Today on The Breakfast Club, Coach K & Mel Carter Talk Bojangles 'Wine & Beer,' Franchising, Quality Control Music, Artists. Listen For More!
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Every day up waiting, click your ass up.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
The Breakfast Club.
Speaker 3 (00:05):
You don't finished for y'all.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Dunk Morning.
Speaker 4 (00:07):
Everybody is DJ n V Jess hilarious, Charlamagne the guy
we are the Breakfast Club. Law La Rosa is here
as well.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
We got some special guests.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
In the building.
Speaker 4 (00:15):
Yes, indeed, we got Coach k who's been up here
several times, and we got the brother Mel Carter.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Welcome, thank you, thank you. This my first time, the
first time here.
Speaker 4 (00:23):
Now, if they don't know who you are, you want
to break down who you are and what you've done
in this industry.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Me ah man, long time coming. I did music for
twenty years, and ten of it for free, and then
I got paid for the other And I used to
be the senior vice president of A and R Republic Records,
went over to Warner after that for three years, and
I just left Warner like it's the first time saying it.
(00:52):
I'm leaving Warner. Wow. Why why when you starting your
only thing? I saw right starting I started signing different
second in the State. Second State was a joint venture Warner.
I was doing that in control for the n R
team and starting sound in the Stream of Space. I
started managing this kid named Rod. He just did uh
(01:15):
Sabatine and the American Dream Mall. He did thirty days,
thirty nights, lived there. I just and I just really
liked that space. So I'm doing that and just focus
on these restaurants for real, for a little bit of
real estate, like you you know what I'm saying. But
that's really it. It's focus on this new company and
focus on hopefully turning these restaurants into a hundred restaurants
(01:37):
in the next five years. Said A and R. I'm sorry,
but you said A and R. Yeah right.
Speaker 4 (01:42):
I feel like A and R doesn't exist anymore. And
both of you brothers came from a place where y'all
were strong and rs for your artists. Does A and
R exist anymore?
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Do we need A and RS?
Speaker 4 (01:53):
Because it seems like the music is just getting trashed.
There's no guidance.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
I think we need A and R. That's the problem. Yep.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
You know, they got rid of the artists of Element
and started everybody started treating the music like stockbrokers, you
know what I'm saying, and chasing the number number number,
and you know, and that became now labels. I should
say chase songs instead of building and developed artists.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Once you build it, you build, you build an artist,
it turns into a brand. And you know that's how
you know, we and q see like I studied, We
studied the Motowns and you know the Russells and you
know those labels. And I think it needs to come back.
I think that's the problem. It's oversaturated and nobody's like
building stars.
Speaker 4 (02:36):
Now you don't know who coach K is. Coach K
first time I met a music with g Z then
one of the creators and owners of QC that that
brought all the sluice Yati Gucci. He did Gucci back
in the day, but he bought Uh City girls, migos,
I mean just a host of them. But they actually
built from the ground up. These artists didn't have hits
at the time. You guys worked and created the hits
(02:58):
and created what ya wanted to do, which we don't
see anymore. Is that the reason why you feel feel.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Like you know, one of the things that got me
and I love Republic record shout out to Manti and Avery,
but it became this like you don't really need a
and R no more. You know how many kids I
flew to New York City because they had a song
that was trending, and by day three the song was
going down and I had to just explain to them,
we don't want to do the deal no more, you
(03:25):
know what I'm saying. So it's like you need A
and R. But it's such a research game now that
it's kind of hard to be at A and R
because it's like you could have an artist that's the best,
and you like you want to build them up, but
a kid from you know, Michigan, got something that's streaming.
They don't even have a song as they go after it.
So like that's why mid Coach and like QC and
(03:46):
like the last of that that's left for real, for real,
that's really in our it's a dude name top dog.
They really still building artists, you know what I'm saying,
instead of just like chasing what's moving and it works.
And it's kind of like, I guess it could be
a bit of a better business model because you could
develop an act and they don't work. But a lot
of this shit that just start trending, they don't really
(04:07):
go nowhere.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Also feel like you got to have those boutique labels
like the QC. You need it, like the Top Dogs,
because reality is y'all niggas care as they simply just
don't care. I look at like some of the last
few releases that came out from people did fantastic ab
Offste fantastic album, Tianna Taylor fantastic album.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
But they don't even feel like a Vince.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
They feel like somebody just put it out there and
did the minimal amount of work possible and now what.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
But think about it, right, every artist that's big, let's
let's say the Top two, Drake, Ken, Drick, Little Baby,
every one of these acts came from a joint venture.
So they had somebody in the middle, like a coach
who cared, you know what I'm saying, Like TV who
cared cash money. They had somebody who sat between the
(04:52):
label it was like, Yo, we ain't gonna do that.
We're gonna do this. Like every success in Republic except
for Po Malone, it's through a joint venture, Wayne Nikki,
even Taylor. It's all joint ventures with somebody who was
standing in the middle, who cared, you know what I'm saying.
So you need somebody who cared. Can we drop a
bomb for a little baby? Man?
Speaker 4 (05:14):
Little baby sells so many goddamn records, and it's so
quiet about he. He's like diamond twice, right, diamond twice,
and nobody talks about it. Is insane. You telling me
the numbers earlier.
Speaker 5 (05:26):
I was pulling it up.
Speaker 6 (05:27):
I saw he I think it was let me, let
me get it right. So my turn is on Billboards.
He's number one of the bill Boards twenty the top
R and B and hip hop albums of the twenty
first century.
Speaker 5 (05:39):
When you saw that, how did you feel about it?
Speaker 3 (05:41):
I mean I felt I felt really good. But you know,
when we was making that album, I knew it was special,
you know what I'm saying. And what made it so
special is when the album dropped. It dropped February twenty twenty,
two weeks two weeks later, like the middle of February,
because like two weeks later the world crash, you know
(06:01):
what I'm saying, And it was it was like it
was really it was really a messed up time because
he didn't really get to go tour that album because
everybody was down for a year and a half. Basically,
you know what I'm saying, but it stood a test
of time up where like it was like every song
I was like damn, damn, damn, and it just kept
going to the point like right now like freestyle, you know,
(06:25):
mm hmm.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
It seven years later, it's just it was like that's
his dreams and nightmare.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
Yeah Jesus, but yeah, it's it's you know, it's it's
a really good feeling.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
It's a really good feeling.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
That body of work was a well put body of work,
you know what I'm saying, and had been developed over time,
and you know, it's a good feeling.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
Did you think that he was gonna come with you know,
basically the soundtrack for that year with a song like
the Bigger Picture. When you think of all the artist
that you thought was gonna come and represent with music,
Little Baby was not on my Bengo car to come
with the record.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
You know what. It's crazy, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
Like he went and I remember him doing a Bigger Picture,
you know, I remember he called us, was like, yeah,
I'm gonna do this record, you know what I'm saying.
He played it, I was like, oh man, this is
about to change the game. He's like he said me
and Pete down and say, hey, man, listen, I don't
want this to sit on my album. I want to
sit on I wanted to sit alone. I don't want
(07:28):
to make the money from this album. You know what
I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
Because everybody kept.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
You need to speak up, you need to speak up,
you need to speak up, because he's big in the
community and they know he had a voice, you know,
talk to the kids. He was like, I want this song,
and we had to go to the label. He was like,
I want this song all the money that it generates.
I want this song that money. I wanted to go
to charities, you know what I'm saying, Yeah, criminal justice reform, yeah, everything,
(07:52):
you know. And to go to the label like hey,
this is what we want to do. And they was like, yeah,
you know what I'm saying. But he was like I
don't even you know, Like that's how he because everybody's like,
we need you come Marsh, we need to come speak
He went and he cut the record. He's like, this
is how I want to get my point across. He's
very vulnerable on the record, Like I hadn't heard him
that vulnerable. You know what I'm saying and let it
out and then we gave it to the world and boom.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
So y'all ain't make no money off that record. Nah,
we donated it.
Speaker 5 (08:17):
Point the number was at like one point five million, Like,
where is it now?
Speaker 2 (08:23):
You got that many?
Speaker 6 (08:26):
I don't think people understand the impact of that song
and what that means to just give that all to
you know, a great thing he did, but that's a
huge amount of money.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
And so even even that year it got nominated for
Grammys and he got to performed Grammys, was like it
was still closed, you know what I'm saying, Like he
had a big performance, but you know, and really get
to get the magic of what it really was.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
That's crazy.
Speaker 4 (08:51):
So now you guys have jumped in and jumped into
the fast food spot.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
Yes.
Speaker 4 (08:56):
Crazy thing about the fast food spot is, you know,
as a kid, fast food was cheap.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Right.
Speaker 4 (09:00):
You can go there and you can get two ninety
nine mel and you know, you walk out with fries,
food and a drink. The other day I went there,
it was like fifteen dollars and I'm like, this ain't
cheap no more.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
I mean, but the coke was twenty five cents back
in the day.
Speaker 4 (09:12):
I'm not that old, wasn't It wasn't.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
I'm around the fifty cent I remember that time. I
was there for twenty five.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
It was twenty five, thirty five, and fifty fifty five.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
I mean talking about when I was like, I'm a
little older than that. A couple.
Speaker 4 (09:35):
Let's talk about what you know, why you jumped into
the bow jingles franchising and how y'all how'd y'all get
together to do it?
Speaker 3 (09:40):
So so, me and Mail met twelve years ago music.
We met, you know, on some music stuff. You know
what I'm saying. We became super good friends. My brother,
you know, he was coming up in the business, and
it's wild because we was back in the green and
we were just talking like damn, it's twelve years ago.
I literally was starting QC when me.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
And him met. You know what I'm saying. I was
I got this idea. You know.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
He had an artist from Brooklyn he was doing and
he was like, man, I need your help. I was like,
we're gonna help each other. You see what I'm saying.
Because I was at the I was doing a come
up here. I'm leaving management, well, still managing, but was
doubling down on you know, starting a label man, because
you know, you know, managing artists sometimes, you know, that's.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
When you gave me that advice. I was like, Bro,
like you knows, yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
I was like, you got to own an IP, especially
when you're a manager that an rs and develops you
know what I'm saying. So it's like, you know, you're
managing these artists, you developing a IP and you creating
their whole business. But then you know, you look back five, six, seven,
ten years You're like, damn, I've had ownership. They can
exactly you know what I'm saying, they can fire you.
(10:47):
So that's when we met, right then. I told him
that because I was going all in on the artists.
I say, bro, make sure you you know what I mean.
You covered you know what I'm saying. But we met,
and uh we we had a really good bond.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
You know. It's a good good brother.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
And what about four maybe four years ago, five years ago? Male,
start making this moves, you know what I'm saying in
New York, like meeting a lot of people and doing things.
I'm like, he was like, Yo, when I find something,
you know what I'm saying, because you was all you
always kept it real with me, you know, like even
when he went to go get a job, he was like, y'all,
I need you to call these folks and tell them
(11:24):
this thing.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
It's real, you know. But you know, once I find something,
I'm gonna pull you in. Called me.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
He was like, man, what you know about bow Jangles.
I was like, whoa, that's crazy. I went to school
in Raleigh, North Carolina. You know what I'm saying. I
played basketball at Saint Augustine. Bo Jangles kept.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Me alive, berry biscuit, berry biscuit.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
And kept me alive. You know what I'm saying, Like
gate that ship. So I was and I never even
heard of bo Jangles coming from Indianapolis, Indiana, where I'm from.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
I got down there.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
I was like the thing and it was two minutes
from my campus, you know. So when they called me
with the opportunity, I was like, hell, yeah, I men.
You know what I'm saying. I was like, what we
can do? What I was like, I'm in. He's like
all right, let me let me, you know, go center
down and really research and find out everything because I
know you're busy, you know what I'm saying. And when
(12:14):
I get everything from all the information and I'm gonna
put it in front of you. Here we are.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
And you know, it's funny how that opportunity came to
me is having the right mentors, you know what I'm saying.
The network and doy named Mike Novgrads who m Dave Barry.
I got a podcast for them based on business. It's
called Business Untitled, and uh, they were actually going to
I mean whatever it's out there now. They were going
(12:40):
to buy pop pods and they ended up that fell
through and they bought both Jangles because they felt like
it was the next best brand. And that's how the
opportunity came about. And I just started really looking into
the brand. I always wanted to own something and like
like as a kid like man, it'd be cooler on McDonald's,
you know what I'm saying. And it came out. We
end up buying raised twenty five million dollars, bought seventeen
(13:02):
bow Jangles and now grew it to twenty eight, opening
another two now opening four this year. Congratulations twenty eight
currently operating. Yeah, seventeen in South Carolina. We opened in
the first one in Florence that's band Wine and one
in UGA on the campus that do band wine first
(13:25):
bow Jangles ever wine.
Speaker 4 (13:26):
So being one so you can go there, you can
get go there, get you.
Speaker 3 (13:31):
Them.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
Yeah yeah yeah. But you know, like when I tell
this story, like I'm more involved than coach, you know
what I'm saying, because coaches running the whole entire label.
I'm more run this. It's it wasn't easy to get
to this these you know what I'm saying. The first
year we bought it, the EBITDA which is the profit
(13:52):
was at two point five million dollars when we bought it,
COVID hit stores closed down. We was getting this crazy
thing that was happening in with the employees. I don't
know if you remember the government, if you had an
unemployment they was giving you four hundred dollars on your
check if you left. So we was getting employees that
(14:13):
worked for two weeks quit get our five hundred from
unemployment and the government gave him four hundred extra. So
we had so much turnover. Now we got over a
thousand employees, which eighty percent of them is black, you
know what I'm saying, And like we was getting two
hundred people turning over. Then we had to shut down stores.
So the ib and I went from like two point
(14:36):
five million to like a million eight which that trips
every alarm with the bank. So it was like, oh
my god, we just like dropped the ball on this.
Had the restructure, had a bad partner coach you want
me about. We got rid of him and our restructure,
hired a guy named Rob who's the CEO of the company.
(14:58):
A CFO read Robin, and restructure the management team, and
you know, thank god, today the business is we're doing
seven point nine million dollars in even out this year,
on track to do nine point something million next year.
Speaker 3 (15:14):
Every year since since the fall, revenue increase.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
So you know, but I say that to say, like
being an entrepreneur, man, I always tell people like it's
eighty percent headaches, it's eighty percent stress, but that twenty
percent be really worth it. You know what I'm saying,
what's the.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
Biggest obstacles you guys face?
Speaker 4 (15:33):
Because you hear all the time tariffs is affecting this,
or this is affecting the farm life. You know, people
don't want this or they want this, So what is
the biggest obstacles you guys had to face in this part?
Speaker 2 (15:44):
I mean and and this the tariffs didn't really affect
us that much, you know what I'm saying. But like
the biggest obstacles I had to face, me and Coach
had to face was getting the management team right, people working.
You know what I'm saying, Getting people working right in
the business. You know what I'm saying, it's getting the
management right. When you got we got almost we probably
got eleven hundred employees. You know, we done haved fights
(16:06):
at the store. You see all that type of shit
like and you really be like, please don't be my
store because you get sued. You know what I'm saying.
But I tell you one of the great moments I
had when you know, and it happens a lot, but
this was the first great moment I had. You know,
I have to go check out the store. So I
went somewhere in South Carolina and they got the store
(16:28):
pretty nice ready. And you know, we hire a lot
of X cons. We give second chances, like just people
like us. I'm a high school dropout kicked out, so
we hire people like ourselves that just we want to
give opportunities too. And I went there and they had
this store like super ready. They ain't know what I
look like. And this one dude he came up to me.
(16:49):
He had just came out like maybe a year ago,
and he been working and he still works there. I
can't remember his name. And he was like, man, you know,
I thought Coach K was the guy from Duke That's
what he said. And he said, and they told me
the boss, the other boss was coming from New York. Man.
We was scared. We was like, we thought it was like,
you know, a white corporate guy like you like me.
(17:13):
And I'm like, yeah, nigga, I'm just like you. Like
you don't even understand how much I'm like you. And
he gave me a hug, you know what I'm saying,
and he was like, man, it's just good to see this,
you know what I'm saying. And I was like, Yo,
if I could do this, you could really do this
because I had no I don't even know how I
did this. I just did it with God, you know
what I'm saying. Did it with God? Did it with Coach,
(17:34):
had the right friends, the right mentors, and like networking
is everything, and like, you know, you could be a
good networker, but if you're only networking in Flatbush, you
only gonna meet people from Flatbush, you know what I'm saying.
So you got to get outside your comfort zone and
really like network with people like yourself, people like you know,
I hired you for a party, like fifteen years ago.
(17:56):
I was throwing events in the live you remember that
on Fulton Brooklyn in Brooklyn, So I was charging He
charged me like forty grand back then. No, I can't remember,
but you know so I've just been like that working
my whole life. And I don't treat networking as like
(18:19):
I want a network with people that I feel I
could be friends with. You know what I'm saying. I'm
way past that stage where I gotta like be around
somebody I don't like just to make it make something happen.
So like coach my brother, we're gonna through both Jangles together,
you know what I'm saying. So for kids, man, it
ain't easy. It's really really really hard. Every day it
feel like And I'm sure y'all know that I heard
(18:41):
you got a couple of Yeah, me and my wife
we got two.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
We bought six, but we got two that's are currently
operating in South Carolina. That's Walter brother Crystal Crystals. What
it's like, uh yeah, like sliders. Yeah, we should we
should talk on that, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
And because we got a lot of is like in
both we can do we can do burgers, we can't
do chicken. So it works perfectly. So we could definitely
have a conversation with congrats on that.
Speaker 6 (19:11):
Is there a certain area, like location, like in the
South or wherever that you see that your businesses work
better than others.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
So, uh, the Carolinas number one, like South, both Jangles,
you know what I'm saying. Like they just they bringing
boat Jangles to New York right now, and they offered
me the opportunity to do it, and I think it's
gonna do great, But I say, you know, I'm not
(19:38):
rich enough to do that. Like I'm gonna lest somebody
else take the chance, see how it goes, and then
do it. Because New York, the labor is real high,
the rent is real high, but the volume is real
high too. So me and Coach looked at it and say,
you know what, We'll sit these first five out, let
somebody else do it and see how it go. But
they coming to New York. But like for Both Jangles,
(19:58):
l A two, Yeah, why the Carolina's doing. I mean,
Bojangles is just religion in the Carolinas, Like you know
what I'm saying. I never really heard of the brand
until my friends bought it and I really started digging
into it. But like they don't want to hear nothing
but bo Jangles. So it's like Bojangles is I mean,
you know, it's religion. It's like it's like Chick fil
(20:21):
A in Atlanta, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
So I went to school, I'm from Indianapolis. Man, I
never even heard of bout James. When I got down
to North Carolina. That was like that was it with
no KFC. You know what I'm saying. I mean literally
it was KFC. It was it was. It was churches, right, Pope's.
I don't even think it was n rally yet, you
know what I'm saying. Pope's wasn't even there, but it
was churches KFC. Right, I mean literally right across the
(20:45):
street from each other, man bow Jangles line State. I'm
talking about booked for real.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
Man, that Chicken fil A biscuit with some egg on it, man,
and with a bowlberry biscuit and then big ass hash brown.
Oh my God, no biscuits beat us bro I don't
think it's the best basket in the game for real.
FA I agree, So, yes, the Carolina is as strong
anywhere in the South they got. I think they got
(21:11):
a thousand locations all together, and it's strongly in the South.
They starting to move up this side now and I'm
gonna see how that go. But it's a really good brand.
The food is good.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
I'm actually happy it's not in New York because I
would eat it every day. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
People who want a franchise, does it make sense to
only own one franchise if you don't have enough capital
to buy you know, several of them.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
It do make sense if you are going to work
and operate it yourself every day, because we don't operate it.
We there managing partners. You know what I'm saying. We
got it. Like I said, a CEO is great CFO
and a thousand other people under them. So that's why
I got the ability to be in New York. Coach
got the ability to be in Atlanta and run this shit.
(21:53):
But it makes sense if you are going to run it,
because if the banks he run it and you're making money,
They're going to that money to you, and well, a
strong brand like a Bojangles, you may only have to
put thirty percent down, you know what I'm saying. And
if they see you growing and you know the business,
it make a lot of sense.
Speaker 4 (22:12):
So do you leave music at all now? Like use
a f This music thing now too much of a
headache and I'm just going to stay as a nah.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
For me, I love music, I really really do. But
more than anything, like while I'm going into this streaming
world is because I find so much. I was a
youth once, you know what I'm saying, and I find
so much Like you learn so much from them, you
know what I'm saying. So I want to stay part
of that world where you keep learning, you know. So
(22:38):
for me, this is how I really did bow Jangles
and real estay in a few different things because my
dream coming up was to be Dame Dash jay Z.
You know those guys inspired me coming up. Coach K. Now,
I never made it to where Coach K is in music,
and I'm okay with that, but I was like, you
know what, I am making really good money of deals,
(23:00):
made some money. I need to diversify and make sure.
Even if I don't hit that success in music, which
is my number one passion, I might have thirty two
bow Jangles restaurants. You know what I'm saying, I'll still
be able to feed my family. I still have a
couple of buildings. I still you know, so like invest
in Whoop and different things that I did, And that's
why we did the podcast because I was like, I
(23:23):
got I met these two guys, Mike Novograts and Dave Barry,
who are very very successful guys. But and Coach knows
them well. We all brothers, you know what I'm saying.
They Mike is worth a lot, Coach is worth a lot.
I mean, Dave's worth a lot. But more than anything.
That's been my college for the last lot. Highest education
(23:43):
I had in a real way is fifteen years old,
you know what I'm saying. And I learned so much
from them. Of like, if you focus on one thing
and you want it, and you make other money, put
it into other things and almost forget about it, you
know what I'm saying. So I got a lot of
opportunity used to invest in a lot of different things
because of networking and meeting people and just being genuine
(24:06):
so like I love music, it's my passion. I didn't
get the success that coach got, you know what I'm saying. So,
but I wasn't gonna chase that for the rest of
my life. What about you, coach?
Speaker 4 (24:16):
You are dealing with all this and attitudes, and I'm
stealing it, man.
Speaker 3 (24:20):
I mean it's had I and I wake up some
days like I hate this shit.
Speaker 4 (24:25):
But two of your groups don't air with each other,
and then they get back together, then they don't.
Speaker 3 (24:30):
Mess with I'm a creative at heart, man, Like, like
even building a business, I never did it for the money. Man,
you know what I'm saying. I just I'm a creative
and I want to be the best, you know what
I'm saying. So I'm always I was always chasing that,
you know, like trying to be the best, you know
what I'm saying. So with that, you know, you do
good work, keep your head down, keep your face clean.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
You know.
Speaker 3 (24:53):
Eventually, you know, the finances came. But even with that, man,
I was like, shit, I got stuck to versifying my
portfolio business too, you know. So you know, when this
opportunity came, I was like hell yeah, And like he said,
like Mike and Dave, his brother. He introduced me to them.
I met them, and they's some good guys that like
(25:14):
just really gives us really good game and you know,
like being in school, you know, and a lot of
opportunities that have came from that. But uh, yeah, I'm
still in music, man, Like I still love it.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
You know.
Speaker 4 (25:26):
Who's on QC now?
Speaker 1 (25:27):
You know, but before you said, there's a lot of
people who thought that y'all y'all back the way after that, yeah,
was like, no, we're good.
Speaker 3 (25:36):
Ah, hell no, we didn't. We actually doubling down. And
you know what, just the business shifted. Like I've been
in this business twenty eight years now, the music business,
I don't watched this ship shift so many times and
you know about every ten years. It's a real shift
that happened, you know what I'm saying. And we just
saw that. We're going through it right now, and you know,
(26:00):
we got some new young talent that we're developing that's
super excited about. But to answer your question, who's still
on QC? A Baby still on QC, Yachdy is still
on QC. JT is still on from from the old
you know, j T still on QC. Quavo still on QC,
All Set still on QC. You know what I'm saying.
So everybody's still there and building, and then it's it's new.
(26:22):
You know, we got new talent that we're developing, you
know what I mean?
Speaker 1 (26:25):
So yeah, I love offset new album, man, but I
just feel like it should be bigger. Like I really
feel like I don't even know who's design to you
see and who motown multime capital.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
Somebody got to be doing. You know, it's still a weekend.
It's only a week, man.
Speaker 6 (26:40):
It feels like nobody's been out for a little second.
Speaker 5 (26:44):
I feel like.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
I didn't realize it's only a week. Gave me too
because people really starting to talk.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
About it a lot now the label lying lay will
be like, it's not about the first week, Yes it is, y'all,
don't do nothing for.
Speaker 4 (26:56):
Feels like his album was out for a while because
we've been talking about it.
Speaker 3 (26:59):
Maybe we're the first week. It is about the first week,
but that we got to get off of that, you
know what I'm saying, Because that's the thing, like these
bodies of work have, it's really good music on there,
and we sold mind fucked, you know what, I'm saying,
and custom what the first week numbers look like. So
if a first week number come out and it's low,
then we forgot about it. Let's go to the next one.
(27:20):
And that's that's really messed up, because these projects really
are good, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (27:26):
So I just want to leave that thing. You know.
Speaker 4 (27:29):
Another problem too is and I hate to say it,
but I feel like music comes so fast right something saturated.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
Right now. I'm still on Clips.
Speaker 4 (27:36):
Album and I'm still on Offset album. I didn't really
get a chance to dive in the Jit album, you know.
Speaker 2 (27:40):
What I'm sat get a chance. It's crazy. Somebody told
me it's difficult. You know.
Speaker 3 (27:46):
It's just a lot of music out there, a lot
of music to consume. Yeah, I remember like one week
it was like it was it was like so many
albums campus like Clips and ray Kwan And then I
was like, whoa, you know what I'm saying. But I
was happy because I'm a purist, you know what I'm saying.
So when these the Clips and the ray Kwan's and
then I look the Burning Boy drop. You know what
I'm saying, Fucking Justin Bieber dropped it. I never listened
(28:09):
to it justin Bibro. The albums incredible, you know what
I'm saying, Like all these records, and I was just
like I was kind of overwhelmed, you know what I'm saying,
the same way, you know, but I think it's just
man a lot.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
You know shit.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
Well they say two hundred and fifty thousand records come
a day, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
Like, it's just crazy, you know what I'm saying. So
I want to I want to ask both of.
Speaker 1 (28:28):
Y'all something like how important is regional identity when you're
developing a global stuff.
Speaker 3 (28:34):
It's really important, I think super important. That's the most
important thing. And I think streaming messed that up, you
know what I'm saying. Where you know, you own where
you're from, you know, and you become that you know,
like different slangs come from different places, and that's what
makes shit so great. But when the streaming happened, it
was just hit the button. It was everywhere, so you
(28:57):
you felt like you didn't have to like own your
you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (29:01):
And I think we got to get back to that.
Speaker 3 (29:03):
You know what I'm saying That this West Coast because
it was a West coast, and it was a South coast.
It was the south and the East coast the east
and everybody had their own identity. And now it's just
kind of like you can't even tell no more, you
know what I'm saying, And that kind of like messed
things up.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
But I think we're gonna get back to it.
Speaker 5 (29:20):
How everything's gonna blended.
Speaker 2 (29:25):
It's gonna be hard, you know. I think I don't know.
Speaker 4 (29:29):
See West Coast and they got their old like they
stayed by their sound. Then they didn't stay away. They
did sound, but like there's no New York sound anymore.
There's no the like before there was a boombap, you
knew what New York was. Now it's like you hear
all this hip like where's he from?
Speaker 2 (29:42):
That's a fact.
Speaker 5 (29:43):
You don't feel like Sexy Drill is the New York
son it is.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
But it's like, how big is it getting? You know
what I'm saying. It's not like you know it's it's
it's I don't know how big it could go hopefully somebody,
but it's for music for me too. One of the things,
one of the main reasons is that I really loved
this whole streaming culture is that they really I don't
know if I can say this, but I keep saying it.
(30:08):
They really like little niggas from the street. You know
what I'm saying, I'm I'm I'm really like a guy
from the street. Like I I everything you could think of.
I went through. You know what I'm saying. I've been shot.
I've been I've been through a lot of stuff, and
like that was one of the things for me with music.
I was just getting burnt out of you know, artists
I done came through that got murdered, like King Vonn
(30:28):
and them. I didn't really even know them. I knew
his manager. I was in the studio with them trying
to sign him the night before all of that happened. Wow.
And then the next day four of the guys or
three of the guys I met in the studio got murdered.
So I just was like, you know, coming up and
trying to like do something different and keep running into
like this violence in music, and like for music, you
(30:50):
gotta be tough. It was a rap in here. You
gotta be here with seven niggas, and they gotta be tough,
even if it ain't nothing to be tough about. So
for me watching this streaming culture and watching these content
creators who talk the same, who just as cool, but
they'll tell you straight up, bro, we're not into that
violent shit. For me, that just feel good to be
(31:10):
a part of and I hope it last. And that's
the drill music. Like you know, I love New York,
but the drill music, like you gotta be or act
violent or you gotta you know what I'm saying, We
gotta be dog for it to work. So it's like
that was another thing that for me I straight away
because it was just like, damn, I'm almost forty. I'm like,
I'm kind of cool on that, and I don't want
(31:31):
the kids to be on that no more.
Speaker 1 (31:32):
Were a little hard on the drill artist though. We
grew up on trap, you know what I'm saying. You know,
we grew up on crunk. Like the New York music
were super gangster and violence. We're a little bit hard
on drill artists, like like that wasn't our era.
Speaker 2 (31:46):
Too, No, no, it was.
Speaker 3 (31:48):
But it's just so what I'm saying is I'm gonna
come out shooting it, killing too.
Speaker 2 (31:52):
It's like we're just old enough. Yeah, But you know,
and this is the thing, right, I definitely or to
anybody who's trying to make it. I'm just saying, if
I see a way where I could get kids to
like understand they can make it without doing that, I
want to support me. I want to put myself more
behind that because I know what it feels like to
(32:14):
be shot in the face. I know what it feels
like to go through all that. I just my cousins.
Shout out to my cousin. He just died three weeks ago,
he got murdered. So it's like I got over three
hundred friends that's been throughout my life. So it's just like, yeah,
I supported it, and it's part of our DNA because
we grew up like almost like real glorifying violence. Absolutely,
I see a way that I'm like, you know what,
(32:37):
these kids ain't really doing that. Let me get behind
that and see if I could kind of guide them.
Speaker 4 (32:42):
I think it's a matter of and you know, you
felt like people lived that life right And nowadays I
was watching some of you the kids like, nah, just
make it up.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
Yeah I never shot a gun. I just make it.
Speaker 3 (32:53):
Most of them make it up, bro. Like man, it's
just like when trap music. We came like you said,
we came up on trap music. Let's let's be clear.
Ice is Ice preaching this all the time. My artists
come to me. I'm like, bro, this is not real.
You know what I'm saying. I remember this one. I
ain't gonna say no name but me in the studio
(33:14):
when we first started QC.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
Run off on the plug.
Speaker 3 (33:18):
This is that that that? You know what I'm saying?
And they said something. I said, brow May Grabs is
in the quilo right. He was just looking. I said,
why are you talking about this real?
Speaker 2 (33:34):
No, but it's just you know what I mean. Like,
but that was different compared to what's happening right now
with the drill Ship. And again, I love, I support you.
Gotta make your living, you know what I'm saying. You
gotta get your mom's out of the projects. You got
whatever it is. But now they don't live it right.
But when they make it the music and they get
so good at it, what's the next thing. I really
(33:56):
gotta live it. I really gotta shoot somebody. I really
got to get that. Nigga Shot was an artist who
was at the video shoot. One of the little guys
that I think you were signed and he was like, yo,
this kid and I was like, not this kid. I'm
looking at it. I'm like, yo, he's a wild one.
Speaker 3 (34:13):
And then like a couple of weeks later, I'm looking
on the blocks. He just got picked up, did it?
And I was like, what the hell?
Speaker 2 (34:20):
Kid I had from Markins. So he in jail for
twenty years? His friend he came here, I signed him
where he got double Life plus thirty seven years. I'm like,
why would you even give somebody that much time? Double
Life plus thirty seven years? Yeah, I hate when Jordge
do this is like just safe forever. He's just mentally
trying to like mess with me, you know what I'm saying.
(34:41):
But for me that was it's still a big thing,
you know what I'm saying. And I'm like, I ain't
removed from the streets completely, but if I could help
move from the streets and get money ways. But I'm
talking about, like, you know, my people, if I can
help them like see a different way where it's like
we don't got to like, you know what I'm saying,
glorify the violence. I'm all for that.
Speaker 1 (35:02):
I want to ask y'all the same question about franchising.
How important is regional identity when it comes to franchising,
because you know, bow.
Speaker 2 (35:08):
Jangles coming to New York, Chick fil A and New York.
Speaker 1 (35:10):
Don't hit the same for me coming from the South,
chickl y'all not used to it.
Speaker 2 (35:15):
I was excited at first.
Speaker 5 (35:16):
I can't imagine bo Jangles in New York.
Speaker 2 (35:19):
Certain things I'm getting from New York.
Speaker 6 (35:20):
No, I'm from Delaware, but I got a family. That's
why I have my family from down south. And I
only know what Bojangles from when I'm down south. Like
I know literally when you're driving when you hit certain
areas because you see yeah yeah.
Speaker 2 (35:34):
But like you look forward to in and Out. If
I'm in Florida, I look forward to the looking. But
if in and Out came here, it'll be a line
for twenty day absolutely, And Chick fil A is still
a line of Chick fil A. And tell you it's
still a line Chick fil A. I know all this
stuff because I'm in it, right. Chick fil A average
unit volumes is seven million, that's the average, and worst
they do, our average unit volumes is two point nine million.
(35:55):
I got one store, We got one store. That's doing
five million, which is amazing, right, Chick fil A averaged
or does seven millions? Crazy? In New York City, the
average does twelve million dollars. That's so somebody liked it,
you know what I'm saying something.
Speaker 1 (36:14):
I still like having a regional identity with some of
these franchises.
Speaker 3 (36:17):
I know they still do have a regional identity. They
definitely I think that's a Chick fil A come here people,
that's you know, because let's be clear, most people from
New York lineages from the South, you know what I'm saying,
So they used to coming back and forth Grandmama, Auntie
this or that, you know, so you know, once when
it came, it's like, whoa, this is here now, so
(36:37):
let's flood it, you know what I'm saying, because you know,
you're not used to getting it.
Speaker 2 (36:40):
And once it's good, yeah, once it's good. You know.
And your point you were saying earlier about our cheap
fast food used to be great point. What we did
with our company. We created a five dollar box outside
of corporate, outside of they can't really tell you what
to do with your pricing, and that five dollar box
(37:01):
our company is now comping twelve percent higher in corporate
an average because it could afford it, you know what
I'm saying. So now everybody's running to our stores for
the five dollar box Crystal Mill deal.
Speaker 4 (37:18):
Yeah, my kids want the pope The other day was
fourteen dollars. It was just for strips, fries and the juice.
And I could not believe. I said, Nah, we're gonna
go home and cook. I hit the town of Cook.
Speaker 2 (37:28):
I couldn't.
Speaker 4 (37:28):
I could not give Popeyes, Sloop Popeys fourteen dollars.
Speaker 2 (37:33):
And you know I got six kids.
Speaker 5 (37:34):
You left Popee, they had stuff?
Speaker 2 (37:37):
Would you cook? What did you cook? Burgers? How much
you think the burgers ran here?
Speaker 4 (37:41):
So I ran, I said, I go to bj is
running big box of burgers, cousse. We twenty two dollars
for the big angus burgers and put them on the thing,
put the little fries in the thing and it was good.
After twenty minutes they had their meals. You know, I'm
a pappy that cooks though, So you know.
Speaker 2 (37:52):
If this don't work out Bojangles.
Speaker 1 (37:56):
But y' all right about that five dollar price point, man,
that ship changes a lot, like we got all changed.
We got a four ninety nine deal for I think
it's what two crystal burgers, a small frying and drink.
Speaker 2 (38:06):
Then we got a breakfast meal deal for two for
five hours. Bro, you can't get four for five dollars
nowhere right, So when you could and it's good, you know,
people are running. I'm like, this is crazy with twelve
comping twelve percent higher. And I'm sure you've seen since
you did that, it just went crazy because let's be real,
times is real rough right now? Patty? Four dollars right?
(38:29):
Four dollars? Oh my god, that's crazy. See where you're
getting your bee Patty from? Though Bodegger, we might in
flat Bush, the first one coming to Flatbush.
Speaker 4 (38:45):
I wanted to ask, you know, back to be I
know you still deal with with with YACHTI what were
your thoughts when when I feel like everybody was attacking
Yachty and I feel like when sometimes we do things
wrong as a community, instead of having a conversation, were attacking,
we like to cancel and obviously had a conversation and
went back and apologized. So what was your thought when
you heard Yady's line?
Speaker 2 (39:04):
And did you call him? Actually I didn't.
Speaker 3 (39:06):
I hadn't even talked to him until I seen because
he's he's in Australia on tour with with you know
so and I was I was just in Southeast eight,
so we was kind of we miss each other until
every like him and Stephen had a conversation, you know
what I'm saying. But like when I heard, I was like,
you know, me and Stephen were really good, We're real cool.
You know, I was like, I'm gonna put them together.
(39:28):
But it happened naturally because y'ally, you know, if he
makes a mistake, you know what I'm saying. The kid
is so he's just a really good person and he's free,
you know what I'm saying, and sometimes you know, a
lot of they just don't be thinking, you know. So
he's just going and writing the line come out and
then he gets to the backlash. You know, he's smart.
(39:50):
He's like, I'm gonna hear Stephen. So he hit him personally,
you know what I'm saying. They talked personally, which everything
was cool. You know, he bossed up, did what he
needed to do, talk to him like a man. Did
that and it's gone, you know. But I mean a
lot of times I think, you know, these artists have
free will. Man and sometimes at the end and they
just they just writing and thinking and not thinking about
you know, everything else. You know what I'm saying, can
(40:11):
come with it. But and I don't think he was attacked.
People use it at a moment to.
Speaker 2 (40:14):
Teach, for sure.
Speaker 6 (40:18):
I watched the documentary you guys did with JT when
she first came home, and it showed how, like also
to a Little Babies documentary, you guys are almost it's
such a family or felt like such a family at.
Speaker 3 (40:30):
This man. It's family oriented. Man, That's how we run
our business, you know, because.
Speaker 6 (40:34):
I'm just wondering now, like how the dynamic works because
it's just JT. And are you guys still I do
still see like young Miami talking about you guys.
Speaker 3 (40:41):
Sometimes it's our relationship, Like we still have a great relationship,
see Miami. We text each other every Everything is still cool.
It's just at the time where she wanted to go
with her career, just things didn't It didn't match your work,
you know. So it was like, hey, I'm not going
to never hold nobody back, you know what I'm saying,
that's what you want to do. You're free, you know
your free will, you can go you know and explore
(41:03):
any option you want to do.
Speaker 2 (41:05):
It's still love too.
Speaker 5 (41:06):
Did it break your heart still?
Speaker 6 (41:07):
Because I think we were all waiting for them to
have that big, major run together.
Speaker 3 (41:12):
It didn't break my heart because I've been in the
game a long time and I know people grow apart,
you know what I'm saying, Like, be real, Like that's
why I think a lot of if you look in
the business, we were the only ones out there with groups.
You know what I'm saying. Everybody was scared of groups.
I mean, I mean they I used to get man,
you're crazy, you know, to do a group. But I
think that's what that was our sweet spot, you know
(41:32):
what I'm saying. So it didn't break my heart just
because you know, hip hop raised me and I watched
and studied you know music, you know what I'm saying.
And I mean, eventually people are going to grow apart,
you know what I'm saying. And we worked hard at it,
you know, and who knows, one day it may happen again,
you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (41:52):
But like people just grow apart. How did the untimely
passion of a takeoff.
Speaker 3 (41:58):
I mean packing to this day still, you know what
I'm saying like take Off was probably one of the nicest, humble,
like any artist I ever worked with. You know what
I'm saying, Like he just was It was God's child, man,
you know what I'm saying, like for real, and.
Speaker 2 (42:16):
That moment. Man, I'm still messed up on that moment. Man.
Speaker 3 (42:19):
It's even hard to talk about it, you know what
I'm saying, just because you know, yeah, that's a hard one, bro.
Speaker 1 (42:26):
Absolutely absolutely does it feel safer, Well, you know you
got him up there to with this money you said,
God got him, but he got the halo over That's.
Speaker 2 (42:35):
Dope, But it's a fire room. Man.
Speaker 1 (42:38):
Does it feel safer to invest in franchises over people?
Speaker 2 (42:44):
Yeah, I ain't gonna lie to you. Yeah, man, I
mean in a way, you still invested in people, right,
because like I said, we went down because we didn't
have the right people. We got the right people, and
those people like made the business work much better. So like,
but overall, absolutely, And it's crazy. Like Larry Larry Monroe,
(43:06):
a good friend of mine New York, he told me
you got these QSR restaurants, and I was like, that's dope,
because like, as a people, like we need to understand
how Like it's a lot of money in it, you
know what I'm saying, and we just don't know. Like
we got it's thirty two restaurants that makes us the
number one black QSR franchise owners, which is quick service restaurant.
(43:29):
But look at this. I got a friend, one of
my really really close friends who also helped me. I
won't say his name, but they got seven hundred and
something Popeyes and Burger Kings. They're not even in the
top six. Wow. So look at that, right, being being
black is a huge accomplishment, and I'm so thankful to
(43:50):
be part of it. But thirty two puts us at
number one, seven hundred, don't put him at number five six.
So it's just like so many of these businesses that
one it's hard for us to get into because I
wouldn't have got in if I didn't have those mentors.
I wouldn't even think about it. Coach wouldn't have got
in if it wasn't for me. So it's just like
(44:11):
when I hear you was doing it, I'm like, man,
that's dope. You got some good guidance or you just
really map it out, and it's like that sign that
could last forever for your kids, kids kids. These people
I'm talking about six hundred day I had it for
three generations already. So it's just like for us, it
is better to invest in something like that than people.
(44:32):
But you invest in the right people, like little Baby
there's that. You know, Yachty coach hit it four or
five times. I don't even think Rockefeller hit it as
much as QC did it, Like nobody really did it
like them. So it's just like, but how many shots
you took, you know what I'm saying. So to answer
that question, I think it is more safer to invest
(44:53):
in QSR, especially something that's established already, because you could
get behind something that's not as established and it blow
up or it don't, and more more times than less
it don't blow up. Because being an entrepreneur in business
is really hard. I know that.
Speaker 3 (45:13):
I think both, you know, because I mean, like I said,
my twenty eight years of my career existence in music
has been investing in people. You know, I'm just learning
now you know the other business, you know what I mean,
like for real, for real, I got to saying I
always say, like damn, you know, being in a business
(45:33):
so long and investing people. I'm like, bo I gotta
give me something that don't talk back, you know what
I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (45:39):
No, just been for real, you know.
Speaker 3 (45:41):
So that's when I start diversifying and looking at investments
in different things, you know what I'm saying, Because I
was so lasered in like locked in with music, you
know what I'm saying. Like I said, I'm a creative,
So it's like I never even looked outside of that
until like a couple of years ago.
Speaker 2 (45:55):
Like, you know, let me start. You know, as I'm.
Speaker 3 (45:59):
Getting older, you know, I probably won't be able to
do this forever.
Speaker 2 (46:03):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (46:04):
It's being real, So let me just start, you know,
looking at my options.
Speaker 2 (46:09):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 6 (46:11):
Was that like a like something that happened that made
you think about that? It was literally just you reflecting on.
Speaker 2 (46:16):
Like like years old.
Speaker 3 (46:16):
You know what I'm saying, Like I'm not going to
do music and chase artists and you know forever, you
know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (46:21):
So, and you know, I have children, I have a family.
Speaker 3 (46:24):
You know, I came up in poverty, you know, so
I want to change the way that looks for my
children and my grandchildren.
Speaker 2 (46:33):
You know. So, so let me start.
Speaker 6 (46:35):
Diversify a lot of the artists you've worked with too,
there's always like an entrepreneurial spirit about them, and y'all
empower them to do that.
Speaker 3 (46:41):
That's I mean, I'm telling you, developing an artist, you
turn them into a brand.
Speaker 2 (46:45):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (46:45):
And me being a manager for so long, you know,
I only ate off the ancillary. I never ate off
the product. The ancillary and the ancillary is all the
businesses built around the artists. So once when you build
an artist, it's like, okay, my soon as I sign
of artists, I'm like, yo, so how.
Speaker 2 (47:03):
Big do you want to go? You know?
Speaker 3 (47:05):
I said, my goal is to turn you into a brand.
Are you ready for that?
Speaker 2 (47:08):
You know?
Speaker 3 (47:08):
I want to turn into a brand and everything you touch,
all the ancillary that you think. You know, you like this,
you like that, Let's turn that into a business that's
where you control and your own you know.
Speaker 1 (47:18):
So I like having y'all up here, man and having
this conversation because when people see y'all, it's inspiring, Like
there's so many people that look like us that don't
even know things like this are possible. You know what
I mean, like franchising, like it's something I always wanted
to do, thinking about like what E Class was doing
and for sure you know, and.
Speaker 6 (47:36):
How did you get into trying to get No?
Speaker 2 (47:41):
I got it was watching people like it, bro.
Speaker 1 (47:43):
But I got into it because because the two Change,
because you know, Two Changs became the head of creative
marketing for Crystal.
Speaker 2 (47:49):
And then I saw a little duball.
Speaker 1 (47:50):
Little Uball was down that do Ball did with all
the Crystal burg and I'm like, damn, I see Crystal
in the minute.
Speaker 2 (47:54):
I just asked him where you get that from?
Speaker 1 (47:55):
And that's when he told me about Two Changs And
I'm like, oh, two Change had the creative marketers.
Speaker 2 (47:59):
I hit him change Tech.
Speaker 1 (48:00):
I'm like, yo, man, I want to talk about just
seeing what's over Crystal.
Speaker 2 (48:05):
And they plugged me right in. That's crazy. They plugged
me right in and it just made sense. My team
was like, yo, let's do it. You know what we
do for brands as a culture, like it's it's crazy.
Like even Rick Ross. I don't know Rick Ross, but
like you know, uh, Wingstop. When Rick Ross got Wingstop,
Wingstop was trading at like three times and multiple so
that means if they ebotize them two million dollars, the
(48:28):
most you could sell it for six I don't know
if it's Rick Ross, but between that time and now
Ringstop is trading at nine times, you got to give
Ross a lot of credit for that. That's what I'm saying.
Think about before nobody was thinking about it. So it's
like again between him, you know, it's nine times. Now
(48:48):
that's that's insane. So it's like we we add a
lot of value to ship that we don't own a
lot of times, you know what I'm saying. So I
don't own Both Jangles, but I'm own these restaurants and
I'm gonna help build it up, you know what I'm saying,
instead of just like taking some money to help promo them.
So it's like, you know, again, I want to preach
to these kids, like you gotta own something, you gotta
(49:10):
you gotta own sign and congrats on the crystals, y'all.
Speaker 1 (49:15):
It's inspired hearing y'all Talk thirty twenty eight, currently operating,
thirty two coming.
Speaker 2 (49:19):
Oh that's incredible, and next week one on the campus
A U G A One Man that's the band Wow
and uh the first one downtown Florence. You know, so, yeah,
we're excited about that. Where are you from it? Are
you close to from Florence?
Speaker 1 (49:35):
While to Charles, I was raised the most corner, so
most corners, like thirty minutes from Charleston.
Speaker 2 (49:40):
Okay, so you're on that side. Yeah, yep, low country.
Speaker 4 (49:42):
Yeah, thank you the brothers for joining us. Man, you
guys couraging and keep pushing. I got one last question.
I know, Coach, I know you on the road all
the time. I know you probably never home. I see
you on the road when you're gonna sell me to
eat thirty m three convertible that you have.
Speaker 3 (49:57):
Coach has a car Bee trying to buy for the
longest time.
Speaker 2 (49:59):
You don't want to sell it to me?
Speaker 3 (50:00):
Why don't you sell me that car? He should have
bought it. He was supposed to. It was his car.
It was you know.
Speaker 2 (50:05):
And then I was being cheap my business partner.
Speaker 3 (50:09):
It was I remember it's twenty eighteen and we just
renegotiated and it was my birthday and he was like
I was on the computer looking at the car, and uh,
my assistant at the time, he was like, Hey, what
was that car Coach was looking at? Because I always
used to be on the computer. And she went in
and went in my thing and gave it to him.
Speaker 2 (50:28):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (50:29):
And he's like, man, pull up to the studio. I
pulled up to the studio and they backed that thing.
I was like, Wow, backed it off the damn trailer.
I was like, but I should have bought it. When
when when I got it, and he see said, man,
you know I was that was my car. I was
supposed to because the car said new Yard said New Jersey.
Speaker 4 (50:45):
And my Long Island, Long Island and my Long Island.
Speaker 2 (50:47):
Yep, you know it's crazy. I just got over cars.
I sold him my Rose Royce. I always told me
I got a good deal. Yes, I did. Never been
round the body, Crystal, That's what I'm saying. I just
love mind living in New York. I had three cars
and I was taking Ubers everywhere. But the cause we
buy it is a little different. They go up in value.
(51:11):
The cause. I used to be all you because you're.
Speaker 3 (51:14):
Driving around Brooklyn and it's Bentley Ice Blue Bentley. Then
you got a color in.
Speaker 2 (51:18):
I'm like, what are you doing? You can't even drive
in New York. Real like they had a thousand cars
though I gotta do this. I don't know. Race Collection
allowed me to give a shout out, but I got
to shout out my daughter Milan and a Hampton University
crew that's listening. That's right, the real Hu, the real Hu.
(51:38):
You know, she's a junior right now. Like it, she
love it. She chose. I wanted to go to Howard,
but she made the right shout out to my little sister,
you know, Uh, Mike Novo, Ben Black, Stephen Man, Cherian
Rhanda Omar and all the people that really helped me.
(52:00):
You know, it's a lot more, but just want to
shout them out. They really are live a big role
in my life.
Speaker 4 (52:06):
All right, Well, Coach k Melcarter, Yes, indeed, it's the
Breakfast Club in the morning.
Speaker 1 (52:10):
Hold up, every day I wake up, click your ass
up the Breakfast Club.
Speaker 3 (52:15):
Y'all finished?
Speaker 2 (52:15):
So y'all done.
Every day up waiting, click your ass up.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
The Breakfast Club.
Speaker 3 (00:05):
You don't finished for y'all.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Dunk Morning.
Speaker 4 (00:07):
Everybody is DJ n V Jess hilarious, Charlamagne the guy
we are the Breakfast Club. Law La Rosa is here
as well.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
We got some special guests.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
In the building.
Speaker 4 (00:15):
Yes, indeed, we got Coach k who's been up here
several times, and we got the brother Mel Carter.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Welcome, thank you, thank you. This my first time, the
first time here.
Speaker 4 (00:23):
Now, if they don't know who you are, you want
to break down who you are and what you've done
in this industry.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Me ah man, long time coming. I did music for
twenty years, and ten of it for free, and then
I got paid for the other And I used to
be the senior vice president of A and R Republic Records,
went over to Warner after that for three years, and
I just left Warner like it's the first time saying it.
(00:52):
I'm leaving Warner. Wow. Why why when you starting your
only thing? I saw right starting I started signing different
second in the State. Second State was a joint venture Warner.
I was doing that in control for the n R
team and starting sound in the Stream of Space. I
started managing this kid named Rod. He just did uh
(01:15):
Sabatine and the American Dream Mall. He did thirty days,
thirty nights, lived there. I just and I just really
liked that space. So I'm doing that and just focus
on these restaurants for real, for a little bit of
real estate, like you you know what I'm saying. But
that's really it. It's focus on this new company and
focus on hopefully turning these restaurants into a hundred restaurants
(01:37):
in the next five years. Said A and R. I'm sorry,
but you said A and R. Yeah right.
Speaker 4 (01:42):
I feel like A and R doesn't exist anymore. And
both of you brothers came from a place where y'all
were strong and rs for your artists. Does A and
R exist anymore?
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Do we need A and RS?
Speaker 4 (01:53):
Because it seems like the music is just getting trashed.
There's no guidance.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
I think we need A and R. That's the problem. Yep.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
You know, they got rid of the artists of Element
and started everybody started treating the music like stockbrokers, you
know what I'm saying, and chasing the number number number,
and you know, and that became now labels. I should
say chase songs instead of building and developed artists.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Once you build it, you build, you build an artist,
it turns into a brand. And you know that's how
you know, we and q see like I studied, We
studied the Motowns and you know the Russells and you
know those labels. And I think it needs to come back.
I think that's the problem. It's oversaturated and nobody's like
building stars.
Speaker 4 (02:36):
Now you don't know who coach K is. Coach K
first time I met a music with g Z then
one of the creators and owners of QC that that
brought all the sluice Yati Gucci. He did Gucci back
in the day, but he bought Uh City girls, migos,
I mean just a host of them. But they actually
built from the ground up. These artists didn't have hits
at the time. You guys worked and created the hits
(02:58):
and created what ya wanted to do, which we don't
see anymore. Is that the reason why you feel feel.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Like you know, one of the things that got me
and I love Republic record shout out to Manti and Avery,
but it became this like you don't really need a
and R no more. You know how many kids I
flew to New York City because they had a song
that was trending, and by day three the song was
going down and I had to just explain to them,
we don't want to do the deal no more, you
(03:25):
know what I'm saying. So it's like you need A
and R. But it's such a research game now that
it's kind of hard to be at A and R
because it's like you could have an artist that's the best,
and you like you want to build them up, but
a kid from you know, Michigan, got something that's streaming.
They don't even have a song as they go after it.
So like that's why mid Coach and like QC and
(03:46):
like the last of that that's left for real, for real,
that's really in our it's a dude name top dog.
They really still building artists, you know what I'm saying,
instead of just like chasing what's moving and it works.
And it's kind of like, I guess it could be
a bit of a better business model because you could
develop an act and they don't work. But a lot
of this shit that just start trending, they don't really
(04:07):
go nowhere.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Also feel like you got to have those boutique labels
like the QC. You need it, like the Top Dogs,
because reality is y'all niggas care as they simply just
don't care. I look at like some of the last
few releases that came out from people did fantastic ab
Offste fantastic album, Tianna Taylor fantastic album.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
But they don't even feel like a Vince.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
They feel like somebody just put it out there and
did the minimal amount of work possible and now what.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
But think about it, right, every artist that's big, let's
let's say the Top two, Drake, Ken, Drick, Little Baby,
every one of these acts came from a joint venture.
So they had somebody in the middle, like a coach
who cared, you know what I'm saying, Like TV who
cared cash money. They had somebody who sat between the
(04:52):
label it was like, Yo, we ain't gonna do that.
We're gonna do this. Like every success in Republic except
for Po Malone, it's through a joint venture, Wayne Nikki,
even Taylor. It's all joint ventures with somebody who was
standing in the middle, who cared, you know what I'm saying.
So you need somebody who cared. Can we drop a
bomb for a little baby? Man?
Speaker 4 (05:14):
Little baby sells so many goddamn records, and it's so
quiet about he. He's like diamond twice, right, diamond twice,
and nobody talks about it. Is insane. You telling me
the numbers earlier.
Speaker 5 (05:26):
I was pulling it up.
Speaker 6 (05:27):
I saw he I think it was let me, let
me get it right. So my turn is on Billboards.
He's number one of the bill Boards twenty the top
R and B and hip hop albums of the twenty
first century.
Speaker 5 (05:39):
When you saw that, how did you feel about it?
Speaker 3 (05:41):
I mean I felt I felt really good. But you know,
when we was making that album, I knew it was special,
you know what I'm saying. And what made it so
special is when the album dropped. It dropped February twenty twenty,
two weeks two weeks later, like the middle of February,
because like two weeks later the world crash, you know
(06:01):
what I'm saying, And it was it was like it
was really it was really a messed up time because
he didn't really get to go tour that album because
everybody was down for a year and a half. Basically,
you know what I'm saying, but it stood a test
of time up where like it was like every song
I was like damn, damn, damn, and it just kept
going to the point like right now like freestyle, you know,
(06:25):
mm hmm.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
It seven years later, it's just it was like that's
his dreams and nightmare.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
Yeah Jesus, but yeah, it's it's you know, it's it's
a really good feeling.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
It's a really good feeling.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
That body of work was a well put body of work,
you know what I'm saying, and had been developed over time,
and you know, it's a good feeling.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
Did you think that he was gonna come with you know,
basically the soundtrack for that year with a song like
the Bigger Picture. When you think of all the artist
that you thought was gonna come and represent with music,
Little Baby was not on my Bengo car to come
with the record.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
You know what. It's crazy, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
Like he went and I remember him doing a Bigger Picture,
you know, I remember he called us, was like, yeah,
I'm gonna do this record, you know what I'm saying.
He played it, I was like, oh man, this is
about to change the game. He's like he said me
and Pete down and say, hey, man, listen, I don't
want this to sit on my album. I want to
sit on I wanted to sit alone. I don't want
(07:28):
to make the money from this album. You know what
I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
Because everybody kept.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
You need to speak up, you need to speak up,
you need to speak up, because he's big in the
community and they know he had a voice, you know,
talk to the kids. He was like, I want this song,
and we had to go to the label. He was like,
I want this song all the money that it generates.
I want this song that money. I wanted to go
to charities, you know what I'm saying, Yeah, criminal justice reform, yeah, everything,
(07:52):
you know. And to go to the label like hey,
this is what we want to do. And they was like, yeah,
you know what I'm saying. But he was like I
don't even you know, Like that's how he because everybody's like,
we need you come Marsh, we need to come speak
He went and he cut the record. He's like, this
is how I want to get my point across. He's
very vulnerable on the record, Like I hadn't heard him
that vulnerable. You know what I'm saying and let it
out and then we gave it to the world and boom.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
So y'all ain't make no money off that record. Nah,
we donated it.
Speaker 5 (08:17):
Point the number was at like one point five million, Like,
where is it now?
Speaker 2 (08:23):
You got that many?
Speaker 6 (08:26):
I don't think people understand the impact of that song
and what that means to just give that all to
you know, a great thing he did, but that's a
huge amount of money.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
And so even even that year it got nominated for
Grammys and he got to performed Grammys, was like it
was still closed, you know what I'm saying, Like he
had a big performance, but you know, and really get
to get the magic of what it really was.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
That's crazy.
Speaker 4 (08:51):
So now you guys have jumped in and jumped into
the fast food spot.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
Yes.
Speaker 4 (08:56):
Crazy thing about the fast food spot is, you know,
as a kid, fast food was cheap.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Right.
Speaker 4 (09:00):
You can go there and you can get two ninety
nine mel and you know, you walk out with fries,
food and a drink. The other day I went there,
it was like fifteen dollars and I'm like, this ain't
cheap no more.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
I mean, but the coke was twenty five cents back
in the day.
Speaker 4 (09:12):
I'm not that old, wasn't It wasn't.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
I'm around the fifty cent I remember that time. I
was there for twenty five.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
It was twenty five, thirty five, and fifty fifty five.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
I mean talking about when I was like, I'm a
little older than that. A couple.
Speaker 4 (09:35):
Let's talk about what you know, why you jumped into
the bow jingles franchising and how y'all how'd y'all get
together to do it?
Speaker 3 (09:40):
So so, me and Mail met twelve years ago music.
We met, you know, on some music stuff. You know
what I'm saying. We became super good friends. My brother,
you know, he was coming up in the business, and
it's wild because we was back in the green and
we were just talking like damn, it's twelve years ago.
I literally was starting QC when me.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
And him met. You know what I'm saying. I was
I got this idea. You know.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
He had an artist from Brooklyn he was doing and
he was like, man, I need your help. I was like,
we're gonna help each other. You see what I'm saying.
Because I was at the I was doing a come
up here. I'm leaving management, well, still managing, but was
doubling down on you know, starting a label man, because
you know, you know, managing artists sometimes, you know, that's.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
When you gave me that advice. I was like, Bro,
like you knows, yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
I was like, you got to own an IP, especially
when you're a manager that an rs and develops you
know what I'm saying. So it's like, you know, you're
managing these artists, you developing a IP and you creating
their whole business. But then you know, you look back five, six, seven,
ten years You're like, damn, I've had ownership. They can
exactly you know what I'm saying, they can fire you.
(10:47):
So that's when we met, right then. I told him
that because I was going all in on the artists.
I say, bro, make sure you you know what I mean.
You covered you know what I'm saying. But we met,
and uh we we had a really good bond.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
You know. It's a good good brother.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
And what about four maybe four years ago, five years ago? Male,
start making this moves, you know what I'm saying in
New York, like meeting a lot of people and doing things.
I'm like, he was like, Yo, when I find something,
you know what I'm saying, because you was all you
always kept it real with me, you know, like even
when he went to go get a job, he was like, y'all,
I need you to call these folks and tell them
(11:24):
this thing.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
It's real, you know. But you know, once I find something,
I'm gonna pull you in. Called me.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
He was like, man, what you know about bow Jangles.
I was like, whoa, that's crazy. I went to school
in Raleigh, North Carolina. You know what I'm saying. I
played basketball at Saint Augustine. Bo Jangles kept.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Me alive, berry biscuit, berry biscuit.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
And kept me alive. You know what I'm saying, Like
gate that ship. So I was and I never even
heard of bo Jangles coming from Indianapolis, Indiana, where I'm from.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
I got down there.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
I was like the thing and it was two minutes
from my campus, you know. So when they called me
with the opportunity, I was like, hell, yeah, I men.
You know what I'm saying. I was like, what we
can do? What I was like, I'm in. He's like
all right, let me let me, you know, go center
down and really research and find out everything because I
know you're busy, you know what I'm saying. And when
(12:14):
I get everything from all the information and I'm gonna
put it in front of you. Here we are.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
And you know, it's funny how that opportunity came to
me is having the right mentors, you know what I'm saying.
The network and doy named Mike Novgrads who m Dave Barry.
I got a podcast for them based on business. It's
called Business Untitled, and uh, they were actually going to
I mean whatever it's out there now. They were going
(12:40):
to buy pop pods and they ended up that fell
through and they bought both Jangles because they felt like
it was the next best brand. And that's how the
opportunity came about. And I just started really looking into
the brand. I always wanted to own something and like
like as a kid like man, it'd be cooler on McDonald's,
you know what I'm saying. And it came out. We
end up buying raised twenty five million dollars, bought seventeen
(13:02):
bow Jangles and now grew it to twenty eight, opening
another two now opening four this year. Congratulations twenty eight
currently operating. Yeah, seventeen in South Carolina. We opened in
the first one in Florence that's band Wine and one
in UGA on the campus that do band wine first
(13:25):
bow Jangles ever wine.
Speaker 4 (13:26):
So being one so you can go there, you can
get go there, get you.
Speaker 3 (13:31):
Them.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
Yeah yeah yeah. But you know, like when I tell
this story, like I'm more involved than coach, you know
what I'm saying, because coaches running the whole entire label.
I'm more run this. It's it wasn't easy to get
to this these you know what I'm saying. The first
year we bought it, the EBITDA which is the profit
(13:52):
was at two point five million dollars when we bought it,
COVID hit stores closed down. We was getting this crazy
thing that was happening in with the employees. I don't
know if you remember the government, if you had an
unemployment they was giving you four hundred dollars on your
check if you left. So we was getting employees that
(14:13):
worked for two weeks quit get our five hundred from
unemployment and the government gave him four hundred extra. So
we had so much turnover. Now we got over a
thousand employees, which eighty percent of them is black, you
know what I'm saying, And like we was getting two
hundred people turning over. Then we had to shut down stores.
So the ib and I went from like two point
(14:36):
five million to like a million eight which that trips
every alarm with the bank. So it was like, oh
my god, we just like dropped the ball on this.
Had the restructure, had a bad partner coach you want
me about. We got rid of him and our restructure,
hired a guy named Rob who's the CEO of the company.
(14:58):
A CFO read Robin, and restructure the management team, and
you know, thank god, today the business is we're doing
seven point nine million dollars in even out this year,
on track to do nine point something million next year.
Speaker 3 (15:14):
Every year since since the fall, revenue increase.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
So you know, but I say that to say, like
being an entrepreneur, man, I always tell people like it's
eighty percent headaches, it's eighty percent stress, but that twenty
percent be really worth it. You know what I'm saying,
what's the.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
Biggest obstacles you guys face?
Speaker 4 (15:33):
Because you hear all the time tariffs is affecting this,
or this is affecting the farm life. You know, people
don't want this or they want this, So what is
the biggest obstacles you guys had to face in this part?
Speaker 2 (15:44):
I mean and and this the tariffs didn't really affect
us that much, you know what I'm saying. But like
the biggest obstacles I had to face, me and Coach
had to face was getting the management team right, people working.
You know what I'm saying, Getting people working right in
the business. You know what I'm saying, it's getting the
management right. When you got we got almost we probably
got eleven hundred employees. You know, we done haved fights
(16:06):
at the store. You see all that type of shit
like and you really be like, please don't be my
store because you get sued. You know what I'm saying.
But I tell you one of the great moments I
had when you know, and it happens a lot, but
this was the first great moment I had. You know,
I have to go check out the store. So I
went somewhere in South Carolina and they got the store
(16:28):
pretty nice ready. And you know, we hire a lot
of X cons. We give second chances, like just people
like us. I'm a high school dropout kicked out, so
we hire people like ourselves that just we want to
give opportunities too. And I went there and they had
this store like super ready. They ain't know what I
look like. And this one dude he came up to me.
(16:49):
He had just came out like maybe a year ago,
and he been working and he still works there. I
can't remember his name. And he was like, man, you know,
I thought Coach K was the guy from Duke That's
what he said. And he said, and they told me
the boss, the other boss was coming from New York. Man.
We was scared. We was like, we thought it was like,
you know, a white corporate guy like you like me.
(17:13):
And I'm like, yeah, nigga, I'm just like you. Like
you don't even understand how much I'm like you. And
he gave me a hug, you know what I'm saying,
and he was like, man, it's just good to see this,
you know what I'm saying. And I was like, Yo,
if I could do this, you could really do this
because I had no I don't even know how I
did this. I just did it with God, you know
what I'm saying. Did it with God? Did it with Coach,
(17:34):
had the right friends, the right mentors, and like networking
is everything, and like, you know, you could be a
good networker, but if you're only networking in Flatbush, you
only gonna meet people from Flatbush, you know what I'm saying.
So you got to get outside your comfort zone and
really like network with people like yourself, people like you know,
I hired you for a party, like fifteen years ago.
(17:56):
I was throwing events in the live you remember that
on Fulton Brooklyn in Brooklyn, So I was charging He
charged me like forty grand back then. No, I can't remember,
but you know so I've just been like that working
my whole life. And I don't treat networking as like
(18:19):
I want a network with people that I feel I
could be friends with. You know what I'm saying. I'm
way past that stage where I gotta like be around
somebody I don't like just to make it make something happen.
So like coach my brother, we're gonna through both Jangles together,
you know what I'm saying. So for kids, man, it
ain't easy. It's really really really hard. Every day it
feel like And I'm sure y'all know that I heard
(18:41):
you got a couple of Yeah, me and my wife
we got two.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
We bought six, but we got two that's are currently
operating in South Carolina. That's Walter brother Crystal Crystals. What
it's like, uh yeah, like sliders. Yeah, we should we
should talk on that, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
And because we got a lot of is like in
both we can do we can do burgers, we can't
do chicken. So it works perfectly. So we could definitely
have a conversation with congrats on that.
Speaker 6 (19:11):
Is there a certain area, like location, like in the
South or wherever that you see that your businesses work
better than others.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
So, uh, the Carolinas number one, like South, both Jangles,
you know what I'm saying. Like they just they bringing
boat Jangles to New York right now, and they offered
me the opportunity to do it, and I think it's
gonna do great, But I say, you know, I'm not
(19:38):
rich enough to do that. Like I'm gonna lest somebody
else take the chance, see how it goes, and then
do it. Because New York, the labor is real high,
the rent is real high, but the volume is real
high too. So me and Coach looked at it and say,
you know what, We'll sit these first five out, let
somebody else do it and see how it go. But
they coming to New York. But like for Both Jangles,
(19:58):
l A two, Yeah, why the Carolina's doing. I mean,
Bojangles is just religion in the Carolinas, Like you know
what I'm saying. I never really heard of the brand
until my friends bought it and I really started digging
into it. But like they don't want to hear nothing
but bo Jangles. So it's like Bojangles is I mean,
you know, it's religion. It's like it's like Chick fil
(20:21):
A in Atlanta, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
So I went to school, I'm from Indianapolis. Man, I
never even heard of bout James. When I got down
to North Carolina. That was like that was it with
no KFC. You know what I'm saying. I mean literally
it was KFC. It was it was. It was churches, right, Pope's.
I don't even think it was n rally yet, you
know what I'm saying. Pope's wasn't even there, but it
was churches KFC. Right, I mean literally right across the
(20:45):
street from each other, man bow Jangles line State. I'm
talking about booked for real.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
Man, that Chicken fil A biscuit with some egg on it, man,
and with a bowlberry biscuit and then big ass hash brown.
Oh my God, no biscuits beat us bro I don't
think it's the best basket in the game for real.
FA I agree, So, yes, the Carolina is as strong
anywhere in the South they got. I think they got
(21:11):
a thousand locations all together, and it's strongly in the South.
They starting to move up this side now and I'm
gonna see how that go. But it's a really good brand.
The food is good.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
I'm actually happy it's not in New York because I
would eat it every day. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
People who want a franchise, does it make sense to
only own one franchise if you don't have enough capital
to buy you know, several of them.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
It do make sense if you are going to work
and operate it yourself every day, because we don't operate it.
We there managing partners. You know what I'm saying. We
got it. Like I said, a CEO is great CFO
and a thousand other people under them. So that's why
I got the ability to be in New York. Coach
got the ability to be in Atlanta and run this shit.
(21:53):
But it makes sense if you are going to run it,
because if the banks he run it and you're making money,
They're going to that money to you, and well, a
strong brand like a Bojangles, you may only have to
put thirty percent down, you know what I'm saying. And
if they see you growing and you know the business,
it make a lot of sense.
Speaker 4 (22:12):
So do you leave music at all now? Like use
a f This music thing now too much of a
headache and I'm just going to stay as a nah.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
For me, I love music, I really really do. But
more than anything, like while I'm going into this streaming
world is because I find so much. I was a
youth once, you know what I'm saying, and I find
so much Like you learn so much from them, you
know what I'm saying. So I want to stay part
of that world where you keep learning, you know. So
(22:38):
for me, this is how I really did bow Jangles
and real estay in a few different things because my
dream coming up was to be Dame Dash jay Z.
You know those guys inspired me coming up. Coach K. Now,
I never made it to where Coach K is in music,
and I'm okay with that, but I was like, you
know what, I am making really good money of deals,
(23:00):
made some money. I need to diversify and make sure.
Even if I don't hit that success in music, which
is my number one passion, I might have thirty two
bow Jangles restaurants. You know what I'm saying, I'll still
be able to feed my family. I still have a
couple of buildings. I still you know, so like invest
in Whoop and different things that I did, And that's
why we did the podcast because I was like, I
(23:23):
got I met these two guys, Mike Novograts and Dave Barry,
who are very very successful guys. But and Coach knows
them well. We all brothers, you know what I'm saying.
They Mike is worth a lot, Coach is worth a lot.
I mean, Dave's worth a lot. But more than anything.
That's been my college for the last lot. Highest education
(23:43):
I had in a real way is fifteen years old,
you know what I'm saying. And I learned so much
from them. Of like, if you focus on one thing
and you want it, and you make other money, put
it into other things and almost forget about it, you
know what I'm saying. So I got a lot of
opportunity used to invest in a lot of different things
because of networking and meeting people and just being genuine
(24:06):
so like I love music, it's my passion. I didn't
get the success that coach got, you know what I'm saying. So,
but I wasn't gonna chase that for the rest of
my life. What about you, coach?
Speaker 4 (24:16):
You are dealing with all this and attitudes, and I'm
stealing it, man.
Speaker 3 (24:20):
I mean it's had I and I wake up some
days like I hate this shit.
Speaker 4 (24:25):
But two of your groups don't air with each other,
and then they get back together, then they don't.
Speaker 3 (24:30):
Mess with I'm a creative at heart, man, Like, like
even building a business, I never did it for the money. Man,
you know what I'm saying. I just I'm a creative
and I want to be the best, you know what
I'm saying. So I'm always I was always chasing that,
you know, like trying to be the best, you know
what I'm saying. So with that, you know, you do
good work, keep your head down, keep your face clean.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
You know.
Speaker 3 (24:53):
Eventually, you know, the finances came. But even with that, man,
I was like, shit, I got stuck to versifying my
portfolio business too, you know. So you know, when this
opportunity came, I was like hell yeah, And like he said,
like Mike and Dave, his brother. He introduced me to them.
I met them, and they's some good guys that like
(25:14):
just really gives us really good game and you know,
like being in school, you know, and a lot of
opportunities that have came from that. But uh, yeah, I'm
still in music, man, Like I still love it.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
You know.
Speaker 4 (25:26):
Who's on QC now?
Speaker 1 (25:27):
You know, but before you said, there's a lot of
people who thought that y'all y'all back the way after that, yeah,
was like, no, we're good.
Speaker 3 (25:36):
Ah, hell no, we didn't. We actually doubling down. And
you know what, just the business shifted. Like I've been
in this business twenty eight years now, the music business,
I don't watched this ship shift so many times and
you know about every ten years. It's a real shift
that happened, you know what I'm saying. And we just
saw that. We're going through it right now, and you know,
(26:00):
we got some new young talent that we're developing that's
super excited about. But to answer your question, who's still
on QC? A Baby still on QC, Yachdy is still
on QC. JT is still on from from the old
you know, j T still on QC. Quavo still on QC,
All Set still on QC. You know what I'm saying.
So everybody's still there and building, and then it's it's new.
(26:22):
You know, we got new talent that we're developing, you
know what I mean?
Speaker 1 (26:25):
So yeah, I love offset new album, man, but I
just feel like it should be bigger. Like I really
feel like I don't even know who's design to you
see and who motown multime capital.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
Somebody got to be doing. You know, it's still a weekend.
It's only a week, man.
Speaker 6 (26:40):
It feels like nobody's been out for a little second.
Speaker 5 (26:44):
I feel like.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
I didn't realize it's only a week. Gave me too
because people really starting to talk.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
About it a lot now the label lying lay will
be like, it's not about the first week, Yes it is, y'all,
don't do nothing for.
Speaker 4 (26:56):
Feels like his album was out for a while because
we've been talking about it.
Speaker 3 (26:59):
Maybe we're the first week. It is about the first week,
but that we got to get off of that, you
know what I'm saying, Because that's the thing, like these
bodies of work have, it's really good music on there,
and we sold mind fucked, you know what, I'm saying,
and custom what the first week numbers look like. So
if a first week number come out and it's low,
then we forgot about it. Let's go to the next one.
(27:20):
And that's that's really messed up, because these projects really
are good, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (27:26):
So I just want to leave that thing. You know.
Speaker 4 (27:29):
Another problem too is and I hate to say it,
but I feel like music comes so fast right something saturated.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
Right now. I'm still on Clips.
Speaker 4 (27:36):
Album and I'm still on Offset album. I didn't really
get a chance to dive in the Jit album, you know.
Speaker 2 (27:40):
What I'm sat get a chance. It's crazy. Somebody told
me it's difficult. You know.
Speaker 3 (27:46):
It's just a lot of music out there, a lot
of music to consume. Yeah, I remember like one week
it was like it was it was like so many
albums campus like Clips and ray Kwan And then I
was like, whoa, you know what I'm saying. But I
was happy because I'm a purist, you know what I'm saying.
So when these the Clips and the ray Kwan's and
then I look the Burning Boy drop. You know what
I'm saying, Fucking Justin Bieber dropped it. I never listened
(28:09):
to it justin Bibro. The albums incredible, you know what
I'm saying, Like all these records, and I was just
like I was kind of overwhelmed, you know what I'm saying,
the same way, you know, but I think it's just
man a lot.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
You know shit.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
Well they say two hundred and fifty thousand records come
a day, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
Like, it's just crazy, you know what I'm saying. So
I want to I want to ask both of.
Speaker 1 (28:28):
Y'all something like how important is regional identity when you're
developing a global stuff.
Speaker 3 (28:34):
It's really important, I think super important. That's the most
important thing. And I think streaming messed that up, you
know what I'm saying. Where you know, you own where
you're from, you know, and you become that you know,
like different slangs come from different places, and that's what
makes shit so great. But when the streaming happened, it
was just hit the button. It was everywhere, so you
(28:57):
you felt like you didn't have to like own your
you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (29:01):
And I think we got to get back to that.
Speaker 3 (29:03):
You know what I'm saying That this West Coast because
it was a West coast, and it was a South coast.
It was the south and the East coast the east
and everybody had their own identity. And now it's just
kind of like you can't even tell no more, you
know what I'm saying, And that kind of like messed
things up.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
But I think we're gonna get back to it.
Speaker 5 (29:20):
How everything's gonna blended.
Speaker 2 (29:25):
It's gonna be hard, you know. I think I don't know.
Speaker 4 (29:29):
See West Coast and they got their old like they
stayed by their sound. Then they didn't stay away. They
did sound, but like there's no New York sound anymore.
There's no the like before there was a boombap, you
knew what New York was. Now it's like you hear
all this hip like where's he from?
Speaker 2 (29:42):
That's a fact.
Speaker 5 (29:43):
You don't feel like Sexy Drill is the New York
son it is.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
But it's like, how big is it getting? You know
what I'm saying. It's not like you know it's it's
it's I don't know how big it could go hopefully somebody,
but it's for music for me too. One of the things,
one of the main reasons is that I really loved
this whole streaming culture is that they really I don't
know if I can say this, but I keep saying it.
(30:08):
They really like little niggas from the street. You know
what I'm saying, I'm I'm I'm really like a guy
from the street. Like I I everything you could think of.
I went through. You know what I'm saying. I've been shot.
I've been I've been through a lot of stuff, and
like that was one of the things for me with music.
I was just getting burnt out of you know, artists
I done came through that got murdered, like King Vonn
(30:28):
and them. I didn't really even know them. I knew
his manager. I was in the studio with them trying
to sign him the night before all of that happened. Wow.
And then the next day four of the guys or
three of the guys I met in the studio got murdered.
So I just was like, you know, coming up and
trying to like do something different and keep running into
like this violence in music, and like for music, you
(30:50):
gotta be tough. It was a rap in here. You
gotta be here with seven niggas, and they gotta be tough,
even if it ain't nothing to be tough about. So
for me watching this streaming culture and watching these content
creators who talk the same, who just as cool, but
they'll tell you straight up, bro, we're not into that
violent shit. For me, that just feel good to be
(31:10):
a part of and I hope it last. And that's
the drill music. Like you know, I love New York,
but the drill music, like you gotta be or act
violent or you gotta you know what I'm saying, We
gotta be dog for it to work. So it's like
that was another thing that for me I straight away
because it was just like, damn, I'm almost forty. I'm like,
I'm kind of cool on that, and I don't want
(31:31):
the kids to be on that no more.
Speaker 1 (31:32):
Were a little hard on the drill artist though. We
grew up on trap, you know what I'm saying. You know,
we grew up on crunk. Like the New York music
were super gangster and violence. We're a little bit hard
on drill artists, like like that wasn't our era.
Speaker 2 (31:46):
Too, No, no, it was.
Speaker 3 (31:48):
But it's just so what I'm saying is I'm gonna
come out shooting it, killing too.
Speaker 2 (31:52):
It's like we're just old enough. Yeah, But you know,
and this is the thing, right, I definitely or to
anybody who's trying to make it. I'm just saying, if
I see a way where I could get kids to
like understand they can make it without doing that, I
want to support me. I want to put myself more
behind that because I know what it feels like to
(32:14):
be shot in the face. I know what it feels
like to go through all that. I just my cousins.
Shout out to my cousin. He just died three weeks ago,
he got murdered. So it's like I got over three
hundred friends that's been throughout my life. So it's just like, yeah,
I supported it, and it's part of our DNA because
we grew up like almost like real glorifying violence. Absolutely,
I see a way that I'm like, you know what,
(32:37):
these kids ain't really doing that. Let me get behind
that and see if I could kind of guide them.
Speaker 4 (32:42):
I think it's a matter of and you know, you
felt like people lived that life right And nowadays I
was watching some of you the kids like, nah, just
make it up.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
Yeah I never shot a gun. I just make it.
Speaker 3 (32:53):
Most of them make it up, bro. Like man, it's
just like when trap music. We came like you said,
we came up on trap music. Let's let's be clear.
Ice is Ice preaching this all the time. My artists
come to me. I'm like, bro, this is not real.
You know what I'm saying. I remember this one. I
ain't gonna say no name but me in the studio
(33:14):
when we first started QC.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
Run off on the plug.
Speaker 3 (33:18):
This is that that that? You know what I'm saying?
And they said something. I said, brow May Grabs is
in the quilo right. He was just looking. I said,
why are you talking about this real?
Speaker 2 (33:34):
No, but it's just you know what I mean. Like,
but that was different compared to what's happening right now
with the drill Ship. And again, I love, I support you.
Gotta make your living, you know what I'm saying. You
gotta get your mom's out of the projects. You got
whatever it is. But now they don't live it right.
But when they make it the music and they get
so good at it, what's the next thing. I really
(33:56):
gotta live it. I really gotta shoot somebody. I really
got to get that. Nigga Shot was an artist who
was at the video shoot. One of the little guys
that I think you were signed and he was like, yo,
this kid and I was like, not this kid. I'm
looking at it. I'm like, yo, he's a wild one.
Speaker 3 (34:13):
And then like a couple of weeks later, I'm looking
on the blocks. He just got picked up, did it?
And I was like, what the hell?
Speaker 2 (34:20):
Kid I had from Markins. So he in jail for
twenty years? His friend he came here, I signed him
where he got double Life plus thirty seven years. I'm like,
why would you even give somebody that much time? Double
Life plus thirty seven years? Yeah, I hate when Jordge
do this is like just safe forever. He's just mentally
trying to like mess with me, you know what I'm saying.
(34:41):
But for me that was it's still a big thing,
you know what I'm saying. And I'm like, I ain't
removed from the streets completely, but if I could help
move from the streets and get money ways. But I'm
talking about, like, you know, my people, if I can
help them like see a different way where it's like
we don't got to like, you know what I'm saying,
glorify the violence. I'm all for that.
Speaker 1 (35:02):
I want to ask y'all the same question about franchising.
How important is regional identity when it comes to franchising,
because you know, bow.
Speaker 2 (35:08):
Jangles coming to New York, Chick fil A and New York.
Speaker 1 (35:10):
Don't hit the same for me coming from the South,
chickl y'all not used to it.
Speaker 2 (35:15):
I was excited at first.
Speaker 5 (35:16):
I can't imagine bo Jangles in New York.
Speaker 2 (35:19):
Certain things I'm getting from New York.
Speaker 6 (35:20):
No, I'm from Delaware, but I got a family. That's
why I have my family from down south. And I
only know what Bojangles from when I'm down south. Like
I know literally when you're driving when you hit certain
areas because you see yeah yeah.
Speaker 2 (35:34):
But like you look forward to in and Out. If
I'm in Florida, I look forward to the looking. But
if in and Out came here, it'll be a line
for twenty day absolutely, And Chick fil A is still
a line of Chick fil A. And tell you it's
still a line Chick fil A. I know all this
stuff because I'm in it, right. Chick fil A average
unit volumes is seven million, that's the average, and worst
they do, our average unit volumes is two point nine million.
(35:55):
I got one store, We got one store. That's doing
five million, which is amazing, right, Chick fil A averaged
or does seven millions? Crazy? In New York City, the
average does twelve million dollars. That's so somebody liked it,
you know what I'm saying something.
Speaker 1 (36:14):
I still like having a regional identity with some of
these franchises.
Speaker 3 (36:17):
I know they still do have a regional identity. They
definitely I think that's a Chick fil A come here people,
that's you know, because let's be clear, most people from
New York lineages from the South, you know what I'm saying,
So they used to coming back and forth Grandmama, Auntie
this or that, you know, so you know, once when
it came, it's like, whoa, this is here now, so
(36:37):
let's flood it, you know what I'm saying, because you know,
you're not used to getting it.
Speaker 2 (36:40):
And once it's good, yeah, once it's good. You know.
And your point you were saying earlier about our cheap
fast food used to be great point. What we did
with our company. We created a five dollar box outside
of corporate, outside of they can't really tell you what
to do with your pricing, and that five dollar box
(37:01):
our company is now comping twelve percent higher in corporate
an average because it could afford it, you know what
I'm saying. So now everybody's running to our stores for
the five dollar box Crystal Mill deal.
Speaker 4 (37:18):
Yeah, my kids want the pope The other day was
fourteen dollars. It was just for strips, fries and the juice.
And I could not believe. I said, Nah, we're gonna
go home and cook. I hit the town of Cook.
Speaker 2 (37:28):
I couldn't.
Speaker 4 (37:28):
I could not give Popeyes, Sloop Popeys fourteen dollars.
Speaker 2 (37:33):
And you know I got six kids.
Speaker 5 (37:34):
You left Popee, they had stuff?
Speaker 2 (37:37):
Would you cook? What did you cook? Burgers? How much
you think the burgers ran here?
Speaker 4 (37:41):
So I ran, I said, I go to bj is
running big box of burgers, cousse. We twenty two dollars
for the big angus burgers and put them on the thing,
put the little fries in the thing and it was good.
After twenty minutes they had their meals. You know, I'm
a pappy that cooks though, So you know.
Speaker 2 (37:52):
If this don't work out Bojangles.
Speaker 1 (37:56):
But y' all right about that five dollar price point, man,
that ship changes a lot, like we got all changed.
We got a four ninety nine deal for I think
it's what two crystal burgers, a small frying and drink.
Speaker 2 (38:06):
Then we got a breakfast meal deal for two for
five hours. Bro, you can't get four for five dollars
nowhere right, So when you could and it's good, you know,
people are running. I'm like, this is crazy with twelve
comping twelve percent higher. And I'm sure you've seen since
you did that, it just went crazy because let's be real,
times is real rough right now? Patty? Four dollars right?
(38:29):
Four dollars? Oh my god, that's crazy. See where you're
getting your bee Patty from? Though Bodegger, we might in
flat Bush, the first one coming to Flatbush.
Speaker 4 (38:45):
I wanted to ask, you know, back to be I
know you still deal with with with YACHTI what were
your thoughts when when I feel like everybody was attacking
Yachty and I feel like when sometimes we do things
wrong as a community, instead of having a conversation, were attacking,
we like to cancel and obviously had a conversation and
went back and apologized. So what was your thought when
you heard Yady's line?
Speaker 2 (39:04):
And did you call him? Actually I didn't.
Speaker 3 (39:06):
I hadn't even talked to him until I seen because
he's he's in Australia on tour with with you know
so and I was I was just in Southeast eight,
so we was kind of we miss each other until
every like him and Stephen had a conversation, you know
what I'm saying. But like when I heard, I was like,
you know, me and Stephen were really good, We're real cool.
You know, I was like, I'm gonna put them together.
(39:28):
But it happened naturally because y'ally, you know, if he
makes a mistake, you know what I'm saying. The kid
is so he's just a really good person and he's free,
you know what I'm saying, and sometimes you know, a
lot of they just don't be thinking, you know. So
he's just going and writing the line come out and
then he gets to the backlash. You know, he's smart.
(39:50):
He's like, I'm gonna hear Stephen. So he hit him personally,
you know what I'm saying. They talked personally, which everything
was cool. You know, he bossed up, did what he
needed to do, talk to him like a man. Did
that and it's gone, you know. But I mean a
lot of times I think, you know, these artists have
free will. Man and sometimes at the end and they
just they just writing and thinking and not thinking about
you know, everything else. You know what I'm saying, can
(40:11):
come with it. But and I don't think he was attacked.
People use it at a moment to.
Speaker 2 (40:14):
Teach, for sure.
Speaker 6 (40:18):
I watched the documentary you guys did with JT when
she first came home, and it showed how, like also
to a Little Babies documentary, you guys are almost it's
such a family or felt like such a family at.
Speaker 3 (40:30):
This man. It's family oriented. Man, That's how we run
our business, you know, because.
Speaker 6 (40:34):
I'm just wondering now, like how the dynamic works because
it's just JT. And are you guys still I do
still see like young Miami talking about you guys.
Speaker 3 (40:41):
Sometimes it's our relationship, Like we still have a great relationship,
see Miami. We text each other every Everything is still cool.
It's just at the time where she wanted to go
with her career, just things didn't It didn't match your work,
you know. So it was like, hey, I'm not going
to never hold nobody back, you know what I'm saying,
that's what you want to do. You're free, you know
your free will, you can go you know and explore
(41:03):
any option you want to do.
Speaker 2 (41:05):
It's still love too.
Speaker 5 (41:06):
Did it break your heart still?
Speaker 6 (41:07):
Because I think we were all waiting for them to
have that big, major run together.
Speaker 3 (41:12):
It didn't break my heart because I've been in the
game a long time and I know people grow apart,
you know what I'm saying, Like, be real, Like that's
why I think a lot of if you look in
the business, we were the only ones out there with groups.
You know what I'm saying. Everybody was scared of groups.
I mean, I mean they I used to get man,
you're crazy, you know, to do a group. But I
think that's what that was our sweet spot, you know
(41:32):
what I'm saying. So it didn't break my heart just
because you know, hip hop raised me and I watched
and studied you know music, you know what I'm saying.
And I mean, eventually people are going to grow apart,
you know what I'm saying. And we worked hard at it,
you know, and who knows, one day it may happen again,
you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (41:52):
But like people just grow apart. How did the untimely
passion of a takeoff.
Speaker 3 (41:58):
I mean packing to this day still, you know what
I'm saying like take Off was probably one of the nicest, humble,
like any artist I ever worked with. You know what
I'm saying, Like he just was It was God's child, man,
you know what I'm saying, like for real, and.
Speaker 2 (42:16):
That moment. Man, I'm still messed up on that moment. Man.
Speaker 3 (42:19):
It's even hard to talk about it, you know what
I'm saying, just because you know, yeah, that's a hard one, bro.
Speaker 1 (42:26):
Absolutely absolutely does it feel safer, Well, you know you
got him up there to with this money you said,
God got him, but he got the halo over That's.
Speaker 2 (42:35):
Dope, But it's a fire room. Man.
Speaker 1 (42:38):
Does it feel safer to invest in franchises over people?
Speaker 2 (42:44):
Yeah, I ain't gonna lie to you. Yeah, man, I
mean in a way, you still invested in people, right,
because like I said, we went down because we didn't
have the right people. We got the right people, and
those people like made the business work much better. So like,
but overall, absolutely, And it's crazy. Like Larry Larry Monroe,
(43:06):
a good friend of mine New York, he told me
you got these QSR restaurants, and I was like, that's dope,
because like, as a people, like we need to understand
how Like it's a lot of money in it, you
know what I'm saying, and we just don't know. Like
we got it's thirty two restaurants that makes us the
number one black QSR franchise owners, which is quick service restaurant.
(43:29):
But look at this. I got a friend, one of
my really really close friends who also helped me. I
won't say his name, but they got seven hundred and
something Popeyes and Burger Kings. They're not even in the
top six. Wow. So look at that, right, being being
black is a huge accomplishment, and I'm so thankful to
(43:50):
be part of it. But thirty two puts us at
number one, seven hundred, don't put him at number five six.
So it's just like so many of these businesses that
one it's hard for us to get into because I
wouldn't have got in if I didn't have those mentors.
I wouldn't even think about it. Coach wouldn't have got
in if it wasn't for me. So it's just like
(44:11):
when I hear you was doing it, I'm like, man,
that's dope. You got some good guidance or you just
really map it out, and it's like that sign that
could last forever for your kids, kids kids. These people
I'm talking about six hundred day I had it for
three generations already. So it's just like for us, it
is better to invest in something like that than people.
(44:32):
But you invest in the right people, like little Baby
there's that. You know, Yachty coach hit it four or
five times. I don't even think Rockefeller hit it as
much as QC did it, Like nobody really did it
like them. So it's just like, but how many shots
you took, you know what I'm saying. So to answer
that question, I think it is more safer to invest
(44:53):
in QSR, especially something that's established already, because you could
get behind something that's not as established and it blow
up or it don't, and more more times than less
it don't blow up. Because being an entrepreneur in business
is really hard. I know that.
Speaker 3 (45:13):
I think both, you know, because I mean, like I said,
my twenty eight years of my career existence in music
has been investing in people. You know, I'm just learning
now you know the other business, you know what I mean,
like for real, for real, I got to saying I
always say, like damn, you know, being in a business
(45:33):
so long and investing people. I'm like, bo I gotta
give me something that don't talk back, you know what
I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (45:39):
No, just been for real, you know.
Speaker 3 (45:41):
So that's when I start diversifying and looking at investments
in different things, you know what I'm saying, Because I
was so lasered in like locked in with music, you
know what I'm saying. Like I said, I'm a creative,
So it's like I never even looked outside of that
until like a couple of years ago.
Speaker 2 (45:55):
Like, you know, let me start. You know, as I'm.
Speaker 3 (45:59):
Getting older, you know, I probably won't be able to
do this forever.
Speaker 2 (46:03):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (46:04):
It's being real, So let me just start, you know,
looking at my options.
Speaker 2 (46:09):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 6 (46:11):
Was that like a like something that happened that made
you think about that? It was literally just you reflecting on.
Speaker 2 (46:16):
Like like years old.
Speaker 3 (46:16):
You know what I'm saying, Like I'm not going to
do music and chase artists and you know forever, you
know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (46:21):
So, and you know, I have children, I have a family.
Speaker 3 (46:24):
You know, I came up in poverty, you know, so
I want to change the way that looks for my
children and my grandchildren.
Speaker 2 (46:33):
You know. So, so let me start.
Speaker 6 (46:35):
Diversify a lot of the artists you've worked with too,
there's always like an entrepreneurial spirit about them, and y'all
empower them to do that.
Speaker 3 (46:41):
That's I mean, I'm telling you, developing an artist, you
turn them into a brand.
Speaker 2 (46:45):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (46:45):
And me being a manager for so long, you know,
I only ate off the ancillary. I never ate off
the product. The ancillary and the ancillary is all the
businesses built around the artists. So once when you build
an artist, it's like, okay, my soon as I sign
of artists, I'm like, yo, so how.
Speaker 2 (47:03):
Big do you want to go? You know?
Speaker 3 (47:05):
I said, my goal is to turn you into a brand.
Are you ready for that?
Speaker 2 (47:08):
You know?
Speaker 3 (47:08):
I want to turn into a brand and everything you touch,
all the ancillary that you think. You know, you like this,
you like that, Let's turn that into a business that's
where you control and your own you know.
Speaker 1 (47:18):
So I like having y'all up here, man and having
this conversation because when people see y'all, it's inspiring, Like
there's so many people that look like us that don't
even know things like this are possible. You know what
I mean, like franchising, like it's something I always wanted
to do, thinking about like what E Class was doing
and for sure you know, and.
Speaker 6 (47:36):
How did you get into trying to get No?
Speaker 2 (47:41):
I got it was watching people like it, bro.
Speaker 1 (47:43):
But I got into it because because the two Change,
because you know, Two Changs became the head of creative
marketing for Crystal.
Speaker 2 (47:49):
And then I saw a little duball.
Speaker 1 (47:50):
Little Uball was down that do Ball did with all
the Crystal burg and I'm like, damn, I see Crystal
in the minute.
Speaker 2 (47:54):
I just asked him where you get that from?
Speaker 1 (47:55):
And that's when he told me about Two Changs And
I'm like, oh, two Change had the creative marketers.
Speaker 2 (47:59):
I hit him change Tech.
Speaker 1 (48:00):
I'm like, yo, man, I want to talk about just
seeing what's over Crystal.
Speaker 2 (48:05):
And they plugged me right in. That's crazy. They plugged
me right in and it just made sense. My team
was like, yo, let's do it. You know what we
do for brands as a culture, like it's it's crazy.
Like even Rick Ross. I don't know Rick Ross, but
like you know, uh, Wingstop. When Rick Ross got Wingstop,
Wingstop was trading at like three times and multiple so
that means if they ebotize them two million dollars, the
(48:28):
most you could sell it for six I don't know
if it's Rick Ross, but between that time and now
Ringstop is trading at nine times, you got to give
Ross a lot of credit for that. That's what I'm saying.
Think about before nobody was thinking about it. So it's
like again between him, you know, it's nine times. Now
(48:48):
that's that's insane. So it's like we we add a
lot of value to ship that we don't own a
lot of times, you know what I'm saying. So I
don't own Both Jangles, but I'm own these restaurants and
I'm gonna help build it up, you know what I'm saying,
instead of just like taking some money to help promo them.
So it's like, you know, again, I want to preach
to these kids, like you gotta own something, you gotta
(49:10):
you gotta own sign and congrats on the crystals, y'all.
Speaker 1 (49:15):
It's inspired hearing y'all Talk thirty twenty eight, currently operating,
thirty two coming.
Speaker 2 (49:19):
Oh that's incredible, and next week one on the campus
A U G A One Man that's the band Wow
and uh the first one downtown Florence. You know, so, yeah,
we're excited about that. Where are you from it? Are
you close to from Florence?
Speaker 1 (49:35):
While to Charles, I was raised the most corner, so
most corners, like thirty minutes from Charleston.
Speaker 2 (49:40):
Okay, so you're on that side. Yeah, yep, low country.
Speaker 4 (49:42):
Yeah, thank you the brothers for joining us. Man, you
guys couraging and keep pushing. I got one last question.
I know, Coach, I know you on the road all
the time. I know you probably never home. I see
you on the road when you're gonna sell me to
eat thirty m three convertible that you have.
Speaker 3 (49:57):
Coach has a car Bee trying to buy for the
longest time.
Speaker 2 (49:59):
You don't want to sell it to me?
Speaker 3 (50:00):
Why don't you sell me that car? He should have
bought it. He was supposed to. It was his car.
It was you know.
Speaker 2 (50:05):
And then I was being cheap my business partner.
Speaker 3 (50:09):
It was I remember it's twenty eighteen and we just
renegotiated and it was my birthday and he was like
I was on the computer looking at the car, and uh,
my assistant at the time, he was like, Hey, what
was that car Coach was looking at? Because I always
used to be on the computer. And she went in
and went in my thing and gave it to him.
Speaker 2 (50:28):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (50:29):
And he's like, man, pull up to the studio. I
pulled up to the studio and they backed that thing.
I was like, Wow, backed it off the damn trailer.
I was like, but I should have bought it. When
when when I got it, and he see said, man,
you know I was that was my car. I was
supposed to because the car said new Yard said New Jersey.
Speaker 4 (50:45):
And my Long Island, Long Island and my Long Island.
Speaker 2 (50:47):
Yep, you know it's crazy. I just got over cars.
I sold him my Rose Royce. I always told me
I got a good deal. Yes, I did. Never been
round the body, Crystal, That's what I'm saying. I just
love mind living in New York. I had three cars
and I was taking Ubers everywhere. But the cause we
buy it is a little different. They go up in value.
(51:11):
The cause. I used to be all you because you're.
Speaker 3 (51:14):
Driving around Brooklyn and it's Bentley Ice Blue Bentley. Then
you got a color in.
Speaker 2 (51:18):
I'm like, what are you doing? You can't even drive
in New York. Real like they had a thousand cars
though I gotta do this. I don't know. Race Collection
allowed me to give a shout out, but I got
to shout out my daughter Milan and a Hampton University
crew that's listening. That's right, the real Hu, the real Hu.
(51:38):
You know, she's a junior right now. Like it, she
love it. She chose. I wanted to go to Howard,
but she made the right shout out to my little sister,
you know, Uh, Mike Novo, Ben Black, Stephen Man, Cherian
Rhanda Omar and all the people that really helped me.
(52:00):
You know, it's a lot more, but just want to
shout them out. They really are live a big role
in my life.
Speaker 4 (52:06):
All right, Well, Coach k Melcarter, Yes, indeed, it's the
Breakfast Club in the morning.
Speaker 1 (52:10):
Hold up, every day I wake up, click your ass
up the Breakfast Club.
Speaker 3 (52:15):
Y'all finished?
Speaker 2 (52:15):
So y'all done.
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