Kenny Burns

On this week's episode of The R&B Money Podcast, Tank and J Valentine welcome long-time music tastemaker Kenny Burns for drinks, laughs and scoop on his storied career. Tracing his journey from scrappy club promoter in DC to executive roles at Motown and beyond, Burns reflects on pivotal lessons in shepherding talent like Jodeci, Mary J. Blige, and Monica early on.

With humor and candor, he contemplates the ever-changing nature of music culture and hip hop’s loss of “heart” today, while considering R&B’s resurgence. Burns also shares hard-won wisdom on aligning with one’s authentic self and purpose in order to uplift community beyond fame and fortune.

 

Extended Episodes on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/RnBMoneyPodcast

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Tank: @therealtank  

J Valentine: @JValentine

Podcast: @RnbMoneyPodcast

 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
R and B Money. Honey, we are thanks take valoti.
We are the authorities on.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
All things R and B.

Speaker 1 (00:18):
Ladies and gentlemen. My name is Tank. This is the
r Andy Money Podcast, the authority on all things R
and B. Oh my goodness in the building. Hell, we
have a curator, a manager of musical vibrations, the host
with the most yeah uh, and also gives you the lifestyle.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
What took us to Prince come now.

Speaker 1 (00:47):
Gives us the lifestyle to go along with it. A
lover of music and our friend mister Kinney burns the lifestyle.
All right, so let's start here. Let's start here. They
already kicked it off because we had to go here first. Yes,
some people love music, right, They love their favorite artists.

(01:09):
They you know they they love they love their music.
You know, their their their presence, their outfits. They've seen
countless shows. They have all the albums, they know all
the lyrics. Kenny, you take it to another level your
love for Prince the the late great, one of the

(01:29):
greatest of all times. You took your fiftieth birthday party
to his house. Yes, now, listen, I love Marvin Gaye,
I love I love all these guys. I don't know
if I'm gonna have my birthday party at the house.
You had it at his house?

Speaker 2 (01:48):
Yes, And it was a ton It was a time.

Speaker 3 (01:51):
Oh my god, press you know what, man, that had
been a dream of mine. You know, no one had
actually done an event at Paisley Park outside.

Speaker 4 (02:04):
Of Prince in his estate.

Speaker 1 (02:06):
So this was like the.

Speaker 3 (02:07):
First party for someone outside of the inner sanctum. And
you know, I was in the barbershop one day and
Big shopped at my barbera Ron. He was like, what
are you doing your fiftieth I was like, I don't know, man,
I can't think about I've done with Sachi mansion and
been all over the world. You know what I'm saying,
dots and robotses some mos shit, weare my daughter? He said, Man,

(02:28):
do it at your daddy house. And I was like,
my father's dead. I can't What are you talking about, Ron?
He said, no, Prince, I said, Paisley Park. So it
was one phone call, man, I just I made a
phone call. It happened, and it was a night to
remember to say the least.

Speaker 2 (02:46):
No, you affected the economy of Minnesota. No, no, no, no, no, no, no,
no facts. I'm on the plane and it's all black people. Yeah,
and it's all black people, I know. Right, I'm like, okay,
so everybody going to and then and then the steward
it says, you guys must be going to that party, right, Yeah.

(03:10):
I think I was on one of the later flights. Everybody,
you must be going to that party. I'm like, actually
we are. They're like, yeah, we just probably had five
or six planes. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (03:20):
No, it was seven hundred I think and thirty something
people that literally flew no one, No one there was
from Minneapolis.

Speaker 4 (03:28):
Yeah, it was it.

Speaker 2 (03:29):
Was about the economy.

Speaker 1 (03:30):
That was great.

Speaker 3 (03:31):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (03:31):
No, listen, I listen.

Speaker 3 (03:32):
I am proud to mean something to somebody, and I
think my evolution in this business and who I am
the people, that's my legacy, you know what I mean.
Not just that I've curated and had some of the
most incredible times, you know what I'm saying, celebrating or
in a celebratory manner, but like I really mean, some
of the people, I think they take value in the
fact that I've been married twenty four years, the fact

(03:54):
that I've been present in my kids' lives publicly, you know,
in the right ways, not just for photo ops. I
think all the these things are like, you know, things
that really resonate with people. So I don't take seven
hundred plus people flying anywhere, let alone. You know what
I'm saying, two three four, if you can effectively expired. Yeah,
and look at god, though it was fifty degrees that

(04:16):
night in Minneapolis October, I had heater, was like it
was gonna be freezing.

Speaker 4 (04:21):
I had sludy vegan just because I knew people needed
to put that. Did we not?

Speaker 1 (04:27):
Oh my god?

Speaker 2 (04:27):
Yeah?

Speaker 4 (04:27):
And guess what.

Speaker 3 (04:28):
I didn't get one no way sloppy toppy until I
got to the hotel. I didn't get nothing. You know
what I'm saying. I didn't get nothing off the food.
And you know, if it cost me eighteen thousand dollars
put that truck on the truck. I just want to
tell you, I hope you enjoyed it in eighteen grand Yeah, yeah,
that was a mon That part came for real, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

(04:49):
There was some things that happened at that part. I
don't really want to get into that. But other than that,
everybody had a good time.

Speaker 1 (04:54):
Well yeah, of course there's some behind the scenes, yeah, you.

Speaker 2 (04:58):
Know, behind the per the purple, purple, yeah, purple curtain purple. Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (05:05):
It was painful, man, it was painful, but nonetheless God prevailed.

Speaker 1 (05:09):
Yeah, and I think I think I think love prevailed man.
People for sure. You know what I'm saying, You've, uh,
you've shown authentic love, genuine love for everybody. Everybody, Yeah, everybody.

Speaker 2 (05:21):
I expected to see everybody that I saw at your right.
It wasn't like I was like, oh wait they came, No,
we all came. We were all supposed to be there.
You know what I'm saying. We're all supposed to be
there celebrating our brother.

Speaker 1 (05:34):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (05:35):
It was a you know, a spiritual moment for me.
I don't think I'll do another one until the next
big birthday. But yeah, I think, like, you know, as
I've become more aligned with my passion and my purpose,
you know, I.

Speaker 4 (05:51):
Just feel like it's another level, you know what I mean.

Speaker 3 (05:53):
So that was kind of my old to the party life,
you know, and the next level will be more you know.
Not that that wasn't me the for not that was
an exceptional but I think there's some real like God's
work and place for you know.

Speaker 1 (06:05):
So let's let's let's let's go back to the beginning.
Let's let's go back to the house. Man, let's go
let's go back to where it all started. I remember
my first time seeing you at Republic Gardens. Wow, the
shot to Mark Bard, shot at to Mark Bar. That
was my first time seeing It's like, who's running things? Yeah,

(06:27):
he's running running, So he was scream called running thing.
Yeah yeah. But even before that, man, you know, how
did all of this begin? Because you know, you you
you seem to be born to to be this.

Speaker 4 (06:47):
I appreciate this, you know, I was.

Speaker 3 (06:49):
I was always you know, conscious of my people skills
and the value that came with the ability to move people.
And it started in the streets. You know, I wanted
to hustle to have right. I didn't, you know, necessarily
want to be a hustler or want to be in
the street doing the wrong thing, but I think it
was a necessity. Like much of us at that age,

(07:11):
you saw, you know, what you saw, and you wanted
to emulate that on some level. So but being in
the street taught me unmeasurable, invaluable lessons of how to
move in life.

Speaker 4 (07:23):
And I just you know, I was.

Speaker 3 (07:24):
Always the good time, even on the strip, you know
what I mean, or even you know, in the midst
of some danger, you know what I mean.

Speaker 4 (07:30):
It was always I was that relief for people.

Speaker 3 (07:33):
But when I was in the twelfth grade, I started
relentlessly going to try and be a part of this
party scene you mentioned with Republic Guards, the Ritz.

Speaker 4 (07:46):
I'm talking about.

Speaker 1 (07:47):
Killing the jar Row.

Speaker 3 (07:48):
Chicago's like all these places, and I'm like, you know,
we in the street so we can pop some more
at White Star, you know what I mean, and that
shit all, you know what I mean. So then I'm like, Damn,
I don't really want to be a hustle on. I
want to be in its life because you know, our
backdrop is Howard University. How do you not adore h
you you I did not a lot of people think

(08:10):
I did because we terrorized that motherfucker you.

Speaker 4 (08:13):
Know I'm talking about.

Speaker 3 (08:13):
But were at every party and big shot to Ron
de Berry, God Rest of Dead, you know, Steve Solomon
got a shout out, Danny Davis like, oh you know.
It was so many promoters that like we were like
in manti Wanza who managed Bizz and they were they
would fuck with us, you know what I mean. So
I got the opportunity with Manti and Biz to bring

(08:36):
Biz's crazy. Now you can imagine I'm getting money. Don't
nobody want to carry no crates. But if it means
I could get into these clubs and be a part
of this, I'm trying to figure it out. Eventually, that
led to him taking us to Uva and all surrounding area.
So I just was kind of like, you know, wanting
to be around it, and one foot in front of
the other led me to like opportunities. And I tried
to grab the mic one night and Bez looked at

(08:57):
me like I stole his you know what I'm talking about,
beatboxing machine or something like. He was looking at me like,
what are you doing. I was like, yo, you know
what I'm saying. He's like, all right, go ahead. So
no conversation at all. You just why you just felt
it in your spirit. Well I had kind of been
inching up to it, saying I want to do it
because of the reaction like Biz. You know, Bierz doesn't
get the credit he deserves as far as an entertainer.

(09:20):
He was playing theme songs from television shows at the
party and it was going crazy. He was stopping the
party because he couldn't really DJ all the way in
the beginning, and just you know, doing some beatbox shit
and then you know, bring the music back, I mean,
whatever it was to make you have a good time.
And me watching him, I'm like, I could do that.
I might be I might not be a beatboxing mother,

(09:42):
but I could talk that shit, especially to these women.
So a few times I had snuck on, but not
in the main kind of capacity. But I think it
was one night at UVA that man did something He's like,
you know, and I got the mic and I just
went for it, you know what I mean, no permission,
no nothing, and I did to throw your hands in
the airwave you just don't care.

Speaker 4 (10:00):
And it worked and I was.

Speaker 1 (10:01):
Like, see, I told.

Speaker 4 (10:03):
You, you know what I mean.

Speaker 3 (10:05):
And I think from then on I just would I
would tamper with it. But literally, like the DC thing
was like a training ground because Atlanta became my playground. Atlanta,
like Leo had called me my cousin, Leo Big Shouter,
Leo Williams.

Speaker 4 (10:19):
He would go on to go to college. I got
locked up my senior.

Speaker 3 (10:22):
Year, so he would go high Yah senior high school,
and he would go on to Morehouse College, and he
would always tell me, you gotta come.

Speaker 2 (10:30):
So Low got y'all to Atlanta.

Speaker 4 (10:32):
Yeah Leo went first.

Speaker 3 (10:33):
Okay, yeah, Leo went to Morehouse and you know, I'm
trying to go finish our basketball dream. I went to
Montgomery College, you know, the community college, community college, and
I was hooping. I pushed somebody out the air one night,
caused the whole melee. You know, all this dumb you
know what I mean. So he kept calling me, you
got to come down him and fuck that basketball. So

(10:55):
you playing Morris Brown or Clark or Moore come to Morehouse.
It's like, I don't think I got the grades for that,
but I'll come check you. So he kept asking me,
and finally, in the spring of ninety two, he said,
you gotta come to Freaknik. And I'm like, what is
this magical thing that you just said, not knowing what
it was, It's Freaknick. I'm like, but how do I
sign up with.

Speaker 2 (11:15):
The sound like something you want to be?

Speaker 3 (11:17):
I'm nineteen years old. I'm like, freak Nick. He's like,
come on, damn, and I'm telling you. So I got
cleared while people let me go down to him. I
was going to visit colleges and it changed my life,
you know what I mean.

Speaker 2 (11:28):
I was going to visit collegists.

Speaker 1 (11:29):
Yeah, he was, let me tell you.

Speaker 3 (11:32):
Yeah, yeah right, but I see this beautiful black oasis
of like you know, and by the time of me
getting there, Lee had already told every Bible scarface he
had told like he had it wasn't no social media.

Speaker 2 (11:46):
Man, Yeah, he gonna be out, He's gonna get out,
He'll benick.

Speaker 3 (11:51):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (11:52):
So you don't want no social media? So he telling it?

Speaker 3 (11:54):
So I come, I mean, should kill Stewart off the plane?
You know what I'm saying, a lot of people that
end up becoming, you know, great friends and running this
industry of ours, but fresh off the plans, like this
is where I'm supposed to be, and we were just
doing all the DC shit. And what I mean by
DC shit is like we was knocking everything DWN Like
it was just a who can we get?

Speaker 1 (12:15):
You know what I mean?

Speaker 4 (12:16):
It was like so many beautiful women. Obviously you know, there's.

Speaker 3 (12:19):
An all girls school across from Morehouse, Spellman College, one
of my favorite places to attend, you know, in that era,
you know, And then he said they've been Clark Atlanta University,
the most underrated HPCU on the planet. And it was all,
you know, this one big congregation. It was all this

(12:41):
one big you know what I mean. And I was
trying to really plot on how I was gonna take
it over. So I had to go home and I toltally.
I said, fall, I'm coming to school. So I'm trying
to enroll. No one would accept me but the newly
accredited Morse Brown. Yeah, I love you, thank you. Big
shout to Morris Brown College.

Speaker 2 (13:00):
Enrolled.

Speaker 3 (13:00):
I enrolled. Man got down there. The first week I
got down there, we do we do a party at
our apartment. And yes, my entry into school was not
a dorm.

Speaker 4 (13:11):
We was living.

Speaker 3 (13:12):
We was in all Steale out there by six Flags
and we had a two bedroom the pools right next door.

Speaker 2 (13:18):
It was the thing.

Speaker 3 (13:19):
So we do a party the first week that you
moved in. First week, the first week. Now we'd have
made an impression during freedomy leo them down and running
the muck anyway, they already like that. Twenty six twenty
is known. We do a party called twenty six twenty.
Blunt Heill presents the cookout, and we did it out
our house. I'm gonna provide the paper fly so you

(13:41):
can show it right now. Okay, when I tell you
this party was so legendary, not just because I ended
the night and some spiedos and Timulus, but it was
so legendary. Yeah yeah, yeah, I know, shit gets crazy,
but it went. It went so dumb. They were like
when the next party. Everything from that day for was

(14:03):
win the next party. So Big Shot the Blue he
Marco Blue Johnson. He owned Marco's Peter and he was
like my first big brother. And Leo had a car,
but Leo was kind of stingy with his car. So
I would kind of link up with Blue to go terrorized,
right because I wanted to.

Speaker 2 (14:17):
Be in there. I definitely need a car in Atlanta.

Speaker 4 (14:19):
Yeah no, you had to live in a Yeah, we
lived in Austelle.

Speaker 1 (14:23):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (14:23):
So I literally, like, you know, link up with Blue
and we started doing promotions for the Phoenix, and you know,
Phoenix Phoenix Night Club ended up becoming the warehouse where
we made the legendary funk Clinic. But the Phoenix was like,
you know, it was in the city and for Atlanta.
If you know anything about Atlanta, all the popping parties
outside of one twelve and maybe a few little restaurant

(14:45):
spots like sports bars type things were outside of Atlanta
all the popping clubs, right, So this club was by
the AUC, the closest club to the AUC. Yeah, so
I'm assuming things went on there, but it wasn't.

Speaker 1 (14:58):
It was.

Speaker 3 (14:59):
It was more of an Atlanta crowd in the school crowd.
So I'm making my bones getting to know the city,
you know what I'm saying. So we do a Big
Head in Blue Joint. That was the first party kind
of collect I'm big here, Kenny, everybody what Kenny?

Speaker 4 (15:15):
That was why you didn't know that?

Speaker 2 (15:17):
That's why I.

Speaker 3 (15:21):
Literally on the flyers a Big Head and Blue Joint.
That was like the first So long story short. My
crew kept coming to the club, Leo, Damon, GJ. Like
you know, everybody was coming to the club, and we
just kept making a name for ourselves. This is why
I want to say that all aspiring you know, lifestyle
specialists people are the peace. You know what I'm saying,

(15:44):
to your success like I just was, you know, I
knew everybody. I made everybody feel comfortable. To mind, it's
not my party yet, I'm promoting for the club. And
so long story short, man, we get an opportunity to
get the actual club and do a night. So when
when this happened, Steve Solomon that did Chicago's in DC,

(16:05):
you know Steve, he came down. He's like, Yo, you
need to meet my man AG. I'm like, who is
this AG guy? He's like, he does parties of Ethiopian
Vibrations and you know he's a great promoter. I was like,
all right, cool, you know they about to give me
the spot.

Speaker 4 (16:17):
What's up? Let's link up. So we ended up doing
the party.

Speaker 3 (16:20):
We were called the fly Boys at first, right, and
it was a whack ass name that Steve Solomon god
rested dead made up.

Speaker 4 (16:26):
But I hated the fucking name.

Speaker 3 (16:28):
I always want the name of twentyes to twenty But
I had to kind of like prove that I was
the one noting to. So Alex get one who's now
AG Entertainment does AG turing Steve Solomon. We went in
and we started doing you know, I don't even know
what the name is. I know we were fly Boys.
But anyway, long story short, we got an opportunity to

(16:48):
take the club. You know what I'm saying from this
current partnership, and the owner was like, you know, he
wanted to basically give it to the twenty six to
twenty crew, and I was like, I don't know if
I want to do that yet, but let me tell
him we're gonna call it twenty six twenty and see
what happened. So we end up calling him twenty six
twenty percents and da da da da da. So my
crew of course was like, they ain't twenty six twenty,

(17:08):
you know what I'm saying, Like.

Speaker 1 (17:09):
We need to own it outright.

Speaker 3 (17:11):
So around this time is when I meet Wendell and
when daw White came in to play, like you know,
one as a big brother, but he also was outside
outside like he's from Detroit whatever thought of everybody from Detroit.

Speaker 4 (17:24):
Everybody knew slick and he was getting it.

Speaker 3 (17:27):
I mean when we met him, O game went to
another level because he had the black on black Lexus
SC three whatever it was with the BBS. He had
the land Cruise and the range rover, all the things.
So you can imagine twenty six twenty playing without toys,
and then twenty six twenty playing with toys. There's a
whole nother offer. So then it was like, all right,
I need to take this. So I asked Alex. I

(17:48):
was like, Yo, I'm about to take this. Steve is
making three thousand dollars a week for nothing. He don't
come here, he don't promote. You know what I'm saying, like,
what's up? You're coming with me? It's like, I can't
really do that to Steve. So I was like, all right, peace,
We remain coolpt up, kept it moving. But that ninety four.

Speaker 2 (18:02):
So now you got your own club.

Speaker 3 (18:04):
I have the club, the main club in Atlanta that
was called the Phoenix, and then that fall went to
the warehouse, and the warehouse is where we created funk
Clinic Friday. This is where the you know, the notorious
Big Mac promo fight and all this shit with Mark
Pitts who used to be called Gucci Don and him
and then puffing them trying to you know, wolfing all them,

(18:25):
trying to control the situation that's pulling them things out
of me.

Speaker 4 (18:28):
Yeah, this is all yeah, this is all like fun facts.

Speaker 3 (18:30):
It's been in a couple of interviews, but it literally
went to another level because not only have we did
the groundwork in Atlanta and made bones as far as
like being known throughout the city. But we had the
auc on lot and anything that came to Atlanta came
do me.

Speaker 2 (18:43):
A favor, Do me a favor, right, because you know,
we always go back to our podcast being informative, in
our podcast being something that you can learn from fact
and that you can pick up. Obviously, your business grew
to other things, but at this point you are a
club promoter. Yeah, can you give us a little bit
of a breakdown of how that works psych for a

(19:07):
young dude, young girl who wants to get into art,
not even young whatever, whoever wants to get into that space.
How does that work right where you have your night?
Do you actually rent the club from the owners of
the Phoenix or is it just like, Okay, I'm gonna
get the door, y'all take the bar. How does that
usually work for promoters that you can make you can

(19:30):
make a living in this.

Speaker 3 (19:31):
Yeah, absolutely so, Like I mentioned the Bigger and Blue joint,
we were doing promotions for the Phoenix. We got to
the point where we're eventually rented the club and we
benefited from having autonomy at the door. Right as you
get bigger, you have options to also get pieces of
the bar and things of that nature. And I haven't
been a promoter in a long time, but if I
was advising anyone on how to get into it, it

(19:53):
would be to own your own right, Like if you
can't afford to get a brick and mortar and do
your own own version, get with a good partner that
need your services. Understand your value and what you bring
to the table. If you can put a thousand, two
thousand people in the building, you know, you can get
twenty five percent of the doll or you can get
fifty percent of the door, you can get one hundred

(20:14):
percent of the doing and get twenty five percent of
the bars, all how you negotiate. So I think that
ownership is key when you're getting into anything. But you
have to start somewhere, So don't be scared to like,
get involved in what somebody else is doing. Get noticed
for what your talents and superpowers are, getting noticed for
your ability to put people in the building, and then
grow from there.

Speaker 4 (20:33):
But there's all types of scenarios that you.

Speaker 2 (20:35):
Can create for you And you were doing this once
a week, once a.

Speaker 3 (20:38):
Week, yeah, okay, and then we grew into off you know,
off of the or we moved from the warehouse to
you know, we had an Olympic Nike Village of ninety six.

Speaker 4 (20:48):
For New Years, we did the Fox it was called
Celebrity Fair.

Speaker 3 (20:50):
We partnered with Noontime and you know we started doing
bigger and you know, better things. And we actually had
the Snoop Tour when I was twenty years old. We
got locked up. We had that the Omnis now well
I think it's State Farm Arena now, but we had
like when Jodish he was on tour and they was
doing the whole things we had that. We end up
not doing it because Snowpad got locked up. But we

(21:10):
I mean we went from zero to hero quick.

Speaker 1 (21:12):
So when you were when you were building, like building
the pieces right, in terms of growing as a promoter,
what do you feel like was the most important nuance?
Would it be DJ in terms of music being able
to hold those people there, or how many women you
were able to get into that spot to make the

(21:34):
dudes come along, or a balance of making sure you
have the right dudes in there to like, yeah, those pieces,
you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 3 (21:43):
Like, really, I think great music is sets the tone
for the party and then you have to have the people.

Speaker 4 (21:49):
I think women are the catalysts for a great party.

Speaker 3 (21:53):
I think they make men, you know, move, you know
what I mean if you not woman anywhere. Yeah, in
our time, if you had the women and they were celebrating,
the men had no choice or they looked lame, you
know what I mean.

Speaker 4 (22:07):
And this is hard dancing. This ain't just that. This
is your sweating, like you are busting a.

Speaker 1 (22:14):
Movie party shirt.

Speaker 5 (22:17):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (22:17):
Absolutely, and women man have you know, And I always
say this, they were the best promotion, you know. I
think we were like twenty five deep and so it
wasn't nothing ween touched. But our goal was to have
women talk about us, not just in that way, but
just in the you know, if you want to have
a good time, you gotta go. I mean even when

(22:37):
I never forget. I met my wife at Howard University's
homecoming nineteen ninety seven. Her best friend, I'm not best friend,
but her friend at the time. When she inquired about me,
said that, oh, I wouldn't make him your man, but
he's good for a good party, or he'll be good
for you know, get you into all the hot events.
I was like, no, you didn't just try to ruin
my life before it even started.

Speaker 4 (22:58):
You know, to bear.

Speaker 1 (23:00):
I don't know where you at.

Speaker 3 (23:03):
It's twenty four years of love and happiness too, great
function in humans.

Speaker 4 (23:08):
I appreciate your high five halfway high five.

Speaker 3 (23:11):
Yea, you almost killed it before it begain.

Speaker 4 (23:27):
Yeah, man, sorry, I just had to get it off
my chato.

Speaker 3 (23:30):
You know, sometime the reputation proceeds love is love is
is love us.

Speaker 2 (23:35):
Yeah, that is how it goes. That's how it goes.
So you're promoting in Atlanta and obviously you're coming across everybody.
When is the turn to say, not only do I
want to have the night life, I also want to
have the music that creates the nightlife.

Speaker 3 (23:54):
Yeah, man, that's a great question. You guys are getting
good at this. I really applaud you and you professionalism.

Speaker 4 (24:00):
Yeah yeah, you know what.

Speaker 3 (24:02):
I was in the parking lot of one twelve one
night and big shout to Dave Gates and god Rest,
Claude Austin Dallas Austin's brother. They used to come to
my club every week, you know what I'm saying. And
at this time they had Monica. They had y'all so
stupid they had, you know, I think illegal may have
been almost was signed but they tried to put out

(24:23):
Monica for the second time with Don't Take It Personal,
because I guess the first time it didn't didn't It
didn't click, and so they were like, Yo, do you
want to promote this new artist we have now? Mind you,
They were hiring me because of what I did on
the party scene professional wise, and I was like do
I you know what I mean? And he was like
all right, cool. So one night I'm in the one
twelve parking line. I'm promoting Don't Take It Personal, and

(24:47):
I ran into the guy that actually curated and was
responsible for the Black Expo and you remember the Black Expert.
I was like Coachella in the South, and so, you know,
got Monica on that thing on that you know, on
that little tour spot dates or whatever, and they asked
me to come in and run you know.

Speaker 4 (25:04):
Street team promotions.

Speaker 3 (25:05):
I was like, hell, yeah, you know, And so I
think that that kind of piqued my interests, not necessarily that.
I mean, I was in love with Monica's song and
she was fourteen. She looked at me like a big brother.
I loved the energy I brought and how I made
people feel, but I didn't know what I wanted to
do in it, you know. And at the same time,
Clark Kent, who used to book all the time to

(25:27):
DJ he had introduced me to Dame Dash and Kareem
and Jay and and How'm I forget his name, Vegas
Jones Emry Jones, and so they're talking about they got
this label they're doing. Jay Z had a song called

(25:47):
twenty two Two's and they wanted me to help them,
you know, promoting the South. So I would go back
and forth to New York Maria Davis mad Wednesdays. I
was like in their mix too. So I'm doing the
rowdy Records thing with Monica, consulting with Jay and M.
And I loved what Jay and M was doing because
that's like my life, you know what I mean. So
I'm like, oh, this is kind of Then he came,
you know, with reasonable doubt. I had no idea that

(26:10):
when I'm going to D and D here and you
know these you feel me and so like it became like, damn,
I'm really curious. I really think I can can help
these people, you.

Speaker 4 (26:20):
Know what I mean.

Speaker 3 (26:21):
So I ended up helping Ray Ray figure out some
other markets for the street teams.

Speaker 4 (26:25):
I held down Atlanta, and it started to grow.

Speaker 3 (26:27):
Man, and everything kind of led to me starting to
feel myself in the space and how I can contribute more.
But it wasn't gonna happen at Roddy Records. So one
meeting at Rowdy Records, they were talking about Dallas, this, that,
and the third and I felt like Monica's popping.

Speaker 4 (26:43):
She wasn't before me, you know.

Speaker 3 (26:45):
Not realizing there was Arister Records along with Rowdy Records
pushing this. I'm thinking, I'm doing you know what I mean,
you know what I'm saying. So I'm in a meeting
one day and it wasn't on the way I wanted
it to go. And you know, being young, I think
it was twenty one years old, was like, man, fuck

(27:07):
Dallas Austin. Yeah, and I'm thinking, I'm just in the
room family, I'm gonna tell my brother, fuck you if
I don't agree with you.

Speaker 4 (27:14):
You know what I mean, I'm not thinking it's gonna call.

Speaker 1 (27:18):
The shot way right.

Speaker 3 (27:19):
So he wasn't at the meeting, and then I guess
whoever it was in the meeting when told him what
I said. And you know, at this point, I think
Claude had passed and he was always my champion.

Speaker 4 (27:32):
Claude Austin and Dave Gates, and they knew.

Speaker 3 (27:36):
How passionate I was, how hard I worked and what
I wanted to do, because you know, once you find
out you good at something and you can't you know
what I'm saying, like.

Speaker 2 (27:43):
Make money doing it on it and it's.

Speaker 3 (27:45):
Legal, like you want to hold on it. It becomes
your passion. And I wasn't doing nothing but being passionate.
And I think if he even would tell you the story,
he would look at it too, like maybe his ego
was involved.

Speaker 4 (27:58):
But Dave ain't like that, bru.

Speaker 3 (27:59):
Like as soon as they got back to us that
Dallas Herd, Dave was tipping over, you know, desking fire
me mother for fuck you, like it was a whole thing.
But that also for me, and I want to shout
Dave Gas out because we didn't have father figures in
the business. When I came into the business, or even
as I grew in the business. It was people that

(28:20):
wanted to take our flavor, our ideas, our creative abilities
and use that not necessarily to reward us for you
feel me, not to build you up, but to take
for that game. Yeah, but for Dave to do that.
It allowed me not to be taint it from being fired.
It allowed me to know that shit he believed in me.

(28:41):
He now saying fire. You know, fuck dude, you know
what I mean? And you got to stand on something
and if you don't, they gonna keep you under their thumb.
And for me, that exit was the beginning to my
ascension and what I ultimately became.

Speaker 2 (28:57):
So do you start studio forty three after that? After
you still you're still doing your twenty six twenty things
in the streets with the clubs and your promotion. But
now that you're you're not that routed anymore. You didn't,
you know, fuck that up. You lost your mind. You know,
you had a moment, got your ass fired. Yeah, So

(29:21):
where do you go from from there?

Speaker 4 (29:23):
Man?

Speaker 3 (29:25):
Again, great question, because I was on probation.

Speaker 2 (29:30):
Were you you're still in probation.

Speaker 1 (29:32):
I'm still on the whole time. Whole time.

Speaker 3 (29:34):
I had ten years probation, Okay, yeah, yeah, ten years.
They want to lock you up, they want you to
fuck up ten years probate, ten years, yeah yeah.

Speaker 1 (29:43):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (29:43):
So I literally, I literally my mom had moved to
Atlanta at this time, and she's in three A. We're
in like two B.

Speaker 2 (29:52):
She moves in building.

Speaker 3 (29:54):
But my mom is like my sister. I mean you've
heard that. I'm sure like my mom was like we
grew up together. It wasn't you know. She's literally exactly
twenty years older than me, and we learned a lot together.

Speaker 4 (30:03):
But anyway, she lives in like three A. We live
in two B.

Speaker 3 (30:06):
And the police came looking for me about my probation.
This is around all the time I got fired. You know,
the Rockefellers are you know, as sending, I'm not trying
to really move to New York and be there, so
I'm trying to really figure it out. Well, Clark is
going to Motown Records, right, and he's like, yo, I
want to, you know, fuck with you, and it's gonna

(30:27):
figure out how to bring you into Motown Records. But
I'm like, I got to get out of Atlanta and
get backwards. You know, extradition they can hold you up
to six months.

Speaker 4 (30:33):
Before they take you, you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 3 (30:36):
So like I got to get home, So I go
to DC and while I'm home fixing my shit, which
was ladies, gentlemen, I just want to tell you my
age through this story. I was faxing my probation sit right.
I was faxing my probation sheet to report and the
mishap is that the machine on their end was broke

(30:56):
and they weren't getting my facts. But how you keep
a fax machine for like a month and don't write
so they you feel they want.

Speaker 2 (31:04):
You to go there today?

Speaker 1 (31:05):
Now we didn't get it.

Speaker 4 (31:06):
They want you to go to just anyway.

Speaker 1 (31:07):
I'm in d C.

Speaker 3 (31:08):
And then Clark causes like Clark can DJ Clark kent
if I to make that specific. But he calls like, yo,
I know, I know a way to get you in
the motown. Like all right, Bett, I'm in DC.

Speaker 4 (31:18):
You come in here.

Speaker 3 (31:19):
He's like, yes, we're doing the Motown Talent Review something.
We're looking for artists for MOTI. I was like, say Less,
like what I need to do? You need artists or
I need the sky over the city.

Speaker 4 (31:29):
He's like, nah, I want you to throw a party.

Speaker 2 (31:31):
I was like, say Less, it's easy.

Speaker 4 (31:33):
I was like, this is I was like, who's coming,
It's like one hundred race like naming the whole.

Speaker 3 (31:36):
I was like say Less, now, mind you being from Washington,
d C and heavy D you know what I'm saying,
sampling Go Go for the first time, like Uptown Records
was the immediate playlist of my life. Everything he did
after Heavy D because he used Go Go and mister
Big Stuff had me loyal to that brand. So everything

(31:58):
he did and whole time, I'm not communicating that. I'm
just showing you how God shows up. You know what
I'm saying, Because I'm going through all this probased shit.
I gotta go home with fear of being extra died.
I gotta you know what I mean. You call me,
you want me to do a party for Andre Horal
say leus, so you know, I get ready for the party.

(32:18):
I got a light skinned girl because he calls them
butter waves. I got I'm like, you gotta sit with
this man the entire night. I asked you to do
nothing you don't want to do. He called them butter waves.
I had dad and some Don Perry on waiting. He
gets there when door open, and the luckily is pat.
I'm not there yet though, because I was playing that
the door open. Yeah, Dre was red, you know. First
of all, d C for under Herail was like crypt.

Speaker 1 (32:41):
He loved DC.

Speaker 3 (32:42):
He loved the party energy, and I think he honestly
wanted to see what Clark Kent kept raving about. So
he get there, it's pat you know what I'm saying,
I'm not there yet, and he's.

Speaker 4 (32:52):
Like, what is this slight skinned nigga?

Speaker 3 (32:55):
This so never forget I came in. It was like
a scene out of like you know, Above the Rim,
when dude came in and and and Park was sitting
in the you know what I mean.

Speaker 4 (33:09):
I'm like, I walked up. I was like, how you doing,
mister Kenny Burns.

Speaker 2 (33:12):
He was like this niggas.

Speaker 3 (33:16):
So he's going off into this like wonderland of compliments
talking about d C and how I matched what he thought,
you know what I'm saying fit the bill.

Speaker 4 (33:25):
And so he was like, oh, nigga, what do you do?

Speaker 2 (33:28):
Nigga?

Speaker 3 (33:29):
You had I forgot her name. I think it was
christ You had Christa Wayne, my dumb pip painted bottles
like he was. He was excited. I was like, He's like,
what do you do? I was like, I make it happen.
I was like, what do you need done? You like,
what do you need done?

Speaker 1 (33:42):
He was like, niggers got t.

Speaker 3 (33:48):
He's literally like going through this like you know, admiration
in front of me.

Speaker 1 (33:53):
Now, you know, usually people don't. They want to hold
so much. Man.

Speaker 4 (33:59):
So he was like, get to New York on Monday morning.

Speaker 2 (34:02):
You fly light skin.

Speaker 3 (34:03):
You know what I'm saying, well dressed, manicure does it?
I mean, he went through a whole list of descriptions.

Speaker 1 (34:08):
You know what I mean.

Speaker 4 (34:09):
Get to get to New York on Monday. So the
party ensues. We have a great time.

Speaker 1 (34:14):
He leave.

Speaker 3 (34:14):
He came when it started, he left when it ended.
Clark calls him, like, you did it b at Motown
at eight am? Say, say least I was at am.
He didn't get there to ten. I'm in the office
like God set.

Speaker 1 (34:28):
The nigga candy down yall city House.

Speaker 4 (34:32):
I'm like, I'm here, I'm ready to work. What can
I do? He said, come on in.

Speaker 1 (34:36):
We talked.

Speaker 3 (34:37):
He asked me all these questions about you know, so,
of course my playbook in the industry was Monica and
Jay at the time.

Speaker 4 (34:44):
So I told him what I did to contributed that
told him like black expert.

Speaker 3 (34:49):
So he was like, all right, cool, he's sincere times
are coming in. So sincere came, he's like put them
in street team marketing and give him a sixty thousand
a year, now, I'd have made sixty our dollars of
my life to this point, you know what I mean.

Speaker 4 (35:03):
But I never had nobody in.

Speaker 3 (35:04):
The corporate structure say here's the check and this is
what you're gonna do.

Speaker 1 (35:08):
I mean, the.

Speaker 3 (35:10):
Rowdy shit was really outside service. So they paid me nineteen.
I was making way more doing parties and my little
you know, my little whatever. But this was my first.
Like you was in the door, I was in the door.
It was an outside service check, you know. So I
moved as soon as I got my stuff straight. Big
shout to Bobby Joseph. He let me sleep on his

(35:31):
couch in Brooklyn for about six months. Yeah, shout out
to the ya. But I got in that door, bro,
and I went from sixty to eighty to one hundred
and twenty and you know, like a year and a half.
Everything I wanted to do he allowed me to do.
And I kept hitting home runs, but we as a
company couldn't hit home runs, you know.

Speaker 4 (35:52):
What I'm saying.

Speaker 3 (35:53):
Like I was making impressions based on my Motown Flavors
campaign or you know, breaking seven or two stee Low
and niney two Q Baltimore because I went dream t
market for most of the radio promotions, most of A and R.

Speaker 4 (36:04):
So he was giving me. I was getting studio time.
I remember them. Do y'all remember this tank. You have
to remember this jay you had?

Speaker 3 (36:09):
Do you remember them little sheets for the car service
and you have to fill out your seat.

Speaker 4 (36:13):
And that man gave me a bag of them. I'm
riding around in car service ever everywhere in New York.

Speaker 3 (36:21):
Everywhere, and then and then, so my whole experience, I remember,
I never forget this daddy os in can Coom Mexico
Malik Yoba White Party, Motown Presents Malik Yoba White Party.
And I had been running them up with my corporate
card and these mother fucking things.

Speaker 1 (36:37):
And that's just gotta tell a story.

Speaker 3 (36:38):
Because Eddie f I love you because you ain't ship
for not signed off on it. So I went and
I'm thinking, like, yo, you know, I'm gonna go out
here and pop off, you know what I mean, Like
I got the corporate car, Puff's gonna be there, you
know all the things right, So we in there and
the party is the party of the weekend. I'm talking

(37:01):
about all white. Malik Yob was fresh off for whatever
show he had in this in this is in can
Coon Yeah, yeah, something in there.

Speaker 4 (37:10):
Swipe.

Speaker 3 (37:10):
So Bobby Joseph. I don't know if y'all remember, but
Bobby he was up back designing for like the Foo
Boos and all.

Speaker 2 (37:17):
The things, and he was up so he's so that's
big brother.

Speaker 3 (37:20):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, the film director, big brother. So he
and there swiping something going bottle for bottle. Next thing,
you know, we buying so much champagne. They bringing it
in garbage cans, garbage cans.

Speaker 1 (37:35):
Well, so I'm swiping the end of the night.

Speaker 3 (37:38):
The bill's eight thousand for me, eight thousands for Bobby.
We split the bill sixteen thousand dollars bill. Now we
were to talk of can COO. When I get back
to the office, everybody.

Speaker 4 (37:46):
Yo, my body was crack up. Man, that buddy was crazy.

Speaker 3 (37:50):
Eddie f came to my office like, Yo, you spent
eight thousand dollars at daddy Os.

Speaker 1 (37:55):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (37:56):
We had a motown Malik Yoba White party.

Speaker 2 (37:59):
Well did it for us?

Speaker 3 (38:00):
Yeah?

Speaker 6 (38:02):
For the culture. He's like you and n R talking
about it. They're talking about us. They're talking about Moretown.
That's not just me, you know.

Speaker 3 (38:14):
So you know, make sure that Eddie if I love you, bro,
but he did not approve that. He did not sign
off on that. You had to pay it on my pocket.
That was my first credit lesson in like yeah, and
I was like eight thousand. I only make eight thousand
a month, Like you want me to pay the one
thing that got rint? I have things that I'm trying
to be legit. You're not helping Eddie. Edie helped me,

(38:37):
you know what I mean. I was like, Yo, don't
you remember me on that court getting Motown versus Bad
Boy High represent Don't you remember when I did it?

Speaker 4 (38:44):
And you can't. I'm representing us for the eight thousand. Yeah.
I had to pay that off over time at that point.

Speaker 1 (38:55):
Oh yeah, you know you definitely got it like a
thousand dollar a month.

Speaker 3 (38:59):
And that's when won the money a month. Yeah you
knew school. Motherfucker's got that ax to let you pay payment.

Speaker 1 (39:06):
Yeah you got me. Now you got minimum back. Then
you had to pay all full or your shit gets
cut off. Yeah.

Speaker 4 (39:11):
It took me about six months to get that ship
back on, but we did it.

Speaker 1 (39:14):
The dream is real. That sounds exciting. It was amazing.

Speaker 3 (39:20):
That was ninety six seven, Yeah, right after.

Speaker 4 (39:24):
Yeah, so we went from you know, two million records.

Speaker 3 (39:27):
I think when two million don't take a person, when
two men got fired, then yeah, like the rocket full thing,
I ain't want to move. Then I went to DC
because of the probation. That was all ninety six, and
then I met Jessica right after the motown right in
the middle of the motown thing. So yeah, ninety seven
was that fall ninety seven I met her? So, yeah,
it was ninety seven, but a year ninety seven, yeah,

(39:49):
oh yeah.

Speaker 2 (39:51):
The nineties, the nineties yeah, oh yeah, nineties period because
there was.

Speaker 3 (39:54):
No blueprint, there was no algorithm, there was no Googles.

Speaker 4 (39:59):
You couldn't google for answers. You have to really have
the answers.

Speaker 3 (40:04):
And if you did have the answers, people would amplify
that you knew the answers. That was the beauty of
the era. It wasn't just like you could get by
because you googled and you posted and it looked good. No,
you had to be him.

Speaker 1 (40:17):
You have to really be him.

Speaker 3 (40:20):
And you're talking about when gangsters were starting to come
into the music business.

Speaker 4 (40:24):
There were already gangsters. That's about real gangsters. I mean,
you I mean you look at the stories of Jean
Griffin and you.

Speaker 2 (40:31):
I think more so than more so than that they
were starting to come into business. I think that they
were out front. Yeah, they had never been out absolutely right,
because we can go back to the beginning of this
ship that it's been gangsters, right, but they but with
gangsters used to they used to you know, the curtains.
Now they were standing in front of it like no, no gangster.
Yeah yeah, and we're gonna need all of that.

Speaker 3 (40:53):
Yeah yeah, yeah, I think Gene Griffin did that first.

Speaker 1 (40:59):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (41:00):
Yeah. So I think that's the nineties is when that
really became a thing where it was like, oh yeah,
and the executive or an executive producer, like people even
know what the executive producer was honestly into the nineties, yeah.

Speaker 3 (41:13):
Because you were going to see the artists or try
to see who you saw with the artists.

Speaker 4 (41:17):
You didn't go to the credits, right, the A and
R is such and such executive producer, does you know?
You didn't even know the functions.

Speaker 3 (41:24):
And that's one thing I'm so proud of my experience
and time in Motown because I learned the game.

Speaker 2 (41:30):
Yeah, it's something that I want to ask you about
that too, because, like you said, you learned the game
and it's something I want to I want to spotlight
and highlight Andre Herrell. Yeah, man, he does not get
the credit he deserves in my opinion, in R and.

Speaker 4 (41:46):
B facts, he brought Champagne to the game.

Speaker 2 (41:49):
He absolutely brought Champagne to the game. But just the
fact of like he was a savant when it came
to R and B music, Like I had the pleasure,
through my relationship with Larry Jackson to meet him later
on and really have some conversations with him and be like,
oh shit, h the way he breaks down R and
B music and the way that R and B should

(42:09):
be done and the ideas that he has damn near
second and nothing second, Like it was special. And the
way that, just like you said, the way his personality
articulated came through, oh man, be hilarious.

Speaker 4 (42:23):
Yeah yeah, And the craziest thing about it.

Speaker 3 (42:26):
And I'm not gonna say Andrew was the most fashioned
forward motherfucker, but he was probably the flyes mentally I'd
ever met. And because of him, I learned Boskyoch. Because
of him, I collect art, you know what I'm saying,
Like when I met him. He had an apartment on
the West side of New York, and we all know
how expensive and what that was not for black people.
Then he had a whole top of the apartment building

(42:48):
was his crib. He had a driver with the Rolls Royce.
The taste level was something that I adopted and possessed.
I would not be the lifestyle specialist. I would not
be as important to all these brands and these people
if not for Andre and as it adheres to music
without Uptown Records, sonically, I don't think Church in the

(43:11):
sounds that came from Church would have been magnified in
the way that they did. Jodosy arguably right. You know,
I was just listening to something that boys and men
were saying. They like, we came with bow ties and
cardigans on. These motherfuckers had on leather with bats, you
know what I mean, talking about they gonna get your girl,
you know what I mean.

Speaker 4 (43:31):
But I think that there.

Speaker 3 (43:32):
Was a exercising of freedom that came with Uptown in
a celebratory way. I think we've had many amazing songs
that celebrated life and culture, but Uptown was special, man,
And when people think about it, they don't think about Andre.
They think about the artists. But Andre, to your point
of his expressive nature and his passion for black people

(43:54):
in culture, right, he would explain why there's no Puff Daddy.
With all Andre, the confidence wouldn't be there for Puff
had he not got.

Speaker 4 (44:03):
It from Dre.

Speaker 3 (44:04):
The problem I had with all that is that no
one towards the end helped him with his confidence. You
can imagine having all the success Andre had, all the
amazing triumphs. I mean strictly Business was a movie and
a time where we weren't doing movies. New York Undercover
was a television show that was wildly popular for them

(44:25):
there a decade you know what I'm saying, when we
weren't doing that, And this was all Andre's vision and
what he wanted to do.

Speaker 4 (44:32):
And for me, the end of the day.

Speaker 3 (44:35):
For him to die not knowing he was a superhero,
or to not feel the love and respect for an
industry he gave his life to, you know it really
it broke my heart because I was with him the
last three years.

Speaker 4 (44:49):
Of his life.

Speaker 2 (44:49):
So yeah, I don't feel like he was celebrated enough.

Speaker 3 (44:52):
No, No, and I wouldn't. I would have never done
business with Puff because I never really liked him, you
know what I'm saying. But I never would have done
business with him had it not I've been for Dre
me signing the girl group Dream, the highest debut of
girl groups, only behind the Spice Girls. Ever, I'm talking
about Destiny's child and all the one you know what
I'm saying. And what I heard was the free like

(45:13):
him getting his master's back. That group helped him get
his masks. Of course LA had something to do with that,
but like, I wouldn't have went to Revolt and launch
Revolt Television if it hadn't been for Dre, you know
what I'm saying. So I look at like how he
ended his time here on Earth. It's heartbreaking when you
think you give your all to something and you're not appreciated,

(45:36):
fuck rewarded. I'm talking about the people you put in
the game with the people that was there for you most.

Speaker 4 (45:43):
But I loved him man like a father.

Speaker 3 (45:45):
And I don't think there'll be another because you know,
this generation, the leaders are falling short with pouring into
humans and teaching them about life and how to handle
fame and how to handle success.

Speaker 4 (46:00):
And I don't think we do it anymore. I think
it's a money grab.

Speaker 3 (46:03):
The artist is gone, and he was one of the
greatest artists of our time. I agree with you, artists,
cultural here's your brush, have at it.

Speaker 4 (46:15):
Yeah, man, it's just it's crazy. Man.

Speaker 3 (46:17):
I don't want to call out individuals, but I just
I'm so sadden that he doesn't even I mean, there's
those statues this man like he's that caliber.

Speaker 2 (46:25):
That absolutely How long were you at Motown?

Speaker 3 (46:30):
I was at Motown as long as it lasted with
his reign. I think I left six months before they
ousted him. He actually suggested I leave. That's how dope
he was. He was like, don't burn up with the ship.
He's like, people are at you right now, take some
take some meat.

Speaker 2 (46:46):
Did you do so for real?

Speaker 4 (46:48):
No? So for real was uptown? That was still that
was Uptown? Yeah okay, yeah.

Speaker 3 (46:55):
But I had, you know, the pleasure to work with
seven o two Terreal Hicks.

Speaker 4 (47:00):
Yeah real, so dope, yea.

Speaker 2 (47:01):
I was just mad at Kith about the collapse that
they did with the Bronx Tail and they left Terrell
Hicks out.

Speaker 1 (47:08):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (47:08):
Crazy.

Speaker 2 (47:09):
She did an amazing John I don't know, I don't know.

Speaker 3 (47:12):
Yeah, what's what's what's what's what's old boy and kid Ronnie?

Speaker 2 (47:17):
Yeah, yeah, come on, that's culture.

Speaker 3 (47:19):
Yeah, I'm so mad at your hairline and the fact
that your hair is still good.

Speaker 1 (47:33):
I mean, something should happened to I'll show you.

Speaker 3 (47:37):
I can't stand you, know what I mean, And and
to see you so calm. Let me can't give you
all yall flyers, see you, so calm man, you go,
you know, like growth is a real thing. And then
doctor bas like you, thank you, thank you. Come on,
it's fine, it's fine.

Speaker 4 (47:54):
I know, I know how to appreciate you.

Speaker 1 (47:56):
Yeah, I appreciate it.

Speaker 3 (47:57):
But I appreciate the growth, man. And we've all had
some real serious life conversations in our twenty plus years
of friendship, and I just love the growth with all
my heart. I do, man, because they are not a
lot of safe places, and even though some real things
are being said in these safe places, this is a
safe place that you've created. And I don't want to

(48:18):
applaud you both on your grank around and your dedication
to a.

Speaker 1 (48:34):
Part of everyone's been waiting for. Yeah, you do so
many things and part of so many ventures and businesses.
One thing we always come back to is music that

(48:57):
has shaped your life. Man, when the backdrop to every experience.
And I know you have some favorites. I know you
have a.

Speaker 7 (49:08):
Top fun.

Speaker 1 (49:12):
Your top five, yeah, top fin.

Speaker 7 (49:21):
Your top five O the Easing alad Me song.

Speaker 4 (49:29):
Yeah yeah, I know.

Speaker 7 (49:31):
You know, I know you road, I know you should
you go on and tell us. Mister Burchill top Yeah, yeah,
we're round top.

Speaker 1 (49:54):
Mmy Burns time.

Speaker 3 (49:57):
Fun that boy right, bad doctor Babs, ladies and gentlemen.

Speaker 1 (50:07):
Yeah, I love it, Skinny Burns, Yes, the lifestyle specialists.
I can't wait to hear this. Your top five R
and B singers in my hat right for this straight.

Speaker 3 (50:26):
You're ready, I'm ready, all right until the end of time.
I'll be there for you. You own my heart and mind.
I truly adore you Number one, adore by Prince.

Speaker 1 (50:38):
That's that's songs artists, Oh artists, Yeah, oh damn, I
was about to get prepared your script.

Speaker 2 (50:44):
I love this, Yeah, I like it.

Speaker 1 (50:46):
I like the lyrical you know, I show you.

Speaker 2 (50:49):
I Knowren's table. Oh ship, all right, right, who are
the groove?

Speaker 1 (50:58):
And exactly?

Speaker 4 (51:02):
Okay, So the top five R and.

Speaker 1 (51:04):
B songs singers singer singers come on.

Speaker 3 (51:08):
Yeah, all right, here we go, Top five, R and
B singers, Prince, Michael Jackson, Yeah, Luther Vandross.

Speaker 4 (51:23):
Why not can I say a group?

Speaker 1 (51:26):
Of course you can. Yeah.

Speaker 4 (51:27):
I can't get away from Joey right not?

Speaker 1 (51:29):
Who would want to?

Speaker 4 (51:30):
Yeah, I can't get away from want to do that? Huh. Yeah,
I can't get Jack.

Speaker 1 (51:34):
We'll get in there, Jagged Top.

Speaker 2 (51:40):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (51:40):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (51:41):
And it's it's it's you know, I can't. I can't
leave New Audition, you know what I mean, just as
a collective. Let's get the top ten. And I can't,
you know, I can't. Christopher Williams doesn't get enough credit.

Speaker 1 (52:00):
You don't.

Speaker 2 (52:00):
Don't wake me?

Speaker 4 (52:01):
Yeah, yeah, I just don't.

Speaker 1 (52:03):
And he was he was not playing the game.

Speaker 4 (52:05):
Yeah he wasn't.

Speaker 2 (52:07):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (52:07):
And then Pinnograss is another level.

Speaker 2 (52:09):
Ain't gonna miss if you're gonna mention Chris yea.

Speaker 3 (52:12):
Yeah, Tank, you know rounds out my top.

Speaker 2 (52:17):
Yeah, he's at thirty seven people.

Speaker 1 (52:19):
I said I was going to top because I'm in
the top thirty seven people.

Speaker 3 (52:23):
Yeah, it was clearly I got six members and I'm
not gonna lock four and no, no, we said we
said group though, and I ain't gonna lie to y'all,
and I'm gonna say this, this is exclusive because I
definitely am against the acts that were portrayed by this man.
But R Kelly Man, I miss his music.

Speaker 1 (52:43):
Man, all right, your top five, your top five, Yeah,
R and B songs. Now you can go into your
to your love.

Speaker 2 (52:54):
Just flipped that for me, and it came no, no, no,
I have to make it difficult.

Speaker 4 (52:58):
All right.

Speaker 3 (52:59):
Yeah, number one, adore, Yeah, number one. I never I
got to have your face on my pillowcase. If you
think that I'm the man, I'm a man of exquisite taste. Silk,
I ported Egyptian lace. Nothing baby, nothing, baby can't compare nothing.

(53:19):
Go good bad to your lovely face. Do you know
what I'm saying. I'm sorry, Yeah, Prince, I think.

Speaker 1 (53:26):
Real song right, real song right.

Speaker 5 (53:28):
It was unbelievable too, but a whole lot of there's
a whole lot of p And he's like, that's your
daddy wore heels, I said, but he had them all,
had them all, and he wasn't about that life.

Speaker 3 (53:43):
Yeah, yeah, get us my father, Yeah yeah, your daddy
wore here.

Speaker 1 (53:48):
Number two.

Speaker 4 (53:50):
Top five songs of all times too.

Speaker 3 (53:53):
Wow, Yeah, I think never too much, Luther Vandroids, never
too much.

Speaker 1 (54:01):
Yeah, that was a stole cold jam.

Speaker 4 (54:09):
That's a and you know what Womack and Walmack. Baby,
I'm scared of you.

Speaker 3 (54:13):
Like it's it's a different like that was like, baby,
I'm scared of you.

Speaker 4 (54:23):
I don't believe in man. You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 3 (54:29):
I believe I thought you were coming love everthless.

Speaker 2 (54:36):
You singing your own key a little tricky, but you.

Speaker 3 (54:42):
Know the number number three, number three, Man, it's walked
out of Heaven think.

Speaker 4 (54:52):
Hmm, yeah, walked out of heaven. Special.

Speaker 3 (54:58):
I'm just gonna put can I put jacket in? It's
for number three because it's it's ever before he came.

Speaker 4 (55:04):
It's a couple of them though.

Speaker 3 (55:07):
You know what I'm saying, I can't and this is
blasphemous and some of the fifth member because we do
this ship all the time on tour. Gotta be sorry,
I'm bugging we do this all the time. Yeah, it's
gotta be number three. Gotta be is just I gotta
be the one you you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 1 (55:29):
Yeah, I gotta feel your I gotta be Yeah.

Speaker 3 (55:33):
So number four, this is hard, by the way, this
is not as easy.

Speaker 2 (55:39):
This is you're watching other people do it though you
be like man.

Speaker 3 (55:42):
I would have said, judging like them showing no grace. Yeah,
for I'm gonna say tender.

Speaker 1 (55:51):
Love by for there we go. Come on.

Speaker 4 (55:54):
Yeah, And I rushed through that. I apologize.

Speaker 3 (55:57):
I don't know why or what's happening right now, because
in the moment on stage, I can come with it.

Speaker 1 (56:02):
Lifestyle Specialists, we are getting ready to create your voltron
right where we create your super R and B artists?
Got it? So we got to know of all the
artists you've ever heard to build this artist, who would
you get the vocal from? Who would you get the
performance style from? Who would you get the styling from?

Speaker 4 (56:21):
Jesus?

Speaker 1 (56:22):
Who would you get the passion of the artists from.
Let's start with the vocal. Who's vocal do you want
on your super R and B artist? One vocal, one vocal,
one vocal, Prince singer, lea singer, The styling, the performance
style on stage perform jack performance Okay, the styling, the artist,

(56:48):
the drip, the drip preference, this is preference to right.

Speaker 3 (56:52):
Let's give it to Mary cha mm hmm, hey, j
Fly Fly.

Speaker 4 (56:59):
From the beginning. I mean from the jerseys with the hat.

Speaker 1 (57:04):
She's been onto something since the beginning.

Speaker 4 (57:05):
Yeah, she's been on something, yeah for sure.

Speaker 3 (57:09):
Passion of the artists, passion, sweating, pound over to place.

Speaker 2 (57:16):
Yeah yeah, would you do that?

Speaker 4 (57:18):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (57:18):
Would you do that?

Speaker 2 (57:20):
It would be so nice.

Speaker 1 (57:24):
Yeah, we're so far from that place. They pull up,
pull what do you mean what you're doing? I'm just
on the pull up.

Speaker 3 (57:33):
Even turn them off, the off. Yeah, there was no delivery,
like it was different.

Speaker 1 (57:42):
We got, we got, we gotta get back to that
road man sizing like talking to the talk.

Speaker 2 (57:49):
We gotta just make the records. I mean, you know,
I think that that is the to me, that is
the wrap up of our whole conversation today. It's more
so of like she's got to do it.

Speaker 1 (58:01):
Yeah right, you know what I mean.

Speaker 2 (58:02):
It's one thing to talk about it. And even from
okay you would say, from from tanking, not from our space. Okay,
y'all do it, but then from your space, it's like,
go sign it.

Speaker 4 (58:11):
Yeah, yeah, you know what I'm saying. I hear you
loud and clear. I received that.

Speaker 3 (58:17):
And I even heard his comment earlier about music and
me loving it being the soundtrack to my lifestyle. It's
just a business that has never really fulfilled me, you
know what I mean. You know, even with the success
I've had in it and the thoughts of you know,
Uber's success, it's just, you know, it's just certain things
that I can align with, you know, I put my

(58:38):
hands on somebody. So leaving the music business probably the
best thing for me, because it's just, you know, they
don't play fair. There's no appreciation. That's why I honor
your relationship. They're getting rid of whoever along the way,
you know, like just different things. It's just not my thing.
But I love music and I will bring it to
R and.

Speaker 4 (58:54):
B money asap if I see it.

Speaker 1 (58:59):
Well, hold you to that.

Speaker 4 (59:00):
Yeah, no question done.

Speaker 1 (59:02):
All right, we got it, We got we got one
more thing before you.

Speaker 2 (59:05):
Get out of here. Yeah yeah, yeah yeah, may fixties microphones.

Speaker 1 (59:14):
I ain't saying no names.

Speaker 2 (59:15):
I ain't saying no names.

Speaker 1 (59:17):
I ain't saying no names. I ain't saying no names.

Speaker 7 (59:20):
Where you are?

Speaker 2 (59:21):
Who? What you did?

Speaker 1 (59:24):
You don't say? She say?

Speaker 2 (59:36):
Yeah Church, Yeah, yeah. This this is very very important part,
a very important segment of the show. Yeah, it's important, yeah, yeah,
especially for man like Kenny bar right, you know the travels.

Speaker 3 (59:49):
You know, you said before, I've been around the world,
yes and yah yeah yeah.

Speaker 2 (59:54):
Literally, so this segment of the show, you tell us
a story funny or fucked up? Are funny and fucked up?

Speaker 1 (01:00:03):
Right?

Speaker 2 (01:00:05):
The only rule to the game is you can't say
no names. Got it? Yeah?

Speaker 1 (01:00:12):
I love that. Yeah?

Speaker 4 (01:00:13):
Hold no, I got it, I got it?

Speaker 2 (01:00:16):
You got it?

Speaker 1 (01:00:17):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (01:00:17):
Okay, okay. So right now, this is Kenny Burns twenty six,
twenty Studio forty three, Uncle Nearest ownership, all the labels,
all the songs and dance, the Nice and Burns Show,
all the cool shit. Listen he say lifestyle especially, I

(01:00:38):
just say cool shit. He is the king of cool shit.
To me, he been the coolest nigga forever at all times.
So right now he gonna give us his I ain't
saying no names.

Speaker 4 (01:00:51):
Let me get down to my seat.

Speaker 3 (01:00:53):
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, ladies, Jemmy was on the island.

Speaker 4 (01:00:57):
Of capri Ah where you're going.

Speaker 3 (01:01:00):
Yeah, I was working with somebody and this person you know,
might be an icon or not, you know what I'm saying.
But I'm on this island and you know, we're in
the midst of creating you know, and I thought I
was catching some energy, you know what I mean. And
you know, at this time I'm not in a position
to do anything about said energy. But you know, because

(01:01:23):
this is such a you know, enormous figure, I'm like,
damn at, please let me just see what you're talking
about if it actually is what I think it is.

Speaker 1 (01:01:33):
You know.

Speaker 3 (01:01:34):
And so you know, we go through a couple of
rounds of dinner and yachts, and you know, this is
the life, you know what I mean, This is what
I signed up for, you know.

Speaker 4 (01:01:44):
And you know, one.

Speaker 3 (01:01:48):
Night in the club, you know, the beautiful Island Capri,
after about a week and a half of you know,
just being around each other, you know what I mean,
I'm dancing in the club and who comes dancing.

Speaker 4 (01:02:02):
Up on me? Yes, I'm like, this is this is
not what I'm.

Speaker 3 (01:02:07):
Expecting, but kind of expecting a little bit, right, but
not in public, you know what I mean.

Speaker 4 (01:02:12):
So I'm like, okay, cool, yeah, all right, cool? Were dancing?

Speaker 3 (01:02:15):
Yeah, all right, oh okay, cool? All are you so
might be a little more than dancing? Huh okay, all right?

Speaker 4 (01:02:22):
Cool?

Speaker 3 (01:02:22):
So about to leave the club, you know, and there
were two routes to go, you know, to my room
or to the yacht. You know, next thing, I know,
somebody's grabbing my hand and I'm like, what's going on?

Speaker 4 (01:02:40):
You know, and.

Speaker 3 (01:02:43):
It's fucked up. I couldn't really do anything about it,
you know what I mean. I couldn't really you know,
I went to my room. I didn't go to the yacht,
you know what I mean. But I did the responsible thing,
you know what I mean, because that's what I should
have did. And I can't say anything else because it's uh,
what is it names?

Speaker 4 (01:03:03):
But it would have been legendary.

Speaker 3 (01:03:04):
And the and the gangster thing is is that all
the fields that I thought that were coming my way,
all the energy that was coming my way. I ended
up leaving because of you know, I you know, I
couldn't do anything, and I didn't want to be there
with the pressure, and so I ended up sending someone
else from the company to kind of be in pocket.

(01:03:26):
And I jokingly called back and was like, you know,
a couple of weeks later after he had been there,
I was like, yo, with life scanning that, you know
what I'm saying. And he's like like, chill, Like what
you're talking about?

Speaker 2 (01:03:38):
Chill?

Speaker 3 (01:03:39):
Like what's yet I gotta check on the movie. He's like, well,
now you said that, like you kind of I was like,
you know what's going on?

Speaker 4 (01:03:46):
Relax, you know what I mean.

Speaker 3 (01:03:47):
He's like, well, look, we've been kind of talking to
each other over the last two weeks and.

Speaker 2 (01:03:52):
Talk about my girl like that.

Speaker 4 (01:03:54):
Yeah, yeah, that's exactly.

Speaker 1 (01:04:00):
No pet names. Actually you don't. Yeah, don't don't go
the cold my girl, you know, because you saved the coke.

Speaker 2 (01:04:12):
Yeah, you little cold out there.

Speaker 1 (01:04:13):
You got with you yea.

Speaker 4 (01:04:15):
So he ended up dating and getting engaged.

Speaker 1 (01:04:19):
Mm hmmmmmm and you and you're still on your morals
and still on.

Speaker 4 (01:04:24):
The morals man, you know, I was becoming a family man.

Speaker 2 (01:04:28):
Yeah, and you abstained mine my mind.

Speaker 3 (01:04:33):
Yeah, definitely sustained and helped myself down. And that was
a notch kind of joint. That would have been just
something you did, you know, put that on the wall.

Speaker 2 (01:04:43):
Yeah, you know what I mean.

Speaker 1 (01:04:44):
But I was in you upstate. I believe you.

Speaker 2 (01:04:49):
I kind of believe you.

Speaker 1 (01:04:52):
I look up pre.

Speaker 2 (01:04:58):
Line it up.

Speaker 1 (01:05:01):
I kind of believe put that on the ground about you.

Speaker 3 (01:05:06):
That that would that, you know, in any other circumstance
or situation, that would have definitely been yeah one on
the belt.

Speaker 1 (01:05:13):
Wow, but we we know that. You know, uh Burns,
you are not short of opportunity, but you are more.

Speaker 2 (01:05:26):
Full of morality.

Speaker 4 (01:05:28):
Yeah, some things have to stay in play. And you
are a gentleman.

Speaker 3 (01:05:32):
Know you know your boundary. Flirt like a motherfucker, don't fuck.

Speaker 1 (01:05:36):
Yeah you like that? Okay? Is that? Is that the
past that.

Speaker 3 (01:05:44):
You can flirting as long as certain parameters and you
go home. You flirt, but don't be fucking Yeah, you
can flirt, but don't fuck.

Speaker 1 (01:05:54):
Okay, Uh man? You are you are? I mean you home.
It's like it's like, you know, trying to close it
out is weird, but it's like, you know, we love
your brother. Man, that's never gonna change. We got your back, man.
We appreciate all that is you. We're here for everything
it is you. You know we are we are, We

(01:06:17):
are a phone call away. You don't even ask us,
just tell us where it is. You know what I'm saying.
And your contributions they're still needed as we speak about this.
You know, this space, which you know you've expressed, is
it just you know, from a from a mental space,
it just it doesn't serve you well, you know what

(01:06:39):
I mean, like there's still a there's still that voice,
and there's still that representation of what you represent that's
still in some way, shape or form needed and what
we do, you know what I mean, and even even
into help it helping us do what we do. Like
that input and that wisdom. You can't keep that all
to yourself.

Speaker 3 (01:06:59):
Brother, I appreciate them here for it. You know, we
have our conversations. Yeah, if you never need anything, you
know what I mean, as it adheres to the label
and you already know personally, but I would love to
support your movement because it's amazing and you're making some
great quality, sustainable, inspirational legacy written music and I love it.

Speaker 4 (01:07:19):
So I'm probat of you both.

Speaker 1 (01:07:21):
And there it is, Ladies, your money is tank. This
is the R and B Money podcast. The authority yeah
on all things R and B and we have just
talked through the authority on so many things. Man, you
are a blessed brother, gifted brother in all facets of
life than flirt. Don't fuck, Ladies and gentlemen, k R

(01:07:47):
and B Money.

Speaker 2 (01:07:50):
R and B Money is a production of the Black
Effect Podcast Network. For more podcasts from iHeart Radio, visit
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
your favorite shows. Don't forget to subscribe to and rate
our show, and you can connect with us on social
media at JY Valentine and at the Real Tank. For

(01:08:10):
the extended episode, subscribe to YouTube dot com or slash
r and b money