Club Shay Shay - Ray J Part 1

Episode Date: June 5, 2024

Ray J joins Shannon Sharpe for an engaging episode of Club Shay Shay, sharing an in-depth look into his multifaceted life and career. Ray J opens up about his upbringing, moving from Mississippi to Compton, and the challenges he faced, including his father driving him from Carson to Hollywood auditions and his dislike for choir rehearsals. He reflects on getting into trouble, joining a gang, and the influence of his sister Brandy’s big break with her first album. Ray J talks about his relationship with Brandy, the dynamics of their sibling bond, and a memorable incident when he got a tattoo of her, which upset her. Despite never wanting to be in show business, he acknowledges that being Brandy’s brother always helped him. He shares his early realization of Pharrell Williams’ talent and working with various A-list celebrities as a child. He reminisces about being spoiled as a kid, receiving a Cadillac at 14, and his experiences with his cousin, Snoop Dogg. He discusses attending private school after getting jumped at public school and his mother managing both his and Brandy’s careers. Ray J delves into the growing distance between him and Brandy due to his actions, and his encounters with Michael Jackson, facilitated by Brandy. Ray J addresses Vince Staples’ comments about him being a top 5 West Coast rapper, shares his top 5 West Coast artists, and discusses the current state of West Coast rap with artists like YG and Kendrick Lamar. He gives his take on the Kendrick vs. Drake and Chris Brown vs. Quavo beef and his diss song with Chris Brown aimed at Kanye West.Ray J candidly talks about his need for reality shows to assess his personal growth, feeling blackballed in the industry, and the process of Shaq investing $1.5M into his music. He explains why he became an independent artist, what he wishes he knew as a younger artist, and his admiration for Chris Brown’s career. Finally, Ray J discusses the artists he regrets signing, the reasons RSVP didn’t work out as a group, and the regret over unfulfilled dreams. Join Shannon Sharpe and Ray J for an episode filled with introspection, humor, and raw honesty about the highs and lows of his journey in the entertainment industry. #VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Make sure to listen to the Good Morning Football podcast Monday through Friday on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Mike Wright from the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty podcast. You heard that right. the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty Podcast. You heard that right. The Fantasy Footballers have officially entered the Dynasty space. Every week, we bring you the same in-depth analysis and entertainment

you've come to expect from the Fantasy Footballers, only now it's from the Dynasty perspective. Join me and the rest of the crew every Wednesday for a new episode. Listen to the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty Podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last movie I did, but it took us 20 minutes. I don't mean that one. Yeah, yeah, you do.

No, that one was like three and a half days. That was three and a half days. That was three and a half days of was three and a half days Of reality too Cause it was a full Like thing I had a full production Shout out to all my People in Cabo

That did Grip Man It's all a blur All my life Been grinding all my life Sacrifice Hustle paid the price Won a slice

Got the roll of dice That's why All my life I been grinding all my life All my life Been grinding all my life all my life been grinding all my life sacrifice hustle paid the price wanna slice got to roll a dice that's why all my life i've been grinding all my life hello welcome to another episode of club shea shea i am your host

shannon sharp i'm also the proprietor of club shea shea the guy that's stopping by for conversation on the drink today is a recognized name in hollywood a multi-talented and celebrity celebrated artist a well-known actor and entrepreneur a prominent singer songwriter rapper a contemporary renaissance man a producer an icon reality tv pioneer an author a mogul a marketing a marketeer focused on entrepreneur a bona fide hustler ray jay how was that intro i was beautiful i mean shit i'm blushing you are you are blushing man hey bro i appreciate you stopping by i understand that you're very busy you got a lot going on i mean you have a lot going on i do so take your time with me i'm humbled and thank you for having me i appreciate

um you know this is a very grown setting. Yeah. And we want to, you know, we want to talk about grown things. We're going to talk about whatever you want to talk about. Okay. You can take it anywhere that you want to take it. Wherever you want to take it. I'm just happy to be here.

Okay. Well, I appreciate that. You want to toast? Sure. Toast. To you. To you. To Club Shay Shay.

All the success, bro. Appreciate you. Club Shay Shay with Ray J. Okay. Shay, you're originally from Mississippi, correct? Yeah, I'm born in Mississippi. Born in Mississippi. Yeah.

Do you have any memory of Mississippi? How old were you when you relocated to Cali? I was two when we moved to California, and Brandy was four. And we moved to Compton when we first got here and then um we ended up um finding a crib in Carson which is like you know five minutes from Compton and um and that's where we grew up since I was like you know since I was a little bitty kid right so you guys didn't necessarily move is there a particular reason why you left mississippi and came because it wasn't because you know brandy

obviously your sister brandy is a is an entertainer you're an entertainer it wasn't because of that your family just decided that they needed to leave mississippi yeah my mom and dad uh came out here and my mom before we even got into the industry, my dad was minister of music at Southside Church of Christ. So, you know, choir rehearsals, church every Sunday. Like we had to go to church like we had to go to school. Like if I didn't want to go to church, I had to be either sick or I couldn't play outside. You know what I'm saying? After church was over.

And my mom managed 26 to 28 H&r block offices okay so she was a district manager um for h&r block so that's where we were um that's what was our main focus until we started to shift into the entertainment business so you your uh your father went to what jack attended jackson state your mom is a graduate of southern southern university she's an aka okay yeah and my dad's a cute so they was always going you know they still do so so how did you how did you once you got out here so once you got to you relocated that's when you and brandy started getting to the entertainment industry yeah we started going on auditions and stuff. We did this one show called Small Talk. It was a show where, you know, they interviewed the young talent and and I got the role for that.

And they wasn't able to air it because I didn't have an agent. And that's what got us hipped on to the agencies. And then we just started to like my dad. Shout out to my dad, because, you know, every every day we had an audition, he would come pick us up from school early and drive us all the way from Carson to Hollywood, you know, at three o'clock in the traffic to get us to the audition. Yeah, I mean, a lot, maybe four or five times a week. So shout out to my dad. While my mom was working at H&R Block, my dad would take some time and just get us right and make sure, you know, he was helping us do what we love to do. When were you and your sister, Brandi, hit the bug, bit you, like, this is what we want to do? When did it hit us? Mm-hmm.

When we wanted to do the entertainment business. I think we were, like, if i have these like memories of us like practicing in the house in carson and doing acting classes and my grandma was in there and we were on the bus and in a train with these chairs and we was just doing a lot of stuff right i think we got the bug when we started to get the auditions right we started to land the roles because you know when you're going on auditions man it's tough because you get a lot of no's more no's than yes but um i was able to land the simbad show brandy was on fia and it was happening at the same time right so a lot of magical things was happening in the acting and then brandy dropped the album

and then everything went all the way up so you hear these stories like okay joe jackson and you hear how he drove the jackson five it was like rehearsal do this do this do this were your parents like that or they just kind of let you and brandy do your own things like okay is this what you guys want to do okay let's do it or was he relentless in his approach i think think my dad, well, I hated going to cry rehearsal. I really did. I just wanted to play with the homies. Like, I really wanted to just hang out. But my dad pushed us a lot.

And Brandi loved it. Okay. She loved singing. She loved getting on the bus at, like, 530 in the morning and going to Bancroft Junior High School, which is in Hollywood and then Hollywood High School after that. And they got her face painted on the side of Hollywood High just from how hard she put in that work. So her success, I think it was deserved because she was going so hard at it. I think it was deserved because she was going so hard at it me. I just kind of fell in to that kind of like

that kind of Level of success with Brandi and I just loved being her brother Like I was Brandi's brother and I was out having the best time of my life, right? Like that was some of them some of the best moments just no responsibility Just flying high. My sister let me perform on stage. So, you know, all the young girls after the show, you know what I mean? I just wanted to just, you know what I mean? I just wanted to get in where I fit in.

Right. And I fit into a lot of places. Right. I really fit in, yeah. So was there any added pressure? Because Brandi is your sister. She's starting to enjoy a level of success. So were the expectations placed on you,

maybe by you or by your parents? Like, okay, you see what your big sister's doing. What are you going to do, Ray J? I didn't look at it like that then. I didn't know really. I was just surprised that, you know, we were on like this. And any chance I got to be there, I i was there i was getting in a lot of trouble

and cars and all um just by choice you know what i mean just rebelling and um just finding my own way because in the beginning my sister's image and everything was like super clean yeah my mom was very strict on that um just growing up and the message that, you know, they wanted to put out there. So I was the opposite. I just, you know what I'm saying? I just didn't want to do nothing I'd rather wait than like being like a boy band or like do something that I just like have me successful in the beginning of my career but then that's not who I really am so later on you starts to fade you

get lost in the sauce right and so um so I just I really didn't want to be in the industry at first until it was just kind of like my turn. As you know, the older you get, the more you start to figure out what what do you want to do? And so I just started to kind of craft it out myself and figure out how to market and how to like take the risk myself and do what we wanted, as opposed to what they wanted me to do. You mentioned that you got in some trouble as brandy started to grow has started to blow up did you understand about protecting the brand that that would be a negative on her even though it's not her but you're her brother y'all very close in age did you understand what that meant at the time about protecting the brand and your mom tried to try to you you say your mom was like ray jay bro you yeah um or you just want to do your own thing yeah i i really was into like the gang at the time

you know i'm saying and just really trying to stay loyal to like my my crew my gang yeah and center view and it was a time where we was it was a lot going on and certain people was getting locked up and certain people had passed away and getting shot. And it was just getting a little a little too dangerous, I think, for for me to stick around at the time because I was in my mind, which was stupid. But I was like really trying to activate myself in that world. mine which was stupid but I was like really trying to activate myself in that world um and I just told my mom and brand like if there was any way I could come out on tour and just kind of get away from all of this you know I'm saying it helped me and probably saved my life so they let me live let me come out and um and be on tour uh with Brandy and wherever she went my mom kind of kept me around kept me safe um so i appreciate that from them and i was

still getting in trouble out there with them i was just i was i was just but not trouble like you know i'm just i was bad like you know smoking weed or like you know staying out too late or being drunk too early right um and that's kind of like where it was but but they kind of shielded me and just let me be myself, but then also kind of brought me back to a reality whenever I really got to the edge of things. You mentioned that you're a part of a gang, and normally a lot of times, not always,

but a lot of times gangs, guys that join gangs because they want to feel a part of something, want to be a part of a family, but you got a very intact family. You got a mom and dad that's together. You got a book sister that's in the industry and she's a name. Why would you not want to be a part of that gang as opposed to the other gang? Well, if you're out of town most of the time and moms is with you and pops is at church and it's just me and my grandma at home and my grandma didn't know that the bars in the back opened up so I could open up the bars and push the window out then I'm gonna be outside

every every day I'm saying from at least 10 a.m. to like 6 p.m. you know just because you feel like you know you you you trying to find yourself and you trying to stay I think the young kids sometimes want to just be cool okay and and you might be talented knowing how to like tap dance or perform a different way and it might it might push you to limits that you might not want to be that vulnerable or that vocal or that happy right so you limit yourself from some of the great things that you could be because you you know you're trying to like you're trying to stay cool right right and stay stay a G or whatever and I think for all the kids out there man you gotta you gotta just let that go because a lot of the people in the gangs, they want to see you elevate, right? So most of my homies call me movie star blood because they wanted me to really elevate and not be here. So they was the ones that even inspired me even more to just be the best I can be.

And they're going to ride and support whether I'm tap dancing, whether I'm rapping, whether I'm singing. They want you to go out and win and bring everybody out with you right so a lot of times you don't see that till later did your mom know that you were affiliated with a gang yeah my sister everybody did and what so so how how was that conversation did they have a sit down have a sit down talk did your mom and dad have a sit down talk did brandy or vixens have a sit down and have a sit down talk? Did your mom and dad have a sit down talk? Did Brandy, your big sis, have a sit down talk? Would you say, Ray J, what you doing? And like the gang like take over your soul almost. Like you can't, you can't, you blinded. Like, you know what I'm saying?

I couldn't. I was, it was so much like red in my eyes. I couldn't see anything but that. And honestly, I never really talked about it this deep because it's hard. If you're not from LA. You don't understand it? It's outrageous what I'm saying right now. You know what I'm saying? It's pretty loud.

You know what I mean? And so there's certain things that I keep to myself most of the time because it's just not believable in this day and time. And so I try to, whenever there is something to talk about, I talk about it. Whenever whenever there is something to talk about, I talk about it. But what I'm doing for the gangs right now, it's it's a new C3 and C4 companies that we're creating. But it's called Gang Up and it's God's angels never give up. Right. So it's it's it's activating all the gangs to to to be able to be a part of this new television community in any aspect from grip to production to directing to to on front of the camera you know a world where they can create and be themselves and tell their story every day make money for the gangs and create these new opportunities in the

future for a layer of like multi-layer of things right without getting into detail but that's what i am working on to um to to to express my love for the gang but then also to show the world that the gangs are so underestimated with talent and what they do and you know their story and you know what they can bring to the table i mean it's just so so many things that people that are part of gangs can do that's better than the people that you're paying these top dollars that went to college to do shit, right? And I want to make sure I open up these doors

for them to be great and to make money just like everybody else in any space. Everybody knows your big sister. Well, 99% of the. Everybody knows your big sister. Well, 99% of the people know that your big, uh, big sister is Brandon. No.

What, how did she get discovered? What was, what was her, what was her big break? You say she went on all these auditions and obviously she's very talented. She can sing, she can dance,

she can act, but what was her big break? What was her big break moment? Her first album. I want to be down. Okay. And that was produced by Keith Crouch. Daryl Williams was in control.

So how old was she then? About 16? About 14, 15. She was working on the project. Okay. And then around 15, 16, it came out. Okay. And it was the biggest thing.

I couldn't believe it. When I first heard her on the radio, I was just like... That's my big sis. Freaking out. Because you see people in the studio. It was in the studio working, but I didn't know it was going from that to that. So it was just a blessing, man. And it was just a crazy run from that to touring to Moesha and everything that her and my mom and my dad just had in front of them, it was very powerful.

And they brought me in, let me produce commercials, let me be a part of a lot of different business decisions and projects that they brought me in on just even behind the scenes just to make some money so I got I pay all my love and homage to my sister my mom my dad my grandma rest in peace and and everything that they've been doing many they are definitely the rock that i need to um to to be able to do me and know that that there's this safety net uh that i have that'll that'll keep me safe whenever you're very close to your sister i think you're a couple years apart yeah and you recently got you got a tattoo of her. What type of big sister was she? Is she? She's she's she's just real, man. She's like she's been a best friend and she's understood just a lot of times when I was just going left, she understood it, you know what I'm saying,

and never really got in the way until I was at the edge, you know what I mean, and you know, you need that, even today, even to this day, you know, certain things I do, or certain things I might promote or post, she never really says anything. But when she thought I had the tattoos on my face and I was just going through that whole campaign, she was very mad and she called me. She was like, you look dirty. You look out of bounds.

You need to go home and shake it off. I don't know what's going on. Like really strong words that I needed. You know what I mean? To kind of like splash some water in my face and get some rest and then, you know, reboot. She's your sister. She does the album 14, 15. Album comes out 15, 16.

That is your sister. But could you say, because like when my brother was being a professional athlete i can only see him as my brother although he's one of the greats you're my brother yeah could you see brandy as any other thing other than your sister or did you realize like one of the biggest stars in america lives in my house yeah Yeah, no, I mean, yeah, I was, you know, I was on, I was like Brandy's biggest cheerleader at the time, you know, and for me it was lights, camera action. So it was just nothing but just beautifulness everywhere.

And I was young and it was just so many beautiful women and just so many beautiful moments and it was just a beautiful garden of love and acceptance and that's your little brother oh and it's just like you know and it just, I was everywhere I wanted to be, you know. And it was just a time, man. It's crazy how those times are, like, in the past. But they feel historical, man. They feel like, they feel like a moment in time. Not just for me, though, just in the world.

Like, I feel everybody's energy with me on that. So I'm just blessed to have those moments man blessed to have a sister and a mom and a dad like that did you and brandy have disagreements when you were growing up or you were too busy uh auditions or rehearsals or doing things that you really didn't have because you're kind of doing your own thing because you know you were kind of like about to go left and your mom and brandon your father you got a chance to reel you in so you guys didn't have any sibling rivalry nah not at all like i mean what's crazy is like never uh because i just never i never wanted to work that hard. You get what I'm saying?

Like, it had to be a little bit more fun. Right. And I think the only time we was, like, going back and forth in the beginning stages was when I was telling her and Rodney Jerkins, who was one of the greatest producers in the universe. I was telling him that Pharrell is one of the greatest producers in the universe and the songs that we got is killing everything and they was just really on us at the time and with rodney you know it was from all of you know the new never say never album it was michael jackson it was everybody in the world was working with rodney. And Pharrell hadn't had his break, him and Chad and the Neptunes. But I had some of the first records. And I just knew that Pharrell was going to be a game changer and Chad and the Neptunes.

And so we just fought. And I fought the label. And I fought everybody to drop Wait a Minute with Lil' Kim instead of this song we did with Rodney. But fast forward into later, Rodney and I, we did One Wish, LaShiz, and Freddie, all of us. So we made a massive record together later. But the record I wanted and the people I wanted to be around in the beginning was Pharrell and Chad.

And they thought we was tweaking because it took us 10 minutes to do the song. We was rapping about being in the club, you know what I'm saying? Right. Being with the ladies, you know what I'm saying? Being with the ladies, you know what I'm saying? Smoking weed, having a good time, West Coast, right? On a Neptune's classic beat, and they were like, you're off, the beat is whack, this and that, for real, this, this, this, this.

This is then. And the song came out and we worked it from the ground up, really not a lot of money, because Atlantic wanted me to go another way and and the shit started to blow up and Pharrell went from there to there to there you know what I mean and it just showed me that there's never one way to do it through I'm saying like I could do my vocals all day for nine hours and that might work or I could do it one time in the booth and it works too and so that gave me all the things I needed really to dominate in this world right

you know I'm saying in my own space when you got the tattoo of Brandy why did you do it and what and when you told her you had gotten it or did you share with her you were going to get the tattoo or you just did which tattoo you got the one that she got mad at me yeah yeah she was pissed why do i need to take a trade too okay well she was mad because um because i got brandy on my arm, too. I got brandy a couple places, right? But I got the tattoo on my leg from one of the biggest tattoo artists out, Mascow, right? Okay. And in his style, he makes it kind of gothic with red eyes. It's a little evil.

The first way he did it, he told me to keep it like that it like that. I'm like nah put your signature touch on it, bro and when he did it it made it really like gothic and And I think the tattoo went viral the wrong way I Think that was one. I think the tattoo was um Was not it right for the world, right. I think the tattoo was was not it. Right. For the world. Right. I like the tattoo. Could I think maybe he should have taken the red eyes out. Right.

But you ask him to put his touch on it because that's his style. That's like saying a Basquiat. Don't put your your signature Basquiat on. Right. Or, you know, Warhol to not do what he does or picasso or whoever other you know artists people like um and so yeah i mean even i think india i re-dm'd me a few people like man you you need to pray and i'm like yo it was i explained to her what it was and she's like okay um but a few people hit me mad at me about it it seemed demonic to them so that's kind of what she was more upset about is because of the portrayal because it's gothic and it looks kind of sinister i think so i think she was she didn't really say too much about it she just was um just a little concerned about it, you know. But she wasn't really tripping.

But it went viral. Right. It went viral back. Your acting career. Did you tell your parents you wanted to do this or it just happened by accident? I wanted to act. You wanted to act. Yeah.

I got the Sinbad show early. And at the time, the Sinbad show was a bigger show than Thea. Yeah. So I was to act. You wanted to act. Yeah. I got the Sinbad show early. And at the time, the Sinbad show was a bigger show than Thea. Yeah. So I was feeling myself. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Yeah.

Sinbad. Sinbad was nice. I was feeling myself. Okay. I think it was on Fox. Mm-hmm. And then Brandy dropped the album, and it went into places that I didn't think that was realistic anyway. So it all worked out.

You know, I liked acting. I like acting. I don't like it now because it takes too long, but I liked it then. Right. So given a choice, you would have preferred acting over music or that. Yeah. Or that? Yeah.

Well, music in the beginning was always like a hustle after when I went independent. Because my mom and my dad and my sister, they gave me half a million dollars to do my new project because no label wanted to sign me. And nobody was really fucking with me at the time and um i think they gave me the money so i can continue to fulfill my dreams and my goals but did they believe that i could make a hit after i don't know i never questioned it because they um they just they gave me the money because they wanted to help me and they wanted me to keep going. OK. And so I did the album and I gave Rodney a lot of money to do the album for me. And I gave Little X like a few hundred grand or a couple hundred grand to do the One Wish video. I got a treatment from Hype, but it was like six or seven hundred thousand.

I couldn't afford the video at the time. But Lil X killed the treatment, best treatment. And the song, I mean, by the grace of manifestation and just having the will to win, the song actually was probably still today my biggest record. Wow. And we own the record 100%. It was independently done with a distribution company called Sanctuary, which really focused on rock and roll. It was impossible to do that at the time with no DJ support.

But God is good, and he worked it through, man. And the song took off. The album ended up selling 400 and some thousand at $12.99, which was another big move for us. That was a silent hitter. Really didn't boast or brag about it. And just started to build another system of marketing after that. You said they gave you a half a million dollars to do your thing.

Yeah. Do you think they believed in you that it could, or are they just like, well, here, here's half a million. Go do what you're going to do, and let's see if this thing works. And then if it works, now others, or we'll come back again and donate more because it doesn't seem like you thought that they thought it was going to be they just like here here's half a million go do what you do in this game of life and you're young you don't see what's in front of you right you don't and so you don't know what's um what's gonna happen

all you know is what you have um and there was this r kelly record i did and they wanted me to go with that record and i just said dude we're we're independent and this might not work anyway so let's go with a song that i'm singing my heart out on that has a lot of meaning to it. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news, previews, recaps, and analysis

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Can't rest on your laurels. It's time to move on. And I've never celebrated. I've never had a chance to celebrate anything. Really? I don't think so. had a chance to celebrate anything really i don't think so but let me ask you a question how close proximity was you doing what you're doing on your album now your song and the the the show moesha are they close are they close no uh one wish is close yes okay one wish is closed because i did it after moesha on one-on-one because i was also on one-on-one um the sitcom one-on-one for two seasons so it was around around in that world yeah like a little bit after okay let me ask you this do you believe having her as your big sister helped you or hurt you more it helped me it would never hurt me if i ever said that i would it would be i would i don't know to to think that i don't know that i would that's emotional. If I was to say that, I would cry because that's just not okay.

You know what I'm saying? Everything that they've done in Brandy, it was all supposed to be for now. It was never anything else. Again, if I could just go back to being Brandy's brother, it was just so so lit i just can't explain how lit it was then and then to overcome that into another world like i much of it maybe you know and um and i'm still trying to get get right because it's got to be hard you got a sister it's not like she's 10 years 15 years older you she's only two years older than you and you see her career it's going boom boom boom boom and you're right there because

i have an older brother and everybody's like you ain't as good as your brother you can't run as fast as your brother you can't jump as high the comparisons are going to be there and i understand it's a young lady to a male i get that but you are her brother and they expect what she can sing she can dance she can act they expect the expectations are placed on you, rightfully so or not. Yeah. And it was in the beginning like that. And that's why I was so blessed to meet Pharrell and Chad in the Neptunes because the sound that they gave me countered what not only was she doing,

what one of the biggest producers in the world was doing with her, what they were saying I should do, you know, and this will never work this way, right? And then you turn around and you prove a lot of people wrong. Okay. The problem with that is that once you prove people wrong, you can't see anything else. You can't hear anything. You're not listening. Oh, yeah.

Okay. And so God, you know, if you're going, if you're being too cocky or, you know, just you have the wrong mission, the wrong words, the wrong energy around other great people that you should be humbled to be around. Right. You're going to fall on your face. There's no way around it. I don't care who you are. God always gives you a reality check or whatever higher being you believe in. It's inevitable. And so that happened a couple of times. And that's exactly what people need, like myself or anybody who doesn't understand it and who falls by the wayside early in the game with new money and trying to let people know, I've told you so.

Right. trying to let people know i've told you so right so when you do win and people were not right and you were right that's when you should start listening to people right that's when you have the moment where now you're on right so be a team player listen to what people say um and and as high as you go the higher you go the more humble you should be that's just how you have to be if i'm listening to you correct you's like i i have this idea of what my sound should sound like so i want to go here they wanted they have an idea what you thought they thought your sound should be like they wanted you to go there it was like a song called everywhere you go you're singing ray

jay so i just was like no disrespect it was cool song, but it just wasn't that thing. Right. I wanted to be in a club. I wanted to fuck with, like, bad women and just, like, stay lit. Right. That's all I knew. Right. So I never really serenaded a woman.

Like, when I was in RSVP, Bobby Valentby valentino sammy pleasure p when i'm around these are my dudes they sing all day a girl come around and be like baby right right on there right i ain't never been like that so to have to do that i hated that in the beginning i needed to sing some shit that was going to be more like fitting to like what my lifestyle is right and so yeah and Pharrell gave me that record but there was a record called Out the Ghetto that I should have did after that he told me to do and I didn't even listen to Pharrell and when I didn't listen to Pharrell that's when I fell hard because he had my back and he knew the vision and it was so it was vividly perfect but i just was too i was just right i was in i was an idiot and i was just too into like being lit and not giving

a fuck but ray you saw the vision and pharrell when no one else did i know you go he give does the song with you he says you know what our next project should be this your next single should be this and you say like come out off for wait a minute you if i were to release out the ghetto but then who would i be where would i be i could be lost in the sauce and dead right now rich and dead successful and uncomfortable with like where life was you know you never know so are you overthinking it no because i'm here now with you but but here's the thing who's to say you would still be here with me if you did it in the ghetto you're right out the ghetto out the ghetto yeah no i you're right and so those are things that those are

great depressions that i went through as i watched Pharrell succeed and Chad succeed the Neptunes With just every artist you could imagine they were a part of their success and knowing that I was with Pharrell and I had that I Had that connection and I and I and I fucked it up, you know It took me some time to to to get back on my feet. Is that what happens is that when you have an opportunity and you think something can be successful and you miss that opportunity? Is that when the depression starts? Because all of a sudden you like I said, I think you overthink a lot of things. But you start to think like, damn, am I going to have another hit hit will this ever happen again everybody i think everybody goes

through those realizations that they made a mistake at the some of the most important parts where the fork is in the road for how your life's gonna go yeah you know um you go through that and a lot of people don't get a second chance true and a lot of people don't try again. And so for me to continue to try and just continue to push, it was a tough, just a tough journey, man, but it was well worth it. Right. It was well worth everything that's happened.

But you have, your acting career is kind of simultaneous as you're doing music because you have, you know, Stills and Mars Attack as a kid, Shaxx in the cast, acting career is kind of simultaneous as you're doing music because you have uh you know steals on and mars attack as a kid uh shacks in the cast you got jack nicholson jack black danny devito bro you you a kid and you would yeah big time stars i'm talking about a a list tim burton directed yes no it was big i mean i was directed the first batman yep i was floating you know um I was directed the first Batman. Yep. I was floating, you know, and a lot of a lot of a lot of things I don't even remember. Really? It's like some people that's like gigantic, like they would tell me like we had moments and we were hanging out and I'd be like, really?

Because I've been looking at you for the past eight years, just a fan. And I didn't know we even had moments right so these cycles like i've been i've been i've been in it i've been able to see like the success of the industry since like 94 and i was only like 14 wow yeah am i sweating are you good a little bit it's getting a little hot it's getting a little hot it's almost change shirt time with the heat. And I know we haven't even gotten. I know. Well, I know how what you're doing. No, no, no, no, no. Meaning like it's all love. But the way you are, the way you about to set this thing up for the next phase of my life. Like, can I take it? Can I take a cigarette break? I know what, go for it. Okay, cool, because I know what's about to...

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She's a singer both parents are together so you got money you know you want to be black family they got a little money did your family tell you no or were you spoiled uh i've like when you doing tv you always got like my mom always because she was your manager yeah so she We always had trust funds and stuff So I always had like an allowance growing Up that I could spend Um a couple Times I was like spending in the neighborhood

I bought like this g-ride This big ass like Cadillac It was um the big long One okay. I was like 14 I was getting like you know 300 A week that's solid back in the day yeah so i bought the g-ride for like 350 right and i had it parked down the street so i would drive it here and there but i let the homies drive me around right but yeah um that was my

one of my first purchases was the g-ride um cadillac it wasn't stolen it just was like one of the homies like aunties that didn't want it no more yeah um but my my people didn't know so I did have a car like 14 but your mom mom and dad didn't know you had a car I mean that car too it was like it was one of them big ass so you had like an l-dog or something yeah so if I was I drove it a couple times but it just didn't even look right you know I'm saying um but nah they they didn't tell me no um there was always a limit to do stuff right but um back in the day i always kind of went over the limit you know what i'm saying now again they always have to bring me back to reality yeah right but you had a lot of famous friends growing up how how was that hanging out with famous friends well Snoop was

my cousin yes and so and Daz was my cousin so I would if I wasn't in the neighborhood or over in the fruits where Demetrius I was I was at Can-Am okay so I used to like go down the street and Snoop and Daz would pick me up and then I would just hide under the back of the of the cherokee jeep until i got past my pops and then we would go to the valley i remember the last time i got caught out there right and um and i had found some playboy magazines at my school right and it was like under the dirt. It was like about 50, like 1950 Playboy, 50, 51. Yeah.

And my dad and mom caught me with them under the bed with a little bit of weed. And coming in from Can-Am, I was lit. I got caught. I got my ass beat real bad. I think that was my last whooping, but it was like with an extension cord. Yeah. An orange one. You remember that one, huh? Yeah. If that was the last one, your mom and dad probably said this is the last time we're going to be able to do it. So we're going to make sure we put this

thing on the right so he'll remember it. When my pops was going to prepare, I was putting all the clothes on my back trying to get it right. Soon as he started, that shit slid all the way down to the bottom. But yeah, that was my last whooping um but later my dad and my mom found out that they were old magazines they thought i was lying right but when they i guess they looked at them but yeah they they saw that they was old right yeah so how did you uh how was it like hanging out with snoop because you know i've gotten to know snoop i've known snoop almost 30 years now and he's he like i don I don't know him, like, in his home. I've never been in his presence like that.

But when he's around, he just makes you feel like you're the homie. He makes you feel so good. Like, he's so cool. He's so down to earth. Yeah, it was a lot of different phases, you know, through the 90s, 2000, 2010. To the Snoop now. Yeah, so you watch Snoop evolve through a lot of the rough times with Death Row. And if I wasn't with Snoop and Daz, I was always with Suge.

So it was a weird combination. But every time you're with Snoop, you just get inspired to just be great and do your own thing. Not give a fuck, but care. You know what I mean? And really just stay on your shit care you know what i mean and um and really just just stay on your shit you know i mean are you surprised because he's one of the most recognizable names one of the most recognizable faces in the entire world and you watch it you say the maturation and you see the the the phases and the evolution yeah it's like you can just see it yeah like he was once considered

this and now he's with martha stewart he's hanging out with the biggest and the multi-billionaires and he fit right in he's like yeah and he has equity in a lot of companies that a lot of people don't know from the business side so and he's helped a lot of companies. I mean, he's just in the stock market. Just when he stamps it, I mean, numbers go up. So the power he has in these different communities are, you know, just unmatched. Unmatched. So it's good watching what he does. And for me, I always watch the team. Like everybody has a team.

You come with a team. And you don't need 100 people on the team. Like, everybody has a team. You come with a team. And you don't need 100 people on your team. You need, like, four or five really strong, like, assassins in their position to do what they do. And he's always had that, you know, as he's made adjustments. And as you can see now, everything is on autopilot. But he's hands-on with everything at the same time. So to do 10 things like that or 20 things, I remember how many things he's doing. To have that team to keep everything balanced, keep the substance there, keep everything on time, keep everything structured, that's the beauty.

And that's what I respect most about Snoop, outside of him just being a great family father and just friend you know high school did you go to a public high school did I hell nah I went to Curtis and I got jumped at Curtis that was junior high and I couldn't go to Curtis why they jump you you it was in the wrong did Did they know who you were? They didn't care who I was on TV. Right. It was in a... My cousin, Reggie and Ryan, and shout out to my cousins, they stayed closer to the mall.

Okay. In Delamo. And we stayed in Centerview. So, it just, we had issues with certain people there when we was younger. So, it was somewhere I definitely shouldn't have been going to school um but now they lit me up um maybe a couple times and then i ain't going no more then i tried to go to a school in the valley i didn't really go to school damn but i but i got the diploma, but I never went to school. I had a I had tutors too. Yes. So you cut more like my tutor stories. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Tell us the story. Yeah. I wonder where my tutor is. Joyce,

where are you? Shout out to my tutor, Joyce. Yeah, we would always go out and do our work outside in the field somewhere where we can overlook the world, right? So my mom let me go out with my tutor. This is my last tutor, yeah, because I kind of ditched the tutor from like 14 to 16. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Joyce was the shit. Wow. We should.

Do we have documentation of you having a diploma? I graduated. I graduated. I mean, sometimes you graduate and get your certificate. No. Thanks for participating in high school. No, so I graduated from college too. What? But I graduated from college too what but i graduated from college hill

i graduated from alabama state i got a i got a certificate for multiple disciplinary studies so i'm disciplined in multiple areas you know i'm skilled and i got my diploma you like you see me celebrating I got the I got my baseball hat on right I had a big ass party after but I graduated with like a lot of um uh pregnant women and delinquents and stuff that never went to school right so it was a lot of us in the graduation but it was lit okay yeah so what was it growing up what was it like growing up for you in Hollywood? Because it seemed like when you were in high school, you were a problem.

Yeah, but that's when it was popping in Hollywood. So I was so like, and I wouldn't say bad, like I'm doing bad things to people. I was just lit. You know what I'm saying? Right. Doing grown shit a little bit earlier. At 16, 17. Yeah, in the clubs and shit. Did your mom and parents know you were in the club?

No. So you sneaking out the house? Yeah. So where they thought you were? Well, when I was 16, I had a convertible. I had the BMW convertible that my mom and pops got me. It was a convertible Beamer. Brandy already had the 4.6 range back in the day yeah the 4.6 yeah yeah the big boy 0 yeah b had the 4.6 okay she didn't want to drive it no more i'm in that motherfucker right so um i was just moving around

a lot like it's crazy to see what was in the 90s, and I was able to witness that. But anybody that seen me in the 90s and knew that I was Brandy's brother, it was a trip to them. It was like, what the fuck is going on? Yes, I'm thinking the same thing as you're telling the story, my bro. They want to see it in action,

so I would pull up and then have fun with everybody and be lit. Yeah, man man it was a good it was a good time that's why being being brandy's brother was the greatest yeah like it was never any friction on trying to be better right so there's no downside there there can't be any downside to that i would be insane it's all positive i mean at the highest level to the stars and the stars beyond right i'm saying um yeah no it was the greatest your mom was your manager still my mom still my still your man she's my third eye now she watched the management team she watched the lawyers she

watched everybody was she was she brandon manager also yeah absolutely absolutely so that that's a blessing because now you have someone that sincerely have your best interest yeah uh that can you know hey here's the money this is the money coming in this is what we have to pay x y and z this is what we need to save to make sure because if this thing ends tomorrow we need to make sure that we're set up for past tomorrow exactly and you know she's always instilled that with us and even when we thought sometimes we was low we were still up you know that's just because moms have put these safety nets in accounts and and um make sure we paid all our taxes and you you know, just a lot of different things. That's important to be able to survive like a three decade run. Right. You know, it's hard to survive one. So three, three of them, you know, something's got to be working right.

There's some kind of template that we're following that is actually a proof of concept that works. Right. And that's consistent throughout the throughout the time. Does she handle anybody else besides you and your sister she did over the years okay she did over the years 702 silk um tiny um and i mean a plethora of other people wow did i use that word yeah okay but yeah just a lot of people she's helped along the way. But she's always kept us in first priority. How different would your life be had you not had that strong woman, which is your mother, which is also your manager? How different would Ray J's life be?

Man, you know how I was talking about I felt emotional? That's an emotional question. I wouldn't even know what to do man that would be i'll probably be dead because she has to wear several hats she has to be your mom at all times but she also has to be your manager and help and try to negotiate and navigate you through music entertainment or whatever commercial whatever the case may be so she has to be too but she always number one priority is that she's mom yeah man and you know um i talk to my mom every day and she's been helping me with the new network and when you have somebody like my mom on your team I'm talking about you get 24 hour hard work I mean 3 a.m on the phone with India every night working on upgrades to upgrade to

China's network and and back on it with me at nine and then dealing with the issues maybe that Brandy needs to or my little niece um and still um you know taking care of the kids when i need her to watch the kids so yeah man it's just you know you know your mom or that that that woman figure in in your life nobody should take that for granted because it's just it is the most it's the most it's the only thing that you really have that you know if you got to survive and you down to nothing like you know they're gonna they're gonna they're gonna find a way they're gonna be there for you not just be there for you they're gonna find a way they're gonna find a way to make sure you straight how often do you bounce things off of Brandi now?

It's even emotional when I mentioned her. What's going on? Nothing. Nothing. I just... I don't... Brandi's goals since the beginning have been totally different from yours. There's a lot goals right since the beginning have been totally different from yours yeah and there's a lot of things that I'm involved in that that just don't

coincide with what yeah you know I'm saying and as much as what she is as much as you know that we're all together man some things I got a some things I gotta try to scale over here. Yeah, even lately, even certain events that I think they've been having, I mean, I haven't got the invite. And I'm good with that, but I understand why. And you know what I'm saying? I'm here. But I haven't lately because it's just a lot a lot of the shit i'm doing now is just a different it's a little more uh left field it's a little more outrageous a little louder a little more dramatic a tad bit distasteful at times but

but you do realize you guys have been so close for so long yeah that you still can have that conversation i think you'd be welcome back and you maybe maybe you can explain it and say brandy we're two different people yeah we're the same bloodlines but what you got going on and what i have going on although it's different i'm still ray jay absolutely she knows that and and for me on the on the side i'm i not only i'm her brother and right or wrong i'm i'm gonna die for whatever situation she needs me to be in but um you know i still i still know where i see brandy where i see the vision when I can see the future because I can see the future for like three seconds and in that future I see Brandy and Monica just touring for like two years right and um and I got that dream so even though she understands where I'm at I still understand

where she's at but I understand what needs to happen right now. That tour needs to happen. Yeah. Well, you were front stage when, I don't know, maybe it was manufactured, maybe the industry manufactured it between Monica and Brandy. Yeah. Was that real

or imagined? You know, that's 100% real. Whatever it is, i don't know what do you think caused it i just think you're in we're just being competitive okay and i don't know anything other than that but just the competitiveness of it and then you got your squad and then her squad both supporting each side. But then you have that one record that can't pretty much be touched. Numbers wise, charting wise, successful. And so why wouldn't you focus on the greatest thing that can happen?

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Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get, Mr. Ripley meets Catch Me If You Can. I mean, the guy hoodwinked everyone. He was very ambiguous and sketchy, quite honestly, about what the company did and how it made so much money overnight. What prosecutors allege in the indictment is that most of that $12,000 goes directly to Santos' personal bank account. I would go down these rabbit holes and start thinking about, like, what is the nature of truth? You know, like, what can I actually, like, tell the reader is real about this guy's story? My phone is literally blowing up inquiries about saying, is George going to jail? What's going on? And I'm like, why are you doing this?

Like, why? Listen to Deep Cover George Santos on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. New from Embedded. Who gets to compete as a woman? This question came up in ugly form at the Paris Olympics. But it's not new. If she runs like a man and talks like a man, is she a man?

Hear about the long history of sex testing women athletes on Tested, a new series from CBC and NPR's Embedded podcast. Listen to all episodes on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. Listen to all episodes on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. So I've been preaching that. And hopefully. You think it's going to happen? I pray. I'm a big manifester. I mean, I want it. I want to see it happen. And then everybody goes, well, you said that Brandy should headline. It's like, it's not about that.

You know, it's about them going out and doing a great show. Who headlines and all those things that go along with it is all about. That's what it's all about. You know, just all of those entertaining things people can talk about and choose from as they go and they win together is what it's about, you know. But yeah, so yeah, that's. But as far as me, I love being every day. I'm trying to I'm trying to I'm trying to make sure that I'm consistent with

the wins, but I don't I don't make her mad or my mom mad or my pops mad you know what I'm saying or embarrassed that's because they're gonna watch this and are you divulging things that they're probably gonna get them upset because I don't know if people know that because they just automatically assume that you and y'all still have this great relationship you got and i'm sure you do but i'm just saying you don't you it's just like you don't talk daily or as much as you once did or as much as i want to okay have you ever said that you haven't had you have a sit down with her have you had a conversation have you picked up the phone said b i just need to talk to you i just want to talk to my big sister well i seen her at my at my daughter's

party and um and i told her that and but we haven't but it's nothing wrong it's just i i know i know some of the shit i did has been loud, and I'm not proud of those things in certain aspects. And I know a lot of shit that I'm about to do, it might even be louder than that, to just be honest. And so to come and talk about growth or change when there's a lot more to come with it it just might not be the right time yet right knowing what's in front of me right but you know she looks at you as like this she has this perception of her little brother then her little brother has evolved

her little brother is not a little brother anymore he's still a little brother but he's a grown man has his own idea wants to do things his way that doesn't necessarily coincide with who she is and what she's about. Yeah. Yeah. I made some mistakes, though. And and I'm and I'm and I'm going to make them up. You know, nothing to that extent. Nothing that she's even thinking about but just deep down what I know as as we progress I know that there's um there's some things that I want to um make sure we make right just in some of the shit that I've been doing you know um I read that you you knew Michael Michael Jackson uh Brandy Brandy you know going back to Brandy man If it wasn't for Brandy Man, she hooked you up with everybody

You got to meet everybody Dude, Michael would have left me hanging My hand was out there for 10 minutes He in another row He already said what's up to Brandy But he didn't see my hand And a lot of people behind me could just see my hand out there And I'm like

I'm about to, you know know i'm saying accept the defeat and she like mike mike mike oh hey ray and it was just like oh that would have been probably you know i'm saying that would have been that would have been a serious ill catastrophic and so like you know i'm saying like little stuff like that um so unforgettable how was he when the cameras went on what what type of person was mike because we know in the cameras the greatest entertainer i mean we're never going to see anything like him because the likelihood of somebody walking on stage and people spending days to see him passing out at his mere sight having a faint pit yeah for people that pass out this is gonna

be for the people who pass out we're never gonna see that again not an area for people who pass out that's pretty crazy what was he like when there was no cameras around chill man he was super cool shout out to rodney jerkins again because um rodney's one of the greatest teachers and and greatest connectors and so he hit me and be up at like 5 a.m to come meet mike um uh and uh it was it was deep and and we was cool after that ever since but he's super chill you, just like anybody else, man. You know, you got the world, and then you got you. And then you have you, the character.

Yeah. So it all goes together. But when Brandy first met Mike, she, like, fainted on the ground. He's like, oh, that's so sweet. That's so sweet. Like, he didn't help her up i helped her but he's probably used to it right it's just like oh because that's a different level of fame ray jay like passed out and shit yeah i don't know i mean you got to go what you go michael michael jordan that's a he had a different level of faith it was just a few greats like that there's a few but not to the not to that level of

like older ladies acting like kids at the high school yeah that's loud you know what i'm saying when you think about like everybody who's screaming for artists that's usually like the youth it was like really grown right big like people men and women going crazy in every community ben staples said you're one of the top five west coast hip-hop artists of all time do you agree what he said i think he was low-key capping a little bit no i think he was talking about me west coast that's big ray jay he was putting 10 on five shout out to Vince. I think he was just playing, man. Look, I don't never, again, I never celebrate. Like, me and my team, we've been out here.

A lot of my team was from Dallas, Atlanta, New York. But they've never been to the beach because I don't go out. Right. So when we had time for like 15 minutes, we just drove over to Venice and walked around and i was thinking like wow i don't even walk around and and and and and show the team like what to do or go to dinner or anything like we don't celebrate we get up if we win we like immediately go back to work like there's no party there's no no premiere. There's none. So I need to start figuring out. But as far as me and what I've done, I got on. I don't like I don't like it. I don't like getting credit. And I don't like I don't like what is it called? I don't like attention like that. I don't like for people to tell me that I did good or I want to like you did that

I don't know I was telling the team today like I was just going through my rant in the morning before you prepare for something so I get it all out like I did shit I ain't did nothing yet I just I've been fucking up and it's been working you know I mean and so yeah you know I don, I don't even trip. You know what I mean? I just, when everybody's happy around, everybody got a room in the hotel, I sleep in the car. I'm good with that.

Right. Who are your top five West Coast artists? Top five? That's tough. Of course, you know, Ice Cube, Snoop, Dr. Dre. top five that's tough of course you know Ice Cube Snoop

Dr. Dre it gets tough after that it gets real tough after that DJ Quick I'm saying OFTB you know DJ Quick. You know what I'm saying?

OFTB. You know, these are like some real, you know what I'm saying? MC8 and motherfuckers like that. You know what I'm saying? I'm way in that zone. But yeah. Razzcast. You know what I'm saying? West Coast hip-hop artist year

Cypress Hill The dog pound mm-hmm Mac 10 You know I'm saying I could keep going. Warren G, Nate Dogg, Regulators. Like, you know what I'm saying? There's a lot of moments in the West Coast. And I'm inside. I can see it, too.

And they're my homies, but they're still, they're still getting my playlist. Above the Rim soundtrack. Fuck it. That's not an artist, but that's that's a heavy playlist. Do you think it would be possible for another N.W.A. to happen? N.W.A. I'm sorry. A.Z.E. Forgive me, Eazy. Is that possible?

No. It's possible. Nah. It's not possible. It's not possible to do Snoop again or the Dog Pound or NWA or none of that shit. I think it's all time for just big motion picture movies for people to follow. But there's a lot of new artists coming up that's popping. YG has his own moment in his own world inside of the space. And it's just like, I mean, Kendrick Lamar.

Oh, yeah. Kendrick Lamar is iconic. It's in a world of like the greatest in this space, you know? Well, since you brought Kendrick Lamar up, you got Kendrick Lamar and Drake

beefing. You got Quavo and Chris Brown. That's not beef? Quavo and Chris Brown and Kendrick and Drake. So, is it beef or dissing? You got Chris Brown, you got

Drake, and you got Kendrick Lamar and no disrespect to Quavo but but I just mentioned him for the simple fact that Chris said something

he said something back he didn't he didn't it wasn't hard huh he came like Kendrick and Drake was just going yeah

and then Kendrick came out with that bop that record that you know that single yeah that's just single like people dancing to it and don't even know And then Kendrick came out with that bop, that record, that single. That's just single. People dancing to it and don't even know it's a beat.

And I love Drake. Drake is my number one artist right now because he helped me. He sampled One Wish off the Views album. That shit ended up being nominated for a Grammy of the year album and fucked around and gave me a nomination. They said that I was nominated two weeks after

the Grammys, which I'm cool. And I saw my name. That shit said Willie Norwood as a writer. So I'm a Grammy nominated that shit said willie norwood as a writer so i'm i'm a grammy nominated uh a writer writers yeah whatever sample i'm greatest i mean i'm a grammy sampled and nominator whatever i am right they still ain't gave me my plaque with the little gold little thing yeah and i supposed to get two free tickets every year but they ain't called me yet we got to figure it out don't know we got to get up in there maybe they don't know really

norwood maybe they know ray j maybe but that's what drake did for me i went out even knowing so drake my boy is just um kendrick just that that that right that ovo la going all the way up, Drake. I love you, though. You know what I'm saying? And so I think that's perfect. That's what it's about. That's what I think a hip-hop beef should be.

You know, and erase the violence. Is it good or bad for the industry? I think it's outstanding. I think R&B, we need to get into that, too. Who y'all want to beef with Who y'all want You want a problem Bobby Valentino

You whack Niggas ain't singing like me Where Trey Songz at That nigga don't know how to run You feel me I'm the greatest to ever do it fool You ready for me Right

That's You know what Now that I think about it You and Chris Brown Was on the diss track with con against kanye yeah well he was he was he was in it but nobody heard that song because i heard it so somebody did because you know me and chris is like that's my brother right you got you got chris brown and usher and they're in another world. So they can't be compared to.

They're not number one or two. They're in the iconic world of all the other greats up there. And so there they are. You know what I'm saying? And Kanye as well. And Kanye is my boy. I love Kanye now. We got a chance to just understand each other and understand the plan and understand what can and can't be

and what happened and what's now and so you know we we good we good really good you know I mean y'all wasn't good at first I don't I don't think so why just a lot you know there's a lot of different uh things happening um and even though we're good now there know, there's a lot of different things happening. And even though we're good now, there still has to be a level of respect from my side, knowing their family and their side. And but that was before him. Yeah, no, no. That's why I'm good over here. I got kids and I think for the sake of all of our kids and the future of what they're gonna be doing in life i think positive um i think just being positive about the whole situation in every aspect is the only way to go um whether we all never hug and say anything publicly right it needs to just be said that

respect i have to for the kids man and for and for when we're old and they're they're moving through and running the industry um they all should be able to to say what's up and continue to work and do what they do without it being any like friction or fake fake news out there you've been in the studio with a lot you've been in the studio with lil wayne chris brown snoop the game french montana tiger fat joe look i haven't been in the studio with Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, Snoop, The Game, French Montana, Tyga, Fat Joe, Lil' Kim. I haven't been in with Tyga. You've never been in with Tyga? I don't want to be. I'm just saying. No, I just

haven't. See? I tried not to go viral. You wasn't! I just don't want to be in the studio with Tyga. Tyga's cool. You said Tyga, and I'm like, nah.

I had to defend myself. So that didn't happen? With Tyga? Yeah. I don't remember. Maybe if Chris, I was in there with Chris, and Tyga was in there, probably. Come on, Rich. See, you starting foolishness.

I love Chris. No, I'm saying Tyga. We've already established. I love Chris. I said Tiger. We've already established that you love Chris. I don't not like Tiger. I don't. Then why you just let this

rock with it? Because I couldn't. See? I had to be petty. Okay. There's a splash of pettiness inside of like you know i'm saying yeah i know and i and i try to escape it but but it's i can't i just fucking can't okay so what happened at can this week nothing i've never been no i'm just saying what it's allegedly supposedly i know allegedly, supposedly, I know you heard the news that there was Tiger and Trav.

Oh, yeah. I seen that. You know what? What's crazy is that when I was watching it, I didn't have my glasses on, so I was like this, somewhere, like, trying to look at who was doing what. I couldn't see it. I couldn't really see it. You know what I'm saying? So I don't know who was what.

But I heard that it was all false and it was two other people fighting. Okay. I don't know. I can live with that. But, you know, I don't really care. You know what I'm saying? For that whole situation. Okay.

So now we're going to take... But it's all love. ...tie God to the group. But it's all love. All love. From over here. Yeah. Yeah.

You know what I'm saying? Just got my wall. You got your wall up? It's all love all love from over here yeah yeah you know i'm saying i just got my wall you got your wall up it's all good man everybody can be peaceful and show love and be respectful when everybody sees each other right and then that's it so it seems to appears to me that where you are in your life now that this ray j is a lot different than the 20 that the 16 year old Ray J, the 25 year old Ray J, even a 35 year old Ray J. Absolutely. The 35 year old Ray J was a mess, too. And the 30 was these are good messes, though, because every mess led me to make adjustments. I needed the mess every time and I needed like reality shows right in order to watch myself because it's like watching plays you can just watch yourself just you know doing bad or good and

nobody needs to tell you that you were corny as fuck or weak or whack for what you did you could just watch it and then it's on you to learn it make adjustments continue to be better and then that's going to stick with you as you grow right but as you grow it'll it'll soon you know shave itself off if you are naturally in your new self if someone would have told you that you behaved in the manner you behave and you didn't see yourself on television, would you have believed them? I probably would have turned up even more. Right away. Because, you know,

you're coming from a place of mostly everybody has this figure in the industry, this big boss that is going to tell you when to tone it down or you get fired or you can't write i ain't had that we've been blackballed since the beginning we've been blackballed in this industry since probably the beginning of it all and and still have these certain elements of of a of a a disconnection right i wouldn't call it a black ball. I will call my balls black,

but yeah, I wouldn't call it a black ball, just a disconnection. And so you connect with another source that continues to help you live and be successful and be financially strong in areas that nobody else can get to. So then you are pretty much unfadable as long as you respect, love, be humble, be kind, and treat people good. You can't lose. What song is Ray J most proud of?

I hit it first. No, I'm just playing. Man, there you see. Ray J, why you do this? I'm just playing Man there you see Ray J why you do this I was just like No you were just People gonna say I know I know

I'm sorry you Look to everybody watching I'm not gonna let y'all down No no no Still think of me As you died Before I said that I was just joking

Everybody gotta have A good time y'all It had to But don't We were doing so well i know and that's what i'm saying like if i'm hanging out at the house yeah i'm gonna throw a couple in because we having a good time right i'm gonna throw a couple jokes and just but it it doesn't register like that i'm actually not cool when i hit it first today it's not okay hitting it last

is always the best right because that's right you want to now you want the first man to walk on the moon you're the last man walking you do want to be the last man because the last man can tell you where we going in the future nah i was first footprint there yeah who was first um we moving on we done i'm saying neil armstrong yeah for the moon yeah yeah so it's like whoever's up there now was building the condos and all kind of shit up there. But I told you it was safe to go up there. You would have known that had I not been there.

Okay. Shout out to Neil Armstrong, yes. But I've learned now, learning my lesson, and the classes that I had to take, being first is not okay. And it's not the best place to be.

I thought we were going to do it. We took a break. We had nights on a mission. It's not okay. So being later on is better. And again, I didn't mean nothing by that joke. It was really not really. It was distasteful and it was disgraceful.

And I want to apologize. I do. And so my favorite song for me, how dare I? I mean, fuck. It was just going. How about, like, One Wish? Donut went. He's been doing this the whole time back there.

I've been just killing it. Yes. I'm sorry. That's just one no more one wish wait a minute sexy can i uh i had seen and you already mentioned the other one but was it in the list yeah it was in the list because i knew you was gonna do that i wasn't i wasn't gonna say that you had to i was gonna just leave it off i'm sorry i'm sorry to all your fans, too, and everybody that's watching. My favorite record would be Melody.

And that's not on there. No. But it's about my daughter before she was born. Right. And for the 400,000 people in the world that we live in, and I appreciate you guys supporting and buying the album Radiation. That's on that album. And One Wish, of course course is like my most profitable song like it's a serious asset for me at this moment right now today yeah i mean it's the video

from the billions of streams on tiktok to the the millions of streams the billions of streams on pandora and the spotify streams and just it's a layer from title all of them you know when you really own your songs yes you can really like watch the success of it a lot of artists which is no problem they are independent now but the records that are big But the records that are big belong to someone. So, of course, you independent with me now. But what about then? Because that's, you know, that's where the real assets come in.

And so I want to thank everybody for supporting One Wish. I got a new Radiation classic remake album. It's like anniversary album on a new one wish for the classic just anniversary project I got Jacquees Tamar Braxton on the song we got neo on the project on what I need we got Keisha Cole on a song called hurt you Brandi's on the project DJ campers on the project it's a it's a really good R&B project that I think people will appreciate, along with this disgusting mixtape that I'm going to put out at the same time. Is it true that Shaq invested in your music career? Yeah. He gave us, I think, $1.5 million for Sexy Can I.

Wow. He gave us $1.5 million for the Sexy Can I project, which was an all-I-feel project. And Sexy Can I was the record to lead off. It sold 8 million copies. We recouped the number back for Shaq in, I don't know, five months, six months. And everything else has been profitable since. So shout out to Shaq. Thank you.

If you look at the Sexy Can I video, you see Shaq in the video. He's the one with the camera. He's going around. our video you see Shaq in the video right he's the one with the camera he's going around you know um I'm saying you know let me do things from the front and then a little bit of let me have a little bit of time on the back end and then um and he actually got the camera and did the rest in sexy Canada how did you convince Shaq Shaq is a very true businessman he owns a lot of ish How did you convince Shaq? Shaq is a very true businessman. He owns a lot of ish. Yeah. So how did you how did you convince him like, bro, this is a great a this is what I need.

I'm going to get you your money back. And but this is going to be a big project. How do you go? How does Ray J pitch Shaq? Not Shaq to Shaq, Shaq the businessman. Well, you know, and with Shaq, you know know you always have really smart people around you so Money Mark um who is Shaq's partner in this deal he's the one that told Shaq about this and this was actually the first deal for WAC 100 to ever even be in the game so this was his first introduction into the game as well from my end um so money mark whack 100 we had another partner and in Shaq and it was a hell of a deal and I'm again Anytime I ever do deals Like I didn't take the money from from Shaq You know the team did and they were able to make it work and structure it properly and then it was a success and he

Made his money back and he's still making money from it or somebody from the team because i know i'm still eating so yeah so um yeah so shout out to shaq shout out to money mark right what made you go independent with your music i had to nobody was fucking me i was out after wait a minute There was another record It was it was called formal invite so After Atlantic was wrong. They put a lot of money behind this second single but again For real had the vision for out the ghetto. Mm-hmm. That'shetto. That's where it all should have shifted.

It didn't, so it didn't register the same way Wait-A-Minute did, and then I was done. They were done with me. So what did you learn? Because you've been in this business for such a long time, what do you know now that you wish you would have known then the only thing that i would have wanted to know then that singing like r&b songs and expressing yourself musically and vocally, especially when you know how, is always the right thing to do.

All of your homies, all of your friends, all of the girls you want to be with, all of the rappers you want to think is cool, they're all going to embrace you when you put out great records, especially musically and vocally. Look at Chris Brown. Chris Brown's one of the edgiest artists out, but he still delivers great R&B or great pop music along with the diss song with Quavo. Quavo, you could be mad at me all you want, bro, and I still got love. But Chris, he, whoever was on the song, he just, he murdered the track. was on a song he just he murdered the track wrapped it right and so you have a chance to be that but you also have a chance to be great and dance and sing you know pop music and r&b music so that's the that's um that's the only thing that i would want to revisit in the past um and not try to be so cool. Have there anyone that you could have signed, you didn't sign, that you wish you

would have signed? There's people that I wish I didn't sign. I didn't ask you that! There's people that I wish I didn't sign because again, there's a lot of behind the scenes that we're a part of and big producers right and certain artists in certain moments and certain people have taken those moments and gotten really rich and then became animals in this game uncontrollable and really just bad people right a couple

ran and others flourished into being great right but there's a couple that have become like really bandits in the game and I think the game could have done without as far as their aggression and just their unprofessionalism and so there's a few people that I put on that lost it because again everybody makes money you get a year or two to be cocky and make mistakes and go fuck I didn't mean to be like that all these people I thought was cool fuck these people now I know that I know who I am right you get you got to give people a little bit of leg room to make a mistake right or two three then that's it um and so that's how I feel about it but um

yeah I lost my train of thought with the fires like I, I like it though. It's dope. I'm not, I'm not hot anymore. What happened to your RSVP group? It was you, Sammy, Pleasure P, Bobby Valentino. Man, I had so many dreams for us. Dreams. Pleasure P, Bobby Valentino, Sammy, all of us on that Versus. That was the highest Versus ever. But they won't credit us because of how disastrous it was. And I don't doubt them for that.

But I think with the group, it's just, again, I watched that movie. What was it? The Five Heartbeats? Yeah. And the nigga came in with the Rolls Royce and shit. Yo, you talk about four of those guys. Not me, because I'm just having a good time watching everybody be R&B. Because when you an R&B nigga, you smooth. You really, you know what I'm saying?

You really for the ladies. I was having a good time, but I think we just got caught up in the moment. And nobody was leading but i think we can try it again with this new project bobby valentino and i um outside of the group which we could still say is rsvp but they wasn't there so me and bobby valentino we got a great song that's called titty for me um it's a really good song um titty for me you couldn't come up with another title huh well because that bigger well because that that's never been like you know i want to be original every

time yeah yeah so that titty can you be too can you be too original yeah that titty for me and you go that titty for me that titty for me for me for me for me that titty for me, for me, for me, for me, that titty for me. It's a really good tune. Oh, interesting. And in its argument, the clean version is, she's pretty for me. She pretty to me. She pretty to me. You know, so that's there as well. There's a kind side along with the lit side. Just like Beyonce's country version. She got one that's nice. My kids was going crazy over that version in the pool. And then Princess played me the song later. I'm like, oh, shit. I can't play it.

Beyonce, right? So there's a ying to every ying. 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 Shea Shea profile and I'll see you there. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL daily with Greg Rosenthal five days a week.

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