest Love on Love and Grid. Because I do another
podcast that was a great podcast. That was a great woman. Yeah,
I appreciate that. I appreciate you a mirror, That's what
(23:12):
I meant, and I appreciate you pontape for the compliment.
But yeah, so we do another great show and then um,
just to one voiceover work and about this in two
I will be selling to TV show ideas. Yes she's happening.
Ain't never seen a dating show like mine before. When
we spoke last year, you were still flirting. I know
(23:32):
that you know to to to flirt with comedy, Yes,
requires going out and people whatnot. So where do you
where do you land? Where do you land on the
dart board? As far as like stand up and all
that's concerned post COVID I just say post COVID because
it's like since COVID, not the COVID is over, but
post COVID, I have not really been in crowds a mirror,
(23:54):
I really haven't even been to a show. So post COVID,
I've just been kind of writing and watching and listening
because understandable, man, I've barely been watching people's certain stand ups.
I still need to watch that on Netflix about that
one and the material, the material that you get from
this podcast alone. Yeah, these motherfucker's one of the one
(24:20):
of the funniest moments ever in my life. I forgot
to the show. I forgot that. One of the funniest
moments in my life. I haven't pull over. When when
fucking when y'all had music, soul shout and music did
(24:40):
not know that I mean, I mean didn't know that
music was mad at him. He didn't figure it out
until halfway into the of the greatest of supreme history,
all of us. I think he was mad with everybody.
He was mad at the world. It was one time
when Laias stopped him and he was like, no, you
(25:03):
know what I mean I was. I was outside in
the car, you know what I'm saying it was all cool.
You know what I'm saying, it was cool. I just waited,
you know what I mean. Leo called y'all, I just
waited in the car like a nutass nigger. And then
Laias said, um, well, so what's going on with you? Music?
Like it just like I mean, it is what it is.
And she said like he said, what damn Nick, are
you happy about anything? That's quest Hey? I had a
(25:30):
more open you called me, you call cald you. I
hit too, everybody. I won't give anything to go back
to the group chat the day that. Oh man, I
have moments where I guess will say something off the
(25:50):
cuff or like just out of pocket, and our our
chat just suddenly it's the best thing. And you know,
I wanted sometimes, I know, I mean long enough to
sometimes when I mere just don't want to be involved
in something, he might act like he clueless, But that
day you were really clue and I got a lot
(26:12):
to be juggling, man, and right you you were like
wait you did what happened again? And mother was like,
yeall was outside the car like the soul of crazy.
I just I just wanted I just the penny in
(26:34):
me I just wanted I merely be like dance. He
was outside in the car, like the whole time we
she was like, man, and I want to tell you,
I wanted a mere ago. So while you were in
the car, like, did you like boom? She was beautiful?
(26:54):
You should have texted me. You should have texted me
one four three to make it bundly clear. Yes, Leor
Cohen decided. Le Cohen heard a rumor about the soul
Quarian Vibe shoot about to happen, that that infamous photo
that basically ended the click of the twelve of us,
and le Are wanted to ambush us with an artist
(27:15):
that we really, all of us weren't completely familiar with,
like we were actually friends in that photo. And Lea
decided that you know, he's just gonna ambushes and send
his artists to shoot. Now, just let him go to
the archives. Just let them go to the archives. I
don't think you make it better, but I just I
just want It was a part of me to just
(27:36):
wanted our man to just text him and go like, bro, like,
are we good? Are we just friends? Well? Is it
all love? I'm over here going half crazy. This is
the problem now, black man we have to take mental
health seriously, and in a TV show, they would provide
(27:58):
a number because mental health is serious and those who
feel like they need to have it, they should find
a number because we don't have it here to see.
Me and Tay got the same sense. We got the
same sense of humor. So that's a whole another number,
Like they're gonna have to call another number for that
because I got jokes on your head like you so mad?
Come like you didnt je neo soul? Like? What is like? What? Like?
(28:23):
Whatever I do have? I do have one thing to
ask you, Do you have any more Soul Train episodes?
Did you get anymore? Because you know I got some more? No, no, no,
you know what I'm saying. Do you have any more?
I cannot officially let you know why I have them all,
(28:45):
but if you can see how my year went last year,
we could pretty much put two and two together about
what I'm gonna be doing the next seven years. Let's
talk about the seed. The seed. Detroit dude, I man,
how are you the plug on the scene? Because I know,
(29:08):
but I have some plug. If you are from Detroit
right now, you're getting very excited about what we're talking
about like every every regional spot has their own local
dance show. So similar to Philadelphia had Dancing on Air,
which later turning The Dance Party USA, other local shows
have their own like Local Little Dance, after School Dance Jawn's.
(29:32):
The scene is probably the most unique show. If you
google the scene right now, just say the scene Detroit,
nineteen eighties something. It's it explains a lot, explains why
Dilah is a genius because basically, Electrifying Mojo pretty much
raised a generation of of black people on electronic music.
(29:57):
So you know, there's a whole generation. But between him
playing like he on his radio show, look up old
Electrifying Mojo shows from like the eighties, He'll play p
Funk one moment, then he'll play Gary Newman the next moment.
They they'll play Bowie the next moment, then he'll play Prince,
then he'll play uh depeche Mode. So you know, if
(30:19):
you are anywhere between the ages of eight to eighteen
in Detroit, Michigan, between and like, you're getting a whole
another form of musical nutrition that this this explains why
Dilla was who he was. So you know, the scene
(30:40):
was this teen dance show in which I mean they're
pretty much they're just dancing to like the most crazy
electro techno type of ship. It it's it's crazy. And
so there there's a scene and also the New Dance Show.
(31:00):
There was another show Detroit. Yes, so this is gonna
be a documentary about this show, about the scene. He answered.
The answer to your question of mirror is because there's
a few white people who get it and know some ship. Yeah,
because you know which we You know it's your seventeenth documentary,
(31:22):
and when you're an Academy member, you can make seventeen documentaries.
But there's a lot, there's there's a lot to go.
But yes, to answer your question, I've fulfilled my fantasy
this year. I have them all watched, all eleven hundred
soul trains like two short. I'm like two hundred short.
(31:45):
It's it's super overwhelming right now. I got to force
myself to watch it past nine once don left. But
you know, those are ones I want to see. I
can't wait to see fucking bow Wow and Destiny show
embarrassing itself. This sort of feels like an episode, I
(32:06):
admit it. One hip hop confession, Steven talked about his
jazz label, uh bills, working on two projects and a
lot of things. Fante got his master's back, that comedy coming.
Fante made all honesty. Fonte made one happened those cats
masters back of all the motherfucker's count. Praise to you, Fante,
(32:35):
well done, Thank you man. I appreciate that. Man. Can
you explain to me the situation? Like she so she was.
I was geeked that that moment happened. Yeah, she went
on live and um, she was just doing her makeup
and uh, she was rapping whatever you say off the
(32:55):
listening and um, I didn't find out about it until
afterwards and when my boys hit me and I was
like like what. I was like, what the funk? And
then I saw it on Twitter. So then I actually
saw the video. I was like, oh ship, and so
I just threw it up, you know, retweeted it whatever,
and um, and I was like, yeah, we're in the
racial chat rooms bumping a little brother, you know what
I mean. And I knew she would get the joke.
(33:17):
Like a couple of her fans was like, you know,
why would you? But she I knew she didn't give
a funk. I knew she would get the humor, you
know what I mean. Um, I figured if if you're
a little brother fan, you have the ability to laugh
at yourself, you know what I mean. So so you know,
so she but she was super cool and um, we
ended up she ended up like then she tweeted out,
made a little watching was like you wanta bumping this,
You'll need to check it. I was like, oh, ship,
(33:38):
And so we ended up talking for a little bit,
like we ended up texting a little bit, and um,
but no, man, she's just like super dope and um.
You know, it was around the time that she was
the news came out that like her tour stopped. She
during her Cooper got COVID and um, but but now man,
it was it was it was a moment I was like,
whorre it up? That's dope. But she's she's ahead like
(33:59):
a couple of home that knew her, like made like
wrestlim Village once and I was like the fun Yeah.
I was just completely under the impression that even though
these kids were coming from eighties parents, seventies parents, eighties
parents that you know, there's gen z just had absolutely
(34:21):
nothing but disdain for our music. So they now they
was raised on this ship bro to see those of
cats seeing all to you for you and whatever you're saying,
like either right, like she never got her her dad
is South African, right, She's from l A. Her dad
(34:43):
was in SA I remember walked. Yeah, she's actually yeah,
it's a video over like pop locking like but this
is great. Now, between this and watching her on a
Little Dickie, I'm a fan, so think well on his show, yeah,
she did like a dope ass episode a Little Dicky.
(35:04):
So yeah, I'm till I'm yeah playing herself. He's just
show us really hilariously and nasty. Okay, So before we
check out, is there any records that I should be
checking for? It's weird, man, Like, I'm legit. I'm not disappointed.
But she and I had a conversation about it. I
(35:26):
really had expectations for Yabba too really come with the
promotion with her record, but you know, she wasn't wasn't
ready yet. You know distance was the one for me
on that record. That was the one. Yeah, I just
you played on that one right on the whole record.
(35:48):
I just wish. I don't know. It's like I'm now
starting to think that every artist that comes through Electric
lady studios, Why st up going through a process that
you know means a stalling or whatever, you know, that
sort of thing. Basically, the whole point was that, like
(36:11):
so many shows are asking for her to come and perform,
she's like not ready yet, not ready yet, like in
due time and due time, and it's just like the
Solange the records, Yeah, the records kind of over now.
Like you know, I was, I was expecting her to
drink Old Girls milkshake that obviously it is going to
dominate the Grammys, you know, next year with her album.
(36:35):
But you know I I sort of thought this is
going to happen, but you know it's not. So Hopefully
the next record Kevin Benut for Jazz and Sullivan though
that was all flowers right now. I just asked you
what album are feeling? Very few albums you can listen
through all the way. I mean, even with that Anderson
(36:56):
Bruno Mars, there's like one song. But so I was
just saying for those like Jasmine who on the outside
of the ones on the radio, Yeah, the last one,
the last song, what's it? Breathe, that's it, that's it,
that's it. Breathes, Yeah, breathes I thought that. I was like, oh,
this is just getting started. I'm ready for the next one.
Oh it's over. Ah? Oh really skills skills where you go? No,
(37:18):
I'm here. I just know. I hope that this does
wonders for for pop. You know, did you work on that?
Did I think you? I'm sorry I didn't. Oh no, No,
I wish I worked on the album ship right right?
I take that? Yeah? Um? Not my biggest you know,
I claimed the fame this year was you know, I
wrote for Whole Blue and Beyonce. So there you go.
(37:41):
So what's the Oh the Salt record and and Clio
show I felt come out? Yeah, but is there anything
one notable that I'm missing as far as Yeah, check
out my girl be My Fiasco. She's a latest artist
that we put out on Ffie Music. Um, there you
got me the tall black guys. Oh my voice and
(38:03):
a convator out of d c Um. Yeah, Devin Morrison's
on it. Um, my girl called you the ran Devin Uh,
Darren Brockington, Yeah, it's um, it's out be My Fasco
where I left you? Uh? Did that? That was the
something that was a group name. I feel like y'all
actually have a supergroup. But you ain't got no name,
like nah, were just f the music we learned from
(38:23):
the South quaries, don't get the title yea the song
and don't right? All right, So skills you you're you
may you may not do music wise, creative wise. What's
what's what's coming down the pike for Oh man, I'm
(38:47):
I'm I'm finishing up a documentary. I'm finishing up a
documentary I did on the nineties girl Brunch, which is
something that I did all Quarantine. I'm finishing up a
documentary that I'm gonna be putting out, probably some new
music and just something you know, still moving. You know.
I'm teaching teaching. I go back to teaching in January,
(39:10):
teaching hip hop class at the University of Richmond. Very
very informative, man, And you know, it's a it's a
it's like I'm learning to you know what I'm saying.
But um, for the most part, man, it's like the
second year we've done it. COVID knocked us out for
like one year. Um. But I do like, yeah, yeah, yeah,
(39:34):
me and my part. My part got to go to
school yourself. And I hate, like, you gotta choose your
books and then through the you know, right, like you
gotta do like, yeah, that's the part I hate. Yeah, yeah, no,
I you know, I feel like it's something that you know,
I love to do. You know, I could talk to
(39:56):
hip hop all day with with people. So for me,
it's it's been very ratifying. Man. I definitely see teaching
in my future, and we're looking forward to doing in
other schools as well. Do you feel your students are
genuinely interested in finding it out or is it just like,
oh yeah, nah, Now cats come in you know, cats
initially come in there thinking that they're gonna get an
(40:17):
easy A. But it ain't. It ain't that at all,
you know what I'm saying. And ship our our our
ages range from sixty to like eighteen, you know what
I mean. So we have undergraduates and then other other
other students, like it's the most popular class on campus.
So shout out to you are Richmond, Shout to the Spiders. Yeah, man,
I see y'all in a minute from an MC level,
(40:38):
or from breakbeat level, or just from from social and
a political movement, you know what I'm saying. Um, you know,
it's definitely we speak upon it as you know as
being the most popular culture I mean form of music
in the in the culture. So you know, you you
are aware of it, but you might not have been
that aware of the things. Like give you an example
(41:00):
real quick, Like one of our lessons is we play
them the video for parents just don't understand, and then
we played them the video for the police, and their
assignment is what are the similarities of these two songs?
They automatically think we're gonna be like, okay, what's the
difference between these two and we go, okay, what are
the similarities between these two songs? And the answers that
(41:21):
they come up with are fucking phenomenal, Like it's it's
so crazy. How deep they how did they see it?
The first the first officers, the first one that the
first one that um threw me was they were like,
you know, both of both of these different artists, their
reputation is everything to them, you know what I'm saying,
(41:44):
Like their reputation is everything, and you know, like with
will you Know? With will you Know? Um n w
A wraps about they treat women as gold diggers. Women
are looked at his gold diggers and that's all they
go for. Bitches and hosts gold because whatever Will got
caught up by a gold duck, you know what I'm saying,
(42:05):
Like who happened to be a twelve year old runaway?
Like you know what I mean? Like their their connection,
it's so much more right. And it's like they're both
they're both very fearful of of one thing. Like n
w A is fearful of the cops. Will is fearful
(42:27):
of his parents finding out like that was his biggest fear.
Like my, when my mom and dad you at home,
this ship is a rat. You know what I'm saying,
Like they it's amazing. Man. We started we started to
mesh off with one of those exercises and it usually
turns out it gives you a good gauge of how
good the class is gonna be. Okay, that's man, Professor skills,
(42:52):
Professor Lewis, Lewis, I was to know our skills you
have mentioned earlier. I just want to touch on you
were talking about your parents and um, you know how
they died from addiction, you know, thirty years apart. Uh
knowing that that's in your family history, Like how have
you dealt with that? And uh, you know, are there
(43:15):
any like how knowing that that's kind of there, Like,
how do you deal with, you know, any potential addictions
or has that affected you in your career in anyway?
I don't. I don't know if it has me. Like
I believe I'm addicted to too. I believe a part
of me is addicted to not following in those footsteps,
you know what I'm saying. So for me, you know,
(43:36):
I understand that sometimes addiction, you know, it can be
a sickness. And you know, when I was young, you know,
I didn't understand one Mama just couldn't quit, Like why
you just can't stop? I don't hear that ship, like yo,
just quit, like you know what I'm saying. But I
didn't understand how long she had been on drugs and
how much you know, she felt like she needed that
drug to even just get up and function, cook breakfast,
(43:56):
take us in schools. She was a very functions she
was a very function an addict, but she was still
an addict. So for me, man um it scared me
in a way that I could never sell drugs. I
could I like, my ship could go belly up right
now and I'll go work at McDonald's and y'all be like,
God damn skills that McDonald's like, but happily because I can't.
(44:19):
I know, I first hand know what it does to
a black family, So I don't care how bad it
gets for me. I could never go I could never
sell drugs like ever. So I watched, you know, I
look back at what they went through and just trying
to make sure that I don't get addicted to anything.
(44:40):
You know what I'm saying, Like sugar ship, you know
what I'm saying, like fucking anything. So yeah, so it's like, um,
you know, I just I just pay attention to that
because they they didn't they didn't go for nothing, like
I had to learn from that ship is some some degree,
you know what I'm saying. That's really Yeah. My My
(45:02):
final question is, you know, besides getting out of this
this dog chasing tail loop that we're in, uh, is
there anything that we're really trying to achieve for two?
Even though it's looking like in additional um now two
(45:23):
from me, Um, I'm finally we're finally putting the finishing
up the Little Brother documentary. Um. We got awarded, we
got a grant from the Southern Documentary Fund, and we
were wanted, the finalists that were selected for that. So yeah, man,
finishing that, Um, that's that's harder. It's the all this
thing I've ever done ain't gonna front. But so that
(45:45):
you put out with just a sizzle real and it's coming.
There's gonna be a full length joint. Yeah. I can't
wait for that. Man. Yeah, So it's yeah, it's that's
just gonna be hard. But um, not just that, man,
just for me. Two. Just continuing just to take care
of myself, take care of my health. I got down
drop like forty this year, so I'm gonna just keep
(46:06):
going and changing my eating. We were talking last time.
I think I'm probably just gonna be doing mostly fish
from now and I don't really do. I'll be fishing
my chicken, of course, but like I think my days
are read at meat. I think that ship might be
over with Yeah, I think that's over. You know. I
don't know how can do that, but yeah, just just
trying to make changes, man, and stick around. So I
keep working, doing what I love to do. Steve, honestly
(46:29):
more of the same. I'm I'm real proud of myself
and everybody around me for getting through the last couple
of years and the next one is just gonna be
probably just as challenging. So the tonight show, this podcast,
jam I, all the other things that we're all involved in.
You know, if you just keep it moving, I think
(46:51):
that's a blessing. That's key, keep it moving. Why what's up? Uh?
Last year I got my dad in his first museum
show with his photography of the African American music music,
the only African American music music in Tennessee. Next year,
myself and my godmother we will produce a book for
(47:14):
my father of his work, his first published book. And
I'm looking forward to doing that and keeping my parents
super happy as the super seniors that they are. And
uh and just you know, loving learning and maybe figuring
out this retirement playing through these shows. And I'm gonna
sell in what's two looking like? In the words of
(47:39):
the Great Quans to Carol Habari's I'm Kiddingbargani habargani habarigani Uh,
let us all have a wonderful year, celebrate all skills.
I love you. You look like the Steve Zisu of
our time, A deep low You are skills, You are
(48:03):
the life aquatic. Why you haven't been even Steven since
or why you why you haven't been on my Broadway
show about freestyle rapping. I don't understand on skills. Gotta
come to the freestyle of supreme skills. I definitely am
on Broadway in a show that makes up wraps. I
know I'm white, but that's what I do, and I
(48:25):
feel like you should be on it. In fact, put
your eyebrows away, because you should be there. To motherfucker.
You come up with a virtual option, I'll do you.
You're so afraid of the COVID. I don't even know anyway,
I'm in Virginia, I'll pull up. I can come skills,
(48:47):
we can do Broadway, we can do, we can do.
We can do Sesame Street in one weekend, and you'd
be going back to Virginia. Can people go, Bill? Can
I ask you one question about freestyle Supreme you can
all the questions. I've seen it twice here. I've seen
it twice. The show is perfectly executed, like you guys,
the whole store, the whole shows freestyle and it makes
(49:11):
sense and it's not a Have you guys ever just
had a disaster night where the lyrics weren't hitting at all?
Are I will. I will let you in on the truth.
So I'm forty years old, forty one. Sorry, I'm forty
one years old. I've been doing freestyle uspions I was
twenty so that's if you do the math twenty one years,
(49:32):
I could safely say that the first fifteen were bullshit,
and then the last day I saw I saw the
first one. I'm talking about like like, okay, yeah, all
this to be said. Skills. If you ever in New
York and you want to make up some raps with
some white kids, come on down, A mural will show
(49:54):
up too, and it'll be great. It's it's a it's
a well done product. Skills. If you want to make
a Broadway debut on I don't know, like a given
Thursday and whatever, but yeah, you go off and they
don't be going. They don't be going forty bpms like
(50:21):
once one time on The Tonight Show and he did
very well. I will down. I'll hit you up, Bill,
I'm gonna get your info from like skills. If you
show up, a mirror has to show up too, because
that would be the greatest show that ever happened. I'm
probably well. I was gonna ask skills, what is was
going to be into let's go and I don't want. Okay,
(50:43):
well I'll let you all go here. Like I said, man,
you know, teaching, the finishing up the documentary and uh
you know, still trying to push forward to the stake
my claim and this, you know, this hip hop thing.
I love it. Man, There you go, and I'm I'm
gonna come. I'm gonna come see you and we're gonna
discuss that other thing that we talk about, that thing
(51:04):
I got you. I love the skills, Steve skills Fonte
out of the crib. That's all I want. I want
to do. I want to do the TU show. I
want to do missing the live version of this show.
(51:26):
I need to hug I need to hug Font like
a like a man needs to come to his house.
I will come. All right, you know what you have
at all, y'all have a standard invite to the CURA.
The fact that we're not like setting up shop all
in North Carolina at Fonte's house is a goddamn distress
(51:46):
and we should be doing. We could get we get
Steve this too. He could drive Virginia School in North Carolina.
I think I don't know, but if an eight hour
drive from me that like, I'll go. I don't care,
I would go. I would go North Carolina. Like like, yeah,
that's like a thirty or four hour drift for you,
(52:07):
that's a whole thing. Well, do you let me hang
out because I will hang the funk out your question,
mere schedule is too important. But I will say right now,
right now as I speak now when we we started
this this uh we started this episode exactly two hours ago.
(52:34):
During this two hours, I've gotten seven texts positive telling
me that they just tested positive for COVID. Ship is
getting a little crazy. So yeah, like literally during this conversation,
the seven times I've looked away to go to in
(52:55):
my phone, it's you know, just tested positive. Yeah, man,
we gotta go hard immunity and we all get it
and then you know, yeah, So let's I'm praying for,
well more than be safe, which is a word that
(53:16):
I'm trying to divorce myself from and thrive like not
being safe. That's what I want to try to get
people away from, like the safe choice, but really be passionate.
So that's where I'm leaving it with. But skills, I
thank you very much for doing this episode. No man,
thank you. I appreciate it. Uh yeah, I also want
(53:37):
to see you do more consistent episodes of which is
really the reason why like this, Your Your Your Your
podcast is definitely one of my favorite hip hop podcast.
I love the fact that you don't talk over your
guests in an annoying way and you get really great,
engaging stories, and you know, I appreciate that. So thank you, man.
(53:59):
I'm I'm. I'm definitely trying to build it and keep
Hip Hop Confessions pushing. So yeah, let's chomping on that. Yeah, man,
I want to do it. I think me and Putney
to come through next year. Man, Yeah, that would be
awesome happening. And boss man, you are looking towards what
in two? I want people to be healthy. That's number one.
(54:25):
We're going to concentrate on Black No More, which is
Terik's project Black. Yeah. I will get on Quest Left
Supreme right now. He's he's off the great people and
asking like how Drek left for Tonight show back in October?
He told me the day before he was he was like,
(54:46):
my last day is tomorrow, about to start working on
his place. So I told him as soon as they
open up, I'm gonna come see it. Yeah, well I
don't Washington, we'll see it. That's the ship, that's that's
what's that's what's next. So that's beautiful right now. Just
need the world to be more aware. I need rappers
to stop also just doing basic dumb shit dumb Please
(55:12):
like that too, I would love that anyway, So on
behalf of our man skills and unpaid Bill and Sugar,
Steve and l Yeah, thank you very much. You already
know I appreciate what's love. Supreme is a production my
(55:38):
Hearted Radio, but more podcasts for my Heart Radio. This
is the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast or wherever
you listen to your favorite shows.
Question. Love Supreme is a production of I Heart Radio.
Put Up y'all so find out. You should have gotten
to last week's episode, Part one if I sit down
conversation with Skills a k A. Mad Skills. Now it's
(00:21):
time to get into part too. You ready, Let's go,
Steve bro keep talking about anything was that this past year?
There you go? Um classic Steve, Yeah, records? Anything? Not really?
(00:45):
Elvis Costello didn't release a record this year. So no,
the answer is no, Actually he did, didn't He Yeah,
he's commented records. But as far as pop culture YouTube,
I've been watching a lot of European news. Yeah, BBC
(01:06):
like to be honest, I mean, I'm still an MBSNBC person,
but bb BBC World News is kind of the and
I just want to say bb D drop the new albums.
I also wanted to shout out to b and see
that happened in one the Black news channel. My mother
would be very upset if I did not mention that.
I mean, we did some special in man, he created
(01:31):
a miracle. All right, This is all I know. I
was in St. Louis. It's getting real mean up in
this ship. Go ahead. I was in St. Louis. You know,
I've been on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
committee for like eleven twelve years now, we got it. Yeah,
(01:51):
I'm part of the committee, and I knew. I knew
that we weren't going to have anything appealing that would
make jay Z want to come and accept his award,
because I mean, the thing is is that when you're
paying tribute to an artist from the fifties, sixties and seventies, Yeah,
you can get blah blah blah the single Linda Ronst
(02:13):
that song. You can, you know, sort of get somebody
to sing. You know. Last year was like dire Straits
and whatever. But with hip hop especially, there's just some
artists that I don't think are coverable or any of
those things, you know what I mean, right, And I
knew starting this year it's gonna be problematic. Maybe if
(02:36):
Eminem gets in next year, you know, there's got to
be someone that that he hasn't burned a bridge with already, Like,
so no Machine Gun Kelly. I don't know if they
made up or whatever, but I'm just saying that I
love to see in sync rap Eminem lyrics at his
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction that should be.
Imagine imagine Lance Bass coming out of St. Name Is.
(03:03):
For next year, I will make that happen. No, it
was just with this year. I knew that there's nobody
that the Internet or critics or anyone, especially with jay
Z with deem satisfactory to do his material. So I
had to wrack my brain out. And the thing was,
(03:25):
I was driving back from St. Louis. We had a
gig in St. Louis, and we were do in New
York the next day, and I decided, well, I got
fifteen hours ahead of me. You know, I'm gonna getting
my bag. I mean, you know, in my vehicle by myself.
(03:45):
And then Michael Kay Williams passed away. He and that
ship fucked like fucked me up. And then suddenly the
Rock and Roll like so I was trying to mourn
that ship, and then the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame people called. It was like, we gotta figure out
something in the next ten hours or as jay Z
(04:08):
is not coming, and you know I'm already in my
bag and ship, you know, the edible is about to
hit it and all that ship. I was just so
messed up that day and I don't know, like I
was just trying to figure out, like how can I
And for some reason, I don't know why I was
on YouTube, you know what it was. I went, I
was looking up the Supernatural Battle with Craig g I
(04:34):
was looking mad up and your name was on the side,
and I was just like, damn, what can I do?
What can I do? And the song that I referenced,
that freestyle that you did at Stretching Barbatos where you
kind of took everyone's line like I don't know what
what the proper title is called, but basically that came
(04:55):
up and I thought, Okay, this is a job for Skills.
So basically, League, I had a vision that was gonna
find fifty celebrities, fifty notable people to say one jay
Z line each and the way that Skills crafts his lyrics,
like for him to put this ten thousand piece puzzled
(05:15):
together in seven days. So I thought, I'm so not
an m C. And I think that was like your
worst nightmare. I believe when the phone call came, do
you remember what you said to me? I was high Skills.
I do not remember. Hey, hey this niggas said. That's
(05:36):
how the conversation went, hello, Yo, what's up? Yo? When
did you stop listening to jay Z? I said, Nigga,
what when did you stop listening to jay Z? I said,
I'm mirror. What the fund are you talking about? No? No, no,
I remember I remember hearing you a Reek talk like
and I remember you saying one time. I remember, I
(05:58):
never forget it. You said you used to be able
to hear like a jay Z line and you could quote,
you can hear jay Z versus you could go to
the barbershop the next day and quote the whole ship.
I said, yeah, yeah, like yeah, that's how we all
were with early whole ship. He's okay, when did that
stop for you though? I said, probably, like maybe like
after like American Gangster, maybe Magna Carter, Holy Girl. Okay, bad,
(06:20):
all right, okay, yeah all right, yeah, So what I
need you? So he goes, He says, he says, I
need you to I need to stretching Barbado freestyle of
all the jay Z ship. But it's gotta be all
wholes like you know, from from from you know, artists
(06:41):
to you know, from Foo Snikins to to hustler to
thinking man to businessman to the shaman Hove from Riggy
from Riggety Riggety to Shaman Hove to cover the whole basis.
I said, okay, and then he goes, I need this
ship in like nine days yo. I was like, I'm Herror, No, no, no,
(07:05):
you got it. You gotta, you gotta. I just want
to make sure you was down because I'm about to
pitch it. To be honest, are you in? I said, funk, yeah,
bam man, alright, cool, I call you back. And that
was it, like it was textbook. I'm Herror, but and
I'm just sitting there to you like this ship ain't
gonna happen, Like I'm not thinking of no jay Z ship.
(07:26):
I'm chilling. I'm watching TV. Three hours later, no not
be Yeah she turned it down like we're gonna have
to come with something else. Three hours later, Yeah she's in.
So yeah, I need it, and I gotta go through
hose whole fucking from from a sky? Can I get
open to you know what I mean? And I'm just
(07:49):
like this is this is insane. I put the Barnes
and Noble started buying books de Coded. I brought the
book I already had decoded, but I couldn't find it,
so I had to buy that ship again. Can I
ask a real civilian question, just because we're not the
only ones having this conversation, Like people are listening and
(08:10):
they probably may have the same question. Does a situation
like this pay well? Because I feel like people don't
understand when it comes to you. And even sometimes when
I feel like Fonte and MCS like y'all who have
alternative livings when it comes to what y'all do with
your talents, they I don't think they get that, like, yeah,
(08:31):
you can do this ship. Yeah yeah, yeah. So that's
why I'm asking. I'm not trying to be in your pocket,
but I'm like, you do things like this, and I'm
just curious. I'm like. The funny part is when when
Sean hit me and was like yes and just you know,
tell me, you know what, Like I'm talking to them now,
so I need something. And I was like shying, I
don't want your money. I want a job, NIGI, and
(08:55):
he was like okay. I said I don't want y'all money,
like I don't want money from you our mirror and
then Sean goes, it ain't me and our mirrors money,
and I was like, oh, I bet um. Yeah that
was already I don't say good. Yeah, yeah it was.
(09:20):
It was definitely. It was definitely worth my time and
my effort. But but man, at the end of the day,
BRO like to see to see how the world to
see whole tweet when he tweeted, like when jay Z tweeted,
and jay Z don't even tweet like that, what did
he tweet? He tweeted after he saw it. Yeah, he tweeted,
(09:42):
thank you to everyone in that video package. I'm definitely
gonna cry in the car when I saw that tweet,
I was like, he did, oh shit, he know that?
That that really? You know that you good at that stuff?
It just, you know, just on my the things arguing
because the thing is I had a Christmas list of
(10:04):
who I wanted to be in the joint. Yeah, but
then I had a lot of mountains to climb. You know,
you gotta explain to like Obama's people want to know
who else is immage John before he doesn't. You gotta
explain the rock Nation that this person is air this
(10:26):
year on HBO. Right, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame video.
But if we would have gotten our wishless not saying
people aren't still talking about it. If we had gotten
our whist list, that ship would be like that would
have wanted, that would have been in the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame by itself. Who else who was
on the list of you couldn't get or didn't get? Well,
(10:48):
I mean initially, my my first true yes was Obama
because my thing was like, was like, if Obama says yes,
then everybody else is going to and so we just
want Obama say I will not lose, and he was
about to do it, and then like the thing is
(11:08):
always like a circle of twelve, that's like well, you know,
and they was like, was this looking presidential? And Obama,
you have a deal at Netflix, broke your content creating
our car and say, had I had the previous line
before I had? I had a set up so perfect,
bro if he would have got to that, I would
(11:29):
not lose, right, I mean, I will say that, you know,
for me, like Letterman taking a lout, like when it
played yes, like that got such a like let well,
first of all, we were in Cleveland, so whenever lebron
showed up, that was a happy moment for them. But
(11:49):
I'll say that Letterman stole the show in that particular
setting in that night, Kanye would have done it. Like
the thing with Kanye was sort of like he was like,
all right, send a camera crew to Paris, and then
we sent a camera crew there, and and then he's
in Italy alright today and then well Fante asked the
(12:11):
question about Yeah, I know you said him, him, who else?
Who else? But who else did y'all want else? Lest
I wanted Michael Jordan's to say Jackson Tyson Jans he was,
he was golfing. I had a I had a Jordan
plug and we but there was an important golf game
(12:35):
that we couldn't um. And the crazy, the crazy part
is so the crazy part is like like like a
Mire said, like, once we got Obama, ain't none of
y'all motherfucker's cooler than him. So anybody that says no,
like you ain't cooler than Obama. So we did have
one issue and I ain't I'm not gonna say the
(12:56):
person's name, but our mirror hits me blindly one day
and says, yo, can you find a line that goes
with this? And I was like, I'm here, that's that's
not in the that's not in the verse. I was like,
why you gotta say that, and he was like no, no,
because you know what I'm saying. So and so was here.
Now that's the line they want to say. I said,
(13:17):
I'm herre. My first day of shooting was like I
was tried by fire because this particular person was like
already doing a long press day for the project that
they had going on. Like that's we had to get
in with, like if someone was doing a press junket somewhere,
and then like we sent our crew real quick to
(13:38):
get them to say this one line for five minutes
and whatever. You know. So I caught somebody at the
end of like a long press junket day of like
seven hours of interviews. They want to go home. They
happen to have a line. They happen to have a
line that wasn't like everyone wanted to like an impactful
line or to know, okay, who who gets this line?
(13:59):
Who gets the punch line? And there's some lines where
you have to set it up so that you know
someone else gets it. Someone has to set up the
alley shot and someone shoots it in And there's just
one of these moments where this particular person had an
alley oop shot tossing to someone else that gets the
punch line. So they felt like their line wasn't cool,
(14:22):
so they just decided, well, I'm gonna I'm gonna do
my favorite jay Z line and y'all, y'all can just
work with that. And I was like, no, it doesn't
work like that, like you gotta you know. So he
calls me. He calls me and tay you, I ain't
gonna say the person name, but the line was no
chrome on the wheels, I'm gonna growing up for real, right.
(14:43):
So I'm sitting there looking at I'm looking at my
phone like that's not no bar like that ain't even
he like, but that's what they want to say. So
I go, I said, yeah, that's not in the scene
that I mean, that's not in the in the well,
how am I supposed to tell her that? I that
you tell that person that this is our movie and
(15:06):
this is their line, like your screw kids, like, nig
you can't audition to play Bishop and then go yeah,
but I don't want to get killed, but nigga, you
don't want to play Mitchell movie. So he goes with skills.
I mean, what am I supposed to say to her,
and I was like, I said what I said, I'm here.
(15:27):
This is what you do from here on out. Any
time somebody looks at a piece of paper and says, yo,
man who said this line, I want to say this line,
tell them Obama already said, because the ain't none of
your niga. In fact, I had to do that twice,
by the way, like I learned early not to show
anyone the entire script for them to say, you know,
(15:49):
I want to say, allow me to reintroduce myself. I'm like, yeah,
now you can't. There's there's two people not talking to
me now because there's two people not I'll get to
me now, because uh, they claimed that I underused them
so and and for million. But it was a trial
by fire on what directing is really like. So for
(16:15):
me to to do it, and then you know, going
back and forth with our mirror over it, and we
like we were really in the trenches on this ship,
and then October thirty first comes and hope, it's one
thing to write something, but it's one thing to write
something that I know the person that is about what
it's gonna see it firsthand. So when I when I
(16:38):
hit him, I hit I saw Jay's tweet and you know,
I'm on the East coast as it happened, so you know,
I saw Jay's tweet and then I hit our mirror like, yo,
how did it go? He was like Yo, he was floored,
and I'm like, oh, ship, like that's good. And then
I go to sleep and I mirror text me and goes, yo,
J about to hit you, and like I wake up
(17:00):
to a to a to a text from Hose like
like I was floored, like and don't get me wrong,
like I I've spoken to J a few times, but
I ain't spoke the billion that J in a minute
so so forth, so for to wake up to a
text message from him expressing his gratitude and how thankful
he was and how brilliant he thought of when he
(17:20):
said he said they're like, Yo, that was brilliant, Like
that was dope, Like and I knew he was going
through a court case at the time, like he had
to go to court the next day. So speaking of gratitude,
fante the internet and you're present and explain loves for me,
(17:45):
it was it was very important, Like it was kind
of awesome seeing you and pooh wait am I am?
I correct and met you guys have your complete masters
back from the listening and we got the listening other
mistreal show. We don't have those. That one is still
under a rhino. They have them, but we've been in
contact with them and we've been talking with them and
(18:07):
like working that out, you know what I'm saying. So there,
So throughout the whole process, again, I had no smoke
with Atlantic Records. Atlantic Records, they were cool with us,
like they were fine. It was a b B that
was on that fun. But now we got our shipp back.
That's dope. Man. I'm happy for y'all. Remember when I
started tweet and uh you put it up and said
(18:28):
that you know, y'all were in control of those records.
I knew how much that meant you as an artist.
I knew how much that meant to you and poop.
So I was quick man behind like you know, I
think my my core was. I love it when the
plan come together, like y'allah. I remember that. I'm thanking man.
It was thank you. More happy than that then day
like getting their masters back, Like I'm more happy for
you guys in this situation specifically, Yeah, you know, I'm like, well,
(18:54):
I mean, we hadn't really talked about it at all,
and uh, we wasn't. You know, it wasn't anything that
we was, you know, we were just kind of dealing
with on our own, kind of privately. And then when
we woke up and saw that the the they had
repressed the vinyl and it was just like, oh, nigga,
now you just think you're gonna play in my face
with this ship, you know what I mean? And so
(19:15):
my my immediate response, I was like about the Gold
Fund and I was like, hold up, I hit pool.
You know what I'm saying. Look bro exactly. I'm like, yo, Bro,
I said, how you want to do this? You want
to go quiet or you want to get loud? Because
we can, I can. We can do it either way.
He was like, let's get loud. I said, all right,
let's go. So that was it and it worked. Man.
That was dope. Man. So in this particular situation, you
(19:37):
and Poo are the owners of the listening. Yeah, we
took our ship back, all right YouTube alone? Yeah yeah, yeah,
yeah yeah. The unmentioned third factor doesn't have stakes in
the game of ownership. No. Ninth was a He was
compensated for his time and Little Brother when he was
in a Little Brother, But since two thousand seven and
(20:00):
Little Brother has creatively, contractually and financially been a duo
and it will remain that way. For your brave question,
you go, no, no, no, because I just did. It's
all good. I'm so, I'm sure it was. I'm sure
it with somebody else listening that probably want today. Thank you.
(20:20):
I'm glad you. Yeah, No, that's dope, man, I'm happy
for you. Speaking of record labels, Steve, you're you're jazz label.
You've established a jazz label, yes, and I do want
to talk about that, but I haven't answered your earlier
question about one entertainment Summer of soul. Come on, you
(20:41):
already talked about this now you're just working with you okay, Well, yes,
thank you for bringing that up. In mirror j M
I Recordings, uh from working on a lot of records recently.
We've got a lot of records coming out in two
and David Murray and UH sacerber Lenner and Log Lund
(21:04):
a Swedish star player, and UH all kinds of records.
Jami Recordings dot com. We can buy records. What's going on?
What does it for you to ask me. What M
I stands for doesn't matter. Doesn't matter now, it doesn't
(21:27):
matter to E M I. Uh no it we're we're
modeled after C T I actually and little a little
bit of E C M. But UM, we're the We're.
We're completely analog label. We record and mixed and master
all analog tape and UH only print up vinyl records.
(21:47):
And we work with the greatest artists around today, including
the great David Murray, UM and Quest. We need, We're
gonna do it. We're gonna do an album with you
next year with to do the duo record with David Murray.
But this is not streamable at all. You can only
buy UH mostly just final but we do have a
(22:08):
few of the albums are up on streaming stuff. But
we don't really care about just skills. Sorry, hold on, skills,
took it off. Let's let's lift this up. I mean, yeah, skills.
I want to send you a bunch of the jam
I stuff. Okay, awesome, man, I would love to I
(22:29):
would love to have some. So I got your number.
So all right, I cut somebody off. Sorry, thanks, trying
to get delighted to see her how her creative Oh
it was good. I mean I picked up another podcast,
pick up Jill Scott and Age grad and dance Slur.
(22:50):
How's that going? I was good. I love it. We
get to talk about some pretty cool things and so
you should listen to that. That's everywhere. And then of
course still doing it. You know you you started off
my year on one of my other podcasts, which is
one of my co host favorite moments of the year,
quest Love on Love and Grid. Because I do another
podcast that was a great podcast. That was a great woman. Yeah,
I appreciate that. I appreciate you a mirror, That's what
(23:12):
I meant, and I appreciate you pontape for the compliment.
But yeah, so we do another great show and then um,
just to one voiceover work and about this in two
I will be selling to TV show ideas. Yes she's happening.
Ain't never seen a dating show like mine before. When
we spoke last year, you were still flirting. I know
(23:32):
that you know to to to flirt with comedy, Yes,
requires going out and people whatnot. So where do you
where do you land? Where do you land on the
dart board? As far as like stand up and all
that's concerned post COVID I just say post COVID because
it's like since COVID, not the COVID is over, but
post COVID, I have not really been in crowds a mirror,
(23:54):
I really haven't even been to a show. So post COVID,
I've just been kind of writing and watching and listening
because understandable, man, I've barely been watching people's certain stand ups.
I still need to watch that on Netflix about that
one and the material, the material that you get from
this podcast alone. Yeah, these motherfucker's one of the one
(24:20):
of the funniest moments ever in my life. I forgot
to the show. I forgot that. One of the funniest
moments in my life. I haven't pull over. When when
fucking when y'all had music, soul shout and music did
(24:40):
not know that I mean, I mean didn't know that
music was mad at him. He didn't figure it out
until halfway into the of the greatest of supreme history,
all of us. I think he was mad with everybody.
He was mad at the world. It was one time
when Laias stopped him and he was like, no, you
(25:03):
know what I mean I was. I was outside in
the car, you know what I'm saying it was all cool.
You know what I'm saying, it was cool. I just waited,
you know what I mean. Leo called y'all, I just
waited in the car like a nutass nigger. And then
Laias said, um, well, so what's going on with you? Music?
Like it just like I mean, it is what it is.
And she said like he said, what damn Nick, are
you happy about anything? That's quest Hey? I had a
(25:30):
more open you called me, you call cald you. I
hit too, everybody. I won't give anything to go back
to the group chat the day that. Oh man, I
have moments where I guess will say something off the
(25:50):
cuff or like just out of pocket, and our our
chat just suddenly it's the best thing. And you know,
I wanted sometimes, I know, I mean long enough to
sometimes when I mere just don't want to be involved
in something, he might act like he clueless, But that
day you were really clue and I got a lot
(26:12):
to be juggling, man, and right you you were like
wait you did what happened again? And mother was like,
yeall was outside the car like the soul of crazy.
I just I just wanted I just the penny in
(26:34):
me I just wanted I merely be like dance. He
was outside in the car, like the whole time we
she was like, man, and I want to tell you,
I wanted a mere ago. So while you were in
the car, like, did you like boom? She was beautiful?
(26:54):
You should have texted me. You should have texted me
one four three to make it bundly clear. Yes, Leor
Cohen decided. Le Cohen heard a rumor about the soul
Quarian Vibe shoot about to happen, that that infamous photo
that basically ended the click of the twelve of us,
and le Are wanted to ambush us with an artist
(27:15):
that we really, all of us weren't completely familiar with,
like we were actually friends in that photo. And Lea
decided that you know, he's just gonna ambushes and send
his artists to shoot. Now, just let him go to
the archives. Just let them go to the archives. I
don't think you make it better, but I just I
just want It was a part of me to just
(27:36):
wanted our man to just text him and go like, bro, like,
are we good? Are we just friends? Well? Is it
all love? I'm over here going half crazy. This is
the problem now, black man we have to take mental
health seriously, and in a TV show, they would provide
(27:58):
a number because mental health is serious and those who
feel like they need to have it, they should find
a number because we don't have it here to see.
Me and Tay got the same sense. We got the
same sense of humor. So that's a whole another number,
Like they're gonna have to call another number for that
because I got jokes on your head like you so mad?
Come like you didnt je neo soul? Like? What is like? What? Like?
(28:23):
Whatever I do have? I do have one thing to
ask you, Do you have any more Soul Train episodes?
Did you get anymore? Because you know I got some more? No, no, no,
you know what I'm saying. Do you have any more?
I cannot officially let you know why I have them all,
(28:45):
but if you can see how my year went last year,
we could pretty much put two and two together about
what I'm gonna be doing the next seven years. Let's
talk about the seed. The seed. Detroit dude, I man,
how are you the plug on the scene? Because I know,
(29:08):
but I have some plug. If you are from Detroit
right now, you're getting very excited about what we're talking
about like every every regional spot has their own local
dance show. So similar to Philadelphia had Dancing on Air,
which later turning The Dance Party USA, other local shows
have their own like Local Little Dance, after School Dance Jawn's.
(29:32):
The scene is probably the most unique show. If you
google the scene right now, just say the scene Detroit,
nineteen eighties something. It's it explains a lot, explains why
Dilah is a genius because basically, Electrifying Mojo pretty much
raised a generation of of black people on electronic music.
(29:57):
So you know, there's a whole generation. But between him
playing like he on his radio show, look up old
Electrifying Mojo shows from like the eighties, He'll play p
Funk one moment, then he'll play Gary Newman the next moment.
They they'll play Bowie the next moment, then he'll play Prince,
then he'll play uh depeche Mode. So you know, if
(30:19):
you are anywhere between the ages of eight to eighteen
in Detroit, Michigan, between and like, you're getting a whole
another form of musical nutrition that this this explains why
Dilla was who he was. So you know, the scene
(30:40):
was this teen dance show in which I mean they're
pretty much they're just dancing to like the most crazy
electro techno type of ship. It it's it's crazy. And
so there there's a scene and also the New Dance Show.
(31:00):
There was another show Detroit. Yes, so this is gonna
be a documentary about this show, about the scene. He answered.
The answer to your question of mirror is because there's
a few white people who get it and know some ship. Yeah,
because you know which we You know it's your seventeenth documentary,
(31:22):
and when you're an Academy member, you can make seventeen documentaries.
But there's a lot, there's there's a lot to go.
But yes, to answer your question, I've fulfilled my fantasy
this year. I have them all watched, all eleven hundred
soul trains like two short. I'm like two hundred short.
(31:45):
It's it's super overwhelming right now. I got to force
myself to watch it past nine once don left. But
you know, those are ones I want to see. I
can't wait to see fucking bow Wow and Destiny show
embarrassing itself. This sort of feels like an episode, I
(32:06):
admit it. One hip hop confession, Steven talked about his
jazz label, uh bills, working on two projects and a
lot of things. Fante got his master's back, that comedy coming.
Fante made all honesty. Fonte made one happened those cats
masters back of all the motherfucker's count. Praise to you, Fante,
(32:35):
well done, Thank you man. I appreciate that. Man. Can
you explain to me the situation? Like she so she was.
I was geeked that that moment happened. Yeah, she went
on live and um, she was just doing her makeup
and uh, she was rapping whatever you say off the
(32:55):
listening and um, I didn't find out about it until
afterwards and when my boys hit me and I was
like like what. I was like, what the funk? And
then I saw it on Twitter. So then I actually
saw the video. I was like, oh ship, and so
I just threw it up, you know, retweeted it whatever,
and um, and I was like, yeah, we're in the
racial chat rooms bumping a little brother, you know what
I mean. And I knew she would get the joke.
(33:17):
Like a couple of her fans was like, you know,
why would you? But she I knew she didn't give
a funk. I knew she would get the humor, you
know what I mean. Um, I figured if if you're
a little brother fan, you have the ability to laugh
at yourself, you know what I mean. So so you know,
so she but she was super cool and um, we
ended up she ended up like then she tweeted out,
made a little watching was like you wanta bumping this,
You'll need to check it. I was like, oh, ship,
(33:38):
And so we ended up talking for a little bit,
like we ended up texting a little bit, and um,
but no, man, she's just like super dope and um.
You know, it was around the time that she was
the news came out that like her tour stopped. She
during her Cooper got COVID and um, but but now man,
it was it was it was a moment I was like,
whorre it up? That's dope. But she's she's ahead like
(33:59):
a couple of home that knew her, like made like
wrestlim Village once and I was like the fun Yeah.
I was just completely under the impression that even though
these kids were coming from eighties parents, seventies parents, eighties
parents that you know, there's gen z just had absolutely
(34:21):
nothing but disdain for our music. So they now they
was raised on this ship bro to see those of
cats seeing all to you for you and whatever you're saying,
like either right, like she never got her her dad
is South African, right, She's from l A. Her dad
(34:43):
was in SA I remember walked. Yeah, she's actually yeah,
it's a video over like pop locking like but this
is great. Now, between this and watching her on a
Little Dickie, I'm a fan, so think well on his show, yeah,
she did like a dope ass episode a Little Dicky.
(35:04):
So yeah, I'm till I'm yeah playing herself. He's just
show us really hilariously and nasty. Okay, So before we
check out, is there any records that I should be
checking for? It's weird, man, Like, I'm legit. I'm not disappointed.
But she and I had a conversation about it. I
(35:26):
really had expectations for Yabba too really come with the
promotion with her record, but you know, she wasn't wasn't
ready yet. You know distance was the one for me
on that record. That was the one. Yeah, I just
you played on that one right on the whole record.
(35:48):
I just wish. I don't know. It's like I'm now
starting to think that every artist that comes through Electric
lady studios, Why st up going through a process that
you know means a stalling or whatever, you know, that
sort of thing. Basically, the whole point was that, like
(36:11):
so many shows are asking for her to come and perform,
she's like not ready yet, not ready yet, like in
due time and due time, and it's just like the
Solange the records, Yeah, the records kind of over now.
Like you know, I was, I was expecting her to
drink Old Girls milkshake that obviously it is going to
dominate the Grammys, you know, next year with her album.
(36:35):
But you know I I sort of thought this is
going to happen, but you know it's not. So Hopefully
the next record Kevin Benut for Jazz and Sullivan though
that was all flowers right now. I just asked you
what album are feeling? Very few albums you can listen
through all the way. I mean, even with that Anderson
(36:56):
Bruno Mars, there's like one song. But so I was
just saying for those like Jasmine who on the outside
of the ones on the radio, Yeah, the last one,
the last song, what's it? Breathe, that's it, that's it,
that's it. Breathes, Yeah, breathes I thought that. I was like, oh,
this is just getting started. I'm ready for the next one.
Oh it's over. Ah? Oh really skills skills where you go? No,
(37:18):
I'm here. I just know. I hope that this does
wonders for for pop. You know, did you work on that?
Did I think you? I'm sorry I didn't. Oh no, No,
I wish I worked on the album ship right right?
I take that? Yeah? Um? Not my biggest you know,
I claimed the fame this year was you know, I
wrote for Whole Blue and Beyonce. So there you go.
(37:41):
So what's the Oh the Salt record and and Clio
show I felt come out? Yeah, but is there anything
one notable that I'm missing as far as Yeah, check
out my girl be My Fiasco. She's a latest artist
that we put out on Ffie Music. Um, there you
got me the tall black guys. Oh my voice and
(38:03):
a convator out of d c Um. Yeah, Devin Morrison's
on it. Um, my girl called you the ran Devin Uh,
Darren Brockington, Yeah, it's um, it's out be My Fasco
where I left you? Uh? Did that? That was the
something that was a group name. I feel like y'all
actually have a supergroup. But you ain't got no name,
like nah, were just f the music we learned from
(38:23):
the South quaries, don't get the title yea the song
and don't right? All right, So skills you you're you
may you may not do music wise, creative wise. What's
what's what's coming down the pike for Oh man, I'm
(38:47):
I'm I'm finishing up a documentary. I'm finishing up a
documentary I did on the nineties girl Brunch, which is
something that I did all Quarantine. I'm finishing up a
documentary that I'm gonna be putting out, probably some new
music and just something you know, still moving. You know.
I'm teaching teaching. I go back to teaching in January,
(39:10):
teaching hip hop class at the University of Richmond. Very
very informative, man, And you know, it's a it's a
it's like I'm learning to you know what I'm saying.
But um, for the most part, man, it's like the
second year we've done it. COVID knocked us out for
like one year. Um. But I do like, yeah, yeah, yeah,
(39:34):
me and my part. My part got to go to
school yourself. And I hate, like, you gotta choose your
books and then through the you know, right, like you
gotta do like, yeah, that's the part I hate. Yeah, yeah, no,
I you know, I feel like it's something that you know,
I love to do. You know, I could talk to
(39:56):
hip hop all day with with people. So for me,
it's it's been very ratifying. Man. I definitely see teaching
in my future, and we're looking forward to doing in
other schools as well. Do you feel your students are
genuinely interested in finding it out or is it just like,
oh yeah, nah, Now cats come in you know, cats
initially come in there thinking that they're gonna get an
(40:17):
easy A. But it ain't. It ain't that at all,
you know what I'm saying. And ship our our our
ages range from sixty to like eighteen, you know what
I mean. So we have undergraduates and then other other
other students, like it's the most popular class on campus.
So shout out to you are Richmond, Shout to the Spiders. Yeah, man,
I see y'all in a minute from an MC level,
(40:38):
or from breakbeat level, or just from from social and
a political movement, you know what I'm saying. Um, you know,
it's definitely we speak upon it as you know as
being the most popular culture I mean form of music
in the in the culture. So you know, you you
are aware of it, but you might not have been
that aware of the things. Like give you an example
(41:00):
real quick, Like one of our lessons is we play
them the video for parents just don't understand, and then
we played them the video for the police, and their
assignment is what are the similarities of these two songs?
They automatically think we're gonna be like, okay, what's the
difference between these two and we go, okay, what are
the similarities between these two songs? And the answers that
(41:21):
they come up with are fucking phenomenal, Like it's it's
so crazy. How deep they how did they see it?
The first the first officers, the first one that the
first one that um threw me was they were like,
you know, both of both of these different artists, their
reputation is everything to them, you know what I'm saying,
(41:44):
Like their reputation is everything, and you know, like with
will you Know? With will you Know? Um n w
A wraps about they treat women as gold diggers. Women
are looked at his gold diggers and that's all they
go for. Bitches and hosts gold because whatever Will got
caught up by a gold duck, you know what I'm saying,
(42:05):
Like who happened to be a twelve year old runaway?
Like you know what I mean? Like their their connection,
it's so much more right. And it's like they're both
they're both very fearful of of one thing. Like n
w A is fearful of the cops. Will is fearful
(42:27):
of his parents finding out like that was his biggest fear.
Like my, when my mom and dad you at home,
this ship is a rat. You know what I'm saying,
Like they it's amazing. Man. We started we started to
mesh off with one of those exercises and it usually
turns out it gives you a good gauge of how
good the class is gonna be. Okay, that's man, Professor skills,
(42:52):
Professor Lewis, Lewis, I was to know our skills you
have mentioned earlier. I just want to touch on you
were talking about your parents and um, you know how
they died from addiction, you know, thirty years apart. Uh
knowing that that's in your family history, Like how have
you dealt with that? And uh, you know, are there
(43:15):
any like how knowing that that's kind of there, Like,
how do you deal with, you know, any potential addictions
or has that affected you in your career in anyway?
I don't. I don't know if it has me. Like
I believe I'm addicted to too. I believe a part
of me is addicted to not following in those footsteps,
you know what I'm saying. So for me, you know,
(43:36):
I understand that sometimes addiction, you know, it can be
a sickness. And you know, when I was young, you know,
I didn't understand one Mama just couldn't quit, Like why
you just can't stop? I don't hear that ship, like yo,
just quit, like you know what I'm saying. But I
didn't understand how long she had been on drugs and
how much you know, she felt like she needed that
drug to even just get up and function, cook breakfast,
(43:56):
take us in schools. She was a very functions she
was a very function an addict, but she was still
an addict. So for me, man um it scared me
in a way that I could never sell drugs. I
could I like, my ship could go belly up right
now and I'll go work at McDonald's and y'all be like,
God damn skills that McDonald's like, but happily because I can't.
(44:19):
I know, I first hand know what it does to
a black family, So I don't care how bad it
gets for me. I could never go I could never
sell drugs like ever. So I watched, you know, I
look back at what they went through and just trying
to make sure that I don't get addicted to anything.
(44:40):
You know what I'm saying, Like sugar ship, you know
what I'm saying, like fucking anything. So yeah, so it's like, um,
you know, I just I just pay attention to that
because they they didn't they didn't go for nothing, like
I had to learn from that ship is some some degree,
you know what I'm saying. That's really Yeah. My My
(45:02):
final question is, you know, besides getting out of this
this dog chasing tail loop that we're in, uh, is
there anything that we're really trying to achieve for two?
Even though it's looking like in additional um now two
(45:23):
from me, Um, I'm finally we're finally putting the finishing
up the Little Brother documentary. Um. We got awarded, we
got a grant from the Southern Documentary Fund, and we
were wanted, the finalists that were selected for that. So yeah, man,
finishing that, Um, that's that's harder. It's the all this
thing I've ever done ain't gonna front. But so that
(45:45):
you put out with just a sizzle real and it's coming.
There's gonna be a full length joint. Yeah. I can't
wait for that. Man. Yeah, So it's yeah, it's that's
just gonna be hard. But um, not just that, man,
just for me. Two. Just continuing just to take care
of myself, take care of my health. I got down
drop like forty this year, so I'm gonna just keep
(46:06):
going and changing my eating. We were talking last time.
I think I'm probably just gonna be doing mostly fish
from now and I don't really do. I'll be fishing
my chicken, of course, but like I think my days
are read at meat. I think that ship might be
over with Yeah, I think that's over. You know. I
don't know how can do that, but yeah, just just
trying to make changes, man, and stick around. So I
keep working, doing what I love to do. Steve, honestly
(46:29):
more of the same. I'm I'm real proud of myself
and everybody around me for getting through the last couple
of years and the next one is just gonna be
probably just as challenging. So the tonight show, this podcast,
jam I, all the other things that we're all involved in.
You know, if you just keep it moving, I think
(46:51):
that's a blessing. That's key, keep it moving. Why what's up? Uh?
Last year I got my dad in his first museum
show with his photography of the African American music music,
the only African American music music in Tennessee. Next year,
myself and my godmother we will produce a book for
(47:14):
my father of his work, his first published book. And
I'm looking forward to doing that and keeping my parents
super happy as the super seniors that they are. And
uh and just you know, loving learning and maybe figuring
out this retirement playing through these shows. And I'm gonna
sell in what's two looking like? In the words of
(47:39):
the Great Quans to Carol Habari's I'm Kiddingbargani habargani habarigani Uh,
let us all have a wonderful year, celebrate all skills.
I love you. You look like the Steve Zisu of
our time, A deep low You are skills, You are
(48:03):
the life aquatic. Why you haven't been even Steven since
or why you why you haven't been on my Broadway
show about freestyle rapping. I don't understand on skills. Gotta
come to the freestyle of supreme skills. I definitely am
on Broadway in a show that makes up wraps. I
know I'm white, but that's what I do, and I
(48:25):
feel like you should be on it. In fact, put
your eyebrows away, because you should be there. To motherfucker.
You come up with a virtual option, I'll do you.
You're so afraid of the COVID. I don't even know anyway,
I'm in Virginia, I'll pull up. I can come skills,
(48:47):
we can do Broadway, we can do, we can do.
We can do Sesame Street in one weekend, and you'd
be going back to Virginia. Can people go, Bill? Can
I ask you one question about freestyle Supreme you can
all the questions. I've seen it twice here. I've seen
it twice. The show is perfectly executed, like you guys,
the whole store, the whole shows freestyle and it makes
(49:11):
sense and it's not a Have you guys ever just
had a disaster night where the lyrics weren't hitting at all?
Are I will. I will let you in on the truth.
So I'm forty years old, forty one. Sorry, I'm forty
one years old. I've been doing freestyle uspions I was
twenty so that's if you do the math twenty one years,
(49:32):
I could safely say that the first fifteen were bullshit,
and then the last day I saw I saw the
first one. I'm talking about like like, okay, yeah, all
this to be said. Skills. If you ever in New
York and you want to make up some raps with
some white kids, come on down, A mural will show
(49:54):
up too, and it'll be great. It's it's a it's
a well done product. Skills. If you want to make
a Broadway debut on I don't know, like a given
Thursday and whatever, but yeah, you go off and they
don't be going. They don't be going forty bpms like
(50:21):
once one time on The Tonight Show and he did
very well. I will down. I'll hit you up, Bill,
I'm gonna get your info from like skills. If you
show up, a mirror has to show up too, because
that would be the greatest show that ever happened. I'm
probably well. I was gonna ask skills, what is was
going to be into let's go and I don't want. Okay,
(50:43):
well I'll let you all go here. Like I said, man,
you know, teaching, the finishing up the documentary and uh
you know, still trying to push forward to the stake
my claim and this, you know, this hip hop thing.
I love it. Man, There you go, and I'm I'm
gonna come. I'm gonna come see you and we're gonna
discuss that other thing that we talk about, that thing
(51:04):
I got you. I love the skills, Steve skills Fonte
out of the crib. That's all I want. I want
to do. I want to do the TU show. I
want to do missing the live version of this show.
(51:26):
I need to hug I need to hug Font like
a like a man needs to come to his house.
I will come. All right, you know what you have
at all, y'all have a standard invite to the CURA.
The fact that we're not like setting up shop all
in North Carolina at Fonte's house is a goddamn distress
(51:46):
and we should be doing. We could get we get
Steve this too. He could drive Virginia School in North Carolina.
I think I don't know, but if an eight hour
drive from me that like, I'll go. I don't care,
I would go. I would go North Carolina. Like like, yeah,
that's like a thirty or four hour drift for you,
(52:07):
that's a whole thing. Well, do you let me hang
out because I will hang the funk out your question,
mere schedule is too important. But I will say right now,
right now as I speak now when we we started
this this uh we started this episode exactly two hours ago.
(52:34):
During this two hours, I've gotten seven texts positive telling
me that they just tested positive for COVID. Ship is
getting a little crazy. So yeah, like literally during this conversation,
the seven times I've looked away to go to in
(52:55):
my phone, it's you know, just tested positive. Yeah, man,
we gotta go hard immunity and we all get it
and then you know, yeah, So let's I'm praying for,
well more than be safe, which is a word that
(53:16):
I'm trying to divorce myself from and thrive like not
being safe. That's what I want to try to get
people away from, like the safe choice, but really be passionate.
So that's where I'm leaving it with. But skills, I
thank you very much for doing this episode. No man,
thank you. I appreciate it. Uh yeah, I also want
(53:37):
to see you do more consistent episodes of which is
really the reason why like this, Your Your Your Your
podcast is definitely one of my favorite hip hop podcast.
I love the fact that you don't talk over your
guests in an annoying way and you get really great,
engaging stories, and you know, I appreciate that. So thank you, man.
(53:59):
I'm I'm. I'm definitely trying to build it and keep
Hip Hop Confessions pushing. So yeah, let's chomping on that. Yeah, man,
I want to do it. I think me and Putney
to come through next year. Man, Yeah, that would be
awesome happening. And boss man, you are looking towards what
in two? I want people to be healthy. That's number one.
(54:25):
We're going to concentrate on Black No More, which is
Terik's project Black. Yeah. I will get on Quest Left
Supreme right now. He's he's off the great people and
asking like how Drek left for Tonight show back in October?
He told me the day before he was he was like,
(54:46):
my last day is tomorrow, about to start working on
his place. So I told him as soon as they
open up, I'm gonna come see it. Yeah, well I
don't Washington, we'll see it. That's the ship, that's that's
what's that's what's next. So that's beautiful right now. Just
need the world to be more aware. I need rappers
to stop also just doing basic dumb shit dumb Please
(55:12):
like that too, I would love that anyway, So on
behalf of our man skills and unpaid Bill and Sugar,
Steve and l Yeah, thank you very much. You already
know I appreciate what's love. Supreme is a production my
(55:38):
Hearted Radio, but more podcasts for my Heart Radio. This
is the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast or wherever
you listen to your favorite shows.
Hosts And Creators
Laiya St. Clair
Questlove
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