April 17, 2024 • 25 mins
Frank Ski joins Jerry in the studio to talk about his career in music and in radio.
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Speaker 1 (00:16):
Story Time with Legendary Jerry. I am Jerry Clark. I
am Jerry Clark, a k a. The Legendary Jerry, and
you are here with story Time with Legendary Jerry. You
hit his brother in the background with all the extra
extra noises career highlight. Hey boy, let me tell you something.
Let me tell everybody out here. The reason it was
(00:39):
so important for me to have this gentleman, this brother,
this friend, colleague of mine on Storytime with Legendary Jerry
is the fact that his contributions and people always say this, Frank,
the contribution to the culture, the culture of the culture.
But I really knew it was important for you to
be on this show, be on our show because you
(01:01):
have had a different lens to what's been going on.
And I know I jumped around without officially introduce you,
but I want to introduce this week's guess. I'm gonna
say it again. He's my brother, he's my friend, and
he really has had his hands in the culture. He's
let me, let me stop it. And he's a Hall
(01:22):
of famer. So that means when when you're a hall
of Fame in any of your craft, Weather's football, baseball, radio,
that means you are the best at what you do. So,
ladies and gentlemen, I want you all for this week's episode,
give it up to my brother, my friend, mister Frank Ski,
my guy.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Finally get proud of you. Thank you, Thank you, Frank.
I've been, I've been.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
I've been watching you for a long time, and I've
been looking up for looking up to you for a
long time. Because Frank, you've You've had a new unique
view of everything with the culture, with the music, and
seeing the you've seen it being a native New Yorker
or I should say Harlem ight right, and cutting your
(02:09):
teeth starting ready on Baltimore and then being down here
and making your your name is big, I mean, becoming
a Hall of Famer here in Atlanta. Just to watch
all that transpire and we're celebrating and we've celebrated fifty
years of hip hop. How have you been able to
stay relevant during all this time and still have your
(02:32):
hand on the post?
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Brother?
Speaker 3 (02:34):
I think because when you when you when you love
what you do, and then.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
You do what you love. That's that's the biggest issue.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
With so many people. So many people are not doing
what they love, and so many people don't love what
they do. They might like what they do, they might
enjoy what they do, but love is unconditional. You can't
say I love my job and not willing to do
(03:06):
it for nothing. See, I love you unconditionally, not because
you do something because you got this podcast, not because
we can do stuff for each other.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
I just love you as a brother.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
It's unconditional. And you have to love what you do unconditionally.
Not because you know you're successful or not successful, not
because it provides for your family or not, not because
it uplifts you in the community. But it's because you
love what you do. So every day I go to
(03:39):
that thing called work, it ain't it ain't really work.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Because you're passionate about it.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
I love it. I love it. I do it for free.
I really would, And you can tell, man, I mean,
and I'm not going to do it for free if
I don't have to, but I do it for free.
You're too good and like you said, you're too passionate
of what you do. So right now, frank yep, with
(04:03):
all that being said, what is your view on a
state of urban music?
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Man?
Speaker 3 (04:09):
I think urban music is like everything else that happens
in the world. It changes, it moves, it molds, and
then it corrects. Hold on, say that again, changes, it moves,
it remolds itself, and then it corrects. Everything. Everything has
(04:30):
a correction. The stock market has a correction, the real
estate market has a correction. Radio has a correction, Television
has a correction. Entertainment has a correction. Your kids have corrections.
Your kids grow up, they move, when they get independent,
they go around, they mold themselves something new, and then
something happens in their life and they're like, oh shit,
(04:52):
and there's a correction, and they're like, let me get
let me get back on the straight and narrow. There
always has to be a correction, and there always will
be a correction.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
So is that where so you're saying, is that where
we are right now?
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Right now, We're we're in the stage of becoming corrected
in urban music right now. You saw the Spotify report
that you know, R and B music is up twenty
five percent.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
You know, people want real music again.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
The issue that we have is, whenever there's a correction
in the urban culture, there's only going to be a
few people that will benefit from the correction. Right So,
the problem in our culture right now is that you
had the influx of technology which makes the game easier.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Let's be for real, it ain't hard to make a record.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Everybody, everybody got a studio.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
All you need is allowed to it hard to make Yeah,
it ain't hard to make a hit. It ain't hard
to make a hit though, Frank, well.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Listen, listen to what I'm saying. In this time period
of what they consider a hit, of what people consider
a hit, it's not hard. Okay, it takes a skill,
but it's not hard. Quincy Jones making Michael Jackson's album
was hard.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
That's hard.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
Prince making Purple Rain was hard, But what you're saying
Sexy Red making her record the hit wasn't hard. Her
work is hard. Her space and time that it took
her to get there is hard. But the way records
are made today is different. Right. So if you look
at the essence of hip hop and the way hip
(06:37):
hop was made, you had to have you had to have.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
In your crew certain elements. You had to have the
rapper who was good, you had to have the DJ
who was dope, and the producer and then evolved the
DJ into the producer. When the DJ became the producer
that was the heyday of hip hop, right, But now
you got people being producers that aren't even musicians. You
(07:00):
got producers that can't read a music seat. You got
producers that don't know the essence of putting a song together.
You got producers that don't know the history of music.
You got producers that don't even know anything about the
groups that they're sampling. You got producers that aren't students
of music. If you go to the essence of hip hop,
(07:21):
if you talk about Dre or Pete Rock or any
of them. People they love music. Their parents in some
kind of way influenced them.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
They had every they had every old school R and B,
jazz blues album in their house and they were just
listening to them. They were record junkies. They would go
to the store and go through finding samples and finding
beats and whatever. This generation right here is not like that,
so when they go to making So listen to what
I'm saying. You have so many tools available if I
(07:53):
want a if I want a loop right now, a
trap loop?
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Do you have? Many?
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Thousands of trap books are out there?
Speaker 3 (08:00):
True, I mean thousands of services out there that will
sell you a loop.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
You know, AI can make you a hit trap loop
right now, right now.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
So tell me it's hard. Hmm, So tell me it's hard.
The difference is. The difference is, and I'm just gonna
say this because this is very important. The difference is
the essence of making a hit song starts with the song.
The song, somebody sitting there writing the song. Okay, so
(08:37):
the song, the lyrics are written. When you when you
watch films about R and B artists, whether it's whoever
it is, Ray Charles or Elton John, look at their
movies and watch them sitting at a piano, watch the
Queen movie. Watch them sitting in the room, coming up
with ideas, humming songs, getting an idea, making that song,
(09:01):
and then making the beat. See we're in reverse now.
So you have artists now that are sitting there and
have nothing written. Nothing is written. You have producers. They
got a stack of beats. You have A and R
people that put a producer in the studio with a
bunch of beats, and artist goes in, here's the beat,
(09:22):
and if it's hip hop, they make the song up
right there.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
And they rap over the beat.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
Am My lie, Jerry, No, you go in the studio
right now, you got rappers that walk into the studio
and make it up off the top of their head.
You have R and B artists that are getting songs
that there's a writer that walks into the studio, comes
up with these hooks and write. And what happens is
these songs are made surrounding hooks. They're not made surrounding
(09:48):
the heart a great song.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
The hook has been a driver for especially in the
hip hop gang. I mean, been hit records is hook driven,
beating hooks not necessarily say hooks, not necessarily so historically
in hip hop. Historically in hip hop it was it
was thirty two sixty four bars, right, But those thirty
two and sixty four bars were all related. They all
(10:14):
Eric B and rock him them thirty two bars, right,
they all matched. They all were part of the same
thought and the same train of thought. You go in
the studio now every four bars to train the thought changes.
The bar before has nothing to do with the bar
that was ahead of it. Listen, go listen to Outcast album.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
Those albums are some of the most well put together
albums ever.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
Sorry, Miss Jackson, was the whole song about one thing? Yes,
the whole sorry, miss Jackson, was about one thing. Pick
me a hit R and B hip Pick me a
hit hip hop song today, and tell me the whole
song was about one thing.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Now, it's a perfect segue for going into what me
and you a talking to me.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
I'm not saying, I'm not saying it's not dope. I
love it, Yeah, I love it. But so who you you?
You're me and you are considered the O G s
in the game. So who are the young?
Speaker 2 (11:20):
The young? The young artists? I hit that you fucking
with right now?
Speaker 1 (11:23):
Because you know, any anytime we you know, even my kids, dad,
you hate And I'm like, nah, And I don't like
to compare everything to you know what we came up
listening to our trying to do that because by these
young cats, I really like, like I really, I really
fuck with them. I fucked with forty two Doug and
I fucked with young Nudie and I like these cats.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
Man.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
I like what Sexy read.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
She she stands in her ship, she stands on what
she does, and she created my theme song.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
Ski.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
I think that was about it. That that's your that's
your theme song. Come on, just like Dudoo Brown was,
That's that's your motherfucker things. So so she wrote it
for me. Let's let's let's talk a while we on
(12:20):
Sexy Red and I'm not just singling out just you know, yeah,
but let's talk about that for a minute. What's your
thoughts on just the whole female rap game in general
right now?
Speaker 3 (12:30):
I think it's not the female rappers fault about where
they are right now, and and it's only one segment
because that's just because.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
The pussy rap everything. My pussy, my pussies. Is that
what you're talking about?
Speaker 3 (12:44):
Yeah, because because it's about it's it's an independence movement,
you know what I mean. It's women saying you're always
talking about your dicks.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
Okay, that's why I don't hate on the women man,
Luke and was doing it for a long time, right,
I mean, even let's just real little Kim Foxy, every
everybody was doing it, was talking. So there's so they they.
Speaker 3 (13:06):
Just they're living in the fact that women are finally
getting into respect they deserve and hip hop Okay, if
guys can do that music, we can do that music,
and they're selling.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
I ain't got nothing bad to say about that.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
But I had this debate earlier several months back during
vacation with my boys, I was like, yo, you heard
you heard that Dojah Cat Paint the Town Red? And
they was like, em, you know, Dad, it's all right.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
I said, it's all right. I said that song get
ready to be a monster? No, no, and turn around?
What what?
Speaker 2 (13:40):
What? Huge?
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Huge? Because that's a song, that's a song. She's she's
she's popping her collar talking about it.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
And that's it.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
And that's a song.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
That's a fucking smash.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
It's a smash. While you were sitting here, I had
to I had to hop on my phone because I'm
in my conversation and it just ran through my mind.
A conversation we had some months ago and you you
had some interesting takes on it and this is the
fifty greatest rap groups all the time. And I remember
you called me and we talked about it and it
(14:16):
was a couple and you just mentioned Eric being Roy
Kim in a minute of going You said, Jerry, that's
not a group. I remember you told me, was like,
Eric being Roy Kim is not You was like, you
got rock Kim. He's the lyricist and Eric B is
the DJ.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
I I thought when they said groups it was like
two or more people that were rapping. I didn't really
look at it as because let me let me give
you this, let me give you an example. Well, I
didn't really look at it like a group as a
DJ and rapper.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
Yeah, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
As a as a rapper, definitely, you know I can
one of my tops, but I didn't.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
I didn't really think that that fifty Greatest Hip Hop list.
Speaker 3 (14:59):
Right here, you honestly truth. I understand why they put
Outcasts number one. That wouldn't have been my choice.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
Come on, Frank, don't do it.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
You want me in here for a reason for you're
talking about new Face, you hit is man, what are
you talking about? Outcast is not your number one greatest
group of all time, rap group of all time. They're
the greatest selling rap Let me let me tell you,
bron and we we we count in the same age racket. Okay,
(15:29):
So who who's your number one? There's there's no way
who's your number one? Run DMC.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
There's not another group that changed the world for hip hop.
There's not another group in the world that changed the
culture for hip hop. Let me tell you one reason
why I said it.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
When when I was going to law school and I
had to get out of school and do after my
first year and do my turn paper.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
I never finished, by the fact, but my turn paper
I wrote a about how powerful hip hop was going
to be and because they were the first rap group
that had a CD. Yeah, and not just whether understand So,
so they were so big that nobody respected hip hop.
And then when we went from vinyl to CD, nobody
had a CD. Their their album was the first that
(16:18):
was put on a CD. But here's here's the reason
why I say run DMC. I stepped on stage at
Live Aid.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
Oh Shit nineteen eighty six.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
Understand they were doing concerts that big before anybody could
even fathom that hip hop would even be that big.
They crossed over before anybody else.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Took this way, really changed the whole scope.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
Of But look who they did the song with. Yeah, no,
that's what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (16:46):
They had the respect to be able to do that.
They had the respect to go on tour with a
Michael Jackson or whatever they were. They were the biggest
thing around the world. They spread hip hop.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
Around the world, right, you know, I.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
Love they were the first one that had that had
the tours the big tours.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
But you get what I'm saying, so, so all I'm
saying is to you, so can we So so when
you say one B or you or what you're saying
is run DMC is number one Outcast.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
Only because only because let me just say this, only because.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
Run DMC changed the world and changed the culture for
hip hop. Right.
Speaker 3 (17:29):
They were the first ones that people looked at it
and was like, this is major. They had the first
biggest concerts, first biggest tours, first, to do this first,
to do all of the all of the big first, right,
I get it right out cast, huge, huge, huge, right.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
Out cast. Basically, you know, said it best. The South's
got something to say, okay, and and the album was
freaking amazing, all them albums. So you want to talk
about them if you want to talk about that, that's
my only argument with the list. If you want to
talk about the affect and influence ship n w A,
(18:06):
can they can say the same thing, the same stuff
that you just said, the same Come on, Frank, they
can n w A hit the impact on rap music.
And you want to say positive or negative, but the
impact that nw A has had on the culture and
on rap music isn't just as big as run DMC.
You don't think, no, no, you don't think NWA's impacts
(18:29):
has been as big.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
What are you talking about, frank in w A. That
spawned a whole, a whole movement.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
Listen, it spawned a movement of a particular rap style.
It did not respond the movement of rap in general.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
It did not.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
So give me so which we forget the billboard list.
Let's let's go over it. Let's let's talk about your
your because like I said the beginning.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
I would have I would have had to have it.
I would have had to have outcast n w A.
I would have had if you could, if you can
put here here's my problem with the list. If you
can put n w A on the list, because of
what they moved and the fact that they moved a
culture right, they moved, they moved the West coast right,
they moved a style right. But you would not have
(19:24):
had n w A if not for who to line crew,
I see you later, I see you later.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
You can.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
Uncle Luke told me, why why couldn't you have it
without Luke?
Speaker 2 (19:41):
Because Luke hold on.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
Luke said that Rihan and dre and easing them used
to tell him that they're the reason they were able
to do what they did.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
As far as talking on records like that.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
Too, absolutely absolutely, because of absolutely so how they're not
gonna have up there? Who was on the list the
lower down? If you if you gonna, if you're gonna
talk about n w A in California, who moved the
whole South.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
South was Luke Luke Skywalker.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
Records the South, the South, YEA Independent, the South, Frank Independent.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
He showed all these labels.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
That's what I'm saying. Before j Prince, before Tony Draper,
before everybody, it was Luke. It was Luke.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
It was yes, Yeah, that's what I'm saying. And that's
what run DMC represented.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
And you and Luke y'all.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
I mean, let's let's let's let's it has been well documented.
I mean, for those who don't know, Frank ski Uh
was a producer. And I'm gonna say what was still is.
But you had you had some big records man back in,
you know, and Dudu Brown was one of them. And
I've heard over the years and it's been highly you know,
(20:54):
talked about Uh as far as uh you're publishing with
that record, whether or not you still had it. Well,
what happened with that whole situation? Because you and Luke
that record was on the Luke Now, well, how was
Luke involved with that?
Speaker 2 (21:10):
He wasn't, So how was it with your publisher?
Speaker 1 (21:13):
It is mine?
Speaker 2 (21:15):
Oh so he didn't have nothing to do with it.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Then now, okay, so you and him we're perfect. So yeah,
I was going to say, here's what happened when I
did Doodoo Brown, right. I called Luke and I said, yo,
I got a record, and he said I want to
hear it.
Speaker 3 (21:34):
I said, I'm gonna bring it to you. I was
in Baltimore on the radio. I get off the radio,
I get on the radio. Six pm. The next morning,
I jumped on a flight from Baltimore to Miami. I
get to Miami, I go to Luke Records, took a cab.
Remember we ain't have cell phones back then. Took a cab,
(21:55):
went to Luke Records, sat in his office and waited
from when they opened in the morning, and I waited
until like two o'clock. He never showed up. I got
back in the car and the cab went back to
the airport, flew back to the radio station, got on
(22:16):
the air. He called me, Yeah, I heard it. It's
all right, it's all right, go ahead and do your thing.
I'm not interested. I said, okay, I'm gonna put it out.
He said, okay, I put it out. About about about
a month later, three weeks later, my brother and Miami
(22:39):
calls me. He said, Bro, you're not gonna believe this.
Power ninety six is getting ready to play the Battle
of the Songs and your song is up against Luke.
I was like, oh really, I'm nervous whatever. And I'm
listening over the phone and it's like, yeah, oh yeah,
(22:59):
go for the Brown. You vote for the Brown, Vote
for the Brown, Vote for the Brown, and then the
rest history. Then Luke called my people. It was like yo,
blah blah blah.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
And we made a deal.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
And the deal was that I went to work for him,
and I was the guy that did all the.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
Mixes for his records.
Speaker 3 (23:21):
So I did the mix on It's Your Birthday, I
did the mix on Scar, I did the mix on
Don't You Want on Wanna Don't One on One? All
that I did Disco Rick, I did Poison Claim, I
did all that ship this history right now now now
now fair to say that Luke would send me the
(23:42):
original mix and then I put my Frank Ski spin
on it, and and Luke and I have been friends forever, forever.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
So when I toured.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
When I toured, I toward Miami, and I went to
Luke's club, and then I went to luke skating ring,
and then I did all the Luke parties and everything.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
Yeah, And it's always it's been love.
Speaker 1 (24:03):
And it's always been love, all right, It's always been
When when when Luke was trying to be on the
school board and do all that shit in Miami, he
called me and I wrote him.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
A letter, and man, that's some solid shit.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
Frank, He's always gonna be my boy. Story Time with
the Legendary Jerry's hosted by me, the one and only
Jerry Clark. Music has been provided by July, the producer.
If you haven't already, please please make sure you subscribe
(24:38):
to story Time with the Legendary Jerry on YouTube and
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For more podcasts from my Heart Media, visit the iHeartRadio app,
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Story Time with Legendary Jerry. I am Jerry Clark. I
am Jerry Clark, a k a. The Legendary Jerry, and
you are here with story Time with Legendary Jerry. You
hit his brother in the background with all the extra
extra noises career highlight. Hey boy, let me tell you something.
Let me tell everybody out here. The reason it was
(00:39):
so important for me to have this gentleman, this brother,
this friend, colleague of mine on Storytime with Legendary Jerry
is the fact that his contributions and people always say this, Frank,
the contribution to the culture, the culture of the culture.
But I really knew it was important for you to
be on this show, be on our show because you
(01:01):
have had a different lens to what's been going on.
And I know I jumped around without officially introduce you,
but I want to introduce this week's guess. I'm gonna
say it again. He's my brother, he's my friend, and
he really has had his hands in the culture. He's
let me, let me stop it. And he's a Hall
(01:22):
of famer. So that means when when you're a hall
of Fame in any of your craft, Weather's football, baseball, radio,
that means you are the best at what you do. So,
ladies and gentlemen, I want you all for this week's episode,
give it up to my brother, my friend, mister Frank Ski,
my guy.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Finally get proud of you. Thank you, Thank you, Frank.
I've been, I've been.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
I've been watching you for a long time, and I've
been looking up for looking up to you for a
long time. Because Frank, you've You've had a new unique
view of everything with the culture, with the music, and
seeing the you've seen it being a native New Yorker
or I should say Harlem ight right, and cutting your
(02:09):
teeth starting ready on Baltimore and then being down here
and making your your name is big, I mean, becoming
a Hall of Famer here in Atlanta. Just to watch
all that transpire and we're celebrating and we've celebrated fifty
years of hip hop. How have you been able to
stay relevant during all this time and still have your
(02:32):
hand on the post?
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Brother?
Speaker 3 (02:34):
I think because when you when you when you love
what you do, and then.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
You do what you love. That's that's the biggest issue.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
With so many people. So many people are not doing
what they love, and so many people don't love what
they do. They might like what they do, they might
enjoy what they do, but love is unconditional. You can't
say I love my job and not willing to do
(03:06):
it for nothing. See, I love you unconditionally, not because
you do something because you got this podcast, not because
we can do stuff for each other.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
I just love you as a brother.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
It's unconditional. And you have to love what you do unconditionally.
Not because you know you're successful or not successful, not
because it provides for your family or not, not because
it uplifts you in the community. But it's because you
love what you do. So every day I go to
(03:39):
that thing called work, it ain't it ain't really work.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Because you're passionate about it.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
I love it. I love it. I do it for free.
I really would, And you can tell, man, I mean,
and I'm not going to do it for free if
I don't have to, but I do it for free.
You're too good and like you said, you're too passionate
of what you do. So right now, frank yep, with
(04:03):
all that being said, what is your view on a
state of urban music?
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Man?
Speaker 3 (04:09):
I think urban music is like everything else that happens
in the world. It changes, it moves, it molds, and
then it corrects. Hold on, say that again, changes, it moves,
it remolds itself, and then it corrects. Everything. Everything has
(04:30):
a correction. The stock market has a correction, the real
estate market has a correction. Radio has a correction, Television
has a correction. Entertainment has a correction. Your kids have corrections.
Your kids grow up, they move, when they get independent,
they go around, they mold themselves something new, and then
something happens in their life and they're like, oh shit,
(04:52):
and there's a correction, and they're like, let me get
let me get back on the straight and narrow. There
always has to be a correction, and there always will
be a correction.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
So is that where so you're saying, is that where
we are right now?
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Right now, We're we're in the stage of becoming corrected
in urban music right now. You saw the Spotify report
that you know, R and B music is up twenty
five percent.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
You know, people want real music again.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
The issue that we have is, whenever there's a correction
in the urban culture, there's only going to be a
few people that will benefit from the correction. Right So,
the problem in our culture right now is that you
had the influx of technology which makes the game easier.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Let's be for real, it ain't hard to make a record.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Everybody, everybody got a studio.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
All you need is allowed to it hard to make Yeah,
it ain't hard to make a hit. It ain't hard
to make a hit though, Frank, well.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Listen, listen to what I'm saying. In this time period
of what they consider a hit, of what people consider
a hit, it's not hard. Okay, it takes a skill,
but it's not hard. Quincy Jones making Michael Jackson's album
was hard.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
That's hard.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
Prince making Purple Rain was hard, But what you're saying
Sexy Red making her record the hit wasn't hard. Her
work is hard. Her space and time that it took
her to get there is hard. But the way records
are made today is different. Right. So if you look
at the essence of hip hop and the way hip
(06:37):
hop was made, you had to have you had to have.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
In your crew certain elements. You had to have the
rapper who was good, you had to have the DJ
who was dope, and the producer and then evolved the
DJ into the producer. When the DJ became the producer
that was the heyday of hip hop, right, But now
you got people being producers that aren't even musicians. You
(07:00):
got producers that can't read a music seat. You got
producers that don't know the essence of putting a song together.
You got producers that don't know the history of music.
You got producers that don't even know anything about the
groups that they're sampling. You got producers that aren't students
of music. If you go to the essence of hip hop,
(07:21):
if you talk about Dre or Pete Rock or any
of them. People they love music. Their parents in some
kind of way influenced them.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
They had every they had every old school R and B,
jazz blues album in their house and they were just
listening to them. They were record junkies. They would go
to the store and go through finding samples and finding
beats and whatever. This generation right here is not like that,
so when they go to making So listen to what
I'm saying. You have so many tools available if I
(07:53):
want a if I want a loop right now, a
trap loop?
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Do you have? Many?
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Thousands of trap books are out there?
Speaker 3 (08:00):
True, I mean thousands of services out there that will
sell you a loop.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
You know, AI can make you a hit trap loop
right now, right now.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
So tell me it's hard. Hmm, So tell me it's hard.
The difference is. The difference is, and I'm just gonna
say this because this is very important. The difference is
the essence of making a hit song starts with the song.
The song, somebody sitting there writing the song. Okay, so
(08:37):
the song, the lyrics are written. When you when you
watch films about R and B artists, whether it's whoever
it is, Ray Charles or Elton John, look at their
movies and watch them sitting at a piano, watch the
Queen movie. Watch them sitting in the room, coming up
with ideas, humming songs, getting an idea, making that song,
(09:01):
and then making the beat. See we're in reverse now.
So you have artists now that are sitting there and
have nothing written. Nothing is written. You have producers. They
got a stack of beats. You have A and R
people that put a producer in the studio with a
bunch of beats, and artist goes in, here's the beat,
(09:22):
and if it's hip hop, they make the song up
right there.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
And they rap over the beat.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
Am My lie, Jerry, No, you go in the studio
right now, you got rappers that walk into the studio
and make it up off the top of their head.
You have R and B artists that are getting songs
that there's a writer that walks into the studio, comes
up with these hooks and write. And what happens is
these songs are made surrounding hooks. They're not made surrounding
(09:48):
the heart a great song.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
The hook has been a driver for especially in the
hip hop gang. I mean, been hit records is hook driven,
beating hooks not necessarily say hooks, not necessarily so historically
in hip hop. Historically in hip hop it was it
was thirty two sixty four bars, right, But those thirty
two and sixty four bars were all related. They all
(10:14):
Eric B and rock him them thirty two bars, right,
they all matched. They all were part of the same
thought and the same train of thought. You go in
the studio now every four bars to train the thought changes.
The bar before has nothing to do with the bar
that was ahead of it. Listen, go listen to Outcast album.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
Those albums are some of the most well put together
albums ever.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
Sorry, Miss Jackson, was the whole song about one thing? Yes,
the whole sorry, miss Jackson, was about one thing. Pick
me a hit R and B hip Pick me a
hit hip hop song today, and tell me the whole
song was about one thing.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Now, it's a perfect segue for going into what me
and you a talking to me.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
I'm not saying, I'm not saying it's not dope. I
love it, Yeah, I love it. But so who you you?
You're me and you are considered the O G s
in the game. So who are the young?
Speaker 2 (11:20):
The young? The young artists? I hit that you fucking
with right now?
Speaker 1 (11:23):
Because you know, any anytime we you know, even my kids, dad,
you hate And I'm like, nah, And I don't like
to compare everything to you know what we came up
listening to our trying to do that because by these
young cats, I really like, like I really, I really
fuck with them. I fucked with forty two Doug and
I fucked with young Nudie and I like these cats.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
Man.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
I like what Sexy read.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
She she stands in her ship, she stands on what
she does, and she created my theme song.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
Ski.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
I think that was about it. That that's your that's
your theme song. Come on, just like Dudoo Brown was,
That's that's your motherfucker things. So so she wrote it
for me. Let's let's let's talk a while we on
(12:20):
Sexy Red and I'm not just singling out just you know, yeah,
but let's talk about that for a minute. What's your
thoughts on just the whole female rap game in general
right now?
Speaker 3 (12:30):
I think it's not the female rappers fault about where
they are right now, and and it's only one segment
because that's just because.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
The pussy rap everything. My pussy, my pussies. Is that
what you're talking about?
Speaker 3 (12:44):
Yeah, because because it's about it's it's an independence movement,
you know what I mean. It's women saying you're always
talking about your dicks.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
Okay, that's why I don't hate on the women man,
Luke and was doing it for a long time, right,
I mean, even let's just real little Kim Foxy, every
everybody was doing it, was talking. So there's so they they.
Speaker 3 (13:06):
Just they're living in the fact that women are finally
getting into respect they deserve and hip hop Okay, if
guys can do that music, we can do that music,
and they're selling.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
I ain't got nothing bad to say about that.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
But I had this debate earlier several months back during
vacation with my boys, I was like, yo, you heard
you heard that Dojah Cat Paint the Town Red? And
they was like, em, you know, Dad, it's all right.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
I said, it's all right. I said that song get
ready to be a monster? No, no, and turn around?
What what?
Speaker 2 (13:40):
What? Huge?
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Huge? Because that's a song, that's a song. She's she's
she's popping her collar talking about it.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
And that's it.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
And that's a song.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
That's a fucking smash.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
It's a smash. While you were sitting here, I had
to I had to hop on my phone because I'm
in my conversation and it just ran through my mind.
A conversation we had some months ago and you you
had some interesting takes on it and this is the
fifty greatest rap groups all the time. And I remember
you called me and we talked about it and it
(14:16):
was a couple and you just mentioned Eric being Roy
Kim in a minute of going You said, Jerry, that's
not a group. I remember you told me, was like,
Eric being Roy Kim is not You was like, you
got rock Kim. He's the lyricist and Eric B is
the DJ.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
I I thought when they said groups it was like
two or more people that were rapping. I didn't really
look at it as because let me let me give
you this, let me give you an example. Well, I
didn't really look at it like a group as a
DJ and rapper.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
Yeah, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
As a as a rapper, definitely, you know I can
one of my tops, but I didn't.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
I didn't really think that that fifty Greatest Hip Hop list.
Speaker 3 (14:59):
Right here, you honestly truth. I understand why they put
Outcasts number one. That wouldn't have been my choice.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
Come on, Frank, don't do it.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
You want me in here for a reason for you're
talking about new Face, you hit is man, what are
you talking about? Outcast is not your number one greatest
group of all time, rap group of all time. They're
the greatest selling rap Let me let me tell you,
bron and we we we count in the same age racket. Okay,
(15:29):
So who who's your number one? There's there's no way
who's your number one? Run DMC.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
There's not another group that changed the world for hip hop.
There's not another group in the world that changed the
culture for hip hop. Let me tell you one reason
why I said it.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
When when I was going to law school and I
had to get out of school and do after my
first year and do my turn paper.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
I never finished, by the fact, but my turn paper
I wrote a about how powerful hip hop was going
to be and because they were the first rap group
that had a CD. Yeah, and not just whether understand So,
so they were so big that nobody respected hip hop.
And then when we went from vinyl to CD, nobody
had a CD. Their their album was the first that
(16:18):
was put on a CD. But here's here's the reason
why I say run DMC. I stepped on stage at
Live Aid.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
Oh Shit nineteen eighty six.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
Understand they were doing concerts that big before anybody could
even fathom that hip hop would even be that big.
They crossed over before anybody else.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Took this way, really changed the whole scope.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
Of But look who they did the song with. Yeah, no,
that's what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (16:46):
They had the respect to be able to do that.
They had the respect to go on tour with a
Michael Jackson or whatever they were. They were the biggest
thing around the world. They spread hip hop.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
Around the world, right, you know, I.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
Love they were the first one that had that had
the tours the big tours.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
But you get what I'm saying, so, so all I'm
saying is to you, so can we So so when
you say one B or you or what you're saying
is run DMC is number one Outcast.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
Only because only because let me just say this, only because.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
Run DMC changed the world and changed the culture for
hip hop. Right.
Speaker 3 (17:29):
They were the first ones that people looked at it
and was like, this is major. They had the first
biggest concerts, first biggest tours, first, to do this first,
to do all of the all of the big first, right,
I get it right out cast, huge, huge, huge, right.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
Out cast. Basically, you know, said it best. The South's
got something to say, okay, and and the album was
freaking amazing, all them albums. So you want to talk
about them if you want to talk about that, that's
my only argument with the list. If you want to
talk about the affect and influence ship n w A,
(18:06):
can they can say the same thing, the same stuff
that you just said, the same Come on, Frank, they
can n w A hit the impact on rap music.
And you want to say positive or negative, but the
impact that nw A has had on the culture and
on rap music isn't just as big as run DMC.
You don't think, no, no, you don't think NWA's impacts
(18:29):
has been as big.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
What are you talking about, frank in w A. That
spawned a whole, a whole movement.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
Listen, it spawned a movement of a particular rap style.
It did not respond the movement of rap in general.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
It did not.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
So give me so which we forget the billboard list.
Let's let's go over it. Let's let's talk about your
your because like I said the beginning.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
I would have I would have had to have it.
I would have had to have outcast n w A.
I would have had if you could, if you can
put here here's my problem with the list. If you
can put n w A on the list, because of
what they moved and the fact that they moved a
culture right, they moved, they moved the West coast right,
they moved a style right. But you would not have
(19:24):
had n w A if not for who to line crew,
I see you later, I see you later.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
You can.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
Uncle Luke told me, why why couldn't you have it
without Luke?
Speaker 2 (19:41):
Because Luke hold on.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
Luke said that Rihan and dre and easing them used
to tell him that they're the reason they were able
to do what they did.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
As far as talking on records like that.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
Too, absolutely absolutely, because of absolutely so how they're not
gonna have up there? Who was on the list the
lower down? If you if you gonna, if you're gonna
talk about n w A in California, who moved the
whole South.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
South was Luke Luke Skywalker.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
Records the South, the South, YEA Independent, the South, Frank Independent.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
He showed all these labels.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
That's what I'm saying. Before j Prince, before Tony Draper,
before everybody, it was Luke. It was Luke.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
It was yes, Yeah, that's what I'm saying. And that's
what run DMC represented.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
And you and Luke y'all.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
I mean, let's let's let's let's it has been well documented.
I mean, for those who don't know, Frank ski Uh
was a producer. And I'm gonna say what was still is.
But you had you had some big records man back in,
you know, and Dudu Brown was one of them. And
I've heard over the years and it's been highly you know,
(20:54):
talked about Uh as far as uh you're publishing with
that record, whether or not you still had it. Well,
what happened with that whole situation? Because you and Luke
that record was on the Luke Now, well, how was
Luke involved with that?
Speaker 2 (21:10):
He wasn't, So how was it with your publisher?
Speaker 1 (21:13):
It is mine?
Speaker 2 (21:15):
Oh so he didn't have nothing to do with it.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Then now, okay, so you and him we're perfect. So yeah,
I was going to say, here's what happened when I
did Doodoo Brown, right. I called Luke and I said, yo,
I got a record, and he said I want to
hear it.
Speaker 3 (21:34):
I said, I'm gonna bring it to you. I was
in Baltimore on the radio. I get off the radio,
I get on the radio. Six pm. The next morning,
I jumped on a flight from Baltimore to Miami. I
get to Miami, I go to Luke Records, took a cab.
Remember we ain't have cell phones back then. Took a cab,
(21:55):
went to Luke Records, sat in his office and waited
from when they opened in the morning, and I waited
until like two o'clock. He never showed up. I got
back in the car and the cab went back to
the airport, flew back to the radio station, got on
(22:16):
the air. He called me, Yeah, I heard it. It's
all right, it's all right, go ahead and do your thing.
I'm not interested. I said, okay, I'm gonna put it out.
He said, okay, I put it out. About about about
a month later, three weeks later, my brother and Miami
(22:39):
calls me. He said, Bro, you're not gonna believe this.
Power ninety six is getting ready to play the Battle
of the Songs and your song is up against Luke.
I was like, oh really, I'm nervous whatever. And I'm
listening over the phone and it's like, yeah, oh yeah,
(22:59):
go for the Brown. You vote for the Brown, Vote
for the Brown, Vote for the Brown, and then the
rest history. Then Luke called my people. It was like yo,
blah blah blah.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
And we made a deal.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
And the deal was that I went to work for him,
and I was the guy that did all the.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
Mixes for his records.
Speaker 3 (23:21):
So I did the mix on It's Your Birthday, I
did the mix on Scar, I did the mix on
Don't You Want on Wanna Don't One on One? All
that I did Disco Rick, I did Poison Claim, I
did all that ship this history right now now now
now fair to say that Luke would send me the
(23:42):
original mix and then I put my Frank Ski spin
on it, and and Luke and I have been friends forever, forever.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
So when I toured.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
When I toured, I toward Miami, and I went to
Luke's club, and then I went to luke skating ring,
and then I did all the Luke parties and everything.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
Yeah, And it's always it's been love.
Speaker 1 (24:03):
And it's always been love, all right, It's always been
When when when Luke was trying to be on the
school board and do all that shit in Miami, he
called me and I wrote him.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
A letter, and man, that's some solid shit.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
Frank, He's always gonna be my boy. Story Time with
the Legendary Jerry's hosted by me, the one and only
Jerry Clark. Music has been provided by July, the producer.
If you haven't already, please please make sure you subscribe
(24:38):
to story Time with the Legendary Jerry on YouTube and
wherever you listen to podcasts, and make sure you follow
us on all social media platforms at the Legendary Jerry podcast.
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