August 21, 2024 • 59 mins
On this week's episode of The R&B Money Podcast, Tank and J Valentine welcome the multi-talented Robin Thicke to the pod. Robin shares his deep connection to Black culture, influenced by six generations of musicians in his family. The conversation covers his early days learning from industry legends, his breakthrough moments, and his experiences working with other iconic artists. Robin also reflects on significant life events, including treasured memories of his father Alan Thicke, and how these experiences have shaped his music.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
R and B money.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
We are.
Speaker 3 (00:07):
Thanks, take out the child. We are the authority on
all things R and B. Ladies and gentlemen, my name
is Tank.
Speaker 4 (00:23):
Everybody podcast the A Thorty on all things r.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Oh my god, I have been waiting.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
I have been prayed.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
The time has come.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
I have been I have been hoping.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
I said, Lord, if you send us anybody, send us that.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Name doesn't mean it doesn't doesn't name name one of
the coldst ever.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
That's simple, ladies and gentlemen, mister Rob, I want to
do this because to me, to my brother Jay, what's
going on, this is this is really special. I want
(01:26):
to let you know that. And so for me, I
have a bottle of champagne. Come on, what you're gonna Donna?
Speaker 2 (01:33):
I was wanting to celebrate.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
I wouldn't like to because we we we've been talking
about this for a while.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
They got to stop me from celebrating.
Speaker 5 (01:42):
You know, they don't they don't earned Listen, you have
earned the right to celebrate one of your favorite songs.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Come on, it's a celebrate this another I have I have.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
You know, we've talked about this and we've at the
time will come, and the time has come. And this
is not and the time is right better late than never.
This is in God's own time. The universe is saw
fit for this to be the moment. Yes, and what
we're gonna do is that's that, Mama, Lord, what we're
gonna do. We're gonna pop.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
I told you the muscle. I told you, sir, it was.
Your shirt was all nicely iron. Now you're just ruined.
The want your shirt. I saw you walking in. I
opened that looking like you've been doing dishes.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Now and stuffs.
Speaker 3 (02:38):
Open up at the bottom of your your shirt. Any
by any means necessary, you've.
Speaker 4 (02:43):
Been just that your pain, not not yet not your brother,
travel to meet it.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Get us right, championship.
Speaker 6 (02:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
I don't know if you know, but those are R
and B glasses my brother money. It was money. You
know glasses say R B money on them. They don't.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Yes, yes they do, My lord from.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
The United Center, Come on, United Chicago, United, the United
Center gave us our own glasses, our own Uh.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
Yeah. The house that Michael Jordan's in, the house that
R and B Money lives in.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
This is this is this is for us. You being here, brother,
it means the world to us. Man, we have been fans,
and we have been brothers for a long time. Man,
but today we get to celebrate you, man, the way
we've always wanted to.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
Man. You know, R and B runs in my blood. Man,
what's my name? R O B.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
Come on now, all, I'm gonna take you back to
the beginning. I'm gonna take you back to the beginning.
There's a there's a there's a good friend of mine
by the name of Dreno, and Dreino says to me, Nicole,
(04:05):
I got I got some I got some shoes. You
need to hear. He about to kill every body, to
kill everybody.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Was crazy.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
I was like, let me, let me hear this person
who's supposed to be messing with me and all of
my R and B constituents. And he begins to play
this song. Oh god, he's the man, he said. It
(04:36):
hadn't even dropped yet, because I'm going to bring a
full circle for you. That was the late Great Andre
heralds cousin O'Neil Dreno. Okay, who is playing this music
for me? He said, Andre has him has the one
and and he showed me a picture.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
Of you with with the Lord Jesus.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
With the whip and I said, he's going to kill him,
all of them.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
And I had I had never heard anything like that before.
And I was going for the first album.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
I wanted to just make something that never existed, bro,
and that was that was a fun album to make. Man.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
I think it was like, you know, because I think
we all have we all have a natural judgment when
it comes to things and all, and it all starts
from it all starts from the look in the appearance.
And it's like when I first when I saw the picture,
I heard the music first, then I saw the picture,
I'm like, how how the fuck did that happen? Because
(05:47):
I'm saying, I'm saying this like almost like disco esque
vibe with the with with the with the with the
Tony Montana.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
So I'm like, what is this? And how is he
doing that?
Speaker 7 (06:04):
How?
Speaker 3 (06:05):
How are you doing that? Robin right on the back cover,
right like.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Take me to the beginning to where you even where
you even start constructing the fibers and the textures that
that design who you are.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
Well, you know, the funny thing is, you know, I
come from six generations of musicians. My grandfather was a
jazz trumpet player. His father was a jazz trumpet player.
My dad was a soulful guy, you know, love to
write songs, love to sing h you know, wrote with
Richard Pryor and you know, and all these kind of things.
So my dad was a soulful guy and enlightened for
(06:44):
his time, you know. And my mom her number one
song was Friends and Lovers in the eighties with Carl Anderson,
a black R and B singer.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
So all of this this stuff has been built.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
I joked that my family's been trying to be black
from sixth generations, and I'm just to get it.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Right, you know what I mean. We made it. We
made it, Joe Shit, we did it, Joe, It did it?
Speaker 4 (07:09):
Joe.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
Yeah. I mean I love.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
I really loved the culture just as a kid. I mean,
whether it was Eddie Murphy or or you know, Michael
Jackson and Prince And when I was a seven between
seven and twelve years old, it was all black music,
black culture, and and then and then rap music and
then then hip hop and then when Joe Desy and
Boys to Men and that era happened. I was thirteen
(07:34):
and I was very impressionable, and I was in a
singing group with three other black guys, and it was
all legit. It just you know, And so my whole
life and my whole culture has been black music and
black culture. And when you come to my shows, it's
ninety percent black people. Like it's not even you know,
that's just, oh, we were as one as one, you know, fourteen,
(07:57):
because we're all black. And I'm fourteen years old and
I'm wearing a double breasted Steve Harvey suit and I
got a cigar in my hand and my hair slicked.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Back, gangster like, you know. So I've always been what
I am, you know. And I love R and B.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
I love really soul music, R and B music, hip
hop music, black coach, black comedy I watched, I watched
B e T. I showed up to school with the
Jet magazine when I was fourteen.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
Out of here. We all grew up on the Jet
Beauty a week, Beauty a week No my mom.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
To have that, got to check it out when I
was fourteen. So and you know, then then being married
to Paula Patten and just you know, my whole life
has been embedded in the black experience in black culture,
and that's that's where I belong.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
You know, it was you know in hearing that in
your first entry, it was like there was no there
was no try, there was no there was nothing extra
on it. It was very author I was like, I
was like, where is he from?
Speaker 2 (09:04):
I don't want to go nowhere else because.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
Yeah, he's he's not living a lot. He's telling the
truth in this music. What he's doing.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
I mean, I got I got the same guy in
me that you know that the Baptist Church got in
and you know what I mean. Whatever it is like
like we feel the music, we feel the soul, we
feel the pain, we feel the history, We understand the
journey where we need to support each other, we need
to believe in each other. We need to you know,
stay on the right paths and and and just be
(09:32):
a family. Like when I go to the BT Awards
or something like that, that's like a family reunion for me,
you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
And that's that's just who I am. And it's always
been real to me. Yeah, when did is your is your?
Speaker 2 (09:46):
Is?
Speaker 1 (09:46):
You're coming up in this family of so many generations
of of of really incredible musicians. When does someone point
out that you are actually going to continue in that line?
When does somebody say oh he's got it too.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
Well, I think it doesn't. I'm sorry, how do you mean,
like at what age.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
Did did did you discovered or did or did somebody
say you have it?
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Well? It started with you know, my good friend Tabiso
and Kye, who ended up writing hit songs and being
a music manager and a music publisher. And he was
the first. He was when I was fourteen. He was
in the group with me as one.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
He was my group.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
Tab was in that group, you know Tab. So this
is what so Tab was my first So Tab had
Tab told me how to take pictures, how to go
into the office. We would go to the office and
I would sing jodasy and commissioned songs.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
Yeah yeah, yeah, I am here. Yeah, running back to you,
running back Yeah yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
It starts with Tab.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
He becomes mine.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
This is how you're go I started dressing like him.
I started, you know what I mean, like he was
like he was just this is stuff. You know how
long I've known Tab? Yeah, and this is the first
time ever hearing this story.
Speaker 3 (11:03):
Yeah, that's my brother.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
And then so then we did some demos that got
heard by Tricky Stewart's camp. M So I go in
the studio at fifteen years old writing with Tricky Stewart.
So this is how much information I'm getting as a
fourteen to fifteen year old songwriter and singer. Then next
door working to Tricky Stewart is Brian mckknight, who I
(11:25):
had studied. Brian McKnight's whole first album that was a
huge album and a huge influence on me. Brian, here's
what I'm doing with Tricky. He brings me in. He
signs me to his record label at Interscope Records when
I'm sixteen years old. So now I'm writing with Tricky Stewart,
I'm working with Brian mckknight. Then Jordan Knight from New
Kids on the Block. Here's the work I'm doing with
Brian McKnight. I go in the studio with him, I produce,
(11:47):
I write and produce his whole first solo album. And
guess who Jordan Knight takes me around to work with
and be in the studio with Jimmy jam and Terry Lewis,
Walter Affinasif Raphael Sadik, I'm seventeen years old, he A'm
seventeen eighteen years old, and I'm writing with all and
producing with all of those guys.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
So the I went to school.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
I went to Harvard and yale A Music when I
was sixteen, seventeen, eighteen years old. Brian McKnight, you know,
I mean, the Take six would come by and be
singing Army. I'm just sitting there learning, just listening watching.
I mean, and Take six is how I learned how
to riff the main group that I that I studied,
and that's when why when Brian and I came out,
(12:29):
we were also excited because I was a huge Take
six man.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
But I learned every Take six song and riff. That
was it. That was the training that was that was
done right there. You know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Once you learn how to sing Take six, you could
sing anything. You can sing anything anything.
Speaker 3 (12:41):
Well, are you actually going to school at this point too?
Speaker 4 (12:44):
There?
Speaker 3 (12:44):
Are you are? You know?
Speaker 2 (12:45):
I was out my senior year. I decided to move
out my senior year. My dad was very disappointed. Shout
out to Alan Thick, we love you and miss you.
Speaker 5 (12:52):
Dropped out because I had a record deal, I had
a publishing y Jody saying yeah pretty much.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
No. No.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
What I did was I got the tutor and like
and like paid three hundred dollars for the tutor to
give me a bee, you know what I mean. And
then I just showed up a graduation and with the
cabin gown and all that. Everybody was like, what hell
you doing a day? You were here like the first
week in September and they had come back like.
Speaker 7 (13:16):
You ain't paid at three hundred read my god right here.
Speaker 3 (13:22):
So so yeah, so I just snuck out.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
But really my senior year, I already had a record deal,
I had a publishing deal. I was in the studio,
you know, ten twelve hours a day with these kind
of talents, you're professional. Yeah, I mean I was in
and the training that you know here those ten thousand hours,
the outliers theory and stuff. I got ten thousand hours
by the time I was twenty one, and then it
was time for me to focus on my own career.
And then who comes into my life? Andre around because
(13:46):
I knew what to do.
Speaker 3 (13:47):
I didn't know.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
I'm not saying I was having a great time as
a songwriting producer, but I didn't know who I was
going to be as an artist. And the album that
I made with Brian Knight by the time we started,
when I'm sixteen. But by the time I'm nineteen, Jimmy
I mean, was like.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
You know what it it's okay, it's good.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
I give it a B plus, you know, but we're
not going to spend a lot of money promoting and baa.
I was like, you know it, don't even put it
out shelfit.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
I'm out of here.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
Let me go work on myself and and figure out
who I'm going to be as an artist. Then Andrea Herrel,
like the angel comes into my life. Teaches me how
to walk and talk it, how to connect with people
instead of just paint, how to make the painting connect
you know what I mean, And how to be a
part of the culture. Executive. He taught me, you know,
he took me shopping, he bought me, you know, he
told me what music. So he walked in with the
(14:29):
fifth of Beethoven. He when I was making the album,
he said, you know this Saturday Fever album. He said this,
this is the kind of sound. This disco. Everybody loves
this go just go last for everybody. Want to celebrate,
everybody want to dance, listen to this album. So I'm
listening to the album and first thing that camera mout
I wrote that in about ten minutes, you know, and
that ended up being.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
The first single of my artistic career. You know, did
you did I perform that song? I do now.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Sometimes, but I didn't. I didn't perform it live in
our shows.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
No, why not?
Speaker 2 (14:58):
I know, I probably should all the time? What I
probably should all the time?
Speaker 3 (15:02):
Shoot?
Speaker 2 (15:03):
Well, you shooter most of the time. Yeah. Oh, the
set's different. The set's different since I, uh, what, yeah,
we do that, we do that usually.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
Said, this guy's been robbed before. Guys had to be
And I was in.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
The bank when it got robbed. Yeah, I was laying down.
The whole story is true. Hold on what that whole song?
I was eighteen years old, Paula was sitting in the
car outside waiting.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
I was.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
I went in to get like three hundred dollars, but
we're going to go to Santa Barbara to my dad's
ranch and spend the weekend together. A romantic eighteen year old,
you know, get away and I go in the bank
and all of a sudden, they get get down on
the floor, but get the buck on the floor. I
turn around. Three guys. One's coming right. He points the
gun right at me because I'm standing at the counter.
He points the gun right at me. I get down.
(15:48):
Of course, he comes to the counter, he hops over
the counter, you know, goes for the money. And then
the rest of the story that develops. Lady walks into
a shotgun surprise. A lady walked in to the guy
that had a shot gun at the front door. Every
word of that song is true. The fuck out of
here at eighteen, story at eighteen. And then you know,
luckily nobody was hurt in the end. But when even
(16:09):
when I say when I say, lady walks into a
shocking surprise, drops down to her knees, saw her life
for her eyes. He said, bitch, she's gonna get at.
Everybody going regret it. I'm your That was he did.
He said, if anybody moves this, bitch is gonna get
so those all those words in this song are true.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
My hands up, my hands up. They want me with
my hands up?
Speaker 2 (16:28):
No shooter.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
Wow, I never knew that that might be the best
songwriting story that I've ever heard.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Write your life the second verse just for the funny
it because that's what we're doing. The second verse is
thiefs flying off at the mouth talking about dumping and
wetting me something because they were like, you're about to
get dumped on.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
You're just about to get wet up in here. And
I'm like these white people don't know what translator. I'm like,
lucky on me. I'm like I told you I'm part
of the cultures. I'm I'm like, I know a dumbing
and wedding is. But again, but lay down, guys.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
What they're saying, yeah, okay, everyone, they're trying to They
just want you to lay down.
Speaker 3 (17:09):
You're gonna get dumped on and get wet on. Okay,
I mean shooting. You don't want that. They're gonna shoot,
and none of us want that to happen. Are you
kidding me? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (17:17):
That's a great part of art, man, is that it
can come from anywhere. And when I was younger, I
really challenged myself for those kind of things.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
Give me your energy as this album drops, because I
think the album the album dropped and the first single,
of course, where we all heard the first single, but
comparatively speaking, this wasn't the blast off as we as
we as we know hindsight looking.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
Correct, this is where the magic happens.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
What was your where are you artistically? And even mentally
after this project drops, because there's still so much work
to do, even with this great music you have.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Well, what happened was there was so much hype in
Andrea Herrel connecting me to the most fabulous people in
in you know the world. At times, I was very
ahead of my accomplishments.
Speaker 3 (18:12):
I had.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
All of the cool people were listening to it. Jay
Z was listening to it, Forarre was listening to it.
Usher had it. You know, every they all had it
because Andre had was friends with all of them, so
it was easy for him to get all of the
coolest people in music.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
Mariah had it.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
So I threw a Halloween party before the album came out.
Naomi Campbell was there, but Mariah Carey was there, Paul
Thomas Sanderson and the movie director Mariah Maria's is the
Halloween party. Maria's got pom poms and she's dancing on
the dance floor till you know three am. So we've
got oh Seal was there, So yeah, so, and we're
just listening to my album before it even comes out
(18:46):
in my studio at my house at top of Blue
Jay Way, you know what I mean. So I was
so I thought I was about to beat that thing,
you know what I mean. I'm you know, so then
all of a sudden it drops, sales don't happen.
Speaker 3 (18:58):
I go to Jimmy, I'm you know.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
Months later, I'm like, Jimmy, don't feel like you you know,
with support of the record, Jimmy goes in, he goes
tell me, tell me the Robin Dick numbers. Tell me
the numbers on Robin Dick goes six million, six million.
I spent on this, you know whatever it is, so
so everyone believed. Everyone believed it doesn't hit, it doesn't sell.
Culturally praised, uh, Rolling Stone magazine said it was Marvin
(19:22):
Gaye backed by Radiohead, and you know, so so we
had that, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (19:30):
But but then what happens next is I go through Uh?
Speaker 2 (19:37):
Who am I without success? What am I going to
be in this world? If if my music doesn't hit?
I was born to do this and and everyone said
it was going to be a big success and I
had all the right people around me, and it still
didn't hit.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
What what do I do now?
Speaker 2 (19:51):
And that is the evolution of Robin Thick. All those
songs were written. Next, I got to be down with
Faith's evans. I'm too complicated?
Speaker 3 (20:02):
Would that make you love me?
Speaker 2 (20:04):
I'm lost without you. I got to ask myself what
I'm going to be.
Speaker 3 (20:09):
You know what I mean? I need love.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Can you believe when all hope is gone? I need
to look to the sky lonely world. Don't you worry, babe?
How will you get by angels?
Speaker 3 (20:22):
You know what I mean. You are in a space, maam.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
And that's when the magic happened, man. And that's those
are the best songs in the best moment, you know.
That's those songs are hard to repeat, and yet they
mean even more to me today, after twenty years later,
of everything I've been through. They're even more powerful to
me today when I sing them, Absolutely yeah, because I
spoke it before it happened. Lonely World, those lyrics are
(20:47):
pretty much the story of me meeting my new lady,
you know, my relationship with my son, all before it
ever happened. All these things spoke into existence and then
manifested in the next twenty years.
Speaker 3 (21:01):
We need a song process for a loss without you.
We need a process. What was the process?
Speaker 2 (21:09):
That was a quick one where with my bass player
Sean Hurley, who ended up working with John Mayer for
twenty years and one of the most amazing musicians I've
ever worked with. And he just comes over and you're like,
got this little thing, and he goes, diod Oh and
my my producing partner of twenty years from the beginning,
pro J, shout out to Proj and he does everything
to me. He grabs the the sweeper that you use
(21:31):
to sweep out the fireplace, and right next to it
while Chris Sean Hurley's playing and I'm singing, he goes
and that we recorded to I said, that's so cool.
That's so it's actually a fireplace sweeper. Is the shaker
on Loss Without You? But yeah, So about a couple
of weeks later, I started thinking to myself. I was
(21:51):
trying to write the verses, and I actually thought, I
was like, you know, if I was writing for Usher
or something, because I really wanted to be a big,
big hit, you know, and usually I just kind of
go to art up and I was like, if I
was writing this for Usher, how would I do the
verses because I just worked with Usher on his project
blah blah blah. So so I kind of wrote the
verses thinking that I was writing for usher.
Speaker 3 (22:09):
How funny is that smash? Some mash smash?
Speaker 5 (22:29):
So okay, So all these years you put in your
twenty thousand hours at this point, like no, seriously, right,
like you put it, you put it, you put in
real time. Like I remember when I got my first
solo deal.
Speaker 3 (22:45):
They took me to your house. They took me, yes, yeah,
they took me.
Speaker 5 (22:49):
Daryl Williams from from from Elektra took me to your house.
And you hadn't had your music out yet either though.
Speaker 3 (22:57):
Oh wow.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
Yeah, so yeah that ear he was writing, writing for
a lot of different y Stone up there.
Speaker 3 (23:03):
I mean, you know, we seen in me a line
we had people were.
Speaker 5 (23:06):
And I'm like, yeah, maya and they playing in pro
jus like the whole thing. So I saw the process,
you know what I mean really really early on. So
after you you've done all that, you're writing for people,
you working with everybody, now you have your first smash.
Speaker 3 (23:21):
Yeah, what's the feeling for you at this point? Oh man?
Just you know, I remember just being feeling like, Okay,
I'm not crazy, I'm okay. I thought it was good.
I thought it was pretty good music.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Yeah, but yeah, no, you just you just kind of
say thank you God, you know, and you just you
just enjoy the moment and and then the ride happens
quickly and then you know, next thing, you know, I'm
on Oprah twice. A couple of months later, I do
a summer tour with Beyonce.
Speaker 3 (23:49):
So that's all within like six summer tour with beyond.
Speaker 2 (23:54):
Oprah twice, Yeah, and Oprah com Oprah had me back
a month later because she, you know, was a brad
the album I loved and Yeah, and the numbers were
so high once once I was on Oprah, the number
the sales sales from your Yeah, so it was just
like weekly and again it was all you know, we
had number one R and B album for like twelve weeks,
you know what I mean, Like it was Yeah, it
(24:15):
was we was in there. Wow.
Speaker 3 (24:18):
And you know, it's just you just stay grateful.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
And then and then comes, you know, the roller coaster
of fame and the stuff you've been you know, waiting
for for twenty years and all the complications that come
with that.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
Did you perform I could be mistaken, but I feel
like you performed lost without you on the Grammys or
good they were doing, we were doing and everything amazing performance.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
Amazing performance. Thank you. I appreciate that, absolutely amazing. I
was like, he's really good.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
Because it's like you said, those type of hits, the
those are once in a lifetime moment for people because
we'll get.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
To even just the songwriting connection, like when you when
you write a song and you know the feeling and
that song comes on in the audience and there's this
collective wave of love and appreciation and sentimentality and positivity
that just flows out of that song. Makes people feel yeah,
because they they had so many good times to that song,
(25:26):
and you can't take that away from them. They they
were in the bed with somebody they loved listening to that,
you know. They they were on vacation dancing with the
one they loved when they heard that, you know what
I mean. And that's I can't take away that that
that feeling and that connection.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
I feel like anytime a song can fill in the blanksh.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
It just it just takes voicemail. This is what I
want to say to you. It feels in the blanks.
It's just it's just something about it.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
And as you say, these songs mean so much more,
Like you know, twenty whatever years and you're you're like
when they come on, it's like it's deal and puts
you back there.
Speaker 3 (26:11):
And now it's like.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
These songs are refreshing because of everything else that's going on.
Speaker 3 (26:19):
Now that's just not like it.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
Yeah, well, I mean, you know, the best things standard
test of time, and and love is in the end.
You know, love is that connection we're all looking for
and the best songs. You know, a man or a
woman or whatever you're each side of the partnership can
listen to the same song and feel the same connection
to it, even though you know they're both on different
(26:42):
sides of the relationship. Yeah, as the song just when
it speaks for all of us, it connects to all
of us.
Speaker 1 (26:48):
You know, I want to ask you a question before
before we go to the monster, I want to ask
you a question. Me and me and Jay talk about
this a lot. You came you you you came up
and not only just a very talented family, but.
Speaker 3 (27:07):
Pops was guy.
Speaker 1 (27:10):
Pops was a god like you had You had the
you had the fame, you had the money, you had
the you know, probably all the things that you needed
to just be cool. But you are still chasing this
(27:35):
with a hunger like like you don't have it, like
you don't come from it. Yeah, yeah, what does that
come from? I think it's just you know, it's that rare.
Speaker 3 (27:47):
Thing that that.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
All of us have it. But when you when you
know it early and there's no doubt about it, Like
when people try to tell me, like, you know, what
do I need to do to be? You just are
you just are? You already see it? You already know
what's going to happen. You've are you know, you just
know it very early on, Like nothing's going to stop
me from learning what I need to learn, practicing what
(28:10):
I need to practice, out working the guy or girl
next to me, and sooner or later, you know, my
some form of these dreams will come true and I
will I will get to that that place.
Speaker 1 (28:23):
But it's like most people who are in this comfortable
space growing up in this we already have it, don't
have that level of hunger or even confidence in their
own ability to get their own.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
Was there like was there a thing in you to say, Okay,
popsot his, but that's his, I gotta get mine.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:53):
Of course there's a competitive spirit and that that happens
in a lot of families. Whether it's if you're a lawyer,
sometime just becomes a better lawyer or bigger, or because
he had the connections or he had the information. Because
Dad's connections didn't totally help me that.
Speaker 3 (29:07):
Way, but his belief in me. He put me in
the room with David Foster.
Speaker 2 (29:11):
When I was thirteen, I was in the studio like
these with Natalie Cole when she was recording Unforgettable.
Speaker 3 (29:18):
I'm glad we got I got to come. He's poor
in it.
Speaker 2 (29:24):
But the last, the one, the coupe de gras, the
one that takes the cake is One day I'm at
Joe Tory baseball camp in an Encino and I come
home and Kevin Costner is there at the piano with
this beautiful black woman and David Foster sitting and playing
a song and they are practicing I Will Always Love You.
(29:46):
Before they give it to Whitney.
Speaker 3 (29:48):
I knew where he was going.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
I knew, and I just walked past the piano and
I go into the uh, you know, going to my
room like it's not none. Then, like, what's Kevin Costner
doing here?
Speaker 3 (29:58):
You know, my dad's not even there.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
He just let David use his house because David was
working on another project at a studio right around the corner,
probably you know, one of those, and he said, I
need enough. I'm gonna have to come to your house,
Alan and use your piano and meet with Kevin real quick.
Speaker 3 (30:12):
So that was that was what I walked in. That's
what my dad knew.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Everybody everyone loved him and he was, oh yeah, no
on linder Sin's day one did Lyndon was around when
I was born.
Speaker 3 (30:26):
Oh this is great. Oh yes, this is great, bro.
Speaker 2 (30:29):
That is how crazy is that? It's a good time.
Speaker 3 (30:33):
I don't know, that's the quzy. It's just my life.
Probably it's my life.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
And you know when when my dad passed away, Magic
Johnson sent me a note and was or he said
in the paper actually and he said it to me
personally again when I saw him recently, but he said,
Alan think was the first celebrity that I met when
I came to Los Angeles. My dad was at every
basketball and hockey game. He lived at the Forum. He
didn't miss a game. In fact, I was born when
(31:01):
he was headed to the Forum for a game and
my mom was like pregnant two weeks early. And I
remember my dad, you know, having fun of joke. Well,
you better be right, because I've got VIP parking passes,
you know, forever the comedian.
Speaker 3 (31:18):
But yeah, he just lived in those games.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
He lived in that culture, and he was great friends
with Jerry Buss and Magic and Wayne Gretzky. Actually, when
Wayne Gretzky was traded to the Kings, he was staying
at our house with Janet for two weeks. My dad
was in Russia with my older brother, and I was
at home at Joe Tory camp again.
Speaker 3 (31:37):
And this is na storry to comedian guys. Yeah, this
is coach.
Speaker 2 (31:43):
Of the New York Yankees Championships. But so I come
home and oh no, I'm at home in the morning.
At seven o'clock in the morning, the phone rings. I'm
getting ready to go to camp. And I answered the
phone as Bruce McNall, the owner of the Kings, and
he says, hey, Robin is, can you put me on
the phone with Wayne? And I go, well, he's sleeping.
You know, I really don't want to wake him. He goes,
you need to wake him. I need to talk to
him right now.
Speaker 3 (32:03):
I go in there.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
I say, hey, Wayne, Bruce is on the phone. You
gotta get it, he says. So Wayne answers the phone.
I go to camp, I come home Wayne's and Edmonton
at the podium. He was traded that morning. That was
the phone call when he got traded.
Speaker 3 (32:18):
You took the call.
Speaker 2 (32:19):
I took the call and told Wayne to get on
the phone. The day he was traded to the Kings.
It's pretty crazy. Your life was crazy, crazy crazy. This
is absolute And that's just by the time I'm twelve,
you know what I mean, we didn't even we ain't
even got into nothing yet.
Speaker 5 (32:39):
So there's one thing though, as we talk about these
great songs, because I'm like a I'm a deep cut guy.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
Yeah, I'm a deep cut guy. You've got this song
called Teach You a Lesson.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
Yes, sir, Yeah, I love that song. That's special, that
whole I still do that in the longest shows because
it's just such a moment, you know, because the way
you talk to people, like when you when you talk
to somebody and you really oh and you know how
personally that moment was. That was a real moment where
I felt every word of that.
Speaker 3 (33:06):
You know what I mean. Amazing that a cocaine Oh
that was that was a true story. Well, it was
about all the temptations.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
I'd never done cocaine, and it was all about the
temptations surrounding me in this fabulous lifestyle and these Hollywood
people and yeah, and as I was getting into the
world of these superstars and you know, the late night
parties and some of that kind of stuff and so, yeah, manies.
Speaker 3 (33:37):
But the funny not me. I wasn't arrested. But I
saw a friend of mine in that world.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
And I was driving through Beverly Hills and I just
saw him in an alley getting getting put into a car,
and I was like, that's my homie, and I just
I just didn't know if it was cocaine or whatever.
But when I was getting into all that world, that Hollywood, No,
I just.
Speaker 3 (33:54):
Don't know what it was.
Speaker 2 (33:55):
I remember that visual and being afraid for him. It
turned out he was carrying a gun and it wasn't drugs.
But but the fact that I saw a friend who
I thought might have gotten caught with cocaine inspired the
line of I'm standing in an alley with my hands
behind here.
Speaker 3 (34:10):
I am listening to the album like man rob up. No.
Speaker 2 (34:14):
No, I never, man, I had never. It was all
about the temptations and how do you stay away from it?
Speaker 3 (34:20):
And that that.
Speaker 5 (34:20):
Songwriting, but that is actually a song where you put
people in a place. No matter what it is, it
could be good bad whatever.
Speaker 3 (34:27):
You write screenplays, bro, Yeah, man, there's some good ones man,
you know.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
But I love That's the thing. I love music, and
my songs are my story, you know, and that's what
I leave behind, you know. And so when you listen
to my songs that they are literally telling my life story.
Speaker 3 (34:43):
You know.
Speaker 2 (34:43):
Besides, if you dance record, yes, and then dance records,
like when you make a dance record, you just want
people to dance, you know.
Speaker 3 (34:57):
I'm in record playing right there in the in the
first room on the right with a guy by the
name of t I. He's working on some music. I'm
in there with him. Were actually working with me this
story after you heard it, Actually esp actually working.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
On We have an artist we're working on together. At
the time, we had a little partnership. We're doing it.
So we're just in the studio kicking it and somebody
walks in and says, hey, I need you to get
to this Robin record.
Speaker 3 (35:29):
He's like, He's like, hey, all right, do it up.
Pull it up.
Speaker 1 (35:32):
He said, this is the record. We think it's going
to be a big record. We need you want it.
He's got to have you on it. And he's like,
all right, played that motherfucking record. The T I says,
turn the micael I love it, goes in the booth,
(35:57):
listens to it maybe one more time and does that
entire rap from top to box.
Speaker 3 (36:05):
No, he does not. Absolutely watched. I watched him do it.
I was like, no way, I've never seen him in
studio before. For a moment, I didn't know that.
Speaker 2 (36:17):
That's amazing.
Speaker 1 (36:17):
Top to bottom, didn't write nothing, nothing. Yeah, it's a talent.
Speaker 2 (36:28):
And I looked that said oh that's why you okay
r T I, Yeah, that's that's that's amazing. I can't
believe he just went in and dropped.
Speaker 3 (36:37):
It like that. And I'm there and I'm like, this
is going to go crazy. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (36:43):
Jay and Wayne did the same thing when I worked
with them. Yeah, incredible how they.
Speaker 3 (36:46):
Can do that.
Speaker 1 (36:47):
But I just I remember hearing that song and knowing
that nothing or no one was going to be able
to stop you. When this record came out, and then
the video. I saw the video and I said, everything
was right.
Speaker 5 (37:03):
Everything made all the right decisions, man, at least from
the outside.
Speaker 2 (37:09):
I remember Jimmy I having called me as soon as
he saw the video. It calls me at seven thirty
am and goes, Robin.
Speaker 3 (37:14):
Is going to be the biggest record of your life.
There's going to be number one all around the world.
Speaker 2 (37:18):
This is incredible.
Speaker 3 (37:19):
I love this record.
Speaker 2 (37:19):
I love this video.
Speaker 3 (37:20):
It is the best thing you've ever done.
Speaker 2 (37:21):
It's gonna be huge.
Speaker 3 (37:22):
I'm gonna make sure of it. And I remember, and
now it's not just on the radio. It's not just
you know.
Speaker 1 (37:31):
I remember being an Arenas with you watching every night
this song shake the fucking arena.
Speaker 2 (37:42):
Wow, not a couple of nights, those were times every night.
Those are times every night.
Speaker 3 (37:49):
That's Temple records are tough for soulful guys anyway already,
but that that's different, man.
Speaker 2 (38:00):
As the brilliance of phar Real Mania was the most
talented person I've ever been in a room with. You know,
he's so the story behind it, well, we had three
days in the studio. We did three records, one record
a day. Blurred Lines was on the third day. My
dad actually came by the studio just to say hi.
But he happened to be there the night Blurred Lines
(38:22):
was made, and it was the kind of song like
you know, people were hearing it from the other studios,
and the lady at the front desk and the manager
of the studio and everybody just kind of started putting
their head in, you know what I mean, and wanted
to hear it. And then and as we were adding
those last little ad libs whatever, but you know, we're
playing it loud, we're figuring out what the little pieces
that are missing, and but right from the start, next thing,
(38:44):
I know, the whole room is dancing, and you know,
it was just that kind of and people couldn't stop
coming in from outside to uh to hear the record.
You know, Here's and there were like some other there
was a crew of other rappers that Farah was working with.
I can't recall right now, but they all wanted to
come in and hear it. And that's when we kind
of knew like we had something.
Speaker 1 (39:03):
Here's a questions as a vocalist, right, this song, this
song has so many different things stylistically that you did
vocally that was different. Was that Pharrell saying no, do
it like this? Or was that you just in character,
(39:24):
saying I feel like this right now, like this.
Speaker 3 (39:27):
Is where I think.
Speaker 2 (39:28):
By then, I had already learned a lot from Pharrell,
And you know, when we did want to Love Your Girl,
he was like, make it sound a little more a
Britch and I did a little more British because he
wanted it to sound you know what I mean. But
by then him and I it was our third day together,
which is very rare to get three days in a
row with Pharrell anyway, and by the third day the
(39:49):
flow was just so pure. He would say, yeah, because
I think the record just opened itself for being really
silly and playful, where a lot of times, with being
an R and B soul singer, are you trying to
emotion emotion emotion? But that song has a lot of
humor in it, you know, And that's why I think
it just it's just so much fun to listen to
because it's sexy, it's funny, and it's got the humor
in it.
Speaker 1 (40:09):
The first of all, I want to say that Pharrell
owes me a studio session. He came to me one
day and said, man, I want to work with you,
and I was like, well, I want to work with you.
Speaker 3 (40:20):
Yeah, I want to work with you.
Speaker 1 (40:23):
Yeah, I'm available now I'm not sure and I've never
gotten my studio session with Farrell.
Speaker 3 (40:30):
If you talk to him, you know, you know that.
Speaker 2 (40:38):
Man is on a different plane. I mean what he's
doing with us Vuitton and everything. He's just he's evolved
into all things and and an inspiration in all categories,
you know what I mean, just as a human being
and a man of the community and a man of
art and every facet and he's a leader generation with
question you.
Speaker 3 (40:58):
Uh, first, congratulations for getting Struck by Lightning.
Speaker 5 (41:03):
Song now twelve million, Yeah, so all time, Okay, Yeah,
we did all right on that one.
Speaker 2 (41:12):
There's you know, in years in ago, I got I
got divorced, I got sued, my father passed away, my
manager passed away, my house burned down, Andre Herrel passed away.
So all that was like boom boom, boom boom for.
Speaker 3 (41:25):
Me, you know.
Speaker 2 (41:26):
And so so this album is about how I got
through that, where I'm at now, what's important to me
now and my family and trying to replace that broken
family that I lost when I was a kid.
Speaker 1 (41:37):
I love that because you know, you're sitting next to
fathers are who are actually fathers, yeah, real real dad
And you know, people always ask like, how do you
find balance, and I'm like, there is no balance. There
is just there's just ripping and running and trying to
(41:59):
be all you can be in those spaces, but more
important portantly for your kids. Like you want to be
all you can be in the space that provides for
your kids, exactly, but you also want to be all
you can be in the space with your kids.
Speaker 2 (42:14):
And if you think of it percentage wise, if I
have six people, I mean five people, you know, my
lady and four kids that I need to provide love, attention, humor, cuddles.
You know, they all need it. They all need it,
they all want it, you know what I mean. So
that's that's twenty percent each of my time. And now
I haven't even gone to work yet, absolutely, you know.
Speaker 3 (42:34):
What I mean.
Speaker 2 (42:34):
So now you cut that in half, that's fifty. Now
they're down to ten percent each of them of my
time and my love and my energy. So you really
have to conserve it. You have to stay present in it,
and you have to make sure that that the time
is being spent valuably so everybody is getting enough to
feel that, you know, Papa's love or whatever that is,
you know, and so we have a lot of work
(42:55):
to do.
Speaker 1 (42:56):
Yeah, you get into this space, and especially you know
in your career and and how you've how successful you've been.
When of one of my friends, Terry's, hit me with
a phrase a few a few weeks ago, he said, well,
I don't think that would be the best use of
my time, and you gotta right, And so you gotta
(43:16):
you gotta make those decisions.
Speaker 2 (43:18):
And older we get that, you know, we really want
to spend time with the people that make a smile
and laugh and dance and and feel loved and feel appreciated,
and that's where that's what we want to be.
Speaker 5 (43:39):
When you when you first sat down before the cameras
went on, you're like, bro, I just did six shows.
Speaker 3 (43:46):
Six cities and seven days.
Speaker 5 (43:48):
Yeah, oh no, you that's that's that is the real grind,
and that's how you look up and you've done this
thing for thirty years at the highest level.
Speaker 3 (43:57):
Yeah, Like people don't understand that. People don't understand that.
Speaker 5 (44:00):
Like even when you talked about how you you know,
you spend your time, like that's time, Yeah, that's really
time dedicated to the craft.
Speaker 2 (44:09):
Yeah, and the rest is dedicated to the kids. Absolutely, yeah,
And that's that's what it's all about, coming up right
And you know what yet, well, I've been touring. Actually
I'm with Boys and Men right now. I've been now
doing shows Boys Men. That's a great night because you know,
once again like getting to work with your idols or
just have like I learned every single harmony and ad
lib on that first album for sure, you know, and
then once they started doing work with Babyface and getting
(44:30):
that end of the road and I'll make Love to
you and you know and on bend and knees and
so these are records that I listened to driving as
a sixteen year old, like I want to be that
I'm going to sing like that. I want that kind
of a hit, you know what I mean? And that's
that that hunger is good for you.
Speaker 3 (44:46):
You know. Well we're about to segue, please do yeah, yeah,
how you feel Robin? Because because you look good? You
walked in smelling good and looking good. Do you do?
You feel good?
Speaker 2 (44:59):
Right now?
Speaker 3 (45:00):
Now?
Speaker 2 (45:00):
I feel delicious.
Speaker 3 (45:03):
There ain't nothing wrong with that.
Speaker 1 (45:08):
Special segment where we want to go to right now
and get some information from you know, You've written a
lot of songs for a lot of people, written songs
for yourself.
Speaker 3 (45:24):
We just know that there are songs that have inspired you,
songs that have made you who you are. And we
don't want all the songs.
Speaker 6 (45:37):
We just don't want.
Speaker 3 (45:39):
We just want a few of the songs. And we
just like to call this your.
Speaker 6 (45:46):
Top fun, your top five, top five, your top.
Speaker 3 (46:00):
Fun, your top R and B singer. Whatelse R and.
Speaker 7 (46:06):
B songs.
Speaker 4 (46:09):
Were Dogs and doom be more you go bere on
this show. We don't good blow. I mean, yeah, hurrah, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (46:30):
Break it down, break it down, your five Robin think
(46:51):
your top five R and B singers.
Speaker 2 (46:56):
Oh, top five R and B singers. I mean that's
the at least the name my favorite because because I'm
I'm more of an old school man. Otis Redding. Yeah, yeah,
you can't get past baby locked the door. Yeah, start
with that and then goes solve. I mean the way
he sings, uh uh, try a little tenderness, you know
(47:21):
what I mean, Just try so. Yeah, Otis Redding for sure. Stevie,
of course, gotta gotta get Stevie up in there. How
green Ain't nobody know how to keep it that's small
intimate intimacy that he provides. Marvin, of course, I can't
(47:45):
go without Morvin.
Speaker 3 (47:46):
And then oh, oh well, I'm you know, I'm on
a guy.
Speaker 2 (47:56):
I'm doing all my favorite guys because mostly I would
listen to but Whitney. Then yeah, just you can't. You
can't make it Whitney and Aretha. I gotta do like
five six, Just I gotta have my two favorites, my
two favorites. I listened to so much Aretha and Whitney
that sculpted my vocal career. But as I got older
and you know, becoming a grown man and listening to
(48:17):
other grown men's stories at that same point in my life,
you know what I mean, that's when I started to
gravitate more towards Otis and Stevie, Marvin and al As
I got into my twenties and stuff like that, you know.
But early on, when I was in my teens, Whitney
was it. You know, you couldn't if you could do
a Whitney run, you knew what she was doing. She
was so quick and powerful.
Speaker 3 (48:36):
Oh and just the.
Speaker 2 (48:38):
Taste, precise, the taste, impeccable taste.
Speaker 3 (48:41):
Robin, think your top five r and B songs.
Speaker 2 (48:45):
Okay, Well, let's stay together. What's going on?
Speaker 3 (48:51):
Uh?
Speaker 2 (48:54):
What's I always.
Speaker 3 (48:55):
Forget the talents out of Bens guy, I always have
been there.
Speaker 2 (49:04):
And uh for me, because of the effect it had
on me and my life and career, I would say forever,
my lady.
Speaker 3 (49:10):
Why not? Why not? Yeah? Yeah, come on? That did
everything for me, everything for me, Look at me. That
was everything changed my life. Come on that record right there?
Who I used to order that on the jukebox. Remember
to talk about the box, that money.
Speaker 2 (49:33):
If I had a girl come over. The first date
that was I was singing. I was standing in front
of Jodasy like I was a member of the TV
behind me, and oh you know, I went you got,
you got. I went right to my vocals.
Speaker 3 (49:45):
Teaching early. Oh yeah, yeah I was. I was a
magic mic you know that can sing. Now I'm doing
(50:06):
town type dances, you know what I mean? One more
one more song?
Speaker 2 (50:09):
Okay, okay?
Speaker 3 (50:10):
And B songs?
Speaker 2 (50:11):
Oh you know what I gotta I gotta get a
Lauren Hill in there. Guys, you know you better watch
out some girls. And that's that's culture forever. That speaks
so many things to both do, both sexes. And cultures
and what a song, what a video? What the musical production?
(50:32):
Just incredible.
Speaker 3 (50:34):
We're gonna build your vultron your music. You're a super
R and B artists.
Speaker 1 (50:38):
We want to know who you're gonna get the vocal
from the performance style, the styling, the passion of the artist.
And since you're so great at it, who's going to
write and produce for this artist? Let's start at the vocal.
What vocal are you grabbing to build your super RB artist?
Speaker 2 (50:52):
You know what I think because of the most dynamic
I mean, for me, I love the I would pick Marvin,
you know what I mean, just because there's just there
was something he just when when he sings, it feels
like the gates of heaven are opening up, and you
know we're all welcome, you know what I mean. And
uh and and there's a piece and a and a
hope and a warmth. It's like a big warm hug,
(51:14):
you know every time he sings. Yeah, performance style, performance style.
Speaker 3 (51:21):
You know I would go.
Speaker 2 (51:22):
I'd go James Brown. I mean I don't think I
think it all just starts the hardest. Yeah. I mean,
of course this is Michael, which which is just magic
that doesn't you can't even really quantify that. But for me,
just like the the way James Brown and hits with
his band and just he had he created this whole
thing that inspired everybody that came after. And you know,
(51:46):
and I'm a sweat you see me, I swear it
out when it's time to really go, It's James Brown.
Speaker 3 (51:51):
You know what I mean? The styling of the artists.
Speaker 2 (51:55):
Styling of the artist. Okay, okay, you know what. Then
I would go Mike because he really he there was
something that classy. It was dazzling, but it was every
man could wear it, you.
Speaker 3 (52:08):
Know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (52:08):
And and uh, he just kept evolving and and that's
what inspired Kanye's type of you know, metamorphosis as a
as a fashion icon and h And then you can
go right to who's the songwriter producer? That's Pharrell, you know.
And I would just go Pharrell, but we.
Speaker 3 (52:24):
Gotta go passions, passion of the artist, the heart of
the artist, heart of the passion. Oh.
Speaker 2 (52:30):
Then I would go with Otis. I'll go with Otis's
heart because you know he we lost him early. I
mean you know that I believe he wrote and finished
sitting on the dock of the bay and then passed
before it was released, and and then it became sitting
on the dock of the bay. Wow, I mean, come on,
you know. So there was something about the heart, especially
(52:50):
in the era also the era that he came from,
you know. And once again I'm picking mostly male artists
and producers, but but that's uh yeah, I mean the
heart heart of Otis and Aretha. You know you could
you could do the same thing like what came out
of Aretha when she sang it.
Speaker 3 (53:06):
But oh oh oh no, I got a better one.
Speaker 2 (53:10):
Just the fun Nina Simone, the heart of Nina, the
heart of Nina. Listen to that voice who for real
writing and producing it, the passion of Nina Simone. Yeah,
from the era she came up in as a black
woman in those times, and the songs she wrote.
Speaker 3 (53:29):
It was so it was so many layers to that
music and her songwriting, her lyricis, her lyrics.
Speaker 2 (53:37):
It's an amazing.
Speaker 3 (53:39):
We got one more thang for you, please do we
got one more than because I got to go, I
got I got to go, got to get home.
Speaker 7 (53:51):
I said, yeah, saying no, Nick, saying no name, are you.
Speaker 3 (54:04):
What you did? Don't say I ain't saying no.
Speaker 5 (54:19):
It's a very important sec very important secment song, not
a song because now you wrote so many damn songs.
Speaker 3 (54:28):
Fat segment of the show, Will you tell us a story? Funny?
Fucked up? Are funny and fucked up?
Speaker 2 (54:35):
Okay?
Speaker 3 (54:36):
Only rule to the game is you can't say no names.
Speaker 2 (54:39):
Okay, okay, funny story.
Speaker 3 (54:44):
Life and time, Life and time, I'm robbing.
Speaker 2 (54:47):
Thick, okay, okay. So after the met ball, oh, she
know what?
Speaker 3 (54:59):
You know what?
Speaker 2 (55:01):
I was, Yeah, yeah, yeah, and it was a great
night because uh and yeah, I won't include the name
that has the punchline, but I'll use some other names
to help.
Speaker 3 (55:12):
Get the story go. It right's part, but I won't
use the punchline.
Speaker 2 (55:18):
So Jennifer Hudson is performing, which was amazing because that
was the first time I'd ever seen her live. And
after that I was so inspired. I went home and
I wrote on her debut Grammy winning R and B album,
and so she was performing. I actually was sitting at
the table with Rihanna, who was very young in her
and I had just done a photo shoot together for
(55:38):
GQ mag It was a GQ Yeah, I think it
was GQ magazine. Very early in her career.
Speaker 3 (55:44):
And so that night we end up going out.
Speaker 2 (55:47):
It's after party after party. We end up at Richie's
Butter in New York City. Richie Akiva shout out to
Richie Kieva at Butter in New York City. And I'm
hanging out with this very famous, very talented Grammy Award
winning artists and We're making friends, We're having a blast,
and he's like, you know, I after this, man, let's
go back to my studio and and uh, you know,
(56:08):
make some music.
Speaker 3 (56:09):
And I was like, man, not tonight, not tonight. I
was like, you know.
Speaker 2 (56:15):
And so somehow he was affronted by you know, like
felt rejected or something, and uh, and then it got
to I don't want to do that, you know, and
he was like, hey, man, you know I'm better than you.
And I go, I go what I said, I'll take
the Pepsi challenge with Joe asked.
Speaker 3 (56:37):
The Pepsi challenge.
Speaker 2 (56:40):
And we had already we already spent the night complimenting
each other, we had met, we had met at the
met Ball, we had already spent the night when we
didn't really leave, we were like hanging out. We ended
up going to like, Paul, let's go there. Now, let's
go there. So we were making friends very quickly, and
by the end of the story, Uh yeah, I think
he was offended that I didn't want to go to
the studio when we're at this incredible party to you know,
(57:00):
I just didn't want to go afterwards, and I think
he thought that I didn't, you know, that I was
dissing him or something. Just finished with I'll take the
PEPs of challenge with Joe.
Speaker 3 (57:12):
Did you guys remain?
Speaker 2 (57:14):
You know, we saw each other many years later at
an airport Terminal six baggage.
Speaker 3 (57:18):
Claim, you know what I mean, and just was like it.
You know, but man, you know, man, Man, you too.
We don't really keep we don't really keep beef. We
just don't hang out. We talk about the beef. Man.
Speaker 2 (57:32):
That is great.
Speaker 1 (57:33):
Yeah, it was a good time. Robin you are you
are who you are, man. Thanks for having me. Thank
we appreciate you. Man, Hang with you continue success and
for you.
Speaker 2 (57:44):
Congratulations on the rise of this show. You know, you
guys are really taking over in a in a category
that we really needed. We needed, we needed all this
talk and all this laughter and all this appreciation of
great R and B Culture and Music.
Speaker 3 (57:57):
Well, thank you, bro, I couldn't have closed it out better.
Speaker 1 (58:00):
My name is Tank and this is the R and
B Money Podcast, the authority on all things R and B.
Speaker 3 (58:07):
I don't I don't even know what to say. Man,
my brother, man, you know I love you.
Speaker 2 (58:13):
I taught so much with you as an artist and
a human being in it. And h and Jay you know,
you know I've always loved you, and we've been around
each other for so long in this business.
Speaker 3 (58:22):
But you guys are doing great.
Speaker 2 (58:23):
I'm so excited part of it. God bless you.
Speaker 3 (58:25):
Listen, big ladies and gentlemen, R and B Money.
Speaker 5 (58:33):
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 Real Tank. For the extended episode,
(58:55):
subscribe to YouTube dot com, forward Slash, R and B Money.
Speaker 2 (59:00):
Yeah,
R and B money.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
We are.
Speaker 3 (00:07):
Thanks, take out the child. We are the authority on
all things R and B. Ladies and gentlemen, my name
is Tank.
Speaker 4 (00:23):
Everybody podcast the A Thorty on all things r.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Oh my god, I have been waiting.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
I have been prayed.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
The time has come.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
I have been I have been hoping.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
I said, Lord, if you send us anybody, send us that.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Name doesn't mean it doesn't doesn't name name one of
the coldst ever.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
That's simple, ladies and gentlemen, mister Rob, I want to
do this because to me, to my brother Jay, what's
going on, this is this is really special. I want
(01:26):
to let you know that. And so for me, I
have a bottle of champagne. Come on, what you're gonna Donna?
Speaker 2 (01:33):
I was wanting to celebrate.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
I wouldn't like to because we we we've been talking
about this for a while.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
They got to stop me from celebrating.
Speaker 5 (01:42):
You know, they don't they don't earned Listen, you have
earned the right to celebrate one of your favorite songs.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Come on, it's a celebrate this another I have I have.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
You know, we've talked about this and we've at the
time will come, and the time has come. And this
is not and the time is right better late than never.
This is in God's own time. The universe is saw
fit for this to be the moment. Yes, and what
we're gonna do is that's that, Mama, Lord, what we're
gonna do. We're gonna pop.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
I told you the muscle. I told you, sir, it was.
Your shirt was all nicely iron. Now you're just ruined.
The want your shirt. I saw you walking in. I
opened that looking like you've been doing dishes.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Now and stuffs.
Speaker 3 (02:38):
Open up at the bottom of your your shirt. Any
by any means necessary, you've.
Speaker 4 (02:43):
Been just that your pain, not not yet not your brother,
travel to meet it.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Get us right, championship.
Speaker 6 (02:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
I don't know if you know, but those are R
and B glasses my brother money. It was money. You
know glasses say R B money on them. They don't.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Yes, yes they do, My lord from.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
The United Center, Come on, United Chicago, United, the United
Center gave us our own glasses, our own Uh.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
Yeah. The house that Michael Jordan's in, the house that
R and B Money lives in.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
This is this is this is for us. You being here, brother,
it means the world to us. Man, we have been fans,
and we have been brothers for a long time. Man,
but today we get to celebrate you, man, the way
we've always wanted to.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
Man. You know, R and B runs in my blood. Man,
what's my name? R O B.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
Come on now, all, I'm gonna take you back to
the beginning. I'm gonna take you back to the beginning.
There's a there's a there's a good friend of mine
by the name of Dreno, and Dreino says to me, Nicole,
(04:05):
I got I got some I got some shoes. You
need to hear. He about to kill every body, to
kill everybody.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Was crazy.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
I was like, let me, let me hear this person
who's supposed to be messing with me and all of
my R and B constituents. And he begins to play
this song. Oh god, he's the man, he said. It
(04:36):
hadn't even dropped yet, because I'm going to bring a
full circle for you. That was the late Great Andre
heralds cousin O'Neil Dreno. Okay, who is playing this music
for me? He said, Andre has him has the one
and and he showed me a picture.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
Of you with with the Lord Jesus.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
With the whip and I said, he's going to kill him,
all of them.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
And I had I had never heard anything like that before.
And I was going for the first album.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
I wanted to just make something that never existed, bro,
and that was that was a fun album to make. Man.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
I think it was like, you know, because I think
we all have we all have a natural judgment when
it comes to things and all, and it all starts
from it all starts from the look in the appearance.
And it's like when I first when I saw the picture,
I heard the music first, then I saw the picture,
I'm like, how how the fuck did that happen? Because
(05:47):
I'm saying, I'm saying this like almost like disco esque
vibe with the with with the with the with the
Tony Montana.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
So I'm like, what is this? And how is he
doing that?
Speaker 7 (06:04):
How?
Speaker 3 (06:05):
How are you doing that? Robin right on the back cover,
right like.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Take me to the beginning to where you even where
you even start constructing the fibers and the textures that
that design who you are.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
Well, you know, the funny thing is, you know, I
come from six generations of musicians. My grandfather was a
jazz trumpet player. His father was a jazz trumpet player.
My dad was a soulful guy, you know, love to
write songs, love to sing h you know, wrote with
Richard Pryor and you know, and all these kind of things.
So my dad was a soulful guy and enlightened for
(06:44):
his time, you know. And my mom her number one
song was Friends and Lovers in the eighties with Carl Anderson,
a black R and B singer.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
So all of this this stuff has been built.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
I joked that my family's been trying to be black
from sixth generations, and I'm just to get it.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Right, you know what I mean. We made it. We
made it, Joe Shit, we did it, Joe, It did it?
Speaker 4 (07:09):
Joe.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
Yeah. I mean I love.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
I really loved the culture just as a kid. I mean,
whether it was Eddie Murphy or or you know, Michael
Jackson and Prince And when I was a seven between
seven and twelve years old, it was all black music,
black culture, and and then and then rap music and
then then hip hop and then when Joe Desy and
Boys to Men and that era happened. I was thirteen
(07:34):
and I was very impressionable, and I was in a
singing group with three other black guys, and it was
all legit. It just you know, And so my whole
life and my whole culture has been black music and
black culture. And when you come to my shows, it's
ninety percent black people. Like it's not even you know,
that's just, oh, we were as one as one, you know, fourteen,
(07:57):
because we're all black. And I'm fourteen years old and
I'm wearing a double breasted Steve Harvey suit and I
got a cigar in my hand and my hair slicked.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Back, gangster like, you know. So I've always been what
I am, you know. And I love R and B.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
I love really soul music, R and B music, hip
hop music, black coach, black comedy I watched, I watched
B e T. I showed up to school with the
Jet magazine when I was fourteen.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
Out of here. We all grew up on the Jet
Beauty a week, Beauty a week No my mom.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
To have that, got to check it out when I
was fourteen. So and you know, then then being married
to Paula Patten and just you know, my whole life
has been embedded in the black experience in black culture,
and that's that's where I belong.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
You know, it was you know in hearing that in
your first entry, it was like there was no there
was no try, there was no there was nothing extra
on it. It was very author I was like, I
was like, where is he from?
Speaker 2 (09:04):
I don't want to go nowhere else because.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
Yeah, he's he's not living a lot. He's telling the
truth in this music. What he's doing.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
I mean, I got I got the same guy in
me that you know that the Baptist Church got in
and you know what I mean. Whatever it is like
like we feel the music, we feel the soul, we
feel the pain, we feel the history, We understand the
journey where we need to support each other, we need
to believe in each other. We need to you know,
stay on the right paths and and and just be
(09:32):
a family. Like when I go to the BT Awards
or something like that, that's like a family reunion for me,
you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
And that's that's just who I am. And it's always
been real to me. Yeah, when did is your is your?
Speaker 2 (09:46):
Is?
Speaker 1 (09:46):
You're coming up in this family of so many generations
of of of really incredible musicians. When does someone point
out that you are actually going to continue in that line?
When does somebody say oh he's got it too.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
Well, I think it doesn't. I'm sorry, how do you mean,
like at what age.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
Did did did you discovered or did or did somebody
say you have it?
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Well? It started with you know, my good friend Tabiso
and Kye, who ended up writing hit songs and being
a music manager and a music publisher. And he was
the first. He was when I was fourteen. He was
in the group with me as one.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
He was my group.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
Tab was in that group, you know Tab. So this
is what so Tab was my first So Tab had
Tab told me how to take pictures, how to go
into the office. We would go to the office and
I would sing jodasy and commissioned songs.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
Yeah yeah, yeah, I am here. Yeah, running back to you,
running back Yeah yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
It starts with Tab.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
He becomes mine.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
This is how you're go I started dressing like him.
I started, you know what I mean, like he was
like he was just this is stuff. You know how
long I've known Tab? Yeah, and this is the first
time ever hearing this story.
Speaker 3 (11:03):
Yeah, that's my brother.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
And then so then we did some demos that got
heard by Tricky Stewart's camp. M So I go in
the studio at fifteen years old writing with Tricky Stewart.
So this is how much information I'm getting as a
fourteen to fifteen year old songwriter and singer. Then next
door working to Tricky Stewart is Brian mckknight, who I
(11:25):
had studied. Brian McKnight's whole first album that was a
huge album and a huge influence on me. Brian, here's
what I'm doing with Tricky. He brings me in. He
signs me to his record label at Interscope Records when
I'm sixteen years old. So now I'm writing with Tricky Stewart,
I'm working with Brian mckknight. Then Jordan Knight from New
Kids on the Block. Here's the work I'm doing with
Brian McKnight. I go in the studio with him, I produce,
(11:47):
I write and produce his whole first solo album. And
guess who Jordan Knight takes me around to work with
and be in the studio with Jimmy jam and Terry Lewis,
Walter Affinasif Raphael Sadik, I'm seventeen years old, he A'm
seventeen eighteen years old, and I'm writing with all and
producing with all of those guys.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
So the I went to school.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
I went to Harvard and yale A Music when I
was sixteen, seventeen, eighteen years old. Brian McKnight, you know,
I mean, the Take six would come by and be
singing Army. I'm just sitting there learning, just listening watching.
I mean, and Take six is how I learned how
to riff the main group that I that I studied,
and that's when why when Brian and I came out,
(12:29):
we were also excited because I was a huge Take
six man.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
But I learned every Take six song and riff. That
was it. That was the training that was that was
done right there. You know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Once you learn how to sing Take six, you could
sing anything. You can sing anything anything.
Speaker 3 (12:41):
Well, are you actually going to school at this point too?
Speaker 4 (12:44):
There?
Speaker 3 (12:44):
Are you are? You know?
Speaker 2 (12:45):
I was out my senior year. I decided to move
out my senior year. My dad was very disappointed. Shout
out to Alan Thick, we love you and miss you.
Speaker 5 (12:52):
Dropped out because I had a record deal, I had
a publishing y Jody saying yeah pretty much.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
No. No.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
What I did was I got the tutor and like
and like paid three hundred dollars for the tutor to
give me a bee, you know what I mean. And
then I just showed up a graduation and with the
cabin gown and all that. Everybody was like, what hell
you doing a day? You were here like the first
week in September and they had come back like.
Speaker 7 (13:16):
You ain't paid at three hundred read my god right here.
Speaker 3 (13:22):
So so yeah, so I just snuck out.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
But really my senior year, I already had a record deal,
I had a publishing deal. I was in the studio,
you know, ten twelve hours a day with these kind
of talents, you're professional. Yeah, I mean I was in
and the training that you know here those ten thousand hours,
the outliers theory and stuff. I got ten thousand hours
by the time I was twenty one, and then it
was time for me to focus on my own career.
And then who comes into my life? Andre around because
(13:46):
I knew what to do.
Speaker 3 (13:47):
I didn't know.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
I'm not saying I was having a great time as
a songwriting producer, but I didn't know who I was
going to be as an artist. And the album that
I made with Brian Knight by the time we started,
when I'm sixteen. But by the time I'm nineteen, Jimmy
I mean, was like.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
You know what it it's okay, it's good.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
I give it a B plus, you know, but we're
not going to spend a lot of money promoting and baa.
I was like, you know it, don't even put it
out shelfit.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
I'm out of here.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
Let me go work on myself and and figure out
who I'm going to be as an artist. Then Andrea Herrel,
like the angel comes into my life. Teaches me how
to walk and talk it, how to connect with people
instead of just paint, how to make the painting connect
you know what I mean, And how to be a
part of the culture. Executive. He taught me, you know,
he took me shopping, he bought me, you know, he
told me what music. So he walked in with the
(14:29):
fifth of Beethoven. He when I was making the album,
he said, you know this Saturday Fever album. He said this,
this is the kind of sound. This disco. Everybody loves
this go just go last for everybody. Want to celebrate,
everybody want to dance, listen to this album. So I'm
listening to the album and first thing that camera mout
I wrote that in about ten minutes, you know, and
that ended up being.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
The first single of my artistic career. You know, did
you did I perform that song? I do now.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Sometimes, but I didn't. I didn't perform it live in
our shows.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
No, why not?
Speaker 2 (14:58):
I know, I probably should all the time? What I
probably should all the time?
Speaker 3 (15:02):
Shoot?
Speaker 2 (15:03):
Well, you shooter most of the time. Yeah. Oh, the
set's different. The set's different since I, uh, what, yeah,
we do that, we do that usually.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
Said, this guy's been robbed before. Guys had to be
And I was in.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
The bank when it got robbed. Yeah, I was laying down.
The whole story is true. Hold on what that whole song?
I was eighteen years old, Paula was sitting in the
car outside waiting.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
I was.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
I went in to get like three hundred dollars, but
we're going to go to Santa Barbara to my dad's
ranch and spend the weekend together. A romantic eighteen year old,
you know, get away and I go in the bank
and all of a sudden, they get get down on
the floor, but get the buck on the floor. I
turn around. Three guys. One's coming right. He points the
gun right at me because I'm standing at the counter.
He points the gun right at me. I get down.
(15:48):
Of course, he comes to the counter, he hops over
the counter, you know, goes for the money. And then
the rest of the story that develops. Lady walks into
a shotgun surprise. A lady walked in to the guy
that had a shot gun at the front door. Every
word of that song is true. The fuck out of
here at eighteen, story at eighteen. And then you know,
luckily nobody was hurt in the end. But when even
(16:09):
when I say when I say, lady walks into a
shocking surprise, drops down to her knees, saw her life
for her eyes. He said, bitch, she's gonna get at.
Everybody going regret it. I'm your That was he did.
He said, if anybody moves this, bitch is gonna get
so those all those words in this song are true.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
My hands up, my hands up. They want me with
my hands up?
Speaker 2 (16:28):
No shooter.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
Wow, I never knew that that might be the best
songwriting story that I've ever heard.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Write your life the second verse just for the funny
it because that's what we're doing. The second verse is
thiefs flying off at the mouth talking about dumping and
wetting me something because they were like, you're about to
get dumped on.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
You're just about to get wet up in here. And
I'm like these white people don't know what translator. I'm like,
lucky on me. I'm like I told you I'm part
of the cultures. I'm I'm like, I know a dumbing
and wedding is. But again, but lay down, guys.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
What they're saying, yeah, okay, everyone, they're trying to They
just want you to lay down.
Speaker 3 (17:09):
You're gonna get dumped on and get wet on. Okay,
I mean shooting. You don't want that. They're gonna shoot,
and none of us want that to happen. Are you
kidding me? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (17:17):
That's a great part of art, man, is that it
can come from anywhere. And when I was younger, I
really challenged myself for those kind of things.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
Give me your energy as this album drops, because I
think the album the album dropped and the first single,
of course, where we all heard the first single, but
comparatively speaking, this wasn't the blast off as we as
we as we know hindsight looking.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
Correct, this is where the magic happens.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
What was your where are you artistically? And even mentally
after this project drops, because there's still so much work
to do, even with this great music you have.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Well, what happened was there was so much hype in
Andrea Herrel connecting me to the most fabulous people in
in you know the world. At times, I was very
ahead of my accomplishments.
Speaker 3 (18:12):
I had.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
All of the cool people were listening to it. Jay
Z was listening to it, Forarre was listening to it.
Usher had it. You know, every they all had it
because Andre had was friends with all of them, so
it was easy for him to get all of the
coolest people in music.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
Mariah had it.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
So I threw a Halloween party before the album came out.
Naomi Campbell was there, but Mariah Carey was there, Paul
Thomas Sanderson and the movie director Mariah Maria's is the
Halloween party. Maria's got pom poms and she's dancing on
the dance floor till you know three am. So we've
got oh Seal was there, So yeah, so, and we're
just listening to my album before it even comes out
(18:46):
in my studio at my house at top of Blue
Jay Way, you know what I mean. So I was
so I thought I was about to beat that thing,
you know what I mean. I'm you know, so then
all of a sudden it drops, sales don't happen.
Speaker 3 (18:58):
I go to Jimmy, I'm you know.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
Months later, I'm like, Jimmy, don't feel like you you know,
with support of the record, Jimmy goes in, he goes
tell me, tell me the Robin Dick numbers. Tell me
the numbers on Robin Dick goes six million, six million.
I spent on this, you know whatever it is, so
so everyone believed. Everyone believed it doesn't hit, it doesn't sell.
Culturally praised, uh, Rolling Stone magazine said it was Marvin
(19:22):
Gaye backed by Radiohead, and you know, so so we
had that, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (19:30):
But but then what happens next is I go through Uh?
Speaker 2 (19:37):
Who am I without success? What am I going to
be in this world? If if my music doesn't hit?
I was born to do this and and everyone said
it was going to be a big success and I
had all the right people around me, and it still
didn't hit.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
What what do I do now?
Speaker 2 (19:51):
And that is the evolution of Robin Thick. All those
songs were written. Next, I got to be down with
Faith's evans. I'm too complicated?
Speaker 3 (20:02):
Would that make you love me?
Speaker 2 (20:04):
I'm lost without you. I got to ask myself what
I'm going to be.
Speaker 3 (20:09):
You know what I mean? I need love.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Can you believe when all hope is gone? I need
to look to the sky lonely world. Don't you worry, babe?
How will you get by angels?
Speaker 3 (20:22):
You know what I mean. You are in a space, maam.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
And that's when the magic happened, man. And that's those
are the best songs in the best moment, you know.
That's those songs are hard to repeat, and yet they
mean even more to me today, after twenty years later,
of everything I've been through. They're even more powerful to
me today when I sing them, Absolutely yeah, because I
spoke it before it happened. Lonely World, those lyrics are
(20:47):
pretty much the story of me meeting my new lady,
you know, my relationship with my son, all before it
ever happened. All these things spoke into existence and then
manifested in the next twenty years.
Speaker 3 (21:01):
We need a song process for a loss without you.
We need a process. What was the process?
Speaker 2 (21:09):
That was a quick one where with my bass player
Sean Hurley, who ended up working with John Mayer for
twenty years and one of the most amazing musicians I've
ever worked with. And he just comes over and you're like,
got this little thing, and he goes, diod Oh and
my my producing partner of twenty years from the beginning,
pro J, shout out to Proj and he does everything
to me. He grabs the the sweeper that you use
(21:31):
to sweep out the fireplace, and right next to it
while Chris Sean Hurley's playing and I'm singing, he goes
and that we recorded to I said, that's so cool.
That's so it's actually a fireplace sweeper. Is the shaker
on Loss Without You? But yeah, So about a couple
of weeks later, I started thinking to myself. I was
(21:51):
trying to write the verses, and I actually thought, I
was like, you know, if I was writing for Usher
or something, because I really wanted to be a big,
big hit, you know, and usually I just kind of
go to art up and I was like, if I
was writing this for Usher, how would I do the
verses because I just worked with Usher on his project
blah blah blah. So so I kind of wrote the
verses thinking that I was writing for usher.
Speaker 3 (22:09):
How funny is that smash? Some mash smash?
Speaker 5 (22:29):
So okay, So all these years you put in your
twenty thousand hours at this point, like no, seriously, right,
like you put it, you put it, you put in
real time. Like I remember when I got my first
solo deal.
Speaker 3 (22:45):
They took me to your house. They took me, yes, yeah,
they took me.
Speaker 5 (22:49):
Daryl Williams from from from Elektra took me to your house.
And you hadn't had your music out yet either though.
Speaker 3 (22:57):
Oh wow.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
Yeah, so yeah that ear he was writing, writing for
a lot of different y Stone up there.
Speaker 3 (23:03):
I mean, you know, we seen in me a line
we had people were.
Speaker 5 (23:06):
And I'm like, yeah, maya and they playing in pro
jus like the whole thing. So I saw the process,
you know what I mean really really early on. So
after you you've done all that, you're writing for people,
you working with everybody, now you have your first smash.
Speaker 3 (23:21):
Yeah, what's the feeling for you at this point? Oh man?
Just you know, I remember just being feeling like, Okay,
I'm not crazy, I'm okay. I thought it was good.
I thought it was pretty good music.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Yeah, but yeah, no, you just you just kind of
say thank you God, you know, and you just you
just enjoy the moment and and then the ride happens
quickly and then you know, next thing, you know, I'm
on Oprah twice. A couple of months later, I do
a summer tour with Beyonce.
Speaker 3 (23:49):
So that's all within like six summer tour with beyond.
Speaker 2 (23:54):
Oprah twice, Yeah, and Oprah com Oprah had me back
a month later because she, you know, was a brad
the album I loved and Yeah, and the numbers were
so high once once I was on Oprah, the number
the sales sales from your Yeah, so it was just
like weekly and again it was all you know, we
had number one R and B album for like twelve weeks,
you know what I mean, Like it was Yeah, it
(24:15):
was we was in there. Wow.
Speaker 3 (24:18):
And you know, it's just you just stay grateful.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
And then and then comes, you know, the roller coaster
of fame and the stuff you've been you know, waiting
for for twenty years and all the complications that come
with that.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
Did you perform I could be mistaken, but I feel
like you performed lost without you on the Grammys or
good they were doing, we were doing and everything amazing performance.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
Amazing performance. Thank you. I appreciate that, absolutely amazing. I
was like, he's really good.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
Because it's like you said, those type of hits, the
those are once in a lifetime moment for people because
we'll get.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
To even just the songwriting connection, like when you when
you write a song and you know the feeling and
that song comes on in the audience and there's this
collective wave of love and appreciation and sentimentality and positivity
that just flows out of that song. Makes people feel yeah,
because they they had so many good times to that song,
(25:26):
and you can't take that away from them. They they
were in the bed with somebody they loved listening to that,
you know. They they were on vacation dancing with the
one they loved when they heard that, you know what
I mean. And that's I can't take away that that
that feeling and that connection.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
I feel like anytime a song can fill in the blanksh.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
It just it just takes voicemail. This is what I
want to say to you. It feels in the blanks.
It's just it's just something about it.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
And as you say, these songs mean so much more,
Like you know, twenty whatever years and you're you're like
when they come on, it's like it's deal and puts
you back there.
Speaker 3 (26:11):
And now it's like.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
These songs are refreshing because of everything else that's going on.
Speaker 3 (26:19):
Now that's just not like it.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
Yeah, well, I mean, you know, the best things standard
test of time, and and love is in the end.
You know, love is that connection we're all looking for
and the best songs. You know, a man or a
woman or whatever you're each side of the partnership can
listen to the same song and feel the same connection
to it, even though you know they're both on different
(26:42):
sides of the relationship. Yeah, as the song just when
it speaks for all of us, it connects to all
of us.
Speaker 1 (26:48):
You know, I want to ask you a question before
before we go to the monster, I want to ask
you a question. Me and me and Jay talk about
this a lot. You came you you you came up
and not only just a very talented family, but.
Speaker 3 (27:07):
Pops was guy.
Speaker 1 (27:10):
Pops was a god like you had You had the
you had the fame, you had the money, you had
the you know, probably all the things that you needed
to just be cool. But you are still chasing this
(27:35):
with a hunger like like you don't have it, like
you don't come from it. Yeah, yeah, what does that
come from? I think it's just you know, it's that rare.
Speaker 3 (27:47):
Thing that that.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
All of us have it. But when you when you
know it early and there's no doubt about it, Like
when people try to tell me, like, you know, what
do I need to do to be? You just are
you just are? You already see it? You already know
what's going to happen. You've are you know, you just
know it very early on, Like nothing's going to stop
me from learning what I need to learn, practicing what
(28:10):
I need to practice, out working the guy or girl
next to me, and sooner or later, you know, my
some form of these dreams will come true and I
will I will get to that that place.
Speaker 1 (28:23):
But it's like most people who are in this comfortable
space growing up in this we already have it, don't
have that level of hunger or even confidence in their
own ability to get their own.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
Was there like was there a thing in you to say, Okay,
popsot his, but that's his, I gotta get mine.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:53):
Of course there's a competitive spirit and that that happens
in a lot of families. Whether it's if you're a lawyer,
sometime just becomes a better lawyer or bigger, or because
he had the connections or he had the information. Because
Dad's connections didn't totally help me that.
Speaker 3 (29:07):
Way, but his belief in me. He put me in
the room with David Foster.
Speaker 2 (29:11):
When I was thirteen, I was in the studio like
these with Natalie Cole when she was recording Unforgettable.
Speaker 3 (29:18):
I'm glad we got I got to come. He's poor
in it.
Speaker 2 (29:24):
But the last, the one, the coupe de gras, the
one that takes the cake is One day I'm at
Joe Tory baseball camp in an Encino and I come
home and Kevin Costner is there at the piano with
this beautiful black woman and David Foster sitting and playing
a song and they are practicing I Will Always Love You.
(29:46):
Before they give it to Whitney.
Speaker 3 (29:48):
I knew where he was going.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
I knew, and I just walked past the piano and
I go into the uh, you know, going to my
room like it's not none. Then, like, what's Kevin Costner
doing here?
Speaker 3 (29:58):
You know, my dad's not even there.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
He just let David use his house because David was
working on another project at a studio right around the corner,
probably you know, one of those, and he said, I
need enough. I'm gonna have to come to your house,
Alan and use your piano and meet with Kevin real quick.
Speaker 3 (30:12):
So that was that was what I walked in. That's
what my dad knew.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Everybody everyone loved him and he was, oh yeah, no
on linder Sin's day one did Lyndon was around when
I was born.
Speaker 3 (30:26):
Oh this is great. Oh yes, this is great, bro.
Speaker 2 (30:29):
That is how crazy is that? It's a good time.
Speaker 3 (30:33):
I don't know, that's the quzy. It's just my life.
Probably it's my life.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
And you know when when my dad passed away, Magic
Johnson sent me a note and was or he said
in the paper actually and he said it to me
personally again when I saw him recently, but he said,
Alan think was the first celebrity that I met when
I came to Los Angeles. My dad was at every
basketball and hockey game. He lived at the Forum. He
didn't miss a game. In fact, I was born when
(31:01):
he was headed to the Forum for a game and
my mom was like pregnant two weeks early. And I
remember my dad, you know, having fun of joke. Well,
you better be right, because I've got VIP parking passes,
you know, forever the comedian.
Speaker 3 (31:18):
But yeah, he just lived in those games.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
He lived in that culture, and he was great friends
with Jerry Buss and Magic and Wayne Gretzky. Actually, when
Wayne Gretzky was traded to the Kings, he was staying
at our house with Janet for two weeks. My dad
was in Russia with my older brother, and I was
at home at Joe Tory camp again.
Speaker 3 (31:37):
And this is na storry to comedian guys. Yeah, this
is coach.
Speaker 2 (31:43):
Of the New York Yankees Championships. But so I come
home and oh no, I'm at home in the morning.
At seven o'clock in the morning, the phone rings. I'm
getting ready to go to camp. And I answered the
phone as Bruce McNall, the owner of the Kings, and
he says, hey, Robin is, can you put me on
the phone with Wayne? And I go, well, he's sleeping.
You know, I really don't want to wake him. He goes,
you need to wake him. I need to talk to
him right now.
Speaker 3 (32:03):
I go in there.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
I say, hey, Wayne, Bruce is on the phone. You
gotta get it, he says. So Wayne answers the phone.
I go to camp, I come home Wayne's and Edmonton
at the podium. He was traded that morning. That was
the phone call when he got traded.
Speaker 3 (32:18):
You took the call.
Speaker 2 (32:19):
I took the call and told Wayne to get on
the phone. The day he was traded to the Kings.
It's pretty crazy. Your life was crazy, crazy crazy. This
is absolute And that's just by the time I'm twelve,
you know what I mean, we didn't even we ain't
even got into nothing yet.
Speaker 5 (32:39):
So there's one thing though, as we talk about these
great songs, because I'm like a I'm a deep cut guy.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
Yeah, I'm a deep cut guy. You've got this song
called Teach You a Lesson.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
Yes, sir, Yeah, I love that song. That's special, that
whole I still do that in the longest shows because
it's just such a moment, you know, because the way
you talk to people, like when you when you talk
to somebody and you really oh and you know how
personally that moment was. That was a real moment where
I felt every word of that.
Speaker 3 (33:06):
You know what I mean. Amazing that a cocaine Oh
that was that was a true story. Well, it was
about all the temptations.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
I'd never done cocaine, and it was all about the
temptations surrounding me in this fabulous lifestyle and these Hollywood
people and yeah, and as I was getting into the
world of these superstars and you know, the late night
parties and some of that kind of stuff and so, yeah, manies.
Speaker 3 (33:37):
But the funny not me. I wasn't arrested. But I
saw a friend of mine in that world.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
And I was driving through Beverly Hills and I just
saw him in an alley getting getting put into a car,
and I was like, that's my homie, and I just
I just didn't know if it was cocaine or whatever.
But when I was getting into all that world, that Hollywood, No,
I just.
Speaker 3 (33:54):
Don't know what it was.
Speaker 2 (33:55):
I remember that visual and being afraid for him. It
turned out he was carrying a gun and it wasn't drugs.
But but the fact that I saw a friend who
I thought might have gotten caught with cocaine inspired the
line of I'm standing in an alley with my hands
behind here.
Speaker 3 (34:10):
I am listening to the album like man rob up. No.
Speaker 2 (34:14):
No, I never, man, I had never. It was all
about the temptations and how do you stay away from it?
Speaker 3 (34:20):
And that that.
Speaker 5 (34:20):
Songwriting, but that is actually a song where you put
people in a place. No matter what it is, it
could be good bad whatever.
Speaker 3 (34:27):
You write screenplays, bro, Yeah, man, there's some good ones man,
you know.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
But I love That's the thing. I love music, and
my songs are my story, you know, and that's what
I leave behind, you know. And so when you listen
to my songs that they are literally telling my life story.
Speaker 3 (34:43):
You know.
Speaker 2 (34:43):
Besides, if you dance record, yes, and then dance records,
like when you make a dance record, you just want
people to dance, you know.
Speaker 3 (34:57):
I'm in record playing right there in the in the
first room on the right with a guy by the
name of t I. He's working on some music. I'm
in there with him. Were actually working with me this
story after you heard it, Actually esp actually working.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
On We have an artist we're working on together. At
the time, we had a little partnership. We're doing it.
So we're just in the studio kicking it and somebody
walks in and says, hey, I need you to get
to this Robin record.
Speaker 3 (35:29):
He's like, He's like, hey, all right, do it up.
Pull it up.
Speaker 1 (35:32):
He said, this is the record. We think it's going
to be a big record. We need you want it.
He's got to have you on it. And he's like,
all right, played that motherfucking record. The T I says,
turn the micael I love it, goes in the booth,
(35:57):
listens to it maybe one more time and does that
entire rap from top to box.
Speaker 3 (36:05):
No, he does not. Absolutely watched. I watched him do it.
I was like, no way, I've never seen him in
studio before. For a moment, I didn't know that.
Speaker 2 (36:17):
That's amazing.
Speaker 1 (36:17):
Top to bottom, didn't write nothing, nothing. Yeah, it's a talent.
Speaker 2 (36:28):
And I looked that said oh that's why you okay
r T I, Yeah, that's that's that's amazing. I can't
believe he just went in and dropped.
Speaker 3 (36:37):
It like that. And I'm there and I'm like, this
is going to go crazy. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (36:43):
Jay and Wayne did the same thing when I worked
with them. Yeah, incredible how they.
Speaker 3 (36:46):
Can do that.
Speaker 1 (36:47):
But I just I remember hearing that song and knowing
that nothing or no one was going to be able
to stop you. When this record came out, and then
the video. I saw the video and I said, everything
was right.
Speaker 5 (37:03):
Everything made all the right decisions, man, at least from
the outside.
Speaker 2 (37:09):
I remember Jimmy I having called me as soon as
he saw the video. It calls me at seven thirty
am and goes, Robin.
Speaker 3 (37:14):
Is going to be the biggest record of your life.
There's going to be number one all around the world.
Speaker 2 (37:18):
This is incredible.
Speaker 3 (37:19):
I love this record.
Speaker 2 (37:19):
I love this video.
Speaker 3 (37:20):
It is the best thing you've ever done.
Speaker 2 (37:21):
It's gonna be huge.
Speaker 3 (37:22):
I'm gonna make sure of it. And I remember, and
now it's not just on the radio. It's not just
you know.
Speaker 1 (37:31):
I remember being an Arenas with you watching every night
this song shake the fucking arena.
Speaker 2 (37:42):
Wow, not a couple of nights, those were times every night.
Those are times every night.
Speaker 3 (37:49):
That's Temple records are tough for soulful guys anyway already,
but that that's different, man.
Speaker 2 (38:00):
As the brilliance of phar Real Mania was the most
talented person I've ever been in a room with. You know,
he's so the story behind it, well, we had three
days in the studio. We did three records, one record
a day. Blurred Lines was on the third day. My
dad actually came by the studio just to say hi.
But he happened to be there the night Blurred Lines
(38:22):
was made, and it was the kind of song like
you know, people were hearing it from the other studios,
and the lady at the front desk and the manager
of the studio and everybody just kind of started putting
their head in, you know what I mean, and wanted
to hear it. And then and as we were adding
those last little ad libs whatever, but you know, we're
playing it loud, we're figuring out what the little pieces
that are missing, and but right from the start, next thing,
(38:44):
I know, the whole room is dancing, and you know,
it was just that kind of and people couldn't stop
coming in from outside to uh to hear the record.
You know, Here's and there were like some other there
was a crew of other rappers that Farah was working with.
I can't recall right now, but they all wanted to
come in and hear it. And that's when we kind
of knew like we had something.
Speaker 1 (39:03):
Here's a questions as a vocalist, right, this song, this
song has so many different things stylistically that you did
vocally that was different. Was that Pharrell saying no, do
it like this? Or was that you just in character,
(39:24):
saying I feel like this right now, like this.
Speaker 3 (39:27):
Is where I think.
Speaker 2 (39:28):
By then, I had already learned a lot from Pharrell,
And you know, when we did want to Love Your Girl,
he was like, make it sound a little more a
Britch and I did a little more British because he
wanted it to sound you know what I mean. But
by then him and I it was our third day together,
which is very rare to get three days in a
row with Pharrell anyway, and by the third day the
(39:49):
flow was just so pure. He would say, yeah, because
I think the record just opened itself for being really
silly and playful, where a lot of times, with being
an R and B soul singer, are you trying to
emotion emotion emotion? But that song has a lot of
humor in it, you know, And that's why I think
it just it's just so much fun to listen to
because it's sexy, it's funny, and it's got the humor
in it.
Speaker 1 (40:09):
The first of all, I want to say that Pharrell
owes me a studio session. He came to me one
day and said, man, I want to work with you,
and I was like, well, I want to work with you.
Speaker 3 (40:20):
Yeah, I want to work with you.
Speaker 1 (40:23):
Yeah, I'm available now I'm not sure and I've never
gotten my studio session with Farrell.
Speaker 3 (40:30):
If you talk to him, you know, you know that.
Speaker 2 (40:38):
Man is on a different plane. I mean what he's
doing with us Vuitton and everything. He's just he's evolved
into all things and and an inspiration in all categories,
you know what I mean, just as a human being
and a man of the community and a man of
art and every facet and he's a leader generation with
question you.
Speaker 3 (40:58):
Uh, first, congratulations for getting Struck by Lightning.
Speaker 5 (41:03):
Song now twelve million, Yeah, so all time, Okay, Yeah,
we did all right on that one.
Speaker 2 (41:12):
There's you know, in years in ago, I got I
got divorced, I got sued, my father passed away, my
manager passed away, my house burned down, Andre Herrel passed away.
So all that was like boom boom, boom boom for.
Speaker 3 (41:25):
Me, you know.
Speaker 2 (41:26):
And so so this album is about how I got
through that, where I'm at now, what's important to me
now and my family and trying to replace that broken
family that I lost when I was a kid.
Speaker 1 (41:37):
I love that because you know, you're sitting next to
fathers are who are actually fathers, yeah, real real dad
And you know, people always ask like, how do you
find balance, and I'm like, there is no balance. There
is just there's just ripping and running and trying to
(41:59):
be all you can be in those spaces, but more
important portantly for your kids. Like you want to be
all you can be in the space that provides for
your kids, exactly, but you also want to be all
you can be in the space with your kids.
Speaker 2 (42:14):
And if you think of it percentage wise, if I
have six people, I mean five people, you know, my
lady and four kids that I need to provide love, attention, humor, cuddles.
You know, they all need it. They all need it,
they all want it, you know what I mean. So
that's that's twenty percent each of my time. And now
I haven't even gone to work yet, absolutely, you know.
Speaker 3 (42:34):
What I mean.
Speaker 2 (42:34):
So now you cut that in half, that's fifty. Now
they're down to ten percent each of them of my
time and my love and my energy. So you really
have to conserve it. You have to stay present in it,
and you have to make sure that that the time
is being spent valuably so everybody is getting enough to
feel that, you know, Papa's love or whatever that is,
you know, and so we have a lot of work
(42:55):
to do.
Speaker 1 (42:56):
Yeah, you get into this space, and especially you know
in your career and and how you've how successful you've been.
When of one of my friends, Terry's, hit me with
a phrase a few a few weeks ago, he said, well,
I don't think that would be the best use of
my time, and you gotta right, And so you gotta
(43:16):
you gotta make those decisions.
Speaker 2 (43:18):
And older we get that, you know, we really want
to spend time with the people that make a smile
and laugh and dance and and feel loved and feel appreciated,
and that's where that's what we want to be.
Speaker 5 (43:39):
When you when you first sat down before the cameras
went on, you're like, bro, I just did six shows.
Speaker 3 (43:46):
Six cities and seven days.
Speaker 5 (43:48):
Yeah, oh no, you that's that's that is the real grind,
and that's how you look up and you've done this
thing for thirty years at the highest level.
Speaker 3 (43:57):
Yeah, Like people don't understand that. People don't understand that.
Speaker 5 (44:00):
Like even when you talked about how you you know,
you spend your time, like that's time, Yeah, that's really
time dedicated to the craft.
Speaker 2 (44:09):
Yeah, and the rest is dedicated to the kids. Absolutely, yeah,
And that's that's what it's all about, coming up right
And you know what yet, well, I've been touring. Actually
I'm with Boys and Men right now. I've been now
doing shows Boys Men. That's a great night because you know,
once again like getting to work with your idols or
just have like I learned every single harmony and ad
lib on that first album for sure, you know, and
then once they started doing work with Babyface and getting
(44:30):
that end of the road and I'll make Love to
you and you know and on bend and knees and
so these are records that I listened to driving as
a sixteen year old, like I want to be that
I'm going to sing like that. I want that kind
of a hit, you know what I mean? And that's
that that hunger is good for you.
Speaker 3 (44:46):
You know. Well we're about to segue, please do yeah, yeah,
how you feel Robin? Because because you look good? You
walked in smelling good and looking good. Do you do?
You feel good?
Speaker 2 (44:59):
Right now?
Speaker 3 (45:00):
Now?
Speaker 2 (45:00):
I feel delicious.
Speaker 3 (45:03):
There ain't nothing wrong with that.
Speaker 1 (45:08):
Special segment where we want to go to right now
and get some information from you know, You've written a
lot of songs for a lot of people, written songs
for yourself.
Speaker 3 (45:24):
We just know that there are songs that have inspired you,
songs that have made you who you are. And we
don't want all the songs.
Speaker 6 (45:37):
We just don't want.
Speaker 3 (45:39):
We just want a few of the songs. And we
just like to call this your.
Speaker 6 (45:46):
Top fun, your top five, top five, your top.
Speaker 3 (46:00):
Fun, your top R and B singer. Whatelse R and.
Speaker 7 (46:06):
B songs.
Speaker 4 (46:09):
Were Dogs and doom be more you go bere on
this show. We don't good blow. I mean, yeah, hurrah, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (46:30):
Break it down, break it down, your five Robin think
(46:51):
your top five R and B singers.
Speaker 2 (46:56):
Oh, top five R and B singers. I mean that's
the at least the name my favorite because because I'm
I'm more of an old school man. Otis Redding. Yeah, yeah,
you can't get past baby locked the door. Yeah, start
with that and then goes solve. I mean the way
he sings, uh uh, try a little tenderness, you know
(47:21):
what I mean, Just try so. Yeah, Otis Redding for sure. Stevie,
of course, gotta gotta get Stevie up in there. How
green Ain't nobody know how to keep it that's small
intimate intimacy that he provides. Marvin, of course, I can't
(47:45):
go without Morvin.
Speaker 3 (47:46):
And then oh, oh well, I'm you know, I'm on
a guy.
Speaker 2 (47:56):
I'm doing all my favorite guys because mostly I would
listen to but Whitney. Then yeah, just you can't. You
can't make it Whitney and Aretha. I gotta do like
five six, Just I gotta have my two favorites, my
two favorites. I listened to so much Aretha and Whitney
that sculpted my vocal career. But as I got older
and you know, becoming a grown man and listening to
(48:17):
other grown men's stories at that same point in my life,
you know what I mean, that's when I started to
gravitate more towards Otis and Stevie, Marvin and al As
I got into my twenties and stuff like that, you know.
But early on, when I was in my teens, Whitney
was it. You know, you couldn't if you could do
a Whitney run, you knew what she was doing. She
was so quick and powerful.
Speaker 3 (48:36):
Oh and just the.
Speaker 2 (48:38):
Taste, precise, the taste, impeccable taste.
Speaker 3 (48:41):
Robin, think your top five r and B songs.
Speaker 2 (48:45):
Okay, Well, let's stay together. What's going on?
Speaker 3 (48:51):
Uh?
Speaker 2 (48:54):
What's I always.
Speaker 3 (48:55):
Forget the talents out of Bens guy, I always have
been there.
Speaker 2 (49:04):
And uh for me, because of the effect it had
on me and my life and career, I would say forever,
my lady.
Speaker 3 (49:10):
Why not? Why not? Yeah? Yeah, come on? That did
everything for me, everything for me, Look at me. That
was everything changed my life. Come on that record right there?
Who I used to order that on the jukebox. Remember
to talk about the box, that money.
Speaker 2 (49:33):
If I had a girl come over. The first date
that was I was singing. I was standing in front
of Jodasy like I was a member of the TV
behind me, and oh you know, I went you got,
you got. I went right to my vocals.
Speaker 3 (49:45):
Teaching early. Oh yeah, yeah I was. I was a
magic mic you know that can sing. Now I'm doing
(50:06):
town type dances, you know what I mean? One more
one more song?
Speaker 2 (50:09):
Okay, okay?
Speaker 3 (50:10):
And B songs?
Speaker 2 (50:11):
Oh you know what I gotta I gotta get a
Lauren Hill in there. Guys, you know you better watch
out some girls. And that's that's culture forever. That speaks
so many things to both do, both sexes. And cultures
and what a song, what a video? What the musical production?
(50:32):
Just incredible.
Speaker 3 (50:34):
We're gonna build your vultron your music. You're a super
R and B artists.
Speaker 1 (50:38):
We want to know who you're gonna get the vocal
from the performance style, the styling, the passion of the artist.
And since you're so great at it, who's going to
write and produce for this artist? Let's start at the vocal.
What vocal are you grabbing to build your super RB artist?
Speaker 2 (50:52):
You know what I think because of the most dynamic
I mean, for me, I love the I would pick Marvin,
you know what I mean, just because there's just there
was something he just when when he sings, it feels
like the gates of heaven are opening up, and you
know we're all welcome, you know what I mean. And
uh and and there's a piece and a and a
hope and a warmth. It's like a big warm hug,
(51:14):
you know every time he sings. Yeah, performance style, performance style.
Speaker 3 (51:21):
You know I would go.
Speaker 2 (51:22):
I'd go James Brown. I mean I don't think I
think it all just starts the hardest. Yeah. I mean,
of course this is Michael, which which is just magic
that doesn't you can't even really quantify that. But for me,
just like the the way James Brown and hits with
his band and just he had he created this whole
thing that inspired everybody that came after. And you know,
(51:46):
and I'm a sweat you see me, I swear it
out when it's time to really go, It's James Brown.
Speaker 3 (51:51):
You know what I mean? The styling of the artists.
Speaker 2 (51:55):
Styling of the artist. Okay, okay, you know what. Then
I would go Mike because he really he there was
something that classy. It was dazzling, but it was every
man could wear it, you.
Speaker 3 (52:08):
Know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (52:08):
And and uh, he just kept evolving and and that's
what inspired Kanye's type of you know, metamorphosis as a
as a fashion icon and h And then you can
go right to who's the songwriter producer? That's Pharrell, you know.
And I would just go Pharrell, but we.
Speaker 3 (52:24):
Gotta go passions, passion of the artist, the heart of
the artist, heart of the passion. Oh.
Speaker 2 (52:30):
Then I would go with Otis. I'll go with Otis's
heart because you know he we lost him early. I
mean you know that I believe he wrote and finished
sitting on the dock of the bay and then passed
before it was released, and and then it became sitting
on the dock of the bay. Wow, I mean, come on,
you know. So there was something about the heart, especially
(52:50):
in the era also the era that he came from,
you know. And once again I'm picking mostly male artists
and producers, but but that's uh yeah, I mean the
heart heart of Otis and Aretha. You know you could
you could do the same thing like what came out
of Aretha when she sang it.
Speaker 3 (53:06):
But oh oh oh no, I got a better one.
Speaker 2 (53:10):
Just the fun Nina Simone, the heart of Nina, the
heart of Nina. Listen to that voice who for real
writing and producing it, the passion of Nina Simone. Yeah,
from the era she came up in as a black
woman in those times, and the songs she wrote.
Speaker 3 (53:29):
It was so it was so many layers to that
music and her songwriting, her lyricis, her lyrics.
Speaker 2 (53:37):
It's an amazing.
Speaker 3 (53:39):
We got one more thang for you, please do we
got one more than because I got to go, I
got I got to go, got to get home.
Speaker 7 (53:51):
I said, yeah, saying no, Nick, saying no name, are you.
Speaker 3 (54:04):
What you did? Don't say I ain't saying no.
Speaker 5 (54:19):
It's a very important sec very important secment song, not
a song because now you wrote so many damn songs.
Speaker 3 (54:28):
Fat segment of the show, Will you tell us a story? Funny?
Fucked up? Are funny and fucked up?
Speaker 2 (54:35):
Okay?
Speaker 3 (54:36):
Only rule to the game is you can't say no names.
Speaker 2 (54:39):
Okay, okay, funny story.
Speaker 3 (54:44):
Life and time, Life and time, I'm robbing.
Speaker 2 (54:47):
Thick, okay, okay. So after the met ball, oh, she
know what?
Speaker 3 (54:59):
You know what?
Speaker 2 (55:01):
I was, Yeah, yeah, yeah, and it was a great
night because uh and yeah, I won't include the name
that has the punchline, but I'll use some other names
to help.
Speaker 3 (55:12):
Get the story go. It right's part, but I won't
use the punchline.
Speaker 2 (55:18):
So Jennifer Hudson is performing, which was amazing because that
was the first time I'd ever seen her live. And
after that I was so inspired. I went home and
I wrote on her debut Grammy winning R and B album,
and so she was performing. I actually was sitting at
the table with Rihanna, who was very young in her
and I had just done a photo shoot together for
(55:38):
GQ mag It was a GQ Yeah, I think it
was GQ magazine. Very early in her career.
Speaker 3 (55:44):
And so that night we end up going out.
Speaker 2 (55:47):
It's after party after party. We end up at Richie's
Butter in New York City. Richie Akiva shout out to
Richie Kieva at Butter in New York City. And I'm
hanging out with this very famous, very talented Grammy Award
winning artists and We're making friends, We're having a blast,
and he's like, you know, I after this, man, let's
go back to my studio and and uh, you know,
(56:08):
make some music.
Speaker 3 (56:09):
And I was like, man, not tonight, not tonight. I
was like, you know.
Speaker 2 (56:15):
And so somehow he was affronted by you know, like
felt rejected or something, and uh, and then it got
to I don't want to do that, you know, and
he was like, hey, man, you know I'm better than you.
And I go, I go what I said, I'll take
the Pepsi challenge with Joe asked.
Speaker 3 (56:37):
The Pepsi challenge.
Speaker 2 (56:40):
And we had already we already spent the night complimenting
each other, we had met, we had met at the
met Ball, we had already spent the night when we
didn't really leave, we were like hanging out. We ended
up going to like, Paul, let's go there. Now, let's
go there. So we were making friends very quickly, and
by the end of the story, Uh yeah, I think
he was offended that I didn't want to go to
the studio when we're at this incredible party to you know,
(57:00):
I just didn't want to go afterwards, and I think
he thought that I didn't, you know, that I was
dissing him or something. Just finished with I'll take the
PEPs of challenge with Joe.
Speaker 3 (57:12):
Did you guys remain?
Speaker 2 (57:14):
You know, we saw each other many years later at
an airport Terminal six baggage.
Speaker 3 (57:18):
Claim, you know what I mean, and just was like it.
You know, but man, you know, man, Man, you too.
We don't really keep we don't really keep beef. We
just don't hang out. We talk about the beef. Man.
Speaker 2 (57:32):
That is great.
Speaker 1 (57:33):
Yeah, it was a good time. Robin you are you
are who you are, man. Thanks for having me. Thank
we appreciate you. Man, Hang with you continue success and
for you.
Speaker 2 (57:44):
Congratulations on the rise of this show. You know, you
guys are really taking over in a in a category
that we really needed. We needed, we needed all this
talk and all this laughter and all this appreciation of
great R and B Culture and Music.
Speaker 3 (57:57):
Well, thank you, bro, I couldn't have closed it out better.
Speaker 1 (58:00):
My name is Tank and this is the R and
B Money Podcast, the authority on all things R and B.
Speaker 3 (58:07):
I don't I don't even know what to say. Man,
my brother, man, you know I love you.
Speaker 2 (58:13):
I taught so much with you as an artist and
a human being in it. And h and Jay you know,
you know I've always loved you, and we've been around
each other for so long in this business.
Speaker 3 (58:22):
But you guys are doing great.
Speaker 2 (58:23):
I'm so excited part of it. God bless you.
Speaker 3 (58:25):
Listen, big ladies and gentlemen, R and B Money.
Speaker 5 (58:33):
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 Real Tank. For the extended episode,
(58:55):
subscribe to YouTube dot com, forward Slash, R and B Money.
Speaker 2 (59:00):
Yeah,
Hosts And Creators
Tank
J. Valentine
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