REPLAY: BJ The Chicago Kid

On this week's episode of The R&B Money Podcast, Tank and J Valentine welcome BJ The Chicago Kid, who shares his incredible journey from Chicago's church scene to becoming one of R&B's most soulful voices. BJ opens up about growing up with musical brothers, learning harmonies from his mother in the car, and hustling his way from singing background for Mary Mary and Usher to establishing himself as a solo artist. He discusses his collaborations with TDE, including the story behind his memorable hook on ScHoolboy Q's "Studio," and reflects on his evolution as a songwriter working with legends like Harold Lilly. Through heartfelt stories about his roots in Chicago and his perspective on the industry, BJ demonstrates why he's become such an important voice in modern R&B. Another illuminating conversation on The R&B Money Podcast.

 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
R and the money.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
We are than take volatility. We are the authority, ladies
and gentlemen. My name is Tank Valentine and this is
the Army Money Podcast, the authority on all things are

(00:26):
in by Yeah, my, my my, my, yes, real going
on listen here we we we we have a special
place here where where special people we we. We are
blessed when they stopped by amen, when they are in

(00:48):
the midst in the presence being who and what they are.
This man is a fine man man the cloth uh,
A man of deep soil. Yeah, deep soil. Yeah, keep
the h uh and and and and his gift uh

(01:13):
speaks volumes throughout the musical universe. I speak on none
other than as I bring guest preacher to the podium.

Speaker 3 (01:26):
Be there. I'm gonna use that when I go on
my next to.

Speaker 2 (01:38):
You are you man? You are brother man. I love
you brother to be him man.

Speaker 3 (01:42):
I gotta shake out.

Speaker 2 (01:43):
Yeah. We've been doing this a long long time, brothers
for a long time. Yeah. And you know along with
the brotherhood, you know, today I feel like, you know,
we get to we get to to talk to talk
about b J the Chicago kid. We get we get

(02:07):
to we get to talk shipped. You know what I'm saying.
You know what I'm saying you You you get to
say you God, damn right, go ahead.

Speaker 3 (02:19):
And to look who I mean it, then.

Speaker 2 (02:22):
You're damn right. Yes on who they say. I am
multi faceted, multi talented. More importantly man uh just a
good brother man. Thank you man, good brother man. You
know there's that's universal, that's not just language we talk.

(02:42):
That's that's around the world. Very important to this thing. Man.

Speaker 3 (02:46):
I think you are very important to this thing. Thank
you man, Thank you saying same. That's why I showed up. Man.
I was at the Rafaels down the store, said, let
me go ahead and try about.

Speaker 2 (02:59):
What the.

Speaker 4 (03:05):
In between these episodes and Tom and Jerry.

Speaker 3 (03:08):
Snookie get my sweat out the.

Speaker 2 (03:10):
First of all and shout out to the cooogie you.
You are not getting away from here without giving me
the connect I got.

Speaker 3 (03:19):
You say, let's the real, authentic o G. Not the.

Speaker 2 (03:24):
I don't want none of that new you want something
to put time in you. I want that real threading.
Yeah yeah yeah. Your lineage is crazy, your family dynamics,
it's all it's all crazy. Like you know, we we
we could have you here for two days. We can

(03:45):
do going through the levels and the progressions, but let's
at least let's at least touch on the beginning of
of what you come from, man, and and and and
where it all started for you? Where was a must.

Speaker 3 (04:10):
I'm the youngest of three boys, both parents in the home. Yeah,
born and raised in the same home that I left.
I was born here, moving to l A. Anything they touched.
I touched basketball, drums, basses in the house a couple
of times. With music in general, even my mom and dad.

(04:31):
My dad, he was a choir director in this earlier
Afro real Bell Bottom days, you know that that era.

Speaker 2 (04:37):
And he was directing the choir with the Afro.

Speaker 3 (04:41):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I still got pictures. Yeah,
my dad was a choir director. My mom did the
same thing, and so they grew up in the same church.
Then she went to her mom's church for some time
and then came back to that church. So my mom
was was directing choirs pretty much the whole time as well,

(05:02):
learning how to harmonize, doing what harmony was doing, how
strong or how soft you had to sing that note,
all of that. Like, my mom taught me that in
the car like I remember the first time I ever
had to sing at church. She made me sing with
my brother and she was gonna have to leave, so
it was pretty much three of us. We had to
sing that, and she gave my part in the car
before we went into church. That was my first sign

(05:22):
of pressure and.

Speaker 2 (05:24):
Getting through it.

Speaker 3 (05:25):
Of course, I was about six or seven years old,
bro and I and I felt that pressure of having
responsibility of a part. Nobody's singing this with you, so
if you fall off, you're gonna make the ship rocky.

Speaker 2 (05:36):
You know.

Speaker 3 (05:36):
It's like I understood what the musical responsibility was for
the first time, outside of a choir or a group
or something. It was just like us this way, yeah,
And I was like all right, and we went in
and we did it. It was amazing, man. But just little
things like that takes me back. Even playing the drums
for the children's choirs, just stuff like that, it takes
me back. Oh, for sure, I had gigs. I had

(05:59):
church gigs too, yep. I actually when I moved to
l A, I left the church to come to l
A to pursue writing and you know, artistry and so forth.
Musically on a different level outside of the drums, so
I left forget to come here.

Speaker 2 (06:13):
Yeah, when you were in this church space, I mean
you talk about sixty seven, already harmonized and already feeling
the pressure.

Speaker 3 (06:21):
My brothers they went on to play like for all
of the best choirs, the recordings and all like my
Scooter is Man recorded so many times with so many
groups and choirs throughout downloadable history. Aaron don't look like it,
but he the oldest. Everybody like who the oldest? I

(06:41):
be like God, like the oldest, but he's the oldest.
School this is his next, Scooter is next, and then
I'm the youngest BJ. So it just man, bro, like
my brothers were and still is everything to be. They
still remain big brothers, even in me being an artist,
like when it comes to like away from all this,

(07:01):
you know this man, they still be brothers. Just they
they stayed my dogs many it's like that, and we
stay locked. And was best dressed in high school, so
of course it's his. The reason why I might want
to be fresh every day.

Speaker 2 (07:13):
You know, was that because they were able to you know,
I mean you had a couple of things.

Speaker 3 (07:19):
I mean, yeah, of course, you know if they left
too long, leave their closet open.

Speaker 1 (07:26):
Yeah, the reason why girls on the body line.

Speaker 3 (07:30):
We met some girls on the body line.

Speaker 2 (07:33):
Bob's close.

Speaker 1 (07:36):
Oh, I want bosed to iron that it got a
hole in it.

Speaker 3 (07:38):
Now, that's not like one day Scooter walked in and
not I got in maybe ten minutes before him and
not knowing he was coming straight and he caught me
with it on mom and daddy wasn't mama and daddy
wasn't that.

Speaker 1 (07:52):
Yeah, it was like his hands.

Speaker 3 (07:54):
Yeah, mando, mano, man, Yeah, that dope. But what I
got it off in school? I got that fit off.
Though I got that fit off, was it worthing? Especially
for the times you didn't have that fit. Niggas snuck
in on the Wednesday would feel like, are you in
shopping yesterday? Huh, it ain't Monday, nigg niggas. Niggas, you know

(08:17):
niggas go shopping on the weekend. So here it's a
new fit on the Wednesday. Eye nigga just wait to
figure something matter. Yeah, you know how it is, man.
I think that whole competitiveness from even like you know,
racing to the car with your cousins as kids. Man,
that whole competitiveness, it helped us form, like you know,
that other side of the life that you don't learn
in the house, you know what I'm saying, Almost like

(08:38):
with basketball, can stow you if you get beyond just
hooping at the park and you really get to understand
what to do to you and understanding of what teammates
he is, and what survivor is, how to yeah, how
to hold it down. Yeah, every everybody's yeah, yeah, yeah.
All of that was conditioning for surviving in this game
and still surviving in it, reinventing myself again to go

(08:59):
again and a little bit more fun like our heroes
have done. All of that stuff has been seasoning to
have a barbecue restaurant that we're trying to make not
but barbecue chicken.

Speaker 2 (09:10):
Did you did you? Because I know me in church,
I didn't know what this was. You know, I wasn't
even in a space where it was even allowed to
consider m Like I know my older cousins that would
listen to uh the secular, that's the word, you know

(09:32):
what I'm saying. I thought that I thought they were
like hell, well, I didn't think they were going to hell.
I thought they were I thought they were cooler.

Speaker 3 (09:45):
There was an interest, curiosity.

Speaker 2 (09:47):
I was like, because I used to you know, I
used to hang with all my street guys. But at
a certain point when my grandmother you screamed out the
rail bab and you know what time it was. Everybody
on the block knew what time it was. Got to
go to church, That's what it was.

Speaker 3 (10:05):
Same with the sledge childsehold and they laughed and joke.
We laughed in joke too, But Nigga, we ain't let
we ain't leave that that that that portray on kicking
it still nigga passing my cupback. I mean it. The
crossing the corner is very important for survival for who
we are, our understanding of ourselves. Why we feel those
that had the same understanding of across the corner before us,

(10:27):
while we felt they music so stronger than other artists,
because nigga, that's that's us. You listen to your uncle yo,
your musical pop show, your god daddy in another way,
but some type of ken to you and it feels
very familiar, and that that helps us with who we are,
finding out, who we are growing to be, what we
want more of because they had way less than we

(10:47):
have but still gave us way more than we giving
the They what no pro tools, you know what I'm
saying that they had way less than what we had,
but gave more than. Well, we give it the show, yeah,
because imagine that bassic player fucking up all god damn time,
and we recording this song today. The bass player keep

(11:08):
sucking up there like Hi, nigga, war more nigga. We
going in the alley right easy, my big mass bear
steak tonight. I ain't being late.

Speaker 2 (11:14):
You gotta be fucked up, Jacko Stevie Wonder whooping, yep, yep.
I can't see you, but I'm gonna find you. Yeah,
I'm gonna find you. I hear you, I hear you. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (11:30):
Somebody even told me. They was like, have you ever
like they said, they know I love so music so much.
It said, have you paid attention to how the sound
changed from before Martin Luther King? And then when he
died he said them basslines got needed them, drums can heave.
Your conversation got a little different. You can hear the frustration,
the anger, the pain, even if it's a happy song

(11:52):
that Sh'S slapping now. It's like it certain things changed
music without the recognition of it changing. Because it just
do something to the people naturally, and if you feel
what we feel, it's going to change you in what
you do. You know what I'm saying. The person that
sell phones, man, when they go back in there, they hey,
how you doing. Yeah, I know, I know it's some
type of feeling that as some emotion as something. Yeah,

(12:14):
And I feel like those things have always kind of
helped translate the music differently and help us change our
creative business in some type of way. But I like
that's why I like talking to old heads. Man. They
get you thinking with the other side of your brain
and it be the simplest stuff, you know, and just
just go over our heads sometimes.

Speaker 2 (12:32):
So yeah, I just because I used to watch my
uncle Leroy. I used to on his date night. I
used to watch him on his date night. He would
have the Blue Magic play whatever he had playing. He
had slow music, yeah, and you know his room was
over here, but he had to walk across the kitchen

(12:53):
to get to the back, so he'd be going back
and forth, robe on and he's like, yeah, yeah, just
watching I'm just amazed by him. Got his magic shave on.
You know, you gotta get.

Speaker 3 (13:02):
Clean, you got.

Speaker 2 (13:05):
Yeah, it's it's it's a bottle with some green spraying.
That's all I know, spraying, watching them put on clothes
to go to and the music in the background. It's
not music I'm I'm used to listen, used to hearing
like my grandmother know me, played the James Cleveland and
all of that mass This is different.

Speaker 1 (13:25):
He's playing the secular music.

Speaker 2 (13:26):
I'm like, I'm like, I'm like what, I'm like, ugly,
wheld were you going? I got a date?

Speaker 3 (13:31):
I got a date.

Speaker 2 (13:32):
I'm like, what's that what you're listening? Though? You know
that's that's that's the music that you play when you're
on the date. I'm like, what you what you like?
What you got on? What is the clothes you wear
when you're going to date?

Speaker 5 (13:42):
Oh? Yeah?

Speaker 2 (13:46):
The other side. And even then, it wasn't necessarily an
interest in R and B music. I was more interested
in just wanting to be like him. Yes, yes, you
know what I'm saying. I was whatever came with that.

Speaker 3 (13:58):
I was just a church kid, you define everybody'd be
like man like at a certain age, man, I was like, man,
I really just want to be like my post and
my uncles with a little more money. A few more options,
but who they were was it that?

Speaker 5 (14:12):
That was it?

Speaker 3 (14:13):
That was it.

Speaker 2 (14:14):
That was it.

Speaker 3 (14:14):
I couldn't wait till my uncles came in town and
just so I could just talk to him. Yeah, yeah,
just talk man, what you been man? Or he asked
you what I've been doing? And I want to sound
cool saying what I've been doing, because this nigga's cool.
You know what I'm saying, like nigga.

Speaker 5 (14:28):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (14:29):
Like even when I said the clone, it's like, I
think we all love a fry flight, a fly fragrance
that kind of represent us because of that experience growing
up having somebody that we admired. It was so ill
and we knew it was like, that's a key component
to be in fly. And it's about what you got on.
How you smell when you walk past and be like
I feel like sometimes if a woman don't smell like nothing,
I'd rather you just least smell your your hair products

(14:51):
or something good something, but don't smell like nothing. You
know something, Yeah, a flower smells like something? Yes, yes, yes,
And all those things are from I passed. Man. They
say what you didn't have a lot of when you
was little, When you get money. You get a lot
of that, right, So I got a lot of sneakers
in my house, all type of you know, you know,

(15:11):
because yeah, yeah, yeah, And it's true. But everything goes
back to when we were kids and what what we
were attracted to?

Speaker 2 (15:18):
What what what?

Speaker 3 (15:19):
What we thought was dope? Well we always wanted some people,
some people fifty some years old and still got stuff
on that list when they was a kid. Man. Some
guys still want that rock and sock and robot. Yeah yeah, yeah, and.

Speaker 2 (15:31):
Yeah, I saw I saw the Vultron lines for sale.
On the other thing, I'm about to buy the shoe
of the vultrying life.

Speaker 1 (15:38):
YEA, kill you.

Speaker 2 (15:41):
I bought a Megatron. I'm about to buy a new
Megatron that transforms on his own. I gotta have it.
I gotta have it. You did because I didn't. I
used to lie to that lie about having it.

Speaker 3 (15:50):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (15:51):
Yeah, I got a Nintendo. I was playing punch Out
all night. Yeah, killing it. So you talk about your
big brothers and and obviously they're getting the gigs and
all of these things before you, like they're like there, God, yeah,

(16:12):
when when do you get your opportunity to be to
be a guy, to feel like you're at least kind
of on their level in that space.

Speaker 3 (16:23):
I had to be irritating first. I had to be
very irritating first. I'm talking about school to be like Mama, God,
I used to call they the musicians. They have a
little shit over there. I'm like, I want to go.
I'm saying it out loud.

Speaker 1 (16:34):
In the room.

Speaker 2 (16:35):
I was.

Speaker 3 (16:36):
You know what I was on, nat Rose, you gotta
take BJ with you. I'm like, yeah, I immediately run
to the room to see what I'm about to throw on.

Speaker 1 (16:50):
What How old are you at this point?

Speaker 3 (16:54):
That started? That started when I would have to say
I was at least thirteen. Yeah, And that didn't stop
till he got the fuck out the house for real,
because man, his life is so much more cracking than mine.

Speaker 2 (17:08):
But I was.

Speaker 3 (17:08):
I knew I was a cool little brother man, Like
I used to shoot dice against my brother musician homies
and take their money. School. You were bet with me
and like, Nick, comeon, make me some money, nigga. You
know what I do, nigga jump shots and dice. I
shoot both of them. You know what I'm saying. That
was my air force warm money and my mom be
like this all you get for shoes, this is gonna
get for clothes going back to school. You gotta make
it work. I'm live.

Speaker 1 (17:26):
Let me take this.

Speaker 3 (17:27):
I'd be right back about thirty minutes. Yeah, go ahead
to go to Brandon Park.

Speaker 2 (17:31):
Yep.

Speaker 3 (17:31):
We end up shooting jumpers or shooting dice are probably both.
And uh that that was my way of like earning
bread around that time in my life. Yeah, in school. Hey,
I would be at school and be counted absent because
I'd be in a gym shooting jumpers for money. I come,
I got three fifty in my pocket coming home today, though,
Fuck it. I I deal with it with my Popsy.
That list of all them days you went out the

(17:53):
house with. Some days you miss home people. Yeah, yeah,
but you deal with it when it comes. But having
a having the pops, that was like that, like uh,
like where he left directing in the church, like he
went to doing security and body Garden. Back then they
recalled the Bodyguarden Bodyguarden, like Eddie, Eddie Murphy, Muhammad, Ali,
Oprah Winfrey Man. The list goes on. And every Bulls

(18:15):
Rally they came through Chicago, Yeah, every Bulls Rally, my
daddy worked the stage where the bulls walk on the stage.
That like he would make sure ain't nothing, nigga. I'll
tell you what. The Blues Fest, the Taste of Chicago,
the Jazz Fest. Like he was a part of that
crew that did all of security for that. And my
dad was always on stage. So one day I'm at
the Gospel Fest. It's probably like somebody like the Kent

(18:36):
Spirituals probably up there. Somebody got to walk across the stage.
I saw my daddy grab a grown man by here
and here and turned them sad ways and walk them off.
I say, beat the shit out Gospel because I know
Uncle Ron. I call him Uncle Ron, like my daddy

(18:57):
buddies all them like right there. I know they about
the dog this way, they about to dog this man
on the side. But I also said, if my daddy
picked the grown man up like that, I'm fucking up
in school. I'm so are you just bugging out?

Speaker 1 (19:13):
Are you just hooping to gamble?

Speaker 2 (19:15):
Are you?

Speaker 1 (19:15):
Are you going to school and hooping for the team too?

Speaker 2 (19:17):
Are you just what's crazy?

Speaker 3 (19:19):
I'll tell you this, this is real story. I went
to school and I was one of those kids that
grew up in our neighborhood. Basketball was always available. I
don't care if he was in the alley hoop, and
I don't care if you went to the park. I
don't care we went to the park. We ain't supposed to. Uh,
hooping in Chicago, you gotta go to parks that you
know is the opposite of how you grew up. You
know what I'm saying. Far as a gang wise or whatever,
you know this in the whole nother hood. You've been

(19:40):
over here, you know this area, but you don't hoop
at this park. You ain't never got You ain't got
out the car and been around these niggas, and the
car is just as far away from you as it
is from him. Yeah, Like, nigga, you gotta you gotta
face the wolves. You gotta go dance with the lions.
And I think surviving in that city it makes you fearless,
not being the enemy.

Speaker 5 (19:57):
Bro.

Speaker 3 (19:58):
Like, if you know you ain't the enemy, you walking,
You about to go on the liquor store. It's about
six niggas out there, and now you out the car,
you get back, you go back in the car, You're
gonna look like everything. Yeah, you might well keep on
what's up? Brother's how y'all doing. Before they say something,
I'm in the mother fucker's store. I ain't listening to you.
Come talk back. I'm just letting you know. Nigga, I'm
not the nigga to kill your cousin. Nigga, I ain't
fight you in high school. Nigga ain't the nigga that
and you hear my accent, Nigga, I am not. But

(20:19):
you gotta be fearless if you ain't got shit to hide.
It's like in a mob, bro, if you ain't got
it to hide, am since you shake and stutter or nothing,
and just speak your truth and shut the fuck up,
you know. And I think that was my way of
being fearless of moving out here to La h hell. Yeah,
all that shit. It's it's like it keep you, It
keep you tied in. It keeps you focused too, cause
sometimes you might do the best out of three and

(20:40):
then Nigga, that's losing, Like nigga, let's do one for one,
all right. That means you gotta be so owned to
the point where if you know about jump shots, like nigga,
you hit enough for them. It's a feeling. It's not
even how far you from the rim or nothing.

Speaker 2 (20:50):
Nigga.

Speaker 3 (20:50):
It's a feeling, and Nigga, I got really good. I
got used to that feeling very fast. And it's kind
of the same with music. Sometimes when you're on stage,
this song might be next on the list, but you
got some guys, but how you they can follow you
black niggas, they won't. They want the one after that,
and you're going out there and you're black. I don't
want to do something different. Now they setting up for

(21:11):
what did you just told him? They getting ready so
about and they know when they hit it. It's all
of his basketball is knowing how to penetrate. You see
him over there, but the more you look over there,
it's gonna you gonna give him up. Bigga. Don't look
over there, but let then they keep moving you on.
That's what made magic so ill. He didn't have to
give up what he was about to do so much
and him that's how he got to know the passes
off and it it's like it's it's a it's a
certain concentration and penetration that you that you get in

(21:34):
basketball that you could assess to other things in life.

Speaker 2 (21:36):
Yeah. Yeah, So you following school around.

Speaker 3 (21:39):
Man and well, when you get in the garage, boy,
boom boom, just like them clothes. He call me with
the clothes. No, no, I'll tell you this. If I'm like, Mama,
I want to go, She's like, you gotta take bj
I'm gonna take about two three hits in the chest
before we get in the kind of garage because he's like, niggas,
you know, I want to do me, Nigga, you' messing
up my flow. I'm like up, but I'm flying shit niggas.

(22:04):
By the time we get there, they his homies happy
to see me. Bro. Yeah, yeah, but I understand what
I was doing with my brother, like he probably wanted
to do some a little different than what he told
my mama, you know how. Yeah, but nigga, they got
a little sister, nigga, what's up? And that is that
that happened quite a few times. So it's like, you know,

(22:24):
I learned a lot from hanging out with my brothers
far more mature than me. So even when I got
back around people my age, it stood out in a
lot of ways. Having a father that I had, having
a mother that I had, helped me not be outside
to a certain point. To the point where certain shi.
It was only stories, man, I heard when certain niggas

(22:45):
got shot, but I wouldn't there. It was it was
the survival of me. You know what I'm saying, dude.
It was just it was the illest Aaron being the
oldest Aaron was. You know, he was the one of them.
You get a couple of dollars, man, he was like,
man cleaning gym shoes for me. I got you. I'll
be there like, yeah, try to clean them souls in
the ones. Just so you know what I'm saying, I
give me a little quick ten fifteen dollars, twenty dollars, man.

(23:06):
I I've learned to utilize my big big brothers is
big brothers. You know what I'm saying. Yeah yeah, If
Anon working at the store or something and nigga, you
hit me up there, you know what, I'm in school, Nigga,
y'all got to shoot hookup at fot locker from the
homie nygun, bring me some something back, nigger. I'm a
little and I represent y'all. Nigga, Yeah yeah, nigga, yeah yeah,
Or nigga just bring me to y'all level, nigga, because
I understand it y'all know I know how to put

(23:27):
it together. You got the link, nigga. You got five, nigga,
give me one, nigga, and if you got five, you
could get six, especially if you tell Willie it's for BJ.

Speaker 4 (23:46):
So had your brothers did they leave when they turned
eighteen or did they stay in Chicago?

Speaker 2 (23:50):
Though?

Speaker 3 (23:51):
Yeah, I was the first one to move to La,
But my brothers moved out the house and but they
still stay in the city. But they still stay in
the city.

Speaker 2 (23:58):
Yep.

Speaker 1 (24:00):
But what made you go to La?

Speaker 3 (24:03):
Interesting question? So in high school I knew.

Speaker 2 (24:11):
You knew you were special.

Speaker 3 (24:12):
Musically, yes, because even to get back to the basketball thing,
my bad iom all over the place. But when I
went to high school, nigga, I hooped so much every day. Nigga.
I'm just nigga. You hear basketball and then you looking
at the window, see who out the drilling? Nigga know
if you should go hoop? If it's time yet, nigga
know what I'm saying. That's the neighborhood. So nigga, Yeah,
I went in there to try to play, but when
I saw Ja Varsiti, I was like, I don't know, motherfucker.

(24:33):
These niggas, go over here, jav real quick, try it out.
What's crazy? I mean, it's next tried. But Nigga, I
didn't even go back. I didn't go back. I don't
know why, but I still hung with the Hoopers, Shine
Dock reality and that was my niggas, Like these were
my niggas. So Nigga, I walked it. In our school,

(24:53):
the music side is like this hallway. It's like it's
like an extension to the building. And to get over there,
you know, wonder over there. You Yeah, I said, I'm
about to go the church drummer. I'm about to go
see what these thiggas overhead doing. Nigga. My cousin, My
cousin Charles was in the band. He played drums at church,
uh something, about to go and see what it's about.

(25:14):
He was like, Nigga, actually the band nigga kind of cool.
You should go to drum So I'm like, then, I said,
you gotta walk past the choir room, the piano room,
in the band room. So I'm like, okay, go in
the band room. I got a class with this nigga.
I notice band coolest hell, it ain't no really nerdy
ass band. It's it's it's people that more book heavy

(25:35):
than student heavy. It was some nerds in the band,
but the band was actually niggas that'll beat your ass,
come kick it with you, nigga going out to eat
nigga where the girls at like, I was like, Nigga,
I can rock with this. So Nigga I joined the band.
Uh I became section leader within a month. It was
a rule in the band that you must know how

(25:55):
to read music to join this band and to excel
in this band. I never took music as a as
a class, never took music as a class. I learned.
I was Nick Cannon.

Speaker 2 (26:04):
You play it, I can remember.

Speaker 3 (26:07):
Because church is every genre, and one Sunday every genre
you might got, you got, you got. The next day
you're doing funk, and next thing that you're doing this nigga,
you're playing R and B for offering. It's every freaking genre, bro, praise,
some worship, be country music. You know what I'm saying.
It's every So I adapted very fast, and people that

(26:30):
thought they were supposed to have that spot but definitely
look at me like so they make niggas battle. I'm
used to playing a whole set. You can make you
played this one thing. I'm playing the ram everything, but
I'm playing it in a way that you wouldn't play it.
Because you play it, you come from this way of
playing it. I come from a different way of playing it. Yeah,
I played for my soul. That's how I listen to
you play. And never they never beat me. I was

(26:51):
sexualated until I didn't want to be sexually to no more.
He ain't taking music as a class. I just hit
back there and let mister Key tell him, like to
shut the fuck up and man their business. Let him
fight my battles, not just be a g when you're
saying the mob don't don't you got sation? But my
band leader was like one, two, three four, he'd be like,
what the I love mister Key to this day, mister Key,

(27:23):
because when you're from the hood, majority of us need
to be talked like that to be talking.

Speaker 2 (27:29):
Listen, listen, respect people. It's so much floating around online
that that people get to judge from from from their
private schools and and and and from their higher learning
and this upper eche line of believing. When you don't

(27:51):
come from that place, you don't understand what it takes
to get through to a kid with the principal said,
if you take him home and never bring him back,
I'll pass him. Get him the fuck lot of here.
What are you gonna tell him? You want to sit

(28:13):
him down and have a conversation with him? No, you nah,
Pops needed to go upside my head need that differently.

Speaker 3 (28:20):
Yeah, you need that real. Our band leader was that.
What's crazy is we understood what we understood, what we
had to do every week in the house. He wants
that he want the house clean Wednesday. God damn Friday.
If you don't do a Friday, better be done before
you leave Saturday to do whatever your all day ship is,
or you got a problem when you return Saturday night,
you got a problem. And from responsibility to just knowing,

(28:44):
like nigga, that ship was right. Nigga, who what the
who want? You got three boys? My mom was the
only lady in the house.

Speaker 1 (28:50):
Nigga.

Speaker 3 (28:50):
Yeah, nigga yeah. And then we wash her car. We
go to do all that, Nigga, we had to do
all that. Nigga, I still love and appreciate and Nigga,
I praised my mother. Man. She not just being a mother,
but like understanding what sometimes it was important to me
that really what he's supposed to be, Like Nigga could
be on punishment and were having a field trip. You

(29:10):
going to such and such a nigga, one of them trips.
Everybody need need a new outfit my day. Like you
ain't getting she you ain't even going on trip. My
mama like, give me that slip. She sided a slip, Nigga.
One of the trip. Nigga, she come able to little
Nike fit from coals, some super mess shorts with a knight.
You sound on some socks. Nigga. You got your shoes
the nigga and she like, hurry up and put it

(29:30):
on while my daddy sleep. If she give me upout
it and I go to the trip, it's like, Nigga,
my mom's just you don't beat that kind of love, bro.
You don't beat the display, the affection, the unconditional love.
That's like the first time you get of uncradditional love
in the household. With some of us, I understand something didn't,
But Nigga, I was the first sign I ever had

(29:51):
an und additional love. Nigga, my mom will call me
righte a Nigga. I give me five minutes, I'll be
or slide the four on the mi ight makes you
everything all right? But my mom is like that, Yeah,
but it was crazy. My son shared the same birthday
as my mom. Wow, yeah, dude, maybe even my magic.
It was like, you know, like when Pops passed away.
My pop saw me, sa like, Nigga, you gonna have

(30:11):
a boy. I was like Nigga's Thanksgiving. We all drinking, niggas,
playing dominoes, smack of the table, Nigga, the kids running around. Nigga,
ain gone, ain't matter of fact? She is again. Then
we're gone, and you're playing for the cow before the milk.
Milk for the cow passed away. Two years after that,
long and behol. Both my brothers got all girls. I

(30:32):
had the first boy of our generation. It's like, nigga, wow,
how the hell you? And he said it laughing about
you feel this cup of black Nigga, So how do you.

Speaker 2 (30:45):
You know?

Speaker 3 (30:45):
It's just it's just that thing, man. It's it's those
things that remind you the life is real, beyond your control. Yeah,
some things in life, it really is magical in a
beautiful way.

Speaker 2 (30:54):
You know what I'm saying. When you're moving to la
is this is this? Are you getting the blessings to
make this move? Because I'm sure it wasn't a It
wasn't an easy one. Nigga, I ain't had luggage there
it is, I ain't luggage. I know that, I know
that move. Did you have luggage, Nigga? I had? I

(31:15):
had whatever I had, Yeah, I had. I had a
thousand dollars in the car. Let me tell you I
had shoes. I bought shoes.

Speaker 3 (31:24):
Yeah yeah, yeah, gotta have gotta have a kick or
to just so if you need to.

Speaker 1 (31:29):
Like it, yeah, grip back home.

Speaker 3 (31:32):
But you have something that you get you yeah, get
it through. Yeah, yep, yep, yep. So Aaron gets married,
schoolter traveling. Both of my brothers had passports before me,
like traveling the world doing music, not just doing some
frivolous ship. Like doing music. That was one of the
first things that I ever saw that made me believe
that excuse me, that it really happens, happened beyond a gig.

Speaker 4 (31:56):
Yeah, you know, when does it click for you? Like, Okay,
I really want to be an artist. I want to start,
you know, I want a record deal because I'm sure
at this point now you're hearing about all the things.
You hear about the record, you hear about the publishing deal.

Speaker 1 (32:09):
Yeah you hear. You know what I'm saying, like, because
once you're in it, Yeah, now the world opens up.

Speaker 2 (32:14):
I was.

Speaker 3 (32:14):
I was low key for real, for I was running
more close to being a songwriter when I first first
got here being an artist. I knew I would be
an artist, never knowing when the time would come. Having
the job when I landed was a huge blessing. Working
with Mary Mary, I sit the ground for them. I
remember doing the church on a Friday with them, and
Saturday week in New York at a baseball stadium and

(32:34):
bust the rhymes on the show they would do. They
would fit the places they were.

Speaker 2 (32:39):
Fits everywhere, Yeah, everywhere.

Speaker 3 (32:41):
And it was really cool for me to have that
experience because and like I want so nigga, I would
be the songs I'm working on. I would be giving
warrant CDs like tell me how can I write and
get better? Or tell me if you could use this.
I'm just trying to figure it out.

Speaker 1 (32:55):
And so he was mentoring you through a lot of
it early on in a sense.

Speaker 3 (32:59):
Yeah, and then they had like a taco Sunday or
something at their crib and I went and Harrold was there.
I was like, nigger, I heard a lot about you, boy,
And when I saw how country and southern lovin he was,
I was like, bro, man, then give me your number. Bro,

(33:20):
I gotta call you cause is it cool if I
just bug you? Sometimes he was like, Shorty, you.

Speaker 2 (33:28):
Cool.

Speaker 1 (33:29):
He's probably all the twenty at the time.

Speaker 3 (33:32):
Put the pencil with a pencil. So it would be
times where during the week I would catch a cab
to Big John's office just to go in that little
blue studio back that would held and write, watch him
write all these songs Baby Mama for Fantasia and all
that type of stuff. Would begin to see real product

(33:53):
made in a real factory in real place. And I
really didn't know who Big John well, I knew what
he did.

Speaker 2 (34:00):
I was.

Speaker 3 (34:00):
I didn't know, like to what I'm just thinking the
blue here for her, and I'll begin to started like, motherfuckers, here,
can I come again? Nigga? Yeah? You come again? After
why here? Was like what you think about this bridge?
And He'll walk out and go to the cafeteria, come
back like you got something. I was like, what do
you want to here, Yeah, I know something that So

(34:21):
get that song get up, being Nike's Fresh off the
Box for Mario. I wrote that bridge. Not my first,
that's my first R and B placement for sure. My
first placement was with Ramsey Lewis Urban Nights. So Kevin
Randolph was always like, that's like Ramsey. Well rest the
peace of Ramsey. But that was like Ramsey's piano son,

(34:43):
you know. And Kevin thought my writing had got to
a point where I could at least like write that
hook and let Ramsey do that firse thing and you know,
like you get your feet wet, get your a check,
learn how this go, get your published name, started to
just get it together. And that was the beginning. That
was like the first So then Ramsey called us for

(35:03):
the next one. And then so I was like, alright, cool,
now we in and no nigga, how about this my
first R and B placement. That's how I'm at tank
Oh shit, yeah, all shit right, So my brother School
is singing background for Dave Hollister and School to be

(35:24):
playing like little songs that make up with Kevin, like
the fireings he be playing on the road. So day
like who the fuck is that?

Speaker 2 (35:28):
What is that?

Speaker 3 (35:30):
And Dave wanted to meet me, So nigga, I come
to the show. When they come to Chicago, Dave coole
as fuck everything pan out. He was like, man, I
I'm working on the album, and I know you could
get something for me. Man, just just send me some shit,
Send me some of the best shit you got. So
I went back to my word some shit, got a song.
Place came to La and I do not I wish

(35:50):
I remember what studio we were in h in Hollywood.
It's Tank walks in. Dave is working on the joint
that Brandy ex husband.

Speaker 2 (35:58):
Was working on with Big Burt Big Bird. Ye yeah yeah.

Speaker 3 (36:03):
Came in, plugged that keyboard up, had the mother fuckers
getting ship together. And when that keyboard was working, I
was like, this nigga crazy, This nigga crazy, you know Dave,
Dave always looking around like a day He was like.

Speaker 2 (36:22):
Like and low key.

Speaker 3 (36:24):
Then I just begin to put everything together from music
you will put you were putting out. It was like, Bro,
those the days I will never ever, ever, ever, ever
fucking forget. That was before I even decided to be
an artist. I was still just trying to be an
amazing songwriter and learn more and lo he probably try
to be the next Herold Lily if I could. You know,
that was one of my favorite songwriters in writing because

(36:44):
he knew how to take that thing. And and then
later understanding about the under dogs, and now I was like, God,
damn y'all motherfuckers and some dogs.

Speaker 2 (36:52):
Fu under.

Speaker 1 (36:55):
Did you get a publishing deal?

Speaker 2 (36:57):
No?

Speaker 3 (36:57):
I did not do it.

Speaker 1 (36:58):
Didn't you didn't do one?

Speaker 3 (36:59):
Nope, I didn't. I didn't. Harold also told me it
wasn't best for me to do a publishing deal, and
he also explained to me the difference between a publishing
deal and at men deal and so forth, and then
explain what I should do when I when it was
best time. One of the most solid people that I
met in this music game, because he's not just the

(37:21):
I know the same Herold you know, and you know
you know the same Herold he know. You know people
like that in the game, one nigga Ralph with another
nigga day. You know, if very few people know the
same person in person, first niggas be switching up and

(37:43):
it's not too many people. That's the same person with everybody,
and what everybody know was a good person. Everybody can
know the same asshole, you know what I'm saying. But
man like Harold was just He wasn't just informative, but
he gave me something to do to keep me busy,
to understand how it works, and not just giving me advice.

(38:04):
Ended up getting my own songs placed on Mario and
some time after that, And but Mario was one of
the first albums that I really wanted to be a
part of at one point once I met him at
a record plant and we both found that like nigga,
that we loved the same style of R and B singing.
It was like super R and B. But Harold got

(38:24):
that soul and Warn't got that soul in on Mario.
And then that's when you got to brave my hair
when you look at me, I know all that soulfulness
into the R and B. It adds and helped him
form what he has because the nigga, Honestly, him and
Eric Doggins are two of the craziest motherfuckers I've ever
said and watched cut vocals like dog I'm about to go,

(38:51):
I'm about to go.

Speaker 2 (38:53):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (38:54):
But yeah, I really wanted to work with Mario seeing
somebody young like that, with vocal talent, with vocal understand then,
with musical understanding like that, and being around people that
I've admired, I wanted to be a part of that.
I wanted to take part in his legacy in a sense,
because even back then I only wanted to work with
magical things. I wanted to work on something that I

(39:16):
knew I could stand out in because of what I've
listened to and what niggas played before I could control
that radio. You know, you better not touch my radio
what they planned out to listen to that. But that babyface,
that right, and that simplicity something else, and that anytime
he played that and we was going out to eat
to the steakhouse or the buffet or something, and I'm
in the back of that stanking lanker and he playing
that babyface, I'm like, this nigga really good. And I'm

(39:39):
gonna get it when we say about being young with
those antennas.

Speaker 2 (39:42):
Being up it play don't touch nothing?

Speaker 3 (39:45):
Can you stand the ring?

Speaker 2 (39:46):
Same thing, exact same thing.

Speaker 3 (39:49):
That Minnesota period is so special musically. People do not
give Minnesota the credit. It's just Jimmy jam Terry Lewis
the Purple One and I'm men condition next I got
come on, I'm sure people, I don't even know.

Speaker 1 (40:02):
The coldest songwriters I believe, Yes.

Speaker 3 (40:04):
Sir, yes, sir. I didn't know they was from Minnesota.

Speaker 1 (40:07):
From Minnesota just sucked me up with that next.

Speaker 3 (40:09):
That's what's up. But yeah, man, the Midwest it is
very very special musically, man. But yeah, I had the
job with Mary and Mary and I'm shopping the songs around,
got the got to end up end up in the
studio with Warren, Lily and Mario and I was addicted.

Speaker 4 (40:27):
Bro.

Speaker 2 (40:28):
Yeah, oh my god.

Speaker 3 (40:30):
I never felt I highlight that over in my life musically,
from Chicago being here like that, knowing you just pull
up to the studio, seeing how it happens. Being upont
I was like, oh, nigga, I ain't going back for nothing.
I'm here.

Speaker 2 (40:44):
I think.

Speaker 4 (40:45):
I think that's the feeling that we all get, and
that we all got honestly when we all came here.

Speaker 1 (40:52):
Is it's very real mm hmm, right, Like it's it's tangible.

Speaker 4 (41:00):
You get here and you're like, oh, that song that
this random nigga just played me a month ago is
now the biggest song in the.

Speaker 1 (41:07):
World crazy and that don't happen nowhere else.

Speaker 3 (41:10):
Yeah, not at that time, you know what I mean?

Speaker 2 (41:12):
For me?

Speaker 1 (41:13):
You know what I mean, I didn't I didn't go
to New York. I didn't go to Atlanta.

Speaker 4 (41:16):
I came to La Obviously it was closer for me
coming from San Francisco.

Speaker 1 (41:19):
It was the closest place for me to go.

Speaker 4 (41:21):
But in San Francisco, I didn't know nobody that literally
placed records, you know what I mean, Like, you knew
niggas that have local records, that you got a record
that that blew up out the city that became you
know what I'm saying, Like we had rapid fote, you
got the Players Club and go Plattum, were.

Speaker 2 (41:36):
Like, oh this is amazing.

Speaker 1 (41:38):
But you didn't I didn't know niggas that were literally.

Speaker 3 (41:42):
Really placing records somebody in the system.

Speaker 1 (41:46):
In the system, you know, I mean the Who's Looking List?
You remember them. Shit, they used to sit out like
I don't even know it exists.

Speaker 2 (41:52):
Ever. The first day at seeing when I was like, wait,
so okay, so they want this type of song and
they want this is it?

Speaker 4 (41:58):
And then you realize like all that shit, they don't
want none of that ship that's on those papers later.

Speaker 3 (42:03):
Yes, yes, yes, like it was together. It was so
exciting to like to be that close to it, to
to touch it to Philly, it was. It was super exciting, man,
And that kind of started the the hunger. What kind
of started the ship for the artistry, it was. I
don't know what album. I think it was the Damn

(42:25):
the album after Confessions. It was a Hero I Stand
or something like that.

Speaker 1 (42:29):
Yeah, and d No Yeah.

Speaker 2 (42:34):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (42:35):
So at this time, my mom, I'm in Philly working
with Drave for Dow a lot, like to the point
where I'm out there so long, I'm sending my rent back.
I'm not even coming back, like, I'm just out there.
And I had songs that I brought out there to Philly,
and I worked on songs in Philly with dan Va
Dow for Usher and a few other artists they're working for.

(42:56):
We came up with some very unique records that we
thought were dope. When you're a young writer and you
don't know exactly what the nigga won't if it's if
it's unique enough, you're willing to play it to see
if a nigga can over like sell it because it's
the unique with the nigga that could sell it. Oh shit,
you know, so were trying to wait for that other
half of the math to add up, but it wasn't
adding up. I was like, man, what y'all think about

(43:20):
me just keeping these motherfucking records? He's like for you.
I was like, yep, Like Nigga is all, what the
fuck us we're gonna do with them? I was like, yep,
Like just give me a monk with them, Like, let
me Checkt's put these motherfuckers out, just see what happened.
I was like, all right, those the records that kind
of started the the whiff after Pineapple, because Pineapple was

(43:42):
like Pineapple was the time that I was singing in
our background for Usher. I left Mary Mary and went
to Usher and.

Speaker 1 (43:52):
You were Usher during confessions.

Speaker 2 (43:54):
Yeah shit, that's crazy.

Speaker 3 (43:56):
Yeah yeah, panties the him. I've never seen nothing like
that in my fucking life. I went to the mall
with them one day just to see what then happens.

Speaker 2 (44:12):
I wanted.

Speaker 3 (44:12):
I said, how the fuck do.

Speaker 2 (44:13):
You go to the mall.

Speaker 1 (44:16):
To the to shut it down?

Speaker 3 (44:19):
Yes, no other reason, nigga, we took a break from
sound check, was what he was doing.

Speaker 2 (44:25):
He's uh.

Speaker 3 (44:28):
Live in Puerto Rico, live on Showtime Puerto Rico and
my nigga Ryan love it, Ryan, love it man. He
came back like he did a nigga that wou schooled
me how us would be like certain ship saying or
he would like give me the details so I could
because we clicked very where. He like, Nigga, I know
you could kill this. I just want to tell you
what he liked so you could just already like I'm like,
all right, ben So Ryan put me on the game.

(44:48):
Me and Ryan became really close, so he so he
went over there to see what they was talking about.
He was like, go to the mall when we take
a break. I said, nigga, I'm going to going to
you ain't tell me for me to get this information
and drink a gateway till y'all get back. You gotta
be fucked up. So nigga, I went to the mars
like you going too. So it's maybe but myself, Elijah, USh, Terrence,

(45:13):
Ryan is probably about seven eight of us. We're getting
to tomorrow. First maybe four people see us, then thirty.
It was from four to thirty, and then thirty went
from thirty to.

Speaker 2 (45:24):
Three hundred.

Speaker 3 (45:26):
To the point where to the point where we came in.
We were just close. Now I'm on the other side
of that wall and people between us. So me and Ryan, right, Nigga,
we gotta get back cause if they move and go
through a door, then you gotta Nigga. So we get
back to night. Now. We were holding on like Elijah Jacket,
like Nigga. They walker, we walking, We all like Nigga,

(45:47):
we together. I remember Nigga one time this girl they
was like she kept like trying to put the phone
in his fucking like touch his nose with the phone.
Life just like yo, chill out. Somehow she get back phone.
Feel imagine a seat of five hundred people in the
phone is kicked through the gaps of everybody's and you

(46:12):
ain't gonna see them pictures. So we just to see
that that level of pandemonium, Bro, and really like of
somebody in one of the pinnacles of their musical career,
blew my fucking mind. I got back to the sound check, like,
how the fuck this nigga be doing this ship?

Speaker 2 (46:29):
Wow?

Speaker 3 (46:30):
Because Nigga everywhere he go, Bro, it was. It was
such an amazing experience.

Speaker 4 (46:36):
Man.

Speaker 3 (46:36):
I learned so much from Mary Mary to from the
details of singing. Meet that track you all the details
they sing and them girls got some ship and they.

Speaker 2 (46:46):
Talk about.

Speaker 1 (46:48):
Man.

Speaker 3 (46:48):
Listen them girls. If you if you get mayor Mary Acapellas,
it'll bless your soul just as much as the album
with all the music and not only learning what they
were singing, but how to sing it, how to project
yourself where it comes out right even with background vocals
and the band and their vocals, that I learned so
much of how to do it right in a real

(47:10):
productive and production type of way versus at church just singing.
Churches have just now began to elevate it and it
feels like technical yes, yes, yes, yes, because I came
from the same type of church like you. It's an
old man in there or an old lady and there
singing before any musician. Never you don't get there. It's
called devotion. Huh yeah, so it's called devotion. Yeah, well, usher,

(47:33):
I learned how to the inflections that I learned with
Mary Mary, how to take that times ten? Because fuck
what your personal what your favorite part is? Sing this song?

Speaker 2 (47:43):
Sing the damn song? Yeah?

Speaker 3 (47:46):
Fuck what your favorite part is? Sing this whole motherfucker
like it's your favorite part. And that's what like elevated.
And then me and Usher got cool not to like Nigga.
What you did, Nigga that last take, Nigga, that shit
called like you should do that shit. I'm not even
like I'm talking to the bastle. I'm like, Nigga, that
shit was Yeah, because Nigga, I feel like I've connected
with that.

Speaker 2 (48:04):
It is your your your your gift qualifies you in
the space within the conversation. You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 5 (48:14):
It's not like.

Speaker 3 (48:21):
You told I feel the same way. But you know,
sometimes when it's working, you ain't been here long, you
ain't you know, But I didn't care. I feel comfortable.

Speaker 2 (48:30):
But but but but killers no killers. You know what
I'm saying. We know, we we know when it's a
nigga that is that's singing backgrounds or you know what
I'm saying, or niggas that's not really in this space.
He ain't selling records, he's not doing this. But you
can look at him like this.

Speaker 3 (48:50):
That's they look that nigga would do. That's the fun
the nigga would do. I swear, god, bro, that's to
look like, you know, tween songs, Babby playing niggas, just
be singing around, and it turned to something that he's
singing the song we singing, just playing around that look.

Speaker 2 (49:07):
Like yeah, because you're you're in his ears, nigga, Yeah,
you're in his ears.

Speaker 3 (49:11):
No, man, those relationships and it's so what.

Speaker 2 (49:15):
I'm asking about for you is like Mary Mary now
usher And of course you've you've, you've you've banded and
bonded with you know, other background singers and other musicians.
Are you now when you say you go to drama,
Dad say, hey man, maybe maybe maybe me right? Are
you starting to feel like as you've been around this

(49:36):
level that you're like, I can do it? Oh I
belong here? Yeah? Yeah, sh.

Speaker 3 (49:55):
Uh huh that thing work huh.

Speaker 1 (49:59):
Yes, make sure you play like you're playing for Dave
Pallas the back of the day.

Speaker 3 (50:02):
Man.

Speaker 1 (50:04):
Don't let him down.

Speaker 3 (50:07):
Now, I tan't tan't thank Definitely. I forgot which dog
he had on the album. He had a dog on
the album him and I used to listen to watching
New South Joint those on that too. Yes, it's some jam.

Speaker 2 (50:16):
Watering the meal that's BJ and the Chicago kid you
come from a place. Yeah, well we know it's send

(50:39):
your blood, so also in your clothes and earlier as
you've been able to create great music, there's great music
that has also inspired you to be who you are.

Speaker 3 (50:59):
We want know your favorites, okay, and the people do too.

Speaker 2 (51:07):
We call that here. You're what we call mm hm.

Speaker 5 (51:13):
Top five, Your top five? Okay, your top five O
by single.

Speaker 3 (51:32):
Ory okay, yes, we got to know be not you
go there wrong?

Speaker 4 (51:40):
Is you? Yes?

Speaker 2 (51:49):
Ye? Yes, sir?

Speaker 5 (51:58):
You yeah?

Speaker 2 (52:13):
Mm hmm b j the Chicago kids, Yes, sir?

Speaker 3 (52:20):
What's that?

Speaker 2 (52:21):
Your top five R and B singers, Top five.

Speaker 3 (52:29):
R and B singers and no order, no particular order.

Speaker 2 (52:40):
Joe, Yeah, he's my favorite. Yeah, one of my favorites.

Speaker 1 (52:45):
Kick this ship off, Joe.

Speaker 2 (52:52):
Joe. They don't talk about Joe enough.

Speaker 3 (52:55):
Joe. This is hard because I only got four left.
God damn, this is tough. Joe. The music exists. R Kelly,
the music exists. I don't. I don't condone exists. Joe.
I'm going to say Usher, and I'm gonna say Usher

(53:18):
because it's a time where I've seen him hit the
gas again.

Speaker 2 (53:25):
H Yeah, nigga.

Speaker 3 (53:34):
His verse on that Chris Brown record, I said, nigga,
you I hear your precisest. I see what you're trying.

Speaker 2 (53:42):
It's quick. Yeah, that's quick.

Speaker 3 (53:45):
A surgeon for sure, for sure and precise to be quick. Yeah,
you could be quick and slide that. That nigga was like, no,
give me, I could tell yeah, Stokely, Yeah, Stokely's real range,
his real authentic range.

Speaker 2 (54:04):
Is messing around, and that Stevie Wonder range.

Speaker 3 (54:07):
Yes, yeah, yes, And I don't feel like I got
to say Stevie, that's what we all know that certain
people above this bid they see on top of the Yeah.
I don't got to say that, Donny. We already know. Yes, yes, yes,
So I said, it kills Joe Usher, Stokely, Stokely, Jesus Christ.

(54:27):
Only one more, Only one will be one, bro, it's
too many. This nigga next to me is nigga a
fucking problem? Did y'all just hear the intro of my
It's a problem. Intro, intro problem, That's what I'm saying.

(54:47):
Only one, God damn bro. All right, I'm gonna do
this right. For my fifth I'm gonna say, Reggie lewis
here a Chicago legend.

Speaker 2 (54:59):
He like.

Speaker 3 (55:03):
You, like when the nigga's in the NBA still remember,
like the nigga that gave him problems, he know they
was real fucking problems. Some of the problems that nigga
gave him, niggas these days can't even give him next day.
Reggie is that type of nigga. I'll be damned if
I say everybody that people know Chicago has so many
incredible ier freaking monster she is. Like when I first

(55:29):
heard her, I was like, nigga, can she never leave?
Nigga sung the background for a one time during one
period of my life, my brother Aaron, myself and iSER
we three same background for a five. Wasn't the biggest
paying gig I've ever had, but one of the funniest
because I was singing with three two other songs. Yeah,

(55:50):
Anthony Hamilton was one of those gigs where I got
to sing with some sangers singers. Anthony Hamilton was that
gig where you could actually do the soulful like Josas
is really but through a background and your mic is on.
That was that gig for me. Believe it or not,
I tell you a gym that very few people know.
I got signed to Motown and that night I got

(56:14):
a call the same background for D'Angelo during that for
that tour he did. I was like sick because di'angel
was somebody I always wanted to work with and to
know I got that call when God called me up,
It's like, hey, do I got two minutes to think
about this in the water. Let me just ponder on
this for a minute, because I can't say no yet.

(56:34):
It's not easy to say no when it's somebody you
really admire and you get to learn from inside the clock,
like fuck being out Now it's a door and you
can walk in this clock and look up and see
all the fucking mechanisms and shit like that's one of
the artists I would have loved to see because I'm
such a Prince fan. He's a student love. I'm a
student of both of them. I love to see how

(56:57):
people think beyond what they choose to give.

Speaker 2 (56:59):
Us musically, because there is a difference. Yes, yes, there
there are levels to being behind that veil and be
like you're not gonna use that, Yes, you're gonna deviate
from Yeah, it'd be so many things. Was like, I'm
not gonna understand that. Let me just let me just

(57:20):
stay right in here got a song? Right, I still
got another five?

Speaker 3 (57:24):
Your top five still got another five? Like I ain't
here none of the women.

Speaker 2 (57:29):
Yet your top five R and B songs? Oh man,
mm hmm, ring easy, that's easy.

Speaker 3 (57:44):
As we lay about, We're gonna be here thirty minutes,
pinpoint them as we can you stand the ring landslides
by the Dissey Chicks.

Speaker 2 (58:00):
Mm hmm.

Speaker 3 (58:01):
I think, why don't your music have some of the
illness harmony, the best storytelling but placed perfectly.

Speaker 2 (58:08):
White white nigga R and B.

Speaker 1 (58:11):
Yeah, but same emotions, same I mean, yes, it's.

Speaker 5 (58:14):
Just the same.

Speaker 2 (58:16):
They have a way with still tones, yes.

Speaker 3 (58:20):
No verbrato sometimes and when they find you like yo.

Speaker 2 (58:22):
What they have a way with still tones and moving
just the middle note to clash with the lower note.

Speaker 1 (58:30):
Or drop on you to.

Speaker 2 (58:36):
Okay, it's there. It's it's for them, it's soul for
for for the outside looking in. There's a technicality to
that that if you don't know the technical part of
what they're doing, you're not going to be able to
pull it off. And you won't even probably really know
that they You don't understand what some of the craziest

(58:57):
ship it's a different language. Yes, it's a different I
studied that ship and I'm like this, that's not easy.

Speaker 3 (59:03):
Exit Exit is one of the coldest.

Speaker 1 (59:08):
Fourth that was fo that's that was because you had
Disney Chicks as a landslide.

Speaker 3 (59:15):
I take it. It wasn't R and B, but I
just had to take it. So fifth, last, but not
least the Angelo. How does it feel? Man, it's too many.
I know I left some off, y'all. I know, put
them in the comments.

Speaker 2 (59:31):
In my opinion, that's one of the greatest songs of
all times. I do too. I think so too. Brother.
Everything in that serving it's perfect, every perfect song. Bro.

Speaker 3 (59:45):
I heard Rafael tell me the story of it, and
there's so many imperfections in what we consider right.

Speaker 2 (59:52):
But that's that's perfection. Yes, yes, it is imperfect.

Speaker 1 (59:57):
Things together James Brown said, you feel this.

Speaker 2 (01:00:04):
I feel hm hm m hm.

Speaker 1 (01:00:14):
Hmhmm h. Let go on.

Speaker 2 (01:00:29):
Saying no no, I'm saying no name.

Speaker 1 (01:00:32):
I'm saying no names. I said no name.

Speaker 2 (01:00:35):
Was we used what you need? Don't say? She ain't
saying no name.

Speaker 1 (01:00:51):
Yeah, So we're here now, now, very that's your part
of the show. Come on, man, I know you listen.
I know you don't watch the show. You know the segment,
you know it, you know it.

Speaker 3 (01:01:08):
I'm here, what's up?

Speaker 2 (01:01:08):
What's up? You know? All right?

Speaker 1 (01:01:11):
Well, we we play this game called I Ain't saying
no names? Will you tell us a story?

Speaker 4 (01:01:16):
Funnyer? Fucked up a funny and fucked up? The only
rule to the game. Okay, you can't say no names.
You can't say no names. I didn't think of a
good one.

Speaker 3 (01:01:29):
I was on tour some years ago, and uh, I
was talking to a young lady over time, never met
her face to face two a time, close by, pop up?
Say cool, no problem? Yeah, two tickets here you go?

(01:01:52):
You only use one?

Speaker 5 (01:01:53):
Cool?

Speaker 3 (01:01:53):
No problem? Even better? Ain't nobody with you?

Speaker 4 (01:01:55):
Cool? Uh?

Speaker 3 (01:02:00):
Get off stage? Incredible show. I don't really have a
lot of people backstage. And as it's like because you know, yeah,
because when I get off stage, my brain is like
the TV with no cable, just like, sh let me
come back, get some channels back in this bitch to
me laying it's like, yo, did you do you enjoy
the show? She's like, yeah, I enjoyed the show. Can
I see before I leave? I drove back? Yeah, send

(01:02:23):
the address? Maybe get the address we get there, I
go on my bag. I don't take my whole bag out.
I have like a little duffelo something I put when
I'm about to put on the toilet trees. I ain't
taking that in bag some stairs to do one thing.

Speaker 2 (01:02:40):
I'm on tour.

Speaker 3 (01:02:41):
Man, you gotta be fucked up. Who gonna being the
bitches down?

Speaker 2 (01:02:43):
I mean.

Speaker 3 (01:02:46):
When I get out the When I get out the
back of the vehicle with my bag, I see a
car in the driveway. I see a female dude. I
watched everything. I keep walking. As I get in the

(01:03:08):
front lobby, I hear a voice get out of a car.
I turn around. The face looked for me and man
Mider we never met in person. So but I'm not
I'm I'm gonna let you. I think it could be
somebody look just like you. But I'm that player. I
don't got it. So she's like, hey Bees, and I'm
like when she got the cars and say, hey Bee said,

(01:03:30):
I remember what the nigga looked like in the car.
So I like, it's like you cool, your your people
wait for you or something. She's like, no, I was like,
all right, cool, remember having my shower shit with me?
So we got upstairs, and she was like, no. I
offered her a drink. Somebody had brought me some Hennessy

(01:03:52):
Pure white brand new bottle.

Speaker 2 (01:03:55):
Hey man, I had.

Speaker 3 (01:03:58):
Poured a little bit, pour me a little bit, I said, cheers.
When I cheersed that glass. I drank it. But I
drink on my eyes open.

Speaker 2 (01:04:05):
I drink it.

Speaker 3 (01:04:06):
I looked at her. She threw what was in the
cup out like it's a carpeted room, bro, she just
do this first?

Speaker 2 (01:04:17):
First?

Speaker 3 (01:04:17):
Who ad nigga think like you just saw me open
take the thing off of you didn't want it? Just
don't drink it. But this an spre white. Fu you
wasting for? But anyway, that was just weird for so
many reasons, more than what I just said. I don't
got time to a lot, mind you. I just got
out of stage. I'm sweating and everything. I'm not about

(01:04:38):
to go in the shower because that was weird. So
what I did was I stood up start getting shot
in the bag, you know, trying to waste time to
really like assess with the flock, nigga. Some ship is
too red. Something is burging, ye, some shit is burging, yeah,
like ain't no red so lo and behold. She said

(01:05:02):
something that was like so wild. I was like, you
don't know what. I'm about to leave.

Speaker 2 (01:05:07):
I'm about to go you.

Speaker 3 (01:05:10):
So I got up, got my shit, I walked out.
She didn't move, she didn't do nothing. So what I
did was like a g I went to the front desk.
I was like, I'd like to close out of uh
eight seventeen and that's anything in there. Police clear the
room because nobody's. The guy at the front there says
I'm the only one working tonight. I was like, I will,

(01:05:33):
and I looked at him like you need to go
clear the room. And I went back to the same
vehicle I got out of. My manager comes downstairs and
he's like my role manager. He's like, so what you
know what's going on? I was like, Nigga. I don't
know what she owned, Nigga, but I just know she's
she she not what her thumbs was given. You know

(01:05:55):
what I'm saying and type in the messaging and the
guy says from the front desk, I'm about to go
up there because while I'm talking to the road manager,
he's on the phone calling up to the room. So
she answers the phone, why I don't be dealing with
this type of shit. That's why immediately had a no,
a zero tolerance for it. He said, I'm about to

(01:06:17):
go up there. I was like, all right, So now
me and the road managers walking back to the vehicle.
By the time we get to the vehicle, the police
is pulling up to the hotel.

Speaker 2 (01:06:28):
For her.

Speaker 3 (01:06:28):
I'm not knowing. I'm just like watching everything that after vehicle,
after the black nigga. So the police pull up. And
when the police pull up, I was like, so, you know,
when you're on tour, you got that one text of everybody. Yeah,
I said, y'all, we out of here in the next
five minutes. Get your shit and we I don't got
time to I don't blend them two worlds and two

(01:06:51):
niggas like me being an artist, I'm not your father,
but I would definitely have to explain some shit to
your family if anything ever happened with in any kind
of form. And I'm just not of that, you know
what I'm saying. So niggas came downstairs. I said, flash
into y'all when we leave. So these niggas coming down,
they was like, who was that girl? They had hog
time bringing out the so they had to cuff her

(01:07:11):
legs in her hands. What because she didn't want to
leave the hotel? Wow? Bro wow wow Wow. So it
doesn't matter if you plan the smash, don't plan the
smash whatever. Know who you're talking to, because when you
come from a different era of meeting people, you meet
them the best comfortable, understandable way for your protection.

Speaker 2 (01:07:34):
Yeah, so.

Speaker 3 (01:07:37):
Lo and behold everybody come downstairs. They're like, who is
that girl? They had hog tie bringing? So now the
police got her literally feet and hands together like she
about to go on the grill on America's best barbecuer.
And we get all getting the vehicle. Nigga, I don't
even take my shot to get in the next shit
LIKENI got. I don't give nigga what my safety all
that is way more putting any goofy shit. I didn't
seen enough goofy shit in my life. I'd have heard

(01:07:59):
enough goofy stores from my friends for me to even
play any role in anybody else's goofy movie. What what hell?

Speaker 2 (01:08:07):
Now?

Speaker 3 (01:08:08):
So as soon as we get right before the freeway,
the car in front of us have an accident where
they hit the joint boom and hit the fucking roof.
They so now we like, Nigga, we leaving the police,
we see an accident in front of us. He was like, yeah,
this is one of those days where you just got
to get the fuck out this city, this whole this
whole city is stuff. Yeah, we out of here. You

(01:08:29):
know what bad vibes feel like. And that was enough
for me to get out the hotel. But uh, we
low key tried to get out and help the guy
that that was laying on this roof. This roof was
ship the cars upside down. Nigga like, I'm good, I'm good.
He was like, yep, you're good. We out there.

Speaker 2 (01:08:48):
Good luck. That's all makes you good? Bro.

Speaker 3 (01:08:52):
You know, nobody sleep. We see the accident. Now the
nigga died. Now then niggas like we good and he was.
I was like, nobody opened the door, touch the condo,
you see.

Speaker 2 (01:09:04):
Yeah, you gotta be careful out here, man, more.

Speaker 3 (01:09:06):
Than careful, more than careful.

Speaker 2 (01:09:08):
And that was.

Speaker 3 (01:09:10):
I'm gonna tell you, man, I just I've seen too much.

Speaker 2 (01:09:14):
Nigga.

Speaker 3 (01:09:15):
You didn't even have to drink the liquor. Why did
you throw it in this nice hotel with this.

Speaker 2 (01:09:18):
Cut You're weird though poor execution.

Speaker 3 (01:09:22):
Yeah, one flag was really ten because whatever question you
can ask if.

Speaker 1 (01:09:27):
You're trying to set me up, because you go do
your show and go.

Speaker 2 (01:09:32):
And go to sea.

Speaker 3 (01:09:35):
Even being that many years ago, Bro, you gotta you
gotta understand. Like I've seen, I've seen background many years
before even being an artist. So and a lot of
friends I grew up with I still have. This didn't
excite me or bringing any extracurricular activity to me that
I never had before, even before a single back background
with usher like Nigga, I have friends, I had a
prime date. She was bad.

Speaker 2 (01:09:55):
Was I have?

Speaker 3 (01:09:56):
Yeah, I was. I had enough person need myself to,
you know, have a good life and and not really
have to. But from the conversation, the conversation, Nigga the
coolest fun like but the the.

Speaker 2 (01:10:13):
Lord to sleep is a thing. It is a real
thing like these these these this especially with this new internet.

Speaker 3 (01:10:26):
The Internet. Oh just keep being venting himself. Man, what
same old soul just.

Speaker 2 (01:10:31):
To new I'm gonna tell you what Floyd Mayweather say,
protect yourself at all times.

Speaker 3 (01:10:35):
And he ain't say that he gotta do it, but
he probably said that Nigga's been saying that before him,
but everywhere everywhere.

Speaker 2 (01:10:41):
I'm just saying, you know, nigga head butting him in
the face and then wanted to hug. You're gonna get these.

Speaker 3 (01:10:51):
I was so happy he did that, Bro, I was
so happy he did that because I'm get the point
protection at some point, I don't want to hug you.

Speaker 1 (01:11:00):
I don't want to.

Speaker 2 (01:11:01):
Yeah, you don't get to You don't get to disrespect me,
offend me, and not get some of that back.

Speaker 3 (01:11:08):
That's how I look at the world. And that's what
I'm gonna teach my son what you got and too,
don't you ain't you ain't always. You ain't always got
to give it out to get it back. Some time
you could just be that type of day. But nigga,
keep your head on the swivel. You would be able
to still be the You could keep the controller in
that situation at all times.

Speaker 2 (01:11:25):
You keep your you know, the world is just such
a crazy place, and the world is the world is looking.
People are always looking for an advantage and and and
I don't I don't mean to tell my son like this,
like my wife get on me. I don't tell him that.
But in this new world, I have to tell him that, Yeah,

(01:11:47):
if you smell it, yeah, get off. You can apologize
after I thought I thought y'all was on something. Yeah, yeah,
I felt like I felt like I was I was
gonna get the bad end of that. Yeah, so sorry,
but I had to go first.

Speaker 3 (01:12:06):
Yeah, because sometimes niggas don't even realize they could have
done it until the ship don't already happened.

Speaker 2 (01:12:17):
We used to fight back in the day. We used
to throw some punches and then somebody would win, somebody
would lose or be a tie, and then that was
the end of it. You go home and come back
the next day. But you actually cool, dog, I really
I rock with you. You know what I'm saying, Go
for a fighting to be a best friend. Now. It's
so unpredictable because crashing out is a sports sports, It's

(01:12:42):
part of the conversation, it really is.

Speaker 3 (01:12:45):
It's famous, it's part of it's it's famous.

Speaker 2 (01:12:50):
So you're know you you're not gonna crash first on
my minds.

Speaker 3 (01:12:56):
And too, Bro, you only got one life, man, it
ain't even about being you. You got to be smarter, bro.
Smart being smart, it's coding and being stronger.

Speaker 2 (01:13:04):
At all times. Better believe it assess Yeah the smartest.
This feels like a track, like a track moment. Yeah yeah, yeah,
funk that. I'm gonna be a lot. I'm making it
home one way or anohing and.

Speaker 3 (01:13:26):
To man, Nigga has been through too much, too much.
I haven't seen too many movies, documentaries, Nigga stories in
front of my face. I'm good.

Speaker 2 (01:13:36):
I mean yeah, brother, brother BJ the Chicago kid. I
like to say your whole name. I like you know
what I'm saying. I like for your flowers to be
addressed to you. I appreciate, Thank you, brother, thank thank
you for your time, thank you for your gift. You
know what I'm saying, your continued contribution to this, to

(01:13:59):
this you universe, which is also inspiring to us. You
see what I'm saying. And we're home for you. You know,
I just want to make sure we express that to you.
We're a home for you. This ain't just about you
being a guest or you know, any any anything superficial
or anything industry. My brother, you are brother, this is
home for you. You want to come up here and
just put your feet up on the table and just

(01:14:20):
talk shop and and be do you know I say
what I'm saying, and be a resident and man, Carl Blanche,
my brother, you know that. I just want to make sure,
un listen, you take that off. You might not get
that back. Keep the gentleman to take. And this is

(01:14:43):
the Army Money podcast, the authority on all things R
and B. And this is our loved one man, This
is our brother man and anything that he's doing. I
want you to put your ears and your eyes on it.
Can you give them the gram?

Speaker 3 (01:15:02):
Oh man, BJ to Chicago kid, no numbers, just let us,
no funny spelling, just it is what it is. BJ
the Chicago Kid.

Speaker 2 (01:15:08):
I promise you you will not be disappointed. If you
love music, you're gonna love BJ in Chicago Kid, we
love your man. R and B Money, bjetabout there.

Speaker 4 (01:15:25):
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
j Valentine and at the Real Tank. For the extended episode,

(01:15:47):
subscribe to YouTube dot com, forward Slash, R and B
Money