The Breakfast Club Sits Down With Tank To Discuss 'Hells Kitchen' On Broadway With Alicia Keys, R&B Awards, Jamie Foxx, Babyface. Listen For More!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Wake that ass up in the morning. The Breakfast Club Morning.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Everybody is the DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, Charlamagne, the God.
We are the Breakfast Club Lawla Rosa Filing. And for Jess,
we got a special guest in the building. Yes, indeed,
seemed like he's trying to take our job doing all
these interviews and stuff.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Ladies and gentlemen, we have R and B sigat tag Tank.
I'm not trying to take your job.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Doing a phenomenal guess.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
I am just catering to my people, Okay. I'm making
sure that my community has a place to go, that
the conversation is bridged from the old to the news.
I love it.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
You know what I love about the Army Money podcast.
There's always so many hip hop podcasts, and you know,
the rappers got a place to go. The O g
rappers got a place to go. R and B Money
has created that space for the R and B world.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
And now and now the you know, not too much disclosed,
but now the R and B Music Awards. What you mean,
you guys have a dedicated hip hop don't you? Pop
has a dedicated award show, right, whereas the R and
B dedicated award show so that we can cover the
entire gambit of R and B. R and B is
(01:10):
so many things, it's so vast you can't cover it
in two to three categories at at at some award
show and think that that's going to do it all justice.
I want to.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Yet, as an R and B icon like you are,
what are the categories of R and B? Because all
we think is R and B.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Well, I mean, let's let's let's do this right, let's
go let's go soul, right, let's go progressive. Do you
do ballots? Huh? Ballots? What do you mean? Ballots? Slow?
I mean, what do you mean categories? Do you do
army ballots? No? I don't think you do ballots. But
I think you get into the songwriter aspect of it,
(01:54):
the producer aspect of it, even the performance aspect of it.
You know, all of these things are so different. Like
a Jill Scott is uh is way different from from
a Smer Walker, you know what I mean, It's way different.
(02:16):
Calvin Richardson is way different from Chris Brown, you know
what I mean? And so how do we how do
we create these tiers and levels to where all of
all of the nuances of R and B can be recognized.
Give me an example of progressive. Oh c B is progressive? Okay, completely,
He's He's the current state of R and B. Me.
(02:36):
You know what I mean. Even if we want to
say what what Drake and Party just did? You know
what I mean? That's very progressive, very progressive R and B.
You know what I mean? If you want to say
what is more traditional, I'm more in the middle of
a traditional progressive R and B artist because I can
do a record with Chris Brown. But you know, I
can also do a record with God Rest their Stot
(02:57):
and Stone. See.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
I like traditional, and I said that. When the Party
and Drake album dropped, I was like, that.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Ain't for me.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
And it was like, well, you know, it's for the
ladies because the R and B, I'm like, no, God
like R and B.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
I just don't like that type of arm exactly exactly.
There's a difference. And so we have not we have
not had the conversation about all of these things together.
We just say best R and B album and then
you got you got Chris Brown in the same category
with Robert Glasberg. It's like, how do you do that?
(03:29):
We're not all just one thing. So when are you
doing this? Is it thought out to that where it's
going to happen. It's been, it's it's been great conversations,
you know what I mean, Me and my brother Jay Valentine.
We've actually had this conversation with Jessic Collins and so
you know, all of this. What I'm doing right now
is just kind of creating the anticipation and the desire
and hopefully there's enough comments will come and people will
(03:51):
see the value, because that's where it starts. People have
to see the value in what we do in order
to create this next level platform would only.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
Black effect and I heart out the conversation, you know,
to put together a good award.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Show, Well, what do you want to do?
Speaker 3 (04:06):
I want to help with the Harvey Money Award show.
That'd be fantastic.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
There you go done.
Speaker 4 (04:13):
Announce the categories and nominations.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
Absolutely, Like we need a we need a Babyface Award, right, award,
which is the songwriter and Producer. Right. You need a
Michael Jackson, right, there's one. They need a Michael Jackson
Award Ultimate Performance, Right. We need a Smokey Robinson Award,
(04:36):
which is just the writer. Right, we need a Uh
I can't take I can't. I can't take writer out
of Jimmy Jametary Lewis because they write it too. But right,
you need a standalone producer award. Right, all of these
things are so different and we don't get an opportunity
to highlight them. But all of these awards need names
(04:57):
from our legends. You know what I'm saying. The R
and B Label Award, the Motown Award, where who's who's
the dedicated R and B label? That's R and B money,
That's what we're doing, right. So it's all of these
things that we need to now highlight now that R
and B has happening, this big, big conversation, right.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
I want to know how is it for you, right
knowing all these R and B stories, Right, And I'm
watching your podcast and I know you know the answers,
but some of these times it hasn't been put out
there and you're just feeding the person, right, Like I
look at Stephen Hill, but the Chris Brown situation, Yeah,
you're leading him because you knew what happened, but making
him explain the story was amazing.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
I didn't know what happened, really, I didn't even know
he was part of it. I knew from Chris's side
that they had they had they got him all the
way to the point of where it was about to happen,
it was about to happen, and then pulled the rug
out from under him. I didn't know the intimate details
and who all was involved. And hearing Steve like Steven
(05:55):
is like, you know, he loves he loves that, he
loves that. He felt like he was getting ready to
create one of the most iconic moments of all times,
and he worked for that rehearsal Jesus. He was. He was,
and it hurt him that now he you know, has
to go back and tell c B that it's not happened,
(06:18):
you know what I mean? Like that, that crushed him
more than anything. And he was like, man, if you
could ever talk to him, just let him know I
love him, I want you know, I wanted that for him.
I just they pulled it from me. Nothing I could do.
Speaker 4 (06:29):
I was going to ask that you put them on
the phone after that, because he said in your interview
that they hadn't he hadn't gotten well. He wanted to
see him in person to apologize and stuff.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
Like that. So no we didn't. We didn't get a
chance to make that happen, okay, but but I'd love
to make that happen for him.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
Another one of my favorite R and B Money podcasts
recently was the l A Red.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Like.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
He really sparked a real conversation and it just had
me thinking about, Yes, you need, you need Black Boutique
everything you need that.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
We need to be able to operate the way we operate.
Just let us do what we do. Like even with
what you guys do. You guys do what you do,
which is why it is what it is. There's nobody
micromanaging or policing you. You get your paycheck, whatever that is.
But it's because of how you do your thing. Nobody's
(07:16):
interrupting that, which is why it's what how many years
in the making, Jesus Christ, Imagine if you had no
control of that, you know what I mean. Imagine imagine
you being subject to somebody else's ideas, somebody else's and
then you lose with that. That hurts worse than anything
I lost listening to you. No, Noah, I'm gonna go
(07:38):
down with me. I'm gonna go down with me. And
that's what we've lost, We've lost the people that have
done it from here. I just believe, Like think about
DeAngelo's untitled. If somebody just doesn't say, ah, I just
feel like this is different, they never get to the
(07:59):
third single, which is a life changing record. Don't have that.
No more analytics say we're losing here, We're that, We're
gonna move on right? Well? How does the Feel? Wasn't
the third single?
Speaker 4 (08:11):
Was it?
Speaker 1 (08:11):
How did it Feel? Was the third single?
Speaker 3 (08:13):
The butt Naked Video was the third single.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
Wow, I did not know that. How do we not
get to That's gonna be the greatest songs of all time? Wow?
You know what I mean? Genuine so anxious. If Joe
Moore didn't say we gotta get to this month, we
gotta get to this one, this one right here is
gonna change it. Trust me. Maybe I Deserve was my
(08:38):
second single. If we were just going off for first singles,
I'm not gonna name the first song I had out
that I was dancing and shipping, flipping and blowing up Chris.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
Yeah, we'll take for a se I remember, because I remember.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
Maybe I Deserve shouldn't have brought that up when you
said it.
Speaker 4 (08:54):
I just heard the song.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Yeah maybe Wait. My first single was called Freaking, and
it almost destroyed my career before it started. The label
picked it, but I was very excited about it as well.
Speaker 3 (09:12):
When I googled it and said the song many have missed.
His actually first single Freaky, which came out first, and
it's pretty much become obscure.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
Today I was performing the song. I was on promo
tour Fort Valley State homecoming and I'm you know, I'm
coming out. I got my freaky interlude. You know, they
want to get freaky, and then the song starts and like,
right in the middle of the first hook, these two
little cute girls in the first row was like wack.
(09:42):
I was like and this was in the dat tape era,
so I couldn't stop it, damn, And I sweated the
rest of the song and I never sang that song again.
I said, don't put on the album, erase it, get
rid of this song, and we did a hard turn
(10:04):
cut the single Winter Maybe I Deserve Thank God. Wow,
rest is history. Rest is history. Yo.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
That's very interesting because I don't know whether I think
it's the labels not doing their jobs, like you know,
I don't think they give they don't care about.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
The music like they used to. I don't think labels
care about music.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
Like what was your first budget for your first album?
Like it was a thing to be to get signed
to a record deal.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
I'll tell you like this, there was a budget. There
was a number in in the contract. But again I'm boutique.
So they're like, well, let's just keep going till we
get it because we can't lose. Like, you know, at
that time, in terms of earners, you know, it was
Aliah rest Soul. She was, she was, she was making
(10:48):
the bank for all of us, right in order for
us to have budgets, Aliah was, she was funding us.
So you know, we were in a position where we
couldn't lose. So Verry, you know, Barry, we was gonna
let me lose. Nah, let's go to the next one.
Let's spend I spent four hundred thousand on my first
(11:10):
four or five hundred thousand my first video. Then I
spent another seven hundred on the next one. Like this
is what was happening. We blew up an actual building,
Like we're running out of building, and slowly the building
blew up behind us. We had to dive onto a mattress,
don't turn your phones on because you might kill the artists.
(11:30):
That that's what's missing. But you see the difference in
between the people that are still doing that. You still
see Chris Brown spending real money to make real videos,
still see Ponce spending real money to make real videos.
You still see Drake spending real money to make real videos.
That's the difference. It's why they're in arenas, that's why
they're in stadiums, all of these things. So we just
(11:51):
need that level of belief and that level of investment
in order to get it back to where it's supposed
to be. Like, look at movies. How much money spent
on promo? Yeah, put it on TV. They put it,
they're they're doing it, and before other movies are coming on,
they're out on the streets on the buses. Like we've
(12:12):
lost all of that, but they still want the same result.
That's not how that works.
Speaker 3 (12:16):
Absolutely, you're so right. I mean, I'm learning that through
just dibbling, dimbling, dibbling and dabbling in the movie world.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
But you're right. It's like, Yo, if they'll.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
Spend money to promote a film, these labels will just
be like put it online.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Literally, you can't tell a movie. You can't tell the
good to the people that are putting out the Wolverine.
You know what I'm saying. Just we're gonna just use
our socials and we're gonna use our socials and hopefully
go viral and and see what happens. We're trying to
(12:51):
guarantee ourselves a return, right, low visibility. Low visibility is
going to get you low results, just is what it is.
Does that have a change though? Again, we got to
get back to this boutique space where you know, where
a lot of the budgets and the freedom to do
it the way we know how to do it. We
come from the street Team era. We come from passing
(13:13):
out ten thousand flyers. You know what I'm saying, Bus stops, buses,
you know what I mean. Commercials. We used to run
commercials on be et, actual commercials. Where's all that it's gone,
But you still want the same results. There are outliers
with those things can happen. But R and B is
(13:34):
not a it's a it's not completely a viral genre. Now,
the residuals challenge, I mean, you know that's a thing,
but that's just fun. It starts out fun, but then
you then you tap into what's really out there, right,
(13:55):
And so now what we're able to see is, oh shit,
look at how many R and B singers, songwriters and
producers are just waiting in the wings for an opportunity
that are really, really dope.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
Did you feel any guilt enjoying R Kelly's residual it?
Speaker 1 (14:12):
I feel guilt in enjoying it. I mean, everybody knows
knows me, knows that I've always been an R. Kelly fan.
They know I've always you know, I was as I
was raised in trying to be R and B coming
out of my gospel space, babyface R Kelly, Brian Knight,
like those were my study guys. So no, I didn't.
(14:35):
I didn't feel away enjoying it. I couldn't. He's talented.
I couldn't. I couldn't grab it him posted on a page.
I couldn't do that, you know what I mean. I
gotta I got Hell's Kitchen to promote, you know what
I mean? And and and I think it's tough because
you know, a lot of people have been in my
comments saying why you ain't post R Kelly thing? And
(14:58):
I'm like, I'm like, guys, why do I have to
insert myself into that back and forth? You know? You
know what I thought?
Speaker 2 (15:04):
You know, listening to R. Kelly, he still sounds good
of shit right, he can still write. I wonder why
and I don't even know if he could, why people
wouldn't tap into his writing behind the balls because he
can still write amazingly and I'm sure he could put
still put numbers on the board.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
You don't have to say it's R. Kelly. I wonder
why that wasn't a thing? Why people don't go to
him for that same reason why you know, the younger
cats don't go to Babyface, same reason why the younger
cats don't go to Jimmy Jeanme, Terry Lewis, same reason
why I can go on and on why we have
(15:40):
a thing with us where if it just seems or
sounds old, we don't tap into it.
Speaker 4 (15:46):
You think that will R Kelly though he.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
Didn't sound old on it. He's an older artist. He's
done it, he's had his time. And to us, the
fad chasers, our culture that what's next or what's now
culture is what we are. We don't maintain a tradition
like like there's no way that new edition or any
(16:14):
of our elder statesmen shouldn't have sold out. Arenotaurs easily
Rolling Stones can come back anytime they feel like it.
Do what sold out to a queen? Anytime they feel
like it sold out to Paul McCartney can say I'm
going out, sold out, sold out. We are the only
people that separate ourselves from our foundational and our traditional
(16:36):
moments and cast it away like it's old, it's no
and and that's us. That's what we So when you
say why not like me, I'm like, I gotta get
a Babyface came to the opening my opening on Hell's Kitchen,
and as I'm looking at it, I'm like, Babyface really
(16:58):
pulled up to my opening. I got one of the
greatest singer songwriter producers of all times sitting right here
is a friend of mine and I don't have a
record from him. That can't happen again. I can't know him,
and that not happened.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
And I don't understand why you look at I want
to say something.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
That's why you got to give people credit like Scissa people,
baby Face produced news. You see how big snooze is
when you get an o G like that who gets
with a super talented young and you see what can
come about.
Speaker 4 (17:30):
I think that the artist because Scissa is like, like,
I'm not surprised that she understands and her like you
know what I mean, Like there's wasn't.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
On purpose either, So there's that because we're in the
room making something and she heard and you know there
was a it was a thing where it just people
in the right place here. Okay.
Speaker 4 (17:50):
I think sometimes too, it's about like who the artist is,
because there are some artists who like understand you know
what I mean, like baby facing and like the moment
you had that are younger. But then other artists are
chasing the producers that are making things that go viral
on the tiktoks or the reels are created to because
their labels back to you saying that they're not doing
their jobs. Their jobs have shifted where that's all you're
looking at. So if you don't have those metrics, you're
(18:12):
not doing your job. But you might be the artist
A it's like your baby face needs to be in
this studio.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
There's no reason why I don't have songs with babyface.
It's the true.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
And I was saying like, if you look at Quincy Jones,
what age was Quincy Jones when he was doing all
that stuff with Michael he was yeah, yeah, that's my point.
Speaker 1 (18:28):
Maybe the greatest album of all time. He was fifty.
We produced Thriller. It was fifty. Imagine the information he
was able to impart to Michael Jackson because everything that
he had done and everything that he had seen. You
know what I'm saying, Like, Michael, this is great. But
if we just take this two moments and just move
these things right over here, you trust me, you're gonna
love it. Like when you talked about the intro, we
(18:53):
can't kill that, Michael, That's that's the call out. Michael
wanted to kill it. What do we do better than that?
As soon as they come up with ship, that's Quincy Jones.
And so in my mind, I'm looking at baby face
like my Quincy Jones. How do I how do I
not tap into that? How do I not ensure this
(19:16):
level of greatness somehow pours over into what I'm doing.
I would have loved it here, Quincy.
Speaker 3 (19:22):
I have heard Quincy on R and B Money podcast man.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
By the way, but man, it's that information that that
that we need that needs to continue to pass down
and that's our job. We're the bridge. We want to
be the bridge. Like we we tell all the young
cats all the time, Hey, we were rocking with you.
Whatever you need from us, And then we tell the
older cats like we when we had Smokey Robinson, we
was like, you know, we're coming to your house. We're
(19:48):
coming over. We want to talk to you like you
did it, like you talk about building something, build an
entire your uh uh franchise on his back writing and produced. Yeah,
(20:09):
so we got the R and B Awards, which Charlemagne
and I Heart have committed to. Now we're going somewhere.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
So what did you What were your thoughts when you've
seen how I will say he was disrespected at the
award show when he.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
Was doing an interview and they was like, okay, this
is this next baby news.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
Moment, oh with with baby face babyface when he was
on the carpet.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
You know, I definitely thought it was I thought it
was disrespectful, but I don't think it was consciously disrespectful.
I think that no one's teaching people how to do
things anymore. They're just throwing them out there, right Because
if you're on that red carpet there. You have to
(20:57):
know who right, did who's well who? You have to
know who people are right in this music in this
music business. Right. But then two, you also know how
I have to know how to conduct yourself right. This
is these are the things you do, these are the
things you don't do. And that was just a thing
that was just kind of like, uh host t one
(21:19):
oh one, you don't do that. You don't you're not
ever talking to somebody. Yeah, and so how do you
fit one second? Can you nobody's teaching her. Nobody taught her.
It's not her fault. I'm sure she didn't get fired.
She didn't know well, somebody production told me that. Like,
(21:39):
so it was it's a disconnect, you know what I mean.
We aren't having those hard lessons in those classes like
I went to. You know, I went to media training.
We were from from the school of hard knocks, so
we get it media training. So I know both sides
of it. I know being on this side, I know
being on your side. And these these people aren't being trained, man,
and they're getting thrown out there and putting these positions
(22:00):
to where they look bad. I don't think she meant
to do it anything on purpose.
Speaker 3 (22:03):
Once again, you're talking about a budget. You said media
training artist. They don't give an Artists are spending no
money on media training nowadays.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
Anybody, Like if you if you're bringing somebody in to
represent your brand black Effect, like you want to know
two things first, okay, what what do you do? How
do you do it? Okay? And then are you trained
to do it? Because there are things that are going
to arise that you have to be prepared for. That
are moments they're going to have. What would you do
in this situation. Let's have some scenario training. Let's have
(22:30):
somebody get really boisterous in the room and feel see
how you handle it.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
So Tank, remember when you was on the Breakfast Club
and you talked about getting your ass eating about ten
years ago.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
I don't mind put my legs up. You know what
I'm saying, Like, that's that's okay.
Speaker 4 (22:41):
You know you don't like tongue action.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
I don't mind, not at all. Down I try to
tell them all the time. For a girl, each your
I have your hands free just in case you get tricky.
(23:07):
The way there you go.
Speaker 3 (23:08):
If somebody brings that up. Now in twenty twenty five
and they said, thank do you enjoy getting your ass eating?
Speaker 1 (23:12):
How do you respond? I would say that was the
old me, you know, when I was younger, you know
I enjoy things and said how I enjoy things a
little bit too out loud, you know what I mean?
Some of those things should have been a lot more quiet.
But you know, I think I was. I think I
was beata. I think Charlomagne baited me. He was very
(23:33):
he baited me.
Speaker 3 (23:35):
You should give a little fake chuckle question after the
question is. After you do a little fake chuckle, then
give that.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
They old me I was so wild back then. That's training.
Speaker 4 (23:50):
That is because people still bring that up.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
But I think you so they will be a follow
up question, not going to just let it go. Here's
the other thing, too, is that you know anything that
has been put out there, anything that I've put out there,
I'm able to stand up period tribe. I have I
(24:13):
have lived and I have lived in front of the world,
in front of the world for all of them to see.
So I don't really have any secrets, you know what
I mean. So the things, those things don't scare me.
I'm not rattled by those things. You know what I mean.
So there's that part of it. But I do I
do know how to divert if I was.
Speaker 4 (24:34):
Bringing I said that because I was going to big
you up for when it was brought up not too
long ago. You use it as a moment to talk
about like homophobia in the black community, and like that
created a powerful conversation, And I was like, I don't
know if he did it on part it did come
back up. Who were you talking to?
Speaker 3 (24:49):
It was?
Speaker 1 (24:50):
We talked about it in here.
Speaker 4 (24:51):
We didn't jest with the message.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
You were talking to.
Speaker 4 (24:56):
The holding court, big court. Yeah, But I but the
conversation that it created, I don't know if you saw
the conversation, I know you'd be online though, like you've
been seeing some things. It had people really having a
conversation about men being able to be vulnerable and just
have conversations anywhere they want to, and and black men specifically.
And I was like, okay, was that the media training?
Was that?
Speaker 1 (25:16):
Like? No, that was just real. I mean, that's just
what I believe. But I also believe that you can't
really have intelligent conversations online, you know what I mean.
So as he and I were having that conversation, like
we were having a real conversation. But in terms of
going back and forth online trying to get something very
thought provoking across, it never works.
Speaker 4 (25:37):
They don't.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
You'll never win that.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
Also, I think people forget the comedian Tank era. Yes,
when Tank was on stage to an actual comedy, so
a lot of that was jokes.
Speaker 1 (25:48):
Coming your legs up in the chair. You was just joking.
You're going back to a gag. Everybody's so serious. It's
not that serious, man. I have some fun and relax
every you see me, Every time you see me, I
gotta smile on my face and I'm having a good
time because I don't take this stuff too seriously. Man.
(26:10):
What I take seriously is when I get in that studio,
when I get on that stage, That's when I'm serious
outside of that and I'm having the time of my life.
Speaker 3 (26:19):
Why Broadway right now? Because you are featured in Luisa
Key's Hell's Kitchen.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
And it's timing, bro Because for me, twenty twenty five
was the hard pivot into acting. You know, the music
thing has been so much of my bread and butter
and so much of my focus for so long. I
was like, I gotta get to the other thing that
I love. And Charlie mccatt had always been telling me, Bro,
you're gonna have to make a hard pivot in order
to really do it the right way. And I was like, Okay,
(26:45):
I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it. And with
twenty twenty five coming in the way that it did
and having a free moment and opportunity, I'd always heard
horror stories about Broadway, you know what I mean, just
in terms of the workload and the pain to pay,
the facility, all of that, and I was like, yeah,
I probably never do Broadway. And then I get you know,
(27:06):
we get this call from Alisha like, hey, Alisha is
looking for you to do what And I'm like, you know,
the name Alicia Keys is already like that's interesting. Got
to at least see what that's about, right, And so
I sent some papers over for me to look at
the I'm like, okay, I'm looking at it. I'm all right,
(27:29):
I'll go see you know what I mean, just out
of respect for that name itself. So you want to
watch the play before you absolutely? Okay. So you saw
when Brandon V. Dixon was playing actually, well he wasn't
he wasn't there. His sub was in Who's Who's Who's
Who's Dope as well, And and I watched the play
and I fell in love with it, and the next
(27:50):
day was actually my walk in audition, and so I
kind of knew where I needed to be and and
at that point it was just like, I think it's time.
I think I think it is. It has answered the
question for me, I you know what I mean. Me
and Lulu were telling my manager. Lulu was talking to
He's like, I just it just does something different for you, brother,
(28:11):
It just does something really different. And in deliberating, I
was just deliberating, like is this the time to like
just take a hard left and out of nowhere. Charlie
Matt cost Me hadn't talked to in a minute, and
he's like, what's going on wrong. I was like nothing,
I'm just just chilling. He wanted to come to my
Atlantic City show. I'm like, I got you, love, he said,
I said the magic question. I got this on the
(28:33):
table right now. And he said, what the fuck are
we talking about? I said, well, I'm asking you. You
don't need my opinion. You know what you're supposed to do.
There was that here I am. And so you know
when I said, I said with Alisha the other day
learning Adam Blackstone, and she was like, tank, I just
felt like it was you. It's like, I didn't know why.
(28:55):
She's like it was it just to me, it just
felt like it was you. And She's like, I didn't
even know if he could act. And I was like, wow,
you ain't. You ain't seeing me on Lifetime or BT
you know what I'm saying a TV one, I'm the
Denzel of that space. You know what I'm saying, I'm
a Denzel of that space. You ain't sing none of that.
But she had never seen me act, and she was like,
and then when I saw you in the audition, she
(29:17):
was like, I was just blown away. And I was like, no,
that's that's what I do. Singing is that's whatever. And
so she and I went back and forth, singing back
and forth, her, you know, singing her amazing catalog and
my debut on Tuesday. And so now it's like, how
tough it's real?
Speaker 2 (29:33):
How tough is it to rehearsals? And do you have
to shut everything else off? And do you need time
for yourself now? Because it just seems like a does
it stop.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
I'm a machine, So I'm a routine guy, you know
what I mean. So I'm gonna get up, help get
the kids to school, do cardio, eat, go to the gym,
do the second lift, go to the studio, either work
on music or do pod get back, eat, dinner with
the family, get some lifetime in, and the next day
(30:04):
do the same thing. I'm a machine. I'm built like that.
So Broadway schedule works perfect for who I am now
eight shows a week crazy. That's where it get different
because you know they call it. You know, you have
an A show, a B show, and a C show. In
terms of how you perform. I've never been able to
(30:27):
do a B show and feel good about it, like
because all of those people, whether it's a Wednesday or Saturday,
they spent their money to see something great. They spent
their money to see somebody go all out. So I'm
doing a shows from Tuesday to Sunday. And we got
(30:50):
one day off that's Monday, and right back to it.
Speaker 4 (30:53):
What's your rest day? Like on a Monday?
Speaker 1 (30:55):
Like I just so I'm going to have my first
Monday next to the next Monday. Nothing, go to the gym,
you know, what I'm saying, he eats, eat some cool
food somewhere. You know, maybe keep it Charlomagne and my
heart and talk about this's awards. What about the family? Like,
(31:19):
because family was just here. They came for the for
the for the debut, My mom and then came up,
wife zoeian Zion came up, and it was really it
was really really cool. Man.
Speaker 3 (31:30):
The thirteen weeks is a long time to be away
from them, especially if you've got a routine.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
Like you say, it's it's tougher for them than it
is for me because for me, I'm you know, I'm
hyper focused. I'm in it, and I have something to
do every day, something to look forward to. And so
you know, the wife is at home doing the kid
thing and all that. But that's why, you know, that's
what it is. It's a teen she holds that down.
I'm gonna hold this down. But this to me is
like was the opportunity for people in that space to
(31:56):
understand that I'm serious about going here. You know, Kevin
was in town the other day, so when it you know,
saw him and chopped it up with him and he
was like, I'm really really proud of you for making
this move. It says a lot about the next level
of where you can go and who you can be.
And so that's what I'm looking forward to. I'm loving
like all the horror stories that they told me about Broadway,
(32:19):
they lied to me. They were trying to keep me
out of here. They didn't want me just you know,
pay the facility, the workload and all these things. Oh yeah,
take you know that's not for you, you know, Oh.
Speaker 4 (32:31):
Man, I think it's a different day and age as
far as like work rules and stuff. But also to
you're like, you're I don't know if this is true,
but I would feel like, because your tank, you're coming
into it a little bit differently, where like they can't
really play around with certain people too much.
Speaker 1 (32:44):
Now, well, I don't know. Of course, this is my
first time doing it, and I think, you know, yeah,
it's Tank. I'm always going to be received differently, but
I haven't desired, I haven't asked to be treated differently,
you know, where they would maybe try to make concessions
for me, and it's and certain things like no, I
don't want that. I don't want to feel like that.
I don't want to do that. Like as soon as
(33:06):
I walked in, I'm like, hey, guys, coach me hard,
like don't don't don't handle me with kid gloves like
I'm an athlete first, you know what I'm saying, like
like like like let's cuss, let's really get into the
ship of how this ship works, you know what I'm saying,
And let's really grind it out, like don't don't treat
me like and don't do that. And so once we
(33:26):
established that, we got to work. I don't I don't
want none of that preferential treatment. I'm new to Broadway,
so I'm here to learn your ways, not vice versa.
And so that's how I kind of introduce myself into
the situation. And once you do that, everybody can They
can be and do what they're supposed to do to
get me where I need to be to be part
of something great.
Speaker 3 (33:46):
Now, this is interesting because I remember on R and
B Money podcast one time you said Jamie Fox had
to keep you from quitting music. Yeah, and the way
you in here talking about acting right now, you sound
you got a new.
Speaker 1 (33:56):
Boo, got it in love, cuddle it, caud feet to feet,
go to the side, or like you don't love music, No,
more do I absolutely love me.
Speaker 3 (34:10):
You don't love the music business.
Speaker 1 (34:13):
For me? The music business is amazing. Okay, okay, but
it's not all that I do, you know what I mean?
And so you know the thing about me that you know,
even retiring at one point was just I couldn't find
you know, in losing my hearing and getting vertigo, I
felt like I was running out of time, and it
(34:34):
was so many other things I wanted to do. So
are the many of the things that I loved that
I wanted to get to. And then I was just
blessed with the you know, the age old concept of
time management. Simple. It sounds simple, but it's not, you
know what I mean. And so it's like, okay, cool,
for these three months, this is all I'll be doing. Well.
(34:54):
I'll be leaving a lot of money on the table, absolutely,
But will I be growing abs look.
Speaker 4 (35:01):
And positioning yourself very well? I think I haven't seen it,
but I can imagine you on Broadway, but just because
of how your voice is.
Speaker 1 (35:08):
When are your guys coming? I love Broadway. I'm coming.
I'm definitely in the next week or so. Well. I
have eight shows a week. I'm only off on Monday.
So whenever you guys come, we'll set up.
Speaker 3 (35:21):
I saw Stephanie Mills was on Broadway. She was on
a Damn I forgot what the show was called.
Speaker 1 (35:28):
And I saw Stephanie Mills on Broadway. Yeah, she was amazing.
You got you're gonna love it. Bring it, bring it,
Bring your kids.
Speaker 2 (35:35):
I take my kids off to the Lion's King, the
Michael whatever, the kid friendly Broadway Place.
Speaker 1 (35:41):
Incredible. My seventeen year old daughter and my ten year
old son at the time of their lives in this play.
Alicia is seventeen, so it's really like it really meets
these kids where they are. It's incredible. My daughter was
crying and I was like it was it was a thing.
(36:02):
And you know, coming out afterwards and seeing so many
kids and signing autographs for kids, you know what I mean.
One of one of one of our one of our
stars in the play, Keisha, she had a she had
an acting school. These kids, these students that she works
with that came up from New Mexico and there's a
(36:24):
kids and they loved every minute of it. Like you know,
for me, I'm like any high school in this New York,
New Jersey Pennsylvani in this area. They should be having
a field trip to see Hell's Kitchen. To me, it
is it is that impactful of a moment for for
young kids to see that are inspired aspiring to do anything.
(36:48):
So you gotta shows the night. Yeah, oh ship chen.
Speaker 3 (36:58):
One one thing to Saturday, April twenty sixth and the
third Annual Black Effect Podcast Festival.
Speaker 1 (37:03):
Yea make it.
Speaker 3 (37:05):
Yeah, it's Saturday taking Jay Valentine is gonna be there.
Speaker 1 (37:08):
He's got I'll be there. Got one day off, that's okay,
just making sure one day you have.
Speaker 3 (37:12):
Y'all thought about what that's gonna look like live R
and B Money podcast on stage.
Speaker 1 (37:18):
Nope, Nope. We're thinking about it though, because it's got
to be sexy. You know what I'm saying. You know,
y'all gonna be singing. I'm hearing, guest, I've seen you
in person. We can't do the pod. How come I
got to sing? You said?
Speaker 4 (37:35):
Was wondering because I've seen you. And when you came
back after you said you were retiring, you did something
to the Peppermint Club and Jamie Fox was there.
Speaker 1 (37:41):
That's my album release, Yeah that I was there.
Speaker 3 (37:43):
With the label.
Speaker 4 (37:44):
It was my first time seeing I was like, oh yeah,
I was there with a fairly okay yea, So y'all
gonna be singing, you don't have to.
Speaker 1 (37:55):
I just want to podcast. Man, he's seen you on
the podcast. It seems podcast the spirit moves them. If
the if this, if you know, if it moves me,
then I promise you, yeah, you know, we gotta we gotta,
we gotta figure out what that's going because this will
be you know, this will be our first time doing
it like we do it, first time doing it live. Well,
(38:15):
we've done R and B Live, R and B Money Live,
the event where it's been strictly catered, where it's banned
DJ you know, karaoke vibes like that, really really dope.
We've done that up up in Phoenix. Has stayed in
with one of my guys two spots, so we've done that.
Speaker 3 (38:32):
But this is for people who like the podcast and
enjoy the conversation exactly.
Speaker 1 (38:36):
So this is pod and conversation. So in terms of
trying to figure out what makes ours a little different,
you know what I mean, we're still formulating that. Well.
Speaker 3 (38:45):
Saturday, April twenty six, third Annual Blackfec Podcast Festival, Go
get your tickets Black Effect dot Com Slash Podcast Festival.
Speaker 1 (38:51):
Make sure you check our Tank in the Hell's Kitchen.
Speaker 3 (38:53):
What the weisha Key's on Broadway right now.
Speaker 1 (38:55):
We appreciate you, brother, I'm reporting on y'all. Man. If
y'all don't, y'all don't show up. I don't know. I
abroad with all the time. That's one of my I
enjoy broad with absolutely, and when I'm not here, you
know what I'm saying, I still want to hear somebody say,
if you've seen Hell's Kitchen, did you go? Did you
you know? Let me tell Alicia in Swiss.
Speaker 3 (39:16):
We'll meet you up and make sure you subscribe to
the R and B Money podcast on the Black Effect
I Heeart Radio podcast network.
Speaker 1 (39:22):
That's right, It's Tank, ladies and gentlemen. It's the Breakfast Club.
Good morning, wake that ass up in the morning. The
Breakfast Club
Wake that ass up in the morning. The Breakfast Club Morning.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Everybody is the DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, Charlamagne, the God.
We are the Breakfast Club Lawla Rosa Filing. And for Jess,
we got a special guest in the building. Yes, indeed,
seemed like he's trying to take our job doing all
these interviews and stuff.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Ladies and gentlemen, we have R and B sigat tag Tank.
I'm not trying to take your job.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Doing a phenomenal guess.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
I am just catering to my people, Okay. I'm making
sure that my community has a place to go, that
the conversation is bridged from the old to the news.
I love it.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
You know what I love about the Army Money podcast.
There's always so many hip hop podcasts, and you know,
the rappers got a place to go. The O g
rappers got a place to go. R and B Money
has created that space for the R and B world.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
And now and now the you know, not too much disclosed,
but now the R and B Music Awards. What you mean,
you guys have a dedicated hip hop don't you? Pop
has a dedicated award show, right, whereas the R and
B dedicated award show so that we can cover the
entire gambit of R and B. R and B is
(01:10):
so many things, it's so vast you can't cover it
in two to three categories at at at some award
show and think that that's going to do it all justice.
I want to.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Yet, as an R and B icon like you are,
what are the categories of R and B? Because all
we think is R and B.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Well, I mean, let's let's let's do this right, let's
go let's go soul, right, let's go progressive. Do you
do ballots? Huh? Ballots? What do you mean? Ballots? Slow?
I mean, what do you mean categories? Do you do
army ballots? No? I don't think you do ballots. But
I think you get into the songwriter aspect of it,
(01:54):
the producer aspect of it, even the performance aspect of it.
You know, all of these things are so different. Like
a Jill Scott is uh is way different from from
a Smer Walker, you know what I mean, It's way different.
(02:16):
Calvin Richardson is way different from Chris Brown, you know
what I mean? And so how do we how do
we create these tiers and levels to where all of
all of the nuances of R and B can be recognized.
Give me an example of progressive. Oh c B is progressive? Okay, completely,
He's He's the current state of R and B. Me.
(02:36):
You know what I mean. Even if we want to
say what what Drake and Party just did? You know
what I mean? That's very progressive, very progressive R and B.
You know what I mean? If you want to say
what is more traditional, I'm more in the middle of
a traditional progressive R and B artist because I can
do a record with Chris Brown. But you know, I
can also do a record with God Rest their Stot
(02:57):
and Stone. See.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
I like traditional, and I said that. When the Party
and Drake album dropped, I was like, that.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Ain't for me.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
And it was like, well, you know, it's for the
ladies because the R and B, I'm like, no, God
like R and B.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
I just don't like that type of arm exactly exactly.
There's a difference. And so we have not we have
not had the conversation about all of these things together.
We just say best R and B album and then
you got you got Chris Brown in the same category
with Robert Glasberg. It's like, how do you do that?
(03:29):
We're not all just one thing. So when are you
doing this? Is it thought out to that where it's
going to happen. It's been, it's it's been great conversations,
you know what I mean, Me and my brother Jay Valentine.
We've actually had this conversation with Jessic Collins and so
you know, all of this. What I'm doing right now
is just kind of creating the anticipation and the desire
and hopefully there's enough comments will come and people will
(03:51):
see the value, because that's where it starts. People have
to see the value in what we do in order
to create this next level platform would only.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
Black effect and I heart out the conversation, you know,
to put together a good award.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Show, Well, what do you want to do?
Speaker 3 (04:06):
I want to help with the Harvey Money Award show.
That'd be fantastic.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
There you go done.
Speaker 4 (04:13):
Announce the categories and nominations.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
Absolutely, Like we need a we need a Babyface Award, right, award,
which is the songwriter and Producer. Right. You need a
Michael Jackson, right, there's one. They need a Michael Jackson
Award Ultimate Performance, Right. We need a Smokey Robinson Award,
(04:36):
which is just the writer. Right, we need a Uh
I can't take I can't. I can't take writer out
of Jimmy Jametary Lewis because they write it too. But right,
you need a standalone producer award. Right, all of these
things are so different and we don't get an opportunity
to highlight them. But all of these awards need names
(04:57):
from our legends. You know what I'm saying. The R
and B Label Award, the Motown Award, where who's who's
the dedicated R and B label? That's R and B money,
That's what we're doing, right. So it's all of these
things that we need to now highlight now that R
and B has happening, this big, big conversation, right.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
I want to know how is it for you, right
knowing all these R and B stories, Right, And I'm
watching your podcast and I know you know the answers,
but some of these times it hasn't been put out
there and you're just feeding the person, right, Like I
look at Stephen Hill, but the Chris Brown situation, Yeah,
you're leading him because you knew what happened, but making
him explain the story was amazing.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
I didn't know what happened, really, I didn't even know
he was part of it. I knew from Chris's side
that they had they had they got him all the
way to the point of where it was about to happen,
it was about to happen, and then pulled the rug
out from under him. I didn't know the intimate details
and who all was involved. And hearing Steve like Steven
(05:55):
is like, you know, he loves he loves that, he
loves that. He felt like he was getting ready to
create one of the most iconic moments of all times,
and he worked for that rehearsal Jesus. He was. He was,
and it hurt him that now he you know, has
to go back and tell c B that it's not happened,
(06:18):
you know what I mean? Like that, that crushed him
more than anything. And he was like, man, if you
could ever talk to him, just let him know I
love him, I want you know, I wanted that for him.
I just they pulled it from me. Nothing I could do.
Speaker 4 (06:29):
I was going to ask that you put them on
the phone after that, because he said in your interview
that they hadn't he hadn't gotten well. He wanted to
see him in person to apologize and stuff.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
Like that. So no we didn't. We didn't get a
chance to make that happen, okay, but but I'd love
to make that happen for him.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
Another one of my favorite R and B Money podcasts
recently was the l A Red.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Like.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
He really sparked a real conversation and it just had
me thinking about, Yes, you need, you need Black Boutique
everything you need that.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
We need to be able to operate the way we operate.
Just let us do what we do. Like even with
what you guys do. You guys do what you do,
which is why it is what it is. There's nobody
micromanaging or policing you. You get your paycheck, whatever that is.
But it's because of how you do your thing. Nobody's
(07:16):
interrupting that, which is why it's what how many years
in the making, Jesus Christ, Imagine if you had no
control of that, you know what I mean. Imagine imagine
you being subject to somebody else's ideas, somebody else's and
then you lose with that. That hurts worse than anything
I lost listening to you. No, Noah, I'm gonna go
(07:38):
down with me. I'm gonna go down with me. And
that's what we've lost, We've lost the people that have
done it from here. I just believe, Like think about
DeAngelo's untitled. If somebody just doesn't say, ah, I just
feel like this is different, they never get to the
(07:59):
third single, which is a life changing record. Don't have that.
No more analytics say we're losing here, We're that, We're
gonna move on right? Well? How does the Feel? Wasn't
the third single?
Speaker 4 (08:11):
Was it?
Speaker 1 (08:11):
How did it Feel? Was the third single?
Speaker 3 (08:13):
The butt Naked Video was the third single.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
Wow, I did not know that. How do we not
get to That's gonna be the greatest songs of all time? Wow?
You know what I mean? Genuine so anxious. If Joe
Moore didn't say we gotta get to this month, we
gotta get to this one, this one right here is
gonna change it. Trust me. Maybe I Deserve was my
(08:38):
second single. If we were just going off for first singles,
I'm not gonna name the first song I had out
that I was dancing and shipping, flipping and blowing up Chris.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
Yeah, we'll take for a se I remember, because I remember.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
Maybe I Deserve shouldn't have brought that up when you
said it.
Speaker 4 (08:54):
I just heard the song.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Yeah maybe Wait. My first single was called Freaking, and
it almost destroyed my career before it started. The label
picked it, but I was very excited about it as well.
Speaker 3 (09:12):
When I googled it and said the song many have missed.
His actually first single Freaky, which came out first, and
it's pretty much become obscure.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
Today I was performing the song. I was on promo
tour Fort Valley State homecoming and I'm you know, I'm
coming out. I got my freaky interlude. You know, they
want to get freaky, and then the song starts and like,
right in the middle of the first hook, these two
little cute girls in the first row was like wack.
(09:42):
I was like and this was in the dat tape era,
so I couldn't stop it, damn, And I sweated the
rest of the song and I never sang that song again.
I said, don't put on the album, erase it, get
rid of this song, and we did a hard turn
(10:04):
cut the single Winter Maybe I Deserve Thank God. Wow,
rest is history. Rest is history. Yo.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
That's very interesting because I don't know whether I think
it's the labels not doing their jobs, like you know,
I don't think they give they don't care about.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
The music like they used to. I don't think labels
care about music.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
Like what was your first budget for your first album?
Like it was a thing to be to get signed
to a record deal.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
I'll tell you like this, there was a budget. There
was a number in in the contract. But again I'm boutique.
So they're like, well, let's just keep going till we
get it because we can't lose. Like, you know, at
that time, in terms of earners, you know, it was
Aliah rest Soul. She was, she was, she was making
(10:48):
the bank for all of us, right in order for
us to have budgets, Aliah was, she was funding us.
So you know, we were in a position where we
couldn't lose. So Verry, you know, Barry, we was gonna
let me lose. Nah, let's go to the next one.
Let's spend I spent four hundred thousand on my first
(11:10):
four or five hundred thousand my first video. Then I
spent another seven hundred on the next one. Like this
is what was happening. We blew up an actual building,
Like we're running out of building, and slowly the building
blew up behind us. We had to dive onto a mattress,
don't turn your phones on because you might kill the artists.
(11:30):
That that's what's missing. But you see the difference in
between the people that are still doing that. You still
see Chris Brown spending real money to make real videos,
still see Ponce spending real money to make real videos.
You still see Drake spending real money to make real videos.
That's the difference. It's why they're in arenas, that's why
they're in stadiums, all of these things. So we just
(11:51):
need that level of belief and that level of investment
in order to get it back to where it's supposed
to be. Like, look at movies. How much money spent
on promo? Yeah, put it on TV. They put it,
they're they're doing it, and before other movies are coming on,
they're out on the streets on the buses. Like we've
(12:12):
lost all of that, but they still want the same result.
That's not how that works.
Speaker 3 (12:16):
Absolutely, you're so right. I mean, I'm learning that through
just dibbling, dimbling, dibbling and dabbling in the movie world.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
But you're right. It's like, Yo, if they'll.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
Spend money to promote a film, these labels will just
be like put it online.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Literally, you can't tell a movie. You can't tell the
good to the people that are putting out the Wolverine.
You know what I'm saying. Just we're gonna just use
our socials and we're gonna use our socials and hopefully
go viral and and see what happens. We're trying to
(12:51):
guarantee ourselves a return, right, low visibility. Low visibility is
going to get you low results, just is what it is.
Does that have a change though? Again, we got to
get back to this boutique space where you know, where
a lot of the budgets and the freedom to do
it the way we know how to do it. We
come from the street Team era. We come from passing
(13:13):
out ten thousand flyers. You know what I'm saying, Bus stops, buses,
you know what I mean. Commercials. We used to run
commercials on be et, actual commercials. Where's all that it's gone,
But you still want the same results. There are outliers
with those things can happen. But R and B is
(13:34):
not a it's a it's not completely a viral genre. Now,
the residuals challenge, I mean, you know that's a thing,
but that's just fun. It starts out fun, but then
you then you tap into what's really out there, right,
(13:55):
And so now what we're able to see is, oh shit,
look at how many R and B singers, songwriters and
producers are just waiting in the wings for an opportunity
that are really, really dope.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
Did you feel any guilt enjoying R Kelly's residual it?
Speaker 1 (14:12):
I feel guilt in enjoying it. I mean, everybody knows
knows me, knows that I've always been an R. Kelly fan.
They know I've always you know, I was as I
was raised in trying to be R and B coming
out of my gospel space, babyface R Kelly, Brian Knight,
like those were my study guys. So no, I didn't.
(14:35):
I didn't feel away enjoying it. I couldn't. He's talented.
I couldn't. I couldn't grab it him posted on a page.
I couldn't do that, you know what I mean. I
gotta I got Hell's Kitchen to promote, you know what
I mean? And and and I think it's tough because
you know, a lot of people have been in my
comments saying why you ain't post R Kelly thing? And
(14:58):
I'm like, I'm like, guys, why do I have to
insert myself into that back and forth? You know? You
know what I thought?
Speaker 2 (15:04):
You know, listening to R. Kelly, he still sounds good
of shit right, he can still write. I wonder why
and I don't even know if he could, why people
wouldn't tap into his writing behind the balls because he
can still write amazingly and I'm sure he could put
still put numbers on the board.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
You don't have to say it's R. Kelly. I wonder
why that wasn't a thing? Why people don't go to
him for that same reason why you know, the younger
cats don't go to Babyface, same reason why the younger
cats don't go to Jimmy Jeanme, Terry Lewis, same reason
why I can go on and on why we have
(15:40):
a thing with us where if it just seems or
sounds old, we don't tap into it.
Speaker 4 (15:46):
You think that will R Kelly though he.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
Didn't sound old on it. He's an older artist. He's
done it, he's had his time. And to us, the
fad chasers, our culture that what's next or what's now
culture is what we are. We don't maintain a tradition
like like there's no way that new edition or any
(16:14):
of our elder statesmen shouldn't have sold out. Arenotaurs easily
Rolling Stones can come back anytime they feel like it.
Do what sold out to a queen? Anytime they feel
like it sold out to Paul McCartney can say I'm
going out, sold out, sold out. We are the only
people that separate ourselves from our foundational and our traditional
(16:36):
moments and cast it away like it's old, it's no
and and that's us. That's what we So when you
say why not like me, I'm like, I gotta get
a Babyface came to the opening my opening on Hell's Kitchen,
and as I'm looking at it, I'm like, Babyface really
(16:58):
pulled up to my opening. I got one of the
greatest singer songwriter producers of all times sitting right here
is a friend of mine and I don't have a
record from him. That can't happen again. I can't know him,
and that not happened.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
And I don't understand why you look at I want
to say something.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
That's why you got to give people credit like Scissa people,
baby Face produced news. You see how big snooze is
when you get an o G like that who gets
with a super talented young and you see what can
come about.
Speaker 4 (17:30):
I think that the artist because Scissa is like, like,
I'm not surprised that she understands and her like you
know what I mean, Like there's wasn't.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
On purpose either, So there's that because we're in the
room making something and she heard and you know there
was a it was a thing where it just people
in the right place here. Okay.
Speaker 4 (17:50):
I think sometimes too, it's about like who the artist is,
because there are some artists who like understand you know
what I mean, like baby facing and like the moment
you had that are younger. But then other artists are
chasing the producers that are making things that go viral
on the tiktoks or the reels are created to because
their labels back to you saying that they're not doing
their jobs. Their jobs have shifted where that's all you're
looking at. So if you don't have those metrics, you're
(18:12):
not doing your job. But you might be the artist
A it's like your baby face needs to be in
this studio.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
There's no reason why I don't have songs with babyface.
It's the true.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
And I was saying like, if you look at Quincy Jones,
what age was Quincy Jones when he was doing all
that stuff with Michael he was yeah, yeah, that's my point.
Speaker 1 (18:28):
Maybe the greatest album of all time. He was fifty.
We produced Thriller. It was fifty. Imagine the information he
was able to impart to Michael Jackson because everything that
he had done and everything that he had seen. You
know what I'm saying, Like, Michael, this is great. But
if we just take this two moments and just move
these things right over here, you trust me, you're gonna
love it. Like when you talked about the intro, we
(18:53):
can't kill that, Michael, That's that's the call out. Michael
wanted to kill it. What do we do better than that?
As soon as they come up with ship, that's Quincy Jones.
And so in my mind, I'm looking at baby face
like my Quincy Jones. How do I how do I
not tap into that? How do I not ensure this
(19:16):
level of greatness somehow pours over into what I'm doing.
I would have loved it here, Quincy.
Speaker 3 (19:22):
I have heard Quincy on R and B Money podcast man.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
By the way, but man, it's that information that that
that we need that needs to continue to pass down
and that's our job. We're the bridge. We want to
be the bridge. Like we we tell all the young
cats all the time, Hey, we were rocking with you.
Whatever you need from us, And then we tell the
older cats like we when we had Smokey Robinson, we
was like, you know, we're coming to your house. We're
(19:48):
coming over. We want to talk to you like you
did it, like you talk about building something, build an
entire your uh uh franchise on his back writing and produced. Yeah,
(20:09):
so we got the R and B Awards, which Charlemagne
and I Heart have committed to. Now we're going somewhere.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
So what did you What were your thoughts when you've
seen how I will say he was disrespected at the
award show when he.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
Was doing an interview and they was like, okay, this
is this next baby news.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
Moment, oh with with baby face babyface when he was
on the carpet.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
You know, I definitely thought it was I thought it
was disrespectful, but I don't think it was consciously disrespectful.
I think that no one's teaching people how to do
things anymore. They're just throwing them out there, right Because
if you're on that red carpet there. You have to
(20:57):
know who right, did who's well who? You have to
know who people are right in this music in this
music business. Right. But then two, you also know how
I have to know how to conduct yourself right. This
is these are the things you do, these are the
things you don't do. And that was just a thing
that was just kind of like, uh host t one
(21:19):
oh one, you don't do that. You don't you're not
ever talking to somebody. Yeah, and so how do you
fit one second? Can you nobody's teaching her. Nobody taught her.
It's not her fault. I'm sure she didn't get fired.
She didn't know well, somebody production told me that. Like,
(21:39):
so it was it's a disconnect, you know what I mean.
We aren't having those hard lessons in those classes like
I went to. You know, I went to media training.
We were from from the school of hard knocks, so
we get it media training. So I know both sides
of it. I know being on this side, I know
being on your side. And these these people aren't being trained, man,
and they're getting thrown out there and putting these positions
(22:00):
to where they look bad. I don't think she meant
to do it anything on purpose.
Speaker 3 (22:03):
Once again, you're talking about a budget. You said media
training artist. They don't give an Artists are spending no
money on media training nowadays.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
Anybody, Like if you if you're bringing somebody in to
represent your brand black Effect, like you want to know
two things first, okay, what what do you do? How
do you do it? Okay? And then are you trained
to do it? Because there are things that are going
to arise that you have to be prepared for. That
are moments they're going to have. What would you do
in this situation. Let's have some scenario training. Let's have
(22:30):
somebody get really boisterous in the room and feel see
how you handle it.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
So Tank, remember when you was on the Breakfast Club
and you talked about getting your ass eating about ten
years ago.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
I don't mind put my legs up. You know what
I'm saying, Like, that's that's okay.
Speaker 4 (22:41):
You know you don't like tongue action.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
I don't mind, not at all. Down I try to
tell them all the time. For a girl, each your
I have your hands free just in case you get tricky.
(23:07):
The way there you go.
Speaker 3 (23:08):
If somebody brings that up. Now in twenty twenty five
and they said, thank do you enjoy getting your ass eating?
Speaker 1 (23:12):
How do you respond? I would say that was the
old me, you know, when I was younger, you know
I enjoy things and said how I enjoy things a
little bit too out loud, you know what I mean?
Some of those things should have been a lot more quiet.
But you know, I think I was. I think I
was beata. I think Charlomagne baited me. He was very
(23:33):
he baited me.
Speaker 3 (23:35):
You should give a little fake chuckle question after the
question is. After you do a little fake chuckle, then
give that.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
They old me I was so wild back then. That's training.
Speaker 4 (23:50):
That is because people still bring that up.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
But I think you so they will be a follow
up question, not going to just let it go. Here's
the other thing, too, is that you know anything that
has been put out there, anything that I've put out there,
I'm able to stand up period tribe. I have I
(24:13):
have lived and I have lived in front of the world,
in front of the world for all of them to see.
So I don't really have any secrets, you know what
I mean. So the things, those things don't scare me.
I'm not rattled by those things. You know what I mean.
So there's that part of it. But I do I
do know how to divert if I was.
Speaker 4 (24:34):
Bringing I said that because I was going to big
you up for when it was brought up not too
long ago. You use it as a moment to talk
about like homophobia in the black community, and like that
created a powerful conversation, And I was like, I don't
know if he did it on part it did come
back up. Who were you talking to?
Speaker 3 (24:49):
It was?
Speaker 1 (24:50):
We talked about it in here.
Speaker 4 (24:51):
We didn't jest with the message.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
You were talking to.
Speaker 4 (24:56):
The holding court, big court. Yeah, But I but the
conversation that it created, I don't know if you saw
the conversation, I know you'd be online though, like you've
been seeing some things. It had people really having a
conversation about men being able to be vulnerable and just
have conversations anywhere they want to, and and black men specifically.
And I was like, okay, was that the media training?
Was that?
Speaker 1 (25:16):
Like? No, that was just real. I mean, that's just
what I believe. But I also believe that you can't
really have intelligent conversations online, you know what I mean.
So as he and I were having that conversation, like
we were having a real conversation. But in terms of
going back and forth online trying to get something very
thought provoking across, it never works.
Speaker 4 (25:37):
They don't.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
You'll never win that.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
Also, I think people forget the comedian Tank era. Yes,
when Tank was on stage to an actual comedy, so
a lot of that was jokes.
Speaker 1 (25:48):
Coming your legs up in the chair. You was just joking.
You're going back to a gag. Everybody's so serious. It's
not that serious, man. I have some fun and relax
every you see me, Every time you see me, I
gotta smile on my face and I'm having a good
time because I don't take this stuff too seriously. Man.
(26:10):
What I take seriously is when I get in that studio,
when I get on that stage, That's when I'm serious
outside of that and I'm having the time of my life.
Speaker 3 (26:19):
Why Broadway right now? Because you are featured in Luisa
Key's Hell's Kitchen.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
And it's timing, bro Because for me, twenty twenty five
was the hard pivot into acting. You know, the music
thing has been so much of my bread and butter
and so much of my focus for so long. I
was like, I gotta get to the other thing that
I love. And Charlie mccatt had always been telling me, Bro,
you're gonna have to make a hard pivot in order
to really do it the right way. And I was like, Okay,
(26:45):
I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it. And with
twenty twenty five coming in the way that it did
and having a free moment and opportunity, I'd always heard
horror stories about Broadway, you know what I mean, just
in terms of the workload and the pain to pay,
the facility, all of that, and I was like, yeah,
I probably never do Broadway. And then I get you know,
(27:06):
we get this call from Alisha like, hey, Alisha is
looking for you to do what And I'm like, you know,
the name Alicia Keys is already like that's interesting. Got
to at least see what that's about, right, And so
I sent some papers over for me to look at
the I'm like, okay, I'm looking at it. I'm all right,
(27:29):
I'll go see you know what I mean, just out
of respect for that name itself. So you want to
watch the play before you absolutely? Okay. So you saw
when Brandon V. Dixon was playing actually, well he wasn't
he wasn't there. His sub was in Who's Who's Who's
Who's Dope as well, And and I watched the play
and I fell in love with it, and the next
(27:50):
day was actually my walk in audition, and so I
kind of knew where I needed to be and and
at that point it was just like, I think it's time.
I think I think it is. It has answered the
question for me, I you know what I mean. Me
and Lulu were telling my manager. Lulu was talking to
He's like, I just it just does something different for you, brother,
(28:11):
It just does something really different. And in deliberating, I
was just deliberating, like is this the time to like
just take a hard left and out of nowhere. Charlie
Matt cost Me hadn't talked to in a minute, and
he's like, what's going on wrong. I was like nothing,
I'm just just chilling. He wanted to come to my
Atlantic City show. I'm like, I got you, love, he said,
I said the magic question. I got this on the
(28:33):
table right now. And he said, what the fuck are
we talking about? I said, well, I'm asking you. You
don't need my opinion. You know what you're supposed to do.
There was that here I am. And so you know
when I said, I said with Alisha the other day
learning Adam Blackstone, and she was like, tank, I just
felt like it was you. It's like, I didn't know why.
(28:55):
She's like it was it just to me, it just
felt like it was you. And She's like, I didn't
even know if he could act. And I was like, wow,
you ain't. You ain't seeing me on Lifetime or BT
you know what I'm saying a TV one, I'm the
Denzel of that space. You know what I'm saying, I'm
a Denzel of that space. You ain't sing none of that.
But she had never seen me act, and she was like,
and then when I saw you in the audition, she
(29:17):
was like, I was just blown away. And I was like, no,
that's that's what I do. Singing is that's whatever. And
so she and I went back and forth, singing back
and forth, her, you know, singing her amazing catalog and
my debut on Tuesday. And so now it's like, how
tough it's real?
Speaker 2 (29:33):
How tough is it to rehearsals? And do you have
to shut everything else off? And do you need time
for yourself now? Because it just seems like a does
it stop.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
I'm a machine, So I'm a routine guy, you know
what I mean. So I'm gonna get up, help get
the kids to school, do cardio, eat, go to the gym,
do the second lift, go to the studio, either work
on music or do pod get back, eat, dinner with
the family, get some lifetime in, and the next day
(30:04):
do the same thing. I'm a machine. I'm built like that.
So Broadway schedule works perfect for who I am now
eight shows a week crazy. That's where it get different
because you know they call it. You know, you have
an A show, a B show, and a C show. In
terms of how you perform. I've never been able to
(30:27):
do a B show and feel good about it, like
because all of those people, whether it's a Wednesday or Saturday,
they spent their money to see something great. They spent
their money to see somebody go all out. So I'm
doing a shows from Tuesday to Sunday. And we got
(30:50):
one day off that's Monday, and right back to it.
Speaker 4 (30:53):
What's your rest day? Like on a Monday?
Speaker 1 (30:55):
Like I just so I'm going to have my first
Monday next to the next Monday. Nothing, go to the gym,
you know, what I'm saying, he eats, eat some cool
food somewhere. You know, maybe keep it Charlomagne and my
heart and talk about this's awards. What about the family? Like,
(31:19):
because family was just here. They came for the for
the for the debut, My mom and then came up,
wife zoeian Zion came up, and it was really it
was really really cool. Man.
Speaker 3 (31:30):
The thirteen weeks is a long time to be away
from them, especially if you've got a routine.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
Like you say, it's it's tougher for them than it
is for me because for me, I'm you know, I'm
hyper focused. I'm in it, and I have something to
do every day, something to look forward to. And so
you know, the wife is at home doing the kid
thing and all that. But that's why, you know, that's
what it is. It's a teen she holds that down.
I'm gonna hold this down. But this to me is
like was the opportunity for people in that space to
(31:56):
understand that I'm serious about going here. You know, Kevin
was in town the other day, so when it you know,
saw him and chopped it up with him and he
was like, I'm really really proud of you for making
this move. It says a lot about the next level
of where you can go and who you can be.
And so that's what I'm looking forward to. I'm loving
like all the horror stories that they told me about Broadway,
(32:19):
they lied to me. They were trying to keep me
out of here. They didn't want me just you know,
pay the facility, the workload and all these things. Oh yeah,
take you know that's not for you, you know, Oh.
Speaker 4 (32:31):
Man, I think it's a different day and age as
far as like work rules and stuff. But also to
you're like, you're I don't know if this is true,
but I would feel like, because your tank, you're coming
into it a little bit differently, where like they can't
really play around with certain people too much.
Speaker 1 (32:44):
Now, well, I don't know. Of course, this is my
first time doing it, and I think, you know, yeah,
it's Tank. I'm always going to be received differently, but
I haven't desired, I haven't asked to be treated differently,
you know, where they would maybe try to make concessions
for me, and it's and certain things like no, I
don't want that. I don't want to feel like that.
I don't want to do that. Like as soon as
(33:06):
I walked in, I'm like, hey, guys, coach me hard,
like don't don't don't handle me with kid gloves like
I'm an athlete first, you know what I'm saying, like
like like like let's cuss, let's really get into the
ship of how this ship works, you know what I'm saying,
And let's really grind it out, like don't don't treat
me like and don't do that. And so once we
(33:26):
established that, we got to work. I don't I don't
want none of that preferential treatment. I'm new to Broadway,
so I'm here to learn your ways, not vice versa.
And so that's how I kind of introduce myself into
the situation. And once you do that, everybody can They
can be and do what they're supposed to do to
get me where I need to be to be part
of something great.
Speaker 3 (33:46):
Now, this is interesting because I remember on R and
B Money podcast one time you said Jamie Fox had
to keep you from quitting music. Yeah, and the way
you in here talking about acting right now, you sound
you got a new.
Speaker 1 (33:56):
Boo, got it in love, cuddle it, caud feet to feet,
go to the side, or like you don't love music, No,
more do I absolutely love me.
Speaker 3 (34:10):
You don't love the music business.
Speaker 1 (34:13):
For me? The music business is amazing. Okay, okay, but
it's not all that I do, you know what I mean?
And so you know the thing about me that you know,
even retiring at one point was just I couldn't find
you know, in losing my hearing and getting vertigo, I
felt like I was running out of time, and it
(34:34):
was so many other things I wanted to do. So
are the many of the things that I loved that
I wanted to get to. And then I was just
blessed with the you know, the age old concept of
time management. Simple. It sounds simple, but it's not, you
know what I mean. And so it's like, okay, cool,
for these three months, this is all I'll be doing. Well.
(34:54):
I'll be leaving a lot of money on the table, absolutely,
But will I be growing abs look.
Speaker 4 (35:01):
And positioning yourself very well? I think I haven't seen it,
but I can imagine you on Broadway, but just because
of how your voice is.
Speaker 1 (35:08):
When are your guys coming? I love Broadway. I'm coming.
I'm definitely in the next week or so. Well. I
have eight shows a week. I'm only off on Monday.
So whenever you guys come, we'll set up.
Speaker 3 (35:21):
I saw Stephanie Mills was on Broadway. She was on
a Damn I forgot what the show was called.
Speaker 1 (35:28):
And I saw Stephanie Mills on Broadway. Yeah, she was amazing.
You got you're gonna love it. Bring it, bring it,
Bring your kids.
Speaker 2 (35:35):
I take my kids off to the Lion's King, the
Michael whatever, the kid friendly Broadway Place.
Speaker 1 (35:41):
Incredible. My seventeen year old daughter and my ten year
old son at the time of their lives in this play.
Alicia is seventeen, so it's really like it really meets
these kids where they are. It's incredible. My daughter was
crying and I was like it was it was a thing.
(36:02):
And you know, coming out afterwards and seeing so many
kids and signing autographs for kids, you know what I mean.
One of one of one of our one of our
stars in the play, Keisha, she had a she had
an acting school. These kids, these students that she works
with that came up from New Mexico and there's a
(36:24):
kids and they loved every minute of it. Like you know,
for me, I'm like any high school in this New York,
New Jersey Pennsylvani in this area. They should be having
a field trip to see Hell's Kitchen. To me, it
is it is that impactful of a moment for for
young kids to see that are inspired aspiring to do anything.
(36:48):
So you gotta shows the night. Yeah, oh ship chen.
Speaker 3 (36:58):
One one thing to Saturday, April twenty sixth and the
third Annual Black Effect Podcast Festival.
Speaker 1 (37:03):
Yea make it.
Speaker 3 (37:05):
Yeah, it's Saturday taking Jay Valentine is gonna be there.
Speaker 1 (37:08):
He's got I'll be there. Got one day off, that's okay,
just making sure one day you have.
Speaker 3 (37:12):
Y'all thought about what that's gonna look like live R
and B Money podcast on stage.
Speaker 1 (37:18):
Nope, Nope. We're thinking about it though, because it's got
to be sexy. You know what I'm saying. You know,
y'all gonna be singing. I'm hearing, guest, I've seen you
in person. We can't do the pod. How come I
got to sing? You said?
Speaker 4 (37:35):
Was wondering because I've seen you. And when you came
back after you said you were retiring, you did something
to the Peppermint Club and Jamie Fox was there.
Speaker 1 (37:41):
That's my album release, Yeah that I was there.
Speaker 3 (37:43):
With the label.
Speaker 4 (37:44):
It was my first time seeing I was like, oh yeah,
I was there with a fairly okay yea, So y'all
gonna be singing, you don't have to.
Speaker 1 (37:55):
I just want to podcast. Man, he's seen you on
the podcast. It seems podcast the spirit moves them. If
the if this, if you know, if it moves me,
then I promise you, yeah, you know, we gotta we gotta,
we gotta figure out what that's going because this will
be you know, this will be our first time doing
it like we do it, first time doing it live. Well,
(38:15):
we've done R and B Live, R and B Money Live,
the event where it's been strictly catered, where it's banned
DJ you know, karaoke vibes like that, really really dope.
We've done that up up in Phoenix. Has stayed in
with one of my guys two spots, so we've done that.
Speaker 3 (38:32):
But this is for people who like the podcast and
enjoy the conversation exactly.
Speaker 1 (38:36):
So this is pod and conversation. So in terms of
trying to figure out what makes ours a little different,
you know what I mean, we're still formulating that. Well.
Speaker 3 (38:45):
Saturday, April twenty six, third Annual Blackfec Podcast Festival, Go
get your tickets Black Effect dot Com Slash Podcast Festival.
Speaker 1 (38:51):
Make sure you check our Tank in the Hell's Kitchen.
Speaker 3 (38:53):
What the weisha Key's on Broadway right now.
Speaker 1 (38:55):
We appreciate you, brother, I'm reporting on y'all. Man. If
y'all don't, y'all don't show up. I don't know. I
abroad with all the time. That's one of my I
enjoy broad with absolutely, and when I'm not here, you
know what I'm saying, I still want to hear somebody say,
if you've seen Hell's Kitchen, did you go? Did you
you know? Let me tell Alicia in Swiss.
Speaker 3 (39:16):
We'll meet you up and make sure you subscribe to
the R and B Money podcast on the Black Effect
I Heeart Radio podcast network.
Speaker 1 (39:22):
That's right, It's Tank, ladies and gentlemen. It's the Breakfast Club.
Good morning, wake that ass up in the morning. The
Breakfast Club
The Breakfast Club News
Hosts And Creators
Charlamagne Tha God
DJ Envy
Jess Hilarious
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