Club Shay Shay - Club Shay Shay - Bobby Brown Part 1

Episode Date: April 16, 2025

In this episode of Club Shay Shay, Shannon Sharpe sits down with the legendary Bobby Brown—the original bad boy of R&B, Grammy Award–winning icon, New York Times bestselling author, and chart-topping phenomenon. Bobby dives into founding Bobby Brown Foods with his wife and shares his love for cooking—especially his unbeatable fried chicken. He reflects on whether his kids will follow in his entertainment footsteps and reveals his all-time favorite song he’s written. Bobby breaks down his songwriting process, his dynamic collaborations with producer Teddy Riley, and gives us a front-row seat into the making and legacy of My Prerogative. He even reacts to Britney Spears' controversial remake and opens up about being inspired by icons like Michael Jackson, Prince, Rick James, and Stevie Wonder. He shares the real story behind MC Hammer asking him to wear parachute pants and reveals how New Edition taught Michael Jackson how to moonwalk sideways, reflecting on his favorite memories of the King of Pop. He also weighs in on Chris Brown vs. Usher as Michael Jackson’s closest successor and recounts meeting Usher for the first time. From naming his favorite modern artists—SZA, Tems, Jazmine Sullivan, Anthony Hamilton, Bruno Mars—to addressing the hot debate ("Is R&B dead?"), Bobby keeps it real. He drops his Mount Rushmore of R&B singers (Prince, Michael, Marvin, Stevie), reflects on Don’t Be Cruel selling 12 million copies, and gets candid about streaming's impact on artists, the importance of owning your masters, and surviving fame from a young age. He also opens up about being kicked out of New Edition, how predatory music deals cost him $30 million, and why going solo was the best decision of his career. Bobby names his top four singing groups of all time—Gap Band, Jackson 5, New Edition, and Kool & the Gang—and reveals his best and worst purchases, including the wild story of spending $1 million in a single day. He reflects on the pain of being taken advantage of by family and friends, and the loss of one of his closest friends to gun violence. He also shares the pride of building his own studio—where artists like OutKast recorded. From Donald Trump’s cameo in his “On Our Own” video to his run-ins with the law—including getting arrested for dancing with a fan in Georgia—Bobby tells it all. He talks about working with Martin Lawrence in A Thin Line Between Love and Hate, starring in Two Can Play That Game, and why he regrets turning down a role in Strictly Business with Halle Berry and Tommy Davidson. Bobby looks back fondly on his time on Real Husbands of Hollywood with Kevin Hart, Nick Cannon, and Nelly, and opens up about the intense experience of his reality show with Whitney Houston. He also talks about being shot by an ex-boyfriend of his then-girlfriend—and his romance with Janet Jackson in the '80s. The R&B superstar shares his mission with the Bobbi Kristina Serenity House, a charity created in honor of his late daughter. From the highest highs to the most heartbreaking lows, Bobby Brown proves once again why he’s not just a music icon—he’s a cultural legend. Don’t miss this powerful and unfiltered conversation. #volumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What's up everyone, it's Greg Rosenthal and I'm teaming up with the king of spring, Daniel Jeremiah. He requires me to say that. We're going to be bringing you 40s and free agents, the only podcast you'll need this NFL draft season from DJ's mock drafts to my top one on one free agents will have it covered for you with all new episodes every Thursday, keeping you up to date as we head to the NFL draft. Listen to 40s and free agents on the iHeart radio app,

Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The championship is back in the bay for the first time in 40 years. On the new limited podcast series, Dub Dynasty, we hear from head coach Steve Kerr on how Steph Curry almost never even joined the Warriors. In fact, I thought we had a draft date deal to end up getting him to Phoenix. For the entire behind the scenes story of Golden State's incredible 10-year run,

listen to Dubb Dynasty on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, y'all? I'm AJ Andrews, pro softball player, sports analyst, and the first woman to win a Rawlings Gold Glove. On my new podcast, Dropping Diamonds, we dive headfirst into the world of softball by sharing powerful stories, insights, and conversations that inspire and empower. It's time to drop bombs and diamonds.

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There's always a debate. Who is the closest thing to Michael since Michael? You hear Chris Brown. I would go with Chris Brown, really. Usher's also a great entertainer, but I gotta go with Chris on being as close to Michael as anybody could ever get. the price, want a slice, got to roll a dice, that's why all my life I been grinding all my life, all my life, been grinding all my life, sacrifice, hustle paid the price,

want a slice, got to roll a dice, that's why all my life I been grinding all my life. Hello, welcome to another episode of Club Cheche. I am your host, Shannon Sharp. I'm also the proprietor of Club Cheche. Today we are at Jalisco. I am your host, Shannon Sharp. I'm also the proprietor of Club Shashe. Today, we're at Jalisco Underground at Resorts World, Las Vegas. Stopping by for conversation and a drink today, he was once known as the bad boy of R&B. He has left an unforgettable mark on our culture.

From the running man to the Gumby-style high-top fade, he's a true legend, a Billboard chart-topping hit maker, a Grammy Award-winning singer, a multi-platinum songwriter, renowned rapper, trendsetter, New York Times bestselling author, a multi-talented entertainer, actor, performer, musician, and a businessman, an RB pioneer, an icon, a heavyweight, a true titan, one of the most influential, well-loved, and compelling artists of all time, a music phenomenon, a megastar, the king of the stage, here he is,

is my prerogative, Mr. Bobby Brown. Hey, how you doing, baby? How you doing, bro? It's a pleasure. Appreciate you, thank you for stopping by, man. It's a pleasure, thanks for having me. Bobby, it is a true, true honor to have you on Club Che Che.

Thank you so much for stopping by. Thank you. And for today's toast, we did something a little special. We have what we call a Brown Che Martini. Martini. It's my cognac, Che by La Portorte, and Bobby's Coffee Bean, correct? Coffee Bean. Coffee Bean. I'm gonna try this out. I mean, you know who I needed here? I needed my makeup artist, Britt. This is her favorite drink.

That ain't bad. That's not bad at all. I mean, that's my first time having coffee and I haven't had it in cognac. So I'm gonna be a wide awake drunk tonight. So thank you, bro. Thanks for, so let me ask you a question. So where can people that are watching this, where can they get this from? You have a.com, it's in,

it's bobbybrownfoods.com. Okay. We sell from seasonings to fried chicken mixes to coffee. It's just something me and my wife decided to do because all my friends used to love to come over my house and test my food. Okay. And they loved it.

So, you know, we decided to make, you know, seasonings and different things like that. So since you, obviously music, and we're going to touch on that, but you decided to get into the food industry. Yes. What have you learned most about the food industry? I've learned it's rough.

It takes time. It does. It takes time to get into all of the big stores. But when you have a good product like we have, all natural, gluten free, less sodium than many of the seasonings that are out there. So we are a very health conscious line. And I think that's what makes us stand out

from all of the rest. So how long have you been in the food industry? I've been in the food industry almost five, six years? Around six years now. Master P is always preaching about products as good business models. Why do you think this is? Why do you think the food industry

is such a good business model. Why do you think this is? Why do you think the food industry is such a good business model to embark upon? Food is always needed. Yeah, true. Food is always needed by the masses, especially when it's good. When it's good and it's healthy for you, I see nowhere to go wrong. I heard you got a barbecue sauce and that is very good.

Any new flavors? We're working on some new flavors. I'm working on a teriyaki sauce that is amazing for kids because my barbecue sauce is spicy. It's spicy. And kids, you know, some kids can't take it. You're right. You know, my kids can take it, but some kids can't take it, right? You know, my kids can take it

But some kids can't take it. I heard you're pretty good chef. Well, yeah, what's Bobby Brown signature dish? My say got the guys we coming over all of us coming out. You never met any of us and we coming over What's Bobby gonna prepare? I do a shrimp ala Bobby. I can't be I'm alleged shellfish You can't even that information beforehand. Okay, I'm lobster shrimp scallops oysters. You can't do it. Can't do it I make a mean fried chicken. Okay, I make a mean spaghetti. Okay Lasagna, okay There's a bunch of things I can cook other than seafood and fried chicken So what is Bobby's best dish?

If somebody says, okay Bobby, so you're going on one of these shows, one of these cooking shows, and you gotta make your, they gonna say, everybody gets to make their signature dish or what they feel they're most comfortable at. What's Bobby Brown's dish? I'm cooking my fried chicken.

I'm definitely cooking my fried chicken. My fried chicken is off the chain. Popeyes ain't got nothing on it. It ain't got nothing on you? KFC ain't got nothing on it, nah. I got the remedy. Do you cook every day or do you cook for special occasions? I cook most of the days at home because I feed my kids.

I have a nine and eight year old and a 15 year old and my wife, so I gotta be in that kitchen. So how long have you, I mean, were you cooking as a little kid? Were you watching your mom? You watching your grandparents, your aunts? So how did Bobby get into cooking? Cooking came about because I used to be on punishment

all the time. I mean, all the time. So my mother- I don't think many people gonna be surprised by that. All the time, but my mother used to make me sit in the kitchen with her while she cooked, while she prepared dinner for all seven of us. And I used to just, you know.

Just watch. Watch and help her out with the recipes. And I just developed a passion for it because after having children at an early age, you got to feed them. Correct. And that's the one thing that I appreciated about having children is that when you nurture them, you have to nurture them all the way around, mentally, physically.

Food has just been something that I just love to do. I love to get in that kitchen and whip up things. My kids appreciate it. They love being in there with me, helping me out. So it's just something that I love to do. You know, when your mom, your grandma cooked, my mom, I mean my grandma, my aunt cooked, they didn't have recipes. It was just all in their head.

All in their head. Is that how you cook? That's how I cook. I don't measure it. You ain't got no recipe? I ain't got no measurements. I ain't got no measurements. It's just, I know how to season. You know, I know how much seasoning to put on food.

You know, and you know, it's all about the eye, you know? So when you're cooking, you're in the kitchen. What you listening to? Or do you even listen to music while you cooking? I really don't listen to music at all at home. Not at home, at home? At home, my kids are into piano. Okay.

You know, all three of them, they play piano. My son's, he's big time with, you know, plays and just different things like that, musicals. So I watch them and I just pay attention to what they're doing. And I don't try to push my music on them too much because I'll be in there listening to Stevie and Otis Redding and people like that. Do your kids know who you are?

Take that aside. Do they know Bobby Brown? I know they know dad, but do they know Bobby? They know Bobby. They definitely know Bobby. Okay. Yeah. They've watched, I allow them to see the programs

that are meaningful, that have some substance to it. They come out to the concerts, you know, so they get a good taste of what their father's all about. Do you think your kids are gonna follow in your footsteps? Or do you want them to follow in your footsteps? Well, my little girl, she's nine years old. She has a voice like an angel. And I just, I am so impressed by her.

Every time she opens her mouth And I just, I am so impressed by her. Every time she opens her mouth, I just start crying. My son, he's so super talented. I believe he's gonna win an Oscar one day. So, you know, as far as following in my footprints, yeah. You know, I have no problem with it. Their mother's a manager, you know, so she can take care of the business.

And, you know, I'm there to lend my hand with getting them to the right places. What is something that your fans don't know about Bobby? What's one thing they would be like, hey man, he does that, or he did this, or he likes that? I'm quiet. Really? I'm very quiet.

Okay. I'm very quiet. Okay. I'm very reserved. When it's time to talk, I'll talk, but for the most part, I'm gonna sit back and watch and observe and see what the hell is going on first. Let me ask you a question. Of all the songs that you've recorded, what do you think, my prerogative,

Mr. Telephone Man, Candy Girl, Evelyn Littlestep, Kool It, Nile, Ronnie, Don't Be, what's Bobby's favorite song? If you don't know, you can, prerogative. Prerogative. Because? Because I wrote it for myself. I wrote it as an anthem and as a theme

to my lifestyle and what I was all about. And that's basically the reason I think I'm still here 42 years later is that I took what I felt about myself and I put it on wax. Wow. What do you remember most when you're writing a song? So let me ask you a question. So you said my prerogative is an anthem for Bobby Brown

because I'm gonna do things my way, I'm gonna do things on my term, and if you don't like it, oh well, go to hell. But this is what I, so when you're writing a song, when you go into the, I don't know whether you're at, you're in your bed, you're in the kitchen table, when you go in to write a song, do you have a general idea of kind of the direction

that you want to go in? For the most part, we choose the music first. And once I get a groove in my head and once I get a melody going, there's no stopping it. It just starts pouring out. Because I think Teddy Riley produced that, right? Yes, Teddy Riley. Okay, so you like Teddy, I got this idea.

It's an anthem, it's an ode to me because they'all you know, they say I'm bad. They say I'm this and that well I'm gonna show them why I'm this way So what is what is what is Teddy roll in my prerogative Teddy's role in my prerogative was bringing that slammin ass track that track was so so beefy and so in your face that only something like my prerogative could be said on that. Correct.

You know, Teddy's a great, great producer, great, great, great friend, and I'm just, I'm really proud that we still have a friendship and we still have more music to do when I finish it. In the studio, what do you think your favorite moment is when you've been in the studio? When I've been in a studio, my favorite moments are listening back

to the finished product. Okay. When you finish a song and the song is completed and you have no more work to do on it, it's listening down and making sure everything is tight. Did you know my prerogative was gonna do what it did? I hoped. I hoped.

But the track was so in your face and it was undeniable as a record. We really, we really hoped that that track was gonna make this album, the Don't Be Crew album, the most popular album of that. And did. And it did. Because when you hear my prerogative,

that means I'm gonna do, whatever my prerogative is, I'm gonna do it the way I wanna do it. Now you do what without the way I want to do it right now you do what you want to do I don't care and you got a problem with it. This is my prerogative because you kill and he says Um, I think at the end you said I made this track you didn't I made this money you did Right, so you was doing what you wanted to do if I wanted to go buy three cars I'm about three cars. That's right for how buy four houses. That's my prerogative. And then everybody started saying it. Yeah.

Is that what you'd hoped? I hoped for it. Just recently at the Super Bowl, the Eagles coach said that they listened to my prerogative before they went out. And that just took me back because it was about, it's about the underdog, you know? And overcoming what, any adversities that there is,

any challenges, you just give your all, you know? You give your all and you basically just take what is yours. Is there a song that you made that you like, I mean I like it, and it blew up? Probably Every Little Step. Really? Every Little Step, or Don't Be Cruel. I did not like the songs.

I didn't want to record the songs. But L.A. and Babyface were like, dude, these records are going to be smash hits. And I was just like, you know what, well, let's do them, but I don't know if, you know, they're going to be singles. I just want you to know, if they don't hit, I'm going to tell everybody y'all wanted to make this,

I ain't here for no part of it. Right. So you're like, I don't know LA, they're hit makers. They're hit makers. Do you always have to trust those guys, have to trust, or do sometimes you go with your instincts like nah? I trusted my producers. Because they have what I call this, the ear.

They have the ear to hear what I can't hear. And that's why I trust them. And I love working with all of them. It's a lonely road when you don't at least try to trust somebody else to bring you to the brink of success. Is that a prerequisite that you have to have a relationship with the producer, that you need to be close, that you need to trust him or her that's going to be in your ear, that's going to be the ear that you can't hear with? Yes. Do you have to trust that individual her that's gonna be in your ear, that's gonna be the ear that you can't hear with. Do you have to trust that individual? Yes, definitely, definitely. Are you surprised that the song that you sang 30 years ago,

35 years ago, are still being played today and they're so popular? Very surprised. After 40, 42 years in this industry, we haven't put out a record in probably 10 of those years. And we're still touring. We're still keeping up with our fan base. Our fan base is probably one of the strongest fan bases

that any group or any individual can have. The NE Forlifers, they just, they keep coming back, they keep coming back, they keep coming back to every show. I mean, they helped us sell out, what, the last two years here in the States, with the Legacy Tour and the Culture Tour, and they've come to Vegas and sold those shows out. So it's been wonderful just to have fans like that.

When someone comes to you and wants to sample your music, talking to LL, LL says I don't let anybody sample it before I hear what they're actually putting over my track. So when someone comes to the body and says, hey, Mr. Brown, we really would like to sample this song. Do you need to hear it or do you just clear it? Yes, I got to hear it. Got to hear it. You don't know what these kids will say these days. You know, these kids will say some shit that you don't want your song associated with. So yeah, you got to listen to it.

Who do you believe sampled one of your songs the best? I don't think they did justice. They did justice. Okay. I don't think they really did justice to any of the samples that they have done to my songs. Like Britney Spears butchered. She butchered Perogative. Teddy Riley produced it, but that was a butchering that, you know, I couldn't take it.

But you cleared it. I cleared it only because it was Britney Spears and I was thinking. She gonna do it right, she gonna do it good, yeah, yeah, nice. Teddy Riley's doing it too, so you know. Then I felt it was a butchering. You've heard of speed dating, right? You meet a bunch of people in one go, quickly making connections.

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and Stevie Wonder, and tried to be what all of them were not. Right. You know? And that became Bobby Brown. You popularized the Roger Rabbit dance, the Runnin' Man, the Hot Top Fade, the Slanted to the, oh, out of direction.

What made you cut your hair like that? What made you like, I'ma do this, or I'ma do that? That was a mistake. That was a mistake. Did Bamba F you up? Did Bamba F me up and I had to shoot a video and it just, you know, it stuck. It just stuck.

And you know people actually went and got their hair cut like that. I know, I know. got their hair cut like that. I know. Let me tell you a story. I went to the late, great Quincy Jones' house one time. And I'm looking at all the photos in his house. And he's talking to me and giving me advice and giving me advice.

And I see this one picture where this guy, this old guy had the slanted hair. And I was like, yo, this old man got my hair cut. He was like, that picture is 40 something years old, and that's my grandfather. Wow. And his grandfather had a Gumby, and I was just like, wow. Gumby was around before, so I wasn't the first one

to do it, but I was the first one to bring something back to our culture that was about us, you know, and about our individuality, you know, how we are trendsetters. And I was just proud, I was just really proud that that I had a haircut like somebody else back in the days. You know, you mentioned that

you took a little bit from Prince, you took a little bit from Michael Jackson, you took a little bit from Stevie Wonder, you took a little bit from Rick James. Is it so that was your source of inspiration? But what's up, everyone? It's Greg Rosenthal, and I'm teaming up with the king of spring, Daniel Jeremiah.

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You needed something to make Bobby stand out. Why did you adopt that personality? Or is that who you really are? That was really who I am on stage. OK, OK. On stage, I do not discriminate with what I do. I try to give the best concert I could possibly give. I tried to give all of the energy that I have stored up in my body.

And that came from watching Rick James on stage. When New Edition was on the Cold-Blooded tour, opening up for Rick James, he would have me watch his show every night. Every night he would just say, stand on the side of the stage and watch my show. Don't say nothing about it, just watch my show. And he never knew I was gonna go solo,

but he just, he felt that I think that I was, I admired him so much, I admired his music so much, he wanted me to experience what a live performance really is about. And it's about giving your all, give blood, sweat, and tears out there. You gotta entertain. You gotta entertain.

You gotta entertain the song, but you gotta entertain that audience. You gotta entertain that audience and keep their attention. And that was one thing about Rick that he never slacked off about. You know, it was always about entertaining the audience. Bobby, you had the MC Hammer pants first. Now, Hammer gets credit for them, but you were wearing Hammer's.

Yeah. He asked me to actually wear them. Oh, did he? He actually asked me to wear them, and I was like, yeah, man, they're pants. I got the pants from New Edition. Right. So New Edition wore them before I did, and then I wore them, and then Hammer wore them.

Right. And it was just about fashion. It was just about keeping a trend going. Right. And I'm proud of that. When you see people bring back trends, what do you think? Because a lot of things seem like, you remember, I mean, you and I think we're pretty much

close in age. I'm about to be 57. I'm 56. I just turned 56. Okay. You remember the bell bottoms? Bell bottoms. Okay.

Then they went to the skinny jeans. Now they back to the bell bottoms. Yes. Everybody, the big, the oversized suit, they're back to the bell bottles. Yes. Everybody, the big, the big, the oversized suit, they're back to the oversized suits. When you see trends come back in, does that make you smile like? That makes, that really makes me feel a little bit older than I actually am, you know? I don't want to, I don't want to, I don't want to ever feel like I'm getting older, getting out of touch with anything my children might be getting into.

But when they come back around, I get a chance to tell my kids, listen, we used to, way back before, we used to wear our pants just like that, the know, the skinny jeans, I don't know where that came from, but that is something that was just not, we never wore skinny jeans. No, exactly. You know, growing up when I grew up, skinny jeans was a fad that hopefully doesn't come back.

We don't want that to come back. We don't want that to come back no time soon. Okay, what trend would you like to see come back? We still got the Afro. I'm loving the Afro. They don't rock it as much. I mean, they don't rock it as much. They rock the braids.

Braids, the twist. Yeah. There's a lot of dreads out there now. Unfortunately, I can't grow all my hair back. There's some spots that won't grow. Oh, but you could grow some hair. I mean, you got to be splotchy. It'll have a spot right here.

Okay. And that is not a hairstyle that I want people to follow. Right. Is it true that you taught Michael Jackson how to moonwalk? Sideways. Sideways, okay. Sideways, not the back one. But you go sideways.

Right. So how did you teach him? So what, I mean, so what you like, you went over to his house or he- We went over to his house and we were doing it in front of him, new addition. And I don't know if he already knew how to do it, but I know that when we showed him, he was flabbergasted. He was like, wow, that's something new.

Right. So he put it in his thing and just. He perfected it. It was over. It was over, he took it and perfected it. What's your best memory of Michael? My best memory of Michael is how kind and how, just how kind he was as a man.

You really don't find people like that anymore. Michael was somebody that trusted and believed in Jehovah. Michael was somebody that trusted and believed in what he was about as a man, what he was about as an entertainer. He knew how special he was. And that impressed me, you know? It always has impressed me.

There's always a debate. Who's the closest in your time, who is the closest thing to Michael since Michael? You know, you hear Chris Brown, you hear Usher. I would go with Chris Brown. Really? I would go with Chris Brown. Really? I would go with Chris Brown. Because the dancing and the singing aspect of it.

Chris Brown is a dancer, singer, slash great entertainer. Right. OK. He goes out there and he does the ultimate, ultimate stuff on stage. And you just have to love it. Usher also. Usher's also a great entertainer, but I gotta go with Chris on being as close to Michael

as anybody could ever get. And it was great to see Breezy at the Grammy get to win that Grammy. To finally get his due. Long overdue, but hey, right on time. Yes. Usher said he looked up to you. Yeah, because you kind of related to you in the industry more than anyone else. When you hear one of this generation's great performance, one of the great R&B

singers says that, you know, Bobby was kind of the muse that I used to kind of develop what I did. How does it make you feel? Makes me feel great because he's a great entertainer. I've known Usher since he was 12, 11, 12 years old. And just seeing his growth in the industry and seeing how well he holds himself up, how well he takes care of his business, I'm really proud of him.

Do you remember the first time, did he come to your show with an arranged meeting? Do you remember, you say you've known him since he was 12. How did that meeting happen? I had a security guard who found Usher and he brought him to the shows. He brought him to the studios. I had a studio in Atlanta, Georgia,

and he just was always around. He brought him to be around me and to learn what this thing of ours is all about. Which new artist does Bobby listen to today Is there anybody that that you know, like man, I really like I really like he or her you like I mean I like this sound I like the way they do do what they do. I love I love all of the females the new females That's out there right now Jasmine Sullivan. Yes, and all of them

SZA. Yeah. Him. I love Anthony Hamilton. Okay. Is probably one of my favorite artists out there right now. As far as soul and R&B is concerned, he's definitely keeping it alive. I mean, Tim's, not him, Tim's.

Tim's, yeah. She's good. I love, man, she's amazing. Yeah. She is absolutely amazing. R&B, we get this a lot. I asked Usher this, I've asked a lot of people that's appeared on Club Che Che, is R&B dead? No, no, no.

R&B is never gonna die. R&B is something that, it's made up of what they call popular music. Okay. So it's been in a woven. It's not dead, it's just been in a woven in a lot of different things. A lot of different things. You have Bruno Mars who's keeping the R&B New Jack sound alive.

Yes. R&B, New Jack sound alive. Which is great for anybody who loves that style of music. That style of music will never, it will never die. It will never die. Who's some of the, you mentioned like, are there any guys that you like? You mentioned like Jasmine Sullivan, you mentioned like Tim, you mentioned some of the females.

Other than Anthony Hamilton Who is your RB RB guys? I Like Chris. I like us sure There's a lot of them out there a lot of new cats out there that I can't you know Figure their names out, but a lot of new songs that are out there that are really R&B orientated really impress me. Who is the king of R&B? Who's the king of R&B?

King of R&B. I don't know, I don't know. So, it's a big question. It is. Who's the king of R&B? Well, how about this here? Give me your Mount Rushmore. If you got four people to put on this this not mountain are your four greatest

Oh, you're Bobby Brown's for greatest R&B singers. Who faces you putting on that mountain. Mm-hmm Damn You calling me out right now. I know one gonna be on the Marvin Gayee. You gonna put Marvin up there. Marvin is definitely up there. Prince is definitely up there. Michael's definitely up there. Stevie Wonder's definitely up there. You ain't got no more room. Ain't got no more room.

You ain't got no more room, I'm sorry. We have no more vacancies up there. I'm sorry. Let me ask you this, streaming, that seems to be a lot, because Bobby, when you first started, it was all the hard copies. You went to the store and you waited in line and you couldn't wait to buy that 45 or the 30 year old,

whatever you're gonna buy, you couldn't wait to get that actual copy of the vinyl. It's not so much like that. Streaming is kind of where it is now. What are your thoughts on streaming? Streaming is something that basically has stretched the game out. The game is not the same anymore.

You can't sell records. So the artist doesn't get paid as much as they are supposed to. Streaming is basically a robbery of selling records. It's stealing somebody's intellectual property, huh? You're stealing it, you know? And it's not something that I look at to be something for the future.

I think the future should have. Because when you buy an album, you get to look at that album, you get to read who's done what on the album, you get the pictures, you get all of this great information when you look at an album cover. And you get to hold it, You actually get to hold it. It's yours. Yes. And now, now you, you know, do you have a vinyl collection?

Do you keep all those albums that you collected that you, that back in the day, do you have them all? I don't have them all. You let them go? I let them go. I let them go. Unfortunately. Unfortunately.

I don't know, I don't know how I did it, just leaving certain situations and leaving stuff here and then leaving stuff here. Somebody out there got Bobby Brown's vinyl collection. Somebody's got my vinyl collection and I want it back. I ain't playing, I want my shit back. Bobby used to sell 12 million physical copies, 12 million albums, physical. People went into the line or they ordered

or however they got it, but they got that many copies. Do you think we'll ever see someone sell that many physical records again? I would hope so. I would really hope so. If they bring vinyl back, you know, if they find a different way to sell albums, I would hope so, you know,

because it's a lot of people out there that listen to music that can't speak the language. You know, they learn how to speak English by listening to music. And those people need albums. They need the actual physical album to be able to do that. You mentioned earlier that streaming has cut some of the process. So walk us through.

So like, if you were, let's just say for the sake of argument, if streaming was available back then and you record all these songs, obviously, you probably wouldn't have been able to forget what label you're on. So, the record company would take it to the streaming service, and they would play it, because, how does that work? I tell you the truth, I don't know how streaming works

these days, because I'm so out of the loop of putting out records that my past record label was MCA Records Universal. And they still have a stronghold on what the industry is about right now. They still have a strong hold on it. But I'd just like to see the artists get their just dues. You know, get the monies that they deserve to receive for making this music and selling this music to the people.

I mean, you get a little change. I mean, your stuff is streaming. I mean, they can go on and listen to Don't Be Cruel and My Pirogrity and all that stuff. I still get a check. It's a nice little check. It's nice little checks. I'm living. I'm living. If a new artist came to you for advice what's the first thing you tell them? Tell them to always practice on their craft. Always rehearse, always, always hold yourself accountable for performing for people. The stage is everything.

It allows you to have the longevity in this industry when you're a great performer. Now, I don't care how many records you've sold, if you can't perform on stage, perform live, there's no reason for you to be in this industry. Wow. Wow. As a kid star, growing up in Boston,

become this mega star, come into this large sum of money, more money than you thought you could ever have, ever do. How difficult was it to you for you to stay grounded and not lose sight of who Bobby was? My mother, my mother and my father. Okay. They told me I was never too big to get an ass whooping. You're like, but mom, dad, I'm making all this bread. You can't be somebody that's making

this money. No, I was never too old to take an ass whooping or give one out. No, just to me, this is entertainment. And I hold that to heart. I hold that dearly. It's about performing for people and it's about making the money and not letting the money make you. How difficult was it to be famous at a young age? Did you change or did the surroundings around you change?

People around you change. Oh, okay. People around you change a lot. They view you differently? They expect things from you? They expect things from you. They expect you to do things for them that, you know, you wouldn't normally do for a person. They expect if you if you you're the one with the money they are your friends so they should you know benefit also and you know I still have the same friends that I had back in the days because my friends always kept me grounded.

They always made sure that I remembered who I was and remember who I am as a person. How was family? Family is, family is something else. Family is definitely something else. What's up everyone, it's Greg Rosenthal and I'm teaming up with the king of spring, Daniel Jeremiah. He requires me to say that.

We're going to be bringing you 40s and free agents, the only podcast you'll need this NFL draft season from DJ's mock drafts to my top 101 free agents. We'll have it covered for you with all new episodes every Thursday, keeping you up to date as we head to the NFL draft. Listen to 40s and free agents on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The championship is back in the Bay for the first time in 40 years. On the new limited podcast series, Dub Dynasty, we hear from head coach Steve Kerr on how Steph Curry almost never even

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and partnership with iHeart Women's Sports and Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. Listen to Dropping Diamonds with AJ Andrews on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports. I mean, was it hard for you to tell family no?

It still is, really, it still no? It still is. Really? It still is. It still is. Because being a professional athlete and having some success and being in media space, it's always a situation like when you come into something, it's we, but when we lose something, it's you. It's me.

Man, we rich, he broke. Whoa, whoa, we all broke. So it was we, we had money. I'm broke, man, just me. So your family come to you, because it's like now all of a sudden, they see Bobby with a new car, they need a new car. They see Bobby with a nice watch, they want to watch.

They see Bobby got a new home. Hey. Where's mine? So how do you, cause you look. At the, in the beginning, in the beginning, I would give my family everything. Really? I mean, everything, you know, from houses to cars,

to jewelry, to money, you know. And as I grew up, as I grew up, I learned that I have a family. I have kids. I have a wife that I have to take care of. Correct. And some things have to stay that way. You can't give what you ain't got to everybody.

You have to make sure you take care of home first. And it's hard for families to everybody. You know, you have to, you know, make sure you take care of home first. And it's hard for family to understand. But Bobby, we family. Bro, I was with you when you had nothing. You remember you used to come to my house and eat them most served sandwiches. That shit be worth about 50 grand. Because it's funny though, but in all honesty, is that people did for you, like now we owe them something. Okay bro, I had a meal at your house. Is that worth 25,000? Damn.

Can I cook for you also? Let me cook a meal for you. That's payback? That's payback, payback enough. Here's something special for you. New Draft King customers bet $5 to get 150 in bonus bets That's payback. Payback enough. to get 150 in bonus bet if your bet wins when you bet just five bucks only on DraftKings, the crown is yours. Publishing.

Let me ask you this, when you sold 12 million hard copies, how much money did you actually see from that? I saw a lot of it. I saw a lot of it. Because my deal was situated in a way where I made money, dollars on each record. Okay. Oh, okay.

Not pennies. So for me, you know, the way my mother had it structured and the way my management made it so that I saw a lot of the money. I still see checks, you know. You still see checks? I still see checks. So, you know, it's not like the money is gone. Right. I still see checks, so you know, it's not like the money is gone.

It's still in a way where I feel like my best years are yet to be, yet to come. Is that why it's so important for artists to keep their masters, to keep their catalog? Yes, yes. You have to, if after the first 35 years, I obtained my masters. So now I own my own masters and I can do what I wanna do with my music. Would you ever consider selling it?

No time soon. You're like, hell, I just got it back. I ain't trying to get up off it. I ain't trying to get up off it at all. Like, if you had to guess, what song do you think says, okay, they put the most money in the bank account. They make sure that the wife and the kids,

that we gonna be good. Which song? Which song you think pays you the most? I think the the Don't Be Crew album period because we had six, seven singles off of that album. Right. That whole album pays me enough to live. Wow. Today. That's nice. With a wife and three kids? With a wife and three kids. That ain't bad living.

Five kids. Oh, my bad, my bad. That ain't bad living, Bop. Yeah. Three grandchildren. Wow. Yeah. What have you learned

when it comes to the music industry and contracts? You gotta be careful. They'll get you. They'll get you. Have a great lawyer, always have a lawyer look at all your contracts. Um, doesn't matter what you have to pay that lawyer, as long as that lawyer's doing his job,

it'd be worth it to let a lawyer look at it. If you could go back and re-sign a contract, what would you do over it? So, here you are now, 56 years of age. If I could transport you back 42 years, what would you do differently? I'd be independent. From the jump?

From the jump, from the jump. I would bust my ass every concert, every promotional thing that I had to do to make sure that I sold the records and performed at my best ability. Is it a situation where you do an album, how long after you do an album do you think about, okay, I got the tour?

Right away, right away. So what's common? When do most albums drop? Or their set time in which albums drop? Nowadays, albums drop, people drop albums every six months. Okay. I drop the album every three years. And it was just like, because we were touring so much.

You dropped the album and so now you tour. We tour for the next three years. Wow. That's what we did on the Don't Be Cru. That's what we did on the Bobby Brown, the Bobby album. We toured. We just toured and toured all around the world. Do you think back to some of the contracts that you signed and some of the money that

you left on the table, you're like damn, what the hell was I thinking? Yeah. Yeah It was a lot of money left It's a lot of money left New edition first deal is it true you guys only made five hundred dollars at a VCR with the new edition before it went solo Yes $500 of the VCR five hundred dollars in the VCR. That's all you got? And our royalty was like $1.68. Our royalty check was like $1.68. But we got $500 to sign and a VCR.

Well, it was a Betamax at the time. So which one of you guys were the lawyer? Neither one of us was good at being a lawyer. So you guys got ranked cross the cold on that first contract with New Jersey. We got ranked, we got ranked. We didn't know anything about it. All we wanted to do was perform.

All we wanted to do was make enough money to go to the movies. Buy candy. Date girls, you know, that's all we thought about. We wasn't thinking about the longevity. You didn't realize how much money was at stake. No, we didn't, no we didn't, no we didn't.

You were saying we were treated like little slaves. Why do you think that? We worked all the time and didn't get paid, you know. We worked all the time and didn't get paid. New Edition, I think right now, we're at our best time because we are, we're together as brothers. And we fought a lot growing up. But we're together as brothers, we pray together,

we eat together, we sleep together. As far as we stay in the same building when we're in the same buildings you can't touch us Wow that's the super group you had a family it was family members that actually did the contract the first time around you still have family doing anything for your contract? No, no, no, no, no. Unfortunately not. I mean, my brother is still in my life, you know, will always be in my life, but I found that me handling my own stuff, my wife with my lawyer is a lot easier to deal with

than having to put that pressure on him. Some people say you can do it. A lot of people say you can't. Mix business and family. Have you found that it's really, because at the end of that, that's my brother. I don't want my brother to lose his job, but my brother ain't doing the damn job

good enough to keep the job. It's as simple as that. This ain't, bro, you still gonna be my brother ain't doing the damn job good enough to keep the job. It's as simple as that. This ain't, bro, you still gonna be my brother forever. But bro, there's just certain things that you can't depend on family members to do. But you have to still love them the same and always be there for them. If I ask you to put a dollar amount on how much money you guys think you lost with that first album

Considering that you was making $500 than a VCR. You got a dollar state state royalty How much money you think you guys missed out on Bobby 20 million 30 million 30 30 30 to 40 million apiece We should have been been making that amount of money a piece. New edition. Wow. You guys have this run. A group. Do you ever think, before we get into new edition,

do you ever think we'll see a group again? Like new edition, like we saw new kids on the blog, we saw Nsync, it used to be groups. Right. Do you ever think we'll see that again, Bobby? I hope, I hope, because you know, it's an art form that is filled with passion, you know. Brotherhood.

It's like playing a game of football. You have to depend on each one of the players to do their job in order for you to be successful. And I think, I hope that we see groups come back, bands come back. How, you guys, who went, you went solo first. I went solo first. Because you guys were, you guys grew up in the same area,

you knew each other. Yes. So it wasn't like, okay, we got an audition and we're gonna find out who can do this and who can do that. You guys knew each other. Right. From the jump.

So you already had that kind of bond. What started to happen to make you decide, I think I need to step out and do my own thing? I was just tired of the bubblegum, bubblegum experience, you know. You wanted to be a little bit more hardcore, right? I wanted to be more hardcore, but I wanted more control over what I did. Okay.

You know, the songs that I sang. The clothes that I wore. I wanted to have more control. And thank God that I got kicked out of the group at that time. They kicked you out? They kicked me out of the group. I was voted out of the group. So when you found out, so hold on,

did they find out that you were going solo? Is that why they kicked you out before you actually wanted to exit? Or how did this happen? No, I was kicked out first, and then they found out that I was doing a solo album. Why did they kick you out? I was just doing the wrong thing.

So you had a little something to do with that, huh? I had a lot to do with it. You had a lot with that, huh? I had a lot to do with it. You had a lot to do with it. I had a lot to do with it. So they voted, so did anybody vote to keep you in? Or they all with a unanimous, Bobby gotta go? I don't know. I think from what I heard, there was one against four.

Damn. One against, well, one against three. Right. That wanted me to. To remain. To remain. Did you have a conversation? Like, hold on, guys, look, check this out.

I didn't get a chance to have a conversation. You didn't? No. They didn't even give you that courtesy, Bobby? No, no, no. But these are my brothers. I know. These are my brothers.

You guys have been able to come back together. Yes. And our relationships are stronger than ever. Did you hope for this moment? Yes. Yeah. Once I was out of the group and I found a little success and I found a different way of doing things

and I was successful at doing it that way, doing it my way, I wanted them to know that they could do it in that same form and make more money doing it that way. Well then, kind of like, I think Ralph was probably the next one that goes solo, right? No, it was BBD. Okay, okay. BBD.

Right, they went, then Ralph. Then Ralph, and then of course Johnny was already a solo artist. So Johnny came once you left, so Johnny was what replaced you? No, Johnny was supposed to replace Ralph because Ralph was going solo. Okay, okay. So Johnny was putting the group to give the group a new sound. Okay. And then Bel Biv Devoe went up the charts and blew up. And the group just, you know, it was about pieces.

And then once we figured it out, we figured out that we have all of these pieces that we can bring back together and form this this Super this super group Why not do it? This concludes the first half of my conversation Part two is also posted and you can access it to whichever Podcast platform you just listened to part one on just simply go back to club shake a profile and I'll see you there

What's up, everyone? It's Greg Rosenthal and I'm teaming up with the king of spring, Daniel Jeremiah. He requires me to say that we're going to be bringing you 40s and free agents. The only podcast you'll need this NFL draft season from DJs mock drafts to my top one on one free agents will have it covered for you with all new episodes every Thursday, keeping you up to date as we head to the NFL draft. Listen to 40s and free agents on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The championship is back in the Bay for the first time in 40 years.

On the new limited podcast series, Dub Dynasty, we hear from head coach Steve Kerr on how Steph Curry almost never even joined the Warriors. In fact, I thought we had a draft date deal to end up getting him to Phoenix. For the entire behind the scenes story of Golden State's incredible 10 year run, listen to Dub Dynasty on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

What's up y'all? I'm AJ Andrews, pro softball player, sports analyst, and the first woman to win a Rawlings Gold Glove. On my new podcast, Dropping Diamonds, we dive headfirst into the world of softball by sharing powerful stories, insights, and conversations that inspire and empower. It's time to drop bombs and diamonds. Dropping Diamonds with AJ Andrews

is an athletes unlimited softball league production and partnership with iHeart Women's Sports and Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. Listen to Dropping Diamonds with AJ Andrews on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Elf Beauty, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports.