November 15, 2025 • 27 mins
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Bio
Clinton Brand III, better known as CBIII, is a California-based rapper whose new single “I Won’t Quit” delivers a motivational and relatable message for anyone facing hardship. Produced by Tunna Beats, the track carries a Blurry Face energy. It opens with a violin and the soft vocalizations of featured singer Alex Brinkley. When the beat drops, piano, bass, and drums blend with CBIII’s reflections on overthinking, contemplating, and debating why he refuses to give up.Lines such as:Sad but I should be filled with joy.
Played with my heart just like it was a toy.
But the truth is I’m tired of venting.
This constant feeling is relentless.
Nobody wants to listen and everyone is a critic.
Hate my life but I won’t give up, I can’t give in.illustrate the emotional tension of the song. “I Won’t Quit” confronts the fear of failure—what if I’m not good enough—while contrasting it with the resilience expressed in the title.The song’s final quatrain is especially powerful. Beginning with CBIII’s signature wordplay, the message ultimately becomes one of determination and positive change:Phenomenal and astronomical anomaly, that’s what I would like to be.
I don’t want to eat, I don’t want to sleep.
Tired of this life, the way that I’ve been living.
It’s time to make a change for the greater good.This battle with self-doubt and constant overthinking makes “I Won’t Quit” deeply relatable. CBIII hopes listeners feel inspired to stay strong when they face similar struggles.The inspiration behind the song is intensely personal. After losing both parents at a young age, Brand was raised by his grandmother and later entered foster care. A recent visit, during which he saw his grandmother’s memory fading, was painful for him because she had once been his greatest supporter. It left him feeling abandoned and in a dark place.“I wrote the song ‘I Won’t Quit’ because at that time I was suicidal. I didn’t have anybody else to turn to because my grandma didn’t really care anymore,” he shares.The vulnerability in the lyrics initially made him hesitant to release the track. “I actually sat on the song for about five months before even thinking about releasing it because it is so close to home that I wasn’t sure if I would have the courage to share it.”Now that the song is out, that vulnerability has become its greatest strength. Many listeners can identify with the experience of missing family support, doubting themselves, and still knowing they must push forward.Beyond his personal drive to achieve greatness, Brand has another powerful motivation: his younger brother, who is also in foster care. Knowing his brother looks up to him, he wants to be an example that resilience matters.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/creator-to-creators-with-meosha-bean--4460322/support.
Youtube
Tiktok
Spotify
Bio
Clinton Brand III, better known as CBIII, is a California-based rapper whose new single “I Won’t Quit” delivers a motivational and relatable message for anyone facing hardship. Produced by Tunna Beats, the track carries a Blurry Face energy. It opens with a violin and the soft vocalizations of featured singer Alex Brinkley. When the beat drops, piano, bass, and drums blend with CBIII’s reflections on overthinking, contemplating, and debating why he refuses to give up.Lines such as:Sad but I should be filled with joy.
Played with my heart just like it was a toy.
But the truth is I’m tired of venting.
This constant feeling is relentless.
Nobody wants to listen and everyone is a critic.
Hate my life but I won’t give up, I can’t give in.illustrate the emotional tension of the song. “I Won’t Quit” confronts the fear of failure—what if I’m not good enough—while contrasting it with the resilience expressed in the title.The song’s final quatrain is especially powerful. Beginning with CBIII’s signature wordplay, the message ultimately becomes one of determination and positive change:Phenomenal and astronomical anomaly, that’s what I would like to be.
I don’t want to eat, I don’t want to sleep.
Tired of this life, the way that I’ve been living.
It’s time to make a change for the greater good.This battle with self-doubt and constant overthinking makes “I Won’t Quit” deeply relatable. CBIII hopes listeners feel inspired to stay strong when they face similar struggles.The inspiration behind the song is intensely personal. After losing both parents at a young age, Brand was raised by his grandmother and later entered foster care. A recent visit, during which he saw his grandmother’s memory fading, was painful for him because she had once been his greatest supporter. It left him feeling abandoned and in a dark place.“I wrote the song ‘I Won’t Quit’ because at that time I was suicidal. I didn’t have anybody else to turn to because my grandma didn’t really care anymore,” he shares.The vulnerability in the lyrics initially made him hesitant to release the track. “I actually sat on the song for about five months before even thinking about releasing it because it is so close to home that I wasn’t sure if I would have the courage to share it.”Now that the song is out, that vulnerability has become its greatest strength. Many listeners can identify with the experience of missing family support, doubting themselves, and still knowing they must push forward.Beyond his personal drive to achieve greatness, Brand has another powerful motivation: his younger brother, who is also in foster care. Knowing his brother looks up to him, he wants to be an example that resilience matters.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/creator-to-creators-with-meosha-bean--4460322/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
If you love entertainment, current events, and Hollywood, do miss
Creator to Creators Hosted by the filmmaker Mio Shabine, known
for the shutter Hit documentary or Noir and the acclaimed
film Anatomy of an Anti Heroo Redemption. This show features
interviews with filmmakers and creatives from around the globe. Join
(00:25):
the fun with guest celebrities and gain valuable insights. Subscribe
now and follow Creator to Creators.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Hi, guys, welcome to another episode of Creators to Creators. Today,
Today we have a special guest.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Hi, guys, my name's Clinton Brand. My stage name is
CB three, but that's Roman numerals three.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
So Hi, I love it. I love it. Thank you
for coming on, you know. So I love going back
to the beginning. I always say, at the beginning, charge
our trajectory in life, you know, our little habits we
pick up along the way, follow us into our adulthood.
Tell me a little bit about your childhood. What was
that like and when did you kind of you know,
(01:10):
fall in love with music?
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Okay, so I'm gonna take it way back. Starting out,
I was living with my mom in an apartment and
it was just me, her boyfriend my dad wasn't in
the picture, and my mom was wasn't the best mother.
(01:36):
She was abusive. She would put a lot of alcohol
in my in my milk. She did a lot of
physical abuse too, So it was a very rough upbringing.
And then my great grandparents, I believe, came to my
(02:00):
mom's apartment and grabbed me, and then it was a
big custody battle, and then I ended up living with
my not my great grandparents, but my grandparents instead, excuse me,
And then that was a thing for about four or
five years, and that didn't quite work out. Like as
(02:27):
I grew older, I started to have more and more
traumatic memories and it affected my ability to be in
a normal household, and it was affecting my grandparents. So
I ended up going into foster care. Oh okay, And
(02:49):
as I grew up through foster care, I was alone.
I didn't really have much of anything. The only thing
that I had was music, and I remember feeling so terrible,
so sad, and anytime I'd feel sad, I'd sit there
and I'd sing or I would recite my favorite Little
(03:13):
Wayne lyrics or anything like that, and that always kind
of uplifted my spirits and then as I went into
junior high I started going to talent shows nice and
I remember the first song I ever performed in front
of a big crowd was a bow wow song from life,
(03:37):
and I remember being so scared, and then my best
friend came up there with me, and I absolutely rocked
that show. I was pretty incredible. And high school came along,
and I slowly but surely started writing because more traumatic
events was happening. My foster parents weren't the best parents either,
(04:01):
so I would start writing and making songs and hanging
out with friends after school and working on music. And
then I went to college. I graduated high school and
went to college for audio and video.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Production nice nice, and.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
I ended up deciding like, wow, music is really something
I can do. I don't have to be a doctor.
I don't have to be like a nurse or anything
like that, or a lawyer. Yeah, my life and I
am able to live it how I please. And I
would like to uplift others with my music and and
(04:45):
help them follow their path and get true to themselves.
I hope that wasn't too much.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
But no, no, I love it. I love it.
Speaker 4 (04:54):
No, I think that's it's it's it's beautiful, you know,
which which leads me to my question of, like, what
was the exact moment or experience that sparked the lyrics
for I Won't Quit.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
The exact moment was probably when my grandmother was starting
to get sick. Growing up. For me, she was my
best friend. She would play music with me and dance
with me and sing with me, and then we'd go
get ice cream. I mean, she is a young grandma,
(05:30):
so when I was like three, she was like thirty
or forty.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
Oh wow, nice.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
And the exact moment I learned that I'm sorry, I
got distracted. What was the question again, what was the
exact moment that sparked I Won't Quit? Right? Yeah, The
exact moment was when my grandmother got sick. When I
walked up to her and went to give her a hug,
(05:56):
and she looked at me and she was like, who
are you? And she wasn't herself. She was forgetting me.
She wasn't herself. And I had came back from a
TV show that was being filmed on the other side,
the other side of the United States, and I came
(06:20):
back and she was somebody else entirely, and I brought
like I figured out how to help my grandparents get
a home and everything, and it just fell apart and
I was going to quit. I was going to quit.
And then I'm like, no, I won't quit. I won't quit.
And I was like, wait a minute, I could be
a song. And then I made the song and I
(06:42):
sat on it for about a year because it was
so vulnerable. It was so like, so gritty to me,
so like like I don't even know, it just hit
me too close to home. So I almost didn't like
release it.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Wow? What what?
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Like? What?
Speaker 2 (06:57):
What? What encouraged you? You know, what gave you the
courage to finally like release it after you know, holding
onto it.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
I've decided there's not ever going to be a moment
where I'm gonna say I'm ready. I just take that
leap of faith and do it anyway. And if nobody
likes it, that's okay. Because I make music because I
like to. I like it because it feels good. I
feel good when I make music. It's the only thing
I'm good at.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
I love that. I love that. You know you talk
openly about overthinking and self doubt. How do you personally
pull yourself out of those you know mental spaces.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
I don't. I just pray about it. Yeah, a lot
of podcasts about motivation and Christianity and following God and
really feeling his love and presence. I I don't know,
I'm not sometimes I'm not able to, so I just
(08:04):
write and then listen to Christian music.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
H that's beautiful. You know the track starts with you know,
starts soft with violin, and then it just like the
beat drops. What made you choose that emotional build for
the intro, I'm not sure.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
I just kind of I felt it because coming back
from like that TV show that kind of had of
a kind of had like a beautiful moment. There was
like a beautiful, a beautiful moment and then everything started
to like crumble. So I guess I kind of wanted
a beautiful intro at then boom. You know, it's not
(08:48):
like overpowering, but you can kind of like hear the
changes in tempo and beat. I just kind of liked
the way it sounds. Basically, I love that.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
What you know, you know, your lyric mentioned being tired
of venting right yet still pushing forward. What keeps your
drive alive even when you feel drained? I mean, because
I feel like a lot of artists and just creatives,
right it there's a moment to what we don't feel inspired,
(09:23):
you know, but we just we somehow find a way
to pull whatever it is creatively out and it just
we created.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
You know. Right, To be honest with you, what keeps
my drive alive is my puppy, my family, my little
brother he is also in foster care despite my efforts
(09:54):
to keep him out of that situation. I think of
better future. Hope for a better future and a better
life is what keeps me going. I want to create
a foundation and a financially free environment for those who
(10:16):
come after me. So I want to like leave a
legacy and I want to inspire those and lift them up.
And I think the possibility of that, my dream, is
what keeps me going.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Yeah, you know, I think that's might be the you
probably basically answer my next question, which was you know,
you know you describe yourself as wanting to be phenomenal
and astronomically an anomaly, right, what does greatness look like
to you personally?
Speaker 3 (10:54):
Being In my personal opinion, I feel like greatness looks
like being a leader, but not like a bossy person,
but loving first forgiving first, inspiring others, and showing everyone respect,
(11:15):
whether they're the CEO or the janitor. But to be
honest with you, I don't even know.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
Was there any like heard lyrics in the song for
you to write emotionally.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
I did that song a while back, so I'm having
a hard time remembering. But the hardest part of that
song for me was probably all of it. Yeah, I
have at least four or five songs that I haven't
(11:57):
released and some that I've taken offline. Yeah, because when
I write, I'm pretty open about my life and my insecurities.
Like I started writing, it started out as a journal,
like a way to express myself. So pretty much every
song is my deepest fears, m my secrets that I
(12:24):
would never say to like in the open. So sometimes
I have a hard time being open and it's gary,
you know, I'm scared to be judged.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
But that's I think that's part of the creative, the
creatives of it all. Right, Like I feel like the
greatest artist or whatever creatives out there, who ever lived
or became came before us. I think they just kind of,
somehow kind of got to a place where they're just
like okay with sharing the most vulnerable parts of themselves.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
Yeah, I mean, and that's a part of why I
want to get into music is because I want to
be as fearless as possible, which may never happen, but
just facing my fear alone is a huge step in
the right direction. In my opinion, I want to show
others it's okay to be yourself and to share how
(13:22):
you feel, because your story is beautiful and it creates
like helps you become the man or the woman you're
meant to be.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
Absolutely, you know, I love asking this question, and there's
no wrong answer, but the three levels of influence, money, power,
and respect. Right, if you could choose only one of
those things, which one would you choose? And why?
Speaker 3 (13:54):
If I could choose money, power or respect, I would
probably have to go with respect, probably okay, because I
feel like I could be rich, but nobody would respect
me and everybody would hate me. I could have power,
(14:14):
but no one would really love me. And I feel
like with respect, people will love and respect you. Maybe
that's a weird answer, but.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
No, no, no, that's a great answer. It's a great answer,
you know. You know, I think either either one could
could be could be right, and either one could be
could could be used for wrong reasons depending upon who
who has it right. So it really depends on the person.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
Right for sure. I know there are some people like
my little brother. He would probably say money, forget everything
is money, But for me, family comes first.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
Yeah, yeah, for sure. I love that. You know you
mentioned your brother, You're you know your little brother is
a huge motivation for you. What message do you do
you most want him to take from this particular song.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
I know life is hard and you want to move
on and you want to have a great future and
a great life even though life has a tendency to
beat you down. You're probably one of the strongest people
I've ever known, given that you're only fifteen. So I
(15:45):
would say keep going, follow your dreams, and don't quit.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
Yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure. I love that. It's
a beautiful message. Do you feel like releasing this track
has helped you heal in any way?
Speaker 3 (16:07):
Absolutely? I feel like growing up, I have lost pieces
of myself that have been fractured through time, and I
feel like each track that I release is a piece
of my heart that has been fractured and lost slowly
(16:31):
being put back together. So I feel like I'm slowly
being more I used to be very bitter and grumpy,
and I feel like that helps me be more loved,
like more loving and kind by releasing a track, I
love that.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
I love that it's beautiful. Yeah, that's I think that's
what music is healing, right, It's supposed to heal. It's
supposed to make us, you know, take us out of
whatever situation that we're in currently, or whatever is happening
around the world. Do you feel or And I'm just
curious and I don't know, because you know, everybody has
(17:10):
a you know, kind of a good and bad reasons
about it. But do you feel like AI now that
AI is you know, incorporated in a lot of music,
and AI is here now where everybody can use it now,
it's it helps in a lot of ways. But also
(17:31):
people have they're on the fence about it. How do
you feel AI pertaining to music?
Speaker 3 (17:42):
I feel like AI is a great tool. M And
I still like we're lucky to have it, for sure,
But honestly, I feel like it's cheating M. Like AI
is just a robot. So by using using a tool
(18:03):
like a robot to make a song for you makes
it perfect? And I personally believe our flaws, our mistakes
are beautiful, like our scars are beautiful. So I feel
like we should share them. And I feel like using
a robot to write a song, yeah, would take away
from the natural, like the natural, like the stuff that
(18:29):
makes us human. I feel like art is supposed to
have flaws. There are going to be mistakes. You don't
want everything to be perfect, at least I don't. I
don't know. That wasn't a weird answer.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
No, I think it's great to answer. I mean, I
feel you like I feel like it. It kind of
takes from like the realness of it all right, like
the you know, you think about the greats that that
has passed on and you're Michael Jackson's your your prince
and so forth, and you're thinking like your Whitneys. Know,
it's like that was from from them, their essence, right,
(19:06):
and and if you incorporate AI, it's like is it
actually you? So yeah, I totally get it, you know,
I I I really I'm curious. And I don't know
if you know you've been in the business long enough
to see it, but I'm curious if from an artists
(19:28):
standpoint of view, do you feel like music is going
in a in a in a positive direction. You know,
you hear all this, the new songs coming out, Like
every other day there's a new song, new artist. Do
you feel like it's it's heading in Music is heading
in the in in a better direction in favor of
(19:51):
the artist.
Speaker 3 (19:55):
Mmm. I gotta be careful with this one. I don't
want to upset anybody, but I will say everybody is
entitled to their own taste in music. But I do
feel like some music is not intended for like younger ages.
I feel like some music is a little bit too
(20:16):
intense for those kids to be listening to. But I
mean making art is beautiful and there's all sorts of kinds,
so don't I don't think there's anything wrong with what
they're doing.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
Sure, in the direction that we're going in the future,
I feel like it's more about money now, and I
feel like people are using more AI or more auto
tune instead of just being themselves. And I feel like
being yourself is more important than money or how you look,
(20:56):
or the jewelry or the fancy shoes or fancy clothes.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Well, you know, I think it's because I think people
use it because I feel like, you know, a lot
of people think that, you know, it's such a competitive
industry and so they feel like I think sometimes people
feel like they have to. I mean, AI allows you
to be like a team of ten people, but you're
(21:21):
like one person, you know what I mean. I get it,
I guess in that sense, I think people are like, well,
you know, but yeah, I totally get what you're saying, though, Sure,
what advice would you give to you know, anyone listening
out there could be young or older that wants to
(21:45):
just really give music a try, and but they're they're
they're fearful of it. There's the unknown. What advice would
you give to that person?
Speaker 3 (21:56):
The advice I would give is probably too be your
so you're probably better than you think. Try not to
be in your head so much about it. Just go
out there, do it and be your So I love it.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
That's great advice. That's really good advice, you know, because
you just never know, right you and art is subjective.
Everything is subjective, right, So it's like somebody's gonna like something.
This person I'm here might like this, and this person
might like this song, or you know, you might like
this part of your lyrics or whatever. It's just like
(22:37):
so it's just going out a leap of faith and yeah,
like I said, putting it out there and going for it.
Thank you so much for that advice, because I feel
like a lot of people, you know, getting their heads
and because there's so much music and it's so saturated
now and how we consume music is completely different than
how you know, our grandparents consumed it or parents consume music.
(23:01):
Drawing up. You know, we have TikTok. Everything is so fast.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
They have the attention spans are so short now it's
hard to get it. Man.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
Yeah, it's just like it is there a way to
get people back to what we kind of went past?
I don't know. I guess we could hope and wish
for that.
Speaker 3 (23:23):
That would be nice.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
That would be nice if you could perform with or
collaborate with any artists living or did who would it
be a why logic? Really? Oh you had that one
ready for the can? I love it? I love it logic.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
I logic has helped me through so much. His music,
his flow, his cadence, the way he like just I
don't even know, he's like magic when he's rapping. I
would love to have the opportunity to even meet him.
(24:02):
I think that would be the greatest thing ever. He
is truly a magnificent talent. On top of that, I
love how he interacts with his fans through his music.
He One of my favorite songs that has helped me
through a very dark time was his song Anxiety. I
(24:23):
anytime I'd feel anxious or scared, I didn't have no
one to comfort me, so I'd play logic song Anxiety,
and that would definitely bring me out of that rut.
I feel like I could move mountains after listening to
that song.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
I love it. Yeah, it's a great disagreat answer well
your mouth to God's ears.
Speaker 3 (24:47):
Amen.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
Thank you so much for coming on and sharing you know,
your story, your journey, and congratulations on this song. And
you know, I think it's such a important song for
an important time. You know, I think a lot of
people are hurting and trying to find some type of
piece and type of escape. So thank you for making
(25:12):
songs and music that speaks to people collectively, the collective,
you know, not just making music for music's sake, but
looking at the bigger picture.
Speaker 3 (25:25):
So thank you, no problem. I'm so blessed to be here.
Thank you for having me. I mean, it's truly magnificent.
I never thought that anybody would even care to hear
what I got to say, so I mean, I'm just
happy to be here.
Speaker 2 (25:41):
Well, I mean, I'm sure you're going to be here
a long time. So thank you for making music that
matters and that helps people, because I feel like that's
that's what's really that's what it's really about. You know,
we can make music and create as many films as
we can, but if if it touches that one person
(26:01):
that can maybe change your life or make them feel encouraged,
that's that's that's that's a good day.
Speaker 3 (26:07):
Mm hmmm, I agree, I agree. Thank you so much
for your kind boords. I definitely needed it.
Speaker 2 (26:14):
Absolutely absolutely come back anytime, anytime. It was great talking
to you. Where can people find you on social media
to follow everything you have coming going on?
Speaker 3 (26:26):
You can find me on TikTok at CB I I
I Underscore Underscore. You can find me on Instagram at
official Underscore CB three, so the C B I I
I pretty much the same. You can find me on
(26:50):
YouTube at official Underscore CB three. I like C B
I I I awesome, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
Awesome, great, everybody follow uh hit you know, hit that
like button. Go follow his channel, check out the song.
The song is an amazing I won't quit and thank
you so much again for coming on. It was a pleasure.
Speaker 3 (27:15):
It's been a pleasure.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
Thank you, and thank you all for listening and always
remember to live, love, laugh. Well, we'll see you guys
next time. Bye bye,
If you love entertainment, current events, and Hollywood, do miss
Creator to Creators Hosted by the filmmaker Mio Shabine, known
for the shutter Hit documentary or Noir and the acclaimed
film Anatomy of an Anti Heroo Redemption. This show features
interviews with filmmakers and creatives from around the globe. Join
(00:25):
the fun with guest celebrities and gain valuable insights. Subscribe
now and follow Creator to Creators.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Hi, guys, welcome to another episode of Creators to Creators. Today,
Today we have a special guest.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Hi, guys, my name's Clinton Brand. My stage name is
CB three, but that's Roman numerals three.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
So Hi, I love it. I love it. Thank you
for coming on, you know. So I love going back
to the beginning. I always say, at the beginning, charge
our trajectory in life, you know, our little habits we
pick up along the way, follow us into our adulthood.
Tell me a little bit about your childhood. What was
that like and when did you kind of you know,
(01:10):
fall in love with music?
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Okay, so I'm gonna take it way back. Starting out,
I was living with my mom in an apartment and
it was just me, her boyfriend my dad wasn't in
the picture, and my mom was wasn't the best mother.
(01:36):
She was abusive. She would put a lot of alcohol
in my in my milk. She did a lot of
physical abuse too, So it was a very rough upbringing.
And then my great grandparents, I believe, came to my
(02:00):
mom's apartment and grabbed me, and then it was a
big custody battle, and then I ended up living with
my not my great grandparents, but my grandparents instead, excuse me,
And then that was a thing for about four or
five years, and that didn't quite work out. Like as
(02:27):
I grew older, I started to have more and more
traumatic memories and it affected my ability to be in
a normal household, and it was affecting my grandparents. So
I ended up going into foster care. Oh okay, And
(02:49):
as I grew up through foster care, I was alone.
I didn't really have much of anything. The only thing
that I had was music, and I remember feeling so terrible,
so sad, and anytime I'd feel sad, I'd sit there
and I'd sing or I would recite my favorite Little
(03:13):
Wayne lyrics or anything like that, and that always kind
of uplifted my spirits and then as I went into
junior high I started going to talent shows nice and
I remember the first song I ever performed in front
of a big crowd was a bow wow song from life,
(03:37):
and I remember being so scared, and then my best
friend came up there with me, and I absolutely rocked
that show. I was pretty incredible. And high school came along,
and I slowly but surely started writing because more traumatic
events was happening. My foster parents weren't the best parents either,
(04:01):
so I would start writing and making songs and hanging
out with friends after school and working on music. And
then I went to college. I graduated high school and
went to college for audio and video.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Production nice nice, and.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
I ended up deciding like, wow, music is really something
I can do. I don't have to be a doctor.
I don't have to be like a nurse or anything
like that, or a lawyer. Yeah, my life and I
am able to live it how I please. And I
would like to uplift others with my music and and
(04:45):
help them follow their path and get true to themselves.
I hope that wasn't too much.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
But no, no, I love it. I love it.
Speaker 4 (04:54):
No, I think that's it's it's it's beautiful, you know,
which which leads me to my question of, like, what
was the exact moment or experience that sparked the lyrics
for I Won't Quit.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
The exact moment was probably when my grandmother was starting
to get sick. Growing up. For me, she was my
best friend. She would play music with me and dance
with me and sing with me, and then we'd go
get ice cream. I mean, she is a young grandma,
(05:30):
so when I was like three, she was like thirty
or forty.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
Oh wow, nice.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
And the exact moment I learned that I'm sorry, I
got distracted. What was the question again, what was the
exact moment that sparked I Won't Quit? Right? Yeah, The
exact moment was when my grandmother got sick. When I
walked up to her and went to give her a hug,
(05:56):
and she looked at me and she was like, who
are you? And she wasn't herself. She was forgetting me.
She wasn't herself. And I had came back from a
TV show that was being filmed on the other side,
the other side of the United States, and I came
(06:20):
back and she was somebody else entirely, and I brought
like I figured out how to help my grandparents get
a home and everything, and it just fell apart and
I was going to quit. I was going to quit.
And then I'm like, no, I won't quit. I won't quit.
And I was like, wait a minute, I could be
a song. And then I made the song and I
(06:42):
sat on it for about a year because it was
so vulnerable. It was so like, so gritty to me,
so like like I don't even know, it just hit
me too close to home. So I almost didn't like
release it.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Wow? What what?
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Like? What?
Speaker 2 (06:57):
What? What encouraged you? You know, what gave you the
courage to finally like release it after you know, holding
onto it.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
I've decided there's not ever going to be a moment
where I'm gonna say I'm ready. I just take that
leap of faith and do it anyway. And if nobody
likes it, that's okay. Because I make music because I
like to. I like it because it feels good. I
feel good when I make music. It's the only thing
I'm good at.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
I love that. I love that. You know you talk
openly about overthinking and self doubt. How do you personally
pull yourself out of those you know mental spaces.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
I don't. I just pray about it. Yeah, a lot
of podcasts about motivation and Christianity and following God and
really feeling his love and presence. I I don't know,
I'm not sometimes I'm not able to, so I just
(08:04):
write and then listen to Christian music.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
H that's beautiful. You know the track starts with you know,
starts soft with violin, and then it just like the
beat drops. What made you choose that emotional build for
the intro, I'm not sure.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
I just kind of I felt it because coming back
from like that TV show that kind of had of
a kind of had like a beautiful moment. There was
like a beautiful, a beautiful moment and then everything started
to like crumble. So I guess I kind of wanted
a beautiful intro at then boom. You know, it's not
(08:48):
like overpowering, but you can kind of like hear the
changes in tempo and beat. I just kind of liked
the way it sounds. Basically, I love that.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
What you know, you know, your lyric mentioned being tired
of venting right yet still pushing forward. What keeps your
drive alive even when you feel drained? I mean, because
I feel like a lot of artists and just creatives,
right it there's a moment to what we don't feel inspired,
(09:23):
you know, but we just we somehow find a way
to pull whatever it is creatively out and it just
we created.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
You know. Right, To be honest with you, what keeps
my drive alive is my puppy, my family, my little
brother he is also in foster care despite my efforts
(09:54):
to keep him out of that situation. I think of
better future. Hope for a better future and a better
life is what keeps me going. I want to create
a foundation and a financially free environment for those who
(10:16):
come after me. So I want to like leave a
legacy and I want to inspire those and lift them up.
And I think the possibility of that, my dream, is
what keeps me going.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Yeah, you know, I think that's might be the you
probably basically answer my next question, which was you know,
you know you describe yourself as wanting to be phenomenal
and astronomically an anomaly, right, what does greatness look like
to you personally?
Speaker 3 (10:54):
Being In my personal opinion, I feel like greatness looks
like being a leader, but not like a bossy person,
but loving first forgiving first, inspiring others, and showing everyone respect,
(11:15):
whether they're the CEO or the janitor. But to be
honest with you, I don't even know.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
Was there any like heard lyrics in the song for
you to write emotionally.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
I did that song a while back, so I'm having
a hard time remembering. But the hardest part of that
song for me was probably all of it. Yeah, I
have at least four or five songs that I haven't
(11:57):
released and some that I've taken offline. Yeah, because when
I write, I'm pretty open about my life and my insecurities.
Like I started writing, it started out as a journal,
like a way to express myself. So pretty much every
song is my deepest fears, m my secrets that I
(12:24):
would never say to like in the open. So sometimes
I have a hard time being open and it's gary,
you know, I'm scared to be judged.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
But that's I think that's part of the creative, the
creatives of it all. Right, Like I feel like the
greatest artist or whatever creatives out there, who ever lived
or became came before us. I think they just kind of,
somehow kind of got to a place where they're just
like okay with sharing the most vulnerable parts of themselves.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
Yeah, I mean, and that's a part of why I
want to get into music is because I want to
be as fearless as possible, which may never happen, but
just facing my fear alone is a huge step in
the right direction. In my opinion, I want to show
others it's okay to be yourself and to share how
(13:22):
you feel, because your story is beautiful and it creates
like helps you become the man or the woman you're
meant to be.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
Absolutely, you know, I love asking this question, and there's
no wrong answer, but the three levels of influence, money, power,
and respect. Right, if you could choose only one of
those things, which one would you choose? And why?
Speaker 3 (13:54):
If I could choose money, power or respect, I would
probably have to go with respect, probably okay, because I
feel like I could be rich, but nobody would respect
me and everybody would hate me. I could have power,
(14:14):
but no one would really love me. And I feel
like with respect, people will love and respect you. Maybe
that's a weird answer, but.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
No, no, no, that's a great answer. It's a great answer,
you know. You know, I think either either one could
could be could be right, and either one could be
could could be used for wrong reasons depending upon who
who has it right. So it really depends on the person.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
Right for sure. I know there are some people like
my little brother. He would probably say money, forget everything
is money, But for me, family comes first.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
Yeah, yeah, for sure. I love that. You know you
mentioned your brother, You're you know your little brother is
a huge motivation for you. What message do you do
you most want him to take from this particular song.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
I know life is hard and you want to move
on and you want to have a great future and
a great life even though life has a tendency to
beat you down. You're probably one of the strongest people
I've ever known, given that you're only fifteen. So I
(15:45):
would say keep going, follow your dreams, and don't quit.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
Yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure. I love that. It's
a beautiful message. Do you feel like releasing this track
has helped you heal in any way?
Speaker 3 (16:07):
Absolutely? I feel like growing up, I have lost pieces
of myself that have been fractured through time, and I
feel like each track that I release is a piece
of my heart that has been fractured and lost slowly
(16:31):
being put back together. So I feel like I'm slowly
being more I used to be very bitter and grumpy,
and I feel like that helps me be more loved,
like more loving and kind by releasing a track, I
love that.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
I love that it's beautiful. Yeah, that's I think that's
what music is healing, right, It's supposed to heal. It's
supposed to make us, you know, take us out of
whatever situation that we're in currently, or whatever is happening
around the world. Do you feel or And I'm just
curious and I don't know, because you know, everybody has
(17:10):
a you know, kind of a good and bad reasons
about it. But do you feel like AI now that
AI is you know, incorporated in a lot of music,
and AI is here now where everybody can use it now,
it's it helps in a lot of ways. But also
(17:31):
people have they're on the fence about it. How do
you feel AI pertaining to music?
Speaker 3 (17:42):
I feel like AI is a great tool. M And
I still like we're lucky to have it, for sure,
But honestly, I feel like it's cheating M. Like AI
is just a robot. So by using using a tool
(18:03):
like a robot to make a song for you makes
it perfect? And I personally believe our flaws, our mistakes
are beautiful, like our scars are beautiful. So I feel
like we should share them. And I feel like using
a robot to write a song, yeah, would take away
from the natural, like the natural, like the stuff that
(18:29):
makes us human. I feel like art is supposed to
have flaws. There are going to be mistakes. You don't
want everything to be perfect, at least I don't. I
don't know. That wasn't a weird answer.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
No, I think it's great to answer. I mean, I
feel you like I feel like it. It kind of
takes from like the realness of it all right, like
the you know, you think about the greats that that
has passed on and you're Michael Jackson's your your prince
and so forth, and you're thinking like your Whitneys. Know,
it's like that was from from them, their essence, right,
(19:06):
and and if you incorporate AI, it's like is it
actually you? So yeah, I totally get it, you know,
I I I really I'm curious. And I don't know
if you know you've been in the business long enough
to see it, but I'm curious if from an artists
(19:28):
standpoint of view, do you feel like music is going
in a in a in a positive direction. You know,
you hear all this, the new songs coming out, Like
every other day there's a new song, new artist. Do
you feel like it's it's heading in Music is heading
in the in in a better direction in favor of
(19:51):
the artist.
Speaker 3 (19:55):
Mmm. I gotta be careful with this one. I don't
want to upset anybody, but I will say everybody is
entitled to their own taste in music. But I do
feel like some music is not intended for like younger ages.
I feel like some music is a little bit too
(20:16):
intense for those kids to be listening to. But I
mean making art is beautiful and there's all sorts of kinds,
so don't I don't think there's anything wrong with what
they're doing.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
Sure, in the direction that we're going in the future,
I feel like it's more about money now, and I
feel like people are using more AI or more auto
tune instead of just being themselves. And I feel like
being yourself is more important than money or how you look,
(20:56):
or the jewelry or the fancy shoes or fancy clothes.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Well, you know, I think it's because I think people
use it because I feel like, you know, a lot
of people think that, you know, it's such a competitive
industry and so they feel like I think sometimes people
feel like they have to. I mean, AI allows you
to be like a team of ten people, but you're
(21:21):
like one person, you know what I mean. I get it,
I guess in that sense, I think people are like, well,
you know, but yeah, I totally get what you're saying, though, Sure,
what advice would you give to you know, anyone listening
out there could be young or older that wants to
(21:45):
just really give music a try, and but they're they're
they're fearful of it. There's the unknown. What advice would
you give to that person?
Speaker 3 (21:56):
The advice I would give is probably too be your
so you're probably better than you think. Try not to
be in your head so much about it. Just go
out there, do it and be your So I love it.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
That's great advice. That's really good advice, you know, because
you just never know, right you and art is subjective.
Everything is subjective, right, So it's like somebody's gonna like something.
This person I'm here might like this, and this person
might like this song, or you know, you might like
this part of your lyrics or whatever. It's just like
(22:37):
so it's just going out a leap of faith and yeah,
like I said, putting it out there and going for it.
Thank you so much for that advice, because I feel
like a lot of people, you know, getting their heads
and because there's so much music and it's so saturated
now and how we consume music is completely different than
how you know, our grandparents consumed it or parents consume music.
(23:01):
Drawing up. You know, we have TikTok. Everything is so fast.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
They have the attention spans are so short now it's
hard to get it. Man.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
Yeah, it's just like it is there a way to
get people back to what we kind of went past?
I don't know. I guess we could hope and wish
for that.
Speaker 3 (23:23):
That would be nice.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
That would be nice if you could perform with or
collaborate with any artists living or did who would it
be a why logic? Really? Oh you had that one
ready for the can? I love it? I love it logic.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
I logic has helped me through so much. His music,
his flow, his cadence, the way he like just I
don't even know, he's like magic when he's rapping. I
would love to have the opportunity to even meet him.
(24:02):
I think that would be the greatest thing ever. He
is truly a magnificent talent. On top of that, I
love how he interacts with his fans through his music.
He One of my favorite songs that has helped me
through a very dark time was his song Anxiety. I
(24:23):
anytime I'd feel anxious or scared, I didn't have no
one to comfort me, so I'd play logic song Anxiety,
and that would definitely bring me out of that rut.
I feel like I could move mountains after listening to
that song.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
I love it. Yeah, it's a great disagreat answer well
your mouth to God's ears.
Speaker 3 (24:47):
Amen.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
Thank you so much for coming on and sharing you know,
your story, your journey, and congratulations on this song. And
you know, I think it's such a important song for
an important time. You know, I think a lot of
people are hurting and trying to find some type of
piece and type of escape. So thank you for making
(25:12):
songs and music that speaks to people collectively, the collective,
you know, not just making music for music's sake, but
looking at the bigger picture.
Speaker 3 (25:25):
So thank you, no problem. I'm so blessed to be here.
Thank you for having me. I mean, it's truly magnificent.
I never thought that anybody would even care to hear
what I got to say, so I mean, I'm just
happy to be here.
Speaker 2 (25:41):
Well, I mean, I'm sure you're going to be here
a long time. So thank you for making music that
matters and that helps people, because I feel like that's
that's what's really that's what it's really about. You know,
we can make music and create as many films as
we can, but if if it touches that one person
(26:01):
that can maybe change your life or make them feel encouraged,
that's that's that's that's a good day.
Speaker 3 (26:07):
Mm hmmm, I agree, I agree. Thank you so much
for your kind boords. I definitely needed it.
Speaker 2 (26:14):
Absolutely absolutely come back anytime, anytime. It was great talking
to you. Where can people find you on social media
to follow everything you have coming going on?
Speaker 3 (26:26):
You can find me on TikTok at CB I I
I Underscore Underscore. You can find me on Instagram at
official Underscore CB three, so the C B I I
I pretty much the same. You can find me on
(26:50):
YouTube at official Underscore CB three. I like C B
I I I awesome, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
Awesome, great, everybody follow uh hit you know, hit that
like button. Go follow his channel, check out the song.
The song is an amazing I won't quit and thank
you so much again for coming on. It was a pleasure.
Speaker 3 (27:15):
It's been a pleasure.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
Thank you, and thank you all for listening and always
remember to live, love, laugh. Well, we'll see you guys
next time. Bye bye,
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