Drink Champs - Episode 414 w/ DJ Charlie Chase

Episode Date: June 14, 2024

N.O.R.E. & DJ EFN are the Drink Champs. In this episode we chop it up with the legendary DJ Charlie Chase! A founding member of the Cold Crush Brothers, DJ Charlie Chase shares his journey in hip-hop.  During the 80’s Charlie Chase played a key role in establishing Latinos as a contributing force in the early hip-hop culture that was developing in The Bronx.  Charlie shares stories of being featured in the first hip-hop movie ever made, “Wild Style”, being inducted in the Technics DMC DJ Hall of Fame and much much more!  Lots of great stories that you don’t want to miss!! Make some noise for DJ Charlie Chase!!! 💐💐💐🏆🏆🏆   *Sign up for Underdog Fantasy HERE with promo code DRINKCHAMPS and get a $100 first deposit match: https://play.underdogfantasy.com/p-drink-champs *Subscribe to Patreon NOW for exclusive content, discount codes, M&G’s + more:  🏆* https://www.patreon.com/drinkchamps *Listen and subscribe at https://www.drinkchamps.com Follow Drink Champs: https://www.instagram.com/drinkchamps https://www.twitter.com/drinkchamps https://www.facebook.com/drinkchamps https://www.youtube.com/drinkchamps DJ EFN https://www.crazyhood.com https://www.instagram.com/whoscrazy https://www.twitter.com/djefn https://www.facebook.com/crazyhoodproductions N.O.R.E. https://www.instagram.com/therealnoreaga https://www.twitter.com/noreagaSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. down that day. On Medal of Honor, Stories of Courage, you'll hear about these heroes and what their stories tell us about the nature of bravery. Listen to Medal of Honor on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A lot of times big economic forces show up in our lives in small ways. Four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. Small but important ways. From tech billionaires to the bond market to, yeah, banana pudding. If it's happening in business, our new podcast is on it. I'm Max Chastain. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. So listen to everybody's business on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Why is a soap opera Western like Yellowstone so wildly successful? The American West with Dan Flores is the latest show from the Meat Eater Podcast Network. So join me starting Tuesday, May 6th, where we'll delve into stories of the West and come to understand how it helps inform the ways in which we experience the region today. Listen to the American West with Dan Flores on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We'll be right back. You know what I mean? In the most professional, unprofessional podcast. And your number one source for drunk facts. It's Drink Champs motherfucking podcast. Where every day is New Year's Eve.

It's time for Drink Champs. Drink up, motherfuckers. What it good, B-Homies? It's your boy, N-O-R-E. What up, it's DJ E-F-N. And this is motherfucking military. Yappy hour. Make some noise! Make some noise!

When me and EFN started this show, we always said we wanted to give to legends. People that came before us, people that was around us,

and this brother right here, in a lot of ways, if he didn't exist, I don't think EFN would exist. I don't think Nori would exist. I don't think this show would exist. He's kind of like Drink Champ's godfather. I don't even know if he knows this he's the man's man dj when i i tried to google how many times his name was said on our show and i think it got to be close to like 300 times uh people were just saying hip hop and when

it was invented, he was there. When they were playing disco records, it wasn't even considered hip hop at that time. I'm so excited for this interview to give this brother his flowers,

to make sure that he understands how important and how much of a legend he is. Because like I said, not only me and EFN probably wouldn't be here together as friends if it wasn't for him, but guess what, guys? Everyone around here

might not be here. No, not you. Especially not you. So in case you don't know who the fuck we talking about. Motherfucking dog! I want to get straight into it. I'm not even going to like

rip the bandaid off immediately. I'm a proud Latino. I am a proud Puerto Rican. I know you are. And I was watching you on the interviews. And by the way, leading up to this, everyone always, they always say, man, you got to get Charlie up here.

You got to have Charlie up here. But me, and this is a question, this is kind of pure curiosity. How the fuck did you do what you're doing? Because I was so

happy researching everything about you, but I guess what I'm trying to say is you're the originator. You are, you, you're the originator, but I'm asking you, like me and EFN, when started this show we had doubts and at some point you know we were like are we sure we're going to do this so what I'm asking you

right now is when hip hop was originally you got to see the first parties you got to be there was there any time that you had a doubt

that this music would go that far yeah I mean remember you got a big fuck listen yes okay that this music will go that far? Yeah, I mean... Remember, listen. People try to put a date on hip-hop when it started. It's not fair to do that. And I'll tell you why.

For example, hip-hop was a culture that was already beginning even before Kool Herc. When people were wearing the mark necks, the Kangol, the British walkers, the gazelles that wear all that, the graffiti on the denim, on the jackets. People were already doing that. The parties gave us a place to meet up where we are now. People of the community can actually see, see meet up see how we were how we were doing and right then and there

we'd see what you were wearing and you were like that and then the next thing you know that guy would go back so the culture was already bubbling up the parties was just a place for us it wasn't an excuse for us to get together so now we can so the culture was already happening so to put a date on it and to even call it

it wasn't even called hip-hop then. It wasn't called hip-hop. It was the jams, you know. The CNN was the people in the streets, the high schools. Yo, did you hear about this happening this weekend? Did you hear about Flash happening this weekend? Charlie Chase up in the Bronx at 118 Park. I mean, phone calls.

There was no beepers. There was no cell phones. Word of mouth, flyers. Word of mouth was on fire and think about this it happened it it happened the way it happened because it was brand new and every single day every minute of every single day and everything would be we did was brand new you know what that feeling is to wake up every day and it's like, yo, this is brand new. We didn't know what we were doing.

We didn't know we were building a culture. We didn't know we were creating an industry. It was just something that we were doing. You were just doing what you did. Right. Right. Now, to be fair, to say that I was there at the very, very beginning is not true. Okay.

Herc started in the 73. That's when they say- You started in 75. And as a disco DJ. Disco DJ. I was a disco DJ in 75. 75. I was with my crew, Tom and Jerry. Disco DJ. I was a disco DJ in 75. 75. I was with my crew, Tom and Jerry.

Tom and Jerry. I got that in my notes. Right. Relax. You're going too far. Okay, right. Okay, okay, go. So I started then into 76, and that's when I started dabbling because I always grew up

appreciating and liking R&B music. Right. And funk. And I was always, being a musician, I gravitated to it. I loved it. So I was always playing like the Blackbirds or really listening to all this WBLS.

At the time, it was the Total Black Experience in Sound. That was what they used to call themselves. And I was always tuned to WBLS. So I always listened to that music. I loved it. On top of my mother playing salsa, merengue, and all that stuff in the house. I was always submerged in music.

I learned actually to appreciate everything because growing up, there was a station in New York called WABC, 77 WABC, which is now a sports talk station. Back in the day, it was a music station that played everything. When I say everything,

everything. Everything. It was not music station that played everything. And when I say everything, everything. Everything. It was not like compartmentalized like today. You got R&B station, rocks. They literally played everything. Right. So I learned how to appreciate everything and all the different styles of music. And I grew up on that station. Right.

And my father was a musician, so there was always music in my house. Right. So that's how I got to to appreciate it all uh this morning i was researching but just doing more and more and more research and um you made me cry this morning i'm gonna tell you why you don't make me cry you made me cry but um i looked and you said you said you said because me i'm black and puerto rican right so when i hang with the black people they used to make fun of me for being with the I looked and you said, because me, I'm black and Puerto Rican, right? So when I hang with the black people, they used to make fun of me for being with the Latinos.

When I hang with the Latinos, they used to make fun of me for being with the black people. But I really couldn't choose a side. And you said something. You said, yo, when you used to play this music, these people used to come up to you and say, why are you playing this Jungle Bunny music? Like, I literally, like, I literally, my shit just was like, holy shit.

That's something that was hard for me. When I was, my wife is right there. My wife, is she? She right there. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. So my wife was right there.

And I looked and I was like, yo, his life is literally my, like, if you didn't have your life, I might not have had my life. So I looked. So is that, was that something that was hard to, like, balance? You know what I mean? Because there's no blueprint to what you did. Like, you are Fat Joe's blueprint. You are Big Pun's blueprint. You are my blueprint.

But you had no blueprint. Right. Right. You are Big Pun's blueprint You are my blueprint But you had no blueprint Right You know what I'm saying Right Well you know It's funny that you say that Because my business partner Eric When we went to New York

To see the The De La Calle premiere Uh huh And we saw your segment Okay But you just said to me I said to them It's like bro

I feel like You know we share The same parallels Like for real For real For real I said that Get the fuck up

You sit down! All right. I had said that to my business partner at the premiere. My other partner is not here. And I said, man, I can appreciate what he's going through because we basically went through the same thing.

You were telling your story. That's crazy. So to answer your question, right? I didn't give a fuck about what anybody thought. I really didn't. I'm glad. Now, to be honest with you, the people from my age weren't the ones who really bitch in the morning. It was a competition thing, and there was a lot of smack talking.

Right. It was the whole church. You know, and there were people snapping, a lot of smack talking, and that type of thing. But really, the people who were being prejudiced against me at the time- Was Puerto Ricans? Puerto Ricans and the black community because remember I told you it was all new

I was one of them guys that would keep a bill for people at one or two in the morning on the two day night when they had to go to work and they were hating my guts and calling me all kind of shit you know like cursing me out you little fucking Puerto Rican really all the animosity and all the hate like all the racism and stuff

came from the older people because I was really fucking up this. And they didn't understand it. And they didn't understand it. Right. They didn't get what was going on. I mean, to be honest with you, I didn't get what was going on,

but whatever it was, it was something inside of me that just made me keep doing it. Right. So to answer the question, I didn't give a shit what anybody thought. I liked what I was doing. I was feeling it. Plus, I was getting mad attention from the girlies. So to answer the question, I didn't give a shit what anybody thought. I liked what I was doing. I was feeling it.

Plus, I was getting mad attention from the girl. So I was like, yo, I'm going to stick with this for a minute. You know what I'm saying? That was the drive for you. Right, right, right, right. Man, I ain't going to lie to you, bro. I really appreciate you.

I want to tell you that. Thank you. Because a lot of people, you know, we say that to a person after it's gone or whatever but me researching you i was just like damn like it just kept going and just kept going and just kept going and so many people come on this sit in the same seat as you say and they like yo do you know about charlie chase and we're always like, of course, bro, we want to be on. But you're classed for signified, man.

And you're literally the reason why me and your friend is here. Because like I said, even me and your friend, like we didn't have, there was no podcast like us to give flowers to people, to tell people that, you know, prior to that. So when I'm looking and I'm just telling you, but let's talk about the moderate crew. What is it? Monterey. Monterey crew. The Monterey projects, right?

Right. It was a project that was around the corner from my house on 180th and Arthur Avenue. They were a bunch of young kids. I was always in the community center and we would play ping pong. There was a place I had in the winter where we couldn't play sports outside. You still don't know how to play ping pong?

Of course I do. I think I can bust your ass. Oh, you might. We can test that. I got the funky chicken. I got the dessert. We can test that. Be careful because this old man

can still kick a little ass. No, no, no. Look ahead. So you explain. But anyway, so the Monterey crew, they were always playing music. They had these little baby speakers and stuff like that. And I was always in and out of the community center.

And I was always, I was with one of the DJ's brother in a band, in a project band that we have playing instruments, right? So one day I was going to the back to play some ping pong. And I noticed that the main community room where they throw the parties and stuff was dark and I'm hearing music and I'm hearing this music that I'm familiar with and I'm like, wait a minute,

I know all this music like Jimmy Casta, the Blackbirds, all that's right. So I'm like, I'm looking through the glass and it's packed and it's a hot box in there and all I could see was one light, you know when you take the lampshade, you lift off the shade and one of those lamps was there? And I saw that.

I'm like, and then I saw a familiar face. So I walked in there, and I looked at him, and I'm like, yo, what's going on? And he's like, nah, man, we're just jamming out here. This is what we do. And I'm like, yo, I know these records. You know, they would play, like I said, Jimmy Castor, James Brown, you know, records like that. And this is pre-breaks. This is just they're playing the records. James Brown. You know, records like that. And this is pre-breaks.

This is just, they're playing the records. This is pre-breaks, right. So we were just like, just, they were just, actually the breaks

already existed. We just brought them up to speed. Remember, some of these breaks were created in the 60s. But nobody was looping the breaks.

Nobody was looping the breaks at that time. I didn't see them loop the breaks. Right, right, right. We're going to go to Flats and that stuff. Right, right, right.

So, when I went in there and I saw them doing it, I'm like, yo, man, I like this. I was already a disco DJ with Tom and Jerry. So I said, man, I know this music. I like this music. I love this music. And when I started picking their brain and I'm like, you know what? I want to try this. I want to start switching up because this

is why when I seen the crowd appreciating it and dancing to it, we were all young kids at the time. You know, to me, yo, this is this is cool. So that kind of kind of lit the flame for me to go in that direction, to start playing R&B and that kind of music and stuff and funk. Right. You know. So let me ask you, because when I research, right, it says that you got your name from chasing Grandmaster Flash.

Yeah. But online it says Grandmaster Flash came out in 78. Right. So how could that be if you came out in 75? No, Flash didn't come out in 78. Flash came out before that. Oh, okay. And he'll tell you that himself. I mean, I know he was on the show.

But Flash had perfected The quick mix The theory He perfected it in 76 he tells me 76 or so 75, 76 that's when he started doing it In 76 77 was when they started doing Everybody started catching up

So that's when I caught my eye on Flash. It was around 77. You went to battle with him, right? No, I didn't want to battle him because that was Flash. He was bigger than life at the time. He was like a superhero. Word.

You know, that was when he had that record, The Ground Mass, The Flash. And I was like, this motherfucker is cool. You know what I'm saying? So Flash, when I seen him doing what he was doing i said to myself yo i know some of these records that he's playing i'm like i can do this you know

and i saw what he was doing and i'm like i know i could do this you know so i went back and i started practicing and trying to get it and trying to get in on our final you were mimicking what you would see him doing what i was seeingicking what I was seeing. Flash, you know, they tell you, listen, they tell you Latinos created hip-hop, that's not true. No, absolutely right.

Were we there to help develop it in the evolution? Absolutely. Nobody can take that away from me. Hey! More of you black people

can clap, clap, clap. You can deny it as much as you want, but back in the Bronx, as much as people talk shit Latinos And the black community

We were like this Yes You understand We had each other's back We knew that we like Like where I'm at We knew we all we had We all we got

Right You understand And we were always close I always I always had black friends And I always had Latino friends And I was friends with everybody Right

You understand And there was a lot of Latinos That didn't come out that weren't obviously Afro Latinos. Right. Later on people realized, Oh, they're Latino.

Do you know how many friends I knew that I thought was straight up black and I found out I will go visit them and they told me, they were Spanish in your house and the house and I'm like, you're Spanish. You speak Spanish. You're like, Oh yeah, you didn't know.

No, I didn't know. You never told me He's like, oh, yeah, you didn't know? No, I didn't know, motherfucker. You never told me. Right, right, right. Yeah, so that was how. So Flash was the reason that I gave myself the name. So I'm like, what am I? You know, I came up with all kinds of stupid names.

Before that? Yeah, like, no. I didn't go public with it. This is me in my head. All right, but let's tell us. Tell us some of the names. DJ Snake. DJ.

That was EFN's name. Yeah, yeah, DJ. That's some funny names, man. Tell us some of their names. DJ Snake, DJ... That was EFN's name. Yeah, yeah, DJ... That's some funny names, man. I forgot some of them, but that was the most, right? And I'm saying to myself, damn, you know, if I'm going to do this, man,

I was driven. I always knew that whatever I put my head to, I would be good at. So I said to myself, I know that I'm going to be good at this, and I know that sooner or later... On Chase Flash.

I'm going to meet for Flash. I didn't know what to call myself. Now, there was a television show on TV at the time called The Chase and the way it started was there was a license plate. It said The Chase and the car would take off.

And when I saw that, that was when I said, that's Charlie Chase right there because I'm chasing Flash. Flash was ahead of me. I told Flash this. Flash said, I said, I'm chasing Grandmaster Flash.

I said, that's the name. And that's paying homage to him as well. Of course, man. You know, now, in that time,

once, once, you know, I got, Tony, Tony is the reason why I really was thrusted into that.

Right. Because I was, I was known in my neighborhood in the local blocks in my neighborhood. I was, I was the man. Right.

You understand? But nobody really knew who I was. I didn't actually get out until I met Tony Tone. He was the one that was already with Breakout. So he already knew everybody. He knew Bam, he knew Flash, you know, all these people.

And he introduced me to them. So that's how I was basically thrown into the pocket of that. But a lot of these people didn't even know I existed. But yet, in my neighborhood, hip-hop was, well, the culture was thriving. You know? So let me ask you, right?

I remember, you know, Pun was like my best friend, right? I met Pun. I loved Pun so much. But I remember him always being a little upset for a person saying, he's nice for a Latino. Chill, relax. But it's what we deal with, right? Some people will say, you know,

like, where's Diego? Diego was with me and we were Googling New York Ricans, right? New York Ricans, right. New York Ricans, right? New York Ricans, right. New York Ricans, right. And we all came up. I was like, oh, shit, I forgot I'm part of the community, right?

But let me get back to what I was trying to say. I remember Pun being disgusted that people would say, Pun, you're nice for a Puerto Rican. For a Puerto Rican. I got that shit a lot. Yeah, so I remember talking, yo, what the fuck this motherfucker?

Mm-hmm. And then I started to realize, holy shit, they're telling that about me. They're like, Nori's nice for a Puerto Rican. Yeah. Is that something that,

I know you just said it, but I want to ask it and reiterate it. You had to deal with this way longer than me. How did that feel, like hearing that? To be honest with you, it didn't affect me. You want to know why? Because I didn't know any better. I didn't know. I wasn't into, I didn't feel like it was a racist remark. I didn't

feel any of that because I didn't feel racism at that time. I didn't know I wasn't into I didn't feel like It was a racist remark I didn't feel any of that Because I didn't feel racism At that time I wasn't raised that way In order to think that way I didn't know What that was Or how severe I wasn't exposed

To the severity of racism Until much later So when I heard that I was like That's beautiful To me that was A freaking compliment It's like yo

That's coming from The black community Yo that's a compliment That's showing me That I'm doing something right. So I never really took offense to it. Never did. You know? But to tell you about Big Pun, I met him one time.

Get out of here. One time. Okay. I was playing at Jimmy's Bronx Cafe. God damn it. I can smell Jimmy's Bronx Cafe as you said it. It was a Tuesday night. And somebody says, yo, Pun is here.

And I'm like, oh, wait a minute. I said, yo, take over. I got to speak to him. I want to meet him. I see he's sitting down with one other cat, right? He's sitting at a table. He's eating. So I'm like, damn, I don't want to disturb him.

I said, but I'm not going to get another chance to talk to him. And I got to get back to what I'm doing. So I go over to him very politely. I said, excuse me, sir. I said, Pun, excuse me. And he's annoyed. Like, he got the look like what the fuck you are you know and I said I said listen I know we don't know each other I don't mean to

disturb you but I felt that I really needed to introduce myself to you I said my name is DJ Charlie Chase you know cold question he lost he lit up yeah of course he got up he got up yeah he threw his arms around me he hugged me me. He said, you don't understand. Thank you. He was thanking me, giving me all kind of accolades and stuff. And I said to him, I said, yo, I just wanted to come by and meet you and say, bro, that I'm proud of what you're doing, the way you represented us. And he turned to his man and he said, you hear this? He says he's proud of me.

Brother, you don't understand. I felt like I was dead. Like, I can see. That's dope. I can see where you're at. I can see where y'all at. Exactly. Went that way. We spoke for 15 minutes or so because I had to get back and we exchanged numbers.

Right. And I never got to see him again after that. But that was, that was, it felt good to hear that coming from somebody. At that point, he was already successful. Right. You understand? And to hear that from him, you know, to hear it from when you're when you start getting my age and you hear people giving you props, younger people who are successful. You say so.

That's that's that leads for me. That is a good impression. Makes me feel good because, damn, that's you. I still got a little gas in the tank. Right. That's legacy. Right. So it makes me feel good.

So Pun made me feel good when he said that, you know, and I really felt good meeting him. And I think his reaction was really was my reward. You know what I'm saying? It was my reward. Let me just tell you something. And I want to reiterate it. I said it earlier, but I'm going to say it again. Literally, if it wasn't for you and your relentlessness from what you did, I don't think Drink Champs would exist.

This is a real talk. This is real talk. I mean, this is he's one of the most stubborn persons I know. And I am, too, in a different way. But our love for each other is hip hop. Yeah. And if it wasn't for you and what you did, the legacy that you laid out

prior to us, this, you actually drink champs father, bro. Exactly. Our show, our show

is about giving people their flowers. Our show, and we want to give you your flowers face-to-face, man to man. Tell you how we feel thank you

thank you so much man this is dope and so let's talk about they're trying to rename the Puerto Rican Day Parade after you no no well I'm glad you brought that up because this year they called

I thought I was being punked at first. Okay, no. They called me up and said, listen, you know, we see the way, we know that you've been doing this. And the person, actually, the director now is a friend of mine

who I grew up with as kids. Oh, wow. We used to work youth corps in New York City together. Job corps or youth corps? Youth corps. Okay. Where you had the jobs and stuff.

Okay. And then Lillian Rodriguez, she's now the chairman of the group. So I've known Lillian for years. We grew up in the same clique, same friends, like family. Wow.

And she called me up and she said, Chase, you know, I know you for many years. I feel that you've never gotten your flowers. She says, I see you.

We'll get you your flowers first. Yeah. So she said, you know, you never got your flowers and she says, you've done so much. You've uplifted the Hispanic community so much that I just want to ask you if you would like to be the 2024 Puerto Rican Day Ambassador. Oh, that's incredible.

And then I said, stop fucking with me, Lillian. But she says, no, no, straight up. And I was like, are you for real? She said, yeah. I'm like, I was speechless. I always got something to say. And I was like, yeah. I said, yes, I'll do it.

You know, are you kidding me? I'm like, this comes full circle for me. As much as I've been representing my people. You're the ambassador of the 2024. So I'm the ambassador. Now, there's a few other honorees, like Lisa Lisa. Well, I can't speak and I shouldn't be speaking. Yeah, Lisa Lisa.

Blow it up. Blow it up. Blow it up. Blame her on the alcohol. She'll be the madrina. She's the madrina. She's madrina. Not madrina. Okay.

She's parade. There are a few other people. I'm not going to say because I'm going to let them allow them to speak. Oh, J-Lo coming out and shit like that? Oh, I don't know. I don't know about you. You're fucking with me. But yeah, so this year, I'm going to be there.

They're having this big banquet at the Plaza Hotel in all the honor. On Friday, Saturday, of course, it's 116th Street. We're going to be up there hanging out. Right. Spend it all. The parade is Sunday. And then I'm throwing, well, they're throwing me a big after party from the parade in my honor. And they invite them all kind of people, celebrities, all kind of stuff, man.

So for that, man. So if you're in town, man, you guys are more than welcome to come, bro. I'm coming just for you. Yeah, man. So that's a big honor for me. It's a huge honor. Huge honor. You know the acceptance that you feel coming from something like that?

I mean, the parade is, look, it's the biggest parade. Besides the West Indian parade in Brooklyn, that's the biggest parade. Bigger than the Thanksgiving parade. Bigger than the Thanksgiving Parade. Bigger than the St. Patrick's Day Parade. Bigger. Three million people in attendance. Five million people watching on TV.

Come on, man. How could you not? Honestly, you should have gotten this honor a long time ago. You know what? I've never been the type to feel like I would be mad because of something I didn't get. You ever see somebody who wins prizes and be like, damn, I only got $100. I should have got this. No, it's not me.

I'll be the hundred. Yo, thank you. You know, that's how I feel about it. It didn't get it before. That's cool. I'm not worried about what I didn't get. I'm really appreciative of what I'm getting while I'm still alive. I want to tell you a story real quick.

My father made me go to every Puerto Rican Day Parade, right? And by the way, my father was a foul guy. He made me sell beers, too. I was the little kid. Hey! You know the little kid? Back then, it wasn't foul to sell beers as a little kid. He taught you how to be awesome.

He taught me how to... Damn, all right, calm down. All right, so... A little voice back here. And his was crazy. Fat Joe always remembers. He taught me Damn alright calm down Alright So His little voice back And his was crazy Fat Joe always remembers He's like You know the first day

I met you Was at the Puerto Rican Day Parade And I had LA LA And Fat Joe Seen me And

No one Wanted me On they float No one They was like Who the fuck Is this guy Right And Fat Joe was like, who the fuck is this guy? Right.

And Fat Joe was like, you're Puerto Rican, right? I'm not kidding. He's like, get your ass up here. And he put me on the float. And for anybody, if you're Puerto Rican,

it's a beautiful thing. Even if you're not Puerto Rican, to see that energy of the city. They shut down Madison, what is it, Madison Avenue? Madison Avenue. Oh, Fifth Avenue. Oh, Fifth Avenue. Fifth Avenue is one of the city. They shut down Madison, what is it, Madison Avenue? Madison Avenue. Or Fifth Avenue.

Or Fifth Avenue. Fifth Avenue is one or the other. That's dope. I've been able to walk the parade. You walked the parade. When Pun passed away, I was working for Echo and Loud Music, and they asked my team down south

to come up there. They flew us out, and they had us walk the parade. Fat Joe, Ja, Remy was on the float, and they had us. Our team was passing out these pun towels, but they were playing 100% for the first time for everybody. Oh, 100%, okay. And the chills.

That's super Puerto Rican. The chills when that was playing. He had just passed away. It was crazy, man, but the parade was dope. I'm so honored that you're being honored. Because that's me being honored. Thank you. I'm sharing it with you.

I'm just going in. I'm so, I am so pro-Puerto Rican. I am so, I'm going to show you something real quick. I'm so. I like, you got your notes? You got notes over there? I got my little show of telpagas here. Yeah, let's do it.

Let's go. I'm so proud. I'm so proud that everywhere I've played on the entire planet, I've taken these with me. Now, this was a gift given to me by my boy, DJ Nonstop, who was the DJ for K7 and the Swing Kids. And then he was a DJ for DMX. He was DMX. I went to Chicago to DJ for the Rocksteady crew, and he gave me these as a gift. Wow. He gave me these as a gift right here, and I take them everywhere on the planet I rock.

Everywhere on the planet that I rock, these babies play with me, because I'm proud of my heritage. I'm proud of being Puerto Rican, and I show this to everybody. I don't have a problem with that, you know? The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration in the United States. Recipients have done the improbable, showing immense bravery and sacrifice in the name of something much bigger than themselves. This medal is for the men who went down that day. It's for the families of those who didn't make it. I'm J.R. Martinez. I'm a U.S. Army veteran myself, and I'm honored

to tell you the stories of these heroes on the new season of Medal of Honor, Stories of Courage from Pushkin Industries and iHeart Podcast. From Robert Blake, the first Black sailor to be awarded the medal, to Daniel Daly, one of only 19 people to have received the Medal of Honor twice. These are stories about people who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor, going above and beyond the call of duty. You'll hear about what they did, what it meant, and what their stories tell us about the nature of courage and sacrifice. Listen to Medal of Honor on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. With guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside

the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The American West with Dan Flores is the latest show from the Meat Eater Podcast Network, hosted by me, writer and historian Dan Flores, and brought to you by Velvet Buck. This podcast looks at a West available nowhere else. Each episode, I'll be diving into some of the lesser-known histories of the West. I'll then be joined in conversation by guests such as Western historian Dr. Randall Williams

and best-selling author and meat-eater founder Stephen Ranella. I'll correct my kids now and then. They'll say, when cave people were here. And I'll say, it seems like the Ice Age people that were here didn't have a real affinity for caves so join me starting tuesday may 6th where we'll delve into stories of the west and come to understand how it helps inform the ways in which we experience the region today listen to the american west with Dan Flores On the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts Or wherever you get your podcasts So let me ask you

My two closest Latino friends Is EFN and Fat Joe Right And they didn't like when I started reggaeton I saw that in the documentary But we had our reasons We had our reasons They had their reasons when I started reggaeton. I saw that in the documentary. But we had our reasons. We had our reasons.

No, no. They had their reasons. But me personally, I discovered reggaeton in Puerto Rico. I went to Puerto Rico and I was like, what the fuck is this shit? I thought it was,

I called it Latin reggae. So then I went to Club Roombas. Roombas used to be Club Fever. I remember that, yeah. Club Fever. Legendary John, yeah. Club Fever. Legendary John Goongi Rivera. I don't know. You're a promoter.

You probably don't even know me. So I'm going to go there. But let me ask you, because you're part of the original hip hop, right? Were you offended when you first heard reggaeton? Or was this something like... No. How did you feel? I want to ask you. I'm a lover of music.

To be honest with you, at first I thought it was reggae. Because it had that vibe to it. I felt it was Latinos trying to impersonate a patois in Spanish. Right. And I did it right, I felt. He did it right. Boom, boom, mami, mami, mami. I went to Puerto Rico early on too and I heard it over there and i was like i don't know about this guys you know say like

right because we were here trying to make sure we maintained our respect as latinos in hip-hop lyricism and all this stuff and then i'm hearing this and i'm like i don't know how this is going to play over here it sounds like latinos trying to do this you know patois and faking it but then here later on though after he did what he did which revolutionized everything and just moving forward now the evolution of reggaeton has gotten the genre has just they've really gotten creative and i have a total different respect for it but back then i wasn't respecting so what was your first i want to know yeah well at first i thought it was reggaeton right that's what i mean i'm sorry right and it was cool and i'm like and being that i had already heard el general it was like okay it's cool and it wasn't it didn't strike me as

anything new but i started noticing that it started sounding a little bit more it started creating a more cohesive sound of its own. Right. Right. Right. And I'm like, okay, I'm starting, I'm starting to notice it. It didn't bother me. I kind of enjoyed it

at first. What really bothered me more about it was more like the styles, the way they were just like, yo, get out of the 80s, yo.

It's like, yo, move up, you know. They were using the same, the same, what is it? Well,

the beats, yeah. To me, it always sounded like a jacked up murder show. same beats, same beats. Right.

But remember, when it came out also, it was much faster. Right. But remember, Reggaeton, when it came out, also was much faster. Right. It was a much faster tempo, so it was very danceable and stuff. And I enjoyed it. I really didn't, I wasn't hating on it or anything, you know? And then, of course, later on, you know, Reggaeton did like normal Puerto Ricans do when people criticize them. Fuck yo, we doing what we doing.

Yep. You know what I'm saying? But when I saw what you did and when I saw the documentary you were telling me what happened, I was like, whoa, that's crazy. And I didn't know that you were the, I mean, I remember the record.

I remember the song when you brought it, ooh, the equal amount in, all right? Yeah. But when I saw the documentary, I didn't realize that that was the song.

That was the game changer. That was the one that I put my own career on the line for my people. You did because, yo, we could be critical of ourselves. No doubt. It crossed it over here. Let me tell you something. I put my own career on the line for my people. You did because, yo, we could be critical of ourselves. No doubt.

It crossed it over here. Let me tell you something. I received so much slack from the black community. I'm being honest. And I'm black and Latino, so I'm going to say it straight up. Black people were looking like, well, stay Puerto Rican, motherfucker. Yeah. And I was like, I've been Puerto Rican my whole life. Like, why would you?

Why I got to stay Puerto Rican now? They're like, stick with rice and peas. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm like, I've been Puerto Rican my whole life. Like, why would you? Why I got to stay Puerto Rican now? They're like, stick with rice and peas. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm like, Jesus. I like jerk chicken, too. You want to fuck up? I do chicharron de pollo con hueso. You know what I mean?

So let me ask you a question, right? OK, because. Let's go. Growing up, like I had said earlier, there were blacks. There were people that were my black friends, right, who were Hispanic and they never told me. Did you ever feel that you needed like moments? And I'm not judging or anything, but did you ever feel like at some point, like sometimes you couldn't say, yeah, I'm Hispanic because you were afraid that if you expose yourself, they were going to look at you differently? My father was the Puerto Rican with the tail, 15,000 tattoos, earrings.

He wore Newports under his shit. He played handball all day. Like, he was the super, super Puerto Rican. Right, right, right. Like, he was, like, if you looked up Puerto Rican, my father's there like this. Right, right. You know what I mean?

So I, he installed to be the proudest Puerto Rican ever. And then my mother was kind of like the opposite. She was like Afrocentric. So it was just like, all right, cool. I couldn't choose. Right. Like, I called myself, it's a wrong word now to say it, but I called myself Nicarican my whole life.

I'm Nicarican. They're like, what's your race? Nicarican. They're like, motherfuckers are like, you're not supposed to say that. But I always been that. And then I met my brother, my brother's mother, my brother Cookie, not Mario, my older brother, who I didn't know in my childhood. And she was more Afrocentric than any black person in the world. She proved to me that she was Afro Latina. That's what you call it.

But she proved to me that Puerto Ricans are black and black people are, it's the same. Latino culture for the most part is African culture. Absolutely. The food, the music. Absolutely. I never denied that. You ever see people that get in an argument, like since I would get into an argument with my black friends, they're like, you're black. And I'm like, you're fucking right.

You know, what the fuck? I'm not arguing with you. I know my roots. You know, I know my roots. What the fuck? I mean, I look at it, you're fucking right. You know? What the fuck? I'm not arguing with you. I know my roots. You know? I know my roots. What the fuck? I mean, I look it, but I understand it. Culturally, culturally.

Yeah. So, yeah. But by the way, how dope is hip hop? Because, you know, hip hop is smart. Yeah. If you listen. I know there's some dumb motherfuckers out there. We ain't talking about the dumb motherfuckers we're talking about the smart motherfuckers but um yes i i liked what

you said earlier you was like yo i'm a proud puerto rican and one thing that i knew about being proud to be something that doesn't mean you anti anything else. Right. You could be pro-Puerto Rican without being anti anything. Absolutely. Right. Absolutely. I am pro-black, but I'm not anti-white.

Right. I'm pro-Puerto Rican, but I'm not anti-Cuban. Right. Well, sometimes you talk some shit. Sometimes, yeah. I'm married to a Cuban. What the fuck are you talking about? My kids are Cuban.

What are you talking about? My kids are Cuban. What are you talking about? But so what I'm trying to say is so many people will be offended sometimes. But again, let's just have a quick time with Slav. Let's do it. Before we go on this point, we always have to ask ourselves who benefits of the division. Because this is the thing that I always think about. Early hip hop was a mix you know it was it was everybody was there if you were living under those conditions that white people yeah no more white people i mean you could tell me i was from 180 north of little

italy was just three blocks away that's all this was just three blocks away so late so fast forward hip-hop becomes this humongous commodity this this money-making machine then it's picked up by the music industry which discards what doesn't make money musically the other stuff in hip-hop the important stuff in hip-hop and starts to make money off of it then all this division like who profits off of the division to say you're not a part of it you're not a part of it you didn't do this you didn't do that and that's what we should all think about at the end of the day. Because it's like what you were saying

when I was watching you in the interviews. You was going through the same thing that I was going through. There's people coming up to you saying, why are you playing this jungle music? What's it called, the jungle bunny music? Jungle bunny music. Yeah, jungle bunny music.

So I imagine you dealt with this way more than me and EFN. Yeah. And you dealt with it. Because than me and EFN. Yeah. And you dealt with it. Because nobody understood it. Yes. It wasn't what it is now. It was just something only that the young community knew about and understood. But imagine how dangerous.

The older generation wasn't accepting of it. But now you have this young generation that's uniting under this culture. How powerful has that become? And how scary to whatever powers that be. Not to get into conspiracy, but I'm just saying, you divide and conquer. You can monetize it.

You can divide these people and say you're not a part of it. The DJ's no longer important. The B-boy and the B-girls are no longer important. Graffiti's not a part of this. Only the rappers and all that different stuff.

This is a long thing we can get into, but it's something to think about. But that's not where the real danger comes. The division, you don't have to worry about the outside forces. It's the internal division. That's where the problem is. That's the dangerous stuff here.

And I always say, why? First of all, rich, real wealthy white millionaires, they ain't fighting and they ain't mad. So why do we have angry Puerto Rican and black millionaires? Why are y'all angry? You're millionaires. What do you got to be mad about? Right. And the other thing is that, you know, if, if, if you really want to make the change, why don't we talk about the real issues here instead of fighting each other and trying to create division within us. And I don't really engage in divisive conversations. I got, I'm not giving you a platform for you to

try to create more division. I mean, we got more important things like, for example, why didn't we coin the phrase hip-hop? Why are other people trying to register the name that we coined? Why didn't we do that? Why is it that we don't have more

Latino and black-owned businesses within the industry? Let's talk about that. You know what I'm saying? Why is it that we don't have more latino and black owned businesses within the industry right let's talk about that it's real you know what i'm saying uh why is it that we don't own hip-hop everybody else is trying to own hip-hop but i'll give you an example look at all these shows that are coming up they have the titles hip-hop in it they're only they only have the title hip-hop in it because they know that that's what's going to exactly that word is powerful right how many how many mcs that you see on shows right now when you see this show it's nothing but hip it ain't no it is not really hip-hop when you take away the turntables from the stage right right those are the real issues that we should be focusing on these are the things

that we need to come together with to help create more wealth wealth and more businesses for people we own that. That's our- And pride. We've sacrificed a lot for that. So why are we fighting against each other? I'm not with that, man. And I don't give it a platform.

I don't give it any credence. I don't, I stay away from all of that, man. You know how many times they try to, obviously people making negative comments. I'm like, I don't even respond. I'm like, you don't even exist, bro. Just, you know, move on. I want one of those Charlie Chase shirts. I'm glad you

said that. Size large. Can you get me the bag? Yeah, size large. Size large. Come on. I got you. I got you. I ain't gonna lie. That shit looks so good. And you got the Puerto Rican thing on the turn to my slip map. Yo! Yo! I'm sorry,

EFN. If he only has one I'm taking it No no no I actually I actually texted him And asked him You know I was like okay

Okay so we're going to play a game It's an on off show It's called Quick Time with Sly Can you explain the rules Like how Paul always explains you How we never explain it properly We're going to give you two choices This is our drinking game by the way Okay I've seen it Can you explain the rules like how Paul always explains you the rules? How we never explain it properly? We're going to give you two choices.

This is our drinking game, by the way. Okay, I've seen it. You're notorious with this. So you are as you know. You're notorious with this, man. You get two choices. You pick one. You don't drink. We don't drink.

I'm going to give you a second. You pick one. You don't drink. If you say both, you say you don't want to choose. You say both or neither. I see how y'all... Not y'all. How y'all flashed and sc to choose. Like, you say both or neither. I see how y'all. And we drink it. I see how y'all. Flash did Scram and Joe's up for pepper.

Oh, my God. You did him dirty. You did him dirty. At the end of the interview, he was redder than a balloon. Flash was enjoying it way too much. By the way, Scram was enjoying it, too. By the way. No, no.

I thought Scram was going to throw up. At the end, he did. But at the beginning, he loved it. Okay, so we're going to start. Okay, all right. You got the first one? By the way, I just want you to know, me and EFN do not make these questions. No, no.

It's the Dominican and the Colombian over there. We got the United Nations of... We have every race here, just so you know. But this is a fucking great question. I don't know which one of them came up with this one. Kool Herc or Grandmaster Flash? Any story you want to say. I'm going to give you an answer and I'm going to tell you why.

Okay, yes, please. Kool Herc. Okay. He saved my life one day. Physically. Physically saved my life. We need to hear it. All right.

We were having the 38th, 39th anniversary of the Cold Crush Brothers. Wow. We had it at downtown on Canal Street. The opening act was The Roots, and they weren't even known yet. They weren't known. The Roots, you said? The Roots. They were the opening act.

We didn't know them. I get there. Now, throughout the day, I was not feeling well. I was getting in these pains. So I get there. I'm on the stage. We're setting up the equipment. I'm feeling worse now. By this time're setting up the equipment I'm feeling worse now by this time

it's evening I'm feeling worse I saw Questlove behind me setting up you know we introduced ourselves and everything and I got I got really sick and I went to the back of the green room right and back there was DST, Kool Herc there were a lot I mean for our anniversary a lot of people showed up so they were the room was filled with a lot of celebrities and stuff, right? At this point, I'm on the sofa bent over in pain. I'm in pain, in pain. And DST says, what's wrong with him? And somebody said, I don't know, man, he's in pain right now. And Tone was like, yo, you think you're going to be able to go on? I said, I want to, but I can't. I'm just in too much pain. And DST says, yo, we need to rush him to the hospital. Herc threw me in his car, drove me lightning speed all the way up to the Bronx.

From Canal Street to the Bronx. Because I said I didn't want to go to this hospital in Manhattan. I wanted to be by my house. Okay. So he drove me all the way to Montefiore. Wow. He drops me off at the emergency room. I get there.

I'm bent over in pain. The doctor comes over and examines me. Appendicitis? What is it? 30 seconds later, we got to take him to the emergency room. It's his appendix. And it might rupture. They had to run me in.

After that, the doctor told me, you're lucky you're here. He says, maybe another hour or so, you wouldn't be talking to me. So, Herc. Respect to Herc for that. That's my brother, man're lucky you're here. He says, maybe another hour or so, you wouldn't be talking to me right now. So, Herc. Respect to Herc for that. That's my brother, man. He saved my life. Everybody else was concerned, no doubt. But Herc was like, fuck this.

He took action. He took action. He threw me in the car and he took me all the way up to the hospital. Let me ask you something because we had crazy legs up here. Uh-huh. And this is the first time I ever ever ever heard anybody say this crazy legs was kind of like herk wasn't the first person to play hip-hop well i don't know if he said to play hip-hop but he kind of like he says he says that party wasn't

necessarily the date which he kind of said in the, wasn't the date that started hip-hop necessarily. Right. And I thought I was going to receive 3,500 4 million calls. What the fuck? And I want to be honest, Charlie Chase, I didn't

get that one phone call. Right. Not one person said Crazy Legs is lying. Right. Yeah, nobody. Did you? No, no. This is our first time we've been talking about this, right?

No, no. I thought we was going to get all kinds of backlash. I thought I was going to be cruised. I thought we was going to be. And I think to be exact, he said the party as terms of the day and that there was other DJs around that time and before. He was doing what he was doing already. That's what he kind of more or less said. I definitely need your opinion on that.

Well, OK, it all depends. I guess everybody understood the context that Crazy Legs was putting it in. Right. OK, I can get that. I can kind of see where he's coming from for that, because there are questions. Not taking anything away from Herc, because he did what he did when he started and that's the point that everybody knows that everybody it's like it's like a record comes out everybody knows the popular version but nobody really heard the joint underground version right right so i wasn't there i don't know but i know people that were there my if i

wish my business partner was here because he knows he can speak to this when the gangs were fighting and bambada was the one who unified the gangs right together right he was playing music for them at the time he was he was already entertaining them doing this and this was pre pre uh uh cool herc right so i don't know but i think that's what maybe crazy legs might be referring to and i've heard these things so it's really hard that's why i said earlier it's really hard to put a start date on anything because the culture was always there so wait so i respect based on what you're saying so would it be that someone could could say bambada would have been that figure that we're giving to Kool Herc? It could have been.

It could have been. But I guess Crazy Legs would have to elaborate more on that. I can't really speak on it because I only hear things and I can't, without more information, I can't make an educational decision on that. You know what I mean? But it's an interesting point. It is. decision on that. You know what I mean? But it's an interesting point. And again, I mean, the culture was already bubbling up before people were already dressing

the way they were dressing and doing what they were doing. You can't take nothing away from Herc. Herc is Herc. He did what he did. Everybody, he had the Herculoid sound system. He was bigger than life. Herc, they called him Herc because he was bigger than life. When I met Herc, he was a big dude. You know, when I met Herc, he was a big dude. I mean, you know, you can't take anything away from Herc.

Absolutely not. But you can't take anything away from Bad Bada either. When was the last time you smoked a blunt? No, I don't know. It's been years. I'm fucking with you. I wanted to see if you were going to fall for it. It's been years.

Did you, I don't know if you were in the movie or have you watched Rebel Kings? I think I might have. I'm not sure. It sounds familiar. Okay. No, I just, I wanted to know if you did because I actually. No, if I didn't, I'm going to go back and watch it. Because I tell people, people ask me, you know, they want to know more about the history of hip hop.

And I feel like that doc, because it predates, it goes before hip hop. It's like I'm talking about the Bronx and New York in that era in the in the late 60s. And it goes slowly into hip. I wanted to see if you thought that was a good film to kind of like explain. I don't see it. I didn't even see that. No, it's a great movie. Rebel Rebel Rebel Kings.

Oh, I feel like you might have been in the Rumble Kings. Yes. Yes. I was at Rumble or Rumble. It's Rumble. Is it Rumble? Rumble Kings. Rumble Kings. I saw it and I don't remember it Rubble? Rubble, right? Rubble Kings, yes. Rubble Kings?

I saw it, and I don't remember a lot of it, man, because it was a while back. Because it talked about that funk band, I think. Right, through the gangs and that rights. Yes, yes, yes. Yeah, yeah. Okay, well, I mean, if you get a chance to watch it, hit me on the side and tell me. Yeah, this seems pretty accurate. I'm going to watch it.

So let me ask you, how much cocaine was involved back then? Oh, my God. I did it. That's not a watch it. So let me ask you, how much cocaine was involved back then? Oh, my God. I did it. That's not a quick time. You said cocaine or what? I personally did enough cocaine to kill tell elephants, man. You guys were hella coked up back then, bro. Bro, let me tell you.

And Diego walks in and just. Yo, I'm a cocaine friend right there all y'all that talk about cocaine look alright cocaine is a hell of a job everyone who did cocaine back then looks great now you got collagen in it

that shit is the healthiest cocaine ever my cocaine experience started and he hates when I say this, and he gets mad. DJ Breakout. Okay. DJ Breakout from the Funky Four. Yeah, Funky Four.

He was the one that gave me my first hit of cocaine at the Ecstasy Garage in the Bronx. At the Ecstasy Garage? The Ecstasy Garage? The Ecstasy Garage. Okay, I need to hear this story. Let's go. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So it was me. We were playing at the Ecstasy Garage. Did you have ecstasy too? No, no. Okay, yeah. So, it was me. We were playing at the Ecstasy Garage. Do you have Ecstasy, too? No, no. Okay, it's pretty good. I never dealt with that anyway. But, so, I go to the bathroom, right? And Tony Tone follows me because we got to go.

And Breakout was in there. And he was taking a hit of cocaine. And I was curious because I had already people seeing. I had seen them taking cocaine. And I was like, what does that do for you? Because it wasn't a bad thing at the time. And time was white lines okay i'm fucking up your story this is this is the time of what curtis blow came out with christmas rap man so i i was like i'm like how does it feel and he's like you never took it i said no he says here so i took a hit a bump right

and i didn't feel shit. So he says, here, take another one. And I still didn't feel shit. You better relax. Don't take another one. I go back to DJ. Yo, I was like, what the hell is going on? Tony told me, yo, slow down.

He says, slow down. He's like, you're not on beat. You're not on beat. Oh, slow down. He's like, you're not on beat. You're not on beat. Oh, my God. I'm trying to tell you. I break out in haste when I include him in the story, but it's the truth. He was the first one to give it to me. Now, fast forward, bro, growing up in the business, and people loved me, and they were doing it.

They were like, yo, you're the fucking shit. Pow, what else? You're the damn boom. You're the fucking shit and i never paid for it for years and years and years and years bro to the point where i was doing it like crazy bro yo i was good go hey yo but at one point it got really serious it was like now I wasn't ready. Yo, I was going. But at one point, it got really serious. It was like, now, it's like, now, now, I'm starting to buy it because now I'm feeling like I want to have it. It makes me feel good. And it got out of control for me, man.

It did. But fast forward, last September, 15 years clean. That's an accomplishment for me, bro. You did it on your own or you had to go through any kind of progress I had some accountability brothers that Were there and helped me out man if it wasn't for them I wouldn't have probably been able to make the journey But yeah 15 years now Clean haven't messed with it I still drink

You know but the funny thing with me Is that I always thought that the cocaine Was what started the drinking because I used to drink Mad Heineken's and it was the other way around. It was the Heineken's that were making me. So now, you know, I stopped the blow

and I just take a drink or two or whatever and I'm good, man. No more. Goddamn. Yeah. Yeah, but drugs were instrumental, bro.

In the 80s, right? The 80s were a blur. Yeah. The 80s were a blur, bro. I could barely get. Look, in Wildstar, who was it that, is it Busy B?, bro. Look, in Wildstar, who was it that is it Busy B? Yes,

in the movie. I was like, when I remember watching it, I was like, oh, he's, yeah. Wait, what happened? I forgot this part of the movie. When he goes back with the chicks right in the limo. In the room. Yeah, yeah. They're taking cocaine. They get high champagne. They're in the room. He's shipping his money to B.

Oh, it was crazy. That film, we could talk about that. We're going to get into that. Hold on. We'll get back to it. Hold on. Grandmaster Kaz or Almighty KG? Come on, man. Grandmaster Kaz, hands down.

Make some noise for Grandmaster Kaz. Besides, listen, I'm biased, man. That's my brother. Nobody has ever loved him. That's the word I've been trying to use all day. Right. I'm biased.

That's my brother. To me, he is the best that ever did it. Right. Think about this for a second. Kaz wrote, you know, he's the ghostwriter on Rapper's Delight. He wrote that when he was 16 years old. But he was unwittingly the ghostwriter. Right.

Right. He wrote that verse, all of Big Bang's, Hank's verse, I'm not breaking it. When he was 16, come on, he was a genius. Kaz is a genius. Kaz is, I think, the only MC that I've ever met that can flip the script on anything. You need something that's going to fit a white audience? He'll do it in all you do. Give him a second, a heartbeat.

I said, okay, Chase, let's go. Any crowd, anything, Kaz is the man. And I'm biased, but because, bro, I've dealt with greatness.

I've worked with Mel. I mean, we've heard this about Kaz. I've worked with Mo. I've worked with Mel. I've worked with Kaz. Yo, you know,

they're all three bad, but Kaz to me, man, that's my brother. And by the way, Kaz still smoke a lot of marijuana. Like he's

a broke stone. We had him right here. He kept rolling. Yeah, he's still rolling. He kept smoking. Boom. Okay, go ahead. You got the next one? 80s or 90s hip-hop? 90s because they had

the more jazzy flow. By then, it was established. They had that thing, you know, something more to grab. The 80s, when you hear the music, we were still finding our way. We were still trying to find our way. Record labels didn't even catch on until 83, 82 maybe. You know, we were signed to CBS Associated. Look at that.

We're damn near label mates. We started with CBS Radio for the podcast. Right. And we were the first hip-hop group they signed. And they didn't know how to market us. They didn't know how to promote us. They didn't know what the hell to do with us. That happened with us with CBS.

And then finally, when they got a handle, they shelved us and said, Okay, now that we got it right, let's bring in some new blood. But real quick, on that one, one saying the 90s you don't think the late 80s like if you were to be able to change the because i feel like the rock kim's and the krs is and the big daddy case to me so late 80s going into the early 90s to me would be that right when it comes to timelines i'm always this is yeah 50 years over 50 years of music but to me the timeline is always always get blurred but But yes, if you if you really look at it from

like Rakim on up. Yeah, that's when really things Rakim changed. He changed. He changed the game. And from there on. Yes.

You know, so I always consider that to me. It was always 90s because it still had that feel to it to me. Right. Yeah. Next one.

Run DMC or Treacherousous three the medal of honor is the highest military decoration in the united states recipients have done the improbable showing immense bravery and sacrifice in the name of something much bigger than themselves this medal is for the man who went down that day it's for the families of those who didn't make it. I'm J.R. Martinez. I'm a U.S. Army veteran myself, and I'm honored to tell you the stories of these heroes on the new season of Medal of Honor, Stories of Courage

from Pushkin Industries and iHeart Podcast. From Robert Blake, the first Black sailor to be awarded the medal, to Daniel Daly, one of only 19 people to have received the Medal of Honor twice. These are stories about people who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor, going above and beyond the call of duty. You'll hear about what they did, what it meant, and what their stories tell us about the nature of courage and sacrifice. Listen to Medal of Honor on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding.

But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Business Week editor Brad Stone,

sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The American West with Dan Flores is the latest show from the MeatEater Podcast Network, hosted by me, writer and historian Dan Flores, and brought to you by Velvet Buck. This podcast looks at a West available nowhere else. Each episode, I'll be diving into some of the lesser known histories of the West. I'll then be joined in conversation by guests such as Western historian, Dr. Randall Williams, and bestselling author and meat eater founder, Stephen Ranella. I'll correct my kids now and then where they'll say, when cave people were here. And I'll say, it seems like the Ice Age people that were here didn't have a real affinity for caves.

So join me starting Tuesday, May 6th, where we'll delve into stories of the West and come to understand how it helps inform the ways in which we experience the region today. Listen to the American West with Dan Flores on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Treacherous 3. And I'll tell you what, not because of my boys, not because they started with me, but the Treacherous 3 was a bad motherfucking group.

Not taking anything away from them, DMC. Have you, you've never seen them perform live? Who, Treacherous 3 MDMC. Have you, you've never seen them perform live? No. When I first saw the Treacherous 3 perform was at the Ecstasy Garage, right? The house was packed. You were definitely on cocaine. We were definitely on cocaine, right?

No doubt. They came on and they did super rapping, right? No, I mean, did super rapping. Right? No, I mean, not super rapping. The Church of Three. I forgot the name of the song. It was on the other side of Spoonie G's Love Rap. They had another one, something, something.

And they did that continuous back-to-back machine gun while I'm the super poppin' and they just kept going and going and going and going and going nonstop for almost eight minutes. I had never seen a group do that in my freaking life. Wow. They, they, the skill that those brothers have is incredible. They was cohesive.

They were together and they were on point, man. It's like run DMC. No, I ain't saying they have their own. Aren't you DMC DJ? You're DMC DJ right now. Who me?

No, DMC DJ. What do you mean? I thought you was DMC DJ. I told him when he goes on the road, he brings you.C DJ? You DMC DJ right now. Who, me? No. DMC DJ? What do you mean? I thought you was DMC DJ. I thought when he goes on the road, he brings you. The what?

DMC. Right. No. You don't DJ for him? No. No? Holy shit. Steve LaBelle told us a lot.

DMC? Do you mean DJ? DMC. From where's DMC? No, I know where DJ from. You're calling fucking Steve LaBelle. He lied to me.

He lied to me. They're from my friends, but I never DJ'd for them. Your coach fucking Steve LaBelle. He lied to me. He lied to me. They're from my friends, but I never DJ'd for them. Okay, okay, okay. Damn, man. He told me that earlier. Yeah. Now, I love Run DMC because they give us mad props. That's right.

They give us nothing but props and love. And DMC, when we had him on the show, he... I saw that. Yeah, yeah. He made me laugh, bro. He knew those old tapes. What, he thought he was a Hispanic? Yeah.

Yeah, that was wild. No knew. Those are the Hispanic. Yeah, a while. He was he was Dominican for how many? Two minutes. No, like two years. Yeah, you know, two years. I mean, he was Dominican. That goes to show you why none of that really matters at the end of the day. Yes. Okay.

Breakdancing or graffiti? Okay. Yes. Remember, you can say both or neither. This is a drinking game, just so you know. I know it is. You can take a shot. But you're giving me questions that I can answer. Absolutely.

You are. All right? That was great. Okay. Now, I love graffiti, but I never had the eye for the art. So sometimes I will see graffiti, and you got me doing this to try to figure out the way it's written, what it's saying or whatever. Although I love the colors, I love the way they structure everything, I was never able to really get into it because I always had a

hard time reading the graph. So b-boying was more into it because remember, Charlie Chase started as a b-boy DJ. You understand? When I finally got acclimated with the beats and stuff like that. Before you were part of Cold Crush, that's what you were doing. And when I was playing at 118 Park, the park

across the street from me, there were B-Boys. Always showing up and representing. So the B-Boy, man, that's a strong love in the heart, man. That makes sense. Go way back. I respect that. Say the next one. Red Alert or Kid Capri?

Okay. Two Bronx people. Yeah, I know. Now, remember, you're posing this question to somebody who has a- We're trying to get you to drink, Charlie. I know you are. I know you are. But you're talking to somebody who has an emotional attachment to some of these people that you're talking to.

I respect you. Red Alert. I know Red Alert. When he used to have a 19-inch red-ass afro like this. Before, he was a DJ, but he really wasn't known. He was part of, I think it was the Cosmic Force or Cosmic Crew, something like that. I've known him since then. He was always the brother that he is today.

Always loving, always welcoming. That's my brother, man. We still talk. We call each other, make sure we're good. It has to be Red Alert, man. Okay. Get to the next one. Jam Master Jay or Eric B?

That would have to be Jam Master Jay because Jam Master... Eric B, I met him maybe once or twice. We spoke poop. I mean, I never have anything bad to say about anything because they all show me so much love and respect. Right. Jam Master Jay, I have a bit of a connection to

because we worked on that album, The Godfathers of Threat, that we were on. And Chuck D was the producer. He brought us on. Jam Master Jay came to our house because Kaz and I were living together. We had an apartment downtown. He came to the house.

He sat down with us, spoke with us. He said, I got it. Well, we want to do this project. We want you to come in. I want to bring the cold question stuff. So we went and we did that project. We became friends. We were tight.

He told me about the whole thing the DM the Run DMC experience how we you know how we inspired them and all of that so you know I kind of and then after he passed away

that really kind of you know it may be morbid to say but it kind of reinforced that with me and him you know because I knew the brother man you know

yeah rest in peace to James B Street or Wild Style? Wild Style! No question! No question! Wild Style! No question! No question! I don't know that he's going to drink. Come on, man!

Yeah, he ain't drinking at all. You know what? Just for you, Norby. No, no, no. Hold it. You've got to get something. One of you. I guess that's a major rule.

Yeah, we're going to catch you at one point. If we don't drink anything, we'll have a shot at the end. Yeah, we'll have a shot at the end. Yeah, we'll have a shot at the end. LL Cool J or Big Daddy Kane? Can you text me racket address? Okay.

I love them both. Those are my brothers. Wait, who is it? But. LL or Kane? But Big Daddy Kane, you know, it's a joke between myself and Kane. I always call him the seventh cold crush brother. Because he tells me the story about how he used to escape from his house at night to come see us perform at Harlem

World when he was a young teenager he would come to to see us perform and he loved us and one time he escaped he got back home and his father was waiting for him beat the living shit out of him and I was like you kidding me like nah man he says I love y'all and he always he always loved having us around he always likes you know he always he asked me to perform with him one time and and and i mean that's daddy kane is down man i mean that's my brother man i know him for so for so long man you know you knew him before he had the cuts in this year yeah i knew when he was a young kid man i ain't gonna lie my father i met him when he was trying to cold chilling you know when he was a young guy my yeah i was cutting my yeah I was cutting my shit yeah I was cutting my shit

go ahead DJ Clue or Funk Flex Flex because I never met Clue okay I worked with me and Flex were DJing together

at WBLS yeah the next one's gonna be even easier and I love Clue that's my brother but DJ Funkmaster Flex

is the greatest radio DJ of all time I gotta say that and he reminds you of that too and I'm not dropping a record DJ, Funkmaster Flex is the greatest radio DJ of all time. I got to say that. And he reminds you of that, too. I'm not dropping a record. I don't need him to spin.

That's not what I'm doing this for. I'm doing this because this is the real. Like, I sincerely enjoy listening to Funkmaster Flex on the radio. I sincerely enjoy it. Shout out to Clue and Flex, man. And Clue. Clue's my brother. That's my brother. On the mixtape tip. I come from the mixtape world. What Clue did was revolutionize mixtapes. Clue and Flex, man. And Clue. Clue's my brother. That's my brother.

I come from the mixtape world. What Clue did was revolutionize mixtapes. Clue is fucking legendary. Come on. We know that. He helped me in my career. Fuck that. Clue, thank you too. WBLS or KISS FM? BLS because I worked at BLS. And I actually got to meet Frankie Crocker.

Frankie Crocker. As a matter of fact, when I started DJing at WBLS, Gonna Make You Sweat, Everybody Dance Now, came out. I had the first copy. I played it on the air. Nobody heard it.

And the freaking red phone went off. Frankie Crocker put me on. Lady B was on the air. She was the airperson from Philly. She said, yo, Frankie wants to talk to you. He says, yo, what is that record? Who is that record? And I told him, this is Zen.

He says, yo, we got to add this. So, you know, I got it. I was with BLS. You know what I mean, Frankie? Frankie Krocker's a legend, bro. The total black experience in sound. That's what I work with, man. Super legend.

All right. DJ Premier Pete Rock. Take a shot. sound that's what i work with man super legit all right dj premiere pete rock take a shot i'm gonna have to on that one you know what i can finally we finally got you i well i don't have to have a shot oh yeah that's your show right there i know jamie's on point i know jamie's on point so um cheers cheers oh wait wait god damn jesus cheers We must, goddamn Jesus. Cheers. Premier. The new Mama Juana. I met Premier through Guru. Wow.

Rest in peace, Guru, man. Rest in peace, Guru. Great dude, man. Guru and I were friends. And we were cool and we would hang out. I brought him to a couple of Cold Crush recording sessions. Wow, wow. He came and hung out with us. That's how I met Premier.

Premier, I met him. Listen, man, the thing about me and hip-hop, and the co-church to include, you got to include them. I have been to countries where I have never been to in my life, and as soon as I get off the plane, I have friends. Right. It's beautiful. You know what I'm saying?

Yeah, absolutely. And that has always been with the hip-hop community. Like all these guys, they always tell us, man, if it wasn't for you guys, you guys are inspired us. I get that from everybody. You throw a name at me and they probably said that to me. Right. Premier was that.

You know what I'm saying? But now, P-Rock, right? That's my man. So P-Rock and I have been friends for many, many, many, many years and never met until last summer. The fuck out of here. Over a decade. He and I have been friends talking on the phone, texting. We got him with us.

A social media. Yeah, he's going to be here. And we never met until last year when we did that thing for Flash. Wow. That's when we actually finally shook hands, embraced, talked, kind of chopped it up for a minute and went down with that. Thank you, man. What did you think about the Jay-Z line? I'm overcharging people for what they did to the cold crush.

Well, he undercharged the cold crush. You know what I'm saying? Why didn't we get a check? Why didn't we get work? You said, I didn't want any money. I want to work. Let me produce something for you, man. It is what it is.

I'm not going to get mad, but I was happy. But that line is so hard But I was happy We were mentioned By somebody like Jay-Z Nah that was huge You know what I'm saying Cause I'm not mad

Cause when we Interviewed Cass I felt like Cass didn't He was cool with it But he didn't really Love love it Right But then when I

Revisited that episode And I watched it I was like you know what I think he was Bigging y'all up What he was saying is If No he was We visited that episode and I watched it. I was like, you know what? I think he was bigging y'all up. What he was saying is if- No, he was. I think it was a big up. Yeah, it was a super big up.

He was using you guys as an example as to- As an example. Hip hop was underpaid at a certain time. He was definitely making a start. The labels were taking advantage and he's going to overcharge for what they did to hip hop back then, meaning using you guys. I took it just like that, although a lot of people try to twist it into oh he he needed to use a pioneer name to do this i didn't see it that way and the other positive side effect is that by mentioning

cold crush directly any young kid that's never heard the cold crush and is listening to the song is gonna now go in and do their googles yep and learn about cold crush and learn about hip hop history right it was only a plus for us. It was only because, you know, we never had hit records. You can't remember a record that was ever, because we didn't, but our show was so impressive, so

off the top, over the top, and crazy. It was memorable, man. People looked at us and we want to do that. Right. You know? You on TV Raps or Video Music Box? Video Music Box. I knew you was going to say that.

Of course. Yo, that's our group. Ralph McDaniels, wherever you at, we need you. Yeah, Ralph. Absolutely. We need you, Ralph. Uncle Ralph, of course, man. Uncle Ralph.

KRS-One or Rakim? Take a shot. Don't lead the witness. I can't lead the witness. I'm sorry. Excuse me. KRS-One or Rakim? Take a shot. Don't leave the witness. I can't leave the witness. I'm sorry. Excuse me. KS1 or Rakim? I love Rakim.

I love them both, so that's a hard one. Take a shot. Relax. But you're from the Bronx, so you're going to... No, no, no, no. That's a hard one for me

because I love Rakim's style. I met him. We immediately clicked. We friends, you know. And I like the teacher because, man, come on. He'll say things that you never thought about. The way he articulates things is crazy. The clarity he brings to things that you've always never thought about is incredible.

So, yeah, it's hard, man. So, you know, I got to get. You taking a shot? Yeah. Okay. Salute. Salute. By the way. I need a shot. I need, man. So, you know, I got to get... You taking a shot? Yeah. Okay. Salud. By the way... I need a shot.

I need a shot. Jamie got you. I spilled one by mistake. Oh, you spilled one? Oh, okay. You're trying to set yourself up. She's on point. She's doing her thing.

All right, cool. But let me just tell you... Hold on. I'm going to wait for it. Yeah, we're going to wait. All right. Let me tell you how good KRS-One is. He hurt my childhood.

What? The South Bronx. Why? The princess of a... And he's still my favorite rapper. How does that even... He spilled the shot. Okay.

Yeah. So, how does that even work? Like, he hurt my... He hurt me. Because you couldn't deny how great the music was. You couldn't deny how great he was. Listen, the KRS is such a powerful performer. We did.

Salud. Salud. Cheers. Cheers. Salud. We did the show called Old School Throwdown 3. Okay. Where the promoter was Tyrone Williams from Coachella Records.

Wow. Right? Okay. And they were pitting old groups that battled in the day and newer groups and created battles and it was the old school throwdown. Don't tell me Shan and...

And KRS-One. Right? That was part of the battle. Shan got new teeth. He out here looking good. Yo. He out here... What a bandit.

You got to go check out Shan talking about The Drake Hendrix No way It's the best Yo It's the best MC Shan is talking about

Drake and Kendrick He's on the social media Twitter graph And he going in Like I mean This is when it was all going down Yo He threw

And I was like Yes Shan I wanna watch And I reposted everything MC Shan I forgot to Because I stopped following Everybody at one point So I forgot I reposted everything. MC Shan, I forgot to, because I stopped following everybody at one point, so I forgot.

I got to re-follow MC Shan. I have to re-follow him. Yeah, so when we did that concert, the old school throwdown three, they had us battling the Furious, and then the Furious was battling another group or so, Shan with KRS-One and so forth, right? So KRS-One was the closer, right?

Everybody did their shows. The place, it was at Madison Square Garden in the Paramount. It was called the Paramount Theater at the time. I don't know what it is now. Whether the 6,000 seater. Yeah, yeah. It's the smaller version of the park.

Yes, go ahead. Capacity. Yes, yes. Shan did his thing. And when they announced KRS-One and he stepped on that, all he did was just step on the stage. He's such a showman, man.

I thought Madison Square Garden was going to come down like an earthquake. The people went bananas. The shaking, the clapping, the stomping. His stage presence, his level of MC. He'll give a speech. He's an LB boy on stage the way he just commands it. He didn't even say a word. Yeah.

And he just completely almost shut the whole thing down, man. He didn't even say a word. And he just completely almost shut the whole thing down, man. That's the power of KRS-One. We need KRS-One. We need him back. We need him back for sure. NWA or Wu-Tang Clan? Um... Okay.

You need to stop, man. You need to stop. He's not leading me. I'm not feeling this, man. He's not leading me. I'm not feeling this, man. I was leading you. He's not leading me because already, you're asking me questions that I can answer. Yeah, but I...

It would have to be Wu-Tang, and I'll tell you why. I love this. I know I met the Wu-Tang before they started making records through GZA. GZA used to be the genius when he was signed to cold chilling right right right tyrone williams had asked me to edit i used to do a lot of editing because i used to work for sleeping bag records and their editing because i was the manager doing the editing for them up there so tyrone knew this and he had asked me to edit a record called do me by the genius so i edited the record i met genius

he was mad cool you know he thanked me for working on his record and stuff like that so there was he know who you were yeah absolutely so we were at this place where they used to dupe records i mean uh dupe cassettes all over time square there was this building i forgot what it was it was around the corner from where Sleeping Bag and Cold Chilling used to be across the street right there around the corner. And I was picking up

some 8x10s because we had some 8x10 cold cuts. We had a show that night. And Wu-Tang, the whole clique was coming out the building. They were young.

They were together. The whole, all of them were there. Did they smell like dust? Huh? No, no, no, no, no. I felt like they smelled like angel dust.

That's what I'm saying. They say, yo, what's up? What's up, man? Huh? No, no, no, no, no. I feel like they smell like angel dust. That's what I'm saying. They say, yo, what's up? They say. What's up, man? We met, and he says, yo, yo, fellas, come here. You got to meet this guy. This is Charlie Chase, Mighty Cole, Chris Brothers, so and so. They were all like, yo, yo.

So it's got to be Wu-Tang, man. You know what I mean? If I met you, then yeah. Right, right. No, and absolutely, both are such great. Wu-Tang is ill, man. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.

Go to the next one, E. Biggie or Big L? Dude, I don't even want to ask that. Never met Big L. Rest in peace to both. Met Biggie, but this is an interesting story. I met Biggie

at the Rocksteady anniversary party when they used to have it downtown in Manhattan. Really? Back in the 90s. Biggie wasn't known. Biggie didn't have a deal. You know who introduced me? It was Biggie Smalls. It was Biggie Smalls. That's the C. KG wasn't known. Biggie didn't have a deal. You know who it was?

It was Biggie Smalls. It was Biggie Smalls. Just to see. KG from my group. KG, what? KG always had the thing of meeting everybody. He was that guy. He had a big personality.

They love the plus. He was the host at the Underground. Was it the Underground? Oh, Latin Quarter. Latin Quarter. Latin Quarter. That's what it was. 96th Street, Latin Quarter, or 50th Street?

50th Street. 50th Street, right? So he had Biggie with him. We were there. I was DJing for the Rocksteady anniversary. KGB, hey, what's up, Kio? I want to introduce you.

Here's a new up-and-coming artist. He's got a deal, or he's looking for a deal or something. His name is Biggie Smalls. I met him. He was a young kid. Young kid.

I'm like, yo, what's up? You know Yo man Respect and the whole shit That was the only time I ever got to meet him And he was personable He was cool He was mad cool

He was cool you know I mean Everybody has to be cool to you Everybody was cool to us You know They don't have to be But they were Now I'm going to ask this question

Was there ever anybody That you met That wasn't cool to you Because by the way We're going to Let's throw him under the bus. No. Right now. There was nobody that wasn't cool with us.

Now, if you're going to go back to the early days, we were all cool, but it was competitive. That's all it was. It was competitive. So you're saying Melly Mel wasn't cool? Melly Mel was my man. I was their DJ for a year. I was their DJ for almost a year. You know what I'm saying Yeah

Yeah You didn't Okay I posted something You gotta go on my page And look it up So here's the story behind that Let's go 78-79

Black Door Had broken up Flash And the MC The Furious Four Right Broke up Right

Which Flash talks about it Right They broke up They didn't want to go back. I used to live in an apartment on the first floor on the 180th and Arthur where you couldn't. I used to sell mixtapes out the window to all the community car

drivers, OJs. They all used to come knocking to buy my stuff. Okay, guys. Hold on. Hold on. Because a lot of people are not going to know what OJs is. Cab service. It's a cab service. Okay. Alright. Continue. And they always had the banging sound system. So anyway, you could come up to my window, knock, and I would open up like, what's up?

I met people, all kinds of stuff. One day, there was a knock on my window. It was Mr. Ness, who now is Scorpio. Right. Mr. Ness and Kid Creole. Now, I could be confused because, again, sometimes things are a blur. I'm sure it was Ness.

If not, it would have been Cowboy, but I think it was Ness. And Creole. Yo, man, I was surprised to see them knocking on my window. You know, like, I was pre-Cold Course. They weren't even together yet. We weren't even. Wait, you guys weren't together yet? What?

No, we weren't together yet. This was in between 77. Cold Course didn't come together until 79, around 79, 80. And Flash has already left this is the group? Yeah. So, let me explain to you. See, this is where the timelines

start fucking up for me. Yeah, it fucks up. I'm not, again, I'm an old man. But I'm just... I don't know. This is your territory. Knock on the window. Yo, can we come in and talk with y'all?

Sure, come inside. Yo, man, we ain't with Flash no more. We left Flash. We left back door. We ain't going back. And I'm like, what the fuck? What happened? Ah, man, you know, there was some kind of controversy with the money, you know, and all kind of stuff.

They're like, so we didn't want Flash to get, they say Flash was getting more money. They were claiming that there was a deal between him and management. I don't know. There's always some kind of stuff. Money always comes in. Money fucks everything up. So I said, you're the only other DJ besides Theodore and Flash we know that can cut like that. Would you be our DJ? Now, I had a crew already.

You know, a young crew. What was the name of your crew? They didn't have a name. It was just Charlie Chase and... Was it Tom and Jerry? No. It was just your crew. It was't tom and jerry no okay no no it was just it was just your crew it was after tom and jerry by the way what's the name tom and jerry yeah yeah yeah and they talk about grand wizard theodore who's what they were saying the other person was right and you know was a little kid you know he was a young kid you know so um the medal of honor is the highest military decoration in the united states recipients have done the improbable showing immense bravery and sacrifice in the name States. Recipients have done the improbable,

showing immense bravery and sacrifice in the name of something much bigger than themselves. This medal is for the men who went down that day. It's for the families of those who didn't make it. I'm J.R. Martinez. I'm a U.S. Army veteran myself, and I'm honored to tell you the stories of these heroes on the new season of Medal of Honor Stories of Courage from Pushkin Industries and iHeart Podcast. From Robert Blake,

the first black sailor to be awarded the medal, to Daniel Daly, one of only 19 people to have received the Medal of Honor twice. These are stories about people who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor, going above and beyond the call of duty. You'll hear about what they did, what it meant, and what their stories tell us about the nature of courage and sacrifice. Listen to Medal of Honor on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action.

And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing.

So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The American West with Dan Flores is the latest show from the MeatEater Podcast Network, hosted by me, writer and historian Dan Flores, and brought to you by Velvet Buck. This podcast looks at a West available nowhere else. Each episode, I'll be diving into some of the lesser-known histories of the West. I'll then be joined in conversation by guests such as Western historian Dr. Randall Williams and best-selling author and meat-eater founder Stephen Ranella. I'll correct my kids now and then where they'll say, when cave people were here.

And I'll say, it seems like the Ice Age people that were here didn't have a real affinity for caves. So join me starting Tuesday, May 6th, where we'll delve into stories of the West and come to understand how it helps inform the ways in which we experience the region today. Listen to The American West with Dan Flores on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So they said, would you be our DJ? And I said, hell yeah, fuck it, let's do it, you know? So there's a tape.

If you go on my page, well, I tell the story, the story behind the story, and you hear me cutting up with Mel Ryman, and Mel and Raheem Ryman on there, right? So for about the next six months or so, we were together. We were DJing, doing what we could, popping up in parks. When I was with them, now, going back to Tony Tone, Tony Tone and I have many accomplishments together.

Me and Tony, from what I see, Tony Tone and I were really the first black Puerto Rican duo to do anything, to come together. We were the ones who threw the very first ever- That was the first black Puerto Rican duo to do anything, to come together. We were the ones who threw the very first ever... That was the first drink champs. Yeah, I guess. The Coke champ.

The Coke champ? No, no, no. I wasn't ready. I'm joking because Tony never got high. Tony was always healthy. So we threw the very first MC convention ever. One of the MCs in my crew had the idea.

His name was RC. He says, yo, why don't we do this? I'm like, yo, that's a fucking genius idea. Let's do it. So me and Tony, we got it together. We threw it at the Webster 183rd PAL up in the Bronx. That was the first convention ever. So that day, the Furious That was the first convention ever. So that day,

the Furious Four was supposed, no, actually it was the Furious Five because now during the breakup was when Raheem left the Funky Four and came into the Furious Five thus changing the name from the Four to the Furious Five. So now they're the Furious Five. They were supposed

to host. This can get very confusing. Furious Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten. Yeah, yeah. So now they're the Furious 5. They were supposed to host... This can get very confusing. Furious 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Yeah, yeah. So they were supposed to host the battle and it was broad capacity. A lot of people showed up for this thing. And the Casanovas showed up and they had a talk with them and told them, yo,

y'all got to come back. And they were like, yo, we going back. And they went back and I wasn't mad about it. And then like a few months later or so, you know, 79, 80, something like that, was then when we formed the Cold Crystal. So you did a couple gigs with them or were you DJing? Like for almost eight months or so. We never did any paid gigs. But we were always jamming.

Right. Right. Because I guess, remember at the time, they had brought in Raheemim i guess they were still trying to get acclimated get situated and stuff they weren't doing shows like they were doing afterward like when when they got back together was when they started doing the bigger shows back then we were just jamming they weren't really doing anything big except for high schools and stuff like that you understand yeah so yeah so we would jam out go in the parks like when you see hear the tape that was enforced projects up in the bronx you know that's the only

recorded that's crazy that's not widely known though no it's not but the tape is the proof you'll hear meli mel saying my name i'm cutting uh to be real by lynn uh uh uh uh cheryl lynn i'm cutting that. You know, and that happened. And that adds to your legend, bro. Yeah, man. So that,

you have to be furious, 5. That's dope. Okay. God damn it. Go ahead. Hit the next one. Let's see where we at here. Scarface or Ice Cube?

I like Ice Cube. I don't have to say Ice Cube. You know why? He reminds me so much of the Cold Crest with their hardness. Really? I don't give a fuckness. And, you know, it's like, we doing what we doing and fuck y'all.

You know, and that was with the Cold Crest. I don't have to say Ice Cube. All right. Beatnuts or Cypress Hill? Beatnuts, man. I love Cypress Hill, but those Beatnuts are my boys, man. You know, those are my boys, bro.

Shout out to Psycho Les who was rocking with me. They performed up at the Hard Rock in Tampa about a couple of months ago. We were hanging out. So, big pun or cool G rap? Ooh, that's a hard one.

That's going to be a tough one. Relax, man. I don't want to take a shot. So just take your shot, but don't leave the witness. I don't want to take that. Okay. You said cool G rap and who now? Big pun. Big pun.

Big pun. I'm not going to pick between those two. I got to take a shot. I got love for both of them, man. You know what I'm saying, bro? Hold on. You just give an empty shot. I got love for both of them, man. You know what I'm saying, bro? Hold on. You just give an empty shot. They can look at you.

Come on. No, he got it. No, I got it. I got it. I'm watching you, Charlie. Damn. Even drunk, he can see that. Yeah, I'm watching.

All right, Emil. Come on. You guys, these fucking, you guys are assholes for these. Well, to the average, to the person, you know. Fat Joe or Pitbull? I'm definitely not asking that. Fat Joe. I don't know Pitbull.

Really? I don't know. Yeah, I could have told you that. These guys, come on. We could have had Pitbull come here. Yo, Pitbull would have came here. Pitbull would have came. And he would have showed a lot of love.

By himself, super rich, and super Latino. Yeah. I'm not taking anything away from Pitbull. I mean, listen, he's made a lot of accomplishments, bro. He's in his own way, in his own right, man. He's done a lot of things, man. And I've seen him from his early, early, humble beginnings. Yeah, and I've seen the way he started and where he ended up now.

He's international. He's on TV. He's got major moves, man. He literally didn't let the game change him. No. He literally didn't. Like, I mean, He literally didn't let the game change him. No, he's the same person. He literally didn't. I mean, even me, I let the game change me. Of course, at one point, I got fucked up.

You know what I mean? It happened. And then I came back to reality. What do you describe? What changes? Give an example of that. You're not realizing that this game does not belong to you. It's the world's game.

And at one point, when you platinum, you think that this is all about you. Right. And it's actually not. You're the fucking flavor of the month. Remember this, bro. Nobody's bigger than hip hop. Nobody's bigger than hip hop. Nobody's bigger than hip hop. But that's the problem. The artists think they're bigger than hip hop. No, no, bro. Nobody's bigger than hip hop. Nobody's bigger than hip hop. Nobody's bigger than hip hop.

But that's the problem. The artists think they're bigger than hip hop. No, no, no. No, no, no. That is the problem. That's the problem. But what's the solution is when you find that out. Right.

The solution is you find that out and you say, you know what? Because it just happens, like, you know, being in front of the public's eye sometimes, you don't realize that you're the seventh guy or the 100th guy. And there's going to be 100 guys after you that is going to put in that same position. And that shit is heartbreaking. Like I always say, it's hard to be the man on Monday and not wake up and be the man on Wednesday.

But that wouldn't be a hip-hop problem. That would be a celebrity problem. That would be a fame problem. I can't actually pinpoint any other problem. I can pinpoint hip-hop. I could see when I met a young MC. If I could see it, I know you could see it. And they're so humble.

Yeah, they're just happy to be there. And then next year, they won't even walk over and say hi to you. No. They won't even give you a fucking five because they're the guy at that moment. And what they don't understand is we've been the guy for 30 years. 20 years ago. So every fucking party

that you've been to, I've kind of been there already. Yeah, I get it. Everything that you kind of did, you're my OG, but I've been looking at these young boys. You're jaded. You're a bit jaded. These young whippersnappers and they're like,

yo, man. Dude, what did you say to me? What did you say to me? Like, I was platinum in 1998. You platinum or trying to go platinum

in 2024. I've had my party. And by the way, it was awesome. But listen. Fantastic. Those are my bad to cut you too, though. But those are the accolades I think that have gone wrong for hip-hop because because in late 80s early 90s i can only speak for my generational perception right um or point of

view better said yep the artists i was listening to they were paying homage to the founders and the pioneers therefore the listener and us coming up with like, these are our heroes. I didn't grow up on Code Crush necessarily. I didn't grow up on Grandmaster Flash, but I felt like I did because the artists that I grew up to were saying, this is why we're here. Therefore, this is why you're here listening to us and being a part of this culture. So this is why we're here. And so it made me dig in the crates sort of say and so to me the the accolades of selling platinum or gold didn't matter it was who impacted the culture more and who are the forefathers and the foundational people that is that weighs way more than how many records you sold you know saying what I'm saying? Absolutely right. Like, Crazy Legs, who doesn't sell any records,

was way more of a bigger figure in hip-hop than this artist that went platinum, in a sense. Absolutely. And that's where I think we lost our way. No. Because we don't do that anymore. We don't paint that picture. We started to equivalent success with accolades.

Like how you just said. You just said, you said, man, we didn't have hit records, but we had hits. Hits, stage shows. You tear that stage show up. So when we started to, like, look at it and say, all right, this is this, this is that, this is that. Because, let's just be clear Nas first album Illmatic

was not received yeah no like people are lying when they say oh shit Illmatic was Illmatic was a classic sales wise it wasn't sales wise-wise, it was. But culturally, that's the thing. Culturally, what it did was phenomenal. It changed the game. Now, my first album, War Report. I can't stand you motherfuckers telling me I had a classic, legendary first album. You motherfuckers did not go to the store. My shit did not sell. But you're right, because the audience was broke.

They lied to you. No, the audience was broke. The culture was broke. They lied to you. No, the audience was broke. The culture was broke. They had to bootleg your shit. You going to help them? Yes. But that's probably true. It can be true.

Like the mixtape because I come from the, I'm a mixtape DJ that was putting your songs on my mixtape. Right. I hate to tell you this now, but you didn't make a dime off of me putting it on my mixtape. This is what I'm saying. But somehow we got here. Yes.

So I'm telling you, that shit hurt me. Like when people say this now, they'll be like, yo, the War Report got me through some shit. I've been looking at you like, you bootlegged my shit. You ain't buying my album.

I'm sorry. I made it personal. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Let me get the fuck out of here. You know what? Wildstyle falls under that category. Wildstyle,

it was a hundred, listen, a hundred thousand dollar budget movie. Wow. But that movie was, everybody tries to say Russell didn't, I'm not taking nothing away from Russell. Anything away from Russell. But Wildstyle was the movie that showed everybody how this was done because everybody that was in the movie that did what they, that acted, actually did what they did in real life. Even the stick up kid in the movie

was a real stick-up kid from the Bronx. I'm going to have to stand up and tell you, Charlie Chase, you guys didn't act very well. It was a documentary. You suck. You guys were,

it was a documentary. I looked and I said, I don't think they're really acting. I think this is just a documentary. But that was acting. They were being dumb. Do you know how awkward it was to stand up

against Theodore like this and say, Charlie Chase, as cute as can be. Come on, man. Yeah, it was to stand up against Theodore like this and say, Charlie J, it's cute as can be. Come on, man. It was funny. It was a classic, but you guys did not act it out. But it was a cult hit, and that movie took us all over the world, and that was the movie that introduced hip hop to the entire planet.

Right. Because when the Wild Style first hit that we were on it, and the first stop we made was Japan, dude, it was like a nuclear explosion we were there a week everybody saw what was going on the first week by the time we left there were already people out there dressing and guys trying to break dance and all kind of stuff right yeah i mean listen let me let me show you the power of hip-hop let's show us let me explain a story lost our tour never been there first time we're all touring, right? We needed translators to walk around with. So I'm walking around with

this translator and there's this Japanese kid with a boombox. And he recognized me, I guess, because we were doing a lot of TV and a lot of press and stuff. So he recognized me and he runs up and he's talking Japanese. I don't understand it, but the translator's telling me, oh, he knows who you are. He says he loves the cold crush. And I'm like, how do you know about the cold crush?

And he says, and he told the guy, he says, he hits play on it. He had a boombox. He hits play, and he's playing a cold crush tape. What fucked my head up was that this guy didn't speak a lick of English, but he's reciting all the cold crush lyrics in English. That's crazy. That was the power of hip hop. That was the power of Wild Style. It's the fucking North, yo.

You know what I'm saying? That movie is... Yeah, it was all what you said, but yo, it was... I want to circle back to Wild Style when we finish Quick Time. Kid Frost or Mellow Man Ace? This is Latino racism.

I just wanted to let you know that It's Latino racism right here Why is it Latino racism? You're trying to cause a division man You're causing division man Just take a shot Met both of them And they both had their successes

And both of them want to come together To drink champs FYI I'm saying it right here on the show Both want to come together Kid Frost ands. FYI, I'm saying it right here on the show. I didn't know that. Both want to come together. Kid Frost and Mellow Mayonnaise. I would like that. On Drink Champs. Yeah, I'd have to take a shot for that because they're both my boys, man.

Goddamn. Goddamn. Salud. Okay. Salud. Salud. My God. This is some reggaeton shit.

You got it? Okay. I got to do it. You got to do it, man. You hate reggaeton. I don't hate it now. This is some reggaeton shit. You got it? Okay. I got to do it. You got to do it, man. You hate reggaeton. I don't hate it now. This is Nori. He got to have something in his reggaeton pocket.

Tego's the man. Tego or Don Omar? Don Omar's the man, too. Damn, I love Don Omar, but I met Tego. I met Tego down to earth, brother. I met him at Lehman High School in the Bronx. I was there. When Tego was to earth, brother. I met him at Lehman High School in the Bronx. Sal Abatello. I was there. When Tego was there?

I think so. I met me and Tego, Squash Star Beef, at Lehman High School. Oh, he wasn't performing. He wasn't performing. I don't know. Was Kevin Lyle there? Was there a Def Jam thing? Def Jam was there, yes.

Run DMC was there. Run DMC was there. Run DMC was there. I was in the same place. Okay, continue. One of them was there. I met Tego there. We got to chopping up for a minute. We spoke. Man, cool dude, man. You know, he didn't know who I was in the same place. Okay, continue. One of them was there. I met Devo there. We got the chopper for a minute.

We spoke. Man, cool dude, man. You know, he didn't know who I was, but, you know, he was so. He doesn't know who he is sometimes. He didn't know who I was. And I wasn't there trying to explain it to him. I told him, you know, I'm so-and-so from a group and everything. He didn't know me.

I was cool with that. I'm like, yo, I like your music. I appreciate you, man, and all that. And he was like, he wasn't like so stuck up. He was mad cool. You know what I'm like, yo, I like your music. I appreciate you, man, and all that. And he was like, he wasn't like so stuck up. He was mad cool. You know what I'm saying? I never met Don Omar, but I like Don Omar's music. So I would have to go with Don Omar.

Oh, damn. You just did this whole Tego Cardero. You just made us take a shot for no reason? No, we didn't take a shot. No, we didn't take a shot. We didn't take a shot. I took a shot, motherfucker. No, Pobre Diabla, bro.

We took a shot for the other one. I took a shot. Can't promise him that one. Okay, okay, four. Pobre Diabla. Yo, listen to the lyrics of that record, bro. Don't know Marzel. But let me ask you, Tego Calderon, I feel like he's more of an MC than a reggaeton artist.

Yes, yes. I do, too. I think he's more of a hip-hop artist. I believe that he's a victim of his circumstances, meaning he had to do certain things. Because that's the other thing. When I went to Puerto Rico, I went to Puerto Rico in 2000, right? Before we had, before what he did and everything came over. And a lot of those reggaeton artists were regular Spanish MCs. That's what they were.

That couldn't really make inroads in hip hop. Look what they started. When they started. What's your man name? The producer? Echo. Echo. Yeah, Echo's the man. Look at when they started. What's your man name? The producer? Echo. Echo, yeah. Echo's the man, yeah.

Look at when they started. I mean, those were the influences. It was emceeing. Yeah. Then it evolved into what? Like, these guys want Tony Touch mixtapes, you know, and all that. That's a question I want to ask you. And I know we still have time.

Tony Touch. Oh, no, it's not a question. Let me ask you. At what point did it become the MC? Because the DJ was the motherfucking man, right? Still the motherfucking man. All right. I knew he was going to ask that.

And rightfully so. We love y'all. We love y'all. As an MC. But when did it become MC coming to the forefront? Because it was DJing. Okay. No one wanted to be an MC.

And that's absolutely accurate. It was all about the DJ. Uh-huh. What made it the MC was when MC started evolving from just making announcements and just throwing little nursery rhymes here and there.

To promote the DJ. To promote the DJ. Was the DJ Hollywood? Not, well, when i was hollywood from what i understand he was already djing when i started okay you know but he i wasn't around those parties or didn't go to those parties okay but um the tmc evolved into something more he but cas and i'm gonna go back to cas cas was one of the instrumental people who was so gifted that he was telling they call slick rick theeller, and Kaz is the original storyteller.

Listen, I know about rhymes that you ain't never heard that Kaz has said when he was a kid. And Kaz, his mind, he's a genius, bro. Kaz had started helping. Helping, I wouldn't say he's the first one, but I witnessed with my own eyes that evolution when I started seeing people like Kaz get on the mic and started grabbing people's attention with his art, with his skill. You know, and the skill was what catapulted the MC in front of the DJ. You know, because remember, it was just starting with the DJ. It was all mechanical with the bullshit equipment that we had. We were doing what we were doing and we were making a great job of it. It was close to it.

It was hand-me-down stereo equipment. Yeah, it was belt drive turntables. Right, terrible. Belt drive. If you were able to cut on belt drives, you were a good DJ. Those were my first turntables. You know what belt drive is. So that was when it happened. You know, the DJ needed a... I was shy.

I was never a microphone person so i needed a mouthpiece you know and i was and you know my first mc was cisco kid from beach street and so you know that was that was what started it i needed a mouthpiece every dj needed a mouthpiece and then when they were seeing other djs bring their skill up then that's when it started evolving and then they they came to the floor for now because people wanted to hear what they wanted to say. Yeah, and remember, DJ is the backbone because

without the DJ starting the party, you don't get an MC, you don't get B-Boys and B-Girls dancing on the dance floor. Right. DJs were the ones that perpetuated the beginning of everything. Then the MCs came and started wearing spikes and it was like, yeah. Guilty as charged. It was wearing spikes. And it was like, yeah. Uh-huh.

Guilty as charged. Guilty as charged. Shout out to Big Drain, who was my MC, my first MC. Drain was an artist? No, when I was DJing, he was the guy on the microphone in the beginning. Him and Weird Thoughts. Paul. I keep forgetting.

I keep forgetting your original name was Weird Darts. And then every time we do Underdog Fantasy, I remember that he is Weird Darts. Illmatic or Reasonable Doubt? I'm not going to lie. I'm not familiar with any of them too much. Illmatic is Nas' first album, and Reasonable Doubt is Jay-Z's first album.

You want me to be honest with you? I haven't heard the album. So he's saying neither or we're drinking? Yeah, we're drinking. We should. I wouldn't hear. He's saying Nas.

I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to lie. Thank you, James. You don't want. Salud. Salud. Salud. Salud.

Okay. Just for the record, I answered a lot of these questions. You did and we're almost done. We're almost done. Maybe you don't drink. Damn, I'm not. King of New York. What do you do? Is like sit all week and come up with these questions. You did, and we're almost done. We're almost done. Maybe you don't drink. Damn, I'm hungry. King of New York?

What do you do? Sit all week and come up with these questions? Yeah. They literally fart these out right before you get here. King of New York or New Jack City? New Jack City. King of New York was with Denzel? No, it wasn't.

No, no, no. I'm thinking American Gangster. That's what I'm thinking of. What's his name? New Jack City. Okay. New Jack City. Right?

Walker? Right Jack City. Okay. New Jack City. Right? Walker? Right, right, right. All right. I got to do this one. Go ahead. The fever or Latin quarters? Fever, brother. I grew up in the fever, man.

I grew up. Yo, that's what we everybody. I like how your face just lit up. And I feel like there was cocaine there for sure. Did you see his face just now? I was literally in a fever with you right now. The Fever was the place to go to. Think about this.

Picture this. A lot of cocaine? A lot of cocaine. Definitely a lot of cocaine. But we got to tell everybody, cocaine wasn't crazy back then. It was a fashion drug. If you had cocaine, you had status. An energy drink.

You just called it that. Energy drink. I just called it that. I just caught that. I've never heard this reference before. It wasn't even illegal yet. I'm sorry. I forgot the question. What was it?

The fever. Picture this. You got Run DMC, Houdini, Cold Crush, Treacherous 3, Furious 5, Curtis Blow, sometimes Russell Simmons. After they did what we did at the night, at the end of the night,

I didn't go as often as Kaz and JDL did, but I go, everybody would go there. That's where everybody would go and meet and drink and talk about war stories of the night or whatever. The Fever was a place to meet girls and hang out. And that was the atmosphere. You know how many celebrities... Quick story.

Ronald Isley was at the Fever one day, right? I'm up against the wall. If you know anything about the Fever, as soon as you walk in, there was a photo booth right there in the front, right? So I was up against the wall there just chilling and and i and i go like this and i'm like there's a cat with a baseball hat like this covering his eyes right he's like this you can't see he's covering his eyes but you you you ronald eyes he got that face you cannot mistaken i said ronald and he looked up and goes Shh I said

Stop that brother This is the fever Everybody here is a celebrity Stop that He was telling me to be quiet Everybody here is a celebrity Yeah I said chill

Yo everybody is a celebrity They're not going to be on you like that You know And he was like He wasn't having it but True story We used to have celebrities like that That came to the fever bro

Yes And the fever turned into Roomb you talking about in treatment avenue the original fever was on 167 in jerome he just oh yeah to kill my childhood come on bro i know when he had a d.a he was an italian with a d.a bro with the open shirt and the necklace and all that right yo my childhood, you know. I did not know that. I did not know. June Bar goes to DJ. Wow.

What was his? Oh, I forgot the other guy's name. They had some dope DJs there. Okay, you ready? Yeah. Bat Boys or the Beastie Boys? Beastie Boys. Okay.

I like the Beastie Boys. You know why? Because I'm a rock head. I love rock music. And when they came out and they were doing what they were doing, I ate it like Froot Loops, bro. I just ate the whole thing up, man. No!

Sleep! And when I met them, they went crazy. They went crazy. Wasn't there a synergy? And Kaz, we talked about Kaz and Flash with rock and hip hop at the time because they were both these counterculture. Punk rock. Right, punk rock specifically. With CBGBs, right? We talked about with Kaz and Flash with rock and hip hop at the time because they were both these counterculture. Punk rock.

Right. Punk rock specifically. With CBGBs, right? CBGBs. There was Dazzle Tyria downtown. Right. Yeah. Holy shit.

And this is the last one for Quick Time with Slime to be getting direct to the interview. Loyalty or respect? Respect. On you. Respect. Because I've met people that I've never met in my life but have showed me more respect than a lot of motherfuckers who were loyal to me. Because what happens sometimes

and I've experienced this, people are loyal to you and after a while they become too familiar with you and they can be disrespectful. And then I gotta cut you off. Respect. I've met, people that I've met, people I've never seen in my life and they show me instant respect

for what I've done. They're kind, respectful. You know, they give me, it would have to be respect first. You ain't got to like me, but you're going to respect me. Jesus, that was so great. I'm going to the bathroom.

You always take it. I'm going to the bathroom. That's a a bath. I'm going to the bathroom. Bath and break. And I got to say hi to my friend, Dwayne. Happy to see you. My shirt. I'm going to give you your shirt. Yeah.

And if you ain't got one for EFN, don't feel bad. I got one for EFN. That is the foulest shit I've heard all day. Here you go right here, brother. This is you. Oh, you gave it to him first? Amen. This is Puerto Rican shit.

Amen. Let me show it to you first. Thank you so much, my brother. Yeah, please roll. Thank you, man. One of the two of us. All right. I didn't bring a whole lot.

We rolling. Yeah, we rolling. All right? That's the Colombian. I didn't bring a whole lot, so. We rolling. Yeah, we rolling. Yeah, we rolling, rolling, rolling. Thank you so much. The high laws. That's right. God damn it.

Let me see. I got it. I'm wearing this Wednesday with Common Sis and P-Rock. Hey, I was going to wear it. Don't take my style. Don't. That's Butler. You don't want to be killing it for one time? Let's do it.

One time? One time. Let's do it. All's do it. One time? One time? Let's do it. All right, cool. One time. What size you wear? Huh? No, no, that's not the way we roll.

I don't have 2X here. What is it? I got a 2X. I only got a, I only got a 10. Listen, guys, this is not a fitting session, guys. Charlie Chase, listen, Charlie Chase, your shirts are exclusive. You don't got to give it to everybody. You can save some.

Yeah, you're diluting the brand right now. Some of these guys are not worthy. I only got XL left. That's all I got. Yeah, yeah. Go to the gym. I will. Sean, Sean.

Can you just tell sports to go to the gym? Send it. the door! That's my nephew! You gave it to your old friend? Hold on, this is not fair. That's my nephew! That's my nephew! Never give us this goddamn shirt!

Give it to the twin! Give it to the twin right there! He can't fit that. He lives in Miami. You guys number. I got you. Come on. My nephew right there, he's a motivational

speaker. He has been on shows with Grant Cardone. Oh, that's my friend. What's up, dog? That's the man. Sean McMurray. Let's take a shot for him. Let's take a shot for him, man. Let's take a shot. You got a shot right there.

Yo, I'm going to be honest. I know I said it earlier, but I want to say it again. I want to thank you. As a man, as a person who has a career in hip-hop. In a lot of ways, when I researched you and I kept, I went into depth, depth. And they label you as the first Puerto Rican in hip-hop. And that shit is so honorable

because I always fight to say that Latinos was there in the beginning. Yeah. And I'm black too. Yeah. But sometimes I feel like they kind of try to erase that part of history

not they like a bunch of black people around that's not that but what I'm trying to say is it's become a thing it's become a thing can I add a little bit of clarity to that whenever they say I'm the first Puerto Rican in hip hop

I understand why they say I'm credited right there wereican in hip-hop, I can understand why they say I'm credited, right? There were other Puerto Ricans before me. You know, Kaz's partner, Disco Wiz, unfortunately, you know, he got sidetracked. He had to end his career early. He was there. He was Kaz's partner, but he was there before

I was. Oh, wow. You know, with Kaz, when he first started. Wow. Now, they credited me with being the first Puerto Rican DJ because I was the one who was blessed enough to have enough talent that I just shot out in front of everybody. You understand? I was the first one who took what I did and represented our people worldwide. Right. You understand?

I'm the first in that aspect. And as a DJ, which at that time would have catapulted you. And there were a few other DJs. were like young from the neighborhood like me you know and they were hispanic too but they just never got out they they didn't either for whatever reason it was they didn't get out in the forefront like i did but yeah i'll take credit in that aspect but to me to be here say that i'm the actual first no i can't say that right no no no i gotta give the credit where the credit's due right God damn Make some noise for that I know this is a cliche

Type of question And I know this It's gonna make sense But it might not make sense Did you ever think That hip hop would make it this far Yes or no I would like to hear you

At the very beginning When we were doing it And I knew something was there but I didn't know what it was except that I was just meeting a lot of chicks. You know what I'm saying? I didn't know. You know what was the turning point when I knew because remember I come from a family of musicians.

When Rappers The Light dropped I said this is where it's going. This is where it's going. I knew that it was going to be big because now it's on a record for the masses to hear. That's when I that it was going to be big because now it's on a record for the masses to hear. That's when I knew it was going to be big because I knew, listen, you had to be where I was in the neighborhoods, the way people were inspired. People were showing up by the hundreds at freaking schoolyards. Right. So two or three o'clock in the morning,

I was playing two or three o'clock in the morning out there, and they were hanging out with us. We were the superstars in the ghetto. Everywhere we walked, man, you know, we were the stars. I couldn't go to Fordham Road without people knowing who I was. You understand? Until when Rapper's Delight hit, that opened the door for Grandmaster Flash and them and Kumo T and them, and even opened up the doors for us in a sense, and everybody else that followed. So, yeah, I didn't know at first because I didn't see what was going on. I never thought about records, but when the record dropped...

And what year was that record dropped? Rap is All I Came Out in 79. Okay. So let me just ask, just, I know this is, what's that shit called? A question that you know the answer to? Rhetorical.

Rhetorical. You don't think hip hop invented in Queens a little bit? Oh, Queens gets massive credit. Are you kidding me, bro? Hell yeah, man. I don't think you heard his question, though. What did I miss? He said, do you not think that it got invented in Queens a little bit?

Invented? Not invented. Okay. Yeah, that's the part you didn't expect. That's why he... Yeah, yeah, yeah. The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration in the United States. Recipients have done the improbable, showing immense bravery and sacrifice in the name of something much bigger than themselves.

This medal is for the men who went down that day. It's for the families of those who didn't make it. I'm J.R. Martinez. I'm a U.S. Army veteran myself. And I'm honored to tell you the stories of these heroes on the new season of Medal of Honor Stories of Courage from Pushkin Industries and iHeart Podcast. From Robert Blake, the first black sailor to be awarded the medal, to Daniel Daly, one of only 19 people to have received the Medal of Honor twice. These are stories about people who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor, going above and beyond the call of duty.

You'll hear about what they did, what it meant, and what their stories tell us about the nature of courage and sacrifice. Listen to Medal of Honor on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek.

I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The American West with Dan Flores is the latest show from the Meat Eater Podcast Network, hosted by me, writer and historian Dan Flores, and brought to you by Velvet Buck. This podcast looks at a West available nowhere else. Each episode, I'll be diving into some of the lesser-known histories of the West. I'll then be joined in conversation by guests such as Western historian Dr. Randall Williams and best-selling author and meat-eater founder Stephen Ranella. I'll correct my kids now and then where they'll say when cave people were here. And I'll say, it seems like the Ice Age people that were here didn't have a real affinity for caves.

So join me starting Tuesday, May 6th, where we'll delve into stories of the West and come to understand how it helps inform the ways in which we experience the region today. Listen to The American West with Dan Flores on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I always credit Shan because Shan says hip hop started out, you know what I mean? He was saying what he saw in his neighborhood. He never, I don't think he ever said that it was... But did he mean Queensbridge Park, or did he mean he's just saying it started out in the park? That's for him. I don't know how much we talked about that.

You might be looking into it a little bit too deep because hip-hop did start in the parks. Right, no, but that's what I'm saying. Damn, you're right. No, I'm exactly pinpointing that. It could be any park. He could have just been exclaiming, it started out in the park. We all know it started out in the park.

But here's what I'm trying to say to you, E. I suppose the first time you ever heard of hip hop, it was in Kindle Sugarwood Park, right? Right. That's a real place, right? Yeah, that's a big part of CHP history. Yeah, so you were in Sugarwood Park. Damn, all right, Jesus, y'all calm down. Sugarwood? Y'all calm history. So you and Sugarwood. All right, Jesus. Y'all calm down.

Sugarwood. The first time you ever heard of, let's not say hip hop. Ace is great, right? The first time you ever heard of it was in Sugarwood Park. To you, that's a possibility that you think MC Shan thought that hip hop really did event in Queens? I don't think he thought that. I don't think so. Because it's too far along when he came into the game for him to think that.

But I don't think when he said that, he meant that it was started. No. I mean, it's a fact. It did start out in the park. You know what I'm saying right but i i i think it may have been a little bit embroiled with the whole shantay battle that you know that might have had something to do with what remember it was very competitive you know so if you're going to talk i'm going to talk you know what i'm saying so i don't i don't think i know shan i know shan personally you know

we're friends we love shan y'all he's crazy follow him on instagram it's crazy we we produce some records together yeah it's crazy because one thing i'm learning as as we get older in this right or or anybody as as as the culture gets older we try we tend to compact the history, right? And Shan, he came out, what, in the 80s? Yeah. Yes. 80s. And look how much, when he's talking about that he starts in 75, but how much happens from 75 to 79 that he's talked about that is game-changing.

True. We don't, we're never going to consider that as, you know what I'm saying? True. So that's why I think Shan knew what he was saying. True. But I like that they squashed it. Yeah. You grow up, man.

You know, I mean, listen, us and the Fantastic, you know anything about the battle? Did y'all ever throw down? Like, throw down, throw down. Nah, nah. I never got to that point. I feel like you was a stabberer. Oh. Like I was shagging somebody.

That's the stereotype. I feel like you were a stabberer. I feel like you stabbed somebodyer It's only a stereotype I never walked around With a knife You never had a shank on you? No, no A knife might be different

But not a knife Come on No, no But seriously Shan He's a creative mind But like what you were saying You ever hear him on

He's crazy But he speaks a lot of No, no He's ill You may think he's an old guy Off hear him on, he's crazy, but he speaks a lot of truth. No, no, he's not. He's ill. You may think he's an old guy off his rocker, but he's not. He's not.

He knows exactly what he's saying. It's what confuses you, but he's saying some real shit. I watched him all day. No, he said some real shit. I watched him all day. I might put your teeth back in so we can hear exactly what you're saying.

I was on the floor in tears crying when he got his new set of teeth. I was just like on the fly. Nah, Shannon's on point, man. He's on point. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's a deep thinker in a different way. Yeah.

You know what I'm saying? The thing with him is like, man, fuck y'all. This is what it is. You know, I can go fuck yourself, whatever. You know, it's just attitude and shit. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's steadfast. Have you ever been...

At one point for me, I just lost my love for hip-hop, right? It was just... I'm lying. I didn't lose my love. I lost... I lost what everyone was chasing. Everyone started to chase a certain dream that wasn't it.

Like, for me, you had to be nice. You had to be good at your craft. And that's what it is. And now it's just about sometimes chasing money. Don't get it twisted. I like some money. Right, of course. But then I also like my craft.

Right. Has there ever been a time where you felt like, fuck hip hop? Sometimes I feel like that now. I'll be honest with you because I love hip hop. Hip hop is my life. I mean, you know, I'm one of the, I helped create. You're foundational. Absolutely.

I'm part of the evolution. Right. You know, so it's really So it's really deep to me. And I see what you're saying. They don't take it as an art anymore. Now it's just a way to get a bag. Right. You know what I'm saying?

And you lose a lot when that's all that's on your mind. That's all you are. So I compare these people to like the Olympics. You got your marathon runners and you got your sprinters. Marathon runners continue for decades and decades and decades. Then you got these guys that are just sprinters. They might last a year, two, maybe three,

and then their career is gone. That's how that is with these guys. You understand what I'm saying? So, listen. Think about this for a second. There hasn't been a number one charting record on Billboard for almost two years now. Until right now with the Kendrick stuff.

Okay. So look how long it took. Based on negativity too. Right. That's crazy. That's truth and it's crazy. But think about that for a second. Hip hop was always commanding on the number one spot.

And all of a sudden it's not what changed. I think it was that people weren't respecting the art anymore. Now it's just a way to make money. Now, Chuck D and I had a conversation one day about this. Nice for us. And we came up to the conclusion. And it was this. There was a time when my time and a few other people's time, like your time, you had interest in something.

You studied it. You started practicing. You started practicing. people's time, like your time, you had interest in something, you studied it, you started practicing, you started practicing, you became brave enough to take it out to the public, to your family, to your friends. After that, you were brave enough to take it to the public. You did what you did. And then you were brave enough to take it to a record and do what you did. Now, you make a record and then you go back to trying to be an MC.

That's crazy. It sounds crazy, but it's a fact. You know? And that's where we're at right now. And it kills me because it's like,

I don't even want to produce hip hop records anymore. Now I'm looking more to doing stuff with movies and stuff like that. I'm actually right now producing a remake of

Agua Nila for Annalise Grace. She's a Latin Grammy-nominated artist. She's got an album coming out. And now I'm doing a remix for her for Agua Nila, which is coming out right before the Puerto Rican Day Parade. So I'm getting more into it. I've always liked different kinds of music anyway,

so it's natural for me to just switch up and do what I gotta do. Hey, I produce Latin freestyle. I had Trilogy, a group that was a hit for years. I wrote that. Latin Love You Make Me Hot.

I wrote that with seeing all the, the guy who wrote the lyrics. I wrote all the music. Amaretto, Clave Rocks, that was another big record. I was the producer.

I didn't get producer, I didn't get producer credit out of the only, gave me mixing credit, but truth be told, I was the producer. I didn't get producer credit on it. They only gave me mixing credit. But truth be told, I'm the reason why that record even exists. So it wasn't a problem for me to always switch gears and go another direction. But you're right, man. But you're right what you're saying.

What? That, you know, hip-hop right now, you feel a little jaded about it. It's like it's not the same. I do because I love this culture Like I love the I just told you K.R.S. One made Two of the worst records Of my childhood history

And he's still my favorite rapper Yeah Because I couldn't Because you know what he's about You know he's not phony Everybody's allowed to miss Not everybody's gonna have a hit Everybody's allowed a hit or two

That's just the nature of the game Right But in your heart You know where he comes from. You know where his heart is. So you respect that. And he's always going to be one of your favorites. And I respect that because you're seeing it for what it really is. Right.

For what it really is. Who's your favorite Puerto Rican artist? Puerto Rican artist? Yeah. Let's go racist right now. Okay. Let's go racist. I said nobody.

If I would have to pick a Puerto Rican artist, I'm going to be honest, it would be Marc Anthony. I was going Hector Lavoe. Right. Hector Lavoe is classy. I grew up on Hector,

but Marc Anthony's my friend. Oh, damn. All right. What about the I got to play this, man. Nobody wants to say I got to play this. You know what I noticed?

You guys don't have the percussion? I know. You're the DJ, bro. The percussion. I'm going to be honest. You know what I noticed? Your loyalty the DJ, bro. The percussion. I'm going to be honest. You know what I noticed? Your loyalty. Yes.

Yeah. You based your answers based upon who you knew, how your relationships is, and we've been doing this for eight years, right? No, no. Going on to nine years now.

Jesus. We are eight plus. We, no. Going on to nine years now. Jesus. We are eight plus. We old like that? We old like that? We old like that. We'll get you some rewind time. Just trying to get you.

It stays right here, Tom. You don't want to rewind time? I'm going to rewind my time. I'm just letting y'all know. I'm okay with my time. So that is fucking, how can I put this in a nice way? In the best, best way. That is fucking awesome because i mean that's how i am

i'm i'm loyal but some people tell me i'm loyal to a default has that ever been a problem for you like let me take some of these knives off my back yeah man no doubt you know people have taken advantage of my loyalty you know, I've helped people make money I've helped people get established And I've gotten I'm not going to mention names I'm not even going to get into it But

Yeah, you don't have to You know, yeah Of course, man But you know what it is? I'm I wouldn't say loyal I would say respectful to these people And I love them

You know why? Because I see where they come from With what they're doing You understand? They're true to this They like this They love them. You know why? Because I see where they come from and what they're doing. You understand? They're true to this. They like this. They respect the art, you know? And if you respect the art and you're giving it your all and you've got results, I gotta respect you. I gotta love you for that. I'm always

going to show loyalty to you for that, you know? Now, I can see that in you, man. I can see because I know he suffers from the same thing. Ain't nothing wrong with that. I suffer from the same thing. It's just like sometimes I don't say no, and I can't say no.

The reason why I seldomly go to New York is my number's the same. So the same bozo asshole motherfuckers call me, I still pick up. Right. And that's a flaw. Right. I'm an idiot. I'm not saying you're an idiot or you're an idiot,

but what I'm saying is Being loyal To people who's not loyal To their self To you Makes you Makes you Makes you Yeah

Do you regret That Or Would you do it all over again Like I love If I regret it If I regret it That's me holding that poison inside

So I choose not to regret it, that's me holding that poison inside. So I choose not to regret it because it's like, to me, I'll just take it as a learning experience and now I know for next time to see the signs and avoid it. I'm not going to lie to you. Yeah, at one point, I was mad like a motherfucker.

At hip hop or? At the people. People who did that to me. I was mad for a long time. Hurt. You know? And that was part of the reason why I was addicted to drugs for so long or cocaine for so long because that was the thing that was pacifying that hurt. But, you know, after years and years and years, I learned, hey, let it go, bro.

It ain't worth it. Right. It ain't worth it because at the end of the day, you're the one who loses. Not them. You know what I'm saying? What are you going to do? They're not going to change. They are what they are. They did what they did. You can't. Move on. Listen, I could be mad right now about a whole bunch of shit,

but I'm not. Right now, I've got too many positive people around me right now. I've got too many great things about to happen for me, man. I got to look forward. Fuck all that other shit. You have to. I want to go back on Legacy and we haven't touched much on Cold Crush.

Give us the beginnings of Cold Crush. How does this all evolve? How does this happen? Because this is such a monumental group for everything hip-hop. The Cold Crush was something that Tony Tone and I created. Now, let's go back. As a matter of fact, I got my flyers, my show and tell flyers, right?

Let's go. There were two or three versions of the cold crush before. Two other versions before the final version that you know now, the cold crush, right? And you're one of the founding members of the cold crush. Yes, me and Tony Tone created the cold crush. So, Tony Tone, I had met Tony Tone because one of the MCs which was RC and my crew went to South Bronx High School. Tony went

to South Bronx High School. RC told him about me, yo, this DJ is nice, this Puerto Rican is nice on the one and twos. Tony was looking to create a crew. Tony was with Breakout. So, he met, he told him, he told RC, yo, tell him I want to meet him. He said, sure. I said,

sure, bring him by. I met Tony Tone. We became friends. He got down with my crew for a little bit. I mean, I got flyers where he was DJing. He was, he was hanging out with us. So I always consider he got down with me because we were, we were close. This is Tony Tone is the godfather of my daughter. He was my best man at my first wedding. You know what I'm saying? That's my brother. You understand? Me and Tony Tone got mad roots and mad love together from the beginning.

So Tony Tone had this vision to create a crew. He came on with me and we were trying to work things out, you know, because he had ideas. I had ideas, but I already had a crew with MCs, right? So the crew that I had at the time with the MCs. I need to see the flyer. I'm showing you, these are copies. I'll show it to this camera or whatever you want to. Okay, this was to show you,

if you see the top of the flyer, right? It says Disco Tech Productions. That was the company that we had. Me, Tom, and Jerry had that company, Disco Tech Productions. Disco Tech Productions and Kevin Epps presents DJ Charlie Chase, DJ Tony Tone,

DJ... Look at the MCs. Read them. Mighty Mike, MCs, I almost read Doja Cat. Dotarock, Dotarock, MC T-E-Z-A-D, Dota Rock Dota Rock M-C-T-E-Z-A-D Whipper

Whipper Whip I feel like that's your cousin Also the L Brothers DJ's Mean Green Mean Gene I'm dyslexic That's Theodore's brother Cordio

Cordio Grand that's Theodore's brother. Dyslexic. That's Theodore's brother. Cordio? You're right. Cordio. DJ Cordio. Grandmaster Wizard Theodore, Robbie Robb, Kerry Kev, Busy B, Starsky at Noon. Right? Now, what I wanted you to realize was that the MCs that were down with me was Donna Rock and Whip-A-Whip. Right.

Wow. They were Fantastic Five. They were with me. They were with Kaz's MCs. They got a lot of MCs, left Kaz, and then somehow got hooked up with me. So Dot and Whip came with me. Now, this was pre-Cold Crush, right?

So then we decided that we were, Tony Tone and I, Tony Tone was the one who came up with the name The Cold Crush. And I remember when he walked to me and he said, I was at this pinball spot, We were, Tony Tone and I, Tony Tone was the one who came up with the name The Cold Crush. And I remember when he walked to me and he said, I was at this pinball spot across the street from ours. It was a winter. And he says, we were looking to create a crew.

He says, yo, he says, I got the name of the crew. I got the name that I want to name the crew. And there was a flyer with red lettering that says, this is cold crush product that was the advertisement on the flyer right what was that advertising so a show it was a show another by some other people i didn't know at the time they said another cold crush product he says i want to call it the cold crush crew you just jacked those guys man uh no it was all the they were expressing it was a Cold Crush product. It was a Cold Crush group. Okay.

So I said, I like that name. I said, but if we form this group, we're going to be like family. So we're going to call it the Cold Crush Brothers. And he said, I like that. We're rolling with that. So then at that time, you'll see here, you'll see, what does it say? Cold Crush here? It says Cold Crush somewhere.

I love that you got your notes. Right down at the very top. I'm in. Donald Rock and Whip-A-Whip are Cold Crush Brothers. Cold Crush Brothers. Charlie Chase, Tony Tone, Mikey Mike. November 30th. Cold Crush 4 MCs. Right.

T-Bone. T-Bone, right. Donna Rock. Right. Eazy-AD. Right. And Whipster. And Whip-A-Whip.

Whip-A-Whip. Right. To Breakout. And DJ Breakout. He was also performing that night, right? So that was the first version of the Cold Crush Brothers right there, right? Before that, this was me and the crew. This is before the Cold Crush.

This is just me before Tony Tone. These are copies. Yeah, he didn't bring the original. You're going to put liquor on them. I got goosebumps this whole time. This is me before Tony Tone came into the picture. Just me and these MCs that I have for him.

Now, if you know Cisco, Cisco was in the movie Beach Street. He was the MC that was rhyming when the female DJ was cutting. Right. Wanda Dee. That was Cisco who lived in the projects

right across the street from me. And he was my first MC and he was the one who put these flyers together. He was a flyer maker. Oh, wow. He was an artist. He went to Art and Design and he was my first MC and he was the one who put these flyers together. He was a flyer maker. Oh, wow. He was an artist. He went to art and design

and he was a supreme artist. Art and design, man. Okay. But by the way, I'm so sorry. I kept handing him back the flyers. I knew you wanted to look at the flyers.

So now... I apologize. I should have passed. I'm sorry. That was not good. This is dope, man. The fans are going to be like, you know what he's saying.

Nori didn't even pass. He didn't even fly. No, no, no. I can hear how he's mad. I are going to be like, yo, Norris, Norris didn't even pass. He didn't even fly. I'm going to say this. It's never been said before, but this is the honest truth. The reason the cold crush came to be was because I was always bellyaching about the MCs saying they weren't as good

as I wanted them to be. Tony Tone, my brother, was like, let's have an Tone My brother was like alright so let's have an audition And I'm like great Let's have an audition We had an audition at South Bronx High School Now mind you For years I was trying to get Cass to come on board You know and he was like nah I got a crew

I'm doing this and doing that and doing this So when we were having the auditions I'm like I gotta get Cass on this crew right So I said Cass doing this so when we were having the auditions I'm like I gotta get Kaz on this crew right so I said Kaz Tony Tone was the one that called them to come down to the audition right to come down and uh I said tell him that I need help picking out the MCs for my crew and he's the expert what I really wanted to do was you really I mean so I could reel him in right so we went down i picked ad was already down because he was tony's friend um kg was the one that we picked from the from the

audition because you know kg had that booming voice kaz and jdl show up right we picked that yeah we could we um kg we couldn't really find anybody else. So we had that. So I said, Kaz, now this is me and my scheming. I said, Kaz, do me a favor. Let's test out the MCs. Go on there on the mic. We got four mics. On South Bronx High School, let's test out the vibe to see how these guys can hang. Right?

They get up there and I'm like in the back. My fiendish plot is working, you know. They go and they MC and they're gelling. It's sounding really great. Cass comes back, right? So I said, so Cass, what do you think? I said, listen, man, that's when I pulled him into a corner. He said, he won't remember this, but all my children,

I will swear on a stack of Bibles, the conversation went this way. I said, Cass, I'm like, you know, I've been wanting you to get down for years now. I'm like, you see what I got? I said, I'm telling. I'm like, you know, I've been wanting you to get down for years now. I'm like, you see what I got? I said, I'm telling you, I have a vision. I am going to make, I know that if you get down, we are going to be the biggest shit to ever hit. What we're doing right now.

We are going to be bigger than anything. I said, all you have to do is agree to trust me. And he thought about that shit, right? He thought about it. And he said, I'll do it, but JDL got to be down. I said, no. I said, I don't want JDL down because JDL had a reputation and all craziness. He's trouble.

I don't want him. He said, well, if JDL ain't down, here goes the loyalty. JDL ain't down, then I ain't down. And I was like, man, Cass said that to me. So I said like, fuck it, man. You know Cass, I want you this bad. Let's do this. Cole Chris was born

that day. Now, now, no, I don't smoke. Now, I thought he was asking me to drink. You see? So now, the fucked up part was that I had the original crew, but I didn't know how to tell the old crew

that they were fired. So now I have two crews, and I'm trying to figure this out, me and Tony. Tony's like, Tony left it on me. You got to tell them. This is what you wanted. You got to tell them. I'm like, damn left it on me You gotta tell him, this is what you wanted You gotta tell him, I'm like damn, whatever

Luckily Dotta Rock and Whip-A-Whip had decided To leave the crew because they went with Fantastic Five Which was cool, and then I had to finally Tell Teddy and T-Bone Yo, you know Sorry guys, but I'm forming a new

Crew and this, this and that They handled it well, they handled it well. They handled it like men, you know. And that was it. And that was when the Cold Crush was born. And the rest is history, man. But let me tell you, I give credit to my brother, Tony Tone,

because Tony Tone, he saw the talent that I had. He saw what I could do. And he was like, you need a push. And he gave me the push I needed. He introduced me to everybody. And that's how I got accepted from the rest of the community. I already knew. I was already, as far as I'm concerned, I was in the culture already

because I was doing what I was doing. I had fans and all that stuff. And what year was this when you guys finally formed the crew? 79, I think it was. 79. And what year was this that this all, when you guys finally formed the crew? 79, I think it was. 79. And then this, you guys were in this when? What year? Whilst I was, I think it was 81 or 83.

So well after you guys were already doing things. Oh, yeah, yeah. How do you think we got into the movie? Right. No, you're already huge by then. The funny thing was, was that we weren't supposed to be on tour and in the movie. No, we were supposed to be in the movie, but the people who were originally supposed to go on the tour was the Fantastic Five and Theodore. But they had a falling out, and then they brought us up, and the rest is history.

And so tell us a little bit behind the scenes of this. As far as... Like them stepping to you and then actually filming that scene which is historic now right the funny thing was like we're gonna go film a movie about hip hop

and stuff like that and in my mind I'm the musician kicked in I'm showing up to the shoot in a suit and tie

and all this other shit and the crew's like what the fuck you doing so if you look on the scene where I'm in the Dixie cut when the crew you see that I have a shirt on with some slacks and stuff.

Why'd you do that? Because I was stupid. I didn't freaking put the two together. I'm like, oh, there's a movie. I got to show up and look fine. Dude, I was new to all this. I didn't know. I was naive.

You were like, this is my Hollywood. Right, I'm keeping it real. I didn't know what the hell I was doing, you know? So if you've seen the movie, I got a shirt on, I got slacks and stuff, and you know, and to kind of make it hip-hop, they threw these studs on my wrist and said I was cutting. And you'll see it in the movie.

Yeah, the movie was shot. It was a low, low-budget movie. We did shit off the cuff. We did shit off the cuff right there. That basketball scene. But you're spitting too. Yeah, the basketball scene, we wrote all that shit on the spot. I. That basketball scene. But you're spitting too. Yeah. The basketball scene, we wrote all that shit on the spot. I didn't even have a line. I said, Kaz, I need

help. I don't know what to say. Kaz wrote that line for me. But were you doing that regularly, spitting? No. I could. I knew I could rhyme, but I never really So that was just for the movie? That was just for the movie. If you listen to Heartbreakers, another record, I'm rhyming on that with Tony Tone. You know? So, I mean, I'm rhyming on that with Tony Tone.

If I really wanted to push it, I could have pushed it entirely and probably become an emcee, but I felt out of place. Listen, man, when you're around Grandmaster Cash, you feel this big when you're trying to do what he does. You know what I'm saying? And rightfully so. I was happy with what I was doing. That's dope hearing that.

The motivating, the motor, the engine, the power behind the cold crush was me and Kaz. You understand? Kaz is a genius. Kaz is a genius and me on the turntables. And me on the turntables and I was also the producer and maker. I had the musical background. Kaz was a natural.

He just had natural Showmanship in him And that's That broke How did you feel When you heard that Hip hop Finally got accepted In the Olympics

I was See you gotta really think I was like Yo that's dope Yeah me too It's dope But then I also knew It was like

It ain't gonna be What people think it's gonna be And you'll see what I'm saying Hip hop Breakdancing, breakdancing is now a form of competition. But it's going to be stiff and rigid. In other words, it's not going to be a DJ cutting with guys I'm seeing. No. Like gymnastics, you have to meet a certain qualification.

You have to qualify. Benchmarks. You have to benchmark that you have to hear. So they're going to, okay, required now coming up is a backspin. You know, like, it's going to be, that's what you're going to hear. Triple backspin. Okay, you get two points.

Definitely did not look at it like that. Right now, he's going to turtle walk and he's going to go, and you know, it's like, that's what's going to happen. And people are expecting to see this whole, I'm telling you, that's what it's going to be because that's what the Olympics are about. But baby steps. Hey, we got in. You got to be happy about it. So I tell people, don't get your expectations too high

because it's not going to be what it is. My expectation is way high. And mine is too because I know what the future holds. The crazy legs came here the next week. They was like, crazy legs not a part of it no more. Right. Well, because the people in France are the one running it.

They cut his legs. Crazy. Well, he said people in France are the ones running it. They cut his legs. And they're worried because... Well, he said also, they're worried about the people that are going to be able to participate or the athletes that are going to be able to participate are going to be parents that can afford to send their kids now to certain... Oh, this is a rich thing? No, just think about it, though. Like, the athletes that become

olympians for the most part are people that either have the finances to send their kids to train the way they train oh i didn't know that and he's that's what i think crazy legs is worried about for for the breakdancing community that's gonna it's gonna take it away from its original origins and then people are just gonna like you know parents gonna be like oh this is an olympic sport okay i'll put jimmy into you know olympic breakdancing because you gotta have sponsors and stuff like that so yeah he's right he has every right to fill it because that's what it's going to be because it's like that with every other sport gymnastics ice skating all that stuff they all fall under they all have to meet those parameters you gotta have a sponsor you You got to have training.

You got to be accepted into a team. Right. You know, and yeah, yeah. Let me ask you. Do you like hip hop awards? I like hip hop awards when they're real. Damn, I ain't going to lie. I'm going to be honest.

Is there a real hip hop award? I'm going to be honest. When they're real, I like them. What's a real one? The way you just... That was different. Well, because think about it right now. They're rewarding people for record sales. And like a

lot of times people are getting awarded for record sales like the Grammys. I have no I'm not dissing the Grammys, but sometimes it's like why did this guy get a Grammy over this guy when this guy got way better skill and he's done his album was more than this, this and that. So to me, it's more based on sales and and and stuff like that.

Yeah, it's a little frustrating when you see like every and also, you know, we had a fight for our respect. Remember when Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince got there, didn't even get they weren't even on TV. It was kind of booed when they got there. That's why it was boycotted. Yeah, because they wasn't considered, Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince at that time wasn't even considered real hip-hop. Right, because the people with everything.

He was commercial. And again, remember we were speaking about it. It was us judging us. Right, but they boycotted it on behalf of hip-hop. They were real hip-hop. And then Jay and them boycotted it On behalf of hip hop They were real hip hop And then Jay and them boycotted it afterwards And by the way, I boycotted it with them And I wasn't even nominated

I think you weren't even born No, I'm talking about with Jay No, no, because that was a real thing Dame, Jay That was a real thing It was like, we're not going And I didn't go, but I don't know.

Listen, man, somebody had to break that ceiling. The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration in the United States. Recipients have done the improbable, showing immense bravery and sacrifice in the name of something much bigger than themselves. This medal is for the men who went down that day. It's for the families of those who didn't make it. I'm J.R. Martinez. I'm a U.S. Army veteran myself, and I'm honored to tell you the stories of these heroes on the new season of Medal of Honor, Stories of Courage from Pushkin Industries and iHeart Podcast. From Robert Blake, the first black sailor to be awarded the medal,

to Daniel Daly, one of only 19 people to have received the Medal of Honor twice. These are stories about people who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor, going above and beyond the call of duty. You'll hear about what they did, what it meant, and what their stories tell us about the nature of courage and sacrifice. Listen to Medal of Honor on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. The demand curve in action.

And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Business Week editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to everybody's business on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The American West with Dan Flores

is the latest show from the Meat Eater Podcast Network, hosted by me, writer and historian Dan Flores, and brought to you by Velvet Buck. This podcast looks at a West available nowhere else. Each episode, I'll be diving into some of the lesser-known histories of the West. I'll then be joined in conversation by guests such as Western historian Dr. Randall Williams and best-selling author and meat-eater founder Stephen Ranella. I'll correct my kids now and then where they'll say when cave people were here. And I'll say it seems like the Ice Age people that were here didn't have a real affinity for caves. So join me starting Tuesday, May 6th, where we'll delve into stories of the West

and come to understand how it helps inform the ways in which we experience the region today. Listen to The American West with Dan Flores on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you think it should be a hip-hop awards? And if there is one, would you be the person to lend that out? I would love to if they would ask me for that, no doubt. I'm going to be honest with you. I feel that the Cochran Brothers belongs in

the Hall of Fame. Absolutely. Absolutely. Listen, every successful MC that I've met, platinum selling or whatever, they always say you guys are the reason. I'm doing what I'm doing because we followed

you. I followed you. And to hear that, and then it makes me feel good, but it's like I think that look, you know what gives me hope now? When Hurt got accepted. Okay. To the Rock and Roll

Hall of Fame. Yes. So now I'm like, okay, we have a chance. I'm not in the crew anymore, but I earned my spot in that because What do you mean you're not in the crew anymore? You're a gang member.

You in it for life. What do you mean? Those are my brothers I love them to death. You consider yourself not being Code Crush anymore? No. In my heart I am.

Take a shot. I'm not part of the show. I quit the crew. Right, but you started the crew. Right. So I feel that I deserve any accolades like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame because I helped put that, our group on the map. Absolutely, man. I didn't leave because I was mad.

Just blaze. Don't go nowhere. I didn't leave because I was mad. We watch you. I left because I felt the group was being stagnant. They were too complacent. They were happy with what we did when I knew we could have done much more.

And I decided I can't do this with y'all so I got to go out and do it. But yeah, any accolades Cold Crush get, you have to be a part of it. Just like how when NWA and Ice Cube reached out to DOC

to be a part of it. When they got inducted, they were like, yo, people don't consider, don't think of you as NWA, but you are NWA and Ice Cube reached out to DOC to be a part of it. When they got inducted, they were like, yo, people don't consider, don't think of you as NWA, but you are. NWA, so you're coming through. And you are a founding member of Cold Crush. And I'm always feel part of the Cold Crush, regardless of what I, you know, regardless of what, I still support them. I still bring them up. To this day, I do major shows and I always give them a shout out.

I always give them the credit, you know. But listen, we went together 40 some I always give them a shout out. I always give them the credit, you know? But, listen, we went together 40 some odd years. That's a marriage. No, no. You can't even say them. It's you. Right. 46 years old. It's you guys. No, it's them because I have to do. It's not anybody one person that can take credit for what the Cold Cross did. It was all a collective.

You understand? We did. No, what I'm saying, yeah, you as in you are part of that. I don't mean you solo You can't keep saying them excluding yourself Is what I mean When I say them in the sense that Now they're doing their thing And I'm doing mine

That's what I mean by that And I'm always big them up And I'm always be happy for them there But I am not I'm not a part of the group I have to Unless they want to decide To start changing things a little bit more and we just kind of have to sort out things between us two, you know, then I would consider it. But we have to start taking a step forward.

I can't live in the past anymore. I got to move forward. There's so much more. Right. You know, that we can do. You ever met Jez Blaze? I met him in Puerto Rico, I think it was. Jesus. For the Rocksteady anniversary.

Briefly, he was running out the He was running out. Somebody told him I was there and he stopped, walked over to me and gave me, said, yo, pleasure meeting you. And he ran. Jez Blaze, hip hop. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't stand on stage. Be clear. Was it that way? Okay. Okay, okay, okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Jesus, man. I'm so honored that you came and sat down with us, man. So honored to give you your flowers. So honored to tell you how much you mean. And everything that I said in the beginning,

you know, about, you know, you being like Drink Champ's father, it's the truth. That's a bigger responsibility. Yeah, I'm giving it to you. You got to pay child support, man. You got to pay child support. You ain't give us no child support.

God damn it. But in all seriousness, like, I want you to really know how much you are adored in hip-hop. I want you to understand that this is your platform. You can come here and promote pink toenails if you want to. It doesn't matter. By the way, let's big up to Monster Energy.

Whatever the fuck you want to promote you want to come here this is your house we really appreciate what you did because now i he's super dj guy i'm super puerto rican like it ends there right but i But I was so excited today. Like, I mean, I'll be honest. We was, we've both. I've been wanting to meet you for a while. Like just to chop it up, you know, like.

No, me and him both been excited as fuck. Because that's what we started this show for is to make sure that people that have been in this game 10 years or more do not get forgotten. I appreciate that. This is the only genre in the world that if you have 10 years or more, they say you washed up.

Tell me, there's nothing in rock and roll, they don't have a word washed up No Motherfuckers damn near die on stage The Rolling Stones are still selling out stadiums And they're still selling out stadiums This nigga's still eating blood

And he's live Where did he get that shit from? Vegan blood Vegan blood? I ain't know. I ain't know. I ain't know. But why in our culture do we even allow this conversation to even participate?

To even happen? Because we have to continue to raise up these heroes and make sure that we give them the accolades they deserve. And that the youth grows up looking at them the way the heroes that they are. You know what I'm saying? One of my favorite Jay-Z albums right now is 444. And he made it at 40 what? I don't even know what age this nigga was. But why we can't praise us as we age?

I agree with you. Wine gets better. I agree with you. Wine gets better. I agree with you. That is the goal. The goal is aging. In fact, if you drink some wine that's premature, it's disgusting. Fajite.

I'm not making this up. You ever drink premature wine? It's called yakarada. It's called don't drink it. But what did they say? They say, this is a Cabernet from 1844.

Or you could have 19. Maybe 19, I'm sorry. But why in our culture we don't praise each other? So I wanted to tell you face to face, man to man. You are appreciated. You are loved.

Thank you, man. We got your motherfucking back. And we want to continue to support you. Thank you. Because without you, there's truly nobody in this room. What's up, bitch. No, no. Besides, if it's not for you, there's probably nobody in this room.

There's probably nobody in this room together. I know how hard it is being that oddball or the first one. Yeah. I know how hard it is. that oddball or that the first one yeah I know how hard it is I know it I've done it so many times and then they tell me I'm a genius after it works but as I'm doing it everyone's looking at me like you idiot what are you doing? I brought a tight shirt kid In my studio session He became Pharrell Williams later But as I was doing it

Everyone looked at me and said You're an idiot Who is this guy? Chad Hugo was there too Don't let's not get it twisted But I was the first so when you're the first you get shut down you get chastised you get criticized everyone says that until it works right and you not only was the first one, all undocumented. Documented.

I know you say there's other Puerto Ricans that was before you. And Latinos, yeah. And Latinos, whatever. Before you. But let me just tell you something. We here at Drink Champs want to give you your flowers. We want to give you your roses. We want to tell you how much.

Absolutely. You're appreciated. You are sincerely class personified. And we got your motherfucking back. Thank you so much, man. Listen, man. You know, let me tell you something, bro. Yes, please.

I've always, I always tell people this is an important platform because you guys just don't talk about hip hop You bring in NFL Athletes, NBA athletes Politicians, people from all Walks of life that matter That people need to hear

That people you feel is important This is an important platform Now, my crew will tell you I don't do interviews I stopped doing interviews years ago EFN reached out to me More than two years ago Two years ago

He says yo We've been stalking you Whenever Nah you haven't even been stalking me No we've been stalking you Go ahead EFN says yo We would love to have you on Dream Champs

Just let us know And we'll fix a slot for you Yes And for years I didn't want to do anything You know And this time around With all this controversy and everything fix a slot for you. Yes. And for years, I didn't want to do anything, you know, and this time around with all this controversy and everything

and I turned to my crew, I had a conversation with them and I said, I think it's time and I got reached out to EFN and he was like, no doubt, made it happen

and I'm here because this is an important, it's not a, I'm not here because it's popular because y'all got millions of followers. It's not that. It is an important platform for people who have

an important thing to say, an important agenda. They need to be here because a lot of people who don't know that are uninformed tune into this and get informed. So this is the platform for that. I appreciate the invitation.

We appreciate it. Let's reiterate this before we wrap it up. So 2024, 2024, you are the Puerto Rico... Ambassador. Ambassador to the Puerto Rico Day Parade. Can we just call it the Charlie Chase Parade? No.

I've been laughing at my people all day. Let's just call it the Charlie Chase Parade. I thought that. That's what I thought it was. So I've been telling Diego. You are. You are. I just want you to know. And they're like, what's going on?

I'm like, Puerto Rican Day Parade changed the name to the Charlie Chase Parade. So just let's ride with the rumor. OK. Let's just ride with it. Now the Puerto Rican Day Parade. The Charlie Chase Parade. Come on. Yo, listen.

I'm giving it to you. It's called the fucking Charlie Chase fucking Parade. We can still call it the 40-minute day parade on the side. On the side. But up front, we're calling it the Charlie motherfucking Chase Parade. I appreciate that. Because, go ahead. You want to say something?

You want to say something? Yeah, yeah, go. So, I mean, we've spoken about what I've done in the past. We haven't spoken about what we've done. Please, let's go. Let's go. Let's go. So, I mean, we've spoken about what I've done in the past. Right. We haven't spoken about what we have. Please, let's go. Let's go. We haven't spoken about the future. Let's go.

So, right now, my partners are here with me, my business partners and stuff. We have a new platform now that we created. It took a few years to put this together. We basically have the same, how would you say, capabilities of Netflix and Amazon. We have a platform now. Okay. We can provide that. We've already done our first pay-per-view show. We can do anything we want to on this

platform. We are now Roku. We're getting ready to go on Firestick and we're getting ready to go on Apple TV. It's called Black Market Media. Black Market TV is the channel that we have on. You can tune on, go to blackmarket.com, and you can log on that way. Or if you have Roku, you can go on there for an hour until the other two platforms. Roku.

R-O-K-U, right? Yes. I got that. Is it like a 2B? No. It's not like 2B. It's a platform of its own. Of its own.

Would you consider it a 2B, Eric? Eric is the guy that put it together. Eric. You look like my friend, Eric. You got to relax. I'm an Eric too. Right. Oh, I forgot you were Eric.

Okay. So that platform is Black Market Media. It's blackmarket.com. BlackmarketTV.com. You'll see you go on there. You'll see it. We have programming, hip hop programming. Or you'll see me on there, interviews and stuff like that.

Right now, we're about maybe 10, 000 and change viewers every month that we have we're slowly growing we just started it right you know so we're looking to do shows now pay-per-view stuff and but our platform is so different that if you have a business and you want to have meetings, Zoom meeting style. That's like, you don't need Zoom. You can do it on Roku. You can do it on Apple TV. You can do it on Fire Stick. But what's your platform? Black Marker.

It's Black Media. It's Black Media Television. It's Black Media is the name of the company. But the channel is Black Marker TV. Okay. Right? Black Marker, like Magic Marker. Right marker we got that happening right now this is blowing up for us again ready to do that when the parade we are actually going to

broadcast live live from our float on the float live from the parade I'm gonna be in my in a convertible in front of the float with my daughter like the floss she's coming around with me the float is my daughter. I like the float. She's coming on the boat with me. The float is going to be behind us and we're going to be broadcasting live the whole shit, the whole thing going down on our channel. So this is the future for us.

This is going to be big. Right now we're talking to... Yeah, I just told you the story a little while ago when I walked here. Cuban and you started to hate a little bit. Not at all.

Listen, man, I'm pro-Latino. All Latinos, bro. That's very racist. Right now we're having a conversation with the Florida Board of Education to come on board because they're considering coming onto the platform to conduct all their business on the platform. It's a multi-level thing like you've never seen, bro. And it's all Latino-owned. You know what I'm saying?

We're pushing that forward right now. Right now I'm also producing for Nathalie's Grace. You mentioned that. That's getting ready to come out. We're just looking forward, man. Forward and upward. That's where we're going with this, bro. Dope.

That's it. Check out the pics. We're going to take a flip and do some drops. Thank you, Charlie. Thank you so much. Thank you for inviting me. I appreciate that, man. Thank you. I want to say it again. Thank you, Charlie. Thank you so much. Thank you for inviting me. I appreciate that, man.

Thank you. No, I want to say it again. Thank you. Because when you look at the history, you doing what you did, and the funniest thing is we Googled it. Obviously, we had to, right?

And then Fat Joe pops up. And they say, okay, cool. and then Fat Joe pops up and they say okay cool he influenced Fat Joe and Fat Joe always says how much you influenced him but then then I come up after

and I'm like this is so dope like it's but people need to hear your story more because I didn't even know about this until I saw De La Calle

that's right now he gonna come out with his autobiography and his documentary. And my documentary. But let me say it to you again in front of these people who listen to us. Thank you so much, man. Thank you. Because I truly believe that if you wasn't as resilient as you was and

you didn't stick to what you was doing. Because when they said, when I looked at it and they said, man, why are you playing that type of music? Yeah. I related to that shit so much. And I was just like, holy shit. And I told you my wife is right there. And I looked at my wife. I was like, this man's life is my life.

Right. It's parallel. It's literally my life in a different. And I looked at my wife. I was like, this man's life is my life. Right. It's literally my life in a different way. Like in a different way. Right. But it's literally. And I was like, damn. And I had to tell you this face to face, man to man. Thank you so much, man.

I really appreciate that. You're welcome. Thank you. I appreciate that. And I appreciate you sticking it out the way it is. Oh, thank you so much. Drink Champs is a Drink Champs LLC production, host and executive producers, NORE and DJ EFN. Listen to Drink Champs on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for joining us for another episode of Drink Champs hosted hosted by yours truly, DJ EFN and NORE.

Please make sure to follow us on all our socials. That's at Drink Champs across all platforms. At TheRealNoriega on IG. At Noriega on Twitter. Mine is at Who's Crazy on IG. At DJ EFN on Twitter. And most importantly, stay up to date with the latest releases, news, and merch by going to drinkchamps.com. The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration in the United States.

Recipients have done the improbable, the unexpected, showing immense bravery and sacrifice in the name of something much bigger than themselves. This medal is for the men who went down that day. On Medal of Honor, Stories of Courage, you'll hear about these heroes and what their stories tell us about the nature of bravery. Listen to Medal of Honor on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A lot of times, big economic forces show up in our lives in small ways. Four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding,

but the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. Small but important ways. From tech billionaires to the bond market to, yeah, banana pudding. If it's happening in business, our new podcast is on it. I'm Max Chastin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This is an iHeart Podcast.