August 30, 2023 • 66 mins
On this week's episode of The R&B Money Podcast, Tank and J Valentine welcome the legendary Troy Taylor. Enveloped by the seductive sounds of R&B hits in New York City, Troy Taylor would ultimately come alive for what we now know as a career of global success, both critically acclaimed and commercially revered alike.
Troy shares fascinating stories and insights about artist development, insane vocal productions with icons, dealing with executives, maintaining high standards, and pushing for excellence in R&B. Crafting hits for the likes of Boyz 2 Men and Color Me Badd out the gate.
Troy helped develop young artists like Trey Songz early in their careers, nurturing their talent and teaching them to craft hits. Trey Songz's debut album featured Troy's productions and co-writes, and was very successful. Troy has spent 30+ years writing and producing for many top R&B artists like Mary J. Blige, Whitney Houston, Tank, Beyonce and more, amassing over 500 million records sold.
Tune in to uncover Troy's unmatched perspective on the world of R&B music from his experiences as an elite hitmaker and artist developer. Now, on The R&B Money Podcast.
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Tank: @therealtank
J Valentine: @JValentine
Podcast: @RnbMoneyPodcast
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
R and B money.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Honey, we are.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Thanks take volatility. We are the authorities on R and B.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Ladies and gentlemen. My name is Tank and this is
truly the R and B money pocket. This is the
authority of all things.
Speaker 4 (00:31):
R and B.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Yell like a motherfucker. You know what.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Let me, let me, let me switch, Let me switch
to a more prestigious tone, because we have tone and accent. Yes,
we have in the building. We have a master craft,
for sure. We have deity uh in the building.
Speaker 4 (00:57):
His uh.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
His work is biblical. It is etched in stone a
book of songs, just as the Ten Commandments that is
etched in stone. I speak of a man who spans
decades of R and B excellence. He sits on the
(01:24):
board of the R and B Elders Association. He is
a rule maker in all things that are decided in
terms of what R and B is and how R
and B lives. This man is cultivated farms of produce
(01:50):
that continue to serve and feed.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
The R and B community. Ladies and gentlemen, we are talking.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
None are then, His Excellency, Lord Troy Taylor. Wow, Lord,
I have never Taylor Lord himself. As you can tell
by the bed. That is a lord's beard. Thank you, brother,
(02:22):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
For having me.
Speaker 4 (02:23):
Welcome bro.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
I appreciate it. Long time coming, Yes, sir, Yes, we've
been waiting on this.
Speaker 4 (02:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Yeah, I've been waiting on it. Actually, we can't wait
to really talk the ship.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
You know what I'm saying, because because you know you
are truly like your wingspan in this ship is crazy.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
It's deep, deep. We don't have to pause that. We're
gonna keep that. Oh yeah, technically okay, yeah, this fuck that,
it's real. So first of all, thank you for coming.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
You are brother, you know what I'm saying, like your family,
so that that goes without saying you know what I'm saying.
But you know, we thank you for giving us your time, man,
and giving us the in depth of the things we
are all we're getting ready to talk about. Yes, I'm excited.
I'm sorry. Just you know, it's feeling good about myself today.
This is you know, not this is the Army Money podcast.
This is one of those moments where they are yes,
(03:25):
where you know, let's let's to destroy because you were
once a lad. You once a lad, and you were
once an aspiring lad. Yes, you aspire to be something
within your aspirations. There had to be some confirmation somewhere
as a as a young boy where someone said, ah,
(03:47):
it is on you, you have that keep pushing, or
where you identified at yourself and said, you know what,
I'm kind of that boy.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Definitely, Definitely, after church, we go over to the piano.
I'm like eleven, twelve ish, and I had this I
had this notion that the piano was easy, like it
seemed easy until I went over and hit the keys
and it wasn't easy. And at that point that's when
I it became a challenge. I want to learn. I
(04:21):
want to learn how to do this, because it's how
do they do And from there I just started off
like self talk, self taught.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
And.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Just working it out. And then a couple of friends
would show me chords and I would work on those
chords and work on those chords until it was fluent.
And then basically through our high school just in bands,
you know, in groups and stuff like that. And then
at the end of high school, my music teacher, oh, no,
(04:52):
excuse me. My mom told me that I needed to
get a job or go to school. And I don't
like school. I don't know the idea of graduating and
going back to school was like, why would I do that?
Speaker 1 (05:07):
I tried it.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
So so so my music teacher, mister Bowie suggested because
I told him what my mom said, and he said,
I have this school in Harford that you should check out.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
It's a two year program because.
Speaker 4 (05:32):
You're from Connecticut.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
I'm from New Haven, Connecticut.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
Yes, sir, jumping up to Hartford now, yeah, And it
was a two year program. So it's simple to two years,
get your diploma, and you out. So I thought that
was a great compromise. So my mom, Okay, I'll do
that because two years I'm done.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
That's it for me.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
But within that two years, that's when I it was
jazz and record jazz theory and record production, Jazz.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Theory and re record production.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
So in that school is where I would learn two
five to one. Once I heard what it sounded like,
I was able to, oh, that's what it's called. You know,
my whole life, I hear it. You hear it in
Steven Wonder. You hear it, You hear the turnarounds, but
you don't know what it's called. And then through that
going to school, I learned what the language four coord
(06:24):
the three chord, the six chord, the two you know,
and the record production. They were a little they were
a little behind on technology, so I didn't really learn
too much about that. I had already had my eight track,
you know, I was already ahead of them. But the
jazz theory is what clicked for me. And after that
(06:45):
I hit the streets.
Speaker 4 (06:46):
Really, did you finish the two years?
Speaker 1 (06:48):
I did finish the two years.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
I graduated and then after it was after that that
I realized, oh no, no, this is what I want to do.
Of course, I was an artist first while in college. No,
I was an artist that all the way up to.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Twenty two. So after college, I was still in the group.
I was still in the group. When you get in
the group, I was in the group do our Hearts
I high school. What was the name of the group? Yeah, okay,
So the first group I was in was called Sweet Attraction.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
Sweet Attraction.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Yes, that's absolutely armed, very very very arm b.
Speaker 5 (07:22):
And then baby, very baby sweet attraction.
Speaker 4 (07:28):
Think of sweet attraction like La and baby Face.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
It was breed, it was curls ball was yeah, yeah, yeah,
I did that.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
I from jail.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
I had I had a little Jerry Carl yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
And then I was in a band too. I can't
think of the name of the band, guys don't kill Me.
I can't think of the name of the band, but it.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Was just me.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
I was a keyboardist and we had a bass, guitar,
guitar player, drummer.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Thing. I forget, uh the name of the group.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
And then I was in my last group before I
went on my own, with Shamari.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
That's the name of the group.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
Yes, it was like.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
Word, what does that mean? I don't remember. I know,
I know it's yes. I was in Shamari and just was.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
Just in Africa so with somebody.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
We've been waiting so so I got When I got
out of that, that's when I went on my own,
and being so anxious, I ended up signing this.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
Record deal that was horrible. It was the horriblest deal
you could ever see, like a local records to New York.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
Well, i'll tell your label, Indy.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
It was an independent label. I'll tell you one thing
that made it so bad. I signed my publishing away
for the rest of my life. Sure what, that's how
bad it went ourpetuity period. I was anxious. I didn't
get an attorney to look at the deal because I
was anxious. I was twenty years old and I was
trying to leave. I was trying to get out of
New Haven. I was trying to.
Speaker 4 (09:12):
And do you remember how much money they gave you
for this?
Speaker 2 (09:14):
I don't remember. But it wasn't a lot of money.
It was a horrible deal.
Speaker 4 (09:18):
It was just enough to get out.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
It was enough to leave. I don't even remember getting paid. Actually,
I tell this story because I like to tell people
so that they can know being anxious is.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
Not rushing bad place to make a decision.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
Rushing being anxious and being like.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
It's almost under your own drest right if you put
this pressure on yourself, Yes, you know what I mean,
you back yourself up against the wall in a sense
to where anything looks good to get off this wall
and to get out of this corner.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
Jesus Christ. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
So throughout my my teenage years, I did record stores.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
I worked at record stores, and.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
I felt like, you know, if I'm going to get
a job, I'd rather work at a record stores, keep
me close to music, but I will recredits all the time,
because you know.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
That's a that's an art in itself.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Yes, And there would be one name that I would
always see that I would always see and it seemed
like every time I saw his name, it was attached
to something I liked. And his name was Timmy Register
m HM, and so that name always stuck in the
back of my head. So let's fast forward to this
record deal. I'm I'm signed to this label now and
(10:32):
they asked me for my single. Who did I want
to get to mix the single? I said Timmy Register,
not knowing that they would know him, and it said, hey,
get Timmy on the phone, like what what? So long
story short of course, fast forward, I'm going to meet
(10:53):
Timmy Register. I'm going to meet tim Registrate. So they
scheduled the mix. I think it was on a Monday.
I came up with this plan, this plan to play
three tracks, three beats that I did have songs to them,
but I won't play that. I'll play the music, hoping
(11:16):
that he will say where's the song. Then I would
say I have the songs, and then he would say
let me hear the songs, and I would say, I
don't have them with me, but I can come back.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
To get a meeting. Well, that was in my head.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
So through the mix, during the inter the break he
broke for to get something to eat for lunch, and
so when he went to the lounge, I asked him
if I could play him some more music. First of all,
I thanked him for, you know, doing the mix, and
I said, can I play some music? I had the
boombox you know, you know when that was with the
(11:52):
cassette that you know, And so he said yeah, he
was eating and I played him.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
I gave him the cassette.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
He put in. He got in the middle of the
second beat, and he was like, where's the song? So
I'll have songs todays.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
Let me hear.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
I don't have them, but I can, you know, I
definitely can come back. I can, you know. He was like, okay,
and you scheduled a meeting for Wednesday at Motown because
he worked at Motown. He was a Motown executive and
R did.
Speaker 4 (12:20):
You not know this yet or you did know?
Speaker 2 (12:22):
I did know, but I didn't pay attention to that
because I was just looking at the fact that this
is timmy register, whose name is on the back of
so many things at Motown, and I didn't think about that.
And so I came back Wednesday, took the train, came
back and UH had a bag full of cassettes and
(12:45):
I played him all my music. He got so into
the music and so into me as an artist that
he bought me out of that contract what and signed
me to Motown.
Speaker 5 (13:01):
Wow, and and this and this turnaround for let's just
you know, said indie label.
Speaker 4 (13:07):
How long was that?
Speaker 2 (13:08):
It was only about It was a little under a
year because I wasn't on it long now during the
course of this horrible deal. The reason why I found
out how bad this deal was because at that time
I was working with who would then become my partner,
Charles for our m H. I met him at this
horrible label. He was just there using the phone. What
(13:33):
he was just there using the label to use the
phone and do meetings. He didn't use the phone, yeah, yeah,
because he would just go there to to you know,
have meetings and stuff just to use He knew the
people there, so he would just use the office phone
and you know meetings.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Yeah, it's popping.
Speaker 5 (13:52):
Yeah here it's new kid pulled out. We them so
so so so.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
One of one of the persons that did actually work
there was his friend. That's how he you know, And
so it was him who has suggested to Charles, Hey,
why don't you have this kid who came up here,
you know, you should have him play keys for you.
And so Charles got my number and called me and
asked me to come to New York to do keyboard work.
(14:23):
I didn't really know him, but he paid me, so,
you know, and then I would do that a few
times before I realized, like, dude, what do you want?
Speaker 1 (14:31):
What is it that you want?
Speaker 4 (14:32):
But are you on Motown at this point?
Speaker 1 (14:33):
Ya? I went back.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
I went back a y'all. I went back on y'all
because I went back to how I got out of
the deal. And so by the time I ended up
signing that deal because I didn't know him enough. You know,
when we started working, it started becoming regular. I started
getting on the train a lot more, and so he
was the one that had the contract looked at, and
(14:56):
he was the one that told me how bad.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
The deal was.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
The that's how I found out. So in the course
of that we became the characters. And yeah, that's how
I introduced the characters.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
Became the characters.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
And so by the time Timmy signed me to Motown,
we were, you know, we were kind of together.
Speaker 4 (15:15):
And he just bought you completely out.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
He brought me completely out. I got my master's back,
I got my publishing back.
Speaker 3 (15:20):
Everything.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Well, y'all know that was God. Nothing But yes, that
don't happen, not at all, not at all.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
So the testimony of that and being anxious, rushing and
you make a mess, still, God can get you out
no matter how deep that is, because that's deep that
signed up.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
The publishing was done.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
It wasn't no reversion, reversions or revisions or nothing.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
It was done.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
It was like, because you know, you gotta get your
attorney to negotiate that, there was no attorney to negotiate nothing.
So my publisher was done. So yeah, gesus, I tell that.
Now I'm on motown the name why the characters?
Speaker 1 (16:02):
Okay, So.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
When I was on that label, I was with a
rapper who I produced him. It was because of him
that we even got to that label in the first place.
I was the producer, but I had sang backgrounds on
a couple of his songs, and so they kept gravitating
(16:25):
towards the person singing. So that's how technically we both
got signed. And then we came up with I came
up with the name smooth characters. So when I got
out of that deal, both of us got out of
the deal, the rapper and I. When me and Charles
became the partners, I dropped this move and just said
(16:47):
the characters.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
That's pretty much how it all began.
Speaker 3 (16:52):
That's wow, because.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
You know, of course my idols Jam and Lewis, l
A and Face Yeah, gambling huff.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
Yeah, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
So that's that's that was the that was the vision.
That was the vision, and so that was the motivation.
So the characters I thought it was. I thought it
was you know, it rang, Yeah, it had a ring
to it.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Yeah. I heard about y'all in church.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
Yeah, I was still in church, you know what I'm saying,
and just hearing about producers that was doing what they
were doing. Yeah, yeah, your name was was the characters?
Speaker 4 (17:28):
The characters?
Speaker 3 (17:28):
Okay, yeah, that's what we want to be.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
Lain, Face, yeah, Jam, Lewis, Yeah, gambling huff.
Speaker 3 (17:36):
So what was your what was your first moment as
the characters? Now you're this this group, you're signing the Motown.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
I'm signing the Motown and I'm working on my album.
Speaker 5 (17:43):
You're working on your album, and are they letting you
guys do the album.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
Yes, Timmy, Timmy was everything. Timmy was.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
I've mentored and I still mentor a lot of people,
and people often ask me, Troy, have you ever had
a mentor? And I have to say, you know, Timmy
was my mentor. He was the one that taught me
song you know, how to make the song pop out,
the verses, pop out, the hook nah, change that change
you know what I mean. He was the one that
(18:10):
kind of like taught me how to make a good song,
what a format a good song. So I have to
say that that was then, and within that time he
already heard all my music. So he trusts me, so
he let me. He let me do the songs that
I wanted to do and make the album and everything.
Speaker 5 (18:23):
So you made it full the album while you're there,
I was making the full album, okay.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
And then he took some of my songs. Wat's this
and he had a meeting with Cheryl Busby who.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
Was the president. Was the president already you already because
she was Jael Bobs. Yeah, So.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
Gerald came in. Timmy played Gerald some of my songs
and Gerald took a pad, sat on the couch, kicked
the shoes off and he would write the names of
the songs down because they had groups and they have
people other artists. So if I'm not keeping it from
my self, who did a lot of songs, right, And
at that time, I did a lot of harmonies. I
was known like you listened to my music, it was
(19:07):
all harmonies. You thought it was a group anyway, but
it was all me. So that's what gave Timmy and
Gerald like, yo, these songs are yo you you know what?
Speaker 1 (19:15):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (19:15):
Yeah, So you did a list and it was this
two groups that they had signed there. So Gerald came
up with four songs for this group and four songs
for this group out of my kettle mm hmm yeah
for this and for this They had these kids that
were there for about a year or so and they
(19:38):
hadn't recorded yet. So Timmy told Gerald, like, this would
be good for these kids, and Gerald agreed, so he
wrote down the four songs. He worked down three songs.
The fourth song that Timmy played, I had to interrupt
and say, hey, this one's for me, this this is mine.
Speaker 4 (20:00):
They can't can't You had your artist moment?
Speaker 1 (20:02):
Yeah yeah, yeah yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
And he was making a cassette for Gerald at the time, so,
you know, so he had to rewind the tape to
take it off and put it and cover it with
another song.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
And so that's what he did.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
And so now it came time to meet these groups
and you know, to set up a meeting to work
with them.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
So first came the kids.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
The kids. The kids they did. Yeah, I would go
down and meet these kids. Came back to Motown. They
were in the conference room and it was four of them,
and the youngest one was fifteen, and then the other
one was sixteen, and then two of them were seventeen.
So I sat down and they were very excited and
(20:48):
they were telling me the songs that they really liked.
And the youngest one he said he liked a song,
but he didn't know the name of it. And so
I'm like, what.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
Do you what do you mean I didn't hear all
of it. I'm like, what do you mean? Didn't hear
all of it? Yeah, we just caught the end of it.
What is he talk like?
Speaker 2 (21:09):
I didn't understand what he was talking about. I said,
did you remember any of the words? He's like it
was like your love or something like that.
Speaker 3 (21:16):
I said, Oh, piece of the joint was still on.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
They caught the end of it because the song that
they the song that they covered it with, it wasn't
long enough and so I was like, oh your love, Yeah,
that's that's from my album. And it went quiet a
it was kind of awkward. So I saying, hey, hey,
you guys sing sing something? And they sang. Now, I
(21:44):
tell this story a lot, but when I said, they
sang about seven or eight seconds, I mean it before
el oh, oh oh stop. Oh yeah that's and I
looked at the young this one. I said, you can
have the song, I swear to you. They just started singing.
(22:06):
Let me tell you what they sang. They sang, oh Mary,
don't you eat?
Speaker 3 (22:11):
Take six.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
I guess you could tell who I'm talking about.
Speaker 4 (22:18):
That's my joint.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
I was like, y'all can have a song. But they
were sitting there looking at me like because I interrupted them,
So they kind of was like, what's wrong. I was like, no, no,
y'all gotta kick you don't.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
I'm good.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
And so they were like, one guy, one particular guys,
can we finish?
Speaker 1 (22:40):
I said, sure, go ahead. They finished and they killed it.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
I mean it was so god forsakenly great that I
really didn't need to hear anymore. But if you're gonna go,
go and do it. But I'm done, I'm ready. Like
and we went in and we did those. We did
four songs.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
He listed to say a year later, these kids was
known all over the world as boys to men. You
(23:20):
rocket because you came up.
Speaker 4 (23:22):
I mean like I came out the gate gate.
Speaker 3 (23:25):
So your name is in every record company's rolodex.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
That's how.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
That's yeah, we need them, and that is getting up
from that and trying to take a moment to do
anything else.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
It's just yeah.
Speaker 4 (23:41):
So this motown.
Speaker 5 (23:44):
Cuff y'all, do they say, hey, you know, we're gonna
kind of a sense make y'all staff producers, staff writers.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
No, no, no, he didn't. He didn't do that.
Speaker 2 (23:53):
But I will say I did work with a lot
of Motown artists, right. Timmy was he was just great man.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
He was just great.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
He didn't have have the mentality of if I'm gonna
do this for you, then you need to sign this.
He didn't have that mentality. He just he just he
was just straight up and wherever he needed to say,
you know, fix this or do this or that, Da
da da da, he just did it.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
It wasn't. It wasn't strings attached to it.
Speaker 5 (24:16):
But he also understands, and I love that you said no,
it was no strings attached, because that, in turn is
actually the best attachment.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
Yes when it's just good business.
Speaker 4 (24:29):
Yes, when it's just good business.
Speaker 5 (24:31):
And I can call you and say, hey, Troy, at
your height, of your height.
Speaker 4 (24:35):
I need you.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
Yes, yes, And how you treat people, I would learn
that over the years I had the and even to
this day, you know, I have a lot of I
have a lot of protegees and people like did you
sign him?
Speaker 1 (24:49):
No? So so so so you you you working with them?
You da? And you sharing your platform? Da da d da?
Did you sign him? No?
Speaker 2 (24:57):
Why we're working, We're working. Whatever we do, I'm gonna
get what I need to get. Why do I need
to sign them? And it was a point where I
did I've jeopardized that and I did go against, go
against what I know, and I did, you know, end
up signing some artists, I mean some artists and producers
and writers. So I did do it at one point,
(25:19):
but in the course of me doing it, it brought
me back to why I don't why.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
I didn't do it?
Speaker 2 (25:25):
I learned this so reminded me of why I do this.
There's so much, there's too much involved, Like and as
far as contracts, people look at it as sign this person.
You gotta be careful who you sign. You don't know
who you sign it. And it goes both ways. Some people
you don't want to sign and you don't know that
because because you don't know that. Yeah, and it's according
(25:47):
to the industry you're supposed to sign.
Speaker 1 (25:48):
You better be careful who you signed.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
The people are crazy and you don't know that you
signing a schizophrenic until they use the contract against you.
My contract says you you're supposed to do da da
da dah, and you didn't do that.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
So what like, you still got work to do? You
why are you?
Speaker 3 (26:06):
You're not even ready at that point of the contract.
Speaker 2 (26:08):
You're even ready for this, but they you know, people
start talking to them. You should have gotten this, they
should have done this to you, but you're not ready.
Speaker 1 (26:19):
No, but still you you you're old. You know you're
really old.
Speaker 2 (26:22):
This So I'm like, what if I've worked with you
with no contracts, then I could take my time. If
you act silly, do something stupid, I can lay back
off you. I ain't got no contract to remind me
that you're my writer or my artist or and I
you know, so that's signing mentality. Nah, y'all can have that.
Miss me with that. There's a lot of attachments to that.
Speaker 4 (26:44):
You're just going to do the work. Yeah, and you
get paid for your work, yes, sir, I respect that.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
I started songbook not too long after.
Speaker 2 (26:54):
Mister Songs got caught in the middle of this thing
because I met Trey through Charles. Charles went to high
school with Trey's stepdad.
Speaker 4 (27:08):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
So Trey's stepdad asks Charles if.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
You could listen to my son. He says he wants
to sing. He raps, but he says he wants to sing.
And Charles, being you know, the business side of it,
like to send him to Troy. So Charles asked me
to do a favor and just say, can you listen
to Kenny's son, Man, just listen to him. Tell me
what you think. So I can tell Kenny, you know,
(27:34):
give him some advice something there.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
Yeah. And so.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
This kid comes over, skinny kid, big head, big feet, skinny, skinny,
big big What was the chiefs? I think it was
a chiefs jersey or it was a it was a
you know, it was a hockey jersey. It's big and
he comes over on his bike and I'm looking outside.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
Sad.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
Really didn't want to do it, and so he comes down.
He comes downstairs, and so so you want to you
wanna you want to sing? He's like, yeah, yeah, he's
only fifteen, he said fourteen, but I think he was fifteen.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
I said, okay, well sing something.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
So he sang Donelle Jones where I Want to Be,
And he did a pretty good job. It was one
thing that I listened for. And y'all know exactly what
I'm talking about. You know, the longer someone sings, just
singing with no music or whatever, just stand there singing,
how they drift into another note paying attention up or
(28:43):
down because they're not paying attention. He didn't do that.
He stayed writing key the whole time. So that's the
first thing I noticed.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
His tom was cool. So, okay, he's young. He don't
know what he's doing. So that's the thing.
Speaker 2 (28:54):
He don't know what he's doing. He's just singing, so
we don't know. And you know what you can and
I'm looking, I'm.
Speaker 1 (28:59):
Looking, I'm listening to I'm like, okay, okay, so so
you you okay.
Speaker 3 (29:03):
I can work with that.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
It's August. He's about to go back to school. He
lived in Virginia. I lived in Jersey, and.
Speaker 2 (29:11):
I reported back. I think I think he got something.
I think he got some. His mom called me screaming, oh.
Speaker 6 (29:18):
My god, played me the song because I let him,
you know, I put the song on CD and let
him take it.
Speaker 1 (29:24):
And she heard it and she said, what do I
have to do? Well? What does he what does he
need to do?
Speaker 2 (29:30):
I said, oh, well, we just keep in touch, and
you know, school breaks or whatever. He can come back
and I'll continue to work with him. Get him a
Skytae pager so we can keep in touch. They had
a Skyteale pager in school. He's the only kid in
high school with a Skytale page.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
You know. He ain't had it a two way pager.
So that's how we kept kept in touch.
Speaker 4 (29:51):
And so.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
The breaks he would come back.
Speaker 2 (29:55):
He would come back during the breaks and stuff like
that and just hang out with me, go to the
studio with me, and then another break, and then the
summer he spent you know.
Speaker 7 (30:04):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (30:05):
His stepdad lived eight minutes away from me, So he
stayed with his stepdad for the summer and then he
would just come with me everywhere. And then he went
one year back to school again and he graduated and
his mom gave him approximately one year to apply to music.
So he had one year and within that year that's
where no before that, that's where I left where I
(30:30):
left characters. So he got caught right.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
In the middle. And so me being loyal, I'm like,
you know what I met.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
You through Charles. Stay with Charles. You know, I'll still
work with you, but you know, Charles could get you
a deal. I don't want to interrupt that. Besides, I
don't know what I'm doing.
Speaker 1 (30:49):
I don't know. I've never been on my own before.
I don't know what I'm doing before.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
Yeah, I I never stop at I never been on
my own, you know what I mean. I started with Charles,
Yeah what I mean. So I've never been by myself,
So I don't know. And you know, I'm in the
studio with my head down, like working. I don't know
nothing about I know the business, but I didn't have
to worry about that part. So as I as I'm gathering,
like what I want to do, who I want to be.
(31:16):
That's what songbook comes up.
Speaker 1 (31:18):
You know.
Speaker 2 (31:18):
Songbook is inspired by talking book Stevie Wonder being one
of my and so, yeah, that's how that started. And
once I realized what I wanted to do, he got
caught in the middle and he was given a deal,
an agreement or no.
Speaker 1 (31:39):
No.
Speaker 2 (31:39):
Charles made him a deal, like you do sixty songs
and then I'll start shopping you a deal.
Speaker 1 (31:44):
And trade was only sixteen.
Speaker 2 (31:46):
Sixty sixteen of sixteen Songska no, no, No, Trede was sixteen.
Speaker 4 (31:51):
But he's he wanted sixty songs though.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
Yeah, he said, if you do like sixty songs, then
we'll start shopping.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
You a deal. Now, like dude, I keep it. Boy,
I don't even know. He's still know how to do
They don't even know how to make music.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
So he would go in every day and he would
you know, he would do that, and then after he
would leave the studio because I don't I'm not there anymore.
He would come to my house and then we would
go bowling or movies, and you know, he would sit
and watch me work on music. I sang still and
did songs. Then I still wrote songs and demoed them.
That's how John Tay learned, That's how Carl Thomas learned,
(32:23):
and now Trey.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
So they watched me.
Speaker 2 (32:26):
I don't do that anymore, but you know, and so
during that time, it was like, I'm going to Carl
Thomas session. He's on his second album and I'm just visiting,
just chilling with him. And we were at a Electric
Lady studio downstairs and you know, when you go downstairs,
(32:48):
there's no signal. I come back up and all my
all the messages are coming in from what I didn't hear,
and there's a bunch of Trey songs messages. Yo, call me, man,
call me Lol, call me yo.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
I'm like, Yo, what's going on?
Speaker 2 (33:03):
He's like, Yo, man, your boy kicked me out of
the studio. Tell me I can't come back. I was like,
what are you talking about? Yo? He said, I couldn't
come back to the studio no more.
Speaker 1 (33:12):
I was like, what did you do? I ain't do nothing.
He said, do sixty songs.
Speaker 2 (33:16):
I did, like sixty five songs, sixty two, sixty three songs.
So so I did what I was supposed to do,
and I just you know, didn't go in as much
and so he got mad because I didn't come in.
Speaker 1 (33:27):
So he told me, you.
Speaker 2 (33:28):
Know, it's real cold outside and it's mighty toasty in here.
I said, oh, he gave you the it's toasty in here.
Speaker 1 (33:37):
He had his. He had his saying he had a
it's toasty. It's very cold out.
Speaker 2 (33:42):
It's mighty cold out there, but it's nice and toasty
in here, and you're going to see how cold it
is out there.
Speaker 1 (33:47):
That was his.
Speaker 2 (33:49):
And when he said that to me, I was like,
oh yo, he said that to you, you messed up.
Nah nah, because now I don't have to go in.
He's laughing the whole time. I'm like, okay, okay, oh, okay, okang.
(34:11):
Because during the course of that, when I had to
sit down with his mom and tell him and his
mom that listen, I'm leaving the characters and I don't
know what I'm going to do yet, Trey wanted to
come with me, and his mom was like, well you know,
and I'm like yeah, no, no, no, no, I don't know
what I'm gonna do yet, and his mom was like,
you'll be fine, You'll be fine.
Speaker 1 (34:31):
I wasn't confident. I really wasn't.
Speaker 2 (34:34):
And she's like no, but you'll be listen, you will
be fine, Like we can come with you and you'll
be fine.
Speaker 1 (34:40):
I'm like, well, just you know, because of how you met.
Speaker 2 (34:42):
Me, just just he could still work with me. I
still work with him, no problem. But they believed that
I could do it before I believed that I could
do it on my own. So when it all came
down to it, I said, you know what, trace team.
By this time, I said, you know what, I know
everybody he knows. What it did was it made me
(35:08):
raise my head up, It made me step up.
Speaker 1 (35:11):
Now you got to play both roles.
Speaker 2 (35:13):
Now I have to get up and look around and
make calls and exercise those relationships that I do know.
But it just didn't talk about that with them. I
talked about it and this is.
Speaker 4 (35:24):
Just a different responsibility, Yes, totally.
Speaker 2 (35:26):
And so I accepted that, and so I said, you
know what, dude, I got you don't worry about it.
So I did a ten song demo, straight up ten
song demo. And at that time, Delante got wind of
the characters breaking up, and so Delante wanted to have
a meeting with me. I didn't know him, know him.
(35:47):
I met him in passing. So I knew of him,
but he called me, so he did have my number
and he wanted to talk. And he felt like, you know,
I heard that you guys broke up, So you know,
I I like to, you know, help you out and
see if fucking you know, manage you.
Speaker 1 (36:08):
Excuse me what?
Speaker 2 (36:11):
He worked at foot locker on thirty fourth Street manage me. Yeah, no,
I feel like I can you know I can help out.
Speaker 1 (36:22):
I don't. I don't. I don't. I don't know. I
don't know.
Speaker 2 (36:26):
I really wasn't sure. I didn't really, but he was confident,
and so I made him a deal. And long story short,
I said, Okay, anybody you introduced no anything you get that,
I already know. Anybody you take me to that I
already know fifteen percent. Anything you introduced me to me,
that's a new twenty percent that makes them, you know.
Speaker 1 (36:48):
Deal. We never signed the deal. We never did a contract.
Speaker 2 (36:51):
That was just our word, me and me and Charleston
never signed the contract. We just you know, I'm loyal
like that, dude. If I say I'm gonna do it,
I'm gonna do it.
Speaker 3 (36:57):
Period.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
And so Delante uh became my manager and while I
was making Trey's project.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
I gave it to Delante to say, show me what
you could do.
Speaker 2 (37:10):
And so he went out and started shopping the deals
and they they they we got We got back where
we got back on on on this young tray Is.
He sounded like a broke down mister sir. I want
to be mister sir. Those who who know mister sir is,
(37:32):
we don't need to say. And so it was like
funny because he was he's a big fan, so he's
that problem with that, like.
Speaker 1 (37:43):
That sounds up. That means I'm on, I'm doing good.
But they didn't think so.
Speaker 2 (37:48):
And so it came all the way down to two
labels that were interested after everybody passed, Dave mcpherrison being
one of them that passed on it. And I said
him because you know, I had already had a relationship,
so you know, I'm gonna go back to my relationships.
And he didn't see it. He didn't get it, and
he felt like, you know, I actually took it to
(38:09):
him first, and this is cool. It's a cool boom.
Dream Works, Brian Postell, Brian p and Atlantic Records. Those
it came down to them, and Brian was so cool man,
he was so cool.
Speaker 1 (38:25):
He really liked Trey.
Speaker 2 (38:26):
He really genuinely saw the vision and he flew us out.
We had a great meeting, the whole staff, everything, everything
was there, and Trey was excited. So in Trey's mind,
he wants to go to dream Works and me and
Delantae are like, the money's good, but that deal is
(38:47):
needs to be worked on a little bit.
Speaker 1 (38:48):
We need to but Atlantic wasn't as much money, but
the deal was good, yeah, the overall deal.
Speaker 2 (38:57):
So Trey was still he was Brian Postell. He was
a fan of Brian Postel. He felt like, you know,
Brian gets it and Da da da Dame, and we
understood that. But me and Delante were still like thinking
about the deal, and so we decided to pray and
fast on it.
Speaker 3 (39:12):
Us three.
Speaker 1 (39:13):
That's you know, you gotta go there.
Speaker 2 (39:15):
You go there, and I remember being in La and
after that, I remember being La because me and Delante
we knew it needed to be Atlantic. We knew, but
we you know, he's the artist, so it's his career.
How are we going to convince him? He's really stuck
on going to DreamWorks? And so when we prayed him
fast about it, I remember walking down the street.
Speaker 1 (39:35):
I was.
Speaker 2 (39:35):
I was out here in La I was walking down
the street going to Tyle Records, and Delante called me
and he said, did you hear? I was like, here,
what They shut DreamWorks down the label department? So what
you mean the record label, the whole Steven Spielberg dissolved
(39:56):
the record company of DreamWorks. I was like, yo, he said, yes,
how trade did that deal?
Speaker 1 (40:04):
He'd be stuck. WHOA?
Speaker 2 (40:10):
So I guess atlantic it is right, and Mike Karen
Delante sent it to Mike Karen. Mike Karen heard it
and he got it. He understood what it was.
Speaker 1 (40:22):
He brought it to Craig. Now I was.
Speaker 2 (40:24):
I knew Craig for years. I didn't know Mike, but
it was Mike's signing. And so by the time Craig
found out that this kid was my artist, it all
came together because this whole staff Ronnie Johnson rest in Peace,
moo Landy morrise landy Uh, they all got into it.
(40:47):
They all was the staff, Deanni, they all all into it.
And so by the time Craig came in the whole,
he saw his whole staff was already close. And yeah,
it was already rocking, and so we went on with it,
and that's how it all all began.
Speaker 6 (41:03):
Yeah, Atlantic Records, Atlantic Records. Mister Karen, now you have
some you know, you had a little, you know, a
little turmoil up there. Yes, wasn't It wasn't easy.
Speaker 3 (41:20):
No, no, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (41:22):
My relationship was with Craig. I know, R and B.
Speaker 2 (41:26):
Yeah, this is this is this is two thousand, two
thousand and two. Yeah, this is two thousand and three.
By the time Trey got his deal with two thousand
and three, I know what I'm doing. I don't need
to be told how to make a song R and
B somewhere.
Speaker 1 (41:45):
I could do this whole project. I mean, I did
the whole demo. That's what got you into it. What's
what's the problem? Some reason I'm fighting.
Speaker 2 (41:55):
How to make an album R and B album with somebody.
I didn't feel R B was R and B not
to me anyway, you know, not better than me, bye bye.
But but but but he was the powers that be
and I had to do, you know, keep peace and
keep it going because it's not my career at the
(42:16):
end of the day.
Speaker 3 (42:18):
And so it was.
Speaker 1 (42:19):
It was. It was rough, It was rough, It was rough.
Gotta Go.
Speaker 2 (42:28):
Was done and inspired by you Don't Have You Don't
You Don't Know My Name that was out at that time. Again,
you can if you're a DJ, you can mix that too.
Speaker 1 (42:41):
Yeah, I heard it absolutely, the sample, the whole thing.
Speaker 7 (42:47):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (42:49):
Cheat on You. That was inspired by You're Gonna want
to throw Back? Mm hmm, I should throw back? That
was inspired.
Speaker 4 (42:59):
Now.
Speaker 2 (42:59):
I did all those songs while those songs were fresh.
The project didn't come out to two years later, so
Gotta Go all these songs they sounded dated, and so
everybody was like, Oh, Troy's gonna mess that boy's career up.
Speaker 1 (43:13):
He got him sounding old. I'm like the album was done.
Speaker 4 (43:19):
It was, it could have, but it wasn't moving that fast.
Speaker 2 (43:24):
I was battling. I was battling this person who is
challenging me to do something that I do in my sleep.
Speaker 1 (43:31):
I didn't understand. Like we were good.
Speaker 4 (43:35):
And then.
Speaker 1 (43:37):
As we were just about that, we just got the
release date. Oh yeah, Craig decided to sign Baby Grime me.
Speaker 2 (43:47):
Oh yeah, and we had to swap dates with them
because they had the song was already on the radio.
Speaker 1 (43:55):
Was going cracking, It was cracking. It was it was cracking.
Speaker 2 (43:59):
So Craig asked me to if we could swap the
dates and so, because they're ready.
Speaker 1 (44:05):
And you guys are not, and I felt like where
we are? Yeah, man, you know, but we.
Speaker 2 (44:13):
Swapped the dates and and Delante came up with the
uh just got to make it uh video, which was
genius Trey's video of him, you know, not wanting to
go into work and just you know, going to the.
Speaker 1 (44:27):
Back of the barbershop and work on music.
Speaker 2 (44:31):
I'd be the executive that would call and that, you know,
give him the record deal and everything that was it
was it became an icond of kind of for the
culture kind of an album U and that video pretty
much became I'm the I'm the.
Speaker 1 (44:44):
Record executive that called him.
Speaker 2 (44:46):
A lot of people didn't notice because I got two
flashes quick quick, but it worked. It worked, It worked,
and needless to say, it got a little even more
rough the second album because then.
Speaker 1 (44:57):
The new people came in. The new people came in,
and so.
Speaker 2 (45:01):
Then it's like I had to play another politic political
game with that album.
Speaker 3 (45:07):
Those regime regime changes, yes, it can be. It can
be the death of those already pre existing deals and
artists and agreements. We had a like when a new
coach comes in, Yes, yeah every time with a new
plan and you were getting playing time with this new coach.
Speaker 1 (45:26):
We had a system.
Speaker 2 (45:27):
We had a system, uh Me, Delonte, Bob Fish, we
had a system. When Trey did his mixtapes, Bob Fish
hit the streets, he knew exactly what to do with it,
and Delonte be and him, and it was like a
thing whereas once the music, once I say the music
is ready, and once me and Trey are done with
what we want to do, I then put it into.
Speaker 1 (45:47):
It's like a relay with the race.
Speaker 2 (45:49):
Put it in, and then Delante goes and and him
and Bob Fish and they come up with a plan
or do it to take it to the you know.
Speaker 1 (45:56):
And we had that system and it was good.
Speaker 3 (45:57):
It was good.
Speaker 2 (45:58):
It was good until the powers that be came and
then they didn't understand what we were doing. The R
and B kid doing mixtapes. The rappers do that, you know,
R and B don't do that. And it was it
was something that Trey he really had down pack. He
knew what he was doing when it came to the mixtapes.
Speaker 1 (46:14):
And so.
Speaker 2 (46:16):
Came to that third album though, even though I can't
skip over the fact that, you know, when when John
Tay came in with that can't help but wait, yeah
it's a joint.
Speaker 1 (46:29):
Yeah yeah, yeah. Now I always say this, Trey listened
to everything that I said to do. He never argued
with me. I never had to yell.
Speaker 2 (46:40):
And remember how hard I said I was on people,
never had to be hard on Trey ever, because he
trusted anything I said and he did everything.
Speaker 1 (46:48):
I said to do up until this point.
Speaker 2 (46:52):
He was mad because they said they were going to
really push Wonder Woman. Remember he raps and he really
believed in that record, and he felt like, yo, you
said you were going to push this record.
Speaker 1 (47:03):
Well, the record wasn't doing too well. Well.
Speaker 2 (47:06):
It was weird because it was kind of like dated
because Danger Hands did it, and he was this is
Danger Hands without Timberling, so that that pocket wasn't going anymore.
So it was kind of hard to mix the record
in with other records because it wasn't and so was stalling,
and so we had to we had to do something else.
(47:27):
We had to get something going because it wasn't looking
too good and that John te came with that record,
did you.
Speaker 1 (47:34):
Produce no stargate so so so so so.
Speaker 2 (47:40):
The Latte called me, what you think? Oh, it's crazy,
it's crazy. Good luck with a with A with Trey.
Speaker 1 (47:48):
Uh, well you don't think he gonna like it? Oh no,
he gonna like it. He gonna love it. But he
ain't doing it.
Speaker 2 (47:55):
Why he's not because, dude, man, he still he still
messed up on that promise they promised him. They promise
that he would do to get that wonder woman. And
then he knows that if he puts his voice on this,
that's going to give them a reason yeah.
Speaker 1 (48:08):
To not do.
Speaker 4 (48:09):
Yeah, they promised stronger, what's gonna work?
Speaker 3 (48:14):
He did?
Speaker 4 (48:15):
And then he went on Twitter.
Speaker 8 (48:21):
The mm.
Speaker 1 (48:35):
Thank you for your one on my facet songs. Yes,
that's a crack. People don't understand the lyrics. The lyrics.
Speaker 3 (48:44):
I took a dollar bill into the booth, Yes, and
I told you no, I told the dollar bill to
sing through me. Yes, don't understand, tell me, tell me
what you've been through. Yes, I told the dollar bill
to tell me.
Speaker 1 (48:59):
Tell your story. Don't tell your story. They don't get
to tell your story. They missed it.
Speaker 3 (49:04):
They missed they missed it.
Speaker 1 (49:05):
They missed it. That was too deep. It was too deep.
Speaker 4 (49:08):
It had been between some cheeks somewhere exactly.
Speaker 5 (49:11):
I need to know exactly what cheeks. Hey, listen, kids,
you get money, watch it first. Don't touch your face
after you touched that.
Speaker 4 (49:26):
You don't know where it's been.
Speaker 1 (49:28):
Thank you for lost it all.
Speaker 3 (49:40):
You know. And in your travels and your journeys throughout
the animals of time, you've studied, You've curated lot of
army music, and somewhere, I'm sure you've figured out your HM.
Speaker 1 (50:01):
Top five, your top five, top five. You're top five
on the.
Speaker 2 (50:20):
Doll ma you so.
Speaker 3 (50:24):
Tt you. I know that you have I know that
you see.
Speaker 1 (50:29):
I know you know this party your top Yeah, yeah, sack.
Speaker 3 (50:47):
Your chop.
Speaker 1 (50:50):
Top five. Okay, all right, it's on.
Speaker 4 (50:58):
It's a.
Speaker 1 (51:01):
Top five, true Taylor. We want to know.
Speaker 3 (51:07):
Your top five R and B singers.
Speaker 2 (51:14):
My top five singers goes as such, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Wow,
Marvin Winings, Kim Burrell mm hmm, and Karen Carpenter.
Speaker 1 (51:35):
Oh, and I have reasons for each one.
Speaker 3 (51:39):
You don't have to you don't have to tell nobody nothing.
Speaker 1 (51:43):
I'm just you know, you know, I'm a teacher. Until
nobody ship. Yeah, your top five R and B songs.
This is tough.
Speaker 2 (51:52):
This is definitely tough because again I have many, many,
many many, but I have to go as the ones
that uh inflected my life or affected my life. And
you and I Stevie wonder mm hmmm.
Speaker 3 (52:08):
What a song.
Speaker 1 (52:11):
That's a craft of a song. What a song. And
then I'm gonna I'm gonna.
Speaker 2 (52:14):
Twist it over here and go. I wish I could share.
I wish this too could share because it's the same artists.
If it could, it would be question is slash, ain't
no need to worry? It's still under Marvin Wine. It's
you know, yes, yes, So that's that's the one.
Speaker 3 (52:34):
Just sing that as a group as a kid.
Speaker 1 (52:37):
Yeah, question is, and it ain't no need to worry?
Speaker 2 (52:42):
Oh my gosh, okay, okay, all right. For the love
of you the Isley Brothers. Ron's voice is golden. I'm
gonna have to change up a little bit on your
your format because this one is rain danced by Jeff Flober.
Speaker 1 (53:00):
There's no vocals, It's just a jazz record. Groove me yeah,
Teddy Yeah. Shout out to the shoulders his viral shoulders
on groove me. I gotta say that because.
Speaker 4 (53:17):
Hall Brothers, Man, this is my guy.
Speaker 1 (53:22):
Grove Me changed everything for me. Man, he changed everything
for me because that was like Google.
Speaker 2 (53:31):
It made your face crinkle all the way up and
it's just so those those are there was a part
of mine.
Speaker 1 (53:36):
I gotta say that because it's I go deep.
Speaker 4 (53:39):
Where is I think we asked that before?
Speaker 5 (53:41):
And I just I just want to know though, is
is Aaron Hall the first person to really sing like
hard hard sing up temples?
Speaker 3 (53:51):
Who Charlie Wilson, Yeah, yeah, volt tr on time. We're
gonna build your perfect R and B artists. Okay, I
want to know. I want to know where you get
the vocal from for this artist, Where you get the
performance style for this artist, where you get the styling
for this artist, and where you get the passion for
(54:13):
this artist artist? And I'm gonna throw a wrinkle in
that for you. I'm gonna throw a wrinkle in that
for him. And who produces and writes for this art Like, okay,
so who you getting a vocal from?
Speaker 4 (54:27):
Now?
Speaker 1 (54:27):
The question is is the artist a male artist, a
female artists? Whatever you want the artist, It's a hybrid,
Ain't no question it's a like a mix.
Speaker 3 (54:40):
Whatever you want get the vocals, getting the vocal from
I'm getting what's the artist that got that vocal?
Speaker 4 (54:49):
Vocal?
Speaker 1 (54:51):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 2 (54:51):
The vocal I'm getting from Beyonce ship. People do not
recognize the beast that she is.
Speaker 1 (54:58):
They don't. No, I argue with people online all the
time doing that.
Speaker 8 (55:08):
Again, why are you arguing with those people? Because some
things need to be talked about and fought for. Executioner
what Beyonce? You should not be listening to me.
Speaker 3 (55:24):
Somebody should cut your ears off and solder your ear
drums if you can't hear what Beyonce is vocally.
Speaker 1 (55:33):
Performance.
Speaker 2 (55:33):
The performance I'm gonna get taken from Michael. I'm gonna
take it from Michael on that you're going Beyonce vocal
Michael performing. I'm gonna take the finesse and charisma, finesse
and charisma of Usher mm hmm.
Speaker 3 (55:50):
Who you're getting the styling from the drip.
Speaker 1 (55:55):
I'm going to take the drip.
Speaker 2 (55:59):
Of Pharrell, the passion of the artist, the heart of
the artist, the heart of an artist. I'm still I'm
still can I you can double It's gonna be. It's
gonna be Michael. It's gonna be Michael again because Michael
and that passion and that heart when it came to music,
you ain't messing with that.
Speaker 1 (56:18):
I'm good, I'm sorry.
Speaker 7 (56:25):
I ain't saying no name, saying no names. Saying no names.
What you did, and I ain't saying no name.
Speaker 4 (56:48):
That nigga had energy, but he came back perfegetting you
for this segment.
Speaker 5 (56:58):
Talk to him this segment. I ain't saying no name.
Tell us a story, funny and fucked up. Funny and
fucked up. The only rule to the game. She can't
say no name. So right now, this is Troy Taylor
(57:18):
the song book himself. As you could see chapters to
this day chapters. The only difference in this book is
you can't say no name. Troy Taylor.
Speaker 1 (57:45):
It was his time that I did a record.
Speaker 2 (57:55):
And pitched it to a movie for a movie on
a soundtrack. This might not be juicy enough, but.
Speaker 1 (58:07):
And we got it. But I ain't saying no names.
Someone came in.
Speaker 2 (58:18):
Replaced that record, my record with another record. Even though
I was the one that brought the situation to the situation.
They used that and replaced the record with the record
they wanted to do it with, and I never got it.
That's one I ain't saying no names. I ain't saying
(58:41):
no names.
Speaker 3 (58:42):
But I was.
Speaker 1 (58:47):
In the hallway.
Speaker 2 (58:51):
Of No No, No, No No, not the hallway. It
was a time where I was in the studio. I
was asked to remix this record, reproduce the record. The
artists knew that it was being done, so I felt
like I did a version that was good enough for
(59:13):
what it needed to be.
Speaker 1 (59:15):
But this artist came in.
Speaker 2 (59:18):
But the worst attitude ever did not cooperate at all,
totally was being a dick. I got it done, however,
I had to put it together because they didn't want
to give me the additional vocals I needed.
Speaker 1 (59:40):
That same person who I then saw in the hallway.
Speaker 2 (59:45):
Of award show I ain't saying no names, saw me,
and because that happened, I didn't speak to him. He
called my name and I ignored him because of that moment.
And then that same artist saw me again somewhere and
(01:00:11):
I got a chance to tell him.
Speaker 1 (01:00:16):
The dick that he was for what he did? Is
that good enough? Really?
Speaker 4 (01:00:24):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (01:00:26):
You would never know who it is. Yeah, I don't
care what nobody say. You will never figure it out
and would ever figure it out because even if I
even saying him, you still wouldn't know who was because
then you think you had it. You would not believe
this person, how they treated you, how they treated me.
Speaker 1 (01:00:43):
Yeah, nah, not cool, last but not least. Okay.
Speaker 2 (01:00:49):
I ain't saying no names, but I produced this artist.
I'm going to say that because I want to say
iconic artist. She's iconic artists. I was asked to reproduce
the vocals on this artist. I did an amazing job.
(01:01:11):
I know that I did an amazing job. The record
got voted for Grammy Best Grammy A Best Traditional Vocals
by a Female got nominated. The producer of that record
(01:01:33):
was mad at me for doing this song and it
working because the producer didn't want it for that artist,
so he was mad at me for going in and
executing it. But when that artist got nominated for Grammy
(01:01:57):
and one, I never spoke to that producer to say, now, what, nigga.
That producer went on to act like celebrated, as if
they were down for it all along. After it won,
(01:02:17):
we never talked. I ain't saying no names, but the
only name I'm saying is a Grammy.
Speaker 3 (01:02:27):
We got three guys. I don't know if this is
the first three. I ain't saying no names.
Speaker 2 (01:02:32):
I just had to do that because I had, you know. Yeah,
this is through the life of Troy Taylor. There's a
lot of like eighty two more.
Speaker 1 (01:02:44):
This game is terrible, y'all.
Speaker 2 (01:02:45):
I have been blessed to last and sustain myself through
the grace of God because it's no joke, not joke
at all, and I don't it's not for the it's
not for the week at all, for the week, for
the week at all.
Speaker 3 (01:03:00):
Yeah, well, brother Troy Taylor, Troy Taylor University, Uh, songbook elder, scholar, theologian.
Speaker 1 (01:03:13):
Yeah, you're you're you're you're him. I appreciate that.
Speaker 3 (01:03:16):
We appreciate your We appreciate your greatness, We appreciate your
your dedication to the craft, maintaining a standard yes of excellence,
which I pray will infiltrate everything that's done within our
(01:03:45):
black entertainment community, that that excellence will be Uh what
do they say.
Speaker 1 (01:03:54):
When you catch it like a flu or contagious contagious.
Speaker 3 (01:04:02):
Pray that that that that your desire for excellence, continued
excellence will be contagious in this conversation that we're having
right here as it goes out into the airwaves and
into the youtubes and all of these things that they
would get that from your episode. We need a standard,
(01:04:22):
We need more excellence, sure share, We need it, and
and you are responsible for that. Thank you, And I'm
going to make you even more responsible for it. You
have to be somewhere in charge of it, not just
(01:04:43):
you know, in your own space and your you're not
just not just where it's comfortable for you. I get it.
But behind enemy lines is where we need you. That's
where we need you. That is my charge to you.
Speaker 2 (01:04:59):
And definitely it absolutely definitely it's too many fakes, too
many fakes just playing music industry, playing music industry, really
literally playing as soon as they leave the office. They
don't talk nothing music, they don't eat sleep music, They
(01:05:21):
just play executive.
Speaker 1 (01:05:24):
Yeah. I've seen so many, still seeing them. This is
why music is too many fakes, too many impostors.
Speaker 3 (01:05:38):
Yeah, ladies and gentlemen, my name is Taken, I'm je
all in town. This is the R and B Money Podcast,
the authority on all things ry big.
Speaker 1 (01:05:53):
You just saw. I don't have to say anything else.
Speaker 3 (01:05:57):
Troy Taylor R and B Money.
Speaker 4 (01:06:06):
R and B Money is a production of the Black
Effect Podcast Network.
Speaker 5 (01:06:10):
For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Don't forget
to subscribe to and rate our show, and you can
connect with us on social media at j Valentine and
at the Real Tank. For the extended episode, subscribe to
YouTube dot com, forward Slash, R and B Money
R and B money.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Honey, we are.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Thanks take volatility. We are the authorities on R and B.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Ladies and gentlemen. My name is Tank and this is
truly the R and B money pocket. This is the
authority of all things.
Speaker 4 (00:31):
R and B.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Yell like a motherfucker. You know what.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Let me, let me, let me switch, Let me switch
to a more prestigious tone, because we have tone and accent. Yes,
we have in the building. We have a master craft,
for sure. We have deity uh in the building.
Speaker 4 (00:57):
His uh.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
His work is biblical. It is etched in stone a
book of songs, just as the Ten Commandments that is
etched in stone. I speak of a man who spans
decades of R and B excellence. He sits on the
(01:24):
board of the R and B Elders Association. He is
a rule maker in all things that are decided in
terms of what R and B is and how R
and B lives. This man is cultivated farms of produce
(01:50):
that continue to serve and feed.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
The R and B community. Ladies and gentlemen, we are talking.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
None are then, His Excellency, Lord Troy Taylor. Wow, Lord,
I have never Taylor Lord himself. As you can tell
by the bed. That is a lord's beard. Thank you, brother,
(02:22):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
For having me.
Speaker 4 (02:23):
Welcome bro.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
I appreciate it. Long time coming, Yes, sir, Yes, we've
been waiting on this.
Speaker 4 (02:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Yeah, I've been waiting on it. Actually, we can't wait
to really talk the ship.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
You know what I'm saying, because because you know you
are truly like your wingspan in this ship is crazy.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
It's deep, deep. We don't have to pause that. We're
gonna keep that. Oh yeah, technically okay, yeah, this fuck that,
it's real. So first of all, thank you for coming.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
You are brother, you know what I'm saying, like your family,
so that that goes without saying you know what I'm saying.
But you know, we thank you for giving us your time, man,
and giving us the in depth of the things we
are all we're getting ready to talk about. Yes, I'm excited.
I'm sorry. Just you know, it's feeling good about myself today.
This is you know, not this is the Army Money podcast.
This is one of those moments where they are yes,
(03:25):
where you know, let's let's to destroy because you were
once a lad. You once a lad, and you were
once an aspiring lad. Yes, you aspire to be something
within your aspirations. There had to be some confirmation somewhere
as a as a young boy where someone said, ah,
(03:47):
it is on you, you have that keep pushing, or
where you identified at yourself and said, you know what,
I'm kind of that boy.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Definitely, Definitely, after church, we go over to the piano.
I'm like eleven, twelve ish, and I had this I
had this notion that the piano was easy, like it
seemed easy until I went over and hit the keys
and it wasn't easy. And at that point that's when
I it became a challenge. I want to learn. I
(04:21):
want to learn how to do this, because it's how
do they do And from there I just started off
like self talk, self taught.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
And.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Just working it out. And then a couple of friends
would show me chords and I would work on those
chords and work on those chords until it was fluent.
And then basically through our high school just in bands,
you know, in groups and stuff like that. And then
at the end of high school, my music teacher, oh, no,
(04:52):
excuse me. My mom told me that I needed to
get a job or go to school. And I don't
like school. I don't know the idea of graduating and
going back to school was like, why would I do that?
Speaker 1 (05:07):
I tried it.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
So so so my music teacher, mister Bowie suggested because
I told him what my mom said, and he said,
I have this school in Harford that you should check out.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
It's a two year program because.
Speaker 4 (05:32):
You're from Connecticut.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
I'm from New Haven, Connecticut.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
Yes, sir, jumping up to Hartford now, yeah, And it
was a two year program. So it's simple to two years,
get your diploma, and you out. So I thought that
was a great compromise. So my mom, Okay, I'll do
that because two years I'm done.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
That's it for me.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
But within that two years, that's when I it was
jazz and record jazz theory and record production, Jazz.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Theory and re record production.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
So in that school is where I would learn two
five to one. Once I heard what it sounded like,
I was able to, oh, that's what it's called. You know,
my whole life, I hear it. You hear it in
Steven Wonder. You hear it, You hear the turnarounds, but
you don't know what it's called. And then through that
going to school, I learned what the language four coord
(06:24):
the three chord, the six chord, the two you know,
and the record production. They were a little they were
a little behind on technology, so I didn't really learn
too much about that. I had already had my eight track,
you know, I was already ahead of them. But the
jazz theory is what clicked for me. And after that
(06:45):
I hit the streets.
Speaker 4 (06:46):
Really, did you finish the two years?
Speaker 1 (06:48):
I did finish the two years.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
I graduated and then after it was after that that
I realized, oh no, no, this is what I want to do.
Of course, I was an artist first while in college. No,
I was an artist that all the way up to.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Twenty two. So after college, I was still in the group.
I was still in the group. When you get in
the group, I was in the group do our Hearts
I high school. What was the name of the group? Yeah, okay,
So the first group I was in was called Sweet Attraction.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
Sweet Attraction.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Yes, that's absolutely armed, very very very arm b.
Speaker 5 (07:22):
And then baby, very baby sweet attraction.
Speaker 4 (07:28):
Think of sweet attraction like La and baby Face.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
It was breed, it was curls ball was yeah, yeah, yeah,
I did that.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
I from jail.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
I had I had a little Jerry Carl yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
And then I was in a band too. I can't
think of the name of the band, guys don't kill Me.
I can't think of the name of the band, but it.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Was just me.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
I was a keyboardist and we had a bass, guitar,
guitar player, drummer.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Thing. I forget, uh the name of the group.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
And then I was in my last group before I
went on my own, with Shamari.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
That's the name of the group.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
Yes, it was like.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
Word, what does that mean? I don't remember. I know,
I know it's yes. I was in Shamari and just was.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
Just in Africa so with somebody.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
We've been waiting so so I got When I got
out of that, that's when I went on my own,
and being so anxious, I ended up signing this.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
Record deal that was horrible. It was the horriblest deal
you could ever see, like a local records to New York.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
Well, i'll tell your label, Indy.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
It was an independent label. I'll tell you one thing
that made it so bad. I signed my publishing away
for the rest of my life. Sure what, that's how
bad it went ourpetuity period. I was anxious. I didn't
get an attorney to look at the deal because I
was anxious. I was twenty years old and I was
trying to leave. I was trying to get out of
New Haven. I was trying to.
Speaker 4 (09:12):
And do you remember how much money they gave you
for this?
Speaker 2 (09:14):
I don't remember. But it wasn't a lot of money.
It was a horrible deal.
Speaker 4 (09:18):
It was just enough to get out.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
It was enough to leave. I don't even remember getting paid. Actually,
I tell this story because I like to tell people
so that they can know being anxious is.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
Not rushing bad place to make a decision.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
Rushing being anxious and being like.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
It's almost under your own drest right if you put
this pressure on yourself, Yes, you know what I mean,
you back yourself up against the wall in a sense
to where anything looks good to get off this wall
and to get out of this corner.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
Jesus Christ. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
So throughout my my teenage years, I did record stores.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
I worked at record stores, and.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
I felt like, you know, if I'm going to get
a job, I'd rather work at a record stores, keep
me close to music, but I will recredits all the time,
because you know.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
That's a that's an art in itself.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Yes, And there would be one name that I would
always see that I would always see and it seemed
like every time I saw his name, it was attached
to something I liked. And his name was Timmy Register
m HM, and so that name always stuck in the
back of my head. So let's fast forward to this
record deal. I'm I'm signed to this label now and
(10:32):
they asked me for my single. Who did I want
to get to mix the single? I said Timmy Register,
not knowing that they would know him, and it said, hey,
get Timmy on the phone, like what what? So long
story short of course, fast forward, I'm going to meet
(10:53):
Timmy Register. I'm going to meet tim Registrate. So they
scheduled the mix. I think it was on a Monday.
I came up with this plan, this plan to play
three tracks, three beats that I did have songs to them,
but I won't play that. I'll play the music, hoping
(11:16):
that he will say where's the song. Then I would
say I have the songs, and then he would say
let me hear the songs, and I would say, I
don't have them with me, but I can come back.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
To get a meeting. Well, that was in my head.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
So through the mix, during the inter the break he
broke for to get something to eat for lunch, and
so when he went to the lounge, I asked him
if I could play him some more music. First of all,
I thanked him for, you know, doing the mix, and
I said, can I play some music? I had the
boombox you know, you know when that was with the
(11:52):
cassette that you know, And so he said yeah, he
was eating and I played him.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
I gave him the cassette.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
He put in. He got in the middle of the
second beat, and he was like, where's the song? So
I'll have songs todays.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
Let me hear.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
I don't have them, but I can, you know, I
definitely can come back. I can, you know. He was like, okay,
and you scheduled a meeting for Wednesday at Motown because
he worked at Motown. He was a Motown executive and
R did.
Speaker 4 (12:20):
You not know this yet or you did know?
Speaker 2 (12:22):
I did know, but I didn't pay attention to that
because I was just looking at the fact that this
is timmy register, whose name is on the back of
so many things at Motown, and I didn't think about that.
And so I came back Wednesday, took the train, came
back and UH had a bag full of cassettes and
(12:45):
I played him all my music. He got so into
the music and so into me as an artist that
he bought me out of that contract what and signed
me to Motown.
Speaker 5 (13:01):
Wow, and and this and this turnaround for let's just
you know, said indie label.
Speaker 4 (13:07):
How long was that?
Speaker 2 (13:08):
It was only about It was a little under a
year because I wasn't on it long now during the
course of this horrible deal. The reason why I found
out how bad this deal was because at that time
I was working with who would then become my partner,
Charles for our m H. I met him at this
horrible label. He was just there using the phone. What
(13:33):
he was just there using the label to use the
phone and do meetings. He didn't use the phone, yeah, yeah,
because he would just go there to to you know,
have meetings and stuff just to use He knew the
people there, so he would just use the office phone
and you know meetings.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Yeah, it's popping.
Speaker 5 (13:52):
Yeah here it's new kid pulled out. We them so
so so so.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
One of one of the persons that did actually work
there was his friend. That's how he you know, And
so it was him who has suggested to Charles, Hey,
why don't you have this kid who came up here,
you know, you should have him play keys for you.
And so Charles got my number and called me and
asked me to come to New York to do keyboard work.
(14:23):
I didn't really know him, but he paid me, so,
you know, and then I would do that a few
times before I realized, like, dude, what do you want?
Speaker 1 (14:31):
What is it that you want?
Speaker 4 (14:32):
But are you on Motown at this point?
Speaker 1 (14:33):
Ya? I went back.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
I went back a y'all. I went back on y'all
because I went back to how I got out of
the deal. And so by the time I ended up
signing that deal because I didn't know him enough. You know,
when we started working, it started becoming regular. I started
getting on the train a lot more, and so he
was the one that had the contract looked at, and
(14:56):
he was the one that told me how bad.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
The deal was.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
The that's how I found out. So in the course
of that we became the characters. And yeah, that's how
I introduced the characters.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
Became the characters.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
And so by the time Timmy signed me to Motown,
we were, you know, we were kind of together.
Speaker 4 (15:15):
And he just bought you completely out.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
He brought me completely out. I got my master's back,
I got my publishing back.
Speaker 3 (15:20):
Everything.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Well, y'all know that was God. Nothing But yes, that
don't happen, not at all, not at all.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
So the testimony of that and being anxious, rushing and
you make a mess, still, God can get you out
no matter how deep that is, because that's deep that
signed up.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
The publishing was done.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
It wasn't no reversion, reversions or revisions or nothing.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
It was done.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
It was like, because you know, you gotta get your
attorney to negotiate that, there was no attorney to negotiate nothing.
So my publisher was done. So yeah, gesus, I tell that.
Now I'm on motown the name why the characters?
Speaker 1 (16:02):
Okay, So.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
When I was on that label, I was with a
rapper who I produced him. It was because of him
that we even got to that label in the first place.
I was the producer, but I had sang backgrounds on
a couple of his songs, and so they kept gravitating
(16:25):
towards the person singing. So that's how technically we both
got signed. And then we came up with I came
up with the name smooth characters. So when I got
out of that deal, both of us got out of
the deal, the rapper and I. When me and Charles
became the partners, I dropped this move and just said
(16:47):
the characters.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
That's pretty much how it all began.
Speaker 3 (16:52):
That's wow, because.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
You know, of course my idols Jam and Lewis, l
A and Face Yeah, gambling huff.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
Yeah, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
So that's that's that was the that was the vision.
That was the vision, and so that was the motivation.
So the characters I thought it was. I thought it
was you know, it rang, Yeah, it had a ring
to it.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Yeah. I heard about y'all in church.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
Yeah, I was still in church, you know what I'm saying,
and just hearing about producers that was doing what they
were doing. Yeah, yeah, your name was was the characters?
Speaker 4 (17:28):
The characters?
Speaker 3 (17:28):
Okay, yeah, that's what we want to be.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
Lain, Face, yeah, Jam, Lewis, Yeah, gambling huff.
Speaker 3 (17:36):
So what was your what was your first moment as
the characters? Now you're this this group, you're signing the Motown.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
I'm signing the Motown and I'm working on my album.
Speaker 5 (17:43):
You're working on your album, and are they letting you
guys do the album.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
Yes, Timmy, Timmy was everything. Timmy was.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
I've mentored and I still mentor a lot of people,
and people often ask me, Troy, have you ever had
a mentor? And I have to say, you know, Timmy
was my mentor. He was the one that taught me
song you know, how to make the song pop out,
the verses, pop out, the hook nah, change that change
you know what I mean. He was the one that
(18:10):
kind of like taught me how to make a good song,
what a format a good song. So I have to
say that that was then, and within that time he
already heard all my music. So he trusts me, so
he let me. He let me do the songs that
I wanted to do and make the album and everything.
Speaker 5 (18:23):
So you made it full the album while you're there,
I was making the full album, okay.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
And then he took some of my songs. Wat's this
and he had a meeting with Cheryl Busby who.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
Was the president. Was the president already you already because
she was Jael Bobs. Yeah, So.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
Gerald came in. Timmy played Gerald some of my songs
and Gerald took a pad, sat on the couch, kicked
the shoes off and he would write the names of
the songs down because they had groups and they have
people other artists. So if I'm not keeping it from
my self, who did a lot of songs, right, And
at that time, I did a lot of harmonies. I
was known like you listened to my music, it was
(19:07):
all harmonies. You thought it was a group anyway, but
it was all me. So that's what gave Timmy and
Gerald like, yo, these songs are yo you you know what?
Speaker 1 (19:15):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (19:15):
Yeah, So you did a list and it was this
two groups that they had signed there. So Gerald came
up with four songs for this group and four songs
for this group out of my kettle mm hmm yeah
for this and for this They had these kids that
were there for about a year or so and they
(19:38):
hadn't recorded yet. So Timmy told Gerald, like, this would
be good for these kids, and Gerald agreed, so he
wrote down the four songs. He worked down three songs.
The fourth song that Timmy played, I had to interrupt
and say, hey, this one's for me, this this is mine.
Speaker 4 (20:00):
They can't can't You had your artist moment?
Speaker 1 (20:02):
Yeah yeah, yeah yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
And he was making a cassette for Gerald at the time, so,
you know, so he had to rewind the tape to
take it off and put it and cover it with
another song.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
And so that's what he did.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
And so now it came time to meet these groups
and you know, to set up a meeting to work
with them.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
So first came the kids.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
The kids. The kids they did. Yeah, I would go
down and meet these kids. Came back to Motown. They
were in the conference room and it was four of them,
and the youngest one was fifteen, and then the other
one was sixteen, and then two of them were seventeen.
So I sat down and they were very excited and
(20:48):
they were telling me the songs that they really liked.
And the youngest one he said he liked a song,
but he didn't know the name of it. And so
I'm like, what.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
Do you what do you mean I didn't hear all
of it. I'm like, what do you mean? Didn't hear
all of it? Yeah, we just caught the end of it.
What is he talk like?
Speaker 2 (21:09):
I didn't understand what he was talking about. I said,
did you remember any of the words? He's like it
was like your love or something like that.
Speaker 3 (21:16):
I said, Oh, piece of the joint was still on.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
They caught the end of it because the song that
they the song that they covered it with, it wasn't
long enough and so I was like, oh your love, Yeah,
that's that's from my album. And it went quiet a
it was kind of awkward. So I saying, hey, hey,
you guys sing sing something? And they sang. Now, I
(21:44):
tell this story a lot, but when I said, they
sang about seven or eight seconds, I mean it before
el oh, oh oh stop. Oh yeah that's and I
looked at the young this one. I said, you can
have the song, I swear to you. They just started singing.
(22:06):
Let me tell you what they sang. They sang, oh Mary,
don't you eat?
Speaker 3 (22:11):
Take six.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
I guess you could tell who I'm talking about.
Speaker 4 (22:18):
That's my joint.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
I was like, y'all can have a song. But they
were sitting there looking at me like because I interrupted them,
So they kind of was like, what's wrong. I was like, no, no,
y'all gotta kick you don't.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
I'm good.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
And so they were like, one guy, one particular guys,
can we finish?
Speaker 1 (22:40):
I said, sure, go ahead. They finished and they killed it.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
I mean it was so god forsakenly great that I
really didn't need to hear anymore. But if you're gonna go,
go and do it. But I'm done, I'm ready. Like
and we went in and we did those. We did
four songs.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
He listed to say a year later, these kids was
known all over the world as boys to men. You
(23:20):
rocket because you came up.
Speaker 4 (23:22):
I mean like I came out the gate gate.
Speaker 3 (23:25):
So your name is in every record company's rolodex.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
That's how.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
That's yeah, we need them, and that is getting up
from that and trying to take a moment to do
anything else.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
It's just yeah.
Speaker 4 (23:41):
So this motown.
Speaker 5 (23:44):
Cuff y'all, do they say, hey, you know, we're gonna
kind of a sense make y'all staff producers, staff writers.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
No, no, no, he didn't. He didn't do that.
Speaker 2 (23:53):
But I will say I did work with a lot
of Motown artists, right. Timmy was he was just great man.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
He was just great.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
He didn't have have the mentality of if I'm gonna
do this for you, then you need to sign this.
He didn't have that mentality. He just he just he
was just straight up and wherever he needed to say,
you know, fix this or do this or that, Da
da da da, he just did it.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
It wasn't. It wasn't strings attached to it.
Speaker 5 (24:16):
But he also understands, and I love that you said no,
it was no strings attached, because that, in turn is
actually the best attachment.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
Yes when it's just good business.
Speaker 4 (24:29):
Yes, when it's just good business.
Speaker 5 (24:31):
And I can call you and say, hey, Troy, at
your height, of your height.
Speaker 4 (24:35):
I need you.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
Yes, yes, And how you treat people, I would learn
that over the years I had the and even to
this day, you know, I have a lot of I
have a lot of protegees and people like did you
sign him?
Speaker 1 (24:49):
No? So so so so you you you working with them?
You da? And you sharing your platform? Da da d da?
Did you sign him? No?
Speaker 2 (24:57):
Why we're working, We're working. Whatever we do, I'm gonna
get what I need to get. Why do I need
to sign them? And it was a point where I
did I've jeopardized that and I did go against, go
against what I know, and I did, you know, end
up signing some artists, I mean some artists and producers
and writers. So I did do it at one point,
(25:19):
but in the course of me doing it, it brought
me back to why I don't why.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
I didn't do it?
Speaker 2 (25:25):
I learned this so reminded me of why I do this.
There's so much, there's too much involved, Like and as
far as contracts, people look at it as sign this person.
You gotta be careful who you sign. You don't know
who you sign it. And it goes both ways. Some people
you don't want to sign and you don't know that
because because you don't know that. Yeah, and it's according
(25:47):
to the industry you're supposed to sign.
Speaker 1 (25:48):
You better be careful who you signed.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
The people are crazy and you don't know that you
signing a schizophrenic until they use the contract against you.
My contract says you you're supposed to do da da
da dah, and you didn't do that.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
So what like, you still got work to do? You
why are you?
Speaker 3 (26:06):
You're not even ready at that point of the contract.
Speaker 2 (26:08):
You're even ready for this, but they you know, people
start talking to them. You should have gotten this, they
should have done this to you, but you're not ready.
Speaker 1 (26:19):
No, but still you you you're old. You know you're
really old.
Speaker 2 (26:22):
This So I'm like, what if I've worked with you
with no contracts, then I could take my time. If
you act silly, do something stupid, I can lay back
off you. I ain't got no contract to remind me
that you're my writer or my artist or and I
you know, so that's signing mentality. Nah, y'all can have that.
Miss me with that. There's a lot of attachments to that.
Speaker 4 (26:44):
You're just going to do the work. Yeah, and you
get paid for your work, yes, sir, I respect that.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
I started songbook not too long after.
Speaker 2 (26:54):
Mister Songs got caught in the middle of this thing
because I met Trey through Charles. Charles went to high
school with Trey's stepdad.
Speaker 4 (27:08):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
So Trey's stepdad asks Charles if.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
You could listen to my son. He says he wants
to sing. He raps, but he says he wants to sing.
And Charles, being you know, the business side of it,
like to send him to Troy. So Charles asked me
to do a favor and just say, can you listen
to Kenny's son, Man, just listen to him. Tell me
what you think. So I can tell Kenny, you know,
(27:34):
give him some advice something there.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
Yeah. And so.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
This kid comes over, skinny kid, big head, big feet, skinny, skinny,
big big What was the chiefs? I think it was
a chiefs jersey or it was a it was a
you know, it was a hockey jersey. It's big and
he comes over on his bike and I'm looking outside.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
Sad.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
Really didn't want to do it, and so he comes down.
He comes downstairs, and so so you want to you
wanna you want to sing? He's like, yeah, yeah, he's
only fifteen, he said fourteen, but I think he was fifteen.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
I said, okay, well sing something.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
So he sang Donelle Jones where I Want to Be,
And he did a pretty good job. It was one
thing that I listened for. And y'all know exactly what
I'm talking about. You know, the longer someone sings, just
singing with no music or whatever, just stand there singing,
how they drift into another note paying attention up or
(28:43):
down because they're not paying attention. He didn't do that.
He stayed writing key the whole time. So that's the
first thing I noticed.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
His tom was cool. So, okay, he's young. He don't
know what he's doing. So that's the thing.
Speaker 2 (28:54):
He don't know what he's doing. He's just singing, so
we don't know. And you know what you can and
I'm looking, I'm.
Speaker 1 (28:59):
Looking, I'm listening to I'm like, okay, okay, so so
you you okay.
Speaker 3 (29:03):
I can work with that.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
It's August. He's about to go back to school. He
lived in Virginia. I lived in Jersey, and.
Speaker 2 (29:11):
I reported back. I think I think he got something.
I think he got some. His mom called me screaming, oh.
Speaker 6 (29:18):
My god, played me the song because I let him,
you know, I put the song on CD and let
him take it.
Speaker 1 (29:24):
And she heard it and she said, what do I
have to do? Well? What does he what does he
need to do?
Speaker 2 (29:30):
I said, oh, well, we just keep in touch, and
you know, school breaks or whatever. He can come back
and I'll continue to work with him. Get him a
Skytae pager so we can keep in touch. They had
a Skyteale pager in school. He's the only kid in
high school with a Skytale page.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
You know. He ain't had it a two way pager.
So that's how we kept kept in touch.
Speaker 4 (29:51):
And so.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
The breaks he would come back.
Speaker 2 (29:55):
He would come back during the breaks and stuff like
that and just hang out with me, go to the
studio with me, and then another break, and then the
summer he spent you know.
Speaker 7 (30:04):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (30:05):
His stepdad lived eight minutes away from me, So he
stayed with his stepdad for the summer and then he
would just come with me everywhere. And then he went
one year back to school again and he graduated and
his mom gave him approximately one year to apply to music.
So he had one year and within that year that's
where no before that, that's where I left where I
(30:30):
left characters. So he got caught right.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
In the middle. And so me being loyal, I'm like,
you know what I met.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
You through Charles. Stay with Charles. You know, I'll still
work with you, but you know, Charles could get you
a deal. I don't want to interrupt that. Besides, I
don't know what I'm doing.
Speaker 1 (30:49):
I don't know. I've never been on my own before.
I don't know what I'm doing before.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
Yeah, I I never stop at I never been on
my own, you know what I mean. I started with Charles,
Yeah what I mean. So I've never been by myself,
So I don't know. And you know, I'm in the
studio with my head down, like working. I don't know
nothing about I know the business, but I didn't have
to worry about that part. So as I as I'm gathering,
like what I want to do, who I want to be.
(31:16):
That's what songbook comes up.
Speaker 1 (31:18):
You know.
Speaker 2 (31:18):
Songbook is inspired by talking book Stevie Wonder being one
of my and so, yeah, that's how that started. And
once I realized what I wanted to do, he got
caught in the middle and he was given a deal,
an agreement or no.
Speaker 1 (31:39):
No.
Speaker 2 (31:39):
Charles made him a deal, like you do sixty songs
and then I'll start shopping you a deal.
Speaker 1 (31:44):
And trade was only sixteen.
Speaker 2 (31:46):
Sixty sixteen of sixteen Songska no, no, No, Trede was sixteen.
Speaker 4 (31:51):
But he's he wanted sixty songs though.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
Yeah, he said, if you do like sixty songs, then
we'll start shopping.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
You a deal. Now, like dude, I keep it. Boy,
I don't even know. He's still know how to do
They don't even know how to make music.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
So he would go in every day and he would
you know, he would do that, and then after he
would leave the studio because I don't I'm not there anymore.
He would come to my house and then we would
go bowling or movies, and you know, he would sit
and watch me work on music. I sang still and
did songs. Then I still wrote songs and demoed them.
That's how John Tay learned, That's how Carl Thomas learned,
(32:23):
and now Trey.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
So they watched me.
Speaker 2 (32:26):
I don't do that anymore, but you know, and so
during that time, it was like, I'm going to Carl
Thomas session. He's on his second album and I'm just visiting,
just chilling with him. And we were at a Electric
Lady studio downstairs and you know, when you go downstairs,
(32:48):
there's no signal. I come back up and all my
all the messages are coming in from what I didn't hear,
and there's a bunch of Trey songs messages. Yo, call me, man,
call me Lol, call me yo.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
I'm like, Yo, what's going on?
Speaker 2 (33:03):
He's like, Yo, man, your boy kicked me out of
the studio. Tell me I can't come back. I was like,
what are you talking about? Yo? He said, I couldn't
come back to the studio no more.
Speaker 1 (33:12):
I was like, what did you do? I ain't do nothing.
He said, do sixty songs.
Speaker 2 (33:16):
I did, like sixty five songs, sixty two, sixty three songs.
So so I did what I was supposed to do,
and I just you know, didn't go in as much
and so he got mad because I didn't come in.
Speaker 1 (33:27):
So he told me, you.
Speaker 2 (33:28):
Know, it's real cold outside and it's mighty toasty in here.
I said, oh, he gave you the it's toasty in here.
Speaker 1 (33:37):
He had his. He had his saying he had a
it's toasty. It's very cold out.
Speaker 2 (33:42):
It's mighty cold out there, but it's nice and toasty
in here, and you're going to see how cold it
is out there.
Speaker 1 (33:47):
That was his.
Speaker 2 (33:49):
And when he said that to me, I was like,
oh yo, he said that to you, you messed up.
Nah nah, because now I don't have to go in.
He's laughing the whole time. I'm like, okay, okay, oh, okay, okang.
(34:11):
Because during the course of that, when I had to
sit down with his mom and tell him and his
mom that listen, I'm leaving the characters and I don't
know what I'm going to do yet, Trey wanted to
come with me, and his mom was like, well you know,
and I'm like yeah, no, no, no, no, I don't know
what I'm gonna do yet, and his mom was like,
you'll be fine, You'll be fine.
Speaker 1 (34:31):
I wasn't confident. I really wasn't.
Speaker 2 (34:34):
And she's like no, but you'll be listen, you will
be fine, Like we can come with you and you'll
be fine.
Speaker 1 (34:40):
I'm like, well, just you know, because of how you met.
Speaker 2 (34:42):
Me, just just he could still work with me. I
still work with him, no problem. But they believed that
I could do it before I believed that I could
do it on my own. So when it all came
down to it, I said, you know what, trace team.
By this time, I said, you know what, I know
everybody he knows. What it did was it made me
(35:08):
raise my head up, It made me step up.
Speaker 1 (35:11):
Now you got to play both roles.
Speaker 2 (35:13):
Now I have to get up and look around and
make calls and exercise those relationships that I do know.
But it just didn't talk about that with them. I
talked about it and this is.
Speaker 4 (35:24):
Just a different responsibility, Yes, totally.
Speaker 2 (35:26):
And so I accepted that, and so I said, you
know what, dude, I got you don't worry about it.
So I did a ten song demo, straight up ten
song demo. And at that time, Delante got wind of
the characters breaking up, and so Delante wanted to have
a meeting with me. I didn't know him, know him.
(35:47):
I met him in passing. So I knew of him,
but he called me, so he did have my number
and he wanted to talk. And he felt like, you know,
I heard that you guys broke up, So you know,
I I like to, you know, help you out and
see if fucking you know, manage you.
Speaker 1 (36:08):
Excuse me what?
Speaker 2 (36:11):
He worked at foot locker on thirty fourth Street manage me. Yeah, no,
I feel like I can you know I can help out.
Speaker 1 (36:22):
I don't. I don't. I don't. I don't know. I
don't know.
Speaker 2 (36:26):
I really wasn't sure. I didn't really, but he was confident,
and so I made him a deal. And long story short,
I said, Okay, anybody you introduced no anything you get that,
I already know. Anybody you take me to that I
already know fifteen percent. Anything you introduced me to me,
that's a new twenty percent that makes them, you know.
Speaker 1 (36:48):
Deal. We never signed the deal. We never did a contract.
Speaker 2 (36:51):
That was just our word, me and me and Charleston
never signed the contract. We just you know, I'm loyal
like that, dude. If I say I'm gonna do it,
I'm gonna do it.
Speaker 3 (36:57):
Period.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
And so Delante uh became my manager and while I
was making Trey's project.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
I gave it to Delante to say, show me what
you could do.
Speaker 2 (37:10):
And so he went out and started shopping the deals
and they they they we got We got back where
we got back on on on this young tray Is.
He sounded like a broke down mister sir. I want
to be mister sir. Those who who know mister sir is,
(37:32):
we don't need to say. And so it was like
funny because he was he's a big fan, so he's
that problem with that, like.
Speaker 1 (37:43):
That sounds up. That means I'm on, I'm doing good.
But they didn't think so.
Speaker 2 (37:48):
And so it came all the way down to two
labels that were interested after everybody passed, Dave mcpherrison being
one of them that passed on it. And I said
him because you know, I had already had a relationship,
so you know, I'm gonna go back to my relationships.
And he didn't see it. He didn't get it, and
he felt like, you know, I actually took it to
(38:09):
him first, and this is cool. It's a cool boom.
Dream Works, Brian Postell, Brian p and Atlantic Records. Those
it came down to them, and Brian was so cool man,
he was so cool.
Speaker 1 (38:25):
He really liked Trey.
Speaker 2 (38:26):
He really genuinely saw the vision and he flew us out.
We had a great meeting, the whole staff, everything, everything
was there, and Trey was excited. So in Trey's mind,
he wants to go to dream Works and me and
Delantae are like, the money's good, but that deal is
(38:47):
needs to be worked on a little bit.
Speaker 1 (38:48):
We need to but Atlantic wasn't as much money, but
the deal was good, yeah, the overall deal.
Speaker 2 (38:57):
So Trey was still he was Brian Postell. He was
a fan of Brian Postel. He felt like, you know,
Brian gets it and Da da da Dame, and we
understood that. But me and Delante were still like thinking
about the deal, and so we decided to pray and
fast on it.
Speaker 3 (39:12):
Us three.
Speaker 1 (39:13):
That's you know, you gotta go there.
Speaker 2 (39:15):
You go there, and I remember being in La and
after that, I remember being La because me and Delante
we knew it needed to be Atlantic. We knew, but
we you know, he's the artist, so it's his career.
How are we going to convince him? He's really stuck
on going to DreamWorks? And so when we prayed him
fast about it, I remember walking down the street.
Speaker 1 (39:35):
I was.
Speaker 2 (39:35):
I was out here in La I was walking down
the street going to Tyle Records, and Delante called me
and he said, did you hear? I was like, here,
what They shut DreamWorks down the label department? So what
you mean the record label, the whole Steven Spielberg dissolved
(39:56):
the record company of DreamWorks. I was like, yo, he said, yes,
how trade did that deal?
Speaker 1 (40:04):
He'd be stuck. WHOA?
Speaker 2 (40:10):
So I guess atlantic it is right, and Mike Karen
Delante sent it to Mike Karen. Mike Karen heard it
and he got it. He understood what it was.
Speaker 1 (40:22):
He brought it to Craig. Now I was.
Speaker 2 (40:24):
I knew Craig for years. I didn't know Mike, but
it was Mike's signing. And so by the time Craig
found out that this kid was my artist, it all
came together because this whole staff Ronnie Johnson rest in Peace,
moo Landy morrise landy Uh, they all got into it.
(40:47):
They all was the staff, Deanni, they all all into it.
And so by the time Craig came in the whole,
he saw his whole staff was already close. And yeah,
it was already rocking, and so we went on with it,
and that's how it all all began.
Speaker 6 (41:03):
Yeah, Atlantic Records, Atlantic Records. Mister Karen, now you have
some you know, you had a little, you know, a
little turmoil up there. Yes, wasn't It wasn't easy.
Speaker 3 (41:20):
No, no, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (41:22):
My relationship was with Craig. I know, R and B.
Speaker 2 (41:26):
Yeah, this is this is this is two thousand, two
thousand and two. Yeah, this is two thousand and three.
By the time Trey got his deal with two thousand
and three, I know what I'm doing. I don't need
to be told how to make a song R and
B somewhere.
Speaker 1 (41:45):
I could do this whole project. I mean, I did
the whole demo. That's what got you into it. What's
what's the problem? Some reason I'm fighting.
Speaker 2 (41:55):
How to make an album R and B album with somebody.
I didn't feel R B was R and B not
to me anyway, you know, not better than me, bye bye.
But but but but he was the powers that be
and I had to do, you know, keep peace and
keep it going because it's not my career at the
(42:16):
end of the day.
Speaker 3 (42:18):
And so it was.
Speaker 1 (42:19):
It was. It was rough, It was rough, It was rough.
Gotta Go.
Speaker 2 (42:28):
Was done and inspired by you Don't Have You Don't
You Don't Know My Name that was out at that time. Again,
you can if you're a DJ, you can mix that too.
Speaker 1 (42:41):
Yeah, I heard it absolutely, the sample, the whole thing.
Speaker 7 (42:47):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (42:49):
Cheat on You. That was inspired by You're Gonna want
to throw Back? Mm hmm, I should throw back? That
was inspired.
Speaker 4 (42:59):
Now.
Speaker 2 (42:59):
I did all those songs while those songs were fresh.
The project didn't come out to two years later, so
Gotta Go all these songs they sounded dated, and so
everybody was like, Oh, Troy's gonna mess that boy's career up.
Speaker 1 (43:13):
He got him sounding old. I'm like the album was done.
Speaker 4 (43:19):
It was, it could have, but it wasn't moving that fast.
Speaker 2 (43:24):
I was battling. I was battling this person who is
challenging me to do something that I do in my sleep.
Speaker 1 (43:31):
I didn't understand. Like we were good.
Speaker 4 (43:35):
And then.
Speaker 1 (43:37):
As we were just about that, we just got the
release date. Oh yeah, Craig decided to sign Baby Grime me.
Speaker 2 (43:47):
Oh yeah, and we had to swap dates with them
because they had the song was already on the radio.
Speaker 1 (43:55):
Was going cracking, It was cracking. It was it was cracking.
Speaker 2 (43:59):
So Craig asked me to if we could swap the
dates and so, because they're ready.
Speaker 1 (44:05):
And you guys are not, and I felt like where
we are? Yeah, man, you know, but we.
Speaker 2 (44:13):
Swapped the dates and and Delante came up with the
uh just got to make it uh video, which was
genius Trey's video of him, you know, not wanting to
go into work and just you know, going to the.
Speaker 1 (44:27):
Back of the barbershop and work on music.
Speaker 2 (44:31):
I'd be the executive that would call and that, you know,
give him the record deal and everything that was it
was it became an icond of kind of for the
culture kind of an album U and that video pretty
much became I'm the I'm the.
Speaker 1 (44:44):
Record executive that called him.
Speaker 2 (44:46):
A lot of people didn't notice because I got two
flashes quick quick, but it worked. It worked, It worked,
and needless to say, it got a little even more
rough the second album because then.
Speaker 1 (44:57):
The new people came in. The new people came in,
and so.
Speaker 2 (45:01):
Then it's like I had to play another politic political
game with that album.
Speaker 3 (45:07):
Those regime regime changes, yes, it can be. It can
be the death of those already pre existing deals and
artists and agreements. We had a like when a new
coach comes in, Yes, yeah every time with a new
plan and you were getting playing time with this new coach.
Speaker 1 (45:26):
We had a system.
Speaker 2 (45:27):
We had a system, uh Me, Delonte, Bob Fish, we
had a system. When Trey did his mixtapes, Bob Fish
hit the streets, he knew exactly what to do with it,
and Delonte be and him, and it was like a
thing whereas once the music, once I say the music
is ready, and once me and Trey are done with
what we want to do, I then put it into.
Speaker 1 (45:47):
It's like a relay with the race.
Speaker 2 (45:49):
Put it in, and then Delante goes and and him
and Bob Fish and they come up with a plan
or do it to take it to the you know.
Speaker 1 (45:56):
And we had that system and it was good.
Speaker 3 (45:57):
It was good.
Speaker 2 (45:58):
It was good until the powers that be came and
then they didn't understand what we were doing. The R
and B kid doing mixtapes. The rappers do that, you know,
R and B don't do that. And it was it
was something that Trey he really had down pack. He
knew what he was doing when it came to the mixtapes.
Speaker 1 (46:14):
And so.
Speaker 2 (46:16):
Came to that third album though, even though I can't
skip over the fact that, you know, when when John
Tay came in with that can't help but wait, yeah
it's a joint.
Speaker 1 (46:29):
Yeah yeah, yeah. Now I always say this, Trey listened
to everything that I said to do. He never argued
with me. I never had to yell.
Speaker 2 (46:40):
And remember how hard I said I was on people,
never had to be hard on Trey ever, because he
trusted anything I said and he did everything.
Speaker 1 (46:48):
I said to do up until this point.
Speaker 2 (46:52):
He was mad because they said they were going to
really push Wonder Woman. Remember he raps and he really
believed in that record, and he felt like, yo, you
said you were going to push this record.
Speaker 1 (47:03):
Well, the record wasn't doing too well. Well.
Speaker 2 (47:06):
It was weird because it was kind of like dated
because Danger Hands did it, and he was this is
Danger Hands without Timberling, so that that pocket wasn't going anymore.
So it was kind of hard to mix the record
in with other records because it wasn't and so was stalling,
and so we had to we had to do something else.
(47:27):
We had to get something going because it wasn't looking
too good and that John te came with that record,
did you.
Speaker 1 (47:34):
Produce no stargate so so so so so.
Speaker 2 (47:40):
The Latte called me, what you think? Oh, it's crazy,
it's crazy. Good luck with a with A with Trey.
Speaker 1 (47:48):
Uh, well you don't think he gonna like it? Oh no,
he gonna like it. He gonna love it. But he
ain't doing it.
Speaker 2 (47:55):
Why he's not because, dude, man, he still he still
messed up on that promise they promised him. They promise
that he would do to get that wonder woman. And
then he knows that if he puts his voice on this,
that's going to give them a reason yeah.
Speaker 1 (48:08):
To not do.
Speaker 4 (48:09):
Yeah, they promised stronger, what's gonna work?
Speaker 3 (48:14):
He did?
Speaker 4 (48:15):
And then he went on Twitter.
Speaker 8 (48:21):
The mm.
Speaker 1 (48:35):
Thank you for your one on my facet songs. Yes,
that's a crack. People don't understand the lyrics. The lyrics.
Speaker 3 (48:44):
I took a dollar bill into the booth, Yes, and
I told you no, I told the dollar bill to
sing through me. Yes, don't understand, tell me, tell me
what you've been through. Yes, I told the dollar bill
to tell me.
Speaker 1 (48:59):
Tell your story. Don't tell your story. They don't get
to tell your story. They missed it.
Speaker 3 (49:04):
They missed they missed it.
Speaker 1 (49:05):
They missed it. That was too deep. It was too deep.
Speaker 4 (49:08):
It had been between some cheeks somewhere exactly.
Speaker 5 (49:11):
I need to know exactly what cheeks. Hey, listen, kids,
you get money, watch it first. Don't touch your face
after you touched that.
Speaker 4 (49:26):
You don't know where it's been.
Speaker 1 (49:28):
Thank you for lost it all.
Speaker 3 (49:40):
You know. And in your travels and your journeys throughout
the animals of time, you've studied, You've curated lot of
army music, and somewhere, I'm sure you've figured out your HM.
Speaker 1 (50:01):
Top five, your top five, top five. You're top five
on the.
Speaker 2 (50:20):
Doll ma you so.
Speaker 3 (50:24):
Tt you. I know that you have I know that
you see.
Speaker 1 (50:29):
I know you know this party your top Yeah, yeah, sack.
Speaker 3 (50:47):
Your chop.
Speaker 1 (50:50):
Top five. Okay, all right, it's on.
Speaker 4 (50:58):
It's a.
Speaker 1 (51:01):
Top five, true Taylor. We want to know.
Speaker 3 (51:07):
Your top five R and B singers.
Speaker 2 (51:14):
My top five singers goes as such, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Wow,
Marvin Winings, Kim Burrell mm hmm, and Karen Carpenter.
Speaker 1 (51:35):
Oh, and I have reasons for each one.
Speaker 3 (51:39):
You don't have to you don't have to tell nobody nothing.
Speaker 1 (51:43):
I'm just you know, you know, I'm a teacher. Until
nobody ship. Yeah, your top five R and B songs.
This is tough.
Speaker 2 (51:52):
This is definitely tough because again I have many, many,
many many, but I have to go as the ones
that uh inflected my life or affected my life. And
you and I Stevie wonder mm hmmm.
Speaker 3 (52:08):
What a song.
Speaker 1 (52:11):
That's a craft of a song. What a song. And
then I'm gonna I'm gonna.
Speaker 2 (52:14):
Twist it over here and go. I wish I could share.
I wish this too could share because it's the same artists.
If it could, it would be question is slash, ain't
no need to worry? It's still under Marvin Wine. It's
you know, yes, yes, So that's that's the one.
Speaker 3 (52:34):
Just sing that as a group as a kid.
Speaker 1 (52:37):
Yeah, question is, and it ain't no need to worry?
Speaker 2 (52:42):
Oh my gosh, okay, okay, all right. For the love
of you the Isley Brothers. Ron's voice is golden. I'm
gonna have to change up a little bit on your
your format because this one is rain danced by Jeff Flober.
Speaker 1 (53:00):
There's no vocals, It's just a jazz record. Groove me yeah,
Teddy Yeah. Shout out to the shoulders his viral shoulders
on groove me. I gotta say that because.
Speaker 4 (53:17):
Hall Brothers, Man, this is my guy.
Speaker 1 (53:22):
Grove Me changed everything for me. Man, he changed everything
for me because that was like Google.
Speaker 2 (53:31):
It made your face crinkle all the way up and
it's just so those those are there was a part
of mine.
Speaker 1 (53:36):
I gotta say that because it's I go deep.
Speaker 4 (53:39):
Where is I think we asked that before?
Speaker 5 (53:41):
And I just I just want to know though, is
is Aaron Hall the first person to really sing like
hard hard sing up temples?
Speaker 3 (53:51):
Who Charlie Wilson, Yeah, yeah, volt tr on time. We're
gonna build your perfect R and B artists. Okay, I
want to know. I want to know where you get
the vocal from for this artist, Where you get the
performance style for this artist, where you get the styling
for this artist, and where you get the passion for
(54:13):
this artist artist? And I'm gonna throw a wrinkle in
that for you. I'm gonna throw a wrinkle in that
for him. And who produces and writes for this art Like, okay,
so who you getting a vocal from?
Speaker 4 (54:27):
Now?
Speaker 1 (54:27):
The question is is the artist a male artist, a
female artists? Whatever you want the artist, It's a hybrid,
Ain't no question it's a like a mix.
Speaker 3 (54:40):
Whatever you want get the vocals, getting the vocal from
I'm getting what's the artist that got that vocal?
Speaker 4 (54:49):
Vocal?
Speaker 1 (54:51):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 2 (54:51):
The vocal I'm getting from Beyonce ship. People do not
recognize the beast that she is.
Speaker 1 (54:58):
They don't. No, I argue with people online all the
time doing that.
Speaker 8 (55:08):
Again, why are you arguing with those people? Because some
things need to be talked about and fought for. Executioner
what Beyonce? You should not be listening to me.
Speaker 3 (55:24):
Somebody should cut your ears off and solder your ear
drums if you can't hear what Beyonce is vocally.
Speaker 1 (55:33):
Performance.
Speaker 2 (55:33):
The performance I'm gonna get taken from Michael. I'm gonna
take it from Michael on that you're going Beyonce vocal
Michael performing. I'm gonna take the finesse and charisma, finesse
and charisma of Usher mm hmm.
Speaker 3 (55:50):
Who you're getting the styling from the drip.
Speaker 1 (55:55):
I'm going to take the drip.
Speaker 2 (55:59):
Of Pharrell, the passion of the artist, the heart of
the artist, the heart of an artist. I'm still I'm
still can I you can double It's gonna be. It's
gonna be Michael. It's gonna be Michael again because Michael
and that passion and that heart when it came to music,
you ain't messing with that.
Speaker 1 (56:18):
I'm good, I'm sorry.
Speaker 7 (56:25):
I ain't saying no name, saying no names. Saying no names.
What you did, and I ain't saying no name.
Speaker 4 (56:48):
That nigga had energy, but he came back perfegetting you
for this segment.
Speaker 5 (56:58):
Talk to him this segment. I ain't saying no name.
Tell us a story, funny and fucked up. Funny and
fucked up. The only rule to the game. She can't
say no name. So right now, this is Troy Taylor
(57:18):
the song book himself. As you could see chapters to
this day chapters. The only difference in this book is
you can't say no name. Troy Taylor.
Speaker 1 (57:45):
It was his time that I did a record.
Speaker 2 (57:55):
And pitched it to a movie for a movie on
a soundtrack. This might not be juicy enough, but.
Speaker 1 (58:07):
And we got it. But I ain't saying no names.
Someone came in.
Speaker 2 (58:18):
Replaced that record, my record with another record. Even though
I was the one that brought the situation to the situation.
They used that and replaced the record with the record
they wanted to do it with, and I never got it.
That's one I ain't saying no names. I ain't saying
(58:41):
no names.
Speaker 3 (58:42):
But I was.
Speaker 1 (58:47):
In the hallway.
Speaker 2 (58:51):
Of No No, No, No No, not the hallway. It
was a time where I was in the studio. I
was asked to remix this record, reproduce the record. The
artists knew that it was being done, so I felt
like I did a version that was good enough for
(59:13):
what it needed to be.
Speaker 1 (59:15):
But this artist came in.
Speaker 2 (59:18):
But the worst attitude ever did not cooperate at all,
totally was being a dick. I got it done, however,
I had to put it together because they didn't want
to give me the additional vocals I needed.
Speaker 1 (59:40):
That same person who I then saw in the hallway.
Speaker 2 (59:45):
Of award show I ain't saying no names, saw me,
and because that happened, I didn't speak to him. He
called my name and I ignored him because of that moment.
And then that same artist saw me again somewhere and
(01:00:11):
I got a chance to tell him.
Speaker 1 (01:00:16):
The dick that he was for what he did? Is
that good enough? Really?
Speaker 4 (01:00:24):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (01:00:26):
You would never know who it is. Yeah, I don't
care what nobody say. You will never figure it out
and would ever figure it out because even if I
even saying him, you still wouldn't know who was because
then you think you had it. You would not believe
this person, how they treated you, how they treated me.
Speaker 1 (01:00:43):
Yeah, nah, not cool, last but not least. Okay.
Speaker 2 (01:00:49):
I ain't saying no names, but I produced this artist.
I'm going to say that because I want to say
iconic artist. She's iconic artists. I was asked to reproduce
the vocals on this artist. I did an amazing job.
(01:01:11):
I know that I did an amazing job. The record
got voted for Grammy Best Grammy A Best Traditional Vocals
by a Female got nominated. The producer of that record
(01:01:33):
was mad at me for doing this song and it
working because the producer didn't want it for that artist,
so he was mad at me for going in and
executing it. But when that artist got nominated for Grammy
(01:01:57):
and one, I never spoke to that producer to say, now, what, nigga.
That producer went on to act like celebrated, as if
they were down for it all along. After it won,
(01:02:17):
we never talked. I ain't saying no names, but the
only name I'm saying is a Grammy.
Speaker 3 (01:02:27):
We got three guys. I don't know if this is
the first three. I ain't saying no names.
Speaker 2 (01:02:32):
I just had to do that because I had, you know. Yeah,
this is through the life of Troy Taylor. There's a
lot of like eighty two more.
Speaker 1 (01:02:44):
This game is terrible, y'all.
Speaker 2 (01:02:45):
I have been blessed to last and sustain myself through
the grace of God because it's no joke, not joke
at all, and I don't it's not for the it's
not for the week at all, for the week, for
the week at all.
Speaker 3 (01:03:00):
Yeah, well, brother Troy Taylor, Troy Taylor University, Uh, songbook elder, scholar, theologian.
Speaker 1 (01:03:13):
Yeah, you're you're you're you're him. I appreciate that.
Speaker 3 (01:03:16):
We appreciate your We appreciate your greatness, We appreciate your
your dedication to the craft, maintaining a standard yes of excellence,
which I pray will infiltrate everything that's done within our
(01:03:45):
black entertainment community, that that excellence will be Uh what
do they say.
Speaker 1 (01:03:54):
When you catch it like a flu or contagious contagious.
Speaker 3 (01:04:02):
Pray that that that that your desire for excellence, continued
excellence will be contagious in this conversation that we're having
right here as it goes out into the airwaves and
into the youtubes and all of these things that they
would get that from your episode. We need a standard,
(01:04:22):
We need more excellence, sure share, We need it, and
and you are responsible for that. Thank you, And I'm
going to make you even more responsible for it. You
have to be somewhere in charge of it, not just
(01:04:43):
you know, in your own space and your you're not
just not just where it's comfortable for you. I get it.
But behind enemy lines is where we need you. That's
where we need you. That is my charge to you.
Speaker 2 (01:04:59):
And definitely it absolutely definitely it's too many fakes, too
many fakes just playing music industry, playing music industry, really
literally playing as soon as they leave the office. They
don't talk nothing music, they don't eat sleep music, They
(01:05:21):
just play executive.
Speaker 1 (01:05:24):
Yeah. I've seen so many, still seeing them. This is
why music is too many fakes, too many impostors.
Speaker 3 (01:05:38):
Yeah, ladies and gentlemen, my name is Taken, I'm je
all in town. This is the R and B Money Podcast,
the authority on all things ry big.
Speaker 1 (01:05:53):
You just saw. I don't have to say anything else.
Speaker 3 (01:05:57):
Troy Taylor R and B Money.
Speaker 4 (01:06:06):
R and B Money is a production of the Black
Effect Podcast Network.
Speaker 5 (01:06:10):
For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Don't forget
to subscribe to and rate our show, and you can
connect with us on social media at j Valentine and
at the Real Tank. For the extended episode, subscribe to
YouTube dot com, forward Slash, R and B Money
Hosts And Creators
Tank
J. Valentine
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