Drink Champs - Episode 429 w/ Ryan Leslie

Episode Date: September 27, 2024

N.O.R.E. & DJ EFN are the Drink Champs. In this episode we chop it up with the one and only, Ryan Leslie! Ryan stops by to share his journey! Ryan discusses how people doubted his plans early on, building a core fanbase, and much more! Ryan shares stories of working with Fabolous, his past relationship with Cassie, losing his laptop prior to “Watch The Throne” album and much much more! Lot’s of great stories that you don’t want to miss!! Make some noise for Ryan Leslie!!! 💐💐💐🏆🏆🏆   *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. 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. 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. I'm Michael Kassin, founder and CEO of 3C Ventures and your guide on good company. The podcast where I sit down with the boldest innovators shaping what's next. In this episode, I'm joined by Anjali Sood, CEO of Tubi. We dive into the competitive world of streaming.

What others dismiss as niche, we embrace as core. There are so many stories out there. And if you can find a way to curate and help the right person discover the right content, the term that we always hear from our audience is that they feel seen. Listen to Good Company on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And it's going to take us to heal us. It's Mental Health Awareness Month. And on a recent episode of Just Heal with Dr. J, the incomparable Taraji P. Henson stopped by to discuss how she's discovered peace on her journey. I never let that little girl inside of me die. To hear this and more things on the journey of healing, you can listen to Just Heal with Dr. J from the Black Effect Podcast Network

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. AT&T, connecting changes everything. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports.

This kind of starts that a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And it's Dre Chats motherfucking podcast. Make some noise! He's a legendary Queens rapper. Hey, hey, Segre, this your boy N.O.R.E. He's a Miami hip-hop pioneer. One of his DJ EFN. Together, they drink it up with some of the biggest players.

You know what I mean? In the most professional, unprofessional podcast. And your number one source for drunk facts. It's Drink Chs motherfucking podcast where every day is New Year's Eve. It's time for Drink Champs. Drink up, motherfucker. What it could be?

Hope you switched to me. This your boy N-O-R-E. What up? It's DJ E-F-N. And this is Drink Champs. Yappie our make some noise. Today's guest. Today's guest. Today's guest. I literally think he's the smartest person we've probably ever had on Drink Champ.

The fact that I've heard that he went to Harvard at 15 years old, graduated at 19, had his own platform. I thought the record labels was going to try to kill him at one point. He was selling direct-to-consumer first. He was giving out his phone number. He's doing concerts. He's selling the tickets.

This man is a mogul. This man is a legend. Writer, producer, everything. I've been trying to give this man his flowers. And today, we're going to give him his flowers in case you don't know who the fuck we talking about. We talking about the one only impeccable Brian Langley! Now, now I thrive in dumb rooms. Don't say that man.

Nah, I play that role good, I play that role good. Are you uncomfortable around other scholars or other, like, you know, what is that, Ivy League school? What do you prefer? High IQ rooms? Nah, I feel like I can move in really any type of room. Any room? Yeah. Okay. And to be honest, like, when I first got on Harvard's campus, it was a little, you know, it took some getting used to just A, being of color.

And you don't roll. No. You don't roll. And then also being as young as I was, you know. 15 for real? Super young. It must have been intimidating. Yeah.

So you learn very early on to just sort of move in any type of room. But I really got to give it to my father man right when I was coming up you know my parents are from the Caribbean islands okay and they worked their whole lives in the Salvation Army mm-hmm and so they knew that they weren't going to have really you know all kinds of wealth stacked up because they sacrificed wealth in the service of others. I mean, still to this day, my mother, you know, going to build hospitals in India, try to retire her. And that's what she wants to do. Wow. So my father very early on decided, Hey, we immigrated to the United States. I want my kids to be set up. And I know the way

to get there are the only way he knew it was DC, right? Yeah. And the only way way to get there. Or the only way he knew was. He came to D.C., right? Yeah. And the only way to really get there, in his opinion, was through education. So he didn't want me going to just any old schools. Anytime we got to a new city, he said, look, let's go find the top tier private school. And then he would go in and he would advocate, hey, I'm a servant of the community. Can you take kids because i was wondering how would they yeah we're not doing we're not doing the tuition but we do service in the community can y'all you know make an accommodation for our kids but he also said look we ain't just doing the private school because he was still running the boys and girls club as well so I had to move in both circles we would we would go to private school and then go get my tail beat on a basketball court at the boys and girls club in Richmond Virginia you know what I'm saying so um I think I think the

other piece of it though as well is in terms of service to others you never realize the stories and the backstories of folks who are in those homeless shelters who are in those places they didn't just you know they weren't homeless their whole lives so they have backstories as well and you have you have to sort of learn how to um be empathetic in any room and it really doesn't matter like i just i think on a human level everyone is going through something for sure you know i'm saying so if, I think on a human level, everyone is going through something. For sure. You know what I'm saying?

So if you can connect on a human level, whether you're with venture capitalists in Silicon Valley or artists, you know, you talk about a heartbreak and they, you know, they go automatically. You know what I'm saying? Somebody that did them wrong or crossed them, et cetera. And there's always, I think there's always a line of communication that you can connect with somebody on, on a human level. Have you ever had a bad day? Have I ever had a bad day? If I listen to your music, I'd just be happy. I feel like you get up out of bed with silk robe on. That's arbitrary, man, to be honest.

Because you really do put in a happy mood. Even your sad songs are happy. Have you ever had a bad day? Of course you did. Yeah. I mean, I think we all do. I think when you talk about those rooms though, if you're ever in a room with somebody that's worth, let's say, 300, 500, M's or a billion dollars, whatever your bad day is, it turns good. They really, you say, oh, I have a $50,000 problem or $80,000 problem or $100,000 medical issue,

and they're like, oh, that's small. So it puts things in perspective. And I'll say this, actually. When I first got to New York City and was just producing, I was running around, you know, just running around, producing, doing clubs, dating. And I did, I think at one point there was like a record that I was waiting to come out. And I was, you know, I think we was on a chopper doing a photo shoot or something.

And I told my girl, I said, hey, you know, I'm not, I feel like I'm not having a good day. And she said, is your family all right? I said, yeah, they're fine. Are you healthy? Yeah, I'm fine. She says, what's a bad day are you talking about? And actually, you know, it brings me to that quote. Are you healthy? Yeah, I'm fine. She says, what's a bad day are you talking about? And actually, you know, it brings me to that quote.

Somebody with zero dollars, right? And they feel like they have a million problems. But someone with all the money in the world and they don't have their health, they only got one problem, right? So for me, I'm healthy. I'm still in great health and strength. I still have great relationships. And so there's not really any reason to ever have a complaint. Right.

That's a big question. You know what I'm saying? But you have a very interesting story. First off, like you said, we went to Harvard, and most people go to Harvard and they get away from the music industry. You went to Harvard and you went towards the music industry. Did you feel like you was moving backwards at one point? I mean, everyone that I initially told my plan to thought I was moving backwards.

They said, well, what are you doing here? And I think maybe the biggest challenge to overcome initially was my own family, right? Because when I was on the road to Harvard, as you said, parents were like, okay, how are we going to afford this? So my dad said, hey, look, I'm in the Rotary Club. They have these speech competitions,

so you're going to write a great speech and you'll go and speak to all the Rotary Club members and they'll put up a couple of dollars to put in the kit so you can have some money to move around. And so I wrote a speech about how I wanted to be a neurosurgeon. inspirational you know my dad was so proud of it i was pre-med my first year at harvard and i realized you know the the kids that were in my chemistry class my biology class etc they had a passion for science a passion for medicine a passion for what they were studying the problem sets and i found that my passion was just music right and i said look you know if if this is what's keeping them up at night i need to do what keeps me up at night and I went maxed out my credit card I didn't even I hadn't I think everybody does that when they go to college you get a credit card and I went to college in jail so maybe I got my diploma. My mom's going to diploma. I don't want to take this game. Go get it. I'm sorry. So, you know, when you get on campus, every bank got the table out and you go sign up. I get a credit card.

Yeah, that was the predatory lending days. Of course. Of course. And so that's exactly what I wanted. So I was cutting hair on campus and I wanted my little dorm room to feel like the barbershop. So I had to have the, you know, five disc CD changer and, you know, the receiver and everything and made everybody listen to my records. Cause you know, we had a, there wasn't many, there wasn't really a black barber on Harvard's campus. You had to go to, you know, you had to go to central square or whatever, if you wanted to get your hair cut. So I said i'm open for business and anybody that came into and we called the barbershop shady aids because

shady because you can't you're not supposed to run a business at harvard right uh which is why like zuck and bill gates they just dropped out because they were running their businesses so shady and then aids because we charged eight dollars a haircut so shady aids barbershop and then i used to have a line of folks. And, you know, it's like when I came in today. If you got a barber, they're about their craft. You got to sit there and wait. You know what I'm saying?

So I would have my mix. And you didn't get found out? And you had a line outside? Yeah. We had everybody just sitting on the couch or whatever. And, you know, we cut everybody's hair. But we actually, for me, I would have my records. And people would have to listen, you know, we cut everybody's hair, but we actually, for me, I would have my records and people would have to listen, you know, while they were waiting. And that's how, that was my initial sort of focus group.

And folks were saying, yo, you nice. So I said, hey, I'm going to go for it. You were like the Uber driver. You seen the Uber driver? Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's playing everybody's shit. He's like, what is going on? So you still paying off people's student loans? you know, Uber driver. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's playing everybody's shit. He's like, what is going on? So,

you still paying off people's student loans? I heard you paid off a couple of student loans. Is that true? Yeah, yeah. Wow. I mean, I think really right now

sort of what's been super important for me, I think everybody has, if they're extremely fortunate, they have a number of acts in their lives,

you know? So, maybe my first act was a starving artist. Right, right. Then I became a producer. Then I was able to be an artist. Then I built a technology company. And now I'm really at a place where, you know, once you reach a certain level, it's about how many people can you send the elevator down for to bring them up. And so, you know, I started to realize that,

especially in the United States, in music, there is so much talk about money, cars, jewelry, the lifestyle, et cetera. And it's very aspirational. Don't forget the holes. Right, right, for sure. For sure. It's very aspirational. Don't forget the hoes. Right. Okay, right. For sure. That's right. For sure. It's very aspirational.

Yeah. But as I started to kind of, you know, have that one-on-one direct relationship with the people who were supporting me, you realize that America, and actually many countries around the world, is actually engineered for folks that only make $40,000, $50,000, $60,000 a year.

Right. Right? And so to be able to educate folks, you know, sometimes you could, you know, give them a check, but give them a check is totally different than teaching them how to fish, how to navigate finances, how to navigate the financial markets, how, uh, somebody who's a postal worker can retire a multimillionaire if they know how to put their money, you know, and put it to work the right way. So I would say that's the act that I'm in now, um, is, you know, when you start thinking about legacy, it's about how many families, how many people can you touch? And what happened is as I was, cause you're right,

I gave my phone number out to everybody. And as I was talking to folks, folks were saying, yo, Rye, you know, we love the music. We love what you're talking about, whether it's, you know, like you say, happy songs, sad songs, et cetera. But you got a couple of records where you're talking that talk money-wise. And is there something that you can share with us? Because we'd be willing to, you know, support you even more if you can show us the way and so we built a club um and you know we've we've basically been minting

everyday millionaires through the wealth plan club and then also what i realized is that a lot of artists they don't actually have a backup plan or they and they don't actually have what they consider or what they what they you know what could be their plan B or plan C or their second act or third act not everybody's gonna be able to just do a podcast not everybody's gonna be able to do a fashion line if you do they don't have retirement plans or anything oh man they'll spend it all when they get it and not think of what comes after yeah and so always say that i always say the music industry and boxing is the only place that don't have like a uh what's it what is it a union union yeah that's like look how brutal boxing is yeah and then look up like

the music industry yeah and so i think now what's what's been awesome is to be able to say hey look everybody if you've ever seen my Twitter, Instagram, et cetera, you can reach me directly. And if you're looking for that type of guidance, if you're looking for an infrastructure, I got a whole team, I got a whole staff, and we provide that kind of business infrastructure. So I'll give you a case in point.

Somebody came to me and had just gotten an advance. Maybe it was a 70, somewhere between 70 to $150,000 little music advance, right? And basically the first thing, especially young artists want to do is when they get that money, they say, hey, I want to put my mom on payroll, right? And that's great, you should, you know what I'm saying? But you don't have to actually pay that money.

You can actually put that money in a vehicle so the money pays your mom a salary. The interest of that money? Yeah, exactly. So let's just say, for example, right? You get a, let's just say, for example, you get a hundred thousand dollar advance, right? Okay. Currently there are vehicles and we help artists structure those vehicles where you can earn 4% per month. It's not a crazy amount, but if you were going to put your mom on payroll at $4,000 a month, yo, mom, here's a debit card, here's a credit card, you got a $4,000 balance every single month. That 100 earning 4% per month is going to pay her for the rest of her life. And that hundred never walks

down. Right? So the hundred never walks down. A hundred is just sitting there. It's throwing off the four. It's throwing off the four. It's throwing off the four. Mom is set for the rest of her life. And you actually did something smart with your money as opposed to saying, Hey, I'm going to put my mom on payroll and pay her the four. Because if you pay her the four in 12 months, now you only got $50,000 left. Then you pay her the four again in two years, now you got zero. Where if you put it in the right type of instrument,

then the instrument will pay her. And then what's dope about it is once we start unlocking that for artists, right, they have an incentive because now they understand where the money, when the money comes in, they want to put it in these kinds of vehicles, right? What's a vehicle like that, for example? Like high-yielding bank accounts, savings accounts?

Yeah. Or a CD? I'm not a financial advisor. I'm not going to call out stuff because people have to really do their own research. There's a lot of different ways. But there are vehicles. And that's what we work on now, you know, because like I said, I could you know, I always think of my life in terms of how can I be most of service. So when I first came in the game, you know, somebody had to sit me down because when I first came in the game, obviously at 20, when I first moved in New York, 22, 23, I want to be the star. I want to be, I'm in the offices dancing around.

We were actually shopping to artists, but I'm the one, you know, dancing around in the office and everything. And somebody had to really pull me to the side and say, yo, Rod, listen, if you really want to be of service and you want to be valuable, yeah, of course you need to put the creativity

and energy that you have in these offices but put them put that energy towards the projects that folks already have invested money in right so the first one of the first records that i actually placed was new edition hot tonight so there's a record called hot tonight on new edition and so that was a record that i had actually written i said yo this is gonna be this is going to be my song. This is going to be my single. But when I came to New York and played it, New Edition had just gotten signed.

And they say, yo, this is going to be the first single for New Edition. So it's about being of service. So making that sacrifice sometimes will open the window, open the door to relationships, to opportunities. Because people know, hey look, this is somebody I can go to who's a, we need that single, we can go get one, you know what I'm saying?

And then what happened is that opened a door. Then Fab need a single, yo, you be killing them. Red Cafe need a single, fly together, you know what I'm saying? And then basically, now I realize, okay, now there's plenty of other producers, right? And I also feel like if you go on YouTube now, every producer that is looking to illustrate their skills, they follow the blueprint that was originated when I was trying to show my skills, right?

So I would just be on YouTube, have a camera, yo, this is how I make a beat, et cetera, right? If not the first. Early, early on YouTube, early on MySpace, right? So I realized once you pass the baton and the mantle and the gauntlet is passed to the next generation, where is the way that I can be of service? And then I start realizing when I'm having conversations,

even just in this conversation, hold on, there's a financial instrument that does that? I did not know that. Right? And it's not that we haven't been around money. And for me, I didn't learn this in college, but I did have a mentor that actually said, yo, Ry, listen, when you get your check in the music industry,

make sure you put a little bit aside here, here, here, and here. And then give me a shout three years, five years, eight years, 12 years later, and tell me how much it doubled, tripled, quadrupled. And man, I still have those conversations. And so I realized now there's a responsibility that I have if somebody is an artist, if somebody is a manager, because COVID hit people super hard, right? Especially managers, right? Managers were making money based on their artists being able to tour. Once the artists can't tour anymore, where's their income coming from, right? But if they had a little bit saved, they call Ryan. Yo, Ryan, listen, you know, we locked in.

We shut out. We can't tour right now. I got a little bit of bread. It need to last me the whole year or you know until we get to the other side and there's also no guarantee that on the other side of whatever the season is that your heart your artist is going to be hot again right and so that's why initially it was it was about and actually i'm i'm headed uh i'm headed tomorrow uh shout out to jazzy je Jeff. He runs a playlist retreat.

And he asked me to come speak at the playlist retreat because I think what was interesting or has been interesting about my story is I didn't need a million fans to be engaged. I only needed 10 or 15,000 fans. And if you really think about that, that's, you know. All the money's going to you. It's all coming to me. And back then when I was doing it in 2013, you know, and we'll probably talk about this, my laptop had gotten stolen. Yeah, of course.

Everybody was like, yeah, yeah, yeah. Laptop got stolen. We'll get there. Don't worry. Don't worry. Take a hat. And so at that time, you know, when the laptop actually got stolen, I lost the judgment. Right. Because I was running around. So, you know, I got a million dollars.

I had to actually go to court. I thought this was I thought I thought. Yeah, because you said that. Because I know you said it right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Like some of your publishing or something like that. Yeah. Just just for a short amount of time until until it was it was taken care of. But the the the blow that was dealt is, and that story is crazy. I love it. Because it was literally right in federal court down in New York City. So I'm living down Wall Street area. I like to be around fine. I'm living down Wall Street. There's a bodega.

They still had a bodega somewhere in Wall Street, right right so i went to the bodega i've been going to this bodega you know getting my breakfast but this day i walked in and the guy behind the counter was like yo can i take a picture with you i said yeah i've been coming here why why why today is the day for the picture he said well you want to cover the new york post today so i look in the cover of the new york post it has a headline, you know, rap weasel, you know, must pay for whatever laptop. Because that was the day that the judgment came down. But the crazy part about that story is not just that he wanted to take the picture, but it was actually because when I went to actually pay for my breakfast, it was declined. And I was like, how's this possible and what I realized

is that when you actually have a judgment that the federal or state government can come in and seize your bank account so literally I I didn't know I went to sleep and woke up the next morning there was a two million

dollar hole they froze your assets frozen so I couldn't even get literally a breakfast sandwich the next morning, there was a $2 million hole. They froze your assets. Froze, frozen. So I couldn't even get literally a breakfast sandwich. And he was like, yo, if you take a picture with me, we all good. I said, all right. I said, okay. I said, okay.

I said, let's go, let's go. All right. You know what I mean? You know what I mean? You know what I mean? You know? Yeah, that's hilarious. But that was right around like 2013 or whatever. And so I wanted to make sure that, you know, in a in necessity is the mother of innovation.

So in order for me to feel like I could actually still have control of my finances, I moved everything to decentralize. So all of my tour advances, all of my merch, all of my digital sales, I had taken it off of Spotify, but you got to pay me in Bitcoin.

So 2013, we got hundreds and hundreds of payments and transactions in Bitcoin at $125 a coin. Last time you checked, where's the Bitcoin at? Now, I'm not saying this for any other reason because it wasn't that it was just a genius move. It's almost like if you and I think if you put good energy out in the world, even if you get a curveball and even if something happens where, you know, someone else would be like, man, I just got hit for a million dollar lawsuit, but they charge an interest in my accounts of frozen for two million. for just your ability to still have curiosity and ingenuity, then you're going to have these ideas and opportunities. And as long as your lines of communication are open as well. That's one thing I've always wanted to make sure is, look, anybody wants to reach me, text ryan.com. You can go leave your number in that website,

and I will text you back. Now, I got 100, thousand plus people in my phone, but that's why I had to build a software so that I could manage all of it. But in those times, yeah, super phone. But in those times where people actually, you know, they, they, they feel like they want to be of, of service or of help. You're not unreachable. You know, and I find a lot of times when people going through something that's tough, they want to sort of retract from their friends or fan base, et cetera, not realizing that

I think the default human impulse is to be helpful. You know what I'm saying? The default human impulse is to be helpful. So when I actually, you know, was going through that, somebody was like, yo man, you know, why don't you look at this Bitcoin thing? A way was shown. You know what I'm saying? And that way made a serious way. You know what I'm saying? And so I think that's really what my real crusade and purpose is now. And I'm setting up different infrastructures so that I can actually handle all the inbound because I think you know

We're in Miami, but I think you know Miami money is a major issue right so anyone that's interested what you know, and and I I know for sure I can actually Understand from the concept of of that feast or famine season that happens in music, right? There's gonna be times where you're super hot. Everybody wants you for a club appearance. Everybody wants to book you for tour. Then you're in between albums and you're like, hmm, what we got going on, you know what I'm saying?

So the ability to actually set up a financial infrastructure so it's smoothed out. And if you have a couple of dollars put away, they're going to work for you and they're going to work for you in a really powerful way. So that's really, you know, that's really what I've been working on now. 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, 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. I know a lot of cops, and 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. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multibillion-dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission.

This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th.

Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. And it's going to take us to heal us it's mental health awareness month and on a recent episode of just healed with dr j the incomparable taraji p henson stopped by to discuss how she's discovered peace on her journey so what i'm hearing you saying is healing is a part of us also reconnecting to our childhood in some sort. You said I look how youthful I look because I never let that little girl inside of me die. I go outside and run outside with the dogs. I still play like a kid. I laugh, you know, I love jokes.

I love funny. I love laughing. I laugh at myself. I don't take myself too seriously. That's the stuff that keeps you young and stops you from being so hard. To hear this and more things on the journey of healing, you can listen to Just Heal with Dr. J from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. AT&T, Connecting changes everything. trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for

themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley

Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Michael Kassin, founder and CEO of 3C Ventures and your guide on good company, the podcast where I sit down with the boldest innovators shaping what's next. In this episode, I'm joined by Anjali Sood, CEO of Tubi, for a conversation that's anything but ordinary. We dive into the competitive world of streaming,

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Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So let me ask you, right? Because when Twitter first came out, I was a bozo. I thought that this was just between me and the fans. I had no idea that other people could see the same conversation. You didn't know it was public? I knew it was public, but I didn't know if you wasn't following me, and you could still see my

messages. You could go on my thing. I thought this was just for my fans. And I had to learn out the hard way that these motherfuckers was just being nosy. Most of these motherfuckers wasn't fans. They were just being nosy. How did you make your super phone, like, did you know that through Twitter and MySpace? Did you learn that? Yeah.

I got caught. I was giving out my phone number, and I didn't want to. Like, you know what I'm saying? It was like, it was bad, but it was bad for me. But I think, I think really where that really was born from is, you know, when we first, and I say we, it was really just me and one of my brothers, Rashid Richmond. Started the company? Yeah.

And basically, you know, he, he was actually actually and he's always been super early right so he he had actually built a social network and was exchanging emails with mark zuckerberg like that's how early he was on building social networks right he and he still so you know send me the screenshots etc so he basically was like look rye um if, if you check out the MySpace music charts, I want you to check out who's number one today. And then tomorrow I want you to call me and check out who's number one tomorrow. And he had a way that he could actually manipulate early and he could make anybody number one on MySpace music. Now, this wasn't a billboard music chart, but he was that early in the game to understand that social and financial revenue um i don't remember what my i don't remember ever making money off of myspace no no no no no no

yes exactly exactly the whole myspace era of people yes exactly i was already right and that's exactly how it worked for me so i already was doing records inside of you know the record label ecosystem but one of my biggest uh challenges or gripes was that i would do records and then i have to wait i to wait until the album's done. I got to wait until it's time for, you know, such and such to be mixed. I got to wait until, you know, whatever release dates, etc. Sometimes my records wouldn't even come out. You know, you feel like you have some great on an album

and then all they've decided to move a whole different way. You know what I'm saying? Creatively. So I decided that I wanted to actually sign an artist do the whole album top to bottom right I didn't have the whole thing right the whole thing as well produce the whole thing write the whole thing I didn't have no big studio you know I was in a one bedroom apartment in Harlem but we made that whole Cassie album and I called my boy Rasheed I said yo listen I don't know what these MySpace music charts really mean, but can you get my project?

They make some. Can you get my project that I'm working on, number one on the chart? He said, yeah, what do they look like? I said, okay, let's just send you a picture. Oh, he said, yo, this is out of here, right? Just a picture. Just a picture. And then we had Me and You, the record.

That thing went crazy on MySpace. It's still actually kind of going crazy now. I mean, that record still, we're talking about almost 20 years later, it still has a life of its own. But that's really how it all started. And so we had built for Cassie like a quarter million in audience on Myspace in terms of friends, right? And then all of a sudden it became a graveyard. Everyone moved to Twitter or they moved to something else. And I said, yo, all those people,

we don't have access to all those people no more. And I said, look, that's, I feel like I was just renting the audience from that platform. I should own the relationship. And I felt like, hey, you know, what really is our oldest social handle? I feel like Instagram has done a great job now. DMs, you actually, you know, you can kind of get a sense of who's, you know, messaging you. And, you know, when they send you a message, you get the chance to kind of see what they've been up to.

Oh, yeah, I just saw you. But even before that, I feel like the cell phone number is the oldest social handle because it allows you to actually, you know, have a personal line of communication, which is like you said, it's private. Right. And so basically I said, look, if I, if I really want to have a real relationship with someone and actually I still challenge anybody today. If we went across this room and say, yo, go in your phone, scroll all the way down. How many contacts do you have in your phone? Over the course of your life, you've collected thousands of contacts. The reality is you're probably only in touch with 3% maximum. For sure.

So if you've got 1,000 people in your phone, maybe it's 30 that you, maybe if that, that you're talking to all the time, right? Unless it's your job. You're a salesman or a manager, something like that. So my concept was I would prefer to actually have a direct cell phone on everyone because if people feel as though I'm someone of influence in their life because of the music, then I'm going to have a high rank if they feel like, yo, I got Ryan Leslie's cell phone. You know what I'm saying? I got Ryan's number.

It's more personal. And it changed. But it got to be a headache, too. You know you got to have that one fan that hits you all the time because he spent $10. Not more than one, for sure. Because he spent $10 one time. Now he thinks he just want to be there. I got to be annoying.

Give us an annoying story. No, actually, I think you'd be surprised, man. Really? I think, and let's be real. Let's be real, okay? Let's just say, all right, you know, you actually meet someone that you truly respect, all right? Right. Let's say you went somewhere, you even met Barack Obama, let's say you you you went somewhere you

even met barack obama and he gave you his cell phone number are you really going to abuse that right probably not probably not now you're right some fans there's a lot of some people don't got class exactly exactly but we built the software in such a way that, you know, we have safeguards in place, right? Because... You know what's funny? To this day, I have a friend that I've met through MySpace because he jacked me on MySpace. Yeah, he actually went in my profile and like, yeah. And I was like, he hacked me.

And I'm friends with him to this day. Because he was... Good, he's not working there anymore because he can get fired. Good, he's not working there anymore because he would get fired. Goody's not working there anymore. When we used to take... I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm going to be sidetracked. But let me just...

If someone made a diss record against me, I would take their whole page. This is back then. I was his homeboy too. Yeah, he worked there. So he was a Super Nori fan. And we became friends. So you are absolutely right.

He could have easily... But if I didn't respond, he could have easily turned into like one of those super fans because like he was telling me records I forgot about doing and then to this day, we're friends.

So you are right. And I think he did that because he thought somebody was impersonating you. Yes. That's why he took over the page. Yeah. So I mean,

I haven't really had any crazy, well, actually, I'm... Let's go there. Okay. I, actually, I'm let's get this go there. OK, come on. I can see it in your face. I do have a crazy. I do have a crazy. And you know what? I, I honestly believe that that this person is mentally ill. Oh, so I don't want to get whatever. But this person is mentally ill and they would literally find me on every channel, Twitter, Instagram, Discord, cell phone, everything, and was like, oh, you know. And actually, I've had stories where people felt like they were – someone actually pulled up at our spot in financial district and was like,

yo, you know we're married, right? I say, what you talking about? No, we married. I got the whole certificate and everything, and I sent you money and this and that. And I'm like, yo, this type of stuff is actually happening out here. You know what I'm saying? But I said, look, you know, I'm sorry, miss, but we're not married.

It's wild out there. You know what I'm saying? It is wild. It is wild. Yo, oh, man. So, yeah, but we're not married. It's wild out there. You know what I'm saying? It is wild. It is wild. Yeah, oh, man. So, yeah. Hold up. Okay.

This is one quick time of slime. First off, before we do quick time of slime, we want you to know our show is about giving people their flowers while they're alive. We wanted to give you your flowers. You are one of the most remarkable people in this world, and we wanted to let you know. Oh, man. Let me put it back. of the most remarkable people in this world and we want to let you go. Because I'm going to be honest with you. The first and the fifth person to ever do something is always that risk taker, right?

Most of the time the reward is worth it. But the fact is that you 360 yourself. It's a sense that you think about it. You control your own merch. you control your own you control yeah yeah when I found out that you were selling the tickets direct yeah shows it's smart way that's a lot of work so yeah are you physically doing that yeah so the way that we've had to do it like let's just say we're going to a venue in New York. The venues have deals with Ticketmaster or whoever the vendors are.

So we buy out all the tickets and then we are our own resellers. So when people come and get the tickets, we can say, yo, the whole venue sold out already. But that's because I can just go, if it's a 800 seat I'm still doing you know theater size season under cedar bang We get all the tickets and then people text in and we just send them a QR code for lame

Yeah, what you're doing is you're buying them from Ticketmaster. Yes at a wholesale rate or regular Well, we bought we bought a because we want to we want the stats that we sold out So you're also buying the stats by buying all the tickets? Yes, exactly on the books sold out already, and then you could do whatever you want with it. Yes, exactly. Let me ask you, how about like states like Miami? Like Miami became like a new New York.

What I mean is they're not impressed by nothing. Right. Right? Y'all know this. Y'all know how foul y'all all out here. They ain't impressed. They all know this, right? So, but this is like a market.'all all out here they all know this right so but this is this is a this

is like a market like they come out if they want to what happens if you if you you you buy out and then only 50 do you lose money no we we always have okay you know our process our process is a reservation okay so we'll say hey look we're going to do one night only, but Miami, for example. Right. And we'll say, Hey, look,

if you're interested, reserve and tell me how many tickets you want to reserve. So they, they, they come in, they fill out a little form. They say, yo,

I want five tickets. I want two VIPs, et cetera. We already know before we go to the venue and we might actually say, yo, we need a bigger venue. Our reservations is crazy right now. You know what I'm saying? And I think that's really, it's nuanced.

At the same time, though, it's a very simple, let's call it, it's just a very simple sort of transition to the information age. If we're in the information age, we should be making decisions based on information, right? Based on information and data. So if you have a means to collect that information and data, then your decisions are just going to be better. Business-wise, you're never going to be holding a bag on anything, right? And so that's the reason why, even if you think about brand new artists

that are coming out trying to do merch, now they have just on-demand printing. So you don't have to go buy 70, 90, 100 t-shirts. You just say, hey, look, this is the logo that I want. This is what it looks like. And then through your e-commerce store, they will only print and ship what has been ordered. You know what I'm saying? And so we're getting better and better and better and more efficient at being able to allow creative minds

to build enterprise around themselves. And I think, you know, I think there's no better time to actually be an entrepreneur than 2024 and beyond. I think a lot of people have an issue processing the analytics of things to understand it the way

you might understand. Not everybody has that knowledge to say, okay, this is what these analytics mean and this is how I equal it to this marketing plan and execute it this way. I would say this. You're only as good as your crew.

If you're the creative in the crew, then you can't say, like, yo, I'm going to be the 360 everything. In some cases, maybe, you know, you're just like, oh, you have extra hours in the day the creative industry, whether it's film, whether it's podcasts, whether it's YouTube, whether it's influencing, whether it's music, you have so many people that are magnetically attracted to this industry. They want to be around it, but they're not creative. They are the analytic. They are the analytical person. They are the management person. They are the operations person. And it's just, once again, I think it's just about putting the bat signal out and saying, look, I want the greatest of the great to be around.

If you think what I'm doing is great, I want the greatest of the great around me, and you build that team. Now, when you opened up this site, did you take your music off of Spotify and iTunes? Yes. And now, do you think, now that same music you put back on your platform,

do you think that helps or hurts you? I think it helps. It helps? And the reason for it is because when you really, you know, at the very beginning, it was more about doing the experiment. Right. Because we needed to do the experiment and make sure it works. And, you know, these are the type of conversations I was having with Nip. Nip did his Proud to Pay.

Yeah, I heard Nip did it with you. Yeah, he did Proud to Pay. The $1,000? Yeah, exactly. How did you guys on your platform? Talk about you guys on your platform yeah yeah you know what i'm saying um and really that's that's that's got to be through through my guy nathan mccartney um if you haven't even been noticing what nate has been doing he has a instagram profile called the bag it's crazy data analytics about the music business and everything. If you check the followers of that page, it's like somebody who's who in, I'm talking about music, film, investment, et cetera. But he's always been one of these guys that's had his ears to the ground and was one of the first guys that worked with me on Superphone as well. But he actually was the one that put me with Nip.

With Nip? So let me ask you. I know we're bouncing around a little bit yeah but we're going to cover all grounds um he comes to you and says i want to sell a tape for a thousand dollars yeah and basically you didn't think he was out of his mind nah because he had already he had already done um that's right yeah you know what i'm saying that's the one that jay bought a thousand of them, I think. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, no, no, Jay bought a thousand of the- No, he bought a hundred. A hundred?

Okay, okay. So that was the screenshot, the 10 bands, a hundred albums at $100, 10 bands, right? Right, right, yeah. So he had already done that, but he said, yo, Ry, listen, you know, I've been looking at what you were doing. Like, we just sat down and compared notes, and I said, hey, look, I'm going to be honest with you. If you allow folks to actually give you what they believe is worth to them and you don't put the price on it, then there will be some folks that will come through and say, hey, I think your music has changed my life. It got me through whatever. I've had folks come to me and actually this is for any

artist. Yo, your song got me through a breakup yo your song got me through a breakup your song got me through cancer your song got me through whatever it was and to them it's priceless so if they have it they'll give it and if you don't put a cap on what you think it's worth hey it's worth twelve dollars then I was showing him in my super phone hey I got folks that have spent 25 five grand you know 15 000 25 000 with me he's like yo off a 12 album and i say yeah because once you build a relationship they'll tell you what they want in terms of what's premium and so when he was putting the whole package together it wasn't just yo here's the cd 4000 right you got to go to a show or you know some got a phone call whatever it was.

And I say, yo, man, let's do it. And you have the app and you got all the data and you'll know every single person where they live and their zip code. And then, you know what I'm saying? And you can actually show them your appreciation for their support. Is all this stuff that you did and then even what you're describing here pre-Patreon? Because this sounds like the Patreon model. Yeah, it was pre-Patreon. That's crazy. Yeah, yeah. I, it was pre-Patreon. That's crazy. Yeah, yeah.

It's like you're a real threat to the industry. If they have more of you, what are they needed for? Listen, I'll... You're putting everyone out of a job. I never worry about that for the simple reason

that when it's your time, it's just your time. And you have to do the most that you can with the decades that you have. And we really only get three, four, if we talk about decades, you know what I'm saying? And we lucky if we get three or four, you know what I'm saying? So you have to do the most that you can with the decades that you have. And I, and if I, if I really think about it, some of the artists that we still with the decades that you have and I and if I if I really think about it some of the artists that we still revere to this day there's this concept of like the artist's age

of reckoning where like some of our greatest were all gone by like 28 Tupac big yeah yeah you know I'm saying and so they did what they had to do with the time that they had. So for me, I'm like, yo, I've had plenty of decades. And so if what I'm able to do is plant the seeds, whether it's plant the seeds for, like you said, a Patreon or any of the SuperPhone competitors that have come out and clones that have come out or plant the seeds for the next artist to be able to know what to do with their money, how to do it with their money the right way. I think, you know, there is a possibility to actually have like a real creative middle class, right? Because, you know, for me, and going back to the beginning of the conversation, for me, going to Harvard and then saying I want to be in music, everyone just assumed I was going to be broke. Just assumed. They just said, yo, you want to be creative. You want to be in the arts. You're going to be starving for a long time. You may, you might, might just get that break where you,

you're the 1% that actually gets on. But I think as you're talking about, if you understand how the data works, as Nip was talking about, you understand how to connect with that core group. It doesn't matter even if it's just a product that's not music, even if it's just a, you know, you're starting a coffee brand, you're starting a liquor brand, whatever. You find that core group and you can appeal to them, they will be loyal. And I think it allows for there to be an actual creative middle class where you can actually, and it's tough, though, because that's almost like an oxymoron. And I'm going to tell you why.

Because most folks, when they think creative, they don't want to be middle class. It's like when Ye said, you know, what you think I rap for? That's not what you're doing it for. But the bottom line is that if you're doing what you love to do. If you can earn a living. Yeah. If you can earn a living doing what you love to do.

You made it. How valuable is that? You made it. You made it. How valuable is that? You know what I'm saying? And so really for me, I think really that's the crusade that I'm on. So I'm not worried about, you's my time. All the greats,

the greatest of the great, their impact was even more exponentially increased by the fact that maybe folks felt that they were going too soon. When you talk about

Martin, you talk about X, you talk about Nipsey, you talk about Bob Marley, you talk about Pac. Because Jimi Hendrix, the body of work that they have, that's all you got. And then you start realizing, man, to be that age and be talking like that, playing like that, thinking like that, you know what I'm saying? And it sets the bar for us that are actually still here. We still here, so we better be continuing to push. You know what I'm saying? And it sets the bar for us that are actually still here. We still here, so we better be continuing to push.

You know what I'm saying? Am I hearing you correct when you say that you're happy enough with just planting the seed, almost like you believe in what you're saying, open sources, and open source so everybody could go do this? Yes. Because I would hate for corporations, won't name any companies, to take your idea and then run with it and then monopolize it

yes yeah he was one of the first investors in superclang yeah for lack of a better term they are participating because i think megastallion had something yes on it too right yeah so cardi bad bunny zane from one direction miley cyrus do the record label are they doing this do you direct uh it depends sometimes the. Are they doing this through the record label or are they doing this through you direct? It depends. Sometimes they're management companies, sometimes it's through the label. But yeah, I mean. I mean, I would think in order for artists to reap the same benefits as you, the only how they can do that is they do direct to you. And I think that goes to your question.

Once the knowledge is open source, then it allows for folks to build on it and iterate. And I think that's just the human cycle. We have to enhance and iterate. You know what I'm saying? For lack of a better term, you are like the Steve Jobs of this. So, you know what I'm saying? You know what I'm saying? So, it's like,

that's the one thing I want to commend our community is that if we have the information, people go support the information. A lot of people don't have the information. And a lot of people are probably saying, well, this guy is super smart. He went to Harvard. He's the only one who can do it.

But just saying, I went to Harvard and I am super smart, but I'm not the only one who can do it. And you'll get down. For me, searching, I love the fact that I see Megan has something on your platform. I love the fact that I found out Nipsey did that to you. So you think that's going to be more popular? Like, more artists are going to come? Do you think Jay-Z would drop an album on your platform? Yeah, I mean, I think, honestly, I think it's all possible.

I think it's all possible. I think it's all possible. And at the end of the day, for me, it's just about, like I said, being of service. So if this is a way I can be of service, then great. If it's more on the money tip and people want to figure out, hey, I just got my advance. I don't want to mess it up. You know what I'm saying?

I can do it that way as well. But I'm in a great place. I'm in, you know, I'm super blessed. And so, you know, as much as I can give, what I found is the more that I give. And, you know, my parents are religious. So they say, look, the more you give, the more your cup will be filled so that you can give more. You know what I'm saying? So I'm good.

I'm good. Karma's a two way street. Yeah. You ever thought the music business would come down to this? Because it's so much disposable music out there. In the 90s, in the 2000s, I don't want to sound like that old guy. Oh, in my day, right? But I'm just going to deal with the facts.

It felt like music, when it was analog, we had to be in the studio together. It felt like the music was better. Does that feel like that? I feel like that. I'm in that world, too. Yeah, yeah. I listen to Thriller. Right.

And I listen to those records. I listen to, you know, and actually, one of the folks that really put me onto this was Tommy Mottola. So my first my first record was with Casablanca. So I had records and I came in and played them for Tommy and he said, yo, right. These are good. But I got my my guy T-Bone Walk. And he's just going to come in and just play play the records for him and just see what he come up with.

Man, this guy came in and put bass lines, and Tommy Mottola was playing guitar, because Sony's music studios were still open at that time. So he'd come in, and so I think there is a certain magic of that time and that era, which is probably nostalgic for me. You know what I'm saying? But I mean, listen, each generation has their own, what matters to them.

You know what I'm saying? I think for me, I'm old school like that. You know what I'm saying? It matters to me. I love analog. Where was you at when you heard that Kanye kind of challenged a whole, he did it on here. Right, right, right.

But he kept going. Right, right, right did it on here. But he kept going. It just happened here. Like that was like, now I'm smarter, right? Now I see that he actually, I didn't know. I was living in history. Now it's history. It's like, damn, this is the first time you've seen a person. I don't want to even say a black person.

I want to say a person, period. Challenge a company and then kind of like prove it. Like, not the racist part, but the fact is that they kind of kept selling his sneakers. They kind of like, and where was you at when you found out this? I know you've got a relationship with Ye. Yeah, I really, I kind of live in my own bubble, you know what I'm saying? So I'll see little things that are happening, but I mostly invest my energy, time, and resources where I can make a difference. And so in that struggle, that's his struggle.

Maybe a phone call of support is the most that i could offer when i'm talking about the artists that come to me and they you know they're not taking on a corporation head-on but they want to take care of their mom or they want to do whatever i know that my time energy and resources is well spent and i can see the impact and the result of the investment that i'm making so you know i think i might have just been, you know, just wherever I was when I saw it and said, hey, look, you know, more power

to those who are fighting those fights. And I know where my actual strengths are. I know where my muscle, per se, can actually add value. Because I would think

that him and Todd Dallas are the signs of hoaches, but as long as on your platform. Hey, let's make it happen. Let's make it happen. Let's make it happen. No, because you got to think about it. All the things that Ye has talked about and been through,

then you come to find out that Vultures was on Atlantic, and you're like, what? That didn't make sense to me. I remember it was John Monopoly or something. It was a tweet, and it's like, this whole time, I thought this is who he was fighting for. To be independent. And then come to find out, y'all got a secret deal with Atlantic.

It does not make me mad. It just makes me disappointed. Because I'm just like, wow. I thought we were fighting for independency. Hey, and I'm willing to be in the trenches and fight for it with whoever wants to actually fight that fight. Some folks, they don't want to fight the fight. They actually just want to be creative. They don't want the actual added weight of actually having all of their customer data. They want to just, you know, and it depends on where you are in life. What is it that matters

to you? You know what I'm saying? But if you want to run your creative business and enterprise at a data driven level, which is how every great multi trillion dollar business runs their enterprise. Amazon knows everything you've ever done on their platform. Everything you've looked at, they know. Instagram knows everything you've done on their platform. Everything you've looked at, they know. Every conversation you've had, whether you give them permission to or not, it's on their servers, right? So if you decide that you want to actually shoot for multi-trillion dollar status, which now there are several companies that have reached multi-trillion dollar status. We saw NVIDIA get to multi-trillion dollar status just this year, you have to run it and assume the responsibility of managing, navigating, and analyzing that data.

And there's the AI tools to help you get it out. Yeah, of course. Like never before. Of course. But you have to have a desire to do it. So it's almost like people will say, well, why is so-and-so selling their publishing? Well, it's because they would like to actually bring forward the actual revenue to today and let somebody else wait for the revenue payouts. Somebody will say, well, that's your annuity. That's your retirement plan.

But if you get $200 million up front, you could do with that what you want to do now at the health and strength that you have now than waiting 12, 14, 15 years for that $200 million to trickle in. You know what I'm saying? So I think everybody has their different motivations and desires for how they want to run their business and more power to them, for those that want to run it at that level, to have that infrastructure technologically, analytically, then that's what we're here to help out with. Now, what life would have been like if you never lost that laptop and you made Watch the Dome album? Wow. Hmm.

Well, I mean, actually, we can look at the trajectory. I'll probably be a hit boy. There's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with that. Okay, because i have hit niggas in paris i'm trying to yeah okay okay okay you know i'm saying okay and there's nothing wrong with that and i think he's had a he's he's had an incredible run him and nas made some classics yeah to me recently you know i'm saying but i think i think the world in the universe and God shows you where your light can really shine. You know what I'm saying?

And that's how I really feel. Like, there are folks that have come to me, yo, man, yo, your studio videos, yo. You know, like we just did a tiny desk. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, I saw that. And the bottom line is I feel like the gauntlet has been passed. Right. You know what I'm saying?

We passed the mantle on. Now I'm doing what no other producer could actually do right they can't do that because i i like i don't um when people say everything is meant to be sometimes i think life makes a mistake too sometimes because i just think i don't think like what would that record would have sounded like what you hold and uh yeah man we got at that moment yeah at that moment. Yeah. At that moment. I'm trying to figure out, because you went hard for the laptop when that happened. Yeah.

And then I come to find out. As you should have. Right, right. I come to find out that was one of the reasons why, because you had Watch the Throne. Yes. So, they never came out? Never came out. You got it?

Never came out. Oh, that's right. It's in the laptop, right? Yeah. You ain't got nothing. Never came out, man. I want to hear how that record sound. You know what I mean? As a fan, as a fan, I want to hear that. Yeah. No copies of. Oh, that's right. It's in a laptop, right? You ain't got no. Never came out, man. I want to hear how that record sound. You know what I mean?

As a fan, as a fan, I want to hear that. No copies of that. Nah. Anywhere. Nah. I mean, maybe. Maybe they have. Because we were recording out in Bath, England.

So whoever that engineer is, he has. Oh, he got him. Yeah, he has a big up. He going to sell it to somebody. He going to sell it to somebody. He got him. Now, let me ask you, being the fact that you have this direct relationship to your fans, Wu-Tang, a couple of years back, did an album.

Yes. And the album was just for... A one of one, I think. One of one. Yeah. One, is that something you ever been offered to do? And two, would you do it? Yeah. been offered to do and two would you do it if yeah so i don't me personally i i truly believe

that music is forever to be distributed right uh it is a strange business model right right i think it's an extremely strange business model because literally i've seen art and it's it's hard to wrap your your brain around especially down here our here, Art Basel's down here. Sometimes you go into these galleries and you literally see it's a canvas and it's all red. And that's the whole thing. Garbage on the floor. Or whatever. But it's literally someone paid 12 million or $22 million or a hundred million for it. You know what I mean? So that doesn't exist in music. You know what I'm saying? I think Wu-Tang was at least shooting for that.

But I think the difference with music is that it's created so that many can enjoy it. You know what I'm saying? You're right about that. I go to Art Basel every year. I haven't seen a painting I like yet. I have not seen one. The ones we like are on the walls outside.

And you know what it is? It's in the eye of the beholder. It's not meant for me. This is not seen one. The ones we like are on the walls outside. And you know what it is? It's in the eye of the beholder. It's not meant for me. This is not for me. I'm here for the events. I'm here to talk and kiss babies. But there's some scamming it too. There's not.

Yeah, but I ain't falling for it. It's an incredible vehicle for ultra high net worth people. There's people using it as a vehicle. Yes, exactly. Absolutely. Absolutely. So we're going to do a quick time with Sly? Let's go. Oh, one thing. When we talk about the number thing, we can't forget. We got to shout out Mike Jones. He was

doing the number thing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, Texas is hella indie, so he was on to something. Yes, he was. I always thought y'all wasn't giving out your real numbers. This is your real numbers. Okay. Okay. What are we doing here?

All right, guys. Yeah. So, do you want to get a designated drinker? Yeah, because you ain't drinking. Okay. Oh, look. Before we go on, before we go on, there's a certain thing that I love about having this job.

One is to see if the guest is drinking and what they are drinking. Right. Right? And we always bet if they're going gonna be on time or not okay i lost to you today you came at four four i was like he's gonna be here early right and then the other thing that was was was very impressive oh man yeah i bet on you i lost don't worry about it it's only four minutes we had to circle the block we actually okay okay okay all right yeah but you got to be in there. Okay, okay, okay. He's on time, man. He's on time.

He's on time. Caribbean time. That's on time. He's on time. But I thought when we did this that you was going to have, like it's always someone say, this is off the table and you can't ask that. I thought you was going to, I almost bet that you was going to say, this is off the table or this is a, and when I found out that you did not say none of that,

I was like, wow, this guy's about that life. So that's how that's all. Absolutely, yeah. You'll be surprised the shit we go through two minutes before. Hey, hey.

The American West with Dan Flores is the latest show from the Meat Eater Podcast Network hosted by me, writer and 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 know a lot of cops, and 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.

Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that Taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated.

I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. And it's going to take us to heal us. It's Mental Health Awareness Month.

And on a recent episode of Just Heal with Dr. J, the incomparable Taraji P. Henson stopped by to discuss how she's discovered peace on her journey. So what I'm hearing you saying is healing is a part of us also reconnecting to our childhood in some sort. You said I look how youthful I look because I never let that little girl inside of me die. I go outside and run outside with the dogs.

I still play like a kid. I laugh, you know, I love jokes. I love funny. I love laughing. I laugh at myself. I don't take myself too seriously. That's the stuff that keeps you young and stops you from being so hard. To hear this and more things

on the journey of healing, you can listen to Just Heal with Dr. J from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. AT&T, connecting changes everything. perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from

Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Caramouch. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them.

It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Michael Kassin, founder and CEO of 3C Ventures and your guide on Good Company, the podcast where I sit down with the boldest innovators shaping what's next.

In this episode, I'm joined by Anjali Sood, CEO of Tubi, for a conversation that's anything but ordinary. We dive into the competitive world of streaming, how she's turning so-called niche into mainstream gold, connecting audiences with stories that truly make them feel seen. What others dismiss as niche, we embrace as core. It's this idea that there are so many stories out there, and if you can find a way to curate and help the right person discover the right content, the term that we always hear from our audience is that they feel seen. Get a front row seat to where media, marketing, technology, entertainment, and sports collide.

And hear how leaders like Anjali are carving out space and shaking things up a bit in the most crowded of markets. Listen to Good Company on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. and celebrating our legends while they can still smell us. We have partnered with What The Flower to create this movement where everyone can give flowers to the legends in their lives. You can now order a custom flower box for the someone you want to show appreciation to by visiting www.wtflowers.com and paste your orders in the mail. That's hard as fuck.

Go ahead, you to go first? We want to get him a designated driver. Oh, yeah. That's a good drinker. Explain. Can you explain? We're going to give you two names, two places, two things. And this is really just to bring up people, places, and things.

For the stories. There's no criteria. It's not a list to anybody. You pick one, and nobody drinks. If you pick one, nobody drinks. But if you say both or neither of them, like you don't really want to answer it, then we all drink. and nobody drinks. If you pick one, nobody drinks. But if you say both or neither of them, like you don't really want to answer it, then we all drink.

The table drinks. So if you have a designated drinker... I ain't going to lie. Oh, my pump? Yeah, my pump. Yo, I ain't going to lie. You look like you got drunk. A lot of the banks are Malibu.

That chain says Malibu Drunkard. Yeah. Okay. So please, any stories that come up with anybody, we're not trying to diss anybody. It's all love for everybody we mentioned. Yep. He can be right there, yep.

Be on the side of him. Okay, bet. He said that's your Barbara? Mike Fobb. Oh, Mike Fobb. Okay, okay, okay. I'm going to say, that's kind of weird. The Barbara, you want a drink?

All right, cool. My bad. You ready yes Kanye Pharrell We have a criteria you want you says story I gotta tell a story The game is you pick one or you pick one or none Yeah, I pick one or none you say both no you drink you pick any of you think we don't drink Right if you pick one, we don't if I want everybody? You can say both, none, or you pick. And if you pick, we don't drink. Right. If you pick one, we don't drink. But if I want everybody to drink, I say both?

Yeah. Or neither. You're too smart. Both. You caught on too fast. Both. But we're saying if you got stories with anybody,

this is really just to bring up names and places and people. You're working for real, right? Yeah, both. Okay. Both. He got a shot. Yeah.

Salud. Salud. Ryan, you better not. Wait. And baby shots Where's your chub? He got a shot. Yeah. Salud. Salud. Ryan, you better not. Right. What do you got? Tequila? And baby shots, because it'll go. It'll go.

Okay, okay. You want tequila? Oh, yeah. I don't like vodka. Oh, shit. Yeah, get the tequila. Not that we on. I'm not.

I'm not. Ah. What? The bingo. Right. not that we don't okay that's funny that's funny okay let him get his drink okay okay That's funny as hell. There you go. OK. Chris Brown or Usher? You got to take one shot off top. Yes. Catch up. To catch up.

Chris Brown or Usher? Both. Aw, damn. You both and all of these, man. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. All of them.

You took no shot. Fab or Kiss? I know what you're going to say. Fab. That's my guy. Yeah. Y'all make great music together, too. Jeez. How did you guys connect?

Man, my, the late, great Ed Woods, you know what I'm saying? So I had a record called Used To Be, and he said, yo, we're going to get, you need a feature on this. And he went and got Fab. And you know what? I was so naive early in the game. What do you mean? And so we got in the studio, and I tried to tell Fab I didn't like one of his lines

or something like that. So he was like looking at me. That's what he meant. He was like looking at me. And you were a new producer? Yeah, I new i mean i had i had it was it was my song and ed was like yo i got you know i got a surprise for you going to studio fab you know and and he said something like um it could be how it used to be um uh because it used to be the charm i'm early like a rooster on a farm with a Jacob exclusive on the arm.

And I said, rooster? That's not a good line. He was like looking at me like, yo, man. But from there, he said, look, this is what I'm known for, Ryan. These type of lines and punchlines, that's what I'm known for. So I said, okay, I understand my place. But they say Dr. Dre does that all the time. But he said he was new.

He was green. I was brand new. Oh, okay, I forgot that part. Dr. Dre loved it. Now he might do it back then. Okay, okay, okay. Brand ass new. All right, next one.

Swiss or Timberland? Swiss. Okay. You work more of a Swiss right I've actually never I never met Timbaland never met oh man really I mean I talk about a super huge student but never met Timbaland hopefully that changes after this. Yeah, for sure. Primo or P-Rock? Neither. Oh, shit. We don't drink. We do drink. He said neither.

Okay. Any reason why neither? Just no influence there? Well, no. I just don't have any. I don't have any. You said I don't have a story, right? No, no, no.

It's too late to drink. It's too late. No, no, no. It's not about having a story. I thought I don't have a story right No no no It's too late It's not about Any criteria If you pick somebody It could be anything It doesn't have to be a story We just say if you have a story He's just so smart

He just over there For sure Okay so if we go back Those pineapples and mangoes He made us drink already People are going to be like Damn He don't like

Pretty much You got it? Yeah Johnny Gill Or Ralph Tresvent Both I thought you were going to say Ralph Tresvent

Both I mean I did the New edition record That's right They both record. That's right. That's right. They both new edition. That's right.

Well, I don't know where you're going to go with this one. This is a good one. Michael Jackson or Prince? And if you got a story with either, please share. We got to go both. Yeah. You give the neither look. We got to go both on that that's hilarious good

are you gonna have under the table any story with mj prince well i i actually the closest i ever got to having a michael jackson story was just being around these producers from philly vidal and dre and they had done they've been working with Floetry, and I remember being in a studio session and they were playing the Butterflies record that Marsha had written for Mike. And I was just like, yo! And I think they had his vocals and it was-

That's the closest you've been to him? That's the closest to an actual story. And then I think the VMAs one year, I actually was able to ask Quincy Jones, because he was backstage at the VMAs, so I was able to ask him a question just about that. But that's the closest I've ever been. But in terms of just Prince in general,

that's a whole other level in terms of musicianship. And independence, what he was striving for. And also, when you think about it, the legend is that he was 16 years old and he went in the studio and he didn't have a demo. He just went in the studio and just made it in front of everybody.

And so that really was what inspired him. That's damn near religious. That's what I'm saying. At like 16 or 17 he didn't have the demo. They just said, yo they put the tape and this is back when they were running the tapes. You know what I yeah when you cut the tapes so he laid all the drums then he said yo running back laid the guitar run it back laid the bass run it back laid the vocals etc so that's really what the blueprint was for all of the studio videos that i was making wow

you know what i'm saying speaking of prince nine sources story on this show. We asked him if anybody ever denied him. And he said Prince denied him because he didn't own his own masters. Wow. Prince was on what you was on back then. He was telling people, you own your own shit. So imagine that. The closest I ever got to Mike is Pharrell sent him a bunch of beats. Oh, this story's amazing.

And Michael called him and said, no, I want what Nori egg raps on. Pharrell sent him a bunch of beats. Oh, this story's amazing. And Michael called him and said, no, I want what Nori egg raps on. He's like, I want what he raps on. Did he sing? Did he sing? He was like, something to the back. I always picture Mike listening to me like gangsta now. Pharrell says.

Like in the back bad video he's listening to me I can literally hear Pharrell sweating like he's like yo you won't

believe this call and I'm like what he's like I took out a phone with Michael Jackson's

people and they said if Noriega ain't gonna rhyme on the beat don't send us the beat wow

that would've been the illest I always mentioned Mike in the car like with

a bandana on so I'm sorry I'm sorry I had a flashback. D'Angelo or Anthony Hamilton? D'Angelo.

I heard he's coming out with a new project too. Man, even if this man never came out with another project. Yeah. The Voodoo album was...

Yeah. Absolutely. Wu-Tang or N.W.A.? Wu-Tang. Teddy Riley or Raphael Sadiq? Teddy Riley. Was it because of proximity of Virginia? Yeah, I'm about to say that.

Well, I mean... D.C. Virginia. Well, I mean... And Teddy.. Virginia. Well, I mean. And Teddy. First of all, just Teddy Bradley. He made Ryan Shaker. Right. So Blackstreet, Guy. Yeah.

And then if you talk about Pharrell, Timbo, they came out of there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's like a lineage there. Yeah, I mean. And Devontae and Jodeci. Jodeci. Literally, I was studying everything those guys did. Right.

You know? And they all said Teddy was the godfather, basically. Now, this is what I don't know where you're going to go with this. This could go either way. I could bet on your answer, but I'm going to think I'm going to lose because you've been shocking me all day. And give us a story if you got one. And you have Quincy Jones or Dr. Dre?

The R&B is pulling you one way and the hip hop is pulling you the other. Dre. Wow. I did not expect that. I thought you were going to guess Quincy. No, and the only reason is the In The Club beat was the beat that I basically, I felt like I modeled my entire career off of just the beat itself.

Because basically, like even right now, I could go. Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh. And basically the simplicity of that and the ability even without the lyrics for me to just actually be able to beatbox that beat and how simple it was and how it knocked sonically yeah it was crazy yeah unbelievable so when you think about about the biggest record I ever had, I can sing that. Bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing. And if you think about that, how sparse that is sonically. I mean, so I mean, and also, to be honest. Quincy just seems like worlds apart, even for me musically, in terms of what, as a producer, he can do. Like on another planet or just historically?

How are you seeing him worlds apart? Well, I'm saying, like, if somebody came to me and said, yo, here's a 40-piece big band orchestra and arrange something for Frank Sinatra. Oh, yeah. Quincy Jones would close his eyes and conduct it. He was a genius. You know what I'm saying? So I don't even put my, like, you know, Stevie, Quincy, Prince.

You know, I don't even put myself in that, you know. But when I think about, the reason why I say Dre is I feel like okay I'm not I wasn't necessarily musically trained I don't know if Dre was musically trained but he had he there was something that he has first so that's the training to be able to to recognize and be that sort of sonic architect you know I mean so So that's, you know. Do the next three. Mary J. Blige or Erykah Badu?

Both. Damn. Yeah. I thought we was going to do light work today. He came in saying, vote, vote, vote, vote, vote, vote, neither. Hit maker or hit boy? Don't look at me. Neither.

I don't. Jesus. No stories with either one. No stories. Remember, it's not the story. Yeah, but we're going to go on this with stories. That's your criteria. That's your criteria. I like it. Let's make that stories. That's your criteria. That's your criteria.

I like it. But let's make that clear. It's not Disney. That's your criteria, right? Right. No stories. Analog or digital? You took your shot, bro? Oh, I been took the shot.

Oh, okay. Got another one. Analog. Analog. Analog. Me too. I'm with you on that. All right.

And then you go to the next ones. Thriller or bad? Thriller. I can tell you it's a thriller type of dude. Thriller or bad? Thriller. I can tell you it's a thriller type of dude. Thriller. How can you tell that? I don't know. I don't know.

I can feel like he had the jacket at one point, white gloves, all that. You come across like that. Like in a good way. A lot of us had that Michael Jackson glove. Stop running. Yeah, looking around, people not even want to make eye contact right now. Yeah, he had the jacket too. I wearing it. Yeah, looking around, people not even gonna make eye contact right now. Yeah, they had the jacket too.

I had it. Alright. Whitney? Okay, you go. Whitney or RZA? Whitney. DJ Quick or the RZA? Neither. Okay, fuck. You're neither? I'm not used to it, man. neither fuck you're neither

I'm not used to it yeah I'm not used to it I'm used to both everyone's just both right for her Tupac or DMX

Tupac you got a story then. This is your criteria. Yes. Okay, good. But obviously he was going before. But my, like I said, we started the whole Cassie project. And Rasheed literally was like, yo, I don't care who you're listening to, et cetera, et cetera.

It's all Pac all the way. And also Pac because there was when I actually was one of those kids that went to a band camp. And I, you know, I had to like the infamous band camp. I went to a band camp. American Pac? No. You know what goes down in a band camp? So, you know, I had one of those, you know,

one of those super early adolescent, you know, crushes. And she basically, you know, I wanted to make records, you know, or write songs. And she was like, oh, well, you know, I'm doing this song for Mother's Day. And she had the Dear Mama song from Pop. Oh, thees or Curtis Mayfield hmm neither okay I know you're gonna pick on And then he looks up at me crazy like, neither of you. He knows we about to go down. OK. Whew.

I know who you're going to pick on this one. At least let me take the shot first. All right. I say he's picking the second. Mm-hmm. Whew. He's been saying it. He's been saying it.

Like, James Brown? James Brown or Jimi Hendrix? Whew. So I feel like Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley is like your thing but James Brown both you a fan of Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley yeah but for different

yeah different and James Brown I met James Brown once he came up to me and said keep sampling my shit I mean if you look at the Diamond Girl video, that's a James Brown. That's actually a James Brown reference. You know, because in that video,

I'm wearing a tuxedo. I come down to join. We got the band playing. That's an actual James Brown reference. Everybody took their shot? Oh, I took my shot already. I got to tell you, bro. I'll be very honest.

This one. Thank you. So I'm going to ask you this, this shot oh i took my shot already i gotta say one oh i'll be very honest this one thank you so i'm gonna ask you this but then i'm i'm i'm gonna ask you in in separately a different way major or independent major independent yeah independent okay your first two albums was on Motown correct yes this is this is this is me being a straight spoiled it was hard for me to go from a major mm-hmm to independent because I like the four seasons mm-hmm I like you know and when I went for major mm-hmm independent, I had to downgrade. I don't know if that's the right word, but it is.

Damn. Yeah, but I had to downgrade some shit. It was, yeah. Yeah, like it was, I had to go back to the Sheraton. But it was completely different for me. I wasn't a multi-platinum. There was a lot of respect for the musicianship but it wasn't like i was multi-platinum billboard number one hits and you know records and clubs

and the hottest et cetera et cetera so but it looked like that to us at least it maybe it did maybe it looked like that but i mean to be frank be frank, we sold 180,000 records the first. On Motown. And 60,000 on the second. Now, the second one, we got nominated for a Grammy, but I mean, that's a total of, I mean, that's, we didn't even, you know. And still in the era where you had to sell like crazy amount of records, gold and platinum. Literally, I heard you say this before, but you literally made more money for your independent albums than you did now is that is it entirety how about the tours yeah but that's what i'm saying i didn't even tour off of those

albums you know what i'm saying so like once we went independent then i understood like okay this is how we're gonna really get to the money because. Because that's, I think, what's so opaque. It's very opaque when you're a major label. You're at the major label, things are paid for, studios paid for, advances paid for, travel is paid for, et cetera. But then once the sales come in, unless you reach a certain amount, you got to wait till your next album budget opens up before you get paid again it's a bank loan i think you had the 80 20 your first deal or something like something like that and that's what i'm saying it's just like you know i i for me i don't like that opacity i i want to have full transparency word mean say that again opacity yes i want yeah so pay that mean okay

you know i want I want full transparency. Right, right, right. And so that was, quote, unquote, none of my business. You know, how much did they make? You know? And so that's why I really wanted to go independent because I was like, yo, if we sold 180,000 records the first time, how did I only sell? We're in the information age. How did I only sell 60,000 the second time how do i only sell 60 000 the second time we should

just email everybody who bought the first us cells because they they could have did that and like you said they didn't give you the information so maybe you you sold because we was hearing the records everywhere so we had to maybe i i truly believe man i think that the records were favorites amongst artists. So if artists were sending, yo, you heard Brian's joint, et cetera, they were favorites. But when I went to Germany, I was not on the radio in Germany. Everything was on little mixtapes. People were spinning it in clubs, et cetera.

But there was that real groundswell of people that's like, yo, I like this music. I remember me asking for accounting and things like that and they telling me that the record label said oh yeah we spent 500 grand in japan and we spent 250 000 in germany and we spent we spent this and only in dusseldorf This is my favorite place. That's the only place that's in New York. Yeah, you know, New York. He goes to, bro. I go to Hamburg, Frankfurt, all that. You know, Berlin and all that. I've been around quite some time. But what I'm trying to say is, when they did that to me, I couldn't, like, it was, I don't know, I don't want to say it wasn't ordered in back then.

Yes. I just didn't know about it. Right. There was no way for me to, there was no Instagram. So if they said they had a poster of me in Japan, I had to just take it. Well, we know now that they were scamming everybody that way right yeah for real yes the marketing budgets were all they were they were siphoning money like this is why this is why you love the majors because the era that you were in was when

the record labels were flush with cash so they didn't make you pay back they would be like cool they would let you off your car it's still flush flush with cash, though. Let's not get it twisted. It was crazier back then. The record off of CDs. I love that. Those margins back then. I love, listen, me and him argue all the time because he's a super independent guy. I just think that independent, if you want to go to major, be independent first so you can leverage and have a better deal.

Oh, no, no. With the machine. See, I feel the opposite. And you tell me. I feel like you should go major first. Let them spend that budget on you because they can't ever take back your fame. Yes.

It's not like that now. In his era, it was. Now, they're accounting for every penny. I'm not a dinosaur, man. Like, what do you mean? Yeah, yeah, yeah. That wasn't 900 years ago. In the terms of the record business, it was.

Yeah. What I'm saying, though, is I agree. If somebody else is going to spend the money to make you famous, and then you can actually leverage that and make sure you do it the right way. And you can come out whole. But now a lot of these artists aren't coming out whole. They're stuck in that now. I don't know what you mean.

They're in these deals. Well, they're stuck. They spend the money. They you mean what no no no they're in the deal so they can't they haven't recouped then you could not recoup and they were doing well the labels they could have had a liked you as an artist be like cool yeah no problem and we'll let you out your deal this person buy you out your day like they were making deals left and right i don't think as nori i never recouped noriega Noriega I did. As Nori I spent so much money. I mean like I wanted to. Nori signs today.

He's signing a 360 deal where the name Noriega or Nori is copyrighted by the label. And when you don't recoup, you can't use that name. You better go on as Sir Francis Jr., the MC out there. Make a living, buddy. Oh, man. Let's get back to Quick Time. It got spooky. But even though these labels are crumbling

as we see them right now, I think the tech companies are the new record labels and they're the ones playing. I think his, I think your idea, period, is a new record label for those that smart. No, I'm talking about the bad guys. When I say the bad guys. But imagine now, imagine we take your...

Concept. Concept, right? And now you showing people, you listen, because even when you was dropping independent, it looked like you was a major. Oh, because we, I mean, we were moving. I watched you in the breakfast club and I seen you acknowledge that. We were moving that way. You know what I'm saying? Which is, but that's the other piece of it.

It requires also the financial infrastructure because otherwise, like if you can make a hundred grand pay $4,000 a month forever, then that means you can make a million dollars pay $40,000 a month forever. Right. Right. So that's really, once you have both the business infrastructure and the financial infrastructure then it becomes an infinite loop and that infinite loop is really what that's really what an artist needs to be able to say like you know what i'm i'm i want to go record my next album in in in france somewhere you know like the rolling stones did it yeah that's correct yeah all right So you know what I think? I think you being as smart as you are, right?

You having this early idea that's fucking genius. We all know it's genius, and we all know if it works, when it works, how the artist can benefit off of this. Right now, radio is still important, right? I told this to Fat joe the other day i was like yo if i was to ever drop a record again you're gonna work my radio yeah for sure like him like yeah i don't i don't want you to hire somebody yo i want you you know you know every pd he's put in 20 27 to more years he put in that work where jo Joe has to fight, he did it. I feel like that's the future. Like, when the concept that you have, but artists working for other artists. And artists are saying, I always loved Violator for that.

Violator was like artists managing artists. Chris Lighty was like an artist. Yeah. And that's where I think this is going. Like, I know this is sounding so minute, but I feel like Fat Joe will be running ahead of the radio department. See how he just dropped the record just now? And it's just everywhere.

It's everywhere. Not because he's my friend. It's just everywhere. And I'm like, he knows what he's doing. I think eventually we're going to hire ourselves to do the work on your platform. You think it's going to go that way? Let me speak into existence. I would like to see that.

What I will say, though, is just as you said, there will be other iterations of platforms for folks to actually communicate with their fans. I think the money piece is more of an issue because the money piece is what people, even like you said, when we started this conversation, you said, oh, I didn't know there was something that could do that. Right? And so I feel as though, for me, even moving from music to technology is because I felt like

I could serve a wider tranche of the population. Tranche? Just go with it. I've been Googling all day. He's got the spread. I think now you're right. But the ability for money management

from the concept of what artists really like. Like like you said we like the four seasons we like the you know if we can if we give fly charter we like to fly charter if we could go vacation we could go on a destination recording we'd rather do that than the bedroom recording right so it's about how do you work the finances to be able to deliver that. And that's why I think, like you said, when we were doing independent albums, we still. Look, I swear to God, I thought you were still on a major. You know what I'm saying? Like me and him always argue that.

And it's like, yo, you know what? Let's take the best of both worlds and mix it together. And I think that's what this is. Like for us to make independent money. Yes. But to look like a major, a little like a major is backing it. Yes.

Then you lose nothing. Yeah. You actually gain everything. Yeah. Like, and I believe that this is a big, and to be able to leave you, you struck,

you struck, to stand, to stand on your own independently and, and strike strategic partnerships with whatever major entities. Yeah. That's the, that's really the goal because that's where a lot of the, you could get a lot of financing from. Yeah, for sure.

Think about it. Sorry to cut you off. Think about it. When you're doing it on your own and if you don't show up to the radio station, it all gets on you. Yeah. But now if you have somebody who's professional in that position, it's like you don't, you're still independent, but you've got somebody else helping and saying, yo, listen, we got to make it to Cosmic Cab at 5 p.m. He's going to pull our record if we don't do it. If you have somebody who has that experience,

I think, why wouldn't you do that? I think that's the only thing that's missing from this beautiful idea. It's like, you know what? It might be really us running us. And when I say us, I don't mean race. I mean the people that's a part of the culture. It's important.

I think we should make some noise for that. I mean, the people that's a part of the culture. You understand what I'm saying? It's important. Yeah, it's important. I think we should make some noise for that. OK. Had a moment. Had a moment. Had a moment. Had a moment. Go ahead.

Where are we at here? OK. Are they over there snitching on you, saying you ain't taking a shot? Who? Who? Who? Who?

Who? Who? Who? Who? Illmatic or ready to die? Ooh. Both. OK, yeah. Yeah. That's a great answer. Yeah. Illmatic or ready to die? Both. Okay, yeah.

That's a great answer. You need another couple shots over here. I bet you didn't think you was going to come and get his drink champ. I'm not a drinker. Well, now you're a drink champ. You remember not being a drinker to a drink champ. Right. All right, good. Diana Ross or Donna Summers?

Diana Ross. Remove that. Missy or Eve? Missy. That was easy. Any stories? You're not telling us any stories. Diana Ross.

That's a favorite of my mother's you know and Missy Elliott I mean just sort of set the standard and I think I think really but did you say Diana Ross or Missy no

no Diana Ross or Donna Summer and you said Missy or Eve I asked the two questions at one time that's hell, that's the first time ever first time ever, that's fire right, now Missy really you know I think

the signing of Missy out of that camp as well right, I mean that whole camp honestly was just super signing of Missy out of that camp as well. BNC was a writer at first. Right. I mean, that whole camp, honestly, was just super, ultra, incredibly ill. It was Timbo, it was Missy,

it was Genuine, it was Aaliyah, Playa. It's like Pharrell says, something in the water over there, you know, going on. Yeah, it's crazy. Alright, next one all right stevie wonder or marvin gay stevie wonder said that did i hear that stevie wanted to walk you to the stage one time yes it's confirmed he can see we always get over here told him. We have so many stories of him saying a lot of shit.

Yo, did I hear that story that y'all walked to the stage together or something like that? Yeah, I forget where I was performing. And it was something like that. And he didn't have a walking stick. Let's be real. No, no, no. He walked up to you. He was like, what's up, Nick? Like, yo, where are you?

He's like, yeah, I don't know. I respect that. Go ahead. Motif or Phantom? Motif. I play that. What's that? I play that. Yeah. What's these guys over here?

You got this, Nar? Yeah. Ray or Ghost? The Wraith. Oh, he's thinking he went in cars. He put it together. And-oh. He's thinking, he went in cars. He put it together. And that's not what it was, right? No, I said Wraith or Ghostface.

Wraith, Kwan, or Ghostface. Oh, I thought you said the Wraith. I'm glad I got it. I'm glad I got it. I thought you said the Wraith. I thought you said the Wraith. I said, that's not what we're talking about. I'm glad.

Thank you. You saved me for this one. Yeah, Wraith or Ghost. Wraith, Kwan. I got to say Wraith, Kwanwan because he actually did a record with me. Wow. Mariah or Alicia Keys? Both.

Salud. To much more life. Music industry or the tech industry? Both. Okay. And I knew he was going to say that. It's a mix. It's not even in there.

It's not even in there. I just made that up and I knew. Yeah, it's not even in there. I just made it up. I want to put a pin in it real quick. Okay. Because before when I said about the tech industries taking over the music industry, what is your take on that?

Like how everybody's kind of vilifying the Spotify's and all the DSPs. Like, what do you think? It's necessary. I think. They're a necessary evil? I believe that a symbiotic relationship between the creativity and the technology is necessary and it it will take several iterations until it will be perceived as fair but i believe like you know that there there was no other way to go than a netflix or a spotify right but But do you- Like, the entire library of all recorded music

is in my device right now. Well, the library of humanity is in your hand right now. Yeah, but that's what I'm saying. So it's inevitable. And it's almost like how people, they might want to vilify AI, but it's inevitable. And so we were just talking about motif versus phantom. But when you think, or Stevie Wonder,

the guy Ray Kurzweil, who made the Kurzweil synthesizer, he's a super forward thinker on what's called technological singularity, where you won't be able to tell the difference between a human and a robot at some point. He believes that at some point it's going to converge. And so that's why you have a neural link from Elon Musk or whatever. He'll put a chip.

And it's like, okay, you either assimilate or do you, you know, at some point there are folks that are going to say, hey, I don't want the chip in my child. But then does that mean that your child is now going to be behind all the other kids that have a chip? Right. So at some point, there is going to have to be some sort of of, you know, convergence. And it's about us as as a as a race, as a species, understanding how we do that in the safest way possible. But putting your financial cap on, don't you think that

the conversation should be had because we're seeing it in real time. The DSPs are making an incredible amount of money. Spotify's got $365 million. Billions, and they're making billions. I mean, $365. Off of, you know,

because obviously the model is that now anybody could be an artist and feed that model and and you know and it generates income but but that's exactly what i'm saying at some point through different iterations we will get to a relationship that's fair and equitable but in the early stages he who controls the cash flow controls how the actual pie is divided you know I'm saying and right now as as optimistic that it will pan out it's inevitable in my opinion like Snoop Dogg I believe he's the first one that said unfair these music splits are yeah he's the one at that status but a lot of people have been saying that yeah yeah yeah I believe he's the first one I saw.

Yeah, no, no, definitely at that status that was willing to step up. 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. I know a lot of cops, and 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. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple.

Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1,

Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. And it's going to take us to heal us. It's Mental Health Awareness Month, and on a recent episode of Just Heal with Dr. J, the incomparable Taraji P. Henson stopped by to discuss how she's discovered peace on her journey. So what I'm hearing you saying is healing is a part of us also reconnecting to our childhood in some sort.

You said I look how youthful I look because I never let that little girl inside of me die. I go outside and run outside with the dogs. I still play like a kid. I laugh. You know, I love jokes. I love funny. I love laughing.

I laugh at myself. I don't take myself too seriously. That's the stuff that keeps you young and stops you from being so hard. To hear this and more things on the journey of healing you can listen to just heal with dr j from the black effect podcast network on the iheart radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts at&t connecting changes everything i'm clayton english i'm greg lot and this is season two of the war on drugs podcast we are back in a big way in a very big way real people real perspectives this is kind of star-studded

a little bit man we got uh Ricky Williams NFL player Heisman Trophy winner it's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug man. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. Got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette.

MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Michael Kassin, founder and CEO of 3C Ventures and your guide on good company, the podcast where I sit down with the boldest innovators shaping what's next. In this episode, I'm joined by Anjali Sood, CEO of Tubi, for a conversation that's anything but ordinary. We dive into the competitive world of streaming, how she's turning so-called niche into mainstream gold, connecting audiences with stories that truly make them feel seen. What others dismiss as niche, we embrace as core.

It's this idea that there are so many stories out there, and if you can find a way to curate and help the right person discover the right content, the term that we always hear from our audience is that they feel seen. Get a front row seat to where media, marketing, technology, entertainment, and sports collide, and hear how leaders like Anjali are carving out space and shaking things up a bit in the most crowded of markets. Listen to Good Company on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right. Producing or singing? Singing. Performing. I mean, there's really just no...

Yes, being a producer is awesome, but, I mean, there is no... There is... There is no substitute for being on stage in front of that I mean talk about it you could be in it you could be in the lab and imagine it as a producer yo this is gonna be crazy as such and such but when you do that festival stadium you got people jumping and singing every word back there's, there is no

substitute for that. I always say an artist that's a producer is the most unselfish person on the planet. Because in order for you to make a hit and give that shit away, especially after you know what a hit record feels like, that shit must be feeling like

giving a thumb away. A limb away. Have you ever given away a record and was like... Well, that was that first record. That was Hot Tonight. Oh, okay. That was that first record. Where you want to get at?

Nah. Nah. But you had to put somebody else in front. Yeah, we let it go. Let it go. Wow. Okay. All right.

Lionel Richie or Smokey Robinson? Lionel Richie. You got a story with him? Well, in my family, they're a very religious family, so there were only two non-religious A-tracks in our house, and one was Lionel Richie, and the other one was Michael Jackson. Everything else was... Was was easy like Sunday morning well I mean it was no no it was the one with um uh All Night Long on it yeah yeah okay all right Outkast or UGK

Outkast it's the 25th anniversary of Outkast The first album? I believe like the second album Rick Ross or Meek Mill? Rosé Clips or Mobb Deep? Oof Clips Just cause Pusha T is on something

that I like. Mr. Lee's very happy. He just brightened up right now. That's his fan. We love Clips over here. Lauryn Hill or Queen Latifah? Lauryn Hill. I was going to say Lauryn Hill no matter who you said second.

And the reason for that is just two parts of that. Once again, grew up very almost sheltered, but that's all my mother could talk about. Mother and father could talk about. No, it was her performance in Sister Act. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. She was a kid. Yeah.

Do you realize she only has one album? That's all you need. That's crazy. That's all you need. I never realized that. That album, when you have that, that's all you need. Well, I mean,'s all you need. I never realized that. That album, when you have that, that's all you need.

Well, I mean, you got to count the Fugees. Yeah. That is her album too. I said her, but we didn't say the Fugees. I know, but that's another classic that she's...

You're right, you're right. It's all, in my opinion, that's as close, almost as close to a perfect album as you can possibly get. In terms of what I like. I mean, I think a lot of,

everybody would agree with you, I think. I think in the hip hop world. The production, the songs, the emotion. I was actually, it's crazy.

I was just watching, I think it must have been like an MTV Unplugged or something like that. And then she actually, because one of my favorite records is the X Factor record. But then there's a clip on YouTube where she actually because one of my favorite records is the X Factor record but then there's a clip on YouTube

where she actually is freestyling at the end of it and it's all live and it's just that whole vibe is just and the fact that her son is out here doing this thing killing it, killing it, yeah a part of the Marley family extended that that is greatness and her album is such a positive album too

yeah it's the last one for Quick Time with Slime let me get back into That is greatness. That is greatness. That is fine. And her album is such a positive album, too. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. It's the last one for Quick Time with Slime. Let me get back into the interview. Loyalty or respect? Loyalty.

Why? Laugh it. Loyalty. Well, I mean, listen, you can be respected by many, even by those who don't know you. But to have loyalty or to have true betrayal, someone really has to know you. That was hard. He's got a flight soon. OK. OK.

What time is his flight, Mr. Lee? Oh, shit. Yo, we got you drunk, man. Yo, yo, yo, yo. Yo, we got you drunk. Yo, I'll take my last shot with you. Oh, yeah, I'll take another shot. That's okay.

What time is this flight? 7.20. Okay. Let's talk about the wealth plan before we get up out of it. What exactly is the wealth plan? I know we touched on it a little bit earlier but i feel i feel like we've we've covered it because it's it's more of a concept than an actual you know okay the wealth plan so it's just more of the fact that we have a a service that we provide whether it's to artists musicians but anybody i anybody. I have folks that have been longtime

fans of mine, but work at Facebook, work at Google. And they're like, hey, I'm the first person in my family making tech money. And I want to be that differentiator in my family for how our money is going to grow. And that's the crazy piece about it is you could be really smart in technology. You could be really smart in technology. You could be really smart in college. You could be really smart in music. You could be really smart in business, but you don't know anything about investing and how to make the money work for you and last forever and how to actually do it in the right ways with tax laws and all that kind of stuff that that allows you to really live how you

want to live. And for what we do at Wealth Plan, it's kind of twofold. One is just how to teach people how to invest. But number two, what is money unless you can enjoy it with the people you love when you're in the best years of your life? Because a lot of folks put a huge emphasis on retirement, et cetera. And yes, you should have a great life in your golden years, but you should have a great life now with the people you love.

You know what I'm saying? And so if you know how to take a small amount of money and make it work for you so that you don't feel, like I said said and we gave that example if you want to hire your mom that in many cases it seems like a it would seem like a massive financial commitment right but if the money is doing it for you then you can do it and actually feel great about it you know i'm saying and that's really that's that's really what the wealth plan actually is all about. That's something I admire

about you. Throughout all this thing that everything is going on, it's like you stay positive. Gotta be. It's not easy. That's not easy. Not always. I mean, even though you're making it seem like it's easy, and you like I said, do your music like

God bless me for using this term, but you remind me of a male Sade. You know what I'm saying? I can get a massage, listen to your shit, and be cool, and still be cool. That went crazy right now. No, no, no. I'm just saying. It's music that made me feel good.

I'm not going to listen to it. I'm getting a massage. I'm listening to some smooth shit. But how do you maintain that positivity? This shit is it's crazy right now you could say crazy things about whatever you want to say online and yeah and you're maintaining you're not jumping out there you're not commented on you know uh whatever's happening and the reason for it is because there actually is no better feeling than being helpful to someone.

And I'm telling you, just something as simple as, you know, just imagine how you would feel if, you know, you're in line in a Starbucks or somebody, and somebody says, you know what, I actually, what do you order? And I got you. It's something as simple as that. But on the flip side, if you're the person who's able to do that, that gives you that kind of positivity that

you're able to do something for someone. And so I think really there's two parts of it. Number one, take care of yourself so that you're in a position to be helpful and of service to folks. So obviously, if you're taking care of yourself, you're going to feel great, right? It's like the plane mask. You got to put on yourself first before you even help your kids. And then number two, actually be in that spirit of service because there is no greater reward than knowing that something that you've done is actually helpful to someone else. And that's that, that, and, and so that's why, that's why I have the optimism about music and technology. That's why I have the optimism with, you know, if people are not making that much money in music or

that much money, period, I have seen literally have seen folks who have taken you know mail carrier commercial truck driver salaries and turned it to millions of dollars and it's because they just need to know it's middle school math but somebody just got to show them too they had some discipline yeah and they got somebody they got somebody that's going to show them right you know and for me i had someone to show me so that's really what it's about for me now is that legacy of actually saying, and whoever wants to talk to me about it, text Ryan.com. Still to this day, you leave your number there and it's, it's my direct number. And obviously I've got technology to, you know,

make sure that we weed out the bad actors and we have, you know, safeguards in there. You know what I'm saying? But the bottom line is that there is no, I couldn't be at a better place because I see every single day the impact that I'm having. And it's a real commitment to the furtherance of community, the furtherance of our culture,

the furtherance of just humanity in general. I know it sounds either lofty, but that's really- I believe heavily in the golden rule, like do unto others how you would like to be done to yourself. Exactly. That's a basic thing that everybody should implement. Yes. You know?

For sure. We know you got to go, but on this day, Monday, September September 23rd at 623 yeah do you think that we would be talking here and did he be in a jail like no I did no absolutely not absolutely not and and I think really for me is because when I first got into the music game we talked about Tommy Mottola. It was Tommy and Puff. Those were my mentors. Puff was on the management side.

Tommy signed me as an artist on the publishing side. Puff and Gwynn Diles, they managed me. But I've always been in my own insulated. I didn't see any of this going on. I literally did not see any of it. So all I saw was someone who gave me an opportunity, somebody who put me in the room with all the biggest artists. My first placement ever was on Beyonce because of this connection, Britney Spears, you know, doing Danny D. C Kane, singles for Loon, singles for New Edition. But that's because I basically was in my little ivory tower making stuff, sending it and literally, you know, incredible connections and and and and opportunities were being created from the music.

So all I needed to do was be in the music. But even today, I mean, y'all can see, like from even me being in Harvard that young, I just, I never acquired a taste for alcohol, for drugs, for partying. And not to say when I got to New York, I wasn't, that's actually how I met Cassie because I was like, yo, I'm a big producer now.

I'm going to the club, whatever. You know what I'm saying? But like, I just, I have never really had that as advice. I think I have obsessiveness in other pursuits. So I would have never, literally never. And also, you know, folks have always talked to me and say, hey, you know, Dave asked me, you know, Hey, how do you feel? Do you, were you heartbroken? You know, puff took your girl, whatever it was. And like, I understand when a story or a narrative is not

for me. And once it was no longer for me, then there were other narratives and stories for me to invest my time, energy, and resources into. So even for all of this, yeah, of course, you heard. But I never, I was just in my ivory tower the whole time. So I would have never. I admire your attitude. For sure. I admire your maturity. I admire you holding it down for sure because you know there

could have been a lot of things you could have answered that and you answered that like a grown man you asked like a person that is not petty and i'm very petty so i can recognize when a person is not going down that same block that i stay on. But I respect that, man. I respect that, man. Thank you for being here. I know you got to catch a flight. Take a couple of pictures, get a drop, and man, yo, man, we really wanted to give you your flowers, man. You deserve it, man. You deserve it

because you leading the way for every artist, not just independent artists, but major artists who find out, you know, how much that, how much are they giving a hundred percent simple and receiving so little right and when you know i had to take me years to find out but you leading the way and me seeing you doing it in real time yeah you know i'm seeing i get to witness you do this in real time. I get to witness you, you know, show shows in real time.

So you're in real time and sit back and say, damn, man, that's something that I eventually want to do with Drink Champs. You know, we want to drop a compilation album. And I just feel like everyone should pay attention to your story. Let's go. And we got your back. Drink Champs is a Drink Champs LLC production, hosts 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 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. 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. 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. I'm joined by Anjali Su, CEO of Tubi. We dive into the competitive world of streaming. What others dismiss as niche, we embrace as core.

There are so many stories out there. And if you can find a way to curate and help the right person discover the right content, the term that we always hear from our audience is that they feel seen. Listen to Good Company on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And it's going to take us to heal us. It's Mental Health Awareness Month and on a recent episode of Just Heal with Dr. J,

the incomparable Taraji P. Henson stopped by to discuss how she's discovered peace on her journey. I never let that little girl inside of me die. To hear this and more things on the journey of healing,

you can listen to Just Heal with Dr. J from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. AT&T, connecting changes everything. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. or wherever you get your podcasts. AT&T, connecting changes everything.

I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of starts that a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios.

Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart Podcast.