INTERVIEW: MC Lyte On New Album, The Evolution Of Hip Hop, Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett, Personal Life + More

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Wake that ass up in the morning.

Speaker 2 (00:02):
Breakfast Club Morning, everybody in st j Envy, Jess, hilarious,
Charlamagne the guy.

Speaker 3 (00:09):
We are the Breakfast Club. We got a special guest.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
In the building icon a legend, royalty man, Ladies and gentlemen,
we have MC light Welcome.

Speaker 1 (00:19):
Thank you.

Speaker 3 (00:20):
How are you feeling this morning?

Speaker 1 (00:22):
I feel good. I feel energized. The weather is really
giving me New York.

Speaker 3 (00:27):
Yes, it's New York. Horrible, horrible. It's the first time
you've been on Breakfast Club.

Speaker 4 (00:34):
No, No, how do you feel when you hear that icon?

Speaker 1 (00:41):
You know?

Speaker 4 (00:41):
Legend, it's all true. Pioneers is another one you should add.
How do you feel because you look a little taken
aback when you heard it?

Speaker 1 (00:48):
No, actually, that's not what I felt coming through the hallway.
I didn't expect big and a big style.

Speaker 3 (00:58):
You know.

Speaker 1 (00:59):
It feels good, I guess, yeah. I feel like I'm
still doing work, you know. And I think there's also
a whole host of people that really don't understand why
other people say that.

Speaker 5 (01:12):
Well, one of the reasons.

Speaker 4 (01:13):
You are the first female rapper to release a full
solo album with Light as of Rock back in eighty eight.
Did you even understand the gravity of that. Did you
even know what that meant back then?

Speaker 1 (01:24):
Absolutely not. Yeah, No, I went in. As a matter
of fact, I can look at it now and see
that it was an audition. But when they asked me
to come to Staten Island to meet with the record label,
I just was going. I had my little rhyme book.
I asked my mom could I go? I think it
was on a school night, and so I met the

(01:45):
guy that really I grew up in hip hop with.
As a matter of fact, I write my rhymes the
same way that he taught me how to write my rhymes.

Speaker 5 (01:53):
Wow.

Speaker 1 (01:54):
And so I got on the ferry. I went all
the way over there, and you know, I had my
rhyme book. I pulled it out. I said my rock
milk was like, say something to this, okay, And I
say something to that, you know, And literally that's how
I crammed understand you and paper thin and light as
a rock and all of that was born. But No,
I just felt like I was I was just doing

(02:15):
what I loved.

Speaker 3 (02:16):
What got you into to rapping back then? Right?

Speaker 2 (02:19):
Because everybody thought back then it was gonna be a trend,
it was gonna be here for a little bit and
then gone and growing up in Queens. What got you
into saying I want to do this and what made
you say I'm gonna take it serious to make this
a quote unquote career.

Speaker 1 (02:32):
Right, Well, I grew up in Brooklyn, Brooklyn.

Speaker 3 (02:33):
I don't know why.

Speaker 1 (02:34):
It was just a little different, although I did spend
a lot of time in Queens, in far Rockaway, that's
where my grandfather lived. I think after listening to Mellie
mel with the message and sequence and you know, all
of the cold crushed brothers, and spending time in Harlem
with my grandmother and all of my cousins over there,

(02:55):
it wasn't until I heard Salt and Pepper, And then
when I heard them, I was like, oh, wait a
minut in it. I think I might be able to
do this. And then at that time I felt like
I had something to say, which was I kram to
understand you, you know, the drug scene and seeing crackheads
in Brooklyn, seeing heroin addicts in Harlem. It was like, Okay,
I got a message from my generation.

Speaker 5 (03:15):
Didn't you.

Speaker 3 (03:16):
You lived in Brooklyn for a second, right, No, I
was born in Brooklyn.

Speaker 4 (03:19):
Oh, somebody told me that y'all lived like a block
away from each other between Rutland between ninety first and
ninety second in Rutland Road.

Speaker 2 (03:28):
Yeah, my grandfather lived there, so I would go there
in the summers to see my grandfather.

Speaker 1 (03:32):
We see, I was on the summer in the summers,
I was with my.

Speaker 5 (03:35):
Grandfather in Queens. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (03:37):
That's why, because people always seen you in Queens and
people always see me in there in that in Starres City.
So I have a grandfather in on over there, and
then I had one in Starres City. So back then,
what your parents did in the summer time when you
off for school, there was no camp. They drop you
off a grandpa's house and then they pick you back
up on Friday. So I would I would spend a
lot of time.

Speaker 4 (03:54):
In Brooklyn because you was ea East flat Bush between
each flash Butch on the borderline of Brownsville.

Speaker 1 (04:01):
Yeah, yeah, New Lots, Sutter Ave and I think once
you crossed that train track you was in Brownsville, which
I shopped in Picking Avenue. That's where you get the
cheap sandals, jellies and lees and things that you needed
to look cool. In what I call the Caribbean part
of Brooklyn. I'm a fake in Jamaican too.

Speaker 4 (04:23):
Yes, how were you able to clear like all the
violence that's them from like that the crack era?

Speaker 1 (04:29):
Oh I don't. God, you know, I've seen, matter of fact,
all of the guys that I grew up with, the
olde of Roughneck to all of the guys that I
grew up with are no longer here.

Speaker 3 (04:40):
Wow.

Speaker 1 (04:41):
Yeah, they all died by the hand of violence.

Speaker 2 (04:45):
But you know, looking at how you grew up in Brooklyn,
you know, I always say that the same thing with queens.
I always used to say that even though selling drugs
were bad, there was some type of I would say,
they would control the streets right, so you wouldn't see
a lot of the crime that you see now. Back
then you would see a lot of drug dealers shooting

(05:07):
each other. But now it just seems like there is
no nothing. It just seems like people are running wild.
Did you notice that back then, where it was like
it was rules like you don't mess with older women.

Speaker 3 (05:17):
You don't rest with the kids.

Speaker 2 (05:18):
If the kids were doing something wrong, the drug dealers
would actually tell them, no, no, you got to straighten up,
or this, that and the other.

Speaker 3 (05:23):
I don't see that anymore.

Speaker 2 (05:24):
And I feel like, as fed up as it sounds,
I feel like that's why the streets are a little
messed up. There is nobody out there controlling the streets
and making the kids do the right thing.

Speaker 3 (05:32):
Did you see that as well growing up?

Speaker 1 (05:33):
You know, I hadn't thought about it, but now that
you put it out there, it does seem a little lawless,
like if anything goes and very much no rhyme or reason,
you know. So yeah, I think back in the days,
it's like, no, leave that one alone, that's not it.
Or you know, like I've heard stories from pac and

(05:54):
different guys that said they wanted to go that route,
but the guy said, nah, this ain't for you. Stay
over there. We're going to support you in that area
and not try to tempt you over here. So yeah, no,
I don't think. I don't know if that exists. It might.

Speaker 4 (06:09):
You said something else to you said, you want to
go audition like those they had auditions back.

Speaker 1 (06:13):
Yeah, but I didn't know it was an audition.

Speaker 5 (06:15):
Ok.

Speaker 1 (06:15):
It wasn't until later I was like, yeah, I guess
I was auditioning, you know, because they wanted to see
what I had. The guy that I grew up with
writing rhymes with or whatever. He called me up. He
was like, there's a record label they're looking for a female.
M see, do you want to go out there? And
literally it hinged on my mother saying yes or no,
so she was like, you know what, okay? And at

(06:38):
that point I had been going to Latin Quarters and
I had already recorded with Clark Kent because he was
a friend of a girl that used to work at
chi Che's Mexican restaurant, because that's where I work. And
I met him and I said I had this rhyme
and he was like, come to Brooklyn. You know the
innocence of it all here. I am going to this

(06:58):
guy's basement in Brooklyn, and like it could have ended
so many different ways. However, I laid the first rendition
of O Kram to understand you down on there. So
by the time I got to Milk and Them, I
had already been with George Lucy and who was Full
Force's father. He would come over. I would rehearse with
the brush in the living room and get my chops
up sand salt and pepperonns and actually a much more

(07:22):
comfortable speaking like this, But because I've always been taught
to come from the diaphragm. I'm always on extra. So
when I talk like this, people like, what's wrong, I'm
just talking.

Speaker 2 (07:35):
Do you remember when you got your first deal and
how much the first deal was, how much you got paid.

Speaker 1 (07:39):
I don't even think. Well, I got an advance which
was five thousand dollars Jesus, and I took that five
thousand dollars and I put it on my Jetta like
the whole thing, like, oh, yeah, that's all I need
is a car. But then when I started touring, when

(08:00):
I started making money, and then I got a house,
and then without budgeting or anything, by the time I
furnished the house, I had nothing to cover my windows
with and so I had to.

Speaker 3 (08:16):
Put sheets and blind I had to put sheets.

Speaker 1 (08:20):
Up in the window and have my manager stop buy
and be okay with that scene. And it wasn't until
I went out on the road the next time that
I could finish the house. So, you know, there's so
much more money being made in this business, and I
can only hope that the youngins are doing the right

(08:42):
thing with it, because there are ebbs and flows.

Speaker 5 (08:46):
Absolutely, were you in high school in your first single? Yeah? Wow? Great.

Speaker 1 (08:51):
I was in the Great. No, I think I was
in my last year of school.

Speaker 5 (08:57):
With a whole single out.

Speaker 1 (08:59):
Yeah, yeah, single came out in the winter, and so
I was in school and I wanted to grad. I
wanted to get out of school early, so I took
extra courses at Boys and Girls High the summer before.
So I was out by January and I was headed
to Norfolk State University. I already put my money in.
I was gonna be a well, like I'm a Sigma

(09:21):
Gamma roll soro right now, but I was headed somewhere else.
So in any case, I went and decided I needed
a job until I was gonna I was gonna save
my money up, and so I went and became a messenger,
so I know every street.

Speaker 3 (09:36):
In New York City.

Speaker 1 (09:39):
And so I did that, and yeah, I was in school.

Speaker 3 (09:44):
So you never went to Norfolk.

Speaker 1 (09:45):
I never made it to Norfolk State University because I
got the record deal and my mother was like, this
is just too much. You can't go away and do
this and do that.

Speaker 2 (09:55):
Because most parents would be like no, no, no, forget this
rap I'd go into that wanted.

Speaker 1 (10:00):
To be separated, and because it's just she and I
and so I went to Hunter for two days and
on the second day they said, there's a tour in Copenhagen,
you the Youngsters and Audio two, and that was it.

Speaker 2 (10:18):
And you went out there. Did you get any money
from because you sold millions of records? Did you get
any of that publishing royalties anything back?

Speaker 3 (10:25):
Then?

Speaker 1 (10:28):
Slightly slightly, but nothing like you should I should have.

Speaker 5 (10:32):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (10:33):
I mean this is a treacherous game. And what's interesting
is on the internet now is like every nook and
cranny you can see truth being told.

Speaker 5 (10:41):
Which is really true.

Speaker 1 (10:44):
Well, yeah, you got some people that are just like, look,
this is how the record deal works.

Speaker 3 (10:50):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (10:50):
No, which I think is really admirable of those people
to kind of speak their truth.

Speaker 4 (10:55):
You mentioned Audio two. We all related the room that
was Matt Robinson of the Yeah.

Speaker 1 (11:02):
I mean it wasn't It wasn't something that other people
came up with. It was the story that we told. Yeah,
And it was because you know, Nat Robinson, who was
my manager, basically took me on as one of his
children and he had to sit down talk with my
mom and she was like, Okay, what's happening here. He
was like, We're going to take care of her, and

(11:23):
literally when I would get off of the stage, I
would be right back in the hotel room. There was
no room for me to mess around or mess up
and have you know, stories being told about mc light.
So I thank him for keeping me safe. And because
of that, his children became somewhat like my brothers.

Speaker 4 (11:46):
Wow, So that's interesting record. We hear all the challenges
that female rappers face now, so I can only imagine
how it is when you're the first person over the hill.
The first person over the hill takes all the shots.
So I was gonna ask, how did you just?

Speaker 5 (11:59):
I guess they protected. Was it because of people like that?

Speaker 1 (12:02):
Yeah, definitely because of that Robinson? And then also because
of security. When I think about back in those days,
I had three security guards with me at all times,
simply because we just didn't know what would happen or
could happen, and you don't want it to happen. And
then you know, it's almost like leaving your bag in
a car. You don't why leave it in the car.

(12:25):
Then you're gonna have to chase down how you know
who has it? How can I get it back? So
we didn't want anything to happen and yeah, I paid
three security guards and.

Speaker 3 (12:36):
That was that. Your mom's idea, was that the label's
idea or.

Speaker 1 (12:38):
No, it was management because we didn't want to take
any chances. And I think it wasn't until maybe I
was twenty five I took my first trip alone, which
was really enlightening because I felt like all that time
I had I couldn't see because they was in front
of me. So once I was like, oh, wow, did
you go this is life? It might have been Kona,

(13:04):
it might have been Yeah, what the hell's ConA Hawaii?

Speaker 3 (13:07):
Hawaii, Hawaii? Like he knew it was. You didn't know
what corner was.

Speaker 5 (13:10):
I didn't.

Speaker 4 (13:11):
I was just going to later. But did did your
life change in high school?

Speaker 5 (13:17):
Like? Is that when the startom first kicked in?

Speaker 1 (13:20):
Uh? Yeah, I guess it was when people started to
recognize me. Oh but you know what because they knew
I told him I was coming out with a record.
But while I was doing messenger work, is when I
went to deliver the package to the is it the
great building? The Grayson Building is somewhere on off the

(13:43):
forties on the east side, And I went into the
mail room and this guy say yo yo yo, and
he called some people from the back. He said, that's
empty light.

Speaker 2 (13:54):
I was like, oh, how the hell, I.

Speaker 1 (13:57):
Said, what do you know? He said, I got the
magazine and it was a picture of k Rock and I.
So it was like, oh shit, my cover is blown.

Speaker 5 (14:07):
Did you quit?

Speaker 1 (14:09):
Not yet?

Speaker 3 (14:09):
Okay?

Speaker 5 (14:12):
Right?

Speaker 1 (14:12):
I was waiting for uh well, I still lived at home,
so I didn't really need the check. But I wanted
the check because I was going to school, I was
going to get ready to go to Norfolk, and so
I wanted to stack my chips up. But no, I
had to wait for that day for my management to
tell me that we had the record deal and I

(14:32):
could quit.

Speaker 4 (14:33):
How has it been watching the evolution of hip hop
from eighty eight to now?

Speaker 1 (14:39):
It's been great. I mean literally, we have taken this
gift from God and blown this thing all the way
out out of the hemisphere. Like I would have never thought,
first off, that I could support myself, support my mom,
give jobs to you know, that's my niece right there.

(15:04):
And what other people have been able to do for
their families. And the breakfast club and the you know,
the clothing lines and the podcast and the I mean,
it just goes on and on. It's a dream for
all of us to really do what it is that
we love.

Speaker 2 (15:19):
When did it start to slow down for mcla because
growing up, I mean it was you name it, it
was Chi Chid Child, the records were flowing. Then it
seemed like there was a switch in hip hop a
little bit. And I would say, maybe that's when Kim
and Foxy that ever started to turn around. So when
did it start to slow down and why was it?

Speaker 1 (15:39):
I think, like many many times, there's maybe a song
or an artist that comes in and switches the whole situation.
I think Naughty by Nature did that, and then I
think Biggie did that, and you know, on and on,
and for me, I think what happened was in seven

(16:00):
or ninety eight, specifically, I had an album that I
really worked hard on without the help of an R
because they were doing LSG. And I'm talking about Merlyn Bob.
You know, he's a really good friend and I respect him.
He did a lot of things for me during my career,
but during this time, once I finished the album, he

(16:23):
came back and said, we need to take some of
these songs off, and I was like, what, Like at
that time, I let my ego, you know ride, And
I was like, you can't tell me what to take off.
You wasn't even here for this, you know. I was
too emotionally attached to working with the track masters and

(16:43):
working with LL and Beanie Man and Pharrell and Missy
and Total. And I had this jam packed album with
way too many songs, and so I think the focus
wasn't there. And then they asked me to go back
in and work on a new album, and I was like,
I just got out of the studio working on a

(17:04):
new album. And after that point, or during that point,
Will Smith had started a record label. He was like, light,
if you ever want to come over here, let's do it.
So at that time my manager was like, you know what,
maybe we should take him up on his offer. And
we did, and as soon as we did, he lost
his distribution, which was with Interscope Overbrooke, Overbrook, Yeah, And

(17:27):
I was just like okay, and I was getting a stipen.
You know.

Speaker 2 (17:30):
It's like Will Smith had the bag at that time.
That's when every movie was popping. He had what kel
Spencer at that time. He still got the bag now,
but that time was one of the highest though, and
he was just it was a lot going on.

Speaker 1 (17:41):
And kel Spence was one of the people that was
riding with me, and so once he lost the distribution,
I was sitting there getting a stipen and I was like, Okay,
I don't want them to make the call that the
stipend is over. Let me make the call and say,
you know what all I need is this the songs
that I've done already and one more stipend check and

(18:04):
then I'm gonna go make this thing happen. Because they
were just sitting and James Lassiter was like, I don't
want him thinking about nothing but Ali right now. And
so we're waiting for him to talk music with us,
but they don't want him to talk music because they
want him to win this Oscar, which is you know,
I gotta respect that. And so that's when everything was

(18:25):
just like, okay, what I'm gonna do now? Dammit, I
should have went to Norfolk State.

Speaker 5 (18:30):
How does that not affect like your personal relationship? Door right?

Speaker 4 (18:33):
Because I've read read Jada's book and y'all like the
best of friends, so clearly there's a family vibe there.

Speaker 5 (18:39):
Y'all are family. How does that affect y'all?

Speaker 3 (18:42):
You know personally when you feel like.

Speaker 4 (18:45):
Well damn, we Bob thought we suposed to be doing
this professionally, but I need to think the move a
certain way.

Speaker 1 (18:49):
What's up? Yeah, I don't talk to Jada about Will stuff,
and I don't talk to Will about Jada's stuff, especially business,
you know, because I.

Speaker 5 (18:59):
Talk about you and Will.

Speaker 1 (19:00):
Oh, Well, what would happen is I would call Will
anyway and then he would tell me what he wanted
to do. But he can't do what he wants to do.
He has to rely, like many of us, on other people.
So I consider all of us to be the quarterbacks.
And once we throw the ball, somebody got to take

(19:20):
it down the field, and if they don't want to
go down that way or they don't want to play
on that field, you're kind of subject to what it
is that you rely on them for. And so James
was like, clear, he didn't even want us talking to
Will about music. So I was already going against the
grain by calling him saying, okay, what we're gonna do?

(19:44):
So yeah, I mean, it's just one of those things
where all of it went different. Sylvia Rohne was like,
what are you doing in La? I need you on
the streets of New York City. People need to see you,
and I'm like, oh, I'm trying to act, you know.
So when it came the one thing that Nat Robbinson
said to me, and though he said many things throughout
the years which helped, but the thing that I remember

(20:06):
most is We're gonna make you popular independent of a
hit record. And once he said that, that gate that
allowed me to dream bigger, to see, Okay, I need
to prepare myself for all these other moments. I want
to do voiceover, let me go to coaching, I want
to act, let me go to class, and so that

(20:28):
kind of opened up the spectrum for me.

Speaker 4 (20:30):
It's interesting because all of y'all had those opportunities that
seem like early like you saw you clean the teefa
and ice cubes and the wheels.

Speaker 5 (20:37):
Was that like a thing?

Speaker 1 (20:40):
No, it really was, and why my route went differently.
As I left William Morris very early, we had gotten
some word that some shows for me had gone to
other people. Promoters were complaining that they were trying to
get me and they couldn't. And so my manager said,
you know what, we need to go to a performance

(21:01):
agency that just does performance We tried to keep theatrical
at William Morris, but they don't break it up, and
so at that time I wind up going with another
agency who was spectacular. I worked all through the nineties
to this day. If you look on Spotify, I've got
more listeners in Germany and you know, France and Spain

(21:25):
than I do in some of the states in the
United States of America, which is really odd to me,
but that's just the way it is. I spent a
lot of time over there, and so while they were
doing their shows, I was out touring, and so I
didn't do my sitcom until you know, two three years ago,
which was fun too because I was really present for it.

(21:47):
Most of the twenties went by in such a flash,
like I think, you're blessed enough to have a second
chance around so you can actually see it happening.

Speaker 5 (21:58):
And you know, another reason you're a pioneer.

Speaker 4 (22:00):
You're the first solo woman rapper to receive a gold
record with Roughneck.

Speaker 5 (22:05):
I didn't feel to get a.

Speaker 4 (22:06):
Gold with that record because you said that was old
to like the people around you right.

Speaker 1 (22:11):
Honestly, at the time, it felt good to be acknowledged
for any record, but I guess that's sort of like
you know how it is. They say Denzel gets recognized
for training day, it's like, roughneck, that's really okay, I'll
take it. It was great. I remember we were on
tour and they had the phone in the bag, the

(22:32):
big box phone, the big box Bowe and my manager,
you know, we were pulled over on the side at
some road in or whatever getting food and he walked
up and he said, you've been nominated, and I was like, okay,
that's great. So they read it off at Radio City
and of course I come out the year deep Cover.

Speaker 5 (22:56):
Is out.

Speaker 1 (22:57):
Damn yeah, and I was like, damn, that was quick.

Speaker 4 (23:01):
You know, like you're one of the reasons that men
are so toxic, you know, between the hardcore era hip
hop and you saying that when a lady want.

Speaker 1 (23:09):
A rough neck, right, oh yeah, that's terrible.

Speaker 5 (23:11):
That's how we got to be.

Speaker 1 (23:12):
I'm sorry you. When I perform now, I'm like, where
all the rough Okay, where's all the reform? I'm sorry
about that.

Speaker 3 (23:21):
You ever go back and look at that You said
you were on a tour.

Speaker 2 (23:24):
Do you ever go back and look at some of
the horrible places that you stayed and the disgusting places
that you ate, But back then it was normal.

Speaker 1 (23:31):
It was. Yes, I when I think about the days
in and how all of us was like rammed up.

Speaker 2 (23:40):
In a room, it was normal, Like it was five
of us in room. When somebody slept on a bed,
somebody stepped on the floor, somebody was on the couch,
red roof in holiday inns.

Speaker 1 (23:49):
And you know, it's not until you've lived a better
life that you can look back and say, oh my God.
And even in the midst of it, like after Rough,
you know, I toured on those Budweiser fests with all
the R and B people like so I was the
only hip hop artist with Keith Sweat and BBD, and

(24:10):
the way they were treated. They had full meals, they
had warm rooms that were furnished, totally and completely different
from a hip hop tour with ten different you know,
rap artists, and then let alone touring with Janey that's
a whole nother situation. But what it does is it

(24:32):
teaches you what you should expect and and what you
should make people responsible for. So yeah, it was. It
was definitely a learning curve.

Speaker 5 (24:44):
You know. One of my favorite versions from you was
on self destruction.

Speaker 4 (24:47):
But even back then, you always had socially redeeming messages.

Speaker 3 (24:52):
In your in your in your in your music.

Speaker 4 (24:55):
Why did you feel the need to address social and
political issues back then.

Speaker 1 (25:01):
Well, I attended an African school as a kid called
wait wu see shoe lay and excuse me. There were
certain values that we just learned, and I felt like
I needed to use my voice for something important. And
because my mom worked at North General Hospital in Harlem,
and when I would go see her, I would get

(25:22):
on the elevator. She was on the seventh floor, but
I think on the third or fourth floor was the
rehabilitation center. So sometimes getting into the elevator, I would
see heroin addicts that had decayed veins and holes, and
I just was like, what a rough life. I need

(25:42):
to say something to my peers in hopes of them
never going this route. And then aside from that, I
saw Ford apache the Bronx really early in life, and
I was like, oh my god, they put her on drugs.
They made her a drug addict. So no, you don't
need to be anywhere around that. So I think that's
wherehere it stems from.

Speaker 4 (26:01):
You think you think artists now have a cultural responsibility
to use their voice for advocacy and just to spread messages.

Speaker 1 (26:09):
I would think so, but that's not the story that
most of us tell. I do think that there is
room for everyone, and I always have to use what
it is that I know. Heavy D wasn't that, but
we still loved him. He promoted love, which I think
is one of the most portant important aspects of life.

(26:29):
Will was never that, but we love him still. He
made us feel good and feel confident and strong. So
I think it's room for it all. But I do
think it shouldn't be ignored.

Speaker 2 (26:41):
You think that's missing in hip hop now, like the
self destruction type of records, people coming together for good,
because you don't really see that anymore. I don't think
you can get a self destruction type of record now.

Speaker 1 (26:52):
I think we could if someone who is. I think
if Kendrick said we're going to do it, it would
kind of been you gotta give the power to those
who have it at this moment. And if they decided
that that's what they wanted to do, I'm sure what happened.

Speaker 3 (27:08):
Who put self destruction together?

Speaker 2 (27:10):
Arrest one Karis won and he called everybody and said,
let's do it in everybody blah, absolutely, and.

Speaker 4 (27:16):
You haven't put out album in ten years, but you
got new I'm coming out called one on one.

Speaker 3 (27:20):
Yeah, and why are you getting back into this crazy game?

Speaker 1 (27:23):
L L challenged me. He did, Yeah. We did a
Leading Women define as one of those annual events Deboraly does,
and so I did a fireside chat with him, and
in the midst of it, you know, he says, I'm
putting out new music. I was like, oh, that's great,
he said, when you putting out music, and I was like, well,

(27:44):
I don't know. He's like, stop being scared. I was
like scared once he said that, and I was like, Okay,
I gotta get to it. And I had been working
on music, but I had been working on music so
long at that point it was just like, Okay, I'm
just working on music with no real plans to do
anything with it. And then finally I said, now's the time.

(28:07):
In twenty fourteen, I did a really great record called
Legend Yeah, and the guy, the executive producer, was not
such a good guy, and he took advantage of the
producers that were on the record, and I just was like,
I don't want to get into that hell, and so
I'd rather give it away than get into the game
of the promotion and marketing and involving these guys who

(28:30):
really weren't being taken care of in the right way.
And so that kind of fell by the wayside, and
I think that took a little bit of theme out
of me as well. But this new one I really
enjoyed making it.

Speaker 4 (28:44):
You got a song of King King with Queen Latifa,
where you're uplifting and honoring good men. Is that your
way of a toning for roughneck?

Speaker 1 (28:55):
Sure thing?

Speaker 3 (28:58):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (28:58):
You know what's so crazy is I guess so emotional
when I see, like the winning team, that moment of
vulnerability when they've won and they're showing one another, you know,
the respect and the love and the honor, and you
can see all of the turmoil that they've gone through
for the whole season. But also I see a lot

(29:22):
of young guys who have found the woman that they
want to be with, but perhaps they're not with other
guys who have made that step into what it really
takes to enter into manhood. And so it's like, nah,
she ain't the one, or you know, you've got to
be able to decide who is good for you, And

(29:45):
so I just wanted to, you know, uplift those who
have made those decisions in hopes of the younger on
the way to being king can say, oh, that's a
good thing creating and creating the spotlight for the role
model so that they can become what it is that

(30:07):
others will look at and say, I can be that.

Speaker 5 (30:10):
I wasn't being back in the studio with Queen La Tiefa.
Just spending that time with her.

Speaker 1 (30:14):
It was great. You know, we send we spend a
bit of time together preparing for her shows. So we've
done maybe about four shows with her this year. And
when I say we, I mean myself and Yo Yo
and Money Love, Money Love tours with her all the time.
But when she calls in the pack, we all come
in and we get to spend a couple of days together.

(30:35):
But this it was so funny. I was in the studio.
I told her I'm gonna be in the studio from
two to two. She shows up at midnight. She's like, yo, eMac, okay,
I'm here. And she shows up and I'm like, I
play it for her and I'm like okay, and she
goes okay, and she goes into the studio, and so
my promise to her is do this and I don't

(30:57):
want nothing else from you. Well with this song, right,
And so that makes it easy for her because she's
got a lot on her plate. And so if I'm
expecting her to do this and that in the video
needs to show up for this this this is like
like she's not gonna wind up doing the song. So

(31:17):
I'm like, just get in there and do it. This
is all I need right now. And so she just
went in.

Speaker 5 (31:22):
There's something about you, Queen and tea for Salt and Pepper.

Speaker 4 (31:27):
It's like we celebrate y'all, but it's like I don't
feel like you're celebrated.

Speaker 3 (31:32):
The way you you properly should be.

Speaker 5 (31:34):
It's like we have a way of.

Speaker 4 (31:36):
Doing it with the guys, like you know, the holes
and the naves and all them, that we don't do
with the women.

Speaker 5 (31:42):
And I don't I don't know if I know how.

Speaker 3 (31:46):
You gotta go back and error too.

Speaker 2 (31:47):
You said you gotta think when you talk about Queen
Latif for MC light Salt and Pepper, you gotta go to
slick Rick because that's that same eraror and they don't
do it for.

Speaker 5 (31:55):
Those I talk about the women, but you talking about.

Speaker 3 (32:00):
Artists in the two thousands, which is a different age group.

Speaker 5 (32:02):
What are you talking about two thousands.

Speaker 2 (32:04):
Two thousand, Nas, jay Z, they trans they transcended to
where they transcended to the two thousand tens. You gotta
think mc light was more slick, Rick ll cool J
and those type of artists.

Speaker 4 (32:15):
In the ninetiesne with the nineties, keep on keeping on
with the nineties.

Speaker 5 (32:22):
I don't want to be down.

Speaker 2 (32:23):
Remix covid Ton sit it the twenty ten era. The
two thousands to two thousand's.

Speaker 1 (32:28):
Just lasted all the time. But I think to dabbling
that for a minute because I don't I don't know
that I have the right answer, but it's spawning a thought,
which is you you only really need a one powerful champion,

(32:49):
and Will has had that, LLL has had that, jay
Z has had that. Nas was able to garner that
after the beef with jay Z. So you have to
have a champion that sees the worth, which really comes

(33:12):
down to helping you, you know, get to the dream
or the goal. But it's also a business. It's about
making money. So if they see a way in for
everyone to be able to benefit. Then they spend a
little time and energy there. It would take someone who

(33:32):
people respect to say this is the one to pay
attention to. And I guess I was on my way
to that with Will saying come on, you know, join
a label. And during that time I did a record
with you know with him that was multi platinum. I
showed up on the soundtracks, you know. So when you're

(33:57):
able to really diversify is when you can see some
level of success. But I do agree with you that
it could be more more done.

Speaker 2 (34:09):
I feel like the eighties artists had a tough time,
and I feel like we don't celebrate those artists enough
right where we talk about lights.

Speaker 5 (34:16):
And I mean eighties artists though.

Speaker 1 (34:19):
Well I started in eighty eight, I got one off
in eighty eight, but even the early nineties. Yeah, but
most of my success is in the nineties. But what
I can say is Soda Will Soda ll Nas was
shortly after he came in ninety two, said I wasn't
too even ll I.

Speaker 2 (34:39):
I don't feel like Llll gets the love and respect
that he should for what he has done. Like, if
you really think about it, people talk about top fives.
LL should be in that conversation. A lot of times
he's not, which is crazy to me. You think about
what LL did and what he trans send it to
what he is. I feel like he doesn't necessarily get
the love that he should get. Big Daddy came the

(35:00):
same way.

Speaker 3 (35:02):
Who else in that same error.

Speaker 1 (35:03):
I guess I'm in the circle that gives the love
so and I see the respect. And now with his
new brand and the new platform that he has, I think,
you know, for me, success is tied to how many
others can you help? Or are you lifting up? Who
are you reaching back to pull up? And he's definitely
been able to do that and put a lot a

(35:25):
lot of people to work who who haven't been to
work in some time.

Speaker 4 (35:32):
So when you say champion, do you mean like like
managers are executive from a label?

Speaker 1 (35:37):
It could be just association, you know. I think Fat
Joe flows a lot of power to Remy and you know,
back in the days, we needed that, right, So every
female kind of came through the ranks through some men
who were who exuded some power at that point. And

(35:58):
now today is like women are popping up all over
the place, not really needing a co sign from anyone,
but from the era which we held it. Everyone that
you name sort of outlasted the posse that they were
a part of. But yet, what's the next what's the

(36:18):
next space, what's the next spot? And a lot of
I think a lot of agents kind of want to
be those guys, you know, so it's like, how can
I help them? Now I'm associated with them, So I've
got this machismo thing going on, and they've held on
to their agents for really long. I'm probably one of

(36:41):
the I'm probably one of the artists who has kind
of skipped around a lot. And it's not that I'm
not loyal, it's just that, Okay, what are we going
to do now? What is the next level up? And
So throughout my career, I've had three managers, one for
thirteen years, one for thirteen years, and now I'm with

(37:03):
this one for about fourteen years now. I've moved agents
because I'm not gonna stay with someone who doesn't believe
in what it is that I'm doing and your vigor
for me can't wayne. I need to feel like we're
in this together. And if you telling me to go

(37:23):
do a new record and I just did one, it
just doesn't feel good. So I'm gonna go where the
love is.

Speaker 4 (37:31):
The reason I bought y'all three yep, queenitin for the
Salt and Pepper and yourself because y'all are like the
prototype for every single woman rapper that we've seen. That
there's something every single woman rapper, every type of woman
rapper we've seen, from the rapt das to the making
the style. Think whoever it is, there's something from one
of y'all in.

Speaker 5 (37:51):
All of them.

Speaker 1 (37:53):
And I am, you know, clearly from Salt and Pepper,
you know, and Shy Rack. And it's so funny because
Dougie talks about this hip hop tree. Have you ever
heard him talk about this? It's like this hip hop
tree with these four branches, and everybody sort of stems
off these of these branches. And so I'm clearly from

(38:16):
the Shahrock, Salt and Pepper, and yeah, I see it.
I see it in Rhapsody, I see it in Tierra Wack,
I see and many others. But it feels I mean,
I think everybody in the same instance as being themselves,
and so I think that's important. I Missy as a

(38:38):
matter of fact, feels like MC light and Salt and
Pepper and like, she's this wonderful amalgamation of all of it,
including you know, Mary included.

Speaker 4 (38:55):
You know.

Speaker 1 (38:56):
I think once upon a time the Source had a
magazine where they had all the female MC's and they
named us all and she was the innovator and so
and I think that captures her because she's able to
create what's not there and like like a comment, you know,

(39:16):
and just throw it into the zegeist.

Speaker 2 (39:18):
Now when they called you to be the voice, because
now I feel like you're the voice of award shows now.
And yes, when they called you, did you first say yeah,
I'm gonna do it, or did you say I don't know
if I want to do that?

Speaker 1 (39:29):
Oh? Well, you know what, I had done it for
VH one Hip Hop Honors. I was backstage interviewing people
and doing stuff and then I guess one of the
producers that also works on BEET said we need to
get her over here on this one. And so to
me it made sense. I was ready. As a matter
of fact, I was going to Norfolk State University to
major in communications to do radio because I heard Carol

(39:50):
Ford and I was like, oh, her voice kind of
sounds like mine. It's kind of raspy. Maybe I can
do that, and so here it is full circle. I'm
able to use my.

Speaker 4 (39:59):
Voice any voice of the work you've done that we
don't know about. You're playing a cricket or something.

Speaker 2 (40:04):
I don't know, no, but you know what it's. It's
it's funny listening to you do voice of work. It's
live right when you do voice of work.

Speaker 1 (40:13):
Most of it.

Speaker 2 (40:14):
How do you go in and out? Because sometimes something
happened on stage and you have to have a straight voice.
All right, I'm saying, like, how does that?

Speaker 1 (40:20):
The bumpers are already pre done, so so I don't
have to worry.

Speaker 2 (40:26):
About that any awkward moment when you're like, oh, oh shit,
I gotta get this on right.

Speaker 1 (40:31):
No, I think the most the most thing that's kind
of out is when I'm doing perhaps the Emmys, where
I'm unfamiliar with the pronunciation and so it has to
take a little bit of time. And I'm from New York,
so I'm always putting the accent on the wrong thing.
So I have to rehearse to make sure that I

(40:54):
properly say people's names, because that I mean when someone's
getting an award or no, I'm an the least you
could do is say the person's name correctly.

Speaker 4 (41:04):
Yeah you mentioned somebody, did you say, Sylvia are own
that told you to get back to New York.

Speaker 1 (41:08):
Yeah, Sylvia. I was her first signing as a as
an executive, and so yeah, she wanted me back in
New York. And at that time, I was appearing on
Yvettley Bowser's For Your Love, so I had a recurring,
recurring character and I was in acting class and I
was like this the next this, the next move. But yeah,

(41:31):
she wanted me back in New York. She felt like
it was really important as an MC and being in
hip hop that I not lose my grounding, which eventually
I did because people didn't see me here and probably
felt like it wasn't important that I didn't see that
it was important enough. And yeah, no, I was, well,

(41:55):
I mean, people see what it is that you put
into it. So if you're aware everything is happening, then
it's like, okay, committed to the process. But if I'm
in California, which everybody thinks is La La Land in
the first place, it's like, okay, how serious is she
taking this? Especially the record label and the people that
work at the label, because I'm sure it wasn't just

(42:16):
her who wanted me back here. It probably was the
marketing people and the radio people and everybody else. And
so I stuck to my guns and was like, no,
I'm in La to learn. I was in acting class
for two years, acting school for two years, and I
was ready for that next step.

Speaker 2 (42:33):
Well, back then, it was no social media too, right,
So you would see everybody like you would see ll
you know on Jamaica Avenue. You would see, you know,
Big Daddy camee downtown Brooklyn or Harlem Halem. I seen
run DMC the first time at TSS. So you would
see your local artists around and the fact that they
didn't see you. There was no social media to be like,
I'm here still, you know, right right, people.

Speaker 4 (42:53):
Still see things and they remember things though, Because one
of my homies told me to ask you about an
Italian made white truck that you had in the nineties.
Oh and then he was the only one in the
States with it. Well, it was like what kind of
truckle do that?

Speaker 1 (43:04):
It was a Laforza and there were thirty five hundred
in the United States, and I got it at an
auction in California, and I had it driven here and
then somebody broke a window and it took forever for
me to get it. It was one year. It was
made in nineteen eighty nine, and it was Fiat and

(43:29):
Maserati and Ford got together and made this car for
one year, and so I wound up giving it to Milk.
It was a pain in the ass.

Speaker 3 (43:39):
I was about to ask, you don't still have it, right?
And I needed for my car.

Speaker 1 (43:43):
He might still have Milk.

Speaker 3 (43:45):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (43:46):
I tried to ask him a question about it. Years later,
he was like, don't ask. I was like, because I
think he thought I might want it back, and I
gave it to him out of convenience because I was
moving and I didn't know what to do with it.
I was just like, he had take it. But it
definitely was one of those that people looked at. When
you rote down the Black, It's like, what is that?

(44:07):
It was fun for a while, but it wasn't properly made.

Speaker 4 (44:11):
And you got another song on your album called Change
Your Ways? How important is self reflection and accountability?

Speaker 1 (44:17):
Oh my goodness, it's everything. It's your whole experience, And
you know, I've learned so many things throughout the years
about me still learning about me what it is. People
will tell you what you like before you even know
what you like. And so for me, I think the
move to LA actually allowed me to claim my independence

(44:43):
and my independent thought. And so, yeah, self reflection and
you have to quiet. You have to have things quiet
enough to even be able to really understand what it
is that you can do to be better or how
it is that what you do just said wasn't okay.

(45:04):
This life of an entertainer, everyone is always telling you
how good you are, how right you are. Taking case
in point, I remember being told at an early age
you shouldn't work with women because they're too emotional. Well,
what I found out was for me, I don't have

(45:26):
to be emotional at all working with guys. This is
the what I taught myself. As a matter of fact,
I could say whatever to you, do that, please get
that done. Yeah, but you know, no emotion at all,
not really understanding that it affects men when you talk
to them like that as well. But more importantly, I

(45:47):
wasn't ready to be responsible in my tone and how
it is that I communicated what it was that I wanted.
And with women, you ain't getting away with that. You
ain't just saying something any old kind of way. It's like,
excuse me, can you say that in a way that
I can have it? And so it just made me
more responsible for how it is that I communicate, because

(46:11):
to me, it's not being mean. It's just straight to
the point, this is what I'm looking to have done.
But when you're on the receiving end of that, you go, oh, okay,
wait a second, I could put a little bit more
heart into that, a little bit more love into that,
And so yeah, self reflection.

Speaker 2 (46:28):
Is really I always wanted to know when when you
were out in Foxy and Kim and Trina and Kaya
came out, what was your thoughts at that time, because
that's when hip hop changed a lot and people were
going at them so heavy.

Speaker 1 (46:41):
What were you What were your thoughts? I remember we
were on tour and I got on the bus and
someone had music played and it was something bitch, the bettop,
the deep bitch, but the bee bitch, and I was like,

(47:01):
what is this. I said, you gotta turn this off.
I was at a club in Los Angeles and I
heard the guy say something something bitch. I went over
to the DJ, and I said, can you turn this song?
And he said, okay. How different of a world that
I would even ask a DJ to turn that and
he would turn it off. Now, that would never happen.

(47:24):
I'm from the East Side going anywhere. None of the
male rappers called women bitches. None of them, not cares one, not,
will not LLL. Not anyone that I had ever heard
on the East Coast referred to a woman as that.

(47:44):
So it was completely out of the stratosphere for me.
Even seeing Biggie and Puffy in a jacuzzi with women,
I was like, Oh my goodness, what's happening here? So
things were changing very quickly. I didn't really know how
to feel about it, except this is crazy. What do

(48:06):
we do now?

Speaker 5 (48:08):
Do you feel like it was systemically done?

Speaker 4 (48:10):
But I asked that about rap and television because, as
you said, the.

Speaker 5 (48:16):
Rappers weren't talking like that.

Speaker 4 (48:18):
Then all of a sudden it was just an abrupt change, right,
same thing with TV. We had all of these positive
images of black people that it was just an abrupt
change reality TV.

Speaker 5 (48:26):
Do you think that it was systemically done?

Speaker 1 (48:29):
Just now? When you said that, I thought of it
really starting on the West Coast. I think it was
maybe NWA. I would really like to note who used
it first in a record. I think it was different culturally,
and what was happening in New York wasn't necessarily happening

(48:52):
in the South, and wasn't happening on the West coast.
And I think once we began to merge all of
these cultures together is when it became okay to call
someone a dog. I remember being in the airport and
somebody from somewhere else said something to my dancer and
was like, what up, dog? And my dancer was like, dog,

(49:13):
who the hell you calling dog? But it wasn't a
bad thing. It meant you, my dude, you min egg,
you know, with the way that we reference, you know,
perhaps someone that we have affection for or in that case.
So I just think it's it's different culturally systemic. I'm

(49:38):
not sure I have entertained this conversation before, like what
is the brink? Is it the door that has now
opened to you can say anything that actually happened with
the sitcom? You know, I had them tell me, you know,
we can curse in this. You can say whatever you want.
Because they kept looking at the scripts and they didn't

(49:59):
see anything, and I said, no, this is how I wanted.
I remember sitcoms where you didn't need that, and I
wanted it to be wholesome. I wanted, but they kept saying,
this is streaming. You could say whatever you want. Thanks
for letting me know. We're gonna keep it right here.
So yeah, I think the flood the doors opened and
it was just whatever, however do it?

Speaker 2 (50:21):
Did the label have ask you to change at all
and say sound more like this, or do this.

Speaker 5 (50:26):
More weight, let's clothes exactly get sexy?

Speaker 1 (50:30):
Never because we were too early. They didn't know what
to tell us to do. And it worked, you know,
And it wasn't until a whole new thing came in
which you had to you know, growth is what happens.
But I do remember doing a photo shoot and I
must have been about twenty one, and I was ready
to think I was a little sexy. Was something tight on?

(50:54):
And Sylvia saw the photo shoot and she called me
and she said what is this. I was like, oh, well,
I'm growing up. She said, no, you're not. You're gonna
stay as young as possible for as long as possible.
Put your genes on and get out in the street
and take a photo and show your youth. And that

(51:16):
was the cover of Act. Like you know, so we
did a whole new shoot and you know, I thank
her for that.

Speaker 2 (51:24):
You still speak to Sylvia and I do.

Speaker 4 (51:28):
Did it bother you watching all of your personal stuff
play out so much on social media or just online?

Speaker 1 (51:33):
Like right, I don't know that it bothered me so much.
I just love having the opportunity to get them told.
So at that point, you've said whatever you want to say,
I get to say whatever I want to say, which was,
you know, really difficult back in the day to be

(51:54):
able to give your opinion very straightforward. We had no
platform that we could technically use, and so yeah, say
what you want and then I'll say what I want.

Speaker 4 (52:05):
Really so like they wouldn't like you say something like
this happened back the day. They wouldn't set up an
interview with you on.

Speaker 5 (52:10):
Radio, our magazine or I remember.

Speaker 3 (52:13):
Those headlines like such and such in my own in
their own words, right, you know what, right?

Speaker 1 (52:17):
Right? Possibly, But then it would be some back and
forth and you'd have to Now you can just write
what you want to write, put it up and people
can have it. So when when the whole divorce thing happened.
I just saw all of this stuff that says he
was trying to get this or she got to keep her.
It's not she got to keep He was never trying

(52:40):
to do that. We had a prenup. He's got his
own stuff that I'm sure he was happy that I
didn't want any part of it, and so we made
an agreement very early on that we'd have a prenup
and that would be it. So I didn't. I just
didn't like the turn that they were taking. But it's

(53:00):
not like I didn't expect it anything to get a click,
you know, people will say. So I just was happy
that I was able to set the record straight.

Speaker 4 (53:07):
How challenging had they been for you, you know, if
at all, to constantly have people assume you were gay?

Speaker 5 (53:15):
Can I remember when they announce you would do what?
Everybody was like?

Speaker 1 (53:17):
I thought, right, yeah, I remember Jess hilarious. I think
she posted something that was like what and in the news,
you know, and you know, to me, it's just when
I said, people will say that you like something before
you even know what you like.

Speaker 3 (53:37):
You know.

Speaker 1 (53:38):
And my biggest thing with the young with the younger
generation is don't be so prepared to put yourself in
a box. You're learning your you know, life is what
it is, coming out of teens into your twenties. You're
seeing things I had to learn much later on in life. Life.

(54:01):
Everything you think, does it need to happen? Right? It
can be a thought and stay there. Everything that you
see other people do doesn't have to be the life
for you. And you know, growing up as an only child,
things are impressionable. It's like, oh, okay, that must be

(54:22):
the thing. Okay, wait a minute, hold, okay, we're not
doing that. Okay, And so for me to be able
to choose my life for myself is extremely important. So
did it bother me? Perhaps in the beginning, but then
it just became oh okay, well that's how you want
to feel. That's great. And that's not saying that those

(54:44):
types of things didn't happen in my life. But that's
not all. That's not all of who I am.

Speaker 5 (54:51):
And so oh so the rumors did stem from somewhere.

Speaker 1 (54:54):
But when you're young, especially in this business, it's like, okay,
you think it, Okay, let's make that happen. Conspiracy theory, well, well,
the sad part about it is. Many people get stuck there, right,
and so they're stuck with what it is that other

(55:16):
people want them to be or are comfortable with them being.
You can't possibly look like that and want to do that,
or you can't you can't possibly look like that and
want to be with a man or find men attractive,
or me getting married. First off, I'm way more traditional

(55:37):
than anybody would ever assume. So me getting married was
because I believe in the sanctity of marriage of partnership,
and it not working was devastating for me. But it
also called to action, me being responsible for the way
that I speak, for the way that I behave, and

(56:00):
being accountable for someone else's feelings. And so now they
say you call in who it is that you are.
I'm a much better person. So who I have called
in is a reflection of that. And I love him

(56:23):
And so are we in a hurry to get married? No,
he's been married in divorce. I've been married in divorce.
So being married isn't exactly the thing that we're all
jumping in to be in once you've experienced it, but
it is something that we're working towards. And he's so

(56:44):
totally different from a rough.

Speaker 5 (56:46):
Neck, I would hope. So yes, when.

Speaker 1 (56:49):
My family you know, met him, as like, oh my god,
and he's really a ray of sunshine and so different
from any type that I've ever been with. And so
I had to learn that that's okay. You know, he's

(57:10):
from Philly, so he's got the swag. Does it necessarily show? No,
But you know what, I love everything that's happening on
the inside, and he feels the same way about me.
So many men would be like, oh, well, I've heard this,
and you know, I'm not sure, but he can get
past all of that and see who I am and

(57:32):
just love me for who I am.

Speaker 3 (57:34):
Which is most important.

Speaker 5 (57:36):
You know.

Speaker 4 (57:36):
I'm going to ask too, like when y'all because I
feel like all of y'all are so blessed to find
your tribe early, Like I feel like you and Queen
the Teeth and Jada all y'all found each other very
very early. When somebody like Jada is writing a book,
does she call you and say, okay, like I'm going
to share these stories, Yep, I'm going to talk about this.

Speaker 5 (57:53):
I'm going to talk about that. So I want you
to know that this is out there, Okay.

Speaker 1 (57:56):
That's what sisterhood is, and that's why we're friends. Because
had a book came out and I was in it
and she had said nothing, I'd be like, Okay, what
what's up? Oh I didn't get a chance. No, we don't.
We don't have those those discrepancies where for some reason,
something happens in the other one. If if her name

(58:19):
comes up in an interview, yo, check this out. I
was at the such and such and this came up,
and this is what I said. I don't want you
to you know, I don't want it to come to
you any other kind of way. We take care. And
in these types of friendships, you gotta take care because
there are so many areas where people are careless that

(58:39):
if we're gonna depend on one another in a true friendship,
you gotta take care of it.

Speaker 4 (58:44):
Because in the books she addresses rumors of y'all being together,
and I'm like, well, what if people don't know that?

Speaker 3 (58:50):
Now?

Speaker 4 (58:52):
Now and now when light and somebody does an interview,
they're gonna ask that question.

Speaker 1 (58:56):
Well, I think the point is it never was, never
was right. So she can bring that up, it would
not be an issue at all. And for her, I
guess it was important. Maybe people addressed her with that
more than they did with me, because I've never been
approached with is that, you know? So yeah, I'm happy

(59:17):
for her that she was able to get all of
what it was that she was feeling out in the
book and also celebrate our friendship, you know, and because
it is true that we have a sisterhood, if it
only feels right that it would be reflected and spoken

(59:37):
about in the book, and if that were removed, it
would it would sort of be like, really, don't we
have a friendship? Not that I needed to be in
the book, but when you're evaluating truth and what is
I would expect that it would be there.

Speaker 4 (59:53):
Oh yeah, you were in the books. She speaks so
highly you like you want her pillows. How important is
it to have the people in this business?

Speaker 1 (01:00:04):
They it's not many, So it's it's extremely important someone
that's gonna understand and the and the truth is too
with Jay when we talk and there's a few friends
that I have that are like this. We can go
from topic to topic without an announcement that the topic
is about to change. Some people are razzle dazzled, be like,

(01:00:27):
oh what are we talking? About now, next thing, Keep up,
keep up, you know. So we're able to to converse
about so many topics from here to there. Nothing is
too trivial, nothing is too high brow, and that's what
you want. I have a lot of virgo friends.

Speaker 3 (01:00:46):
You know, by the way, and be nothing wrong with
a good virgo.

Speaker 1 (01:00:49):
Yeah, nothing wrong with a good virgo. My man is
a virgos.

Speaker 2 (01:00:55):
Watch he's had a couple of done him dirty, the
ones he picks. O.

Speaker 5 (01:01:00):
Is that right?

Speaker 3 (01:01:01):
Don't say it like that.

Speaker 5 (01:01:03):
Now, you got a new children's book coming up with
a band band?

Speaker 1 (01:01:06):
Oh yeah, yeah, well we'll say that because we're coming
at the end of the year when we're back with that.
Well sure, but Van Van is such she's so special. Yeah,
she's with our management firm. She's so special, you know.
Sometimes talking with her, I'll forget. Matter of fact, we

(01:01:27):
had lunch with them not too long ago, and there
was something that was written and she said, what is that?
And I said it? And she said what is that word?
And I said it. I said, do you know what
that means? She says no, And then I tell her
what it means. And it just dawned on me that
she doesn't read because she's just entering into kindergarten years old. Right, Yes, well,

(01:01:50):
she has full on conversations with.

Speaker 3 (01:01:53):
You handling our contracts. Oh I need.

Speaker 1 (01:01:58):
Let me tell you. She is so on top of
her game. I'm so excited about her career and her
life and what's ahead of her. And it's really a
blessing to be involved with her career at this stage.
And her family are so loving and they're both educators.

(01:02:19):
And you know, when I look back at MC's and
who have had parents as educators, there's so many of us,
from Heavy to Law to Common and Kanye, and it's
quite a bit of us. So I think she's got
so much going for her. I'm excited.

Speaker 5 (01:02:40):
And what is Sunny Girl Ink?

Speaker 1 (01:02:42):
That is the management and production firm that we have
got you, doctor Lynn Richardson, and I matter of fact,
Sunny Girl was just a loan out company in the beginning,
and it wasn't until she came on as COEO and
asked me what did I want to do? And I said,
I want to make this a full fledged management company
and she said okay, And so we've worked at it

(01:03:04):
and it's one of my proudest moments to be involved
with the career of others.

Speaker 4 (01:03:13):
Has the mc lighte story been properly told you?

Speaker 5 (01:03:17):
No? Do you want to tell it? Sure?

Speaker 1 (01:03:22):
I've had some documentarians, you know, We've taken meetings and
stuff like that. So I think when the right person
is there, I think it'll all kind of flow. Westbrook
is looking at doing the scripted version, so I don't
know what might come first.

Speaker 3 (01:03:41):
Are you performing this weekend?

Speaker 1 (01:03:42):
I'm performing this week on Saturday. We've moved the show.

Speaker 2 (01:03:46):
Is this when you came back to New York's disgusting?

Speaker 1 (01:03:50):
See? I do. I did have a really great day
yesterday the sun was out. But in any case, we're
going to be a Cony Island amphitheater. So I'm excited.
We got some folks in the house. The god rock
Him is coming through, and Tretch and low La Brook
is gonna show up. We had a chance to meet,

(01:04:12):
uh maybe a year ago, I think, yeah, yeah. And
then we've got oh E. P. M. D Is coming
and we've got a couple of surprises as well. So
I'm excited to be in New York specifically, b K.

Speaker 4 (01:04:28):
Who ows you like when like when you walked into
I literally bowed to you like, who who who makes.

Speaker 5 (01:04:33):
You feel like that?

Speaker 1 (01:04:36):
Who bows to me?

Speaker 3 (01:04:38):
I to you? But who makes you feel that like.

Speaker 1 (01:04:42):
I want to bow? Always rock him? He's so he's
so who he says he is, which I can appreciate.
Kress One. Will, Yeah, Will and Will and Jada have

(01:05:15):
been so supportive of my career. And I remember there
was a time, like after the divorce, I would talk
to Will and he was like, light, just just keep
being that well of goodness, Just keep being that well
of goodness. And then I'd say, Oh, what am I

(01:05:40):
gonna do? What am I gonna do next? He was like,
just sit in silence, it's gonna come to you. Just
just keep evolving into the best you that you can be.
And you know, not too long after that, I got

(01:06:01):
the sitcom in the middle of the pandemic, and I
just was like God, you know, God is showing up.
But they have definitely been there to remind me of
who I am and the power that I hold.

Speaker 3 (01:06:19):
M like the album let's play something off the album
what you want to hear?

Speaker 5 (01:06:25):
King King k King King King King.

Speaker 4 (01:06:26):
All Right, Queen Latifa, we appreciate you, we love you,
we value you, and we appreciate you MC like you
are an icon. You are one of the reasons that
we're even sitting in this studio because it's foundation that
people like you.

Speaker 3 (01:06:38):
Las one comes out in September. Yes, and make sure
you go pick it up and thank you again. It's
the Breakfast Club. It's empty light, wake that.

Speaker 5 (01:06:47):
Ass up in the morning. The Breakfast Club.