Micah Powell

On this week's episode of R&B Money, Tank and J Valentine chop it up with the multitalented Micah Powell. From his early days in an R&B group to becoming a sought-after songwriter, Micah shares his journey through the music industry. The fellas discuss pivotal moments in Micah's career, collaborations with major artists, and the stories behind some of his biggest hits.

 

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. We are.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
Than take MALLOCHI. We are the authority on all things
R and B, ladies and gentleman. My name is Tank.

Speaker 1 (00:20):
This is the R and B Money Podcast, the authority
on all things R and B.

Speaker 3 (00:26):
About to get into the ship.

Speaker 1 (00:28):
It's about to get R and B. Yeah, the credential
list is long. Yes, how many people you don't wrote
and produced for?

Speaker 2 (00:35):
How long you've been doing it? Who wish? Is your competitive?
Is your competitive?

Speaker 1 (00:40):
You mean with trying to kick down those Yeah? Yeah,
is it supposed to be? What his post?

Speaker 2 (00:52):
The gentleman brother Michael Pile and the building, our good brother.

Speaker 4 (01:01):
It is good to finally be here.

Speaker 1 (01:02):
Brothers, never matter after a matter of when, whenever you
felt like, you know, gracing us with your presence, I
want to say, I want to I want to kick
this motherfucker off like this. You are probably in the
spirit of competitive nature, like in terms of knowing somebody

(01:24):
competitive in this ship, not just in this ship, in life,
in life you are him. I've watched you from the beginning,
whether it be on the basketball court, in the studio wherever.

(01:45):
I'm gonna figure this ship out, and I'm not gonna
stop until I do.

Speaker 2 (01:51):
We be in that gym. I ain't win today, I'll
be back. I'll be back. Who will pick you on
the team?

Speaker 4 (01:59):
Me and and he'd tell me just keep shooting, just
keep shooting, cook him cut.

Speaker 2 (02:05):
I got you back, and I would cut and you
would come.

Speaker 4 (02:10):
It wasn't every day, but I was they came to
the gym.

Speaker 1 (02:13):
I was good because because I saw something in you
that I saw. I saw that no quit in you.
Early my night me and Jameson talk about you. I said,
when that nigga figured it out, he's gonna be a
problem because he's he's he's taking the fucking stairs. He

(02:34):
not taking no shortcuts. He is taking the absolute stairs.
And and not to go too far forward, because we're
gonna talk about all that, but being in the studio
with you working on my album and watching you work
like differently than you working for everybody else, like you
were actually working for me, and me being able to

(02:57):
sit back and say, let him, let him you see
where he is right now. It was just you at
the mic I think was it recording.

Speaker 4 (03:07):
Is always That's the only one I remember.

Speaker 2 (03:10):
He was.

Speaker 1 (03:10):
He was right there beside you, and it was you
at the board with the mic and him and who
was it me? And uh, who is with us?

Speaker 4 (03:19):
Frank? But also to he came later we had Lucky
in there too.

Speaker 3 (03:28):
They came.

Speaker 1 (03:28):
But when we were doing and you were sitting there
at the mic and you were working hm, and I
was just like and Frank was like, no he should
mm hmm.

Speaker 4 (03:39):
He cooked. Let him cook. He cooked ham.

Speaker 1 (03:43):
Yeah, And I was like, this motherfucker got it.

Speaker 2 (03:46):
He figured it out. He got it.

Speaker 3 (03:48):
He hot.

Speaker 4 (03:51):
That's crazy that you said that, man. And I really
appreciate you, like throughout the years, really pouring into me
like he did, because that's the type of energy I'll
always respect to.

Speaker 2 (04:00):
Yeah, I just need one nigga.

Speaker 4 (04:02):
To just put the battery in, you know what I mean.
Then I'm gonna get it. I'm gonna get it cooking.
But you know, my my process, things don't just come
like that, you know what I mean. But if you
sit there, like you said, letting nigga simmers fall back,
let him cook, give him a couple of times to
work up, and you're gonna get with you, you know.

Speaker 1 (04:21):
Because you're you're you're cerebro, you know what I mean,
Like you're smart and so you know Man, I appreciate
you saying all this shit.

Speaker 4 (04:30):
For real. I really am taking all this in.

Speaker 2 (04:32):
Bro. I'm sorry.

Speaker 5 (04:33):
Bro.

Speaker 1 (04:34):
Bro, we've been watching you for years, for years. You're smart,
and you're like, okay, and then and then I'm gonna
do this and then see what the way that we've
had those phone conversations and then nigga, because I'm gonna
put it that way, make it and it's like this,
I hear you. Everything we've ever talked about, everything that
you've always said that you're.

Speaker 2 (04:56):
That's why you're here. You're here.

Speaker 1 (04:57):
We have to tell that story because again, everybody, always,
everybody loves to celebrate the finished product with that story
and that journey there.

Speaker 4 (05:08):
Come on that mud, Yeah.

Speaker 2 (05:11):
That rough side of that mountain.

Speaker 4 (05:12):
That process you god damn right, that process for real.

Speaker 1 (05:16):
I ain't listen. I haven't hit a lottery. I never
hit the lottery in the business. Now we're living a lottery,
but I've never hit the just run away.

Speaker 4 (05:28):
I have to work for all of them.

Speaker 1 (05:31):
So that's where we're relating that because you got to
live that one. You gotta be a dog to live
that one, because we got to start from the beginning
every time. Yeah, every time, you gotta have a different
kind of muscle. Yeah, to have fifteen twenty of just
grind out.

Speaker 4 (05:48):
Yes, it's just something that you want. My dad always
told me what you had that your brother.

Speaker 2 (05:55):
Didn't have was tenacity.

Speaker 4 (05:58):
He got it and and I took that in it
because you know, as an artist, you want to feel respected.
And I felt like the ones getting respect were the
ones that were just everything they touched turn go or
they just was getting it off the top, and I
was putting unwanted pressure on myself. Once I slowed down though,
and got to really like understand, all right, I could

(06:20):
take my time with this, and if they want to
allow me to take my time, then it ain't for me.
But I got to do my process. So when you say,
like work at it, I think my whole. If you
could sum up my life as a whole, it would
just be one word process. I'm always in process.

Speaker 1 (06:39):
Well, let's go to the beginning's process, Yes, sir, let's
go to the beginning. When I E, I've lived out
that way. I got some friends out there.

Speaker 4 (06:51):
Out there. He is it fifteen I E? Or two fifteen?

Speaker 2 (06:55):
I E? Question, I'm two fifteen? Is deep?

Speaker 1 (07:01):
I E? Yeah, uh, that's a good one.

Speaker 4 (07:07):
You you probably more like fifteen if you was in
Rancho Ontario.

Speaker 2 (07:11):
I was Rancho, Yeah, I was. I was Corona.

Speaker 4 (07:15):
There was the niggas that moved on up, you know
what I mean.

Speaker 1 (07:17):
I wasn't up. I was moving down. I had to
get out of l A because the money was funny.
Oh ye, so you know they had this nice two
bedroom in Rancho Cucamonga.

Speaker 2 (07:27):
Yeah for a steal. You're still.

Speaker 4 (07:32):
On the two fifteen.

Speaker 2 (07:33):
He was on the team. What's the part out there
in the name name sam burn bernd.

Speaker 4 (07:39):
Yeah, I mean you got Sarardino, then you got Rialto,
then you got Fontana, then you got uh, Rancho got Ontario.

Speaker 2 (07:46):
I'm trying to think what sam Berni.

Speaker 5 (07:48):
You can't say sam Bernid, Boden, sam Berdena and Burdeno.

Speaker 1 (07:53):
So yeah, from out there, we called it, we call
it the din.

Speaker 2 (07:57):
So one of my guys heardest he was my production
manager and all of that. For years.

Speaker 1 (08:01):
That's where him and his family lived. So I would
always go out there to hang out with him and
his family what have you. And I thought it was
cool out there, and that's what gave me even the
idea when I just wasn't working out for me, I
was like, man, I got to go somewhere where I
can in the live cool and still get back if
I need to. That's why I went to Rancho and
went to Croma.

Speaker 2 (08:19):
That's yeah. I like that. I was out there living it.
I was. I was. It was the best buy. No,
it was a circus city out there. I was.

Speaker 1 (08:26):
I was the king of Circus City. I was always
buying something out of Circus City. King king of Circus City.
And then there was a red Lobster. I was the
king of that red lobster. You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 3 (08:37):
That was always those two places.

Speaker 1 (08:39):
And those two places A Biscus, Yeah, they knew where
you was and everything, and and uh Ontario Mills.

Speaker 2 (08:46):
Yeah, you know, you gotta get to get there. You
gotta get your clothes.

Speaker 1 (08:49):
At a discount when the money you know, let you
know what I'm saying, you can still look like last seasons.

Speaker 2 (09:00):
But you know, so you you born and raised there.

Speaker 4 (09:06):
I'm born in Sanmardino, really raised in Rialto. I lived
in Salmordino for like four or five years of my
life and then my dad uh married again and shout
out to my dad who uh on his own man
was taking care of three boys and a girl on
the weekends in Samarandino. My dad actually built the projects

(09:28):
we was born in. What he built the projects we
was born in.

Speaker 2 (09:33):
We was in construction.

Speaker 4 (09:35):
No, it just was he needed a job, and so
he worked on the projects we was born. Like, I
came home to the first place I ever lived. He
worked in the hell building. He helped build them.

Speaker 3 (09:48):
Yeah, but not by trade.

Speaker 4 (09:52):
Out of survival.

Speaker 1 (09:53):
Nigga, what y'all need these logs? Yeah, you need a hammeletage.
Come on, ain't it out?

Speaker 4 (10:01):
My dad did whatever so these kids so yeah, So
we basically grew up in the projects. We didn't know
they was projects because they was townhomes.

Speaker 1 (10:11):
None of us, none of us, See, I didn't stay
long enough to know that.

Speaker 2 (10:26):
Yeah, tell me everybody didn't have roaches.

Speaker 4 (10:29):
That never woke up with a roach run across the okay.

Speaker 2 (10:38):
Super super roach. They were just staying neat with you.
What you what you'll got?

Speaker 4 (10:41):
Yah?

Speaker 2 (10:44):
I like that.

Speaker 4 (10:46):
You get to a point you turn the lights on,
they don't even run. It's just lazy.

Speaker 2 (10:50):
But look at you like this, what you need? Can
we help you.

Speaker 4 (10:54):
You know, we got an agreement.

Speaker 2 (10:55):
You're killing us.

Speaker 4 (10:58):
And then you go up to the bathroom a certain hour.
They like, what you're doing in here? This is our time.
Like I'm talking about. Yeah, bro, I'm talking about I
lived in like project talking about Candy House.

Speaker 2 (11:12):
M hmm.

Speaker 4 (11:13):
We had the candy lady. Realized how dangerous that is.

Speaker 5 (11:20):
Live there though you don't feel dangerous, it just feels
like your friends.

Speaker 1 (11:26):
Really, But it's the thing. Can we say this, It
wasn't as dangerous. It was dangerous.

Speaker 5 (11:32):
It was dangerous. You were just you were just part
of that environment at the time. It was dangerous.

Speaker 4 (11:38):
So I grew up in there was a project called
the Little Zions right across the street, back and forth, shootouts.
It was all that.

Speaker 1 (11:45):
I understand that. I understand that, understand the Vinus was there,
understand all these things was there. But I think that
I think that the ogs at that point in time
had a little bit more reverence for kids and women. Yeah,
but you got to say, because because is that But listen,

(12:11):
the grandmothers were still there too.

Speaker 2 (12:13):
It's true, that's true, and it was some it was
some respect, it was something. It was still something like
you say, the candy lady.

Speaker 1 (12:18):
The candy lady wasn't wasn't putting nothing crazy in your
true candy living that never put you never heard of
somebody say I got something from the candle lad that
was on the hospital for.

Speaker 2 (12:26):
Two days, for two weeks.

Speaker 1 (12:28):
Now, yeah, you just don't know. It's now, it's really
there's no respect, no more.

Speaker 2 (12:36):
Right.

Speaker 1 (12:36):
So my mind wasn't a project, but it was a hood.
I didn't know. I didn't know. Of course, we didn't
know it was the hood. I just knew it was
a bunch of gang members and fights and stabbings and whatever.
I thought that was normal.

Speaker 6 (12:49):
Like you grew up in the fifties, the knife was
very well.

Speaker 1 (13:02):
A knife and a fight was a thing. Somebody had
a gun. He was different, pop. So it's just like,
you know, I just feel like my great grandfather had respect.
I mean he had a shotgun on the porch, but
everybody else had knives. See that you had it's all

(13:25):
making now you'all house had the gun.

Speaker 2 (13:29):
Your gun makes perfect sense.

Speaker 4 (13:32):
You was with the equalizer.

Speaker 2 (13:37):
He had to watch.

Speaker 1 (13:40):
Paul Lewis had that shotgun on standby. Put the little
dim and sit on that port and dare a nigga
to talk, just not saying nothing to him, to talk.
Talk while you're in front of my house.

Speaker 2 (13:57):
He had a different type of chip on his shoulder.

Speaker 1 (14:00):
What was going on, right, Hey, paul Lewis come home
and say, it's a big difference now, Paul Lewis home,
full name. It's a big motherfucking difference now.

Speaker 4 (14:10):
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah yeah?

Speaker 2 (14:12):
And is it? And we'd be sitting at the kids
the tableau. Don't look up, just don't look at it.

Speaker 1 (14:22):
If you don't look at him, keep walking, don't don't
look at him.

Speaker 2 (14:26):
Yeah, Paul Lewis home now, his white big Mamay. I know, I.

Speaker 7 (14:30):
Know, I know.

Speaker 2 (14:35):
My grandma was the only one.

Speaker 1 (14:36):
Sit down somewhere, Pop, go sit down somewhere. You've been drinking,
sit down, and my grandma was the only one the
rest of us.

Speaker 2 (14:44):
Mm hmm.

Speaker 1 (14:46):
But it's like you said, it's like the difference in respect.
But getting back to your to your to your story
like that growing up in the hood thing and your
father working on the projects as not a constructor is
giving me more insight into your blood line.

Speaker 2 (15:00):
People. And to think that.

Speaker 1 (15:03):
This nigga was like twenty three years old, twenty three.
This nigga was like with folk kids.

Speaker 2 (15:12):
Oh he was woman R and B music for you
know what. For sure, I think it was the gospel.
He was in the church with twenty at twenty three
with four kids.

Speaker 4 (15:24):
They didn't kick him out, no, because he was married.
Oh okay, all right, Yeah he got married. They got
married young, but they kind of got forced to get married.
I mean, it's a it's a classic black story. I
had the I had the grandfather that was the.

Speaker 2 (15:40):
You're gonna marry my baby.

Speaker 4 (15:42):
Yeah, but also too well, he was my mom's stepdad
because my mom's dad was Filipino and he got gunned
down when she was like seven. Uh so we never
really like knew him like that. But yeah, that's another story.
But getting back to like my upbringing, yeah, projects all

(16:03):
of that until five and then we moved. We moved
up for us, moved to Rialto and we actually lived
in the neighborhood. My dad got married to my stepmom.
They're still still together today. And yeah, we moved to
a we moved to a three bedroom house that was
like a thousand square feet and but it looked like

(16:27):
it was it was like a bedroom, right, Yeah, every
bedrooms literally was.

Speaker 3 (16:34):
Just going from a bedroom to bedroom to bears.

Speaker 4 (16:36):
Yes, literally going from bedroom in the bedroom.

Speaker 1 (16:39):
But because when you think about it now, yes, it's
like when you go back to the house you grew
up in, everything is really Yeah, everything seems really small.

Speaker 2 (16:48):
But when I was a kid, this was the biggest house.
But even people though about that.

Speaker 1 (16:53):
Yeah, yeah, you're like d you was really a little
nigga talking ship to be like that, Yeah yeah, yeah,
just because you was thirty, Yeah yeah, little as that
should have fired on you. Hey, when you grow up
and go through stuff, you you realize how it ain't ship.

Speaker 4 (17:09):
Motherfuckers.

Speaker 2 (17:10):
Was niggas promising you bikes and ship? What lost in you? Yeah?

Speaker 4 (17:16):
All the while trying to get that to your mama.

Speaker 2 (17:18):
They were trying to get that mama, my daddy.

Speaker 1 (17:26):
Come on, you're in real in this new space. Do
you do you at some point while you're while you're
this kid, realized that you have a love for music
or does somebody kind of pointed out for you.

Speaker 4 (17:42):
Oh No, I knew it for me because I was
real in kindergarten. I don't remember much about kindergarten, but
I do remember that I did a talent show with
the group and we were new additions, had a group, yes,
and I was mad because I couldn't be Bobby Brown.

Speaker 2 (17:57):
Well you should be.

Speaker 4 (17:58):
Somebody else picked Bobby Man. Somebody else picked Bobby. And
on top of that, I had this suit that I hated.
I hated niggas that wore the suits I wanted to.
I wanted to express myself in church. That's probably why
I hated it. I had this suit on it and
I didn't At this point, I didn't know which one
which member I was. I just knew I wasn't Bobby,

(18:18):
and they didn't give me the leads. And I think
that of all I knew was this other nigga named Brandon,
and he was my he was my boy. But he
took the lead part and I just kept looking at
him like man, why Yes, That's this is when I knew,
like R and B was my shape because I wanted to,
especially sing my prorogative, and I wanted to do that

(18:41):
lean that he'd be doing. And I had a gunby
just like Bobby. It was a kitchen cut, but it
was a biggest singing the lead.

Speaker 2 (18:49):
Yes.

Speaker 1 (18:50):
Wait, but and then that's the other thing. I think
they tricked you because my prerogative is not a new addition.

Speaker 5 (18:55):
That's just Bobby by himself. So actually you were in
Heart and Soul as a dancer. You really wasn't in
new edition. No, I'm giving you the real now, because.

Speaker 4 (19:03):
Right we was new audition. But I wanted to sing
my parrogative.

Speaker 3 (19:06):
That's what I'm saying, y'all wasn't new edition.

Speaker 1 (19:08):
If y'all as the telephone man, No, he wasn't my
paraety you know now.

Speaker 4 (19:17):
And I told you, I don't remember much now that
I think about it. Now I think about it. We
were singing the Boys. You remember the Boys?

Speaker 2 (19:24):
Do I remember the boys? R and B?

Speaker 4 (19:27):
I wasn't the lead nigga. And that's what I talked
about and checked this out. Hakeem is Michah spelled backwards.

Speaker 2 (19:40):
Man, what what what are you doing?

Speaker 4 (19:42):
That's what I was, nigga.

Speaker 2 (19:46):
This is all that was going through my moment. But
that's my name.

Speaker 4 (19:53):
Yes, So it was that moment, that talent show that
I knew that I wanted to do music.

Speaker 2 (20:01):
I wanted to be R and B.

Speaker 4 (20:02):
My mom took us to remember at the the carnival,
they used to have this place where you could do.

Speaker 2 (20:07):
Your own music video. Yep.

Speaker 1 (20:08):
Absolutely, And so my mom and my stepdad, who was
shout out the og day Foreman.

Speaker 4 (20:15):
Y'all probably know Dave Forman, guitar player. He was my stepdad.
He was married to my mom. Yeah, it's gonna get
tricky because it's a lot of times we're gonna uncover.

Speaker 2 (20:26):
Are you kidding me?

Speaker 4 (20:27):
No, I'm not kidding. Dave Forman was my stepdadges I've
shared with Dave Forman, everybody shared with Dave Foreman. And
to bring it all around full circle, day form A
co produce on the song with DJ Quick that I
did with the Game. Were all in the session, like

(20:49):
old school session, doing it from scratch, and I'm in
my I'm my mind is blown that this has happened.
This was just a couple of years ago.

Speaker 2 (20:56):
That's crazy. Yeah, so I never knew that. Yeah.

Speaker 4 (21:00):
So my mom was married to day for me. They
took us to the carnival and we did, we did,
and that day we did Down my Heart and I
was the lead nigga because it was me.

Speaker 2 (21:11):
It was it was me, and it was me and
my two.

Speaker 3 (21:13):
Brothers because now it's his brothers.

Speaker 4 (21:16):
Yeah, it was me. And my two brothers and Dave
and his uh my uncle Al and other dude named Cliff.
They were in the back playing playing as the band
It's Goofy, just having fun and they chopped the video
up and all that. My parents still got the vhs
to that, bro. But those were the days where I figured, like,
all right, that was when my life started to become

(21:37):
one big ass R and B video because I was
never able to see life any different when it comes
to like my love for women. I just always seen
it as seen women that I loved in this little
motion from a little kid. And so I think, because

(21:58):
I feel R and B music is nothing but peel.

Speaker 1 (22:03):
Now you're like, okay, I can. I can do that,
I can write that, I can produce that I can.
When does it become I can't?

Speaker 2 (22:11):
That didn't come till like later when I got in
a group.

Speaker 3 (22:13):
So this is probably what B two K days.

Speaker 4 (22:17):
Yeah, I actually met Omari before I met my group members.
We like he like he said. We went to school together.
Omari then spend nights at the crib and we my
my other cousin David, who live with us. Two we
all went to Hamilton. I remember days where the car
would break down and we pushing the car up the hill.

(22:37):
I remember Omari seeing him pop locking in his sleep,
like when people say that he does that, the nigga
used to pop lock in the.

Speaker 2 (22:47):
Champagne.

Speaker 4 (22:51):
I'm telling you, when niggas say that he walks around
dancing all day pop locking in his sleep, dog, did.

Speaker 1 (22:58):
You ever try to wake him up? Say hey man,
you trip, You're gonna fall off the pa. You at
some point say how can I really be of value?

(23:22):
How can I be of value to this business and
then ultimately to myself? And when do you make that switch?
Because then you now you're not just an artist anymore.
Now you're a curator of artists and what they're trying
to do and the stories that they're trying to tell,
and the career that they're trying to have. When do
you make the switch and realize that you're valuable in

(23:44):
that space?

Speaker 4 (23:45):
When I stopped listening to niggas, tell me just focus
on being an artist. When I knew all along that
I could write these songs, and I could write better
songs than niggas was doing for us and to the group, stuff,
just it just wasn't popping. And I saw like that
was around the time neo and dream like writers was
turned into full on artists, you know what I mean.

(24:09):
And so I was like, man, let me try my
hand at this route. So I started getting in and
just you know, writing stuff. Some of my first songs
were for Jeanne back when she was like trying to
figure her thing out. Me and her, we was just
going and just be writing. And that was like school

(24:29):
for me, you know. And then I started getting I
started hearing other people's stuff. I started hearing other other
people get off, you know, people like find.

Speaker 2 (24:39):
Le Roy who else Andre married?

Speaker 4 (24:46):
Yeah, like they was having runs and I remember, so
I had to get a job and I started working
as a car salesman at.

Speaker 2 (24:59):
No.

Speaker 4 (24:59):
It's it's funny to me because I have a vivid
picture in my mind of me being a car salesman, yes,
and going to this going to this car lot every day,
knowing good and god damn well, I'm not supposed to
be here. But I'm like, you know what, I gotta do,
what I gotta do. And we in Singi Valley and
you know how hot I see me validated. As soon
as somebody get on that lot, you got to get up,

(25:22):
go get themselves. I did decent at it. Yeah, but
the thing that was killing me was I was I
was working deals and hearing the Homies music being played
over the you know those songs that I knew the
Homies wrote, and I'm like, I'm talking, I'm talking about tears.

(25:43):
I would go to the bathroom and cry because I
felt like I blew my shot.

Speaker 2 (25:51):
I'm here?

Speaker 4 (25:52):
How did I get here?

Speaker 2 (25:54):
You know?

Speaker 4 (25:55):
Because that it's that competitive thing in me. It's like, nah,
I know I'm one in the one. I know I
gotta get that. I know I know what I can do.
So I ended up I ended up getting fired from
that job. I got fired from every job that I
was part of. But why do you think that is, Brother,

(26:16):
It's not. It's not a destination. It's not a destination.
It's just a pitch. You have to get fired, though,
I do because God is like, You're not gonna leave you.
Hear me.

Speaker 1 (26:28):
I've never had a job, so I'm like, I'm over
talking about how to keep.

Speaker 2 (26:34):
I don't even know.

Speaker 3 (26:35):
I don't even know what to.

Speaker 4 (26:36):
Do to get on. You know, I'll get it. So
I end up. You look like a nigga that got fired.
Why it's like me, Bro, you got a one track mine.

Speaker 2 (26:58):
Bro, I'm to be with you.

Speaker 4 (27:00):
I'm actually picking you up right now, broth of you.
You definitely would have done from.

Speaker 3 (27:08):
My uncle company.

Speaker 4 (27:11):
No, definitely, Bro. I got fired from that job and
I was like, no, this is my time to really
turn up. So God I blessed me with another job
that was flexible. I was mentoring kids and working in
group homes and I was doing it on weekends. I
would that job was so flexible it allowed me to
still move how I wanted to move and be in

(27:33):
the studio and do those things until I got fired
from that and then that was like the last job
I ever had. And God has blessed me and sustained
me to be able to move through this business and
take some bumps and losses, but like, for real, like.

Speaker 2 (27:48):
Still be here.

Speaker 1 (27:48):
Give me the moment you're fired. You need a moment, right,
You needed a finding moment that says one of two things.

Speaker 2 (27:57):
One I can do this and two.

Speaker 1 (28:04):
Here is the either success or revenue to prove it.

Speaker 2 (28:11):
What moment is that.

Speaker 4 (28:13):
When I got my first placement, my first actual that
moment was for me. It won't stop the record with
seven mm hmm.

Speaker 2 (28:26):
What's that your first record? No, it wasn't my first record,
but it was.

Speaker 4 (28:30):
It was. It was my first record before it was
my first record that charted, you know what I mean.
If you want to talk about when I thought I
was going to arrive, it was the Drake song I did.
I did a song called July, which was I originally
did it with Ja and he heard the song because
my boy Jazz, who was rocking with us, he took

(28:53):
it over to Drakers like, man, I'm telling you got
to get on this. He was trying to get him
as a feature. Drake was like, no, I want this song.

Speaker 2 (28:59):
He yeah, you yeah.

Speaker 4 (29:01):
So he ended up doing doing verses on it, singing
my Jene was on the hook. I ended up seeing
him at Chris. Remember Chris and Polo used to have
the skate parties.

Speaker 2 (29:12):
Yeah, it was going up.

Speaker 4 (29:17):
I would ended up seeing him at the skate party
and he stopped me. He was like, yo, congratulations, and
I'm like what's good. He like, Yo, We're gonna get
Beyonce on July and we're gonna put it out. And
I'm like, word, all right, cool, just make sure let's
do the business like I try to play him cool,
but in my heart, I was like this, this is
this is my moment, this is my moment. So and

(29:41):
at that time, me and Drake was uh like, remember
it wasn't FaceTime. It was like, uh, I chat. We
was I chatting ideas back and forth, and on BBM
he was on BBM Heavy. So like three months go by,
I get it, I get to get in touch with
g and hip hop. They're like, yeah, we're using the record,
We're doing this. Then one day the record just leaks

(30:05):
and it's getting played on Hot ninety seven and all
these radio stations in it, and I'm like, huh, this
was supposed to be the Beyonce. So I hated him
and I'm like, yo, bro, what happened? How did the
worker get leaked? And all you had for me was
and know it's shitty. And then a few months later
he comes out with was the album Hard At the

(30:28):
Crazy album, Thank Me Later, and there's a song called
Fireworks on there. I'm not insinuating anything, but I'm just
like that, I'm just being transparent with you. I was
fucked up by that because I felt like, you know
what I'm saying. And I and I and I would
tell everybody about this song that I got coming, and

(30:49):
he was like, oh yeah, yeah, yeah for show for
Shure and shout out my boy Diesel. He paid for
the session for that song. Yeah, and my boy, my
boy Sticks, my boy Sticks recorded that song, you know stick.

Speaker 2 (31:03):
Yeah, if you do one more, y'all know about niggas.

Speaker 3 (31:09):
That's our friends.

Speaker 5 (31:09):
This is my friend in my real life industry, that's
my friend.

Speaker 2 (31:14):
Right, Stop it, bro, This.

Speaker 4 (31:16):
Is the one place where assumptions are allowed. Okay, assumptions
are allowed here, all right, cool, cool, cool, I got you.

Speaker 2 (31:23):
It won't happen again.

Speaker 4 (31:24):
Boss. So the record leagues and I still get paid
royalties from that song.

Speaker 2 (31:34):
It ain't like but that's how big.

Speaker 4 (31:36):
Yeah, that's what's crazy. We never did no splits, no
nothing for it. But yeah, after him doing that, it
really put a real bitter taste in my mouth for
the the music music industry because I felt like that
was some industry ship, you know.

Speaker 2 (31:55):
But it could have been something that was out of
his control.

Speaker 4 (31:57):
I know, right, you know, and and and and now,
looking in hindsight, I consider all things right, But back then,
you just yeah, because that could have changed my life. Yeah,
that that could have been life changing for me, because
I can't tell you how many people I know when
they find out I did that song or they're like,
that's one of my favorite songs. I don't have many

(32:19):
songs as many songs as a lot of people out here,
but the songs that I do have, so many people
tell me that that is one of their favorite songs.
And I'll take that any day.

Speaker 2 (32:28):
Bro.

Speaker 1 (32:30):
Yeah, so you're saying, from from that song, even though
it didn't turn out the way you hoped it would,
the seven record is the one that actually gave you
everything that you needed to get from it.

Speaker 4 (32:46):
Absolutely is absolutely ship absolutely.

Speaker 3 (32:49):
And it came out twice because.

Speaker 2 (32:53):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah.

Speaker 4 (32:56):
So that that that record dropped in, I'm just like,
you produce that. So these guys that John Baptiste had,
they were like some French dudes. I forget their name now,
and that's terrible. They were No, they were signed to Diplo,
So Diplo's name is on the credit. But yeah, that
to me, that just was such a you know how

(33:19):
you do certain records and you like, I'm just doing
this for them. I'm not attached to this record like that.
It's just for them. I do this in my sleep.
That record was one that was like spiritual because I
can tell you I went in that booth and the
first things I did was the song I'm talking about
from and then it Won't Dumb. I scattered all that

(33:47):
on the first time, and that's hot. That's when I
know God is in the room. And we was like, nah,
we're writing too that. You know how you go somebody
else go in and do melodies. There was like nope,
we got it, got it. And so me and Sef
went in on that record.

Speaker 6 (34:03):
Man.

Speaker 4 (34:04):
And what's crazy is that session. Ty Ty Dollard sign
called me to come to that session because he wasn't
gonna be able to make it. Oh, so I kind
of like filled in for Ti dollars, you know what
I mean, and and you delivered and I delivered. And
that ended up being like, uh, we worked like a week.
We did a couple of different records, but that was

(34:24):
my first time really locking in with Sef. I had
knew her before that, but never really locked in with
her like that. And that started our relationship where that's
like my musical wifey, Like every time we.

Speaker 1 (34:35):
Go in it's crazy. So when you get this record
and it's finally popping. You know, we know the phone
calls to come and the meetings that come. Mhm, you know,
would you would you like to do a copub?

Speaker 2 (34:50):
You like to?

Speaker 1 (34:52):
How can we help because at this point you haven't
done a deal yet. No, I did.

Speaker 2 (34:57):
I had already had a deal by then. I did.

Speaker 4 (34:59):
I didn't I deal with you and PG okay, yeah,
twenty eleven.

Speaker 5 (35:05):
And then it shout Outlaneer, it won't stop, don't come
out to win.

Speaker 4 (35:09):
That was like two thousand and thirteen.

Speaker 2 (35:13):
Shot, does this song get you out of your deal? No?

Speaker 4 (35:17):
Because I was in an antiquated deal which was based
on you know, the fine print. It's gotta be you
got a three song commendment, but it got to be
on an album, a domestic album at that and it
can't be an EP. And this was around the time
where all niggas was doing was EPs and mixtapes and.

Speaker 2 (35:38):
Yeah, you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 4 (35:40):
So I had to like, yeah, I got that deal amended,
but around that time, it was just an antiquated deal.
But I honestly, man, I came to you though, yeah,
and I didn't. I didn't even worry about that stuff.

Speaker 1 (35:54):
Man.

Speaker 4 (35:54):
I really just wanted to like cement my name and
my legacy, you know what I mean. And so I
was working with everybody. Man, I went in with Chris.
This was like years before it won't stop. When when
Chris had that thing with Rihanna, we that was bad.
Well Chris had that thing with Rihanna. He kind of

(36:16):
was just you know, locked himself in the studio and
I was like one of the dudes that was in
the studio winning working on working on that mixtape.

Speaker 2 (36:24):
We did a song called talk that Ship.

Speaker 4 (36:27):
I did a song called go Away, which was on
the the deluxe album of Graffiti. And shout out to
Chris Man because I learned a lot about writing working
with him too. I learned learned a lot about like,
you know, staying locked in and and focusing.

Speaker 1 (36:44):
And reed in once he's in the booth and it's
time to work.

Speaker 2 (36:48):
Yeah, Like if you.

Speaker 1 (36:51):
Work and until the song is finished, were in here, yeah,
like and it listen, you better have your lyrics and
your melodies died up, yeah, and ready to go yeah,
because it's gonna go by fast, fast.

Speaker 2 (37:04):
Yeah, It's gonna go fast.

Speaker 4 (37:05):
That's where I really first learned that that style of writing.

Speaker 2 (37:08):
On second guess. Yeah, yeah, you're.

Speaker 4 (37:10):
Going in there scatting melodies and then writing to the
melodies and stuff. Before that, I hadn't really like wrote
like that, but that that actually, like was a great tool.
Because I am a melody guy. It takes me a
long time to come up with certain lyrics because sometimes
I overthink.

Speaker 2 (37:27):
Sometimes I just want everything to.

Speaker 4 (37:29):
Read out poetically and all that. But like, nah, I
had to I had to learn that too.

Speaker 2 (37:38):
Yeah, because that's a different type of.

Speaker 1 (37:43):
He he writes more in a rapper space for R
and B than he does like in an R and B.

Speaker 2 (37:49):
Space especially now.

Speaker 1 (37:51):
Yeah, like he's not like once you, I guess, once
you figure out you're really good at something.

Speaker 2 (37:59):
Like overthink, it's just it's not an option.

Speaker 4 (38:02):
Yeah, it's not an option.

Speaker 1 (38:04):
The lyrics and these melodies are good, and we don't
even I don't even to think. Like last time I
wrote with him, we didn't even go through melodies. He's
in the booth and he would sing something but ooh
that's fire, say this word or oh make that note
this Yeah, yeah, keep going and that's it.

Speaker 4 (38:19):
Oh. Niggas is professed. Niggas have mastered it.

Speaker 2 (38:21):
That's it.

Speaker 4 (38:22):
And the thing is, I feel like there's a there's
a difference between writing and communicating, you know what I mean,
because when you communicating his audience, he knows how to
communicate to his audience, you know, and for better or worse,
man like some people get mad and he puts thirty
six songs on an album and all of that, but.

Speaker 2 (38:44):
He's just empty in the clip. I'm gonna tell you
all in communicating.

Speaker 1 (38:48):
It's not even just that he's one of the rare
artists who learned the business early, who understood where the
business was going early and understood that not only am
I going to play the music game, or good music
game for that matter, I'm going to play the numbers game.

(39:09):
Play the numbers game because by the time you listen
to all of these songs, that will count for two sales.

Speaker 4 (39:18):
But he but not not to like harp on Chris Brown.
But it does go to speak to artistry, right because
I like to believe that you're either an artist or
an entertainer, and he's one of the ones that have
learned how to straddle that line between being an artist
and entertainer and either one. Nobody's wrong in what you choose.

(39:39):
Just understand what comes with either one. You know, so
he's mastered that.

Speaker 1 (39:45):
Give me another moment where you're where you where you
pound on your chest and you say I'm him.

Speaker 2 (39:50):
Oh man, it's been it's been a great journey.

Speaker 4 (39:54):
Man. I like to say, I mean supposed to be,
come on, scared of it, supposed to be because you know,
and I gotta be Bho by Marion featuring Chris Brown
and yeah, that was my first top ten record, And

(40:14):
it's funny that it would be with Omar and I know,
I'm pretty sure he thinks the same way. Like we've
been knowing each other more than we haven't known each other,
you know. But man, that line, that infamous line, Yes,
I've learned to be proud of it.

Speaker 3 (40:34):
Why you felt away for a minute?

Speaker 4 (40:35):
I felt away because I'm an artist, right And I'm like, man,
that line is so remedial and so dumb. It's so ratchet,
you know, like that whenever people would introduce me, they'd
be like, you.

Speaker 2 (40:47):
Know that long eat the booty like groceries.

Speaker 4 (40:48):
Yeah, he wrote that instead of like you know that song,
this song or that song or that song. It's to
eat the booty like groceries that I would get introduced
that it.

Speaker 3 (40:57):
Me to ghetto bro, a nigga, you want to be
known for something.

Speaker 4 (41:01):
But yeah, but then when people go, oh, so you
be eating booty, then it becomes like it's.

Speaker 2 (41:09):
It's too much. No, people take it.

Speaker 4 (41:11):
Far and so I'm like, for a long time it
bothered me, but I've learned to accept it. I've learned
to embrace it because it did like impact culture, you
know what I mean.

Speaker 1 (41:23):
And that's and that's not no, that too much into
your business, but it won't stop. We got it fire,
super crazy supposed to be those checks get.

Speaker 4 (41:34):
A little different. Oh man, you know, hmm, you have
to think about that, nah, because it's not what you think.

Speaker 2 (41:44):
Bro.

Speaker 4 (41:44):
We still haven't settled on that record. What do you mean, bro,
we still haven't signed off on that record. This?

Speaker 2 (41:52):
This is this.

Speaker 4 (41:53):
There can be a whole nother podcast on this song alone,
just as far as the the fuckery around it.

Speaker 2 (42:01):
You know.

Speaker 3 (42:02):
So the writers couldn't agree.

Speaker 4 (42:04):
Well because it's so many entities involved, and I'm gonna
put it in short. What happened was we did the
record with oh Me and Sam wrote the main the
first verse and the hook. Me and Sam hook shot
on my brother Sam Hood wrote the first verse in
the hook. Omari needed a feature on it, and I'm

(42:27):
keeping it real with y'all, I don't care. Amary needed
a feature on it. So they were like, who should
we get on the record. Chris was doing this thing
at that time. I think he had these hose Ain'
lawyer or something like that out yeah, and so it
was popping. So he was like, man, I'm gonna take
it to Chris. He takes it across the across town

(42:48):
to Chris. Unbeknownst to us though, like we weren't there
at the session. So they do whatever they do on
the record. They write the second verse and they write
that bridge Park all right, cool. Then Janey wants uh.
Then he's like it's the uh. Atlantic is like it's
still not enough. We need another artist on it. So

(43:10):
they go, Janey, let's get Jane. Jane wants me to
write something for her along the lines of eating booty
because she said the poster reminded her of Kevin Gates
when he used to say.

Speaker 2 (43:23):
I hate the booty like a poster. So that's what that's.

Speaker 4 (43:31):
So that's where that line came from. It and how
me and Janey work is sometimes we go in the studio,
but sometimes she would be like, she'll be like, can
you can you write something for me because she just
don't feel like it or you know, and I know her.
So yeah, So I did that verse in my living
room and I was just was like, it just was
so simple as what rhymes would suposed to be. Mm

(43:53):
hm oh groceries put that down and then I was like, oh,
this ship actually goes. And they loved it. Everybody loved it.
She recorded it, and that's how you have It's no
longer tossed as saladies eating grocers. So I did what
I was supposed to do. So we have all of

(44:17):
these entities involved. On top of that, we have the
producers Mustard and Mike Free, who are in an entanglement
with their deal and kind of like, you know, trying
to figure some things out. Then you got Shaka Demis,
who isn't the song is an interpolation of Then we

(44:42):
got that. So all these entities involved. Oh and not
to mention, we tried to they tried to. Somebody tried
to sue us. Someone it was They said it sounded
like a song, but the song was a Chris Brown song. Okay,
so he and that's it. He can't suit himself. He's

(45:05):
on the record, So that's that got thrown out. So
at this at this point, we're at I think we're
at like one hundred and twenty five percent, and we
gotta get down for those that don't know about publishing,
we gotta get down to one hundred.

Speaker 2 (45:22):
So just you know how R and B money does business.

Speaker 1 (45:32):
The sample would take their piece and then everybody else
would split it evenly. Of course, there are some who
might have may have done more work than others. But
once the sample comes in and starts chipping away, the

(45:52):
first thing is people are gonna argue, well, I ain't
had nothing to do with the sample, yep, right, yep,
But none of it is what it is with it
without it. So whether whether you were part of introducing
that nuance or not, it's a major part of the

(46:15):
success of the song. When I heard that, I said,
oh shit, no, they didn't immediately right, So it's so
much there's so much success on the song that there's
enough success to go around for everyone.

Speaker 2 (46:33):
Everybody.

Speaker 1 (46:34):
Let the interpolation of the sample have their piece and
everybody split it even and we get that money that's
just sitting there collecting interest for everyone else to use.

Speaker 2 (46:44):
Because that's the other part.

Speaker 1 (46:45):
People aren't paying attention to that interested.

Speaker 4 (46:49):
Oh yeah, it's I learned about something called a black box,
and your money goes into a black box, which in
turn is bonuses at the end of the year. Ye,
so you mean to tell me.

Speaker 2 (47:05):
Off of your money, your money. Yes, this business is
wicked dog well that it is designed to be right,
but it don't have to.

Speaker 1 (47:14):
But it don't have to be because the creatives have
to do business. And that's the part that gets tricky
with creatives. We because I am a creative, we get
in our feelings instead of saying, you know what, we
gotta handle our business though, And yes, this could be a.

Speaker 2 (47:33):
Tricky conversation, or you know what, even I'll be the
nigga that will take less. You're reading my mind. So
here's the thing.

Speaker 4 (47:43):
Here's this is the problem with going here, there, and
everywhere to get your song done. We're not all in
a room at the same time.

Speaker 2 (47:51):
Of course.

Speaker 1 (47:52):
So now lawyers and managers and you know, yeah, they're
negotiating it exactly, exactly exactly, so everybody has an argument.

Speaker 4 (48:01):
They can make right. I could say without the line
I wrote, this song wouldn't have been what it what
it is because he can't perform this song without doing
that first.

Speaker 1 (48:10):
It's it's it becomes, it becomes gnull and void, exactly
when nobody's getting paid.

Speaker 2 (48:28):
Let's go.

Speaker 4 (48:29):
You already know I'm a phone call away, bro, text, but.

Speaker 2 (48:33):
He needs your best, is what he's saying. You said,
you said, you said, you said, you say.

Speaker 4 (48:40):
Every time I came in.

Speaker 2 (48:41):
You just delivered you show out. I just heard what
you just said. Though. Well listen, brother, that's what happened.
He was listening.

Speaker 4 (48:55):
Listen, brother, I want the best for you. I'll come
in here and show out.

Speaker 7 (49:06):
Man.

Speaker 4 (49:06):
Let's do it, bro, of course you will.

Speaker 2 (49:08):
Let's do it.

Speaker 3 (49:08):
You got from over there.

Speaker 2 (49:16):
Mom.

Speaker 1 (49:18):
Yeah, I love that intro. Very superman ish. That's gonna
be this song we're gonna write. We're gonna write this
song called Superman.

Speaker 2 (49:35):
You should have been had one of them? Should have
been had one of those.

Speaker 4 (49:41):
The song is called should have been had a Superman.

Speaker 2 (49:44):
Huh, you've been playing with that my song you should
have been?

Speaker 4 (49:49):
Super mind? Okay, I hear you a Superman.

Speaker 2 (49:57):
Maca made me say your name like I can't even
People want to know your.

Speaker 3 (50:10):
Fun, that's what they want to know.

Speaker 2 (50:14):
Your top fight, Yeah, top fun, your top. Fry's saying.

Speaker 7 (50:28):
Already song.

Speaker 1 (50:32):
We got to know.

Speaker 4 (50:33):
We thought you know, we're on this shoe.

Speaker 1 (50:38):
We want to know.

Speaker 2 (50:43):
Yes, yow wow where.

Speaker 4 (50:55):
You I tried to tell you that first of all,
you are going places? Brother, what you just did?

Speaker 2 (51:17):
Right here?

Speaker 4 (51:17):
I can see the whole thing on Venice Beach, right,
I can see take take his Venus beach.

Speaker 2 (51:26):
Bro.

Speaker 4 (51:27):
Bro, you was in it with no sustain you was
in it.

Speaker 2 (51:32):
Work this man this keyboard over there, man, Yeah yeah,
yeah yeah. Top five my top five R and B
singers R and B.

Speaker 4 (51:40):
Okay, in no particular order. I'm gonna say, uh Brandy,
yeah yeah, yeah, I gotta go. These are gospel singers,
but uh Mitchel Jones, uh Fred Hammon, the.

Speaker 2 (51:59):
Great talk to talk said he pulling up to the pack.
That's what he said, talk to him yesterday.

Speaker 4 (52:05):
Yeah, and these are these are surely people that impacted
my life.

Speaker 2 (52:10):
You know what I mean? Me too?

Speaker 4 (52:12):
Okay, yeah, all.

Speaker 1 (52:14):
Them selfish on the personally. Don't think we know about it.
You don't think we know nobody nobody only affected him.

Speaker 2 (52:25):
I don't know where you're going. You don't know Jones.

Speaker 4 (52:30):
Uh, okay, number four, I will say Chris Martin, he's
not he's not.

Speaker 2 (52:37):
R by your world, your world.

Speaker 4 (52:40):
Chris Martin is because he influences your arms. Yes, yes, yes, phenomenal,
phenomenal voice. And uh, the last one I'm gonna have
to do. Uh, I'm gonna have to say, uh, Charlie Wilson.
And because the man is one hundred seventy stations old,

(53:02):
still sound the exact same, Get it like, there's no
there's no there's no fallout, there's no decline.

Speaker 1 (53:15):
Uncle Charlie. Uncle Charlie is incredible. Yes, he's incredible. Charlie
would kick your ass. Yes, the call yourself being young
and trying to perform after Charlie.

Speaker 2 (53:27):
Was you you better not? Yeah?

Speaker 4 (53:33):
Yeah, bro Arlie, I like that.

Speaker 2 (53:37):
Top five Army songs.

Speaker 4 (53:39):
This might be a little more difficult, all right, I'm
gonna say the beautiful ones.

Speaker 2 (53:47):
Prince you're starting off. Yeah, yeah, every time they heard you,
every time, I'm gonna say, I can't help it.

Speaker 4 (53:59):
Michael Jack.

Speaker 2 (54:00):
Yeah, I'm gonna go with Merry Go Round music.

Speaker 4 (54:10):
So child Wow.

Speaker 2 (54:12):
Yeah, Yeah, that's a great, okay.

Speaker 4 (54:18):
Just to keep you satisfied. Marvin Gaye, Okay, no argument here,
and then number five I would have to say, uh,
I'm gonna go sick free Frank Ocean than give him
some Frank.

Speaker 2 (54:36):
Yeah. Yeah. These are songs that that just like really
tough hit in a different way. I get it, I
get it.

Speaker 3 (54:46):
Where where you going, jamp Where are you going?

Speaker 4 (54:49):
Yap?

Speaker 2 (54:50):
I ain't saying no nicks. Hey, ain't saying no names.
Saying no.

Speaker 4 (54:56):
Names was what you did.

Speaker 7 (55:01):
Don't say shout in the Champagne.

Speaker 2 (55:14):
Champagne got you in there. It's only be money glasses.

Speaker 3 (55:20):
Get yourself.

Speaker 4 (55:26):
Some more of that Jesus ship. Nigga, my god, hey,
no you you went to another level right there, bro.
And it was effortlessly the church man, that's the no
sustain might I have my foot ain't nothing, they don't
nothing but clouds. Okay, So you know where we're at.

Speaker 2 (55:52):
Listen, you've watched this show, You've known us for a
long time. You know what this ship is. Man. I
ain't saying no names. Well, you tell us a story
funny or fucked up?

Speaker 3 (56:03):
Are funny and fucked up?

Speaker 5 (56:06):
And since you are partnering something, you ain't told a sleep,
poor nigga.

Speaker 2 (56:10):
I know about a lot of wild shit.

Speaker 4 (56:12):
Boy, Okay, yeah, I've had. I got a lot of
those stories, a lot.

Speaker 3 (56:18):
I know you a lot.

Speaker 4 (56:22):
So round front, they call me R and B cuh
r and B cuh because they call me R and
B cut because I never turned down a fade and
we know this too, we'll sing and never turned down
to fade. So I called a fade with a guy

(56:47):
who's they out of here he he uh. I would
say he manages one of the biggest artists in the world,
like partners with one of the biggest artists in the
world now. But when we was kids were younger, me
and Mike.

Speaker 2 (57:02):
Have never fought.

Speaker 4 (57:06):
Bro. Listen, everybody. You know they don't want no problems
with all the time. Don't let that don't let that
hair fool you. Sorry, don't let that hairline hair.

Speaker 2 (57:18):
I apologize you.

Speaker 4 (57:20):
This man is from but Phil absolutely a finish. So
you call caught the fade. But I want to say
it was over a woman, but it wasn't. And it's
always like that, right she's it sparks and then after

(57:41):
that it becomes testosterone and aggression and ego. So I
was on tour, on screen tour. This was like five
or six. I was doing my thing and I had
a girlfriend back at home and apparently she was doing
her thing. So when I got off to her and

(58:02):
you know, we back together, when in my crib, I'm
seeing her phone blow up. And this is back when
we had what's the side cakes? So aim was on
the sidekicks. So I see, you know, me just being
I'm like, something ain't right. So let's just look over.
I have been a glance over and I see her

(58:25):
aiming with a nigga I know.

Speaker 2 (58:28):
And so right there while you're there, she's she's going
back and forth with him.

Speaker 4 (58:32):
Well, she had got up to go to the bathroom
or something. And then I did something that I ain't
never did before that, but I was like, really, I
felt it in my spirit. I was like, man, something
going wrong because I was doing wrong.

Speaker 2 (58:44):
So that's what Michael Jackie said, You're doing wrong. Yeah.

Speaker 4 (58:50):
So I get into her phone and I see it's
this nigga, you know, texting her back and forth inappropriate shit.
So I'm like a young twenty one twenty two somewhere
around there. So I'm like, I'll stick my chest out.
I hit him back, like, hey, honey, it starts there. Yes,

(59:11):
hey honey, don't hit this phone no more.

Speaker 2 (59:14):
And you know who this is? Okay, all right?

Speaker 4 (59:18):
So that nigga responds back immediately like who the fuck
you talking to? I know you you r and B
nigga stop.

Speaker 2 (59:29):
Playing with me.

Speaker 4 (59:30):
And I'm like what yeah, yeah yeah, And I'm like,
so I'm going back and forth. Whenn will we on
on her phone? Mind you, she's she sees me on
her phone. So me and her had a very volatile
relationship that we were young. So she starts to try

(59:51):
to get physical with me. I throw her phone out
the house. She somehow gets my phone, grabs her phone,
gets in the car, and I'm like, give me my
fucking phone. I get on the hood of her car,
the hood. I get on the hood of her car,
all right, and you know the line between the windshield
and the actual hood I'm holding on.

Speaker 2 (01:00:13):
She drives off like that meme of that it's like
a it's like a girl that has that meme right
hanging on the car.

Speaker 4 (01:00:18):
Yeah. So it's Michael, because she got she got my phone,
and I don't want her to see all the debauchery
going on in your You just want to Yes, I
had the upper hand.

Speaker 2 (01:00:30):
You out of pocket, but go ahead, pimp.

Speaker 4 (01:00:32):
So I'm holding on. She driving like, no, no joke,
like thirty miles per hour with me on the hood.
Some ship that could hurt you, No, some ship that
could really hurt me. So I don't even know how.
I don't remember how I got out of that, but
I'm still mad at this nigga. So I switched to

(01:00:53):
my phone because I have his number.

Speaker 3 (01:00:55):
So I go to continue this.

Speaker 4 (01:00:57):
I go to I go to this bar where.

Speaker 2 (01:00:59):
All the hom was linking up.

Speaker 4 (01:01:00):
It was a popular bar where they would have our
R and B live performances.

Speaker 3 (01:01:05):
Is your R and B nigga?

Speaker 2 (01:01:06):
Yes, had to go to the R and B B
R right.

Speaker 4 (01:01:09):
So I'm there, I'm there, I'm drinking, and something just
tells me, a nigga, if you're a real nigga, you'll
pull up to the tiple bar right now. He was like, bet,
I didn't think he was going to pull up. The

(01:01:31):
nigga pulled up with all blood, but I knew I
knew half of them, you know what I mean? So
it was all good. I wasn't finna get packed out.

Speaker 3 (01:01:41):
Nas know each other. You know each other somehow.

Speaker 4 (01:01:44):
So he actually pulled up and I'm in a bar
and this is I've been drinking. The only one that's
in there with me is my cousin David Tavaris was there.

Speaker 2 (01:01:54):
You know you can't say no names, righty folks.

Speaker 4 (01:02:00):
He text me like, I'm outside, what's happening? So I
put my drink down and I tell the homies, all right,
this time.

Speaker 3 (01:02:10):
It started a gang war. It's pretty much where we
get to.

Speaker 4 (01:02:13):
Well, go ahead, So I'll get outside and it's it's
the weirdest ship man, because I like, I know all
this homies. I'm dapping up homies and were walking. This
is like a very uh structured fade. This is an
organized This is an organized.

Speaker 2 (01:02:30):
Anything I'll say about l a y'all organized for real?

Speaker 3 (01:02:36):
Big little tiny, Yes, baby baby tiny.

Speaker 4 (01:02:40):
It's rampant. Yes, it's a hierarchy.

Speaker 3 (01:02:42):
Niggas is military.

Speaker 7 (01:02:45):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:02:46):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:02:46):
So so we go to the alley and we we
just we start going at it and the first half
of the fight I'm really.

Speaker 2 (01:02:58):
Giving it to And then.

Speaker 4 (01:03:01):
The alcohol kicked in and he called me with a
two piece. He called me with a two piece, and
I hadn't been working out like so I was like yeah,
so so we get so it's like, you know how
niggas tussling. You get on the ground and the niggas
is just rolling on the ground and then they're like

(01:03:23):
stop that stop, all stop, all up wrestling blood, stop
at up wrestling blood. So they break niggas up and
make niggas stand up again and fade, and at that
point it just was niggas throwing haymakers. It was a
very sloppy fight. It was not a good fight. It
was not a good fight. Uh the artist that's huge now,
I think he was. I think he was the one

(01:03:45):
that was like he was filming the whole fight on
the camp court. So after after the after the fade,
it's like handshakes. I shook the dude hand, you know
what I mean, shook the old Jean's hands and it
was all good. Like two days later, I see me
on my Space. Oh shit, I'm on my Space and

(01:04:11):
this nigga has done an incredible job of editing this video.

Speaker 2 (01:04:17):
And you don't have the video to make your edit.

Speaker 3 (01:04:20):
No, you're getting chopped.

Speaker 4 (01:04:22):
But but I didn't get beat up. It just looked
like he it looked like he won. He won, right,
you know, And I'm talking about this nigga made edits
where he reversed it slow motion, broke captions. I'm like,
this was like, oh seven, it wasn't no cap cut. Wow,
he went crazy and it was on They put it

(01:04:45):
on they page, the artist page all that. So I
got everybody hitting me, niggas like cap, why you didn't
call me for this shit. I'm like, it was, it
just happened.

Speaker 3 (01:05:01):
I wouldn't.

Speaker 4 (01:05:01):
I didn't call nobody like that. I was with some
niggas and it was like, well, at least you got
down because you know, at that time, I hung around cribs.

Speaker 2 (01:05:12):
Yeah you know what I mean.

Speaker 4 (01:05:14):
But and they was all bloods and so they was
extra man because it was all blood niggas. So, yeah,
that happened, and I was like everybody in the city
saw it, and I had to answer questions people hitting me, like.

Speaker 2 (01:05:29):
Why was y'all fighting?

Speaker 4 (01:05:29):
Why is y'all you know? The coldest part was I
had a Jesus piece on when I was fighting.

Speaker 2 (01:05:39):
The Old Testament.

Speaker 4 (01:05:41):
My girlfriend was at the same bar that we were
fighting at the girl fight over the girl.

Speaker 2 (01:05:48):
Yeall.

Speaker 4 (01:05:51):
So look so there's an alley right, and there's two
buildings here, and I'm walking from the fade. I got
my necklace on, and she's she's she's walking with her friend,
and she sees and she tries to tiptoe back like
nobody could see her. I'm like, I already saw you.
So she ends up taking me home. My Jesus piece,
the Jesus was crying a bloody tear, and I got

(01:06:17):
on my knees and said, Lord, forgive me.

Speaker 2 (01:06:21):
Did some blood from you?

Speaker 4 (01:06:23):
Some blood from me? But it literally it happened to
get right. It looked like a perfect tear coming down
from Jesus. That shook me to the core. I'm out
here doing too much.

Speaker 3 (01:06:35):
I don't approve.

Speaker 4 (01:06:36):
I don't approve God watching all throughout my life, things
like that have happened. But yeah, that's my that's my
I ain't saying no names. But what's crazy is after that,
we became cool. I got that artist on some of
my songs, like we built a relationship, like it was

(01:06:59):
all good. And that's the beauty in this whole thing,
is like when you do you know, when niggas was
good hearted. They may have differences and turbulence and all
of that. But at the end of the day, you
know what kind of nigga I am, and I know
what kind of nigga you are, And if it wasn't
for this bullshit, we probably be cool. So nigga, let's
put that shit aside and peace up. And that's what

(01:07:19):
niggas did. It was honorable.

Speaker 1 (01:07:24):
I love that story. Yeah, I love that story. The fade, Yeah,
I love that. Then my Space editor is hilarious.

Speaker 2 (01:07:35):
Great.

Speaker 4 (01:07:35):
I'm talking about in the Remember they put it on
the header and then niggas is reposting it in the
in the comments section. You know, the comment used to
run down the side. Ah knocked that niggah blah, niggas
is talking. My brother is online at war with niggas.
Why do that like that? I'm looking at like, man,

(01:07:57):
I don't want my get back. Nah, I can't do
that already, sugar hands with more.

Speaker 1 (01:08:01):
Nigga should catch the fit or niggas should catch the fat.
They never will, yeah, because niggas don't keep it to
just hand. No, I mean, unfortunately, I'm just from a
different time. Yeah, I respect that no matter. You see,
we didn't ask who won who lost.

Speaker 2 (01:08:19):
We didn't.

Speaker 4 (01:08:20):
It don't matter. You got out there, you got down
for sure.

Speaker 2 (01:08:26):
That's exciting. Roll around a little bit. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:08:30):
The only unexciting part is that it's over a woman.
It's always over No, I've never thought over a woman
in my entire.

Speaker 2 (01:08:37):
I haven't either, But I'm just trying to. There's a place,
there's a place, many many wars.

Speaker 4 (01:08:46):
I'm glad.

Speaker 2 (01:08:46):
I'm glad you, but you are. I mean, I'm gonna
just tell you I was.

Speaker 4 (01:08:49):
I was lost man while I was a wild.

Speaker 2 (01:08:52):
Boy, almost almost killed a nigga over a woman.

Speaker 1 (01:08:55):
But then I had to remember. I had to remember
that she's in violation too. If she don't, if she
don't make way for him, it don't happen.

Speaker 2 (01:09:11):
Well.

Speaker 4 (01:09:11):
See, the reason why I don't say it's over woman
is because it was more so over ego, because I
call myself checking him.

Speaker 2 (01:09:19):
Well, you were he told me what he was supposed
to do. You know it's sober woman. Yeah, yeah, just
accept we fall down, it is, but what but we
get up? Yeah, it's just he fell down. What the Jesus,
Peace of Jesus, peace, Jesus protected you after that piece

(01:09:44):
should have been what I tell you what to Max,
you up. Jesus. You look Jesus.

Speaker 1 (01:10:06):
You can't stop a nigga that I got a Jesus
peace Jesus, that's what That's the one that saved us.
He's come on, Michael, it was sad.

Speaker 4 (01:10:22):
Ball. Y'all know me, Bro, that's just a fraction. I
got so many stories, Bro, I've lived.

Speaker 2 (01:10:29):
Listen. I respected I respect you from from the first
day I met you. Bro.

Speaker 1 (01:10:36):
You when I say you solid and and if you
need to get to it, you're gonna get to it
all of that, bro, Like you're gonna figure it out,
whether it be talent, whether it be anything like I
just I just got real love.

Speaker 2 (01:10:52):
For you, bro, hey man. Absolutely, and that means a
lot to me. Never changed.

Speaker 4 (01:10:56):
That means a lot.

Speaker 2 (01:10:57):
Ever you got you got, you got two brothers left,
hey dog, you got two brothers left. We're with you, bro.

Speaker 4 (01:11:12):
Yeah, I love it, Bro, no more.

Speaker 2 (01:11:16):
No, he's catching phase a different way now though.

Speaker 1 (01:11:18):
Ye.

Speaker 3 (01:11:19):
So now he's mu tai. I get it, he's MUTI cut,
I get.

Speaker 2 (01:11:27):
I get it.

Speaker 4 (01:11:28):
But just because you know it, yeah, don't mean you.
I don't even I don't carry that energy with me.
It's the craziest thing because I actually learned in there
how to relax more.

Speaker 1 (01:11:40):
You gotta understand this about this is the thing about
the thing about fighting, right, is that the people who
are truly not prepared are the people that are always
radify mm hmm. And you almost feel sorry when you're like,
you have no idea what you're about to get yourself

(01:12:01):
into at all. You've already used up too much energy
doing that. Yes, yes, uh already used it up. It's
gonna take me three to four seconds to really change.

Speaker 4 (01:12:15):
Your life, revitalize your image.

Speaker 2 (01:12:19):
That's all we mean. So I respect you for for
for learning the discipline that it takes to go along
with that. You know what I mean. And if you
you're gonna you'renn get in the ring, get organized, you
I did. He called his first one. I won. I'm
not listen.

Speaker 1 (01:12:37):
People keep telling me you're about to about to be
a fight, about to be decision split split. Yeah, how'd
you feel like you did? I felt like I did
good for bro. I was tired when I got in there.
It's different when you fighting in front of people. And
because what you gotta say, you gotta relax exactly. And

(01:13:01):
the thing was, I was the third to last fight.
So I'm back there, you know, doing too much warm,
you know, and.

Speaker 4 (01:13:08):
Just looking in anticipation and the adrenaline and you got
the anxiety and the nerves and all of that. I
didn't know about that. So I'm warm enough to do
like they do this thing where you do twenty kicks
to warm up. By ten, I was like, oh this
is real.

Speaker 2 (01:13:27):
I'm gassed.

Speaker 4 (01:13:28):
So what I did was my bro prophet Lovey who.

Speaker 2 (01:13:35):
Love you bruh.

Speaker 4 (01:13:37):
He came back and kind of like helped me to
relax because he did some shadow work with me and
just helped me to just get center myself. And then
I meditated. So then when I went up there, I'm like,
people were like, you almost seem two calm. When I
got in that round, I was super calm, but I
also knew that I needed to conserve my energy, so
I just kept it basic jabs and leg cakes and

(01:13:58):
if you wanted to mix it up a little bit,
we did. But at this point in my life, I'm
not finna be doing all the extras. Bro It came
out with the dub Man. I'm proud of myself for
doing that, proud of myself for always challenging and stretching
my boundaries. And you know I'm gonna continue to do that.

Speaker 2 (01:14:20):
You know, it just is what it is.

Speaker 4 (01:14:22):
It is my lifestyle doing the music.

Speaker 2 (01:14:25):
I still need some more records from now.

Speaker 4 (01:14:27):
Music will never leave me. It'll never leave me. But
for real, keep me in mind with the directorial ship.

Speaker 2 (01:14:33):
I got the vision.

Speaker 1 (01:14:34):
Bro, we will see all right, I'm gonna hold you
to thatts I know never did.

Speaker 2 (01:14:44):
We will see you will get your shot. Let's go,
ladies and gentlemen. My name is Tank. Listen the Army
Money podcast, the authority on all things R and B.

Speaker 7 (01:14:55):
Yeah, some.

Speaker 1 (01:14:58):
I don't know, man. We just have a friend. We
got a brother, We got a loved one out here, ma'am.
And I think out of all things, that's what manage
must friend. We love you, pleasing man, We love you all.
Brandichael Power, Thank you man.

Speaker 5 (01:15:14):
R and B Money. R and B Money is a
production of the Black Effect podcast Network. For more podcasts
from iHeartRadio, 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 Jay Valentine and at the

(01:15:36):
real tank. For the extended episode, subscribe to YouTube dot
com Forward slash r and b money