Today on The Breakfast Club, Beenie Man Talks 'Eminence,' Dancehall Legacy, Love For NY, Headlining 'Wild 'N Out,' Battling Sickle Cell, Friendships. Listen For More!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hold up. Every day I wake up.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Wake your ass up. The Breakfast Club. Y'all finished or
y'all done?
Speaker 3 (00:08):
Morning, everybody.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
It's DJ Envy, Just Hilarious, Charlamagne Tha God. We are
The Breakfast Club. Lon LaRose is here as well. We
got a special guest in the building.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Yes, indeed. Beat him on.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
He's back. Beat him, man. What's up? Good morning. How
you feeling, man? I'm feeling good.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Another album out right now?
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Yes, dog.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Eminence.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Eminence, yeah.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Why Eminence? What's that mean?
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Evidence means being the leader of everything. That's really what
it means.
Speaker 4 (00:39):
So is it celebrating what you accomplished or just reminding
people who you are?
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Yeah, just reminding people who I am. And what do
I stand for, really.
Speaker 5 (00:47):
Were you trying to top your other records?
Speaker 3 (00:52):
No, I'm not trying anything. I'm just doing what I've
always been doing. Because, you know, you say it, Then
somebody give you a crown and call you the king
of the dance hall. Somebody call you the guys from Sugar. Somebody,
you know. So eminence is just like, yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
High status.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Yeah, high status. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
You're superior in your field.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
There you go.
Speaker 4 (01:14):
Top of the food chain.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
So you know you always start, Mess, when you say,
you know, people say, when they talk about the king
of dance hall and this, that, and the other. So
now they're going to say, but does that mean I'm
the top of everybody in my culture?
Speaker 3 (01:27):
I'm the eminence of dance hall. There we go. Blessing.
Speaker 5 (01:30):
He even got a nice little twang to it, too.
It's very regal.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. You can't
be doing the same thing over and over and over
and over. You got to step up your game. In
this business, it's like a staircase. You have one staircase,
one step up to the top. That's the way it is.
It's not me putting myself to the top. It's me
(01:54):
working towards it. being the top of the food chain.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
I like the title because there's a difference between being
famous and being eminent. Fame is just attention. Eminence is
like you said, the respect you earned over time.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Which one took you longer to understand?
Speaker 3 (02:15):
There's no longer to understand. I've been in this business
for 40 years. I've been there, done that. I'm still
here doing it. You know what I'm saying? It's just
you know, makes sense.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Have you seen the resurgence of dancehall and reggae music
on radio? Because at one time, I was talking to somebody,
I think a couple weeks ago, we would hear tunes
on radio, right? Labor Day in Brooklyn was one of
the biggest parades ever. Yeah. And it seemed like it
took a downfall for a little bit.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
No, I was there.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Are you starting to see it come back now?
Speaker 3 (02:47):
No, I was there.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
You was there this year?
Speaker 3 (02:48):
I was, yeah. I was in, yeah, I was there.
Labor Day, I was there. Unchuck. Sing it. And people was,
I couldn't see the other truck behind us. That's the
amount of people that was following us. So I wouldn't
say you take a step back. I think people just
want to see it the right way that it's supposed
(03:11):
to be like, you know? And I think some people
is not doing it like how they're supposed to do it,
like how it used to be done. And, you know,
evolution is a must. So, you know, the music step up.
So I think people just want to see the originality,
the authenticity of the music and all of that. And
(03:33):
that's what I gave to them. And this album, trust me,
because I did some old school hip hop. I did
some old school dance. I did one of my classic
and this album. And yeah, it's really nice.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Did money ruin it? Because it was a time where
artists wanted to be at those parades, wanted to be
at those events. And then, I feel like it got
to a time where people were like, well, how much
are you going to give me to be at these events?
I remember there were times where you went to every parade.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Puerto Rican Day Parade, West Indian Parade.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
West Indian Parade. African American Day Parade. Yes.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Because you wanted to be seen and heard.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
And I felt like for a lot, I think money
kind of ruined it.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
I think what ruined it is because I lost my
visa for like 13 years. So if I did have it,
it wouldn't be like that. You'd have been in every parade. Yeah,
I'd be in every parade. See, then everybody will follow.
But right now, everybody thinking about the money, the money,
how much to make the chart, how much to pay
(04:32):
the sound system, how much the DJ get paid, how
much what get paid, so how much I'm gonna get paid. So,
you see, when you make music all about the business
and no longer about music, I think that's what messed
it up. It's like some artists get a one hit
song and forgot that they need to go back to
(04:53):
studio to make another one. So, you know, I feel
that's what messed it up, really.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
You got a song called Immortal.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
Right?
Speaker 4 (05:01):
Like, when you've been doing this as long as you have,
do you start thinking less about hits and more about
what survives after you?
Speaker 3 (05:08):
No, it's not less about hit. You know, it's... Some
of these songs, I didn't name these songs.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
How about that? Because Jess loves marijuana and a coochie.
Speaker 5 (05:20):
I can't wait to ask you about that.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
Marijuana and a coochie.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
You name that one?
Speaker 3 (05:26):
Somebody said marijuana and a coochie. That's funny. Some of
these songs, I don't name these songs. These songs just
come with names. What do you mean?
Speaker 1 (05:39):
The song came with Marijuana and the Coochie?
Speaker 3 (05:41):
No, I don't know nothing about Marijuana and the Coochie.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
So you didn't name Immortal either?
Speaker 3 (05:47):
I didn't name Immortal.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (05:51):
So you have a team that you just go and
make the music and.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
The team just takes care of track lists.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
Yeah, take care of naming the songs and doing that. See,
the Marijuana song, In the coochie.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Don't forget that one. Don't forget that one. It's not
just a marijuana song. It's in the marijuana, in the coochie.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
I don't know about that.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
I don't know about that.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Do you know who on the album with you?
Speaker 5 (06:14):
Because you know it's a lot of big, you got
16 tracks.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
Big artists. Yeah, man. I know who's on the album
with me, but I don't know about marijuana in the coochie.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
I don't know. I didn't name this song.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
This song was named by the producer, Kamal McGregor.
Speaker 5 (06:30):
Gotcha.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
Yeah. He, He name all these songs. I just sing music.
I go in the studio, you play the beat, I
put the headphone on, and I just spit. And that's it.
Speaker 5 (06:42):
How do you go about picking beats, though? Do they
run beats past you?
Speaker 3 (06:45):
No, sometimes you ask for a beat, like even the
Juicy beat. I definitely requested that. Because Biggie's my rapper
and thing, and I feel like I should do a
song on that beat. and true Biggie's not around anymore,
I choose Rick Ross to put a big man and
(07:06):
a big man with him.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
That's how you decide who's going to find the biggest
rapper in the world.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
That's crazy. You put a big man and a big
man with him. That's how it goes. A few of
these beats, I pick it. Like even the... My mind
is a coochie. The beat, is the cut chip, pass
the cut chip on the left. So it's perfectly to
(07:38):
put a weed tune on that. So you know, those
are the things that I do. And sometimes you walk
in the studio, the producer, he got this beat ready,
here you go. Okay, let's do this. And then we
make our back, I will do anything just for you.
And you know, These songs, and he went and get Snow,
(08:00):
then he went and get Snoop, then he went and
get Elephant Man, and then all these ladies. But it's beautiful.
The album is beautiful. The music is nice. I'm not
telling you no joke. It's a beautiful album.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
How come you and Maya don't do more together? It's
like your third record together?
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Yeah, because Maya is on this album.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
With the old Janet Jackson beat.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
So, yeah, me and Maya... We're good together. When we're
making music, we make proper music. And I really respect
her as an artist because she can dance and she
can sing. And she have everything what an artist need
to be an artist. You understand what I'm saying? So
(08:45):
she is not.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
That's how you do it.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
You couldn't even help him, so you see.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
So she got all of that. She got looks and
she now only Looking good, she can sing good. And
she can perform good, and she can dance good. So
artists like that, you need to be working with. And
I got T.I. on the album. Yeah. So, you know,
this is a great album. This is just a great, great,
great album. Just it.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
You got Friends for Life.
Speaker 3 (09:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (09:18):
Who survived success with you all these years? Do you
have for life friends?
Speaker 3 (09:22):
Mm, I got, yeah. Seriously, I got a few. Mm-hmm. Because,
you know, a lot is not here anymore. God rest
their soul. But, you know, we've got a few.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
What does it take to survive success with somebody?
Speaker 3 (09:39):
Well, it takes you being yourself, you know, and you
working towards being successful and more successful and more successful
and to keep it. Because, you see, when you have
a building and nobody live in it, the tree grow
through the middle of the building. And if you don't
paint your house, you're not maintained.
Speaker 4 (10:00):
It.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
You get what I'm saying? All right. Let me give
you this. In Cracktown, that's the place that I grew up.
See it? And you'd have a big house in the
middle of the square where people live in. And them
run up the staircase every day, run down the staircase
(10:20):
every day, run up the staircase every day. And one
day they move out. And somebody decide like, yes, we
got to move this house now. So we have to
build a park in the Miglar place. And somebody bring
a stone in the house and the house just goes
and drop a gun. So I'm like, so many people
used to live in that house. And people used to
(10:40):
sleep in that, run up and down the staircase, run
up and down the staircase. And the house was rotten.
But when Life is in the house. The house becomes
a life. So this is what I'm saying. If you
don't keep yourself alive, then you're going to fail. And
you don't want to do that. You just want to
(11:02):
continuously doing what you're doing. Continuously going on tour. Doing shows.
If you can do three shows a week, if you
can do Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, you're good. Trust me,
because that is keeping yourself alive. Because it's great to
(11:22):
work hard in the studio, but you work harder on stage.
So people always remember you. So I'm going to say, yo,
being a man of a show, I'm going, because you
expect to get a good performance. Yeah, so that's.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
How it goes.
Speaker 6 (11:39):
Whenever you drop music and it does things like, you know,
you were at the top of the US iTunes charts
across all genres, right?
Speaker 3 (11:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (11:47):
When that happens, are you ever like, I mean, you've
transcended across all genres before, but are you ever like, man,
like I'm here all these years later doing it still?
Speaker 3 (11:54):
Well, that's what I'm saying. I'm still running. I'm still running.
You see, when you're a great runner, you don't resign.
You don't give up the game. You just... Keep in
the game and keep on doing it. As long as
you can do it the right way, everything is great. Yeah,
(12:15):
so we got the nice, we have a right crew
behind us. My crew is my wife, you know? And
the team that produce the song, they're doing their thing.
You see me? And I respect what they're doing, but
I got to do me. You get me? So me
have to keep me up there. So it's not like,
(12:35):
you know, them alone can do it and I sit
down like, Yeah, I'm the king.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
What?
Speaker 3 (12:42):
What? Look at me. No. You got to go out
there and do it. Work and dig in and make
people know and say, yes, may I do this? Not
only for the family, but for the fans and the
well-wishers and the people out there that wish you good
right through your life. Yeah, so you can't let them down.
Speaker 4 (13:00):
What about when your body is asking you to slow down?
Because you've been battling, what, sickle cell for decades.
Speaker 3 (13:06):
Yeah, well, that's no problem. You can't make that battle you.
You got to stand firm and know that, yeah, yeah,
stand firm on your feet and be there.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Now, you know, this week is the 25th anniversary of 9-11.
Do you remember where you were when 9-11 hit?
Speaker 6 (13:23):
Were you here?
Speaker 3 (13:24):
9-11, I actually left the tent. I was here. In America,
New York. And I leave and went back to Jamaica.
They let the planes leave or you had to wait
for a while? No, the tent. The day before. Oh,
you left on the tent. Yeah, I left the tent.
(13:46):
But I was watching, what's the name? Good Morning America. Yeah,
because I think I'd have something coming on on ABC
in the morning. And I was waiting to see it.
Then it was supposed to come after the, we call
(14:06):
it the trading thing. When they go to the stock exchange.
And then I saw the plane. Boom. Okay, I'm not
coming on TV today. And that was the day that
I realized that the world changed. And yeah. It wasn't
(14:29):
a good day for nobody. Trust me, it wasn't a
good day. And when I saw that, I realized that
the world changed. Because when a country like the United
States gets attacked, it's not like an easy country to
get attacked. It's not something that you expect to happen.
(14:51):
America do the attack. America is the bullies. They go
around and like, Say something. Just say one more thing.
And then you see America get attacked. It's like, hmm.
And then you hear the cops died and the fireman died.
It wasn't a good thing. People started to jump off
the building top and all these things. It wasn't a
(15:13):
good day. It was just a sad day. And it's
always sad every time you remember that. It just felt
like you didn't want to be there on that day.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
We talked about how it changed, like, We were telling
Jess and Lauren that before, there was no TSA. Like,
you walk to the gate and you get on the plane.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
You get on the plane.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
Yeah, there was no check.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
There was none of it. Right now, there's checkpoints everywhere.
It's called body patrol now.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
I can't believe we ever used to live like that.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
Yeah, we used to live like that.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Like, why? Why did we trust each other?
Speaker 6 (15:47):
And even, like, some of the things that you could
take on the plane, like cigarettes and lighters.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
Take away them.
Speaker 6 (15:53):
Yeah, now they do.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
There's no light to allow on the plane. You can't
have a cock screw. No, no cock screw. Nothing that
you can use for a weapon. Yeah, you used to
have a little knife that you used to bring. We
call them the Swiss knives. You can't bring that on
the plane.
Speaker 5 (16:09):
You used to be able to smoke on a plane.
I just see pictures of that online. You used to
be able.
Speaker 3 (16:13):
To smoke on a plane. Australia on a plane. So
you know that they used to smoke on the plane.
The Australian side, you go like, and you used to
smoke on the plane. All that changed since 9-11.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
Now, you said you lost your visa for 15, 16 years.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
No, for 13 years. 13 years.
Speaker 6 (16:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
What was the process of getting that back? Was it difficult?
Was the administration making it difficult?
Speaker 3 (16:34):
No. What I did, I just wait. Because America always
tell you that for you to come here on a
visa is a privilege. They give to you. So, you know,
I'm not an American. I do not have an American passport.
I have a Jamaican passport. So... When it's time for
Dave ready to give me back my visa, it's time
(16:55):
for Dave to give me back my visa. But what
really happened, what that does, it give me time to
tour the world. So I've been all over the place.
I've been to Australia. I've been to Africa. I've been everywhere,
like everywhere, all over the world. Japan, everywhere, my God. Everywhere,
my God. And here I am, right here, speaking to you.
(17:20):
The breakfast program. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (17:24):
You just recently headlined at the Barclays, the Wildin' Out
live show, right?
Speaker 3 (17:27):
What was that like? Nah, that was wicked. What? The
show was wicked. You were supposed to be there. My
flight got canceled. Your flight got canceled. Couldn't make it.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
I was in Phoenix at my daughter's dance competition.
Speaker 3 (17:38):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
And Rip set it up right, though.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
He set it up.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
They had an escort pick him up from the airport,
but I wouldn't have made it in time.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Travel.
Speaker 3 (17:44):
They wouldn't have made it in time.
Speaker 4 (17:45):
It's crazy.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
Did Safaree come out and battle you that night?
Speaker 1 (17:48):
No, shut up.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
Mikey didn't stop.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
I thought that was supposed to happen. I thought Rusty
was going to have Safaree come out.
Speaker 3 (17:57):
And battle him. Mikey don't stop. Stop. Oh, my God. Stop.
Speaker 5 (18:02):
Now, you've been doing arenas for a long time, right? Now,
performing in front of a crowd like that these days
versus way back when, is there a big difference?
Speaker 3 (18:11):
No, it's not a difference to me because, you see,
an audience is an audience. When the audience come out
to see music, I am there to give music. Audience
come out to see performance, I'm there to perform. So
when you come to a being in my show, I'm
there to entertain you. You're not there to entertain me.
I give you my energy and you give me back
(18:32):
your energy seven times ten. Yeah. And that's what I'm
there for. That's why I say I work harder on stage.
I work hard in the studio, but I work harder
on stage. Gotcha. Yes.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
What do you tell an artist for longevity, right? Because
you have a longevity. You still have an amazing show.
You're still putting out records. What do you tell a
younger artist now to make sure that they still have
that longevity 20, 30, 40 years later?
Speaker 3 (18:55):
Well, it's for them to know what to do and
what to keep yourself alive. Because I think some artists
kill their genre. They just kill it because they're not
doing the right thing. They're not doing it the right way.
And not because you have more young people coming in
(19:15):
the world and young people coming in the world. There's
no old people. Everybody born one day before there comes
two day, before there comes three day. So what you're
supposed to know is to control your generation and make
them know that, okay, this is where I'm coming from
and this is where I'm going. So you bring them
with you. You don't lose them along the way. So
(19:37):
I think some artists, they lose themselves their generation. So
the generation go like this. That's it. What does he do?
What does he do? 95% every time you perform, I
think you should. You don't give 50% and expect 100%.
(20:09):
like people say, yeah, I agree with you because you
did 50, but I'm going to give you 100. I
don't think that. I think if you give 97 and
somebody said, you deserve 100, you deserve 100. You get
what I'm saying? So it's not like some artists, they
just come out and.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
Just, They're running off the stage.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
Oh, that's a fart.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
That's a fart.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
Why you want this back? I'm so mad. They're running
off the stage. They're singing a song, and the song
in 40 seconds, you're, dash! Next one. Dash! Next one.
(20:56):
Next one, you forgot that people sit down and listen
to that song for three minutes. You didn't remember that.
All three verses people listen to. That's real. So they
know all three verses. So you sing from one verse
to the third verse. Now, if you don't got the time,
I understand that. Like if you get 10 minutes to
do 20 songs, then you do 20 punchlines. That's what
(21:17):
I'm saying. Don't get it twisted. But if you got
an hour and a half to perform, perform, dog. Trust me,
because people work hard for their money. And when they
come out to see you, they got to pay money.
It's not like them just come out, I'm free, I'm nothing.
They pay their money to see you. So why are
you not performing for the people?
Speaker 6 (21:38):
I feel like with certain genres of music, like with
your genre of music, we expect energy and the performance
and the excitement. With certain genres you go, it's like
you'd be surprised if they say, oh, they got a
little one.
Speaker 3 (21:49):
Two, seven.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's true.
Speaker 3 (21:52):
True, but... All artists, I think all artists are supposed
to think about the people. I think you should practice
at home before you go out. Like, seriously. I think
you should enter your house and play the music and
stand up in front of the mirror. I think you
(22:12):
should do that. Like, seriously. I think you should learn
the keys. Like, when you go on stage, you don't
sound louder than the music. Because I... I think people
intend to do that. The mic is too loud, dog.
So the people is not hearing what you're saying, even
though you think that you're singing loud. When you sing loud,
(22:34):
you just sound noisy.
Speaker 4 (22:37):
When you were younger, did King mean just beating everybody
else or being better than everybody else? And does it
mean something different to you now?
Speaker 3 (22:45):
No, King mean greatness.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
Okay, okay, okay.
Speaker 3 (22:47):
Yeah, I don't think you should beat up everybody. I
think you should bring everybody. I think everybody should just
roll with you. You understand what I'm saying? So if
you're doing great, everybody can do great if they just
follow you. That's what King mean to me. I don't
think it mean anything else. I think it mean leadership.
Speaker 5 (23:09):
You just got an official proclamation from the city of Hartford.
What does that mean to you? That type of recognition
from an actual city, from a certain city.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
Versus the industry? I've got a lot from other cities. Florida, everywhere.
But it's a great thing when the government recognizes you.
That means you can't get a parking ticket.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
Yeah, right.
Speaker 3 (23:33):
You have a key to the city. What are you
talking about? Yeah, you just call the mayor. I'm going
to get a parking ticket. Yeah. You're still going to
get it, but yeah. How do you get.
Speaker 5 (23:45):
Something like that? What do you perform in Hartford?
Speaker 1 (23:46):
A lot?
Speaker 5 (23:47):
Or what made them want to do that?
Speaker 3 (23:50):
Well, I think it was the work that you did,
the body of work that you've been doing. They've been
listening to you for a long time. A lot of
these people were in school when Sim Simmer came out,
and that was their song. So they see you now,
and they can give you some respect.
Speaker 5 (24:10):
Why are you still here?
Speaker 3 (24:11):
I accept it. Yeah. This is flowers.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
That's right.
Speaker 6 (24:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (24:14):
You don't want nobody to give you a wreath. There
we go.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
You ended the album with a heavenly father.
Speaker 6 (24:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
Why did the album ultimately end with God?
Speaker 3 (24:25):
Yeah, because you got to give thanks. That's right. You
got to give thanks. You can't put a song like
that in the middle.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
And then marijuana in the coochie come on out.
Speaker 5 (24:35):
Right.
Speaker 3 (24:40):
Oh, God, it's too low with that. Just stop my
running the coochie.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
God, God, God. So, are we getting any music videos?
Speaker 3 (24:52):
Yeah, they're working on that now.
Speaker 5 (24:54):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (24:55):
Yeah, to get it out and, you know, get it
out there.
Speaker 5 (24:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
What is your thoughts on Masego? They say he's the
future of dancehall. And the record, of course, Hello, is
probably one of the biggest records out now. What are
your thoughts on him and his music?
Speaker 3 (25:08):
Who's that?
Speaker 1 (25:09):
Masego?
Speaker 5 (25:09):
They tell you the future of dancehall?
Speaker 2 (25:11):
I was about to say, Masego do dancehall too?
Speaker 5 (25:15):
Yeah, I didn't know that, but Masego is actually from Jamaica.
He's from Jamaica. Masego, yeah, he is... He was born
in Kingston, Jamaica, but he was.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
That I like? Yes.
Speaker 3 (25:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:27):
He's not a dance hall.
Speaker 5 (25:29):
He sampled Who Am I? For Sim Simba.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
Yeah, for Hello.
Speaker 3 (25:33):
So he's the future of dance hall?
Speaker 2 (25:35):
I don't know about the future of dance hall.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
Critics are saying.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
He's an R & B artist. He's an R &
B artist, but he also does dance hall as well.
He just a feature.
Speaker 5 (25:42):
You can just say he's a feature.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
He does R & B and jazz.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
He does dancehall too.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
He's born in Jamaica though.
Speaker 3 (25:52):
I just have to say congratulations because if you cover Simpsons,
congratulations son. Do your thing.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
Well you had to clear it, right? I'm sure.
Speaker 3 (26:03):
Yeah. Jeremy already had to clear it. I want to
know too, with most.
Speaker 1 (26:09):
Reggae artists, dancehall artists, they take, when they come to
the U.S., they love Miami. But you love New York.
Speaker 3 (26:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:15):
Why is that? Because every artist, besides you and Shaggy,
the only artists that I know will live in New York,
will stay in New York, will eat in New York,
will walk around. What does New York mean to you?
Speaker 3 (26:24):
New York means everything. Because, all right, you see, I
think it's because the second place I came when I
left Jamaica. I left Jamaica, I went to Canada. Then
I came to New York. Brooklyn kind of changed me. Seriously,
(26:45):
Brooklyn kind of changed me.
Speaker 5 (26:46):
How?
Speaker 3 (26:47):
When you're in Brooklyn, it's like you're in Jamaica. It's
not Jamaica, Queens. Jamaica, Jamaica. When you're in Brooklyn, it's
mostly Jamaicans. you see people that you know for a
very long time and you haven't seen them for a
very long time. You wonder if they're dead or in prison.
(27:09):
They're in Brooklyn.
Speaker 1 (27:13):
Dang.
Speaker 3 (27:14):
Yeah, so that is it. So, you know, I think,
I just love New York because of New York itself
and the vibes and the vibration that it brings and
the style of the people. I love Queens too and
I love Bronx and I just love New York. What,
What am I going to do? I can't help myself
about it. If you want to chop my head off,
(27:37):
just drop it in New York.
Speaker 4 (27:40):
What part of your legacy do you think people understand correctly?
Speaker 3 (27:45):
Part of my legacy is that people understand correctly. I
think my work, my hard work and my work ethics.
Because I work very hard and I don't stop. I
don't really stop. I can't stop. Because if Can you
imagine me sitting down for a month in my house
for a month like this? The last time I tried that,
(28:08):
I got fat. Last time was COVID. I got shoulders
this way. My belly got big this way. I'm like, what?
If you remember that verse or something. I got a
huge gut in front of me. Yeah, that's being in
(28:29):
your house. That's what being in your house is. That's
what it means to me. You just cook, eat, cook, eat, cook, eat, cook, eat. No.
I want to work, work, work, work, work, work, work.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
Stay active.
Speaker 3 (28:46):
Stay active is not being lazy. Because, see, my job,
I don't have to exercise because I work on stage
for an hour and a half, two hours sometimes. And
if I feel to it, I go three. I don't care. So,
you know, when you have all the energy, you burn
all that fire off, you burn all the sweat off,
(29:08):
you got to put it on back. Then you burn
it off again. Then you put it on back. Then
you burn it off again. So when you stay active,
that means you're staying fit, you're staying healthy, you're staying physical. So,
you know, yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
So what part of your legacy do you think people
have gotten wrong?
Speaker 3 (29:26):
Well, people always get people wrong. Always. Because people think
I'm a selfish man. I only believe in myself. And
that is so far from the truth, but people don't
even know that. See, people say I don't help nobody.
There are more people that I help in this music business.
(29:48):
It would be sad if I called out everybody's name.
But when people brand you, they brand you. There's nothing
you can do about it more than laugh and just
know that, okay, I am this man. I am not
that guy. Yeah, so, you know, people always get people wrong.
Because when people start to brand people, people just brand people.
(30:09):
And there's nothing you can do about it. See, if
they say you don't have nobody, that's why you don't
do it. You don't have nobody. They say you don't
boss nobody, that's why you do. You don't boss nobody.
So you don't go there and tell people, I did this,
I do that, I did this, I do that, I
did this, I do that, I did this, I do that.
Nobody's going to believe you. Because they don't stigmatize and
(30:33):
centralize and let the people they know say, yeah, that
is who you are.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
And it don't matter anyway. God knows what you've done.
Speaker 3 (30:42):
That's right. Who I've done things for know what I've
done for them. It's for them to come out and say,
this man do this. But what they do, they just
sit back and allow it to happen. What are you
going to do? Fight? Nope. I'm not a boxer. I
(31:05):
sing music.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
Well, let's get into it, June, off the album. What
you want to hear?
Speaker 5 (31:11):
Marijuana in the coochie.
Speaker 2 (31:16):
It's coochie.
Speaker 3 (31:18):
And it sounds like coochie. It's marijuana in the coochie.
Get it right.
Speaker 6 (31:22):
Coochie is different to coochie.
Speaker 1 (31:25):
What's a coochie?
Speaker 2 (31:27):
Oh, so it's not coochie.
Speaker 3 (31:28):
No, I thought it was coochie too. It's spelled coochie.
Speaker 5 (31:32):
Every time we said it, she was over there like,
that's not what it is. Okay, marijuana and a coochie.
Speaker 3 (31:35):
I don't even know that was my song you're talking about.
Speaker 5 (31:38):
That's why he was confused because he's like, I don't
know who named him.
Speaker 1 (31:41):
Yeah, he's like, I don't know.
Speaker 3 (31:43):
What that is. Marijuana and a coochie.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
Okay, marijuana and a coochie.
Speaker 3 (31:47):
I don't know what it is.
Speaker 2 (31:49):
Damn.
Speaker 3 (31:49):
I was talking about burning it.
Speaker 2 (31:52):
Oh, God.
Speaker 3 (31:53):
All right.
Speaker 1 (31:54):
Well, let's get into the joint. It's called Marijuana in
the what?
Speaker 3 (31:56):
Kachi. Kachi. Not Kuchi.
Speaker 1 (31:58):
It's the Breakfast Club.
Speaker 3 (31:59):
Come on.
Hold up. Every day I wake up.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Wake your ass up. The Breakfast Club. Y'all finished or
y'all done?
Speaker 3 (00:08):
Morning, everybody.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
It's DJ Envy, Just Hilarious, Charlamagne Tha God. We are
The Breakfast Club. Lon LaRose is here as well. We
got a special guest in the building.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Yes, indeed. Beat him on.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
He's back. Beat him, man. What's up? Good morning. How
you feeling, man? I'm feeling good.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Another album out right now?
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Yes, dog.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Eminence.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Eminence, yeah.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Why Eminence? What's that mean?
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Evidence means being the leader of everything. That's really what
it means.
Speaker 4 (00:39):
So is it celebrating what you accomplished or just reminding
people who you are?
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Yeah, just reminding people who I am. And what do
I stand for, really.
Speaker 5 (00:47):
Were you trying to top your other records?
Speaker 3 (00:52):
No, I'm not trying anything. I'm just doing what I've
always been doing. Because, you know, you say it, Then
somebody give you a crown and call you the king
of the dance hall. Somebody call you the guys from Sugar. Somebody,
you know. So eminence is just like, yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
High status.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Yeah, high status. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
You're superior in your field.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
There you go.
Speaker 4 (01:14):
Top of the food chain.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
So you know you always start, Mess, when you say,
you know, people say, when they talk about the king
of dance hall and this, that, and the other. So
now they're going to say, but does that mean I'm
the top of everybody in my culture?
Speaker 3 (01:27):
I'm the eminence of dance hall. There we go. Blessing.
Speaker 5 (01:30):
He even got a nice little twang to it, too.
It's very regal.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. You can't
be doing the same thing over and over and over
and over. You got to step up your game. In
this business, it's like a staircase. You have one staircase,
one step up to the top. That's the way it is.
It's not me putting myself to the top. It's me
(01:54):
working towards it. being the top of the food chain.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
I like the title because there's a difference between being
famous and being eminent. Fame is just attention. Eminence is
like you said, the respect you earned over time.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Which one took you longer to understand?
Speaker 3 (02:15):
There's no longer to understand. I've been in this business
for 40 years. I've been there, done that. I'm still
here doing it. You know what I'm saying? It's just
you know, makes sense.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Have you seen the resurgence of dancehall and reggae music
on radio? Because at one time, I was talking to somebody,
I think a couple weeks ago, we would hear tunes
on radio, right? Labor Day in Brooklyn was one of
the biggest parades ever. Yeah. And it seemed like it
took a downfall for a little bit.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
No, I was there.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Are you starting to see it come back now?
Speaker 3 (02:47):
No, I was there.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
You was there this year?
Speaker 3 (02:48):
I was, yeah. I was in, yeah, I was there.
Labor Day, I was there. Unchuck. Sing it. And people was,
I couldn't see the other truck behind us. That's the
amount of people that was following us. So I wouldn't
say you take a step back. I think people just
want to see it the right way that it's supposed
(03:11):
to be like, you know? And I think some people
is not doing it like how they're supposed to do it,
like how it used to be done. And, you know,
evolution is a must. So, you know, the music step up.
So I think people just want to see the originality,
the authenticity of the music and all of that. And
(03:33):
that's what I gave to them. And this album, trust me,
because I did some old school hip hop. I did
some old school dance. I did one of my classic
and this album. And yeah, it's really nice.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Did money ruin it? Because it was a time where
artists wanted to be at those parades, wanted to be
at those events. And then, I feel like it got
to a time where people were like, well, how much
are you going to give me to be at these events?
I remember there were times where you went to every parade.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Puerto Rican Day Parade, West Indian Parade.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
West Indian Parade. African American Day Parade. Yes.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Because you wanted to be seen and heard.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
And I felt like for a lot, I think money
kind of ruined it.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
I think what ruined it is because I lost my
visa for like 13 years. So if I did have it,
it wouldn't be like that. You'd have been in every parade. Yeah,
I'd be in every parade. See, then everybody will follow.
But right now, everybody thinking about the money, the money,
how much to make the chart, how much to pay
(04:32):
the sound system, how much the DJ get paid, how
much what get paid, so how much I'm gonna get paid. So,
you see, when you make music all about the business
and no longer about music, I think that's what messed
it up. It's like some artists get a one hit
song and forgot that they need to go back to
(04:53):
studio to make another one. So, you know, I feel
that's what messed it up, really.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
You got a song called Immortal.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
Right?
Speaker 4 (05:01):
Like, when you've been doing this as long as you have,
do you start thinking less about hits and more about
what survives after you?
Speaker 3 (05:08):
No, it's not less about hit. You know, it's... Some
of these songs, I didn't name these songs.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
How about that? Because Jess loves marijuana and a coochie.
Speaker 5 (05:20):
I can't wait to ask you about that.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
Marijuana and a coochie.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
You name that one?
Speaker 3 (05:26):
Somebody said marijuana and a coochie. That's funny. Some of
these songs, I don't name these songs. These songs just
come with names. What do you mean?
Speaker 1 (05:39):
The song came with Marijuana and the Coochie?
Speaker 3 (05:41):
No, I don't know nothing about Marijuana and the Coochie.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
So you didn't name Immortal either?
Speaker 3 (05:47):
I didn't name Immortal.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (05:51):
So you have a team that you just go and
make the music and.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
The team just takes care of track lists.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
Yeah, take care of naming the songs and doing that. See,
the Marijuana song, In the coochie.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Don't forget that one. Don't forget that one. It's not
just a marijuana song. It's in the marijuana, in the coochie.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
I don't know about that.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
I don't know about that.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Do you know who on the album with you?
Speaker 5 (06:14):
Because you know it's a lot of big, you got
16 tracks.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
Big artists. Yeah, man. I know who's on the album
with me, but I don't know about marijuana in the coochie.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
I don't know. I didn't name this song.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
This song was named by the producer, Kamal McGregor.
Speaker 5 (06:30):
Gotcha.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
Yeah. He, He name all these songs. I just sing music.
I go in the studio, you play the beat, I
put the headphone on, and I just spit. And that's it.
Speaker 5 (06:42):
How do you go about picking beats, though? Do they
run beats past you?
Speaker 3 (06:45):
No, sometimes you ask for a beat, like even the
Juicy beat. I definitely requested that. Because Biggie's my rapper
and thing, and I feel like I should do a
song on that beat. and true Biggie's not around anymore,
I choose Rick Ross to put a big man and
(07:06):
a big man with him.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
That's how you decide who's going to find the biggest
rapper in the world.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
That's crazy. You put a big man and a big
man with him. That's how it goes. A few of
these beats, I pick it. Like even the... My mind
is a coochie. The beat, is the cut chip, pass
the cut chip on the left. So it's perfectly to
(07:38):
put a weed tune on that. So you know, those
are the things that I do. And sometimes you walk
in the studio, the producer, he got this beat ready,
here you go. Okay, let's do this. And then we
make our back, I will do anything just for you.
And you know, These songs, and he went and get Snow,
(08:00):
then he went and get Snoop, then he went and
get Elephant Man, and then all these ladies. But it's beautiful.
The album is beautiful. The music is nice. I'm not
telling you no joke. It's a beautiful album.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
How come you and Maya don't do more together? It's
like your third record together?
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Yeah, because Maya is on this album.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
With the old Janet Jackson beat.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
So, yeah, me and Maya... We're good together. When we're
making music, we make proper music. And I really respect
her as an artist because she can dance and she
can sing. And she have everything what an artist need
to be an artist. You understand what I'm saying? So
(08:45):
she is not.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
That's how you do it.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
You couldn't even help him, so you see.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
So she got all of that. She got looks and
she now only Looking good, she can sing good. And
she can perform good, and she can dance good. So
artists like that, you need to be working with. And
I got T.I. on the album. Yeah. So, you know,
this is a great album. This is just a great, great,
great album. Just it.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
You got Friends for Life.
Speaker 3 (09:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (09:18):
Who survived success with you all these years? Do you
have for life friends?
Speaker 3 (09:22):
Mm, I got, yeah. Seriously, I got a few. Mm-hmm. Because,
you know, a lot is not here anymore. God rest
their soul. But, you know, we've got a few.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
What does it take to survive success with somebody?
Speaker 3 (09:39):
Well, it takes you being yourself, you know, and you
working towards being successful and more successful and more successful
and to keep it. Because, you see, when you have
a building and nobody live in it, the tree grow
through the middle of the building. And if you don't
paint your house, you're not maintained.
Speaker 4 (10:00):
It.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
You get what I'm saying? All right. Let me give
you this. In Cracktown, that's the place that I grew up.
See it? And you'd have a big house in the
middle of the square where people live in. And them
run up the staircase every day, run down the staircase
(10:20):
every day, run up the staircase every day. And one
day they move out. And somebody decide like, yes, we
got to move this house now. So we have to
build a park in the Miglar place. And somebody bring
a stone in the house and the house just goes
and drop a gun. So I'm like, so many people
used to live in that house. And people used to
(10:40):
sleep in that, run up and down the staircase, run
up and down the staircase. And the house was rotten.
But when Life is in the house. The house becomes
a life. So this is what I'm saying. If you
don't keep yourself alive, then you're going to fail. And
you don't want to do that. You just want to
(11:02):
continuously doing what you're doing. Continuously going on tour. Doing shows.
If you can do three shows a week, if you
can do Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, you're good. Trust me,
because that is keeping yourself alive. Because it's great to
(11:22):
work hard in the studio, but you work harder on stage.
So people always remember you. So I'm going to say, yo,
being a man of a show, I'm going, because you
expect to get a good performance. Yeah, so that's.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
How it goes.
Speaker 6 (11:39):
Whenever you drop music and it does things like, you know,
you were at the top of the US iTunes charts
across all genres, right?
Speaker 3 (11:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (11:47):
When that happens, are you ever like, I mean, you've
transcended across all genres before, but are you ever like, man,
like I'm here all these years later doing it still?
Speaker 3 (11:54):
Well, that's what I'm saying. I'm still running. I'm still running.
You see, when you're a great runner, you don't resign.
You don't give up the game. You just... Keep in
the game and keep on doing it. As long as
you can do it the right way, everything is great. Yeah,
(12:15):
so we got the nice, we have a right crew
behind us. My crew is my wife, you know? And
the team that produce the song, they're doing their thing.
You see me? And I respect what they're doing, but
I got to do me. You get me? So me
have to keep me up there. So it's not like,
(12:35):
you know, them alone can do it and I sit
down like, Yeah, I'm the king.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
What?
Speaker 3 (12:42):
What? Look at me. No. You got to go out
there and do it. Work and dig in and make
people know and say, yes, may I do this? Not
only for the family, but for the fans and the
well-wishers and the people out there that wish you good
right through your life. Yeah, so you can't let them down.
Speaker 4 (13:00):
What about when your body is asking you to slow down?
Because you've been battling, what, sickle cell for decades.
Speaker 3 (13:06):
Yeah, well, that's no problem. You can't make that battle you.
You got to stand firm and know that, yeah, yeah,
stand firm on your feet and be there.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Now, you know, this week is the 25th anniversary of 9-11.
Do you remember where you were when 9-11 hit?
Speaker 6 (13:23):
Were you here?
Speaker 3 (13:24):
9-11, I actually left the tent. I was here. In America,
New York. And I leave and went back to Jamaica.
They let the planes leave or you had to wait
for a while? No, the tent. The day before. Oh,
you left on the tent. Yeah, I left the tent.
(13:46):
But I was watching, what's the name? Good Morning America. Yeah,
because I think I'd have something coming on on ABC
in the morning. And I was waiting to see it.
Then it was supposed to come after the, we call
(14:06):
it the trading thing. When they go to the stock exchange.
And then I saw the plane. Boom. Okay, I'm not
coming on TV today. And that was the day that
I realized that the world changed. And yeah. It wasn't
(14:29):
a good day for nobody. Trust me, it wasn't a
good day. And when I saw that, I realized that
the world changed. Because when a country like the United
States gets attacked, it's not like an easy country to
get attacked. It's not something that you expect to happen.
(14:51):
America do the attack. America is the bullies. They go
around and like, Say something. Just say one more thing.
And then you see America get attacked. It's like, hmm.
And then you hear the cops died and the fireman died.
It wasn't a good thing. People started to jump off
the building top and all these things. It wasn't a
(15:13):
good day. It was just a sad day. And it's
always sad every time you remember that. It just felt
like you didn't want to be there on that day.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
We talked about how it changed, like, We were telling
Jess and Lauren that before, there was no TSA. Like,
you walk to the gate and you get on the plane.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
You get on the plane.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
Yeah, there was no check.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
There was none of it. Right now, there's checkpoints everywhere.
It's called body patrol now.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
I can't believe we ever used to live like that.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
Yeah, we used to live like that.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Like, why? Why did we trust each other?
Speaker 6 (15:47):
And even, like, some of the things that you could
take on the plane, like cigarettes and lighters.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
Take away them.
Speaker 6 (15:53):
Yeah, now they do.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
There's no light to allow on the plane. You can't
have a cock screw. No, no cock screw. Nothing that
you can use for a weapon. Yeah, you used to
have a little knife that you used to bring. We
call them the Swiss knives. You can't bring that on
the plane.
Speaker 5 (16:09):
You used to be able to smoke on a plane.
I just see pictures of that online. You used to
be able.
Speaker 3 (16:13):
To smoke on a plane. Australia on a plane. So
you know that they used to smoke on the plane.
The Australian side, you go like, and you used to
smoke on the plane. All that changed since 9-11.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
Now, you said you lost your visa for 15, 16 years.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
No, for 13 years. 13 years.
Speaker 6 (16:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
What was the process of getting that back? Was it difficult?
Was the administration making it difficult?
Speaker 3 (16:34):
No. What I did, I just wait. Because America always
tell you that for you to come here on a
visa is a privilege. They give to you. So, you know,
I'm not an American. I do not have an American passport.
I have a Jamaican passport. So... When it's time for
Dave ready to give me back my visa, it's time
(16:55):
for Dave to give me back my visa. But what
really happened, what that does, it give me time to
tour the world. So I've been all over the place.
I've been to Australia. I've been to Africa. I've been everywhere,
like everywhere, all over the world. Japan, everywhere, my God. Everywhere,
my God. And here I am, right here, speaking to you.
(17:20):
The breakfast program. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (17:24):
You just recently headlined at the Barclays, the Wildin' Out
live show, right?
Speaker 3 (17:27):
What was that like? Nah, that was wicked. What? The
show was wicked. You were supposed to be there. My
flight got canceled. Your flight got canceled. Couldn't make it.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
I was in Phoenix at my daughter's dance competition.
Speaker 3 (17:38):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
And Rip set it up right, though.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
He set it up.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
They had an escort pick him up from the airport,
but I wouldn't have made it in time.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Travel.
Speaker 3 (17:44):
They wouldn't have made it in time.
Speaker 4 (17:45):
It's crazy.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
Did Safaree come out and battle you that night?
Speaker 1 (17:48):
No, shut up.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
Mikey didn't stop.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
I thought that was supposed to happen. I thought Rusty
was going to have Safaree come out.
Speaker 3 (17:57):
And battle him. Mikey don't stop. Stop. Oh, my God. Stop.
Speaker 5 (18:02):
Now, you've been doing arenas for a long time, right? Now,
performing in front of a crowd like that these days
versus way back when, is there a big difference?
Speaker 3 (18:11):
No, it's not a difference to me because, you see,
an audience is an audience. When the audience come out
to see music, I am there to give music. Audience
come out to see performance, I'm there to perform. So
when you come to a being in my show, I'm
there to entertain you. You're not there to entertain me.
I give you my energy and you give me back
(18:32):
your energy seven times ten. Yeah. And that's what I'm
there for. That's why I say I work harder on stage.
I work hard in the studio, but I work harder
on stage. Gotcha. Yes.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
What do you tell an artist for longevity, right? Because
you have a longevity. You still have an amazing show.
You're still putting out records. What do you tell a
younger artist now to make sure that they still have
that longevity 20, 30, 40 years later?
Speaker 3 (18:55):
Well, it's for them to know what to do and
what to keep yourself alive. Because I think some artists
kill their genre. They just kill it because they're not
doing the right thing. They're not doing it the right way.
And not because you have more young people coming in
(19:15):
the world and young people coming in the world. There's
no old people. Everybody born one day before there comes
two day, before there comes three day. So what you're
supposed to know is to control your generation and make
them know that, okay, this is where I'm coming from
and this is where I'm going. So you bring them
with you. You don't lose them along the way. So
(19:37):
I think some artists, they lose themselves their generation. So
the generation go like this. That's it. What does he do?
What does he do? 95% every time you perform, I
think you should. You don't give 50% and expect 100%.
(20:09):
like people say, yeah, I agree with you because you
did 50, but I'm going to give you 100. I
don't think that. I think if you give 97 and
somebody said, you deserve 100, you deserve 100. You get
what I'm saying? So it's not like some artists, they
just come out and.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
Just, They're running off the stage.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
Oh, that's a fart.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
That's a fart.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
Why you want this back? I'm so mad. They're running
off the stage. They're singing a song, and the song
in 40 seconds, you're, dash! Next one. Dash! Next one.
(20:56):
Next one, you forgot that people sit down and listen
to that song for three minutes. You didn't remember that.
All three verses people listen to. That's real. So they
know all three verses. So you sing from one verse
to the third verse. Now, if you don't got the time,
I understand that. Like if you get 10 minutes to
do 20 songs, then you do 20 punchlines. That's what
(21:17):
I'm saying. Don't get it twisted. But if you got
an hour and a half to perform, perform, dog. Trust me,
because people work hard for their money. And when they
come out to see you, they got to pay money.
It's not like them just come out, I'm free, I'm nothing.
They pay their money to see you. So why are
you not performing for the people?
Speaker 6 (21:38):
I feel like with certain genres of music, like with
your genre of music, we expect energy and the performance
and the excitement. With certain genres you go, it's like
you'd be surprised if they say, oh, they got a
little one.
Speaker 3 (21:49):
Two, seven.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's true.
Speaker 3 (21:52):
True, but... All artists, I think all artists are supposed
to think about the people. I think you should practice
at home before you go out. Like, seriously. I think
you should enter your house and play the music and
stand up in front of the mirror. I think you
(22:12):
should do that. Like, seriously. I think you should learn
the keys. Like, when you go on stage, you don't
sound louder than the music. Because I... I think people
intend to do that. The mic is too loud, dog.
So the people is not hearing what you're saying, even
though you think that you're singing loud. When you sing loud,
(22:34):
you just sound noisy.
Speaker 4 (22:37):
When you were younger, did King mean just beating everybody
else or being better than everybody else? And does it
mean something different to you now?
Speaker 3 (22:45):
No, King mean greatness.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
Okay, okay, okay.
Speaker 3 (22:47):
Yeah, I don't think you should beat up everybody. I
think you should bring everybody. I think everybody should just
roll with you. You understand what I'm saying? So if
you're doing great, everybody can do great if they just
follow you. That's what King mean to me. I don't
think it mean anything else. I think it mean leadership.
Speaker 5 (23:09):
You just got an official proclamation from the city of Hartford.
What does that mean to you? That type of recognition
from an actual city, from a certain city.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
Versus the industry? I've got a lot from other cities. Florida, everywhere.
But it's a great thing when the government recognizes you.
That means you can't get a parking ticket.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
Yeah, right.
Speaker 3 (23:33):
You have a key to the city. What are you
talking about? Yeah, you just call the mayor. I'm going
to get a parking ticket. Yeah. You're still going to
get it, but yeah. How do you get.
Speaker 5 (23:45):
Something like that? What do you perform in Hartford?
Speaker 1 (23:46):
A lot?
Speaker 5 (23:47):
Or what made them want to do that?
Speaker 3 (23:50):
Well, I think it was the work that you did,
the body of work that you've been doing. They've been
listening to you for a long time. A lot of
these people were in school when Sim Simmer came out,
and that was their song. So they see you now,
and they can give you some respect.
Speaker 5 (24:10):
Why are you still here?
Speaker 3 (24:11):
I accept it. Yeah. This is flowers.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
That's right.
Speaker 6 (24:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (24:14):
You don't want nobody to give you a wreath. There
we go.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
You ended the album with a heavenly father.
Speaker 6 (24:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
Why did the album ultimately end with God?
Speaker 3 (24:25):
Yeah, because you got to give thanks. That's right. You
got to give thanks. You can't put a song like
that in the middle.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
And then marijuana in the coochie come on out.
Speaker 5 (24:35):
Right.
Speaker 3 (24:40):
Oh, God, it's too low with that. Just stop my
running the coochie.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
God, God, God. So, are we getting any music videos?
Speaker 3 (24:52):
Yeah, they're working on that now.
Speaker 5 (24:54):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (24:55):
Yeah, to get it out and, you know, get it
out there.
Speaker 5 (24:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
What is your thoughts on Masego? They say he's the
future of dancehall. And the record, of course, Hello, is
probably one of the biggest records out now. What are
your thoughts on him and his music?
Speaker 3 (25:08):
Who's that?
Speaker 1 (25:09):
Masego?
Speaker 5 (25:09):
They tell you the future of dancehall?
Speaker 2 (25:11):
I was about to say, Masego do dancehall too?
Speaker 5 (25:15):
Yeah, I didn't know that, but Masego is actually from Jamaica.
He's from Jamaica. Masego, yeah, he is... He was born
in Kingston, Jamaica, but he was.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
That I like? Yes.
Speaker 3 (25:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:27):
He's not a dance hall.
Speaker 5 (25:29):
He sampled Who Am I? For Sim Simba.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
Yeah, for Hello.
Speaker 3 (25:33):
So he's the future of dance hall?
Speaker 2 (25:35):
I don't know about the future of dance hall.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
Critics are saying.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
He's an R & B artist. He's an R &
B artist, but he also does dance hall as well.
He just a feature.
Speaker 5 (25:42):
You can just say he's a feature.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
He does R & B and jazz.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
He does dancehall too.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
He's born in Jamaica though.
Speaker 3 (25:52):
I just have to say congratulations because if you cover Simpsons,
congratulations son. Do your thing.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
Well you had to clear it, right? I'm sure.
Speaker 3 (26:03):
Yeah. Jeremy already had to clear it. I want to
know too, with most.
Speaker 1 (26:09):
Reggae artists, dancehall artists, they take, when they come to
the U.S., they love Miami. But you love New York.
Speaker 3 (26:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:15):
Why is that? Because every artist, besides you and Shaggy,
the only artists that I know will live in New York,
will stay in New York, will eat in New York,
will walk around. What does New York mean to you?
Speaker 3 (26:24):
New York means everything. Because, all right, you see, I
think it's because the second place I came when I
left Jamaica. I left Jamaica, I went to Canada. Then
I came to New York. Brooklyn kind of changed me. Seriously,
(26:45):
Brooklyn kind of changed me.
Speaker 5 (26:46):
How?
Speaker 3 (26:47):
When you're in Brooklyn, it's like you're in Jamaica. It's
not Jamaica, Queens. Jamaica, Jamaica. When you're in Brooklyn, it's
mostly Jamaicans. you see people that you know for a
very long time and you haven't seen them for a
very long time. You wonder if they're dead or in prison.
(27:09):
They're in Brooklyn.
Speaker 1 (27:13):
Dang.
Speaker 3 (27:14):
Yeah, so that is it. So, you know, I think,
I just love New York because of New York itself
and the vibes and the vibration that it brings and
the style of the people. I love Queens too and
I love Bronx and I just love New York. What,
What am I going to do? I can't help myself
about it. If you want to chop my head off,
(27:37):
just drop it in New York.
Speaker 4 (27:40):
What part of your legacy do you think people understand correctly?
Speaker 3 (27:45):
Part of my legacy is that people understand correctly. I
think my work, my hard work and my work ethics.
Because I work very hard and I don't stop. I
don't really stop. I can't stop. Because if Can you
imagine me sitting down for a month in my house
for a month like this? The last time I tried that,
(28:08):
I got fat. Last time was COVID. I got shoulders
this way. My belly got big this way. I'm like, what?
If you remember that verse or something. I got a
huge gut in front of me. Yeah, that's being in
(28:29):
your house. That's what being in your house is. That's
what it means to me. You just cook, eat, cook, eat, cook, eat, cook, eat. No.
I want to work, work, work, work, work, work, work.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
Stay active.
Speaker 3 (28:46):
Stay active is not being lazy. Because, see, my job,
I don't have to exercise because I work on stage
for an hour and a half, two hours sometimes. And
if I feel to it, I go three. I don't care. So,
you know, when you have all the energy, you burn
all that fire off, you burn all the sweat off,
(29:08):
you got to put it on back. Then you burn
it off again. Then you put it on back. Then
you burn it off again. So when you stay active,
that means you're staying fit, you're staying healthy, you're staying physical. So,
you know, yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
So what part of your legacy do you think people
have gotten wrong?
Speaker 3 (29:26):
Well, people always get people wrong. Always. Because people think
I'm a selfish man. I only believe in myself. And
that is so far from the truth, but people don't
even know that. See, people say I don't help nobody.
There are more people that I help in this music business.
(29:48):
It would be sad if I called out everybody's name.
But when people brand you, they brand you. There's nothing
you can do about it more than laugh and just
know that, okay, I am this man. I am not
that guy. Yeah, so, you know, people always get people wrong.
Because when people start to brand people, people just brand people.
(30:09):
And there's nothing you can do about it. See, if
they say you don't have nobody, that's why you don't
do it. You don't have nobody. They say you don't
boss nobody, that's why you do. You don't boss nobody.
So you don't go there and tell people, I did this,
I do that, I did this, I do that, I
did this, I do that, I did this, I do that.
Nobody's going to believe you. Because they don't stigmatize and
(30:33):
centralize and let the people they know say, yeah, that
is who you are.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
And it don't matter anyway. God knows what you've done.
Speaker 3 (30:42):
That's right. Who I've done things for know what I've
done for them. It's for them to come out and say,
this man do this. But what they do, they just
sit back and allow it to happen. What are you
going to do? Fight? Nope. I'm not a boxer. I
(31:05):
sing music.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
Well, let's get into it, June, off the album. What
you want to hear?
Speaker 5 (31:11):
Marijuana in the coochie.
Speaker 2 (31:16):
It's coochie.
Speaker 3 (31:18):
And it sounds like coochie. It's marijuana in the coochie.
Get it right.
Speaker 6 (31:22):
Coochie is different to coochie.
Speaker 1 (31:25):
What's a coochie?
Speaker 2 (31:27):
Oh, so it's not coochie.
Speaker 3 (31:28):
No, I thought it was coochie too. It's spelled coochie.
Speaker 5 (31:32):
Every time we said it, she was over there like,
that's not what it is. Okay, marijuana and a coochie.
Speaker 3 (31:35):
I don't even know that was my song you're talking about.
Speaker 5 (31:38):
That's why he was confused because he's like, I don't
know who named him.
Speaker 1 (31:41):
Yeah, he's like, I don't know.
Speaker 3 (31:43):
What that is. Marijuana and a coochie.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
Okay, marijuana and a coochie.
Speaker 3 (31:47):
I don't know what it is.
Speaker 2 (31:49):
Damn.
Speaker 3 (31:49):
I was talking about burning it.
Speaker 2 (31:52):
Oh, God.
Speaker 3 (31:53):
All right.
Speaker 1 (31:54):
Well, let's get into the joint. It's called Marijuana in
the what?
Speaker 3 (31:56):
Kachi. Kachi. Not Kuchi.
Speaker 1 (31:58):
It's the Breakfast Club.
Speaker 3 (31:59):
Come on.
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