April 9, 2025 • 56 mins
This episode, Seano sits down with Bobby Brown, the pioneer of New Jack Swing and former member of New Edition. Bobby reminisces about his early days in the entertainment industry, his journey through addiction, and his transformative path to sobriety. The conversation delves into his personal life, including his marriage, family, and the profound impact of spirituality and therapy in overcoming his struggles.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
How do you stay sober?
Speaker 2 (00:00):
One day?
Speaker 1 (00:01):
How do you stay sober? People want to say, does
Bobby Brown stay sober?
Speaker 2 (00:05):
It's one day at a time, It's one It's literally
one day at a time. You know. I try to
stick close to my wife as possible because she is
my rock. You know, my family, my kids, they are,
you know, such great supporters. It's great support team. You know,
(00:27):
family members that that believe in me and trusting and
believe in the fact that what I've wanted all of
this time is what I have right now. A process
for dealing with loss has been has been. You know,
it's been a struggle. I wouldn't I wouldn't want to
(00:51):
wish it on anybody. I struggle with it every day.
I think about them every day.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
Welcome back to the Cino Show.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Today, we're going to sit down with the man whose
voice helped to find a generation. He's a pioneer of
New Jack Swing, the spark behind New Edition, a solo
stupor superstar who changed the game with swaggers, soul and
raw honesty. But beyond the charts of the headline is
Bobby Brown as the story of survival, of transformation, of
(01:29):
love and loss and this one's personal because part of
Bobby sobriety journal journey was right here, and I've had
the privilege of witness and getting his courage, his growth
and his fight to become the man he is today.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Welcome to the Sino Show, buddy, Welcome back to Shell.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Thank you. I know, I know, I haven't been here
in so long.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
It's been a while.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
I almost passed by. Got trees growing up in front.
He's almost passed it.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Yeah, thank you for making time. And we're we've got
your wife with us here. Yes, the glue, the magic.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
The magic, right, the cement, that's what holds the building up.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Yeah, and that's a real blessing.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Thanks.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
It's good to see you, man.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
It's good to see you too.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
You know, we don't see each other that often, but
when we do, when we can look across the room
and it's like, I love this man so much.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
We're still here, and I think what we're saying is,
isn't it good to be sober?
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Isn't it going to be alive?
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (02:31):
It is, And we're saying I love it to each
other and let's just enjoy this moment, right right, and
let's have some fun let's have some fun because we
like to have fun, Bobby, we know that we still
have to we got to have fun.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
So I think let's just start here. Let's just start
with Boston. Okay, walk me through your youth a little bit.
Walk me what was going through your mind five six
years old? So what was happening back then.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
For bout I'm six years old? I think all I
was thinking about was talent shows and doing talent shows,
doing as many talent shows as I possibly could. I've
been fortunate enough to have a family that supported me
with everything that I wanted to do, which was entertained.
(03:20):
I knew from two years old that I wanted I
wanted to be an entertainer. My mother put me on
stage with James Brown at an intermission concert intermission of
his concert.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Where was that show at?
Speaker 2 (03:33):
That show was at in Boston at the Sugar Shack,
And she put me on the stage and I just
started dancing. I just started wiggling and hearing the crowd raw.
At that time, it was just it was what I
knew I was gonna do at two years old. At
(03:53):
two years.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
Old, so your mom not only believed in your talent,
but she's like, I'm gonna take care of my boy.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
And how did that get James?
Speaker 2 (04:01):
I don't know how she got me into the building
because it was it was a it was a speakeasy,
and I don't know how she got me in, but
she got me in and I was able to just
walk on to get up on stage and just dance,
dance with James. And from that moment on, I was
just like, entertainment is where it is. Entertainment is what
(04:24):
I have to do. So I just used to join
a lot of talent shows in the neighborhood and it
was just that was me. If there was a talent show,
you knew that Bobby Brown was going to join, whether
lose or when win or lose, I was in it. Wow.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
And and so you were a happy kid. You were
very You're happy.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Right, very happy kid, very happy kid. Okay, bad but happy?
Speaker 1 (04:56):
What made you? What made you bad?
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Well? What made me bad was you know, I couldn't
keep my hands to myself. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
I understand.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
Growing up, I fought a lot. I would steal, you know,
just little petty theft type of things, you know, bikes
and candy and stuff from the from the grocery stores.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
And how did your mom deal with that?
Speaker 2 (05:26):
She would punish me. Yeah, she would punish me. Make
me stay in the house and stand in the kitchen
with her and watch her cook and learn all her
great recipes and you know, be the first one to
taste all the foods.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
So that's where you're home some of your cooking skills.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
In the kitchen. That wow.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Okay?
Speaker 3 (05:52):
And then did you know, buddy, did you know like
we're like, am I good? Or like like I'm really fun?
I got something to say. I knew that I wasn't
gonna be silenced.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
I knew that no matter what, I was gonna do
something in life that that meant something to someone else,
that made somebody else smile or made somebody else cry.
I knew I was gonna be doing something like that. Wow.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
And at that time, Robby, who was your biggest inspiration?
Speaker 2 (06:27):
Who are you looking up to? Then? There was so
many James Brown, you know, Michael Jackson, I looked up to,
Rick Chains, I looked up to so many, so many
other artists. Elvis Presley was a big influence on me
because I used to watch his movies consistently. There was
(06:54):
a lot of people that that that really made me,
made me look at life and and say, entertainment is
where it is. Entertainment is what I want to do.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
Right God, And you were I got the sense that
you were, even though you're getting in trouble, you were
hyper focused on who you're going to become and what
you're gonna do, what it's gonna take to get there,
and you're always looking for ideas. You were always studying people, films,
different things.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
Correctly.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
Definitely where if you get that from? Who taught you that?
Was that? From the gate? Was that just in?
Speaker 2 (07:28):
That was? That was my mom, my mom, and my grandmother.
My grandmother used to hold me downstairs in her in
her place and she would have like tons and tons
of just recordings, records, oh wow. And she would just
let me just listen to any kind of music I
(07:49):
wanted to listen to. And that was That's what shaped
my my brain into How do you say there's not
one genre of music that I like. I like all
genres of music. I just chose to do R and B.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
You're right, thank god, you I know right, Thank god,
you brother, my god. I have a hard time seeing
as a country singer although you probably pull it off.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Though.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Let me ask you.
Speaker 3 (08:21):
So, your grandma obviously knew that you were gifted, so
she would bring you down and said, you need to
listen to Sam Cook and here's some version of.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
That, right. Yes. So she would play all types of music,
and if I just wanted to venture off into into
you know, her musical her classical music selections, I could
listen to that and it was just like, you know,
she had such a vast collection of music that it
(08:57):
was just like any any any sound, any job you
could listen to in a living room.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
She became a real student a music. Yes, oh that's beautiful, man.
And then you put a group together. Oh yeah, walk
us through that, brother, What was that?
Speaker 4 (09:12):
Now?
Speaker 1 (09:12):
How old are you?
Speaker 2 (09:13):
I think I was nine or ten years old when
we first put a new audition together. That was like
nineteen seventy eight. And it was just like it was
just something that needed to happen. I went and did
the talent show one time. This one time it was
(09:36):
for to get into the big, the big, big talent show,
which was called the Hollywood Talent Night. So anyway, I
do the first show and I come in second place,
and the guy that was throwing the talent shows. His
(09:58):
name was Marie Starr. He told me, you need to
go back and get some get some background singers and
dancers behind you to make you know the show a
lot better, your show a lot better, and you come
back here and you'll kill him. And I went back
(10:20):
into the projects, found my friends, you know, Ricky and
Michael Bivens, and then we we found Ralph. Ralph was
in a group with Ricky, so Ricky brought Ralph to
the table, but me, Mike and Ricky started the group
new audition and Rob brought Ralph in and then all
(10:43):
of a sudden, it was just we went to do
the talent show and.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
It was mean. It was something mean. Wow, it was
something real mean.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
Let me ask you this brother, from the time the
was it Maurice they ran the Talent show from that time.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
He said, hey boy, to get some backup.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
You'll know one you'll never look back from that time
until you actually got out and put the band.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
How long did that take?
Speaker 2 (11:08):
That took all of three years? Oh wow, because we
came out when I was fourteen years old. That's when
New Edition first hit. The hit the hit the airwaves
at fourteen I was the youngest, you know, and the
rest of the guys are older than me. But it
(11:30):
was great times, man, have it to have a hit
record and not really know what a hit record really meant,
you know, just hearing it on the radio.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
What was the first Where were you? Do you remember
the first time you heard the song on the radio?
Speaker 2 (11:46):
I was in the projects, listening out the window, looking
out my window, and they was playing it outside this
on the jukebox. The jukebox was outside, believe, one of
the older adults was listening to the radio in his car.
(12:06):
So we heard that. We heard it come on the radio,
and everybody just started screaming.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
You know, they're excited.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
Everybody was excited.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
One of our own is doing well, this is Bobby,
this fucking Bobby from such and such street.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
Everybody just started calling each other, calling each other out
the windows, out the window, and it was just something
that I'll never forget. I'll never forget that day.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
That's a magical day, man, That's the movie moment, right, yeah,
wow wow.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
And then from that time, right the song's coming out,
you guys are obviously getting more popular. When did it
become like, oh fuck, I'm famous. This is big. We're
on the road, Like, what was that?
Speaker 2 (12:50):
Like that transformation, that transformation happened when when I started
to we started to travel, we started to travel a
lot more because we were just basically doing New York City, Connecticut,
maybe Washington when we first started out, and then when
(13:12):
we started traveling to like Los Angeles and Texas and.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
First time out seeing these different cities. Yes, yes, what
wou sound like you you're with the band, you're seeing Yeah, Walkerton, We're.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
See, We're seeing We're seeing places that we've never seen before.
We're going walking, strolling down Hollywood Boulevard. You know, all
of us, you know, little kids.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
How old were you then?
Speaker 2 (13:36):
We were like fourteen fifteen years old?
Speaker 1 (13:38):
Wow? And who was shoperning you?
Speaker 2 (13:40):
We had We had my older brother, my older brother Tommy,
he would you know my mother told, you know, my
our manager, that I couldn't go anywhere unless I took
my brother with me. And my brother was with us.
We had a man named Khalil, who God rest is soul.
(14:08):
We had a few other you know, other you know,
other security gods and other you know, just handlers that
that was with us.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
And so you're playing these shows the band's becoming more popular,
a lot of screaming girls, a lot of money, a
lot huh. And what's going through your head? Are you
like I fucking made her? Were you scared? Were you nervous?
Or you just like, bring this ship on?
Speaker 2 (14:35):
I want more? It was it was it was that
it was bringing on. You know, we wanted I wanted
to be successful as I possibly could be. I wanted
to do things in this industry that had never been done.
I wanted to do television. I wanted to be on
you know, I wanted to just be seen, you know,
(15:00):
that was our thing. Then to be seen is everything.
Speaker 3 (15:05):
And from that time at fourteen, when did you guys?
Speaker 1 (15:09):
So what year is that? Now?
Speaker 2 (15:11):
Fourteen? I was that when I was fourteen, baby, I
had to be that had to be eighty four, eighty four.
Speaker 3 (15:21):
So we're talking the birth of MTV. Yeah right, we're
talking the birth of I Want My MTV. You were
in the right time, the right place.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
Of course.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
You had the moves, brother, right, got the moves, Bobby.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
So what so what was the first video came out?
Speaker 2 (15:36):
First video that came out was Candy Girl, right wow?
That was shot in Boston, Massachusetts. Candy Girl was the
first one. Then we came we traveled to London and
shot two new videos, which was Popcorn Love and uh
kind of Girl. I like her some some she gives
(15:58):
me a bang, She gives me a bang. And that
was our first time in London and our last time.
Speaker 1 (16:07):
And well what happened in London, brother, Well in.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
London we didn't like the food. We didn't like the
food at all. We didn't like anything about any They
couldn't bring us anything to eat, and we were all young,
and you know, we wanted our McDonald's. We wanted, you know,
(16:32):
you want some food, and they brought us to this
place called Whimpies, not Blimpis, but it was Wimpies. It
was like it was like it was like a burger spot,
like a McDonald's, but it was Wimpies, and it was horrible.
It was horrible. So we were just mad and just
(16:56):
you know, pissed off. So every every televison this show
we went to, we were just like, y'all don't have
any food here. This place sucks, and we we just
we burnt our whole career in Europe just by that
with that one one shot because we was hungry and
(17:17):
we couldn't get nothing to eat? Wow, wow, wow show.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
Were you drinking then?
Speaker 2 (17:24):
No?
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Nothing? You were straight then?
Speaker 4 (17:26):
Right?
Speaker 2 (17:26):
Were straight?
Speaker 1 (17:27):
You were nothing too about business doing having fun?
Speaker 2 (17:30):
Right? I think we smoked a little weed back then.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
And then obviously you guys blew up. Yes, right? And
when is like the full scale tour start?
Speaker 2 (17:41):
The full scale tours started? What was it? The Candy
Girl tour? And it was that was the most fun
we ever had in our lives. We was on all
on the tour bus, you know, groupies and you know
(18:03):
we're little kids, but we're little small adults, you know,
so we would get into a lot a lot of trouble,
all of us, you know, wasn't just me, It was
all of us. Yes, team effort.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
And when you think back at that time, what do
you what comes to mind.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
For you wanting more, wanting to make more money, because
we wasn't making money. We were just touring and hanging
out and touring and hanging out and hanging out. And
we would do it only on the weekday. Only on
the weekends. We would go from Boston to New York
(18:51):
play five shows a night in New York City, all borroughs,
all five boroughs, and then we'd get back into the
car on Sunday and get back into tour bus and
go back to Boston. And then the next weekend we'll
(19:12):
go to Washington, d C. Do a string of shows,
get back on the bus, go back to Boston, and
go back to school. We were still in school. We
didn't leave school until until we signed with the big
record label, MCA Records.
Speaker 3 (19:30):
Oh wow, you're going back, And what was it like
now that you're becoming famous, going back to the neighborhood?
Speaker 2 (19:37):
That was? That was That was a lot of fun
because you know, we were we were the popular kids.
We became the popular kids in the neighborhood. We had,
you know, little goat carts we had, we had little
motorbikes and we would just ride around the city and
everybody knew us. So that part was a lot of fun.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
And do you remember.
Speaker 3 (20:01):
But you know, I've had a lot of musicians or
clients that I worked with over the years, and one
of the things that I loved talking to about is
maybe it's backstage or they run into something somebody looked
up that was famous that they looked up to, and
they're coming backstage to hear you perform and they're saying, yeah,
we love your music. I like, is there somebody in
mind that comes to mind the first person that you
(20:23):
looked up to that saw one of your shows or
said I love your work?
Speaker 2 (20:26):
Bobby Rick James. Rick James was the first person that wow,
that saw us performing in New York City at one
of the night clubs and he was getting ready to
go on tour and he was like, I want these
young kids to open up for me because I guess
because we could bring in sure, bring in the draw
(20:48):
of the women, the young the young girls. And but
he was the first one that that that really said
to us that he loved what we were doing and
he's proud of us, and you know he just kept us,
he kept us under his wings, so to speak. Wow.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
And so you toured with Rick James.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
Told Rick James, how we told Rick James for about
about a year, about a year.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
Right, that must have been something.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
Oh it was. It was everything for me because that
was my idol. You know, that's who I you know,
was patting in my performance style. After after a.
Speaker 3 (21:35):
While and in that year, Bobby, what was the biggest
takeaway was the best learning lesson you got from Rick.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
The best learning lesson I got from Rick was to
always give you all on stage. When you go out
on that stage, give everything you got one, give all
of you and leave it out there. Yeh beautiful. Yeah
wow wow wow.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
So okay. You're with a new addition for how long
total total?
Speaker 2 (22:11):
I think four years? Four years before the breakup? And
what was it?
Speaker 1 (22:18):
What was the decision for you to like, I'm going
to do my own thing.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
The decision was made by New Edition. I started becoming
really wild and started to become crazy and you know,
hung out late nights and started drinking, and it was
just like they couldn't take it. There was just there
(22:47):
was still this bubblegum act and I didn't want to
be a bubblegum act anymore. I wanted to do my
own type of music. I wanted to I wanted to
branch off and do something funky. And they didn't see
it that way.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
And they're like, hey, Bobby, we love you, but you're out.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
It was like peace and were you like if I
can do my own thing or you're like heart broke?
Speaker 2 (23:12):
I was basically I was heartbroken, but at the same time,
the record label had came to me and told me
that because of how the contract was h they have
to do something with me, even though I'm out of
the group, they have to do a solo something on me.
(23:33):
And I ended up getting signed to MCA Records and
doing my first solo album and hitting number one for
the first time by myself, and and it just felt
it felt really good.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
Okay, from the time you left the band too, when
your songs number one, did your alcoholism start progressing pretty strong?
Speaker 1 (24:01):
Then I started to kind of keep it down.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
For a little bit. I started I would drink, you know,
I would drink beer and smoke marijuana. That was that
was that was what I did. That was my thing.
But I would never do it right before I go
on stage. I would do it after. It would be
all after party and then the next day wake up
(24:29):
and do the same shit again.
Speaker 3 (24:32):
Right, repeat, right, and and during that time walk me through.
But I want to learn about you mentally, like you.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
Have unparallel success. You got a few bucks in your
pocket now, right?
Speaker 2 (24:48):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (24:48):
Yeah, where are you living now?
Speaker 2 (24:51):
I'm living in California. You're here living in California.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
Yeah, living in California. Okay, how old are you?
Speaker 2 (24:59):
I'm just turning seventeen eighteen years old.
Speaker 3 (25:03):
So you're you're in Los Angeles now, Yes, you're in
LA right now?
Speaker 1 (25:07):
Okay, and how old are years? Eighteen?
Speaker 2 (25:10):
I'm about seventeen eighteen years old.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
Right, And who's who's watching it now? I have?
Speaker 2 (25:16):
I brought my whole family out, my mom, my dad,
my sisters, my brother, right, and we moved out to Tarzana.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
Right, White Tarzana.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
Tarzana was the one place we found. We found a
comfortable home for us that it made sense.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
You know, that's interesting.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
My mom actually gave me the.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
Master suite, so it was it was pretty cool. What
was that like all together? I mean, how did that
work for everybody? Your family was so important to you?
Speaker 2 (25:54):
My family was everything to me, right, Yeah, you know,
I don't think guy, I would be the man that
I am without, you know, having the family that I have.
They are they are crazy, they are loving, you know, overprotective,
(26:18):
you know, and you know that's just that's just the Browns.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Yeah, this is just but it's smart because a part
of you, I guess, knew that you needed that level
supervision and didn't move into West Hollywood or Beverly Hills
or something like you needed a little that's interesting. So
you had a little bit of maturity.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
A little bit, A little bit right, A little bit.
Speaker 3 (26:36):
Okay, And so what is your days like back then?
You're you're touring, you're what you're enjoying life.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
My days were were swimming, My days were getting up
and going to the studio. I would go to the
studio every day, every day to try to, you know,
make make some music that I felt would sell, you know.
So I was in the studio a lot with different
(27:05):
different producers and until until it just really clicked. And
when it clicked, it was just it was there, right, wow, wow,
wow wow.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
Okay, let me just ask you this. Go through your
journey here a little bit.
Speaker 3 (27:24):
You're having fun, You're still enjoying music alike, right, your
addictions not too crazy, no drama, really a little bit
of a bad boy, but nothing too funky.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
Right, nothing too funky at that time?
Speaker 1 (27:35):
Okay, when does it get funky?
Speaker 2 (27:39):
It gets funky. When I really started to feel myself,
I really started to notice that I was, you know,
a really big artist in this in this in this game.
And then I started hanging around some of the wrong
(28:00):
people out here in Los Angeles, going to nightclubs and
and just doing doing things that I shouldn't have been doing.
I believe I started smoking weed way too much. I
noticed that I had I had learned to roll a
(28:26):
joint with one hand, which was which was something that
was almost literally impossible for many people. Yeah, So I
learned to roll a joint with one hand, and I
would smoke that much. I just just always was smoking
weed and always having to having to drink by my bedside.
(28:52):
And then I started drinking hard liquor because I didn't
I never liked hard liquor, only like beer. Then I
started drinking kognac and getting into other substances, you know, cocaine,
and it just it just started to wear and tearror
(29:14):
on me, and before I knew it, I didn't have
control of it anymore.
Speaker 3 (29:21):
How old were you, Bobby when you realize, like, fuck,
I got I got a prom?
Speaker 1 (29:26):
Here did something happened twenty six or you're twenty six?
Speaker 2 (29:31):
Memory?
Speaker 1 (29:32):
What walk us through that?
Speaker 2 (29:34):
Twenty six years old? I had gotten married to the
late Great Whitney Houston, of course, and just parties was unlimited,
you know, we would partying all the time. Lots of
(30:00):
work but most party, you know, So from that point
it was just to me. It just I started taking
off work and missing shows and not wanting, not wanting
to go to work, you know, too high to walk
(30:21):
on stage, you know, ship like that started.
Speaker 3 (30:27):
And were you showing the disease? It didn't bother you
that you were at one time the continent professional and
you would never dream of doing this. Was that in
your head or were you just like so deep in
your d I don't give a fun.
Speaker 2 (30:40):
Was always in my head, you know, knowing that how
professional I like to keep myself, you know before I
go on stage, My my, my, my therapy. Before I
went on stage, I had switched, totally switched. It went
(31:02):
from you know, prayer, you know, and hyping everybody up
to having to smoke a joint right, having to take
a swing. You know, it just started started getting worse
and worse and worse and worse and worse and worse.
Speaker 3 (31:22):
And when during that period twenty six, when did you
take a break for a while did you have a bottom?
Because I know you've had stops and starts, right, what
was the first time you actually kind of got clean?
Speaker 2 (31:36):
I got clean? Uh? I think it was at twenty
six when I went to betty Ford and I ended
up leaving betty Ford because one of the counselors had
called called the inquirer and told him I was in there.
(31:56):
Over there, they sold me out. So and it's just
it's just it threw me off. Great excuse I had.
I had the perfect excuse to you sold me out.
But I had the perfect excuse to leave and go
(32:17):
back and start doing it again. And you know, I'm
just grateful that God he not only gave me second chance,
third chance, fourth chance, he keeps he keeps on me
(32:40):
about my sickness because it is a disease and I
got it from somewhere, you know, and I know where.
But now now I know how to gathering myself before
(33:01):
I get to the point of destruction again.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
Yeah, right on.
Speaker 3 (33:07):
And as you know on this show and you know me,
and when I was speaking to your lovely wife, for
I'm not so interested in war stories. You know, we
all know, right, we all know it is what it is.
I'm more interested in the revolution of your soul and
your spirit, yes, and this reclamation of what you're meant
to do on this planet, and your love of your
family and your wife and your music and what you're doing.
(33:27):
So that's I think we should start getting into that.
Speaker 2 (33:29):
You'll do it, let's do it.
Speaker 3 (33:31):
So we've got to do one thing though, dear brother,
when was the moment where you tapped out because you've
been sober?
Speaker 2 (33:37):
How long? Now? I've been sober? How long?
Speaker 4 (33:40):
Now?
Speaker 1 (33:44):
That's right? You know your you should know your sobriety
day about.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
Yeah, it's in my phone.
Speaker 1 (33:51):
It's funny.
Speaker 3 (33:52):
You remember the album you listened to when you were
six years old, but you can't remember your sobriety day.
Speaker 2 (33:56):
I can't remember my sobriety day.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
That's okay, Well that might change after the show. I'll
never forget to get it. Yeah, all right, it's been
how long it's been a while though?
Speaker 2 (34:05):
Long?
Speaker 4 (34:05):
Well narcotics, you've been over seventeen years?
Speaker 3 (34:08):
Yeah, yep, right, okay, So let's go back when he
said I'm done?
Speaker 1 (34:16):
Oh yeah, yeah, where were you?
Speaker 2 (34:18):
What happened? I was? I was locked up in Fulton
County jail and that was the that was the last candle,
last candle to blowout. I realized that I had been
doing drugs were over fifteen years of my life and
(34:42):
I was only a certain age, and it was just like,
this is going to kill me. So I just I
sucked it up. I was on horowing and and and
and crack at the same time. And when I went
(35:04):
to jail and I had to kick without without anything,
and by the grace of God, I was able to
do so. Yeah, six months later I came out of
here a better man.
Speaker 1 (35:18):
A better man. Yeah, much better man. Okay, all right,
how do you stay sober?
Speaker 2 (35:24):
One day?
Speaker 1 (35:25):
How do you stay sober? People want to does Bobby
Brown stay sober?
Speaker 2 (35:28):
This one day at a time? It's one It's literally
one day at a time.
Speaker 4 (35:34):
You know.
Speaker 2 (35:35):
I try to stick close to my wife as possible
because she is my rock. You know, my family, my kids,
they are, you know, such great supporters. It's great support team.
You know, family members that that believe in me and
(35:56):
trusted and believe in the fact that what I've wanted
all of this time is what I have right now,
and that's happiness. And I'm finally happy and grateful that
I'm here speaking to you.
Speaker 1 (36:14):
Yeah, me too, buddy.
Speaker 3 (36:15):
Now let's go back. Let's talk about this great love story,
because it's a great fucking love I hope you Thank God,
every day because you had to fuck a little twice
with her brother. I always tell people, I hope I
find a and my you know, to take care of me.
Somebody you found it, and God bless you man for
that brother.
Speaker 1 (36:33):
Where did you kids meet at?
Speaker 2 (36:36):
We met at a at a dance studio when we
were younger. I was I was younger, she was a
lot younger, and she was in a dance dance crew
and I was, you know, rehearsing for my for my
world tour, for the Don't Be Crewe World Tour, and
(37:00):
I spotted her and it was just like I was
just like, what the fuck is that, you know? And
I approached her and she, you know, she shrugged me off.
She shrugged me off so many times. And we were
just friends. We just became friends because my camp and
(37:23):
her camp. One of my one of my people started
dating one of her friends and they've got real serious,
and it was just like it was just like okay.
So when we came to town, whenever we came back home,
came back here to Los Angeles, we called him. Well.
(37:44):
I would tell him to call her so that I
could see Alicia, and she would be like, no, I
don't want to see him. I don't want to see him.
It's not my type. He's not my type. And uh,
I just I just basically stay persistent.
Speaker 4 (38:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (38:06):
I was just like, I'm not gonna take no for
an answer, and I kept after her.
Speaker 1 (38:11):
And then but how many years from that initial meeting
in that rehearsal room to where you're like, she gave
you a shot.
Speaker 2 (38:21):
Not to after after I got divorced from my from
my my first first wife, she gave me a shot
after that. Once I came out here again, I was
living in my car basically, and I would park. She
(38:44):
would let me park my car in a driveway so
that I can get rest when I was out of
the studio. Then she finally let me in the house
and it was nice. It was nice, you know, wow,
wow in your car, in my car. Yeah, nowhere to go. Broke, broke, fop,
(39:12):
broken man.
Speaker 1 (39:14):
Broken.
Speaker 2 (39:15):
I was just a broken man.
Speaker 1 (39:17):
Yeah right, and she saw something in you?
Speaker 2 (39:22):
Mm hmmm, right, what did she say?
Speaker 1 (39:24):
I mean she to ask her to what did you
see it?
Speaker 4 (39:26):
You can go from car into the house.
Speaker 1 (39:29):
Thank you for that.
Speaker 2 (39:30):
You guessed the whole doubt that.
Speaker 1 (39:32):
Okay, it's right.
Speaker 2 (39:33):
We did we read that, Uh, he.
Speaker 4 (39:36):
Was out here in Los Angeles and I didn't know
that he had, you know, moved out here. Uh, and
you were still you were obviously going through a divorced Yeah,
a lot of trial custody situations. And but you could
tell when I saw him, I saw my friend again
(39:56):
who was trying to get his life back together. So
he it asked for me to help him. And I
was in the business at that time a couple of things.
He just wanted me to look over for him. He
was on the right track, doing the right things. And
and I think, you know, that's where our friendship really
came through, because he needed someone and he trusted me
(40:18):
and I was there for him. And yeah, that's how we.
Speaker 2 (40:21):
Re rekindled the friendship.
Speaker 3 (40:26):
And from that moment on went from that. From that time,
when did when did you like, I think I'm.
Speaker 1 (40:33):
Falling in love with him?
Speaker 4 (40:34):
Oh yeah, wow, Yeah, there.
Speaker 2 (40:36):
Was a point while there There was some time.
Speaker 4 (40:39):
Yeah, I mean I was I mean, you know, there
was like litigation and you were going through but I
want him dearly as a friend, and we just had
something special that we obvious had, right. He definitely he
(41:00):
went through the divorce, went through a lot of that,
and then he had been getting to get it sober.
I mean I could see that he wanted to be well.
So it was a lot of that, and get it
back into your career was a major fake. So when
I saw Bobby grows as an individual, right, as a
grown man, just kind of separate.
Speaker 2 (41:22):
Then.
Speaker 3 (41:24):
Wow, this is so beautiful. When you were telling the
story about I watched Bobby and I saw.
Speaker 1 (41:34):
His little boy light up.
Speaker 3 (41:36):
I saw the sweetness in him retelling that story because
it's it's really Oh fuck man, what do you want
to do?
Speaker 1 (41:42):
What do you want to tell her?
Speaker 2 (41:43):
Right now?
Speaker 4 (41:43):
Say?
Speaker 1 (41:44):
What do you want to say to her? Yes, she knows,
I get it.
Speaker 2 (41:48):
That's my that's my better half.
Speaker 3 (41:50):
Yeah, and my god, okay, fuck man, it's beautiful in
your car, right, she sees something going through the divorce.
All the public adolation, people just on you. You figure
it out, you slowly, get back, you get healthy, you
get sober. Yeah, right, get your back out, get your
first job.
Speaker 1 (42:10):
Boom boom boom. Right, have children, the first child.
Speaker 2 (42:15):
Our first child, cash is right, yes.
Speaker 1 (42:20):
Yeah, and there's two more, the most beautiful kids.
Speaker 2 (42:24):
Body and Hendrick.
Speaker 1 (42:26):
That's right, yeah, right, we got three kids.
Speaker 3 (42:29):
Okay, right, and wow, and you're tour, you're in Vegas,
you're performing.
Speaker 2 (42:35):
I'm performing weekly, yeah, weekly. And in Vegas, the residency
was just uh finished, what was it, February, the end
of February, and we did another gig here at Yamava.
(43:00):
Then we did Miami. You know, I forget what it's
called Jazz in the Garden and we finished up there
and now we're looking forward to going on tour this fall,
new edition and through phenomenal.
Speaker 1 (43:21):
The crowds are loving it. They're crazy, man.
Speaker 2 (43:24):
We sold out Vegas, sold out Vegas.
Speaker 1 (43:27):
Yeah, as you should, brother.
Speaker 2 (43:28):
It was the hottest ticket in Vegas.
Speaker 3 (43:31):
All right, since some blessed I have to ask you this,
dear brother. You know when I got sober in nineteen
eighty seven. So I've been sober thirty eight years now.
Speaker 1 (43:37):
Okay, I don't forget my data. Does Suary five, nineteen
eighty seven body brown?
Speaker 2 (43:43):
Okay, I don't forget that. I gotta know that I
got it. I gotta know mine.
Speaker 1 (43:47):
My sponsor said to me, you know, you should buy
a black suit. We go to a lot of funerals here.
That's kind of a jolting thing, right, right two thousand,
twenty twenty twenty one, I needed two black suits because
of the fetanel crisis. I buried so many fucking people
from shell here WHOA and their families and the sessions
(44:11):
and everything. And you have obviously gone through the death
of three people close to your life. You remain sober
during it?
Speaker 3 (44:19):
Okay, right, talk to people, buddy, that are struggling with loss,
right now, walk if you don't mind, If.
Speaker 2 (44:26):
It's okay, No, I don't mind at all.
Speaker 1 (44:28):
Yes, your process and how you've had to deal with it.
Speaker 2 (44:31):
My process for dealing with loss has been has been.
You know, it's been a struggle. I wouldn't I wouldn't
want to wish it on anybody. I struggle with it
every day. I think about them every day. I lost,
you know, my sister. First, I lost my ex wife. Next,
(44:56):
then I lost my mother, and I lost my father.
Then I lost my daughter, then I lost my son.
And I think prayer and in therapy are the two
things that that has helped me and the love of
(45:16):
my beautiful family has helped me to maintain a sense
of a sense of respect for myself. Because I didn't,
I couldn't. I couldn't respect anything. I couldn't respect God
(45:38):
or anybody for losing all of the people that I lost.
But prayer, with a lot of prayer and a lot
of love for my family, you know, keeps me. It
keeps me. It keeps me sober, It keeps me wanting
(45:59):
to stay sober. It keeps me wanting to be a
better person for the next person that I see going
through the same things that I've gone through. Oh it's beautiful.
Speaker 1 (46:11):
Oh that's beautiful. You know when you were here, you
may or may not remember this. Two things I said.
Speaker 3 (46:17):
One of the things I'm most proud of is any
generational trauma with my son Dylan, and that he's never
visited me in prison, he's never seen me high So
to be able you witness with your three children, for
them not to witness that happened, that's really right.
Speaker 1 (46:30):
Isn't that powerful?
Speaker 2 (46:31):
Man? That's really powerful.
Speaker 1 (46:32):
There's nothing more that's great? Right when I watch you
with your children, you're so lit up. Man.
Speaker 2 (46:38):
That's that's my life, man, that's it right, that's my life, man.
Speaker 1 (46:42):
Yeah, buddy. So And the other thing I said to
you this is I think this is really important. I said, Listen,
your wife has a unique ability to accept you for
who sheet you are. The most loving thing you can
ever do is when you want to get high or
drink or run away, ask her for help, tell her
you're scared, and you've done that. I'm proud of you
(47:05):
for that.
Speaker 2 (47:06):
Brother.
Speaker 1 (47:06):
Not always easy, I know.
Speaker 2 (47:08):
Nah, huh No, it's not. It's not because you know
she's gonna be this, She's gonna support. But I gotta,
I gotta, I gotta be strong, right, you know I
can't turn I can't turn back to drugs, right, drugs
and it killed me.
Speaker 3 (47:27):
Yeah, it'd be over because you're just cold, chunky alcohol.
Speaker 2 (47:31):
Oh my god, you're.
Speaker 1 (47:33):
Not just gonna casual. I'm gonna go Margarita. No, No,
You're like a real fucking alchy man. You're like when
I first learned about you.
Speaker 3 (47:43):
God damn, Bobby's a fucking alcoholic, stone cold brother.
Speaker 2 (47:47):
Yeah, God damn.
Speaker 3 (47:48):
Okay, let's talk about our beloved brother, Michael Gerard Tyson.
Speaker 2 (47:53):
Oh.
Speaker 1 (47:55):
Let's tell when I say Mike's name, what comes to mind?
Speaker 2 (47:57):
Right? He's just he's just must bless your friend, man.
I mean, we've been through this several times together, and
you know we come from basically the same era of
of of success. You know, we both were young when
(48:19):
we got when we when we both became rich, we
were both around the same age, and you know, we
spent our money in stupidly stupid ways and different different
stupid things that we've done in our lives. We've treated
(48:41):
people so many different ways. And I'm just I'm so
proud of him that he has so much love in
his heart right now and so much love to give
to others that it's it's it's it's just a blessing.
Just him just grow.
Speaker 1 (49:04):
You know, he's become a kind, thoughtful human being. Yes,
he has a special cat. There's nobody like him, nobody,
nobody like nobody like him. They got I wish I
had pictures.
Speaker 2 (49:15):
I don't know why.
Speaker 3 (49:15):
I guess you know, when you were here and Mike
was here and you were cooking for all of us, God,
that was the best fucking dinner I've ever had. I
think he had like seventeen days of sobriety. You're out
of your fucking mind, he said, I want to cook
for everybody. Yeah, that was magical.
Speaker 1 (49:29):
Man.
Speaker 3 (49:30):
All right, let's talk about some another Michael that we
both love very much. The Reverend Michael Beck with from
a God Michael with what a special cat.
Speaker 2 (49:37):
Oh man, he's so special.
Speaker 1 (49:39):
He's tapped in right.
Speaker 2 (49:40):
Yes he is. And if anything he says you you
you gotta, you gotta. All you have to do is
listen and you will get the most out of what
life is about and what life, how life can treat
you when you live healthy, when you live, when you
(50:03):
live positive, when you live without a care in this world.
You know, he just has the right words to speak
to you. And he's one of the kindest gentlemen.
Speaker 1 (50:16):
I know, I believe I had this right, but you'll
tell me.
Speaker 3 (50:21):
After the passing of your daughter, he made a recommendation
for you to go to way to Costa.
Speaker 1 (50:26):
Rica and try this process. Yes, this audience through that.
Speaker 2 (50:30):
This this process is living, eating and uh when meditation,
it's about getting your getting becoming one with yourself. Also,
there's ayahuasca there where you know. You take this this
(50:52):
this potion from from what is it root the roots
of different diferent different plants and different fruits and vegetables,
and you take this medicine and it just it brings
you to another a whole nother.
Speaker 1 (51:13):
Place deeper level surrender, deeper.
Speaker 2 (51:16):
Way deeper level of It's something that I'm proud of.
I've tried and I I recommended for those who are
going through loss. It's it's a great place. Rhythmia rhythma
(51:38):
in Costa Rica. Look it up.
Speaker 3 (51:41):
And and and you did it a couple of times, correct, Yes,
And your wife joined you in a couple of those, right,
And I'm assuming it brought you guys closer.
Speaker 2 (51:48):
It brought us so close together. I called her after
my first week there, and she just I was on
FaceTime and she saw this look in my eyes and
it's looking in my face like she didn't know who
I was because I had changed so much. I had
(52:10):
I had better love for myself. I respected myself a
lot more. And I just I just I just had
that that that hope and drive again because of it.
Speaker 1 (52:28):
You know, Ayahuasca is surgery on the soul.
Speaker 2 (52:31):
Yeah, yeah, is it right?
Speaker 1 (52:34):
These little workers coming and go, well, we gotta fix
this area. You gotta put a little light here and
oh no too much darkness here. We do that and
your heart opens and you see things. Let me ask
you that during your your journeys, did you talk to
anybody from the past, did anybody come in your consciousness,
you had a conversation with anybody?
Speaker 2 (52:52):
I had the snake. The snake came to me, and
they say, the snake is the highest power that that
mother ayahuasca could give you, that could show you. And
I reconnected with my children, which were everything to me.
(53:18):
That just that, just that, knowing that at any point
I could just think about them and smile instead of
thinking about him and being sad, knowing that they're in
a better place, knowing that they are together, knowing that
they are having fun and and and and and just
(53:38):
enjoying what what God has given them. And that's everlasting life.
Speaker 1 (53:44):
Oh that's beautiful, man, Oh God, that's nice.
Speaker 2 (53:46):
Huh, it's beautiful.
Speaker 1 (53:48):
That's nice. And you deserve that, brother, I deserve peace.
You put your time in. Thank you, you put your
time in. And and let me just in this is there.
When are your happiest, Bobby.
Speaker 2 (53:59):
I'm my happiest when I'm sitting and looking at my family. Yeah,
looking at them, smile. We're playing a game or something,
or we're in the car singing. You know. Yeah, I'm
happiest when I'm.
Speaker 1 (54:19):
Thinking for with your family and my immediate family, my wife,
your three children. Yeah, oh my gosh. Okay, let me
ask you this, dear brother.
Speaker 3 (54:31):
Folks are struggling right now. Folks are confused. People want
to get high. What's your advice for them right now?
The folks that are about on the edge right now?
What's your counsel to them? What do you want to
say to them right now?
Speaker 2 (54:44):
Pray, get a good prayer in go do something that
that isn't toxic, you know, because we tend to want
to do toxic things. Get a hobby, you know, some
(55:07):
type of hobby, whether it be working out, whether it
be you know, painting, whether it be you know, loving
and leaning on your significant other. Just do something that
is positive right on.
Speaker 1 (55:26):
Congratulations on your freedom. Thank you, emancipation from this darkness.
Speaker 2 (55:31):
I know, I know it's it's incredible.
Speaker 1 (55:33):
And never, dear brother, forget where you came from. No ever, Okay,
I won't.
Speaker 3 (55:38):
Keep letting her keep a good eye on it of
me all the time. And I can't wait to witness
what's next for you and your family and all the
great things you're gonna do in the world.
Speaker 1 (55:49):
And I'm so excited that you're having fun in your life.
Speaker 2 (55:51):
Brother.
Speaker 1 (55:52):
Oh thank you brother, thanks for making time.
Speaker 2 (55:54):
Oh yeah, all the time.
Speaker 1 (55:55):
All right, I love you so much. All right, brother beautiful.
Speaker 3 (55:58):
The Sales Show is a production of iHeart Podcasts, hosted
by me Cina McFarlane, produced by pod People in twenty eighth.
Av Our lead producer is Keith Cornlick, Our executive producer
is Lindsey Hoffman. Marketing lead is Ashley Weaver. Thank you
so much for listening. We'll see you next week.
How do you stay sober?
Speaker 2 (00:00):
One day?
Speaker 1 (00:01):
How do you stay sober? People want to say, does
Bobby Brown stay sober?
Speaker 2 (00:05):
It's one day at a time, It's one It's literally
one day at a time. You know. I try to
stick close to my wife as possible because she is
my rock. You know, my family, my kids, they are,
you know, such great supporters. It's great support team. You know,
(00:27):
family members that that believe in me and trusting and
believe in the fact that what I've wanted all of
this time is what I have right now. A process
for dealing with loss has been has been. You know,
it's been a struggle. I wouldn't I wouldn't want to
(00:51):
wish it on anybody. I struggle with it every day.
I think about them every day.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
Welcome back to the Cino Show.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Today, we're going to sit down with the man whose
voice helped to find a generation. He's a pioneer of
New Jack Swing, the spark behind New Edition, a solo
stupor superstar who changed the game with swaggers, soul and
raw honesty. But beyond the charts of the headline is
Bobby Brown as the story of survival, of transformation, of
(01:29):
love and loss and this one's personal because part of
Bobby sobriety journal journey was right here, and I've had
the privilege of witness and getting his courage, his growth
and his fight to become the man he is today.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Welcome to the Sino Show, buddy, Welcome back to Shell.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Thank you. I know, I know, I haven't been here
in so long.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
It's been a while.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
I almost passed by. Got trees growing up in front.
He's almost passed it.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Yeah, thank you for making time. And we're we've got
your wife with us here. Yes, the glue, the magic.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
The magic, right, the cement, that's what holds the building up.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Yeah, and that's a real blessing.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Thanks.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
It's good to see you, man.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
It's good to see you too.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
You know, we don't see each other that often, but
when we do, when we can look across the room
and it's like, I love this man so much.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
We're still here, and I think what we're saying is,
isn't it good to be sober?
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Isn't it going to be alive?
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (02:31):
It is, And we're saying I love it to each
other and let's just enjoy this moment, right right, and
let's have some fun let's have some fun because we
like to have fun, Bobby, we know that we still
have to we got to have fun.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
So I think let's just start here. Let's just start
with Boston. Okay, walk me through your youth a little bit.
Walk me what was going through your mind five six
years old? So what was happening back then.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
For bout I'm six years old? I think all I
was thinking about was talent shows and doing talent shows,
doing as many talent shows as I possibly could. I've
been fortunate enough to have a family that supported me
with everything that I wanted to do, which was entertained.
(03:20):
I knew from two years old that I wanted I
wanted to be an entertainer. My mother put me on
stage with James Brown at an intermission concert intermission of
his concert.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Where was that show at?
Speaker 2 (03:33):
That show was at in Boston at the Sugar Shack,
And she put me on the stage and I just
started dancing. I just started wiggling and hearing the crowd raw.
At that time, it was just it was what I
knew I was gonna do at two years old. At
(03:53):
two years.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
Old, so your mom not only believed in your talent,
but she's like, I'm gonna take care of my boy.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
And how did that get James?
Speaker 2 (04:01):
I don't know how she got me into the building
because it was it was a it was a speakeasy,
and I don't know how she got me in, but
she got me in and I was able to just
walk on to get up on stage and just dance,
dance with James. And from that moment on, I was
just like, entertainment is where it is. Entertainment is what
(04:24):
I have to do. So I just used to join
a lot of talent shows in the neighborhood and it
was just that was me. If there was a talent show,
you knew that Bobby Brown was going to join, whether
lose or when win or lose, I was in it. Wow.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
And and so you were a happy kid. You were
very You're happy.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Right, very happy kid, very happy kid. Okay, bad but happy?
Speaker 1 (04:56):
What made you? What made you bad?
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Well? What made me bad was you know, I couldn't
keep my hands to myself. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
I understand.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
Growing up, I fought a lot. I would steal, you know,
just little petty theft type of things, you know, bikes
and candy and stuff from the from the grocery stores.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
And how did your mom deal with that?
Speaker 2 (05:26):
She would punish me. Yeah, she would punish me. Make
me stay in the house and stand in the kitchen
with her and watch her cook and learn all her
great recipes and you know, be the first one to
taste all the foods.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
So that's where you're home some of your cooking skills.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
In the kitchen. That wow.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Okay?
Speaker 3 (05:52):
And then did you know, buddy, did you know like
we're like, am I good? Or like like I'm really fun?
I got something to say. I knew that I wasn't
gonna be silenced.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
I knew that no matter what, I was gonna do
something in life that that meant something to someone else,
that made somebody else smile or made somebody else cry.
I knew I was gonna be doing something like that. Wow.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
And at that time, Robby, who was your biggest inspiration?
Speaker 2 (06:27):
Who are you looking up to? Then? There was so
many James Brown, you know, Michael Jackson, I looked up to,
Rick Chains, I looked up to so many, so many
other artists. Elvis Presley was a big influence on me
because I used to watch his movies consistently. There was
(06:54):
a lot of people that that that really made me,
made me look at life and and say, entertainment is
where it is. Entertainment is what I want to do.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
Right God, And you were I got the sense that
you were, even though you're getting in trouble, you were
hyper focused on who you're going to become and what
you're gonna do, what it's gonna take to get there,
and you're always looking for ideas. You were always studying people, films,
different things.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
Correctly.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
Definitely where if you get that from? Who taught you that?
Was that? From the gate? Was that just in?
Speaker 2 (07:28):
That was? That was my mom, my mom, and my grandmother.
My grandmother used to hold me downstairs in her in
her place and she would have like tons and tons
of just recordings, records, oh wow. And she would just
let me just listen to any kind of music I
(07:49):
wanted to listen to. And that was That's what shaped
my my brain into How do you say there's not
one genre of music that I like. I like all
genres of music. I just chose to do R and B.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
You're right, thank god, you I know right, Thank god,
you brother, my god. I have a hard time seeing
as a country singer although you probably pull it off.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Though.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Let me ask you.
Speaker 3 (08:21):
So, your grandma obviously knew that you were gifted, so
she would bring you down and said, you need to
listen to Sam Cook and here's some version of.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
That, right. Yes. So she would play all types of music,
and if I just wanted to venture off into into
you know, her musical her classical music selections, I could
listen to that and it was just like, you know,
she had such a vast collection of music that it
(08:57):
was just like any any any sound, any job you
could listen to in a living room.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
She became a real student a music. Yes, oh that's beautiful, man.
And then you put a group together. Oh yeah, walk
us through that, brother, What was that?
Speaker 4 (09:12):
Now?
Speaker 1 (09:12):
How old are you?
Speaker 2 (09:13):
I think I was nine or ten years old when
we first put a new audition together. That was like
nineteen seventy eight. And it was just like it was
just something that needed to happen. I went and did
the talent show one time. This one time it was
(09:36):
for to get into the big, the big, big talent show,
which was called the Hollywood Talent Night. So anyway, I
do the first show and I come in second place,
and the guy that was throwing the talent shows. His
(09:58):
name was Marie Starr. He told me, you need to
go back and get some get some background singers and
dancers behind you to make you know the show a
lot better, your show a lot better, and you come
back here and you'll kill him. And I went back
(10:20):
into the projects, found my friends, you know, Ricky and
Michael Bivens, and then we we found Ralph. Ralph was
in a group with Ricky, so Ricky brought Ralph to
the table, but me, Mike and Ricky started the group
new audition and Rob brought Ralph in and then all
(10:43):
of a sudden, it was just we went to do
the talent show and.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
It was mean. It was something mean. Wow, it was
something real mean.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
Let me ask you this brother, from the time the
was it Maurice they ran the Talent show from that time.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
He said, hey boy, to get some backup.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
You'll know one you'll never look back from that time
until you actually got out and put the band.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
How long did that take?
Speaker 2 (11:08):
That took all of three years? Oh wow, because we
came out when I was fourteen years old. That's when
New Edition first hit. The hit the hit the airwaves
at fourteen I was the youngest, you know, and the
rest of the guys are older than me. But it
(11:30):
was great times, man, have it to have a hit
record and not really know what a hit record really meant,
you know, just hearing it on the radio.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
What was the first Where were you? Do you remember
the first time you heard the song on the radio?
Speaker 2 (11:46):
I was in the projects, listening out the window, looking
out my window, and they was playing it outside this
on the jukebox. The jukebox was outside, believe, one of
the older adults was listening to the radio in his car.
(12:06):
So we heard that. We heard it come on the radio,
and everybody just started screaming.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
You know, they're excited.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
Everybody was excited.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
One of our own is doing well, this is Bobby,
this fucking Bobby from such and such street.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
Everybody just started calling each other, calling each other out
the windows, out the window, and it was just something
that I'll never forget. I'll never forget that day.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
That's a magical day, man, That's the movie moment, right, yeah,
wow wow.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
And then from that time, right the song's coming out,
you guys are obviously getting more popular. When did it
become like, oh fuck, I'm famous. This is big. We're
on the road, Like, what was that?
Speaker 2 (12:50):
Like that transformation, that transformation happened when when I started
to we started to travel, we started to travel a
lot more because we were just basically doing New York City, Connecticut,
maybe Washington when we first started out, and then when
(13:12):
we started traveling to like Los Angeles and Texas and.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
First time out seeing these different cities. Yes, yes, what
wou sound like you you're with the band, you're seeing Yeah, Walkerton, We're.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
See, We're seeing We're seeing places that we've never seen before.
We're going walking, strolling down Hollywood Boulevard. You know, all
of us, you know, little kids.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
How old were you then?
Speaker 2 (13:36):
We were like fourteen fifteen years old?
Speaker 1 (13:38):
Wow? And who was shoperning you?
Speaker 2 (13:40):
We had We had my older brother, my older brother Tommy,
he would you know my mother told, you know, my
our manager, that I couldn't go anywhere unless I took
my brother with me. And my brother was with us.
We had a man named Khalil, who God rest is soul.
(14:08):
We had a few other you know, other you know,
other security gods and other you know, just handlers that
that was with us.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
And so you're playing these shows the band's becoming more popular,
a lot of screaming girls, a lot of money, a
lot huh. And what's going through your head? Are you
like I fucking made her? Were you scared? Were you nervous?
Or you just like, bring this ship on?
Speaker 2 (14:35):
I want more? It was it was it was that
it was bringing on. You know, we wanted I wanted
to be successful as I possibly could be. I wanted
to do things in this industry that had never been done.
I wanted to do television. I wanted to be on
you know, I wanted to just be seen, you know,
(15:00):
that was our thing. Then to be seen is everything.
Speaker 3 (15:05):
And from that time at fourteen, when did you guys?
Speaker 1 (15:09):
So what year is that? Now?
Speaker 2 (15:11):
Fourteen? I was that when I was fourteen, baby, I
had to be that had to be eighty four, eighty four.
Speaker 3 (15:21):
So we're talking the birth of MTV. Yeah right, we're
talking the birth of I Want My MTV. You were
in the right time, the right place.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
Of course.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
You had the moves, brother, right, got the moves, Bobby.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
So what so what was the first video came out?
Speaker 2 (15:36):
First video that came out was Candy Girl, right wow?
That was shot in Boston, Massachusetts. Candy Girl was the
first one. Then we came we traveled to London and
shot two new videos, which was Popcorn Love and uh
kind of Girl. I like her some some she gives
(15:58):
me a bang, She gives me a bang. And that
was our first time in London and our last time.
Speaker 1 (16:07):
And well what happened in London, brother, Well in.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
London we didn't like the food. We didn't like the
food at all. We didn't like anything about any They
couldn't bring us anything to eat, and we were all young,
and you know, we wanted our McDonald's. We wanted, you know,
(16:32):
you want some food, and they brought us to this
place called Whimpies, not Blimpis, but it was Wimpies. It
was like it was like it was like a burger spot,
like a McDonald's, but it was Wimpies, and it was horrible.
It was horrible. So we were just mad and just
(16:56):
you know, pissed off. So every every televison this show
we went to, we were just like, y'all don't have
any food here. This place sucks, and we we just
we burnt our whole career in Europe just by that
with that one one shot because we was hungry and
(17:17):
we couldn't get nothing to eat? Wow, wow, wow show.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
Were you drinking then?
Speaker 2 (17:24):
No?
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Nothing? You were straight then?
Speaker 4 (17:26):
Right?
Speaker 2 (17:26):
Were straight?
Speaker 1 (17:27):
You were nothing too about business doing having fun?
Speaker 2 (17:30):
Right? I think we smoked a little weed back then.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
And then obviously you guys blew up. Yes, right? And
when is like the full scale tour start?
Speaker 2 (17:41):
The full scale tours started? What was it? The Candy
Girl tour? And it was that was the most fun
we ever had in our lives. We was on all
on the tour bus, you know, groupies and you know
(18:03):
we're little kids, but we're little small adults, you know,
so we would get into a lot a lot of trouble,
all of us, you know, wasn't just me, It was
all of us. Yes, team effort.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
And when you think back at that time, what do
you what comes to mind.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
For you wanting more, wanting to make more money, because
we wasn't making money. We were just touring and hanging
out and touring and hanging out and hanging out. And
we would do it only on the weekday. Only on
the weekends. We would go from Boston to New York
(18:51):
play five shows a night in New York City, all borroughs,
all five boroughs, and then we'd get back into the
car on Sunday and get back into tour bus and
go back to Boston. And then the next weekend we'll
(19:12):
go to Washington, d C. Do a string of shows,
get back on the bus, go back to Boston, and
go back to school. We were still in school. We
didn't leave school until until we signed with the big
record label, MCA Records.
Speaker 3 (19:30):
Oh wow, you're going back, And what was it like
now that you're becoming famous, going back to the neighborhood?
Speaker 2 (19:37):
That was? That was That was a lot of fun
because you know, we were we were the popular kids.
We became the popular kids in the neighborhood. We had,
you know, little goat carts we had, we had little
motorbikes and we would just ride around the city and
everybody knew us. So that part was a lot of fun.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
And do you remember.
Speaker 3 (20:01):
But you know, I've had a lot of musicians or
clients that I worked with over the years, and one
of the things that I loved talking to about is
maybe it's backstage or they run into something somebody looked
up that was famous that they looked up to, and
they're coming backstage to hear you perform and they're saying, yeah,
we love your music. I like, is there somebody in
mind that comes to mind the first person that you
(20:23):
looked up to that saw one of your shows or
said I love your work?
Speaker 2 (20:26):
Bobby Rick James. Rick James was the first person that wow,
that saw us performing in New York City at one
of the night clubs and he was getting ready to
go on tour and he was like, I want these
young kids to open up for me because I guess
because we could bring in sure, bring in the draw
(20:48):
of the women, the young the young girls. And but
he was the first one that that that really said
to us that he loved what we were doing and
he's proud of us, and you know he just kept us,
he kept us under his wings, so to speak. Wow.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
And so you toured with Rick James.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
Told Rick James, how we told Rick James for about
about a year, about a year.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
Right, that must have been something.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
Oh it was. It was everything for me because that
was my idol. You know, that's who I you know,
was patting in my performance style. After after a.
Speaker 3 (21:35):
While and in that year, Bobby, what was the biggest
takeaway was the best learning lesson you got from Rick.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
The best learning lesson I got from Rick was to
always give you all on stage. When you go out
on that stage, give everything you got one, give all
of you and leave it out there. Yeh beautiful. Yeah
wow wow wow.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
So okay. You're with a new addition for how long
total total?
Speaker 2 (22:11):
I think four years? Four years before the breakup? And
what was it?
Speaker 1 (22:18):
What was the decision for you to like, I'm going
to do my own thing.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
The decision was made by New Edition. I started becoming
really wild and started to become crazy and you know,
hung out late nights and started drinking, and it was
just like they couldn't take it. There was just there
(22:47):
was still this bubblegum act and I didn't want to
be a bubblegum act anymore. I wanted to do my
own type of music. I wanted to I wanted to
branch off and do something funky. And they didn't see
it that way.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
And they're like, hey, Bobby, we love you, but you're out.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
It was like peace and were you like if I
can do my own thing or you're like heart broke?
Speaker 2 (23:12):
I was basically I was heartbroken, but at the same time,
the record label had came to me and told me
that because of how the contract was h they have
to do something with me, even though I'm out of
the group, they have to do a solo something on me.
(23:33):
And I ended up getting signed to MCA Records and
doing my first solo album and hitting number one for
the first time by myself, and and it just felt
it felt really good.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
Okay, from the time you left the band too, when
your songs number one, did your alcoholism start progressing pretty strong?
Speaker 1 (24:01):
Then I started to kind of keep it down.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
For a little bit. I started I would drink, you know,
I would drink beer and smoke marijuana. That was that
was that was what I did. That was my thing.
But I would never do it right before I go
on stage. I would do it after. It would be
all after party and then the next day wake up
(24:29):
and do the same shit again.
Speaker 3 (24:32):
Right, repeat, right, and and during that time walk me through.
But I want to learn about you mentally, like you.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
Have unparallel success. You got a few bucks in your
pocket now, right?
Speaker 2 (24:48):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (24:48):
Yeah, where are you living now?
Speaker 2 (24:51):
I'm living in California. You're here living in California.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
Yeah, living in California. Okay, how old are you?
Speaker 2 (24:59):
I'm just turning seventeen eighteen years old.
Speaker 3 (25:03):
So you're you're in Los Angeles now, Yes, you're in
LA right now?
Speaker 1 (25:07):
Okay, and how old are years? Eighteen?
Speaker 2 (25:10):
I'm about seventeen eighteen years old.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
Right, And who's who's watching it now? I have?
Speaker 2 (25:16):
I brought my whole family out, my mom, my dad,
my sisters, my brother, right, and we moved out to Tarzana.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
Right, White Tarzana.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
Tarzana was the one place we found. We found a
comfortable home for us that it made sense.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
You know, that's interesting.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
My mom actually gave me the.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
Master suite, so it was it was pretty cool. What
was that like all together? I mean, how did that
work for everybody? Your family was so important to you?
Speaker 2 (25:54):
My family was everything to me, right, Yeah, you know,
I don't think guy, I would be the man that
I am without, you know, having the family that I have.
They are they are crazy, they are loving, you know, overprotective,
(26:18):
you know, and you know that's just that's just the Browns.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Yeah, this is just but it's smart because a part
of you, I guess, knew that you needed that level
supervision and didn't move into West Hollywood or Beverly Hills
or something like you needed a little that's interesting. So
you had a little bit of maturity.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
A little bit, A little bit right, A little bit.
Speaker 3 (26:36):
Okay, And so what is your days like back then?
You're you're touring, you're what you're enjoying life.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
My days were were swimming, My days were getting up
and going to the studio. I would go to the
studio every day, every day to try to, you know,
make make some music that I felt would sell, you know.
So I was in the studio a lot with different
(27:05):
different producers and until until it just really clicked. And
when it clicked, it was just it was there, right, wow, wow,
wow wow.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
Okay, let me just ask you this. Go through your
journey here a little bit.
Speaker 3 (27:24):
You're having fun, You're still enjoying music alike, right, your
addictions not too crazy, no drama, really a little bit
of a bad boy, but nothing too funky.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
Right, nothing too funky at that time?
Speaker 1 (27:35):
Okay, when does it get funky?
Speaker 2 (27:39):
It gets funky. When I really started to feel myself,
I really started to notice that I was, you know,
a really big artist in this in this in this game.
And then I started hanging around some of the wrong
(28:00):
people out here in Los Angeles, going to nightclubs and
and just doing doing things that I shouldn't have been doing.
I believe I started smoking weed way too much. I
noticed that I had I had learned to roll a
(28:26):
joint with one hand, which was which was something that
was almost literally impossible for many people. Yeah, So I
learned to roll a joint with one hand, and I
would smoke that much. I just just always was smoking
weed and always having to having to drink by my bedside.
(28:52):
And then I started drinking hard liquor because I didn't
I never liked hard liquor, only like beer. Then I
started drinking kognac and getting into other substances, you know, cocaine,
and it just it just started to wear and tearror
(29:14):
on me, and before I knew it, I didn't have
control of it anymore.
Speaker 3 (29:21):
How old were you, Bobby when you realize, like, fuck,
I got I got a prom?
Speaker 1 (29:26):
Here did something happened twenty six or you're twenty six?
Speaker 2 (29:31):
Memory?
Speaker 1 (29:32):
What walk us through that?
Speaker 2 (29:34):
Twenty six years old? I had gotten married to the
late Great Whitney Houston, of course, and just parties was unlimited,
you know, we would partying all the time. Lots of
(30:00):
work but most party, you know, So from that point
it was just to me. It just I started taking
off work and missing shows and not wanting, not wanting
to go to work, you know, too high to walk
(30:21):
on stage, you know, ship like that started.
Speaker 3 (30:27):
And were you showing the disease? It didn't bother you
that you were at one time the continent professional and
you would never dream of doing this. Was that in
your head or were you just like so deep in
your d I don't give a fun.
Speaker 2 (30:40):
Was always in my head, you know, knowing that how
professional I like to keep myself, you know before I
go on stage, My my, my, my therapy. Before I
went on stage, I had switched, totally switched. It went
(31:02):
from you know, prayer, you know, and hyping everybody up
to having to smoke a joint right, having to take
a swing. You know, it just started started getting worse
and worse and worse and worse and worse and worse.
Speaker 3 (31:22):
And when during that period twenty six, when did you
take a break for a while did you have a bottom?
Because I know you've had stops and starts, right, what
was the first time you actually kind of got clean?
Speaker 2 (31:36):
I got clean? Uh? I think it was at twenty
six when I went to betty Ford and I ended
up leaving betty Ford because one of the counselors had
called called the inquirer and told him I was in there.
(31:56):
Over there, they sold me out. So and it's just
it's just it threw me off. Great excuse I had.
I had the perfect excuse to you sold me out.
But I had the perfect excuse to leave and go
(32:17):
back and start doing it again. And you know, I'm
just grateful that God he not only gave me second chance,
third chance, fourth chance, he keeps he keeps on me
(32:40):
about my sickness because it is a disease and I
got it from somewhere, you know, and I know where.
But now now I know how to gathering myself before
(33:01):
I get to the point of destruction again.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
Yeah, right on.
Speaker 3 (33:07):
And as you know on this show and you know me,
and when I was speaking to your lovely wife, for
I'm not so interested in war stories. You know, we
all know, right, we all know it is what it is.
I'm more interested in the revolution of your soul and
your spirit, yes, and this reclamation of what you're meant
to do on this planet, and your love of your
family and your wife and your music and what you're doing.
(33:27):
So that's I think we should start getting into that.
Speaker 2 (33:29):
You'll do it, let's do it.
Speaker 3 (33:31):
So we've got to do one thing though, dear brother,
when was the moment where you tapped out because you've
been sober?
Speaker 2 (33:37):
How long? Now? I've been sober? How long?
Speaker 4 (33:40):
Now?
Speaker 1 (33:44):
That's right? You know your you should know your sobriety
day about.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
Yeah, it's in my phone.
Speaker 1 (33:51):
It's funny.
Speaker 3 (33:52):
You remember the album you listened to when you were
six years old, but you can't remember your sobriety day.
Speaker 2 (33:56):
I can't remember my sobriety day.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
That's okay, Well that might change after the show. I'll
never forget to get it. Yeah, all right, it's been
how long it's been a while though?
Speaker 2 (34:05):
Long?
Speaker 4 (34:05):
Well narcotics, you've been over seventeen years?
Speaker 3 (34:08):
Yeah, yep, right, okay, So let's go back when he
said I'm done?
Speaker 1 (34:16):
Oh yeah, yeah, where were you?
Speaker 2 (34:18):
What happened? I was? I was locked up in Fulton
County jail and that was the that was the last candle,
last candle to blowout. I realized that I had been
doing drugs were over fifteen years of my life and
(34:42):
I was only a certain age, and it was just like,
this is going to kill me. So I just I
sucked it up. I was on horowing and and and
and crack at the same time. And when I went
(35:04):
to jail and I had to kick without without anything,
and by the grace of God, I was able to
do so. Yeah, six months later I came out of
here a better man.
Speaker 1 (35:18):
A better man. Yeah, much better man. Okay, all right,
how do you stay sober?
Speaker 2 (35:24):
One day?
Speaker 1 (35:25):
How do you stay sober? People want to does Bobby
Brown stay sober?
Speaker 2 (35:28):
This one day at a time? It's one It's literally
one day at a time.
Speaker 4 (35:34):
You know.
Speaker 2 (35:35):
I try to stick close to my wife as possible
because she is my rock. You know, my family, my kids,
they are, you know, such great supporters. It's great support team.
You know, family members that that believe in me and
(35:56):
trusted and believe in the fact that what I've wanted
all of this time is what I have right now,
and that's happiness. And I'm finally happy and grateful that
I'm here speaking to you.
Speaker 1 (36:14):
Yeah, me too, buddy.
Speaker 3 (36:15):
Now let's go back. Let's talk about this great love story,
because it's a great fucking love I hope you Thank God,
every day because you had to fuck a little twice
with her brother. I always tell people, I hope I
find a and my you know, to take care of me.
Somebody you found it, and God bless you man for
that brother.
Speaker 1 (36:33):
Where did you kids meet at?
Speaker 2 (36:36):
We met at a at a dance studio when we
were younger. I was I was younger, she was a
lot younger, and she was in a dance dance crew
and I was, you know, rehearsing for my for my
world tour, for the Don't Be Crewe World Tour, and
(37:00):
I spotted her and it was just like I was
just like, what the fuck is that, you know? And
I approached her and she, you know, she shrugged me off.
She shrugged me off so many times. And we were
just friends. We just became friends because my camp and
(37:23):
her camp. One of my one of my people started
dating one of her friends and they've got real serious,
and it was just like it was just like okay.
So when we came to town, whenever we came back home,
came back here to Los Angeles, we called him. Well.
(37:44):
I would tell him to call her so that I
could see Alicia, and she would be like, no, I
don't want to see him. I don't want to see him.
It's not my type. He's not my type. And uh,
I just I just basically stay persistent.
Speaker 4 (38:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (38:06):
I was just like, I'm not gonna take no for
an answer, and I kept after her.
Speaker 1 (38:11):
And then but how many years from that initial meeting
in that rehearsal room to where you're like, she gave
you a shot.
Speaker 2 (38:21):
Not to after after I got divorced from my from
my my first first wife, she gave me a shot
after that. Once I came out here again, I was
living in my car basically, and I would park. She
(38:44):
would let me park my car in a driveway so
that I can get rest when I was out of
the studio. Then she finally let me in the house
and it was nice. It was nice, you know, wow,
wow in your car, in my car. Yeah, nowhere to go. Broke, broke, fop,
(39:12):
broken man.
Speaker 1 (39:14):
Broken.
Speaker 2 (39:15):
I was just a broken man.
Speaker 1 (39:17):
Yeah right, and she saw something in you?
Speaker 2 (39:22):
Mm hmmm, right, what did she say?
Speaker 1 (39:24):
I mean she to ask her to what did you
see it?
Speaker 4 (39:26):
You can go from car into the house.
Speaker 1 (39:29):
Thank you for that.
Speaker 2 (39:30):
You guessed the whole doubt that.
Speaker 1 (39:32):
Okay, it's right.
Speaker 2 (39:33):
We did we read that, Uh, he.
Speaker 4 (39:36):
Was out here in Los Angeles and I didn't know
that he had, you know, moved out here. Uh, and
you were still you were obviously going through a divorced Yeah,
a lot of trial custody situations. And but you could
tell when I saw him, I saw my friend again
(39:56):
who was trying to get his life back together. So
he it asked for me to help him. And I
was in the business at that time a couple of things.
He just wanted me to look over for him. He
was on the right track, doing the right things. And
and I think, you know, that's where our friendship really
came through, because he needed someone and he trusted me
(40:18):
and I was there for him. And yeah, that's how we.
Speaker 2 (40:21):
Re rekindled the friendship.
Speaker 3 (40:26):
And from that moment on went from that. From that time,
when did when did you like, I think I'm.
Speaker 1 (40:33):
Falling in love with him?
Speaker 4 (40:34):
Oh yeah, wow, Yeah, there.
Speaker 2 (40:36):
Was a point while there There was some time.
Speaker 4 (40:39):
Yeah, I mean I was I mean, you know, there
was like litigation and you were going through but I
want him dearly as a friend, and we just had
something special that we obvious had, right. He definitely he
(41:00):
went through the divorce, went through a lot of that,
and then he had been getting to get it sober.
I mean I could see that he wanted to be well.
So it was a lot of that, and get it
back into your career was a major fake. So when
I saw Bobby grows as an individual, right, as a
grown man, just kind of separate.
Speaker 2 (41:22):
Then.
Speaker 3 (41:24):
Wow, this is so beautiful. When you were telling the
story about I watched Bobby and I saw.
Speaker 1 (41:34):
His little boy light up.
Speaker 3 (41:36):
I saw the sweetness in him retelling that story because
it's it's really Oh fuck man, what do you want
to do?
Speaker 1 (41:42):
What do you want to tell her?
Speaker 2 (41:43):
Right now?
Speaker 4 (41:43):
Say?
Speaker 1 (41:44):
What do you want to say to her? Yes, she knows,
I get it.
Speaker 2 (41:48):
That's my that's my better half.
Speaker 3 (41:50):
Yeah, and my god, okay, fuck man, it's beautiful in
your car, right, she sees something going through the divorce.
All the public adolation, people just on you. You figure
it out, you slowly, get back, you get healthy, you
get sober. Yeah, right, get your back out, get your
first job.
Speaker 1 (42:10):
Boom boom boom. Right, have children, the first child.
Speaker 2 (42:15):
Our first child, cash is right, yes.
Speaker 1 (42:20):
Yeah, and there's two more, the most beautiful kids.
Speaker 2 (42:24):
Body and Hendrick.
Speaker 1 (42:26):
That's right, yeah, right, we got three kids.
Speaker 3 (42:29):
Okay, right, and wow, and you're tour, you're in Vegas,
you're performing.
Speaker 2 (42:35):
I'm performing weekly, yeah, weekly. And in Vegas, the residency
was just uh finished, what was it, February, the end
of February, and we did another gig here at Yamava.
(43:00):
Then we did Miami. You know, I forget what it's
called Jazz in the Garden and we finished up there
and now we're looking forward to going on tour this fall,
new edition and through phenomenal.
Speaker 1 (43:21):
The crowds are loving it. They're crazy, man.
Speaker 2 (43:24):
We sold out Vegas, sold out Vegas.
Speaker 1 (43:27):
Yeah, as you should, brother.
Speaker 2 (43:28):
It was the hottest ticket in Vegas.
Speaker 3 (43:31):
All right, since some blessed I have to ask you this,
dear brother. You know when I got sober in nineteen
eighty seven. So I've been sober thirty eight years now.
Speaker 1 (43:37):
Okay, I don't forget my data. Does Suary five, nineteen
eighty seven body brown?
Speaker 2 (43:43):
Okay, I don't forget that. I gotta know that I
got it. I gotta know mine.
Speaker 1 (43:47):
My sponsor said to me, you know, you should buy
a black suit. We go to a lot of funerals here.
That's kind of a jolting thing, right, right two thousand,
twenty twenty twenty one, I needed two black suits because
of the fetanel crisis. I buried so many fucking people
from shell here WHOA and their families and the sessions
(44:11):
and everything. And you have obviously gone through the death
of three people close to your life. You remain sober
during it?
Speaker 3 (44:19):
Okay, right, talk to people, buddy, that are struggling with loss,
right now, walk if you don't mind, If.
Speaker 2 (44:26):
It's okay, No, I don't mind at all.
Speaker 1 (44:28):
Yes, your process and how you've had to deal with it.
Speaker 2 (44:31):
My process for dealing with loss has been has been.
You know, it's been a struggle. I wouldn't I wouldn't
want to wish it on anybody. I struggle with it
every day. I think about them every day. I lost,
you know, my sister. First, I lost my ex wife. Next,
(44:56):
then I lost my mother, and I lost my father.
Then I lost my daughter, then I lost my son.
And I think prayer and in therapy are the two
things that that has helped me and the love of
(45:16):
my beautiful family has helped me to maintain a sense
of a sense of respect for myself. Because I didn't,
I couldn't. I couldn't respect anything. I couldn't respect God
(45:38):
or anybody for losing all of the people that I lost.
But prayer, with a lot of prayer and a lot
of love for my family, you know, keeps me. It
keeps me. It keeps me sober, It keeps me wanting
(45:59):
to stay sober. It keeps me wanting to be a
better person for the next person that I see going
through the same things that I've gone through. Oh it's beautiful.
Speaker 1 (46:11):
Oh that's beautiful. You know when you were here, you
may or may not remember this. Two things I said.
Speaker 3 (46:17):
One of the things I'm most proud of is any
generational trauma with my son Dylan, and that he's never
visited me in prison, he's never seen me high So
to be able you witness with your three children, for
them not to witness that happened, that's really right.
Speaker 1 (46:30):
Isn't that powerful?
Speaker 2 (46:31):
Man? That's really powerful.
Speaker 1 (46:32):
There's nothing more that's great? Right when I watch you
with your children, you're so lit up. Man.
Speaker 2 (46:38):
That's that's my life, man, that's it right, that's my life, man.
Speaker 1 (46:42):
Yeah, buddy. So And the other thing I said to
you this is I think this is really important. I said, Listen,
your wife has a unique ability to accept you for
who sheet you are. The most loving thing you can
ever do is when you want to get high or
drink or run away, ask her for help, tell her
you're scared, and you've done that. I'm proud of you
(47:05):
for that.
Speaker 2 (47:06):
Brother.
Speaker 1 (47:06):
Not always easy, I know.
Speaker 2 (47:08):
Nah, huh No, it's not. It's not because you know
she's gonna be this, She's gonna support. But I gotta,
I gotta, I gotta be strong, right, you know I
can't turn I can't turn back to drugs, right, drugs
and it killed me.
Speaker 3 (47:27):
Yeah, it'd be over because you're just cold, chunky alcohol.
Speaker 2 (47:31):
Oh my god, you're.
Speaker 1 (47:33):
Not just gonna casual. I'm gonna go Margarita. No, No,
You're like a real fucking alchy man. You're like when
I first learned about you.
Speaker 3 (47:43):
God damn, Bobby's a fucking alcoholic, stone cold brother.
Speaker 2 (47:47):
Yeah, God damn.
Speaker 3 (47:48):
Okay, let's talk about our beloved brother, Michael Gerard Tyson.
Speaker 2 (47:53):
Oh.
Speaker 1 (47:55):
Let's tell when I say Mike's name, what comes to mind?
Speaker 2 (47:57):
Right? He's just he's just must bless your friend, man.
I mean, we've been through this several times together, and
you know we come from basically the same era of
of of success. You know, we both were young when
(48:19):
we got when we when we both became rich, we
were both around the same age, and you know, we
spent our money in stupidly stupid ways and different different
stupid things that we've done in our lives. We've treated
(48:41):
people so many different ways. And I'm just I'm so
proud of him that he has so much love in
his heart right now and so much love to give
to others that it's it's it's it's just a blessing.
Just him just grow.
Speaker 1 (49:04):
You know, he's become a kind, thoughtful human being. Yes,
he has a special cat. There's nobody like him, nobody,
nobody like nobody like him. They got I wish I
had pictures.
Speaker 2 (49:15):
I don't know why.
Speaker 3 (49:15):
I guess you know, when you were here and Mike
was here and you were cooking for all of us, God,
that was the best fucking dinner I've ever had. I
think he had like seventeen days of sobriety. You're out
of your fucking mind, he said, I want to cook
for everybody. Yeah, that was magical.
Speaker 1 (49:29):
Man.
Speaker 3 (49:30):
All right, let's talk about some another Michael that we
both love very much. The Reverend Michael Beck with from
a God Michael with what a special cat.
Speaker 2 (49:37):
Oh man, he's so special.
Speaker 1 (49:39):
He's tapped in right.
Speaker 2 (49:40):
Yes he is. And if anything he says you you
you gotta, you gotta. All you have to do is
listen and you will get the most out of what
life is about and what life, how life can treat
you when you live healthy, when you live, when you
(50:03):
live positive, when you live without a care in this world.
You know, he just has the right words to speak
to you. And he's one of the kindest gentlemen.
Speaker 1 (50:16):
I know, I believe I had this right, but you'll
tell me.
Speaker 3 (50:21):
After the passing of your daughter, he made a recommendation
for you to go to way to Costa.
Speaker 1 (50:26):
Rica and try this process. Yes, this audience through that.
Speaker 2 (50:30):
This this process is living, eating and uh when meditation,
it's about getting your getting becoming one with yourself. Also,
there's ayahuasca there where you know. You take this this
(50:52):
this potion from from what is it root the roots
of different diferent different plants and different fruits and vegetables,
and you take this medicine and it just it brings
you to another a whole nother.
Speaker 1 (51:13):
Place deeper level surrender, deeper.
Speaker 2 (51:16):
Way deeper level of It's something that I'm proud of.
I've tried and I I recommended for those who are
going through loss. It's it's a great place. Rhythmia rhythma
(51:38):
in Costa Rica. Look it up.
Speaker 3 (51:41):
And and and you did it a couple of times, correct, Yes,
And your wife joined you in a couple of those, right,
And I'm assuming it brought you guys closer.
Speaker 2 (51:48):
It brought us so close together. I called her after
my first week there, and she just I was on
FaceTime and she saw this look in my eyes and
it's looking in my face like she didn't know who
I was because I had changed so much. I had
(52:10):
I had better love for myself. I respected myself a
lot more. And I just I just I just had
that that that hope and drive again because of it.
Speaker 1 (52:28):
You know, Ayahuasca is surgery on the soul.
Speaker 2 (52:31):
Yeah, yeah, is it right?
Speaker 1 (52:34):
These little workers coming and go, well, we gotta fix
this area. You gotta put a little light here and
oh no too much darkness here. We do that and
your heart opens and you see things. Let me ask
you that during your your journeys, did you talk to
anybody from the past, did anybody come in your consciousness,
you had a conversation with anybody?
Speaker 2 (52:52):
I had the snake. The snake came to me, and
they say, the snake is the highest power that that
mother ayahuasca could give you, that could show you. And
I reconnected with my children, which were everything to me.
(53:18):
That just that, just that, knowing that at any point
I could just think about them and smile instead of
thinking about him and being sad, knowing that they're in
a better place, knowing that they are together, knowing that
they are having fun and and and and and just
(53:38):
enjoying what what God has given them. And that's everlasting life.
Speaker 1 (53:44):
Oh that's beautiful, man, Oh God, that's nice.
Speaker 2 (53:46):
Huh, it's beautiful.
Speaker 1 (53:48):
That's nice. And you deserve that, brother, I deserve peace.
You put your time in. Thank you, you put your
time in. And and let me just in this is there.
When are your happiest, Bobby.
Speaker 2 (53:59):
I'm my happiest when I'm sitting and looking at my family. Yeah,
looking at them, smile. We're playing a game or something,
or we're in the car singing. You know. Yeah, I'm
happiest when I'm.
Speaker 1 (54:19):
Thinking for with your family and my immediate family, my wife,
your three children. Yeah, oh my gosh. Okay, let me
ask you this, dear brother.
Speaker 3 (54:31):
Folks are struggling right now. Folks are confused. People want
to get high. What's your advice for them right now?
The folks that are about on the edge right now?
What's your counsel to them? What do you want to
say to them right now?
Speaker 2 (54:44):
Pray, get a good prayer in go do something that
that isn't toxic, you know, because we tend to want
to do toxic things. Get a hobby, you know, some
(55:07):
type of hobby, whether it be working out, whether it
be you know, painting, whether it be you know, loving
and leaning on your significant other. Just do something that
is positive right on.
Speaker 1 (55:26):
Congratulations on your freedom. Thank you, emancipation from this darkness.
Speaker 2 (55:31):
I know, I know it's it's incredible.
Speaker 1 (55:33):
And never, dear brother, forget where you came from. No ever, Okay,
I won't.
Speaker 3 (55:38):
Keep letting her keep a good eye on it of
me all the time. And I can't wait to witness
what's next for you and your family and all the
great things you're gonna do in the world.
Speaker 1 (55:49):
And I'm so excited that you're having fun in your life.
Speaker 2 (55:51):
Brother.
Speaker 1 (55:52):
Oh thank you brother, thanks for making time.
Speaker 2 (55:54):
Oh yeah, all the time.
Speaker 1 (55:55):
All right, I love you so much. All right, brother beautiful.
Speaker 3 (55:58):
The Sales Show is a production of iHeart Podcasts, hosted
by me Cina McFarlane, produced by pod People in twenty eighth.
Av Our lead producer is Keith Cornlick, Our executive producer
is Lindsey Hoffman. Marketing lead is Ashley Weaver. Thank you
so much for listening. We'll see you next week.
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