Drink Champs - Episode 468 w/ Erykah Badu and Alchemist
Episode Date: August 29, 2025N.O.R.E. & DJ EFN are the Drink Champs. In this episode we chop it up with the one and only, Erykah Badu and Alchemist! The champs bring together two cultural powerhouses: the legendary Eryka...h Badu and the iconic producer The Alchemist. This sit-down promises to be one of the most unique and genre-bending conversations in Drink Champs history. Erykah Badu, has always carried an aura of wisdom, creativity, and unfiltered truth. Known for her groundbreaking albums, unforgettable live performances, and fearless individuality, Badu steps into the Drink Champs arena ready to share stories from her journey through music, culture, and spirituality. Expect laughs, gems, and maybe even a few moments that only Badu can deliver. The Alchemist brings his elite producer’s perspective, representing the raw essence of hip hop. With a catalog that spans decades—working with legends like Mobb Deep, Nas, Jadakiss, and younger stars like Freddie Gibbs and Boldy James—Alchemist has cemented his name as one of the greatest to ever touch an MPC. Together, Badu and Alchemist speak about their joint project “Abi & Alan” and give fans an unexpected but powerful combo of soul and grit, offering fans a one-of-a-kind conversation about artistry, influence, and the future of music. This is a must-watch for hip hop heads and music lovers alike. Make some noise for Erykah Badu and Alchemist! 💐💐💐🏆🏆🏆 Listen and subscribe at https://www.drinkchamps.com Follow: Drink Champs https://www.drinkchamps.com https://www.instagram.com/drinkchamps https://www.twitter.com/drinkchamps https://www.facebook.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.
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He's a legendary queen's rapper.
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He's a Miami hip-hop pioneer.
What is DJ EFN?
Together, they drink it up with some of the biggest players.
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In the most professional, unprofessional podcast,
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Where every day is, New Year's Eve.
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be hoping it's when it should be it's your boy
N-A-O-N-A-A-A-W-W-W-W-O-N-A-W-W-W-O-N-W-O-N-W-W-W-N-W-W-N-W-W-N-W-W-N-W-W-N. When I tell you, when we started this show, we said we wanted to give flowers to the people
legends, the people who deserve it, people who are icons. These two people is
icons. I mean, I don't, I was doing, going through these, both of the sky, the sky
I don't think either one of them made a whack record ever.
I mean, all you hear is hits after hits, after hits.
I don't even know how they got together.
We're going to get through it.
We're going to ask all the questions.
But in case you don't know, we're talking about, we talk about Eric, come on doing it.
Now, off the top, that's, is that a single?
The first record, yeah.
Is that a single or is that, like,
like a warm-up record that you guys
are coming up? Both. Both? Okay.
Thank you. First off,
the record obviously reminds me of, you know what I mean?
I remember when that record came out and I'm just listening
and I'm like, it sounds so refreshing.
Like, even though this beat has been out, but it sounds like it right now.
Like, how did y'all, y'all orchestrate that?
That was really the catalyst of our working together.
I think, um, I mean, she's Erica by the first of all.
Of course.
I've been a fan.
I mean, I was, it was 96, 97.
I was on tour with Cyprus.
Right.
As a roadie, just carrying records for mugs, smoke and grooves to her.
And Erica was on the tour.
And I didn't know it.
Wow.
I was just a kid carrying records.
I used to be in the crowd watching her sets every night.
This was, I think you, I need on that tour.
Yeah.
97.
97.
And I didn't even know
her.
I was just a fan.
And so it,
you know,
full circle,
that's crazy.
All the way all
through the years.
And it was a
guy by the name
Cole Chris,
who works in the camp
with Erica.
Shout out to Cole Chris.
And he actually
was in a group
in the 90s.
You're going to remember
the group.
You remember Mad Flavor?
Of course.
Mad Flavor.
That's not
the original?
No,
I'm thinking of the original.
No, no, no,
I'm a group.
I'm a group from the 90s.
So, long story short, my first tour in 93 with Cyprus, Soul Assassin Tour.
The first show, as the hooligans, the first show was in Dallas.
Right.
Who opened for us, Matt Flavor.
Wow.
So I had met him in 93, and we didn't keep touch, but it was like six years ago I did a show in Dallas with action.
Oh, Bronson.
Yes.
Backstage.
Like six years ago, you said, okay, okay.
Backstage, and I meet this dude who comes up, he said, yo, what's up?
I'm Cole Chris
Book shows out here
And actually we met a long time ago
I said no
He took Matt Flav
I said oh shit
What's up? How you been?
He says yeah you know
I work with Erica
And I was like
Bucket Lifts man
Like you work with Erica
Badoo he said yeah you know
Because he was from a part of the scene
In Dallas early on
And from that moment on
I connected with him
And we stayed in touch
And I was just like
Anything let's just stay in touch
Whatever we could
Had you worked together in the back then?
Okay.
Yeah, y'all's together.
So this is the first time y'all out working together, period.
Yeah, me and Cole Chris used to write and listen to lots of music.
I'm a huge mom-beat fan.
Uh-huh, of course.
And I always wanted to sing over this.
Right.
The realist.
And he goes, I know the guy that produces it.
Huh, huh.
He goes, I say, okay.
And he gets in touch with you.
And that was three or four years ago.
at least and he just kept the conversation going out by sending music every time he thought about
me and i finally got around to it and when i wanted to record to the realist i went to his studio in
l.a when i got there i just felt like okay well this is happening so he had sent me by then about
10 15 songs and i told him i wouldn't come to the studio waste time if i didn't have
10 or 15 so
So you weren't lying
That one record was the catalyst
It was the beginning of it
That's great
So um
Shout out Mab deep
Yeah
That's right
That's right
Last week we had havoc
Like that's crazy
So when you first announced
The collab album
I remember people who speculating
And everyone's saying
Andre 3,000
And they're saying
Jay Electronica
And they're saying all the type of people
everyone was kind of thrown off
when it was like
you were an alchemist
if you had a chance
to probably do a collab
with anybody
what made you choose alchemist
See I wasn't trying to do a collab
per se
And I didn't even know that
You know that was like
Your hustle collabs
Right
You did that
You know what I'm saying
And superpower
You know
And professional
You know
Professional collabist
Yeah
No among other things
But I didn't know that.
So when I got the idea to do it, it was sitting there in the thing, in the studio.
And I got, damn, this is something.
We should do a collab.
And I ain't never put nobody else's name on my shit, ever.
I was nervous.
I was very nervous.
I mean, but you have to understand, like, she, and I discovered this once we started working.
First of all, the first couple of days, I was kind of useless.
Right.
What?
You know, first meet her?
I was useless.
Okay.
Because when you first meet her, it was.
everybody, you know, it's tough.
It was very intimidating.
And I had to work through that the first couple of days
to get to know and we became friends.
But once we started working, it was like,
yo, she does everything.
I don't think people know this.
Her beats are insane.
She basically can do everything.
And we became friends quick on the way
where it was like I wasn't playing her beats to sing to.
I was just playing her shit like I would play evidence
or one of my people like, yo, check this beat out.
And that's how.
I discovered
I discovered how like
we produce this album together
let's just say I'm going to put that route there right now
this album is produced by Erica Baudu
and Alchemist
Wow
and she had her hands in every record
like everybody knows what I do
I'm going to come to the table and bring the beat
but you know if that is not where production
starts
or it may start it doesn't end there
and I learned a lot working with her
just like in the early days working with mugs
when I was a kid working with mugs
that was like he used to know how to like
apply the shoe string to the shoe
and tie the shoe it was like the packaging
and the whole he would step back and
listen to the record in a way where I wasn't paying
attention producing
and she taught me a lot of that on this
record and it's a real
collab now is this an album
or this is a mixtape? It's an album
full flood album okay
so all right now is it more
records like that like samples
or hardcore beats like that
And that's a beat you made, correct, for Marr?
Originally.
Yes.
For Marb and G-Rat.
So is it more of that type of style or what is it?
Well, his compositions already kind of tell a story, you know,
and people are rapping over them.
And it's so melodic and beautiful, atmospheric without even anybody doing anything.
So you already have that.
composition and
he allowed me to paint
on it and
anything that I
contributed is an extension of my
voice whether it's strings or horns
or drums
or whatever it is
and he was a very gracious
partner
like kind of okay cool
and encouraging and I love that
more of that
yeah
I know both you guys could do anything
but did you feel like you might have softened up
and you might have hardened up
in working together?
I don't know.
I don't know this.
I mean...
Did you see that?
I learned a lot working with her in general
in a short period of time.
Just how to like, you know,
I do a lot of my own shit, run the show,
you know what I mean?
Do everything from A to Z.
And when I got with her, it was like, wow.
You could know so much
and then you can meet someone else and realize
like I'm at the age where I can still
I learn from my young homies
I learned from my older friends
I learned from people my I learned
and I realized when I linked with her
that it was like okay
but I didn't change
and I think people when they hear the album
they'll see like it sounds like
we met in the middle
you'll hear my shit you'll hear her stuff
and it was a real
like a dance
single right now that's
I ain't gonna lie that stingle sounds so
good like
I already
I'm already
I'm going to throw the pressure on y'all
I already think y'all made a classic
like just from the single bass alone
like I know music bro
that shit is fire
yo I was like
I had to keep listening to it like
because I first when I thought it was a mistake
I was like you wait a minute
is this Erica new shit
and like I was like
yo did they blend this
and then they was like no there's algorithm
doing it I'm like holy shit
and I was just blown away
And the artwork that came out with it is dope.
When we did it, it reminded me of, like, the old Ron G.
Yeah, yeah, it was like an old classic with a melody on it.
Classic hip-hop R&B, like just...
So infectious, like, her melodies.
That's so missing, though, nowadays.
Like, you know what I mean?
Like, especially in the summertime.
Like, to me, a single dropped at the right time.
Here, Salu, I'm going to take a shot to y'all.
It's heavenly sake.
That's what you drinking the sake?
Ever since the Rizzo episode.
Yeah, that was a great.
Rizzer turned me out.
He wants to think like the Rizza.
You're right.
Don't we all?
Absolutely.
So how many records were y'all in the studio together on this?
All of them.
All of it?
Yeah.
Oh, it's a classic.
We went back and forth between his studio and L.A. and my studio in Dallas.
Okay.
And we put long time periods in, yeah, like three, four months here.
Three four months there.
Yeah.
It's a different process.
I'm kind of used to going fast
and working with her, it was like
stages. These records grew
like the demos
and in the beginning, she would lay
something and I'd be like, that's perfect.
Okay, I got it. Let me just mix it. She was like,
slow down.
This is a reference.
Right. But it was
the references, like her demos are gold.
You hear the potential,
but as I was patient,
she just made them better and better.
And she just kept adding touches and like,
turning them into something magical
so I had to learn how to like
get out of her way
you know what I'm saying
like respectfully like let me get
out of the way and support her
and all her ideas because
they all work
and I'm seeing it
we know you did collab albums before
is this your first R&B collab
am I R&B?
I mean you know
I wouldn't have to say
like
I mean this is the first
like non like traditional
my bad
Say sorry immediately
There's nothing wrong with R&B
Yeah, yeah
I'm sorry
I'm sorry
I mean this is definitely the first
Non-Rab
Like I was
Other than rap
Right
For a while
I wanted to do something like this
And I would have probably
Been happy
Just meeting
An unknown
Young artists
Or who has pain
And smoke cigarettes
In their voice
You know
But I never imagine
That I would be able
To connect with Erica
You know what I'm saying
Like one song
One song
One song was gonna do
You know, in the fact that we got to this point now, we're on tour.
How many joins are on the project?
17.
Yeah.
They got a show tomorrow out here.
Yeah, we have a show, and we've been performing the album, basically.
The whole hour.
We had a show last week out here.
Okay.
Oh, last week?
She's a head.
Oh.
It was last week.
That's right.
Okay, my bad.
My bad.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
That's right.
Let me take a shot to that.
Salute.
Salute.
Salute.
Oh, boy.
So how's that reception been to an album people
are just hearing for the first time?
I mean, it's crazy because I wouldn't have done it.
You know, I wouldn't have thought to do this.
You've never done something like that.
With Yassine.
Okay.
Shalt Ziazine.
Earlier this year.
Yes, we have a project, and we went and did a sold-out show in Paris,
and we played out from start to finish the new album.
And this was an idea that Eric also had, and we were, like, talking about.
I was kind of nervous because, you know, when you do a show.
unrelated. I just think Yassine
and I are some kind of
super solo twins. We always
think of the same thing.
Same time. Yes.
Shout to Yassine.
Babe. Brother Babe. Yes.
Family member. You know what I mean?
And you got an album coming out with Ghostface, too?
No, no. No? That was a rumor?
Probably a rumor. I have an album with Yassine.
We have a collective called
Forensics, and that's going to be coming
out soon as well. But just
the live, like, you know, I'll just
to say, you know, you know this, Norrie, you know, when you perform.
Of course.
And you get to your hits, it's always easy because it's proud, you know, you've got them in
a palm of your hand.
Right.
So when she said we wanted, she wanted to do the whole album live, I was kind of nervous.
All right.
Are you all you recording the album live?
Like, oh, no, it's just, uh, um, performing a couple shows.
Okay, yeah.
Okay, cool.
Just in case.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But it's been, um, amazing.
And it's crazy to see.
Like a whole crowd of people.
Mind you, we're no, no phones.
No phones and the whole thing.
I wish we could do this for every show.
And the press had, they can't bring equipment either.
They have to use disposable cameras that we provide.
That's awesome.
It's fun.
Who's not getting what's that?
Yes, take a lot of guests.
They like it.
You know, they like it.
Well, I mean, part of it is functional because the album's not out.
Yeah, so it's not just because you're doing it, it's also, hey, we're not leaking this out.
That's the main reason.
Right, right.
And to create an experience for the fans who were there who could really hear.
It's almost like a listening session.
That's what I was about to say.
On stage.
Yeah, I'd be scared that they have to do that.
Let's see what I'm saying?
It's a little scared, but it worked.
Well, we're not in the same age as we were.
And then 90s and 2000s, this is the age of streaming.
Right.
Yeah, right.
Even a leak would be
To our advantage
It's simple
And I think your fans are
Your fans enough to come out
And appreciate whatever you
We've had five shows
And no one has
So far? Yeah
No one has done anything
All right
You haven't seen any footage
Nobody everybody
And then after you guys are done with the album
Do you guys perform like
Your hits after that or
That's it
It's a live album
I was going to come tomorrow
I thought it was still up last week
I think I was it
Last week, I went on.
But you have to still ask these questions.
Yeah, yeah.
Okay, okay.
Yeah.
The more we're drinking, it's more confusing it okay.
So I got to ask you, is everybody named Tyrone mad at you?
I don't know.
Sure.
No, they seem pretty happy.
They like it.
Oh, yeah?
Yeah.
Because.
They just like it, yeah.
I'm Tyrone.
My name.
Tyrone. Now, is Tyrone a real person?
No, it was a freestyle. Okay.
On stage. Okay. Yeah. It was just
playing around. Because I imagine you made it tough for everybody
named Tyrone. Not tough. I think
they probably got more pussy.
Here you go, Tyrone's.
Here you go, Tyrone. I didn't know. I was on your side.
But she just said that. Now, fuck you up.
I just like
In my opinion
Yeah
Holy girl come on
Okay
Yeah
I'm gonna miss man
I know you for the years
Yes
When did you switch to the killer
I swore he was gonna
Order
Dark
Um no no
I swear he was gonna order
Natural wine
Yes remember
Last time we were on that wave
You know we go through different things
You know
I think I want to get on that
The sake
Yeah
Yo do I know
Do I know
Oh my fucking die
I say watch
I'm gonna go to the sake
I want to get on the sake
Yeah
We've had some good
natural wine.
Yeah, I remember, I think that was the first time I met Action Bronson at your studio.
And it was, and at first, I was like, I even going to lie.
I was like, this is nasty.
I was like, but then I kept drinking and I was like, all right, it's organic wine.
Like, you know what I mean?
You got to, used to no pesticides.
You remember, did we, we, we and Norrie go back.
Yes.
Do you remember when we was hanging with Kit Cuddy when he first got on?
He was telling him you were an honorary hipsters.
Yo, oh, yeah.
Remember, I don't take that.
I still take that.
He came back high from that.
He's like, yeah, I'm a honorary hipster.
I didn't even know what it meant, but I was just like, hey.
I'm like, you are?
We don't have stories, man.
Like, this is a real friend.
Like, fuck rap music.
That's right.
That's right.
Same here.
Straight.
I'll continue a rap game.
We have in history.
So you want to explain to them the story?
I mean, the game?
The game?
Yes.
All right.
This is our drinking game.
Yeah.
We're going to give you two choices.
If you pick one, we don't drink.
But if you say both or neither, we all drink.
The whole table drinks.
And really, it's not to diss anybody.
We want to just bring up stories.
So anything that jogs your memory, a story that can come up, please, you know, let's talk about it.
And those are the instruction.
That's it.
That's all.
Okay.
Usually people don't understand, do I do this?
Yeah, I'll try it.
Okay.
You know what?
I'll do sake as well.
Yeah.
That's a very smart.
All right.
Okay.
Yeah.
Sock me.
Saki me.
So I'll take the first one.
Go for it, buddy.
You ready?
No.
Are we?
Well, let them get their shot.
Oh, okay.
My bad.
Well, it don't matter.
Go ahead.
I'm just hyped to play the game with Erica.
I'm going to miss, bro.
I'm hyped.
I'm speeding.
No, no, go ahead.
Go ahead.
Alchemist just said, she told them, slow down.
I told you.
I told you.
I told you.
I told you.
I told you.
Okay.
How much?
All right.
They got their shots right.
All right.
Good.
I'm going to go for the first one.
It's not on the board.
It's not a big shot.
Yeah, you got to make
But make smaller shots still
Baby shots.
Oh yeah, oh yeah
Yeah, no, no, we try to do baby shots
It's really not like liquor, yeah
Thank you
It is liquor, guys
Don't get a twisted
Yeah, it is
Come on
Abby or Allen
Is that for me?
Yes
It's our question
Yes, yes, yes
Abby or Alan
Mm-hmm
Okay
Candy Crotteria
What do I have to do?
Like, you got to pick one
Alan
Okay, you're going to pick Alan?
Yeah
So who are you picking?
Both.
Both.
All right, cool.
I'm drinking.
All right, let's drink.
Let's drink to that.
Both.
Fuck it.
I don't pick.
Salute.
Salute.
All right.
By the way, hold on, let's name the album, right?
Abby and Alan.
Great names.
That's your real names, right?
Mm-hmm.
Oh, great, great, great.
That's whose idea that was.
I feel like everything's idea-wise is on this side.
Tupac or DMX?
Ooh.
Both of you, both of you.
Both of us?
Yeah.
Oh, okay.
Tupac or DMX.
Rest and peace to both.
I don't know.
I like this game.
Okay, let's see.
Tupac or DMX?
And it's any criteria.
Yeah.
In any criteria.
Tupac.
Okay.
Both.
Well, okay.
I'm not picking between two.
Yeah, I respect that.
I don't understand.
It's just a game.
They know, though.
All right.
How can I want to drink like the ritz of?
I don't want to drink, but that's what happens.
Michael Jackson or Prince?
And we need stories if they're stories.
Yeah, if you met anyone, you ever met either?
Yeah.
I met Prince.
I really like Prince.
Never met Mike, but I can relate to Mike a lot.
I love Mike both.
for me both but can you tell us the night you met prince um prince was once my rhythm guitarist
on stage wait for a one-off or like mama's gone tour the whole tour no just a couple of nights
there's a couple of nights or there's footage i've seen a clip of it of her and prince on stage
holy i hung out at paisley park a little bit i recorded some songs that's crazy legend
press is very cool really wow yeah we gotta make some noise for that hand tape
You said both.
I'm not picking between Prince and fucking.
So it's one shot, right?
One shot.
And you ever met either of them?
Never met either.
Never met either.
I feel like Prince always popped up in Hollywood.
I heard stories.
I've heard stories.
I missed him one time by 15 minutes.
I know he was like notoriously short.
Yeah.
He wasn't.
But he could play ball or her.
Both.
Did hear that as well.
The world heard that.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But I like that one clip where he comes up on when, I think it was James Brown was on stage.
You know that clip when Prince is in the crowd and he comes on.
He comes on stage on his security guard's shoulders from the crowd.
You never saw that clip?
Type that up later, James Brown.
It was funny.
December 29th, 1975, LaGuardia Airport.
a holiday rush, parents hauling luggage, kids gripping their new Christmas toys.
Then, at 6.33 p.m., everything changed.
There's been a bombing at the TWA terminal.
Apparently, the explosion actually impelled metal, glass.
The injured were being loaded into ambulances. Just a chaotic, chaotic scene.
In its wake, a new kind of enemy emerged, and it was here to stay.
Terrorism.
Law and order criminal justice system is back.
In season two, we're turning our focus to a threat that hides in plain sight.
That's harder to predict and even harder to stop.
Listen to the new season of Law and Order Criminal Justice System on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Culture eats strategy for breakfast.
for you to share your breakdown on pivoting we feel sometimes like we're leaving a part of us behind
when we enter a new space but we're just building on a recent episode of culture raises us
i was joined by volisha butterfield media founder political strategist and tech powerhouse for a
powerful conversation on storytelling impact and the intersections of culture and leadership i am a
free black woman who worked really hard to be able to say that i'd love for you to break
why was so important for you to do C.
You can't win as something you didn't create.
From the Obama White House to Google to the Grammys,
Malicia's journey is a masterclass in shifting culture
and using your voice to spark change.
A very fake, capital-driven environment and society
will have a lot of people tell half-truths.
I'm telling you, I'm on the energy committee.
Like, if the energy is not right, we're not doing it, whatever that it is.
Listen to Culture raises us on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcast.
Welcome to Pretty Private with Ebeney, the podcast where silence is broken and stories are set free.
I'm Ebeney, and every Tuesday I'll be sharing all new anonymous stories that would challenge your perceptions and give you new insight on the people around you.
On Pretty Private, we'll explore the untold experiences of women of color who faced it all.
Childhood trauma, addiction, abuse, incarceration, grief, mental health.
health struggles and more, and found the shrimp to make it to the other side.
My dad was shot and killed in his house. Yes, he was a drug dealer. Yes, he was a
confidential informant, but he wasn't shot on a street corner. He wasn't shot in the
middle of a drug deal. He was shot in his house, unarmed. Pretty Private isn't just a podcast.
It's your personal guide for turning storylines into lifelines. Every Tuesday, make sure you listen to
pretty private from the Black Effect Podcast Network.
Tune in on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Your entire identity has been fabricated.
Your beloved brother goes missing without a trace.
You discover the depths of your mother's illness, the way it has echoed and reverberated
throughout your life, impacting your very legacy.
Hi, I'm Danny Shapiro.
And these are just a few of the profound and past.
powerful stories, I'll be mining on our 12th season of Family Secrets. With over 37 million
downloads, we continue to be moved and inspired by our guests and their courageously told
stories. I can't wait to share 10 powerful new episodes with you, stories of tangled up
identities, concealed truths, and the way in which family secrets almost always need to be told.
I hope you'll join me and my extraordinary guests for this new.
season of Family Secrets. Listen to Family Secrets Season 12 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcasts. Noss came on his story and we asked him, did anybody ever
tell you no, like, you know, to do a record? And he said, he asked Prince to do a record. And Prince
asked him, do you own your masters? And I said, no. So he said, he wouldn't do the record
until he owns his master's. I thought that was like the illest thing ever. And he said, because I don't want to put
those executive's kids through college.
Yo, and that's just crazy, right?
Like, he was so knowledgeable
with that back then.
Like, that shit is crazy.
You remember Young Love, the Mob Deep song?
Yeah, I never came out with the Prince Sample.
That was, yeah, because they never came out officially, right?
Yeah, I have that white label.
The story was that they were like, I guess
they were going to try to clear it, but I guess Prince was if he on curses.
Do you remember the first line of peace verse?
Oh, he didn't like Chris.
I mean, he definitely was cursing.
The first line of peace verse is fresh out just a bitch pussy.
But it was a love record, though.
I mean, it was a great record.
For Ma Deep, it was a hell of record.
I think it would have been a hit.
No, that record was a genius for that.
It would have been a hit record.
And P. wasn't going to change his verse.
No, Pete.
And Y'I didn't have 112 when that record?
Oh, no.
I wasn't around that.
I heard the stories.
No, this was before I was with them all, but I heard the story that P was.
You know how P was.
He was rigid.
He wasn't not going to change his rhymes for nothing.
Yeah.
Bilal or DiAngelo?
Both.
Salah.
Cheers.
Cheers.
I'm gonna go DeAngelo.
I'm gonna go DeAngelo.
I used to sell weed to a shot.
You still got to take the shot.
Your partner over there.
Some bullshit.
I used to sell weeded DeAngelo.
Really?
Yeah.
Premier hooked me up with him.
So when I first moved to New York.
And there's a funny story because when I went to meet him the first time,
Premier was like, can you bring some weed?
DeAngelo, gave me the address.
It was like in around the fashion district in Manhattan, like 28th and 30th from Broadway.
And he was like, when you go there, don't have anything in your hand.
Anything in your hand?
Yeah, I didn't know what he meant.
So I walked in and he, it was like literally like out of a movie.
He was in this big loft by himself in the middle of the loft sitting in a chair with a guitar like writing songs.
And I walked in and shit.
I walked in.
I can go up to him.
He's like, what's up?
Give him a pound.
I'm like, yeah, I'm from here.
And he said, oh, that's what's up.
Gave me another pound.
Everything I said, that's what you had to give him a dap.
I don't know if you know people like that.
Yeah, absolutely is a dap.
And then I understood what Premier said when he was like, don't have it.
It was crazy.
But shout out to DeAngelo.
I haven't, I mean, yeah, DeAngelo.
But Bilal, too.
I mean, it's hard to pick.
But they both greats.
Amazing, both.
The Rizza or Mugs?
That's definitely an alchemy's question.
No, for both of them.
Yeah, both of them, that's right.
That's ridiculous.
I mean, Mugs is my big brother.
I got my start because of Mugs.
You know what I mean?
But if I would sit here and lie,
if I was to say that Rizzo didn't change my way of thinking in general,
like they're both behemoth, giants, creators of the shit.
Like, I wouldn't be shit without either of them, so.
I don't say Rizzo.
Rizum.
I seen Rizzo in action.
Battery Studio, 1996.
That's fresh.
We were in a session.
I was in one session.
Rizzo was in one session.
DeAngelo was in one session.
Most was in one session.
Yeah, it's a battery studio.
They had three rooms.
And Rizzo was in one room, and he went in to listen to the mix.
I don't know who the engineer was.
I don't remember, but he didn't like it.
And he told him to move out the way, and he just did the boy like dominoes.
Then he said, put it on the bigs.
And they played it.
And he was satisfied that after that.
So it was incredible, this one, you know.
I was impressed.
I try it sometimes.
He tried to do that on the boards.
Put it on.
Just the other part to say, put it on the big.
Put on the bigs.
Put on the big.
Let me hear that.
And Riza is, uh, the fact that he was able to make a different sound for every one of them on their solo first endeavors is insane.
No, that is insane.
Like, you know, Jiza album didn't sound like to Cal or whatever.
They all had like a certain little unique twist.
You thought he knew them.
But each one, like if it was, I'm tapping into this type of movies for this one, it was like certain nuances of each album that were different.
I mean, he didn't feel the same.
In an interview one time, he said,
He said I try to make Mephaman beats violent, so he has to fight back to the beat.
I was that, damn, I wouldn't listen to Cal.
I was like, damn, that's crazy.
And he changed the whole sound at that time, just with the first full album.
The Rizzo, man.
Can't even say enough.
No.
Do you want somebody to roll your joint?
No, thanks.
Okay.
Yeah.
We got to try.
You got to try.
Jay Diller or Q-Tip?
What kind of show is this?
Jay Diller, Cuitip.
Oh.
Rest in peace, the Dula.
Yes, rest in beats.
Yes.
My guy, you know who we are.
I always say Q-tip, because he's here.
And I want him to know.
I want Kamal to know
how his beats
inspire me as a
as a producer
as a
beat maker
as an artist period
how he puts the compositions together
yeah
he's he's bad
I can tell what beat is his on
anybody's album
you know
a mob deep album I know
what his things up
you know
he's incredible
you're incredible
where's the camera
Kamal
you know
you're incredible
there's no
no comparison to what you
do
everybody has their own thing but you
I still can't get over
when he was looping that record
with the needle
oh my God
that's wow
I'm gonna go Q-tip also man
I mean tip
I
man
thinking about all those records that he
produced, like, because back then I didn't really know.
Wasn't Jay Diller under Q-Tip anyway?
Yeah, okay.
Yeah.
But, like, at that time, I didn't really know about production like that,
so it was kind of all magical when I heard the beats.
And later on, I discovered the samples and the drums.
And to think that how he was putting certain drums to those loops,
like electric relaxation or something like that,
like that's a drum break from another record.
And the synergy and the fusion, he was so ahead of his time.
Or think about the drum pattern for one love.
Like just the fucking drum pattern
Like, yo, he was
The night with Raphael's beat
Tip
Tip is like
He's like the foundation for so much
And he was also the way we also discovered
Like I didn't know ramp
I didn't know about ramp until they sampled it
And there's like certain records
That we discovered later
Yeah, he dug deep
He took deep
Tip was and you know it's funny
Because when we were young
I thought that Alishaheed was doing the beats
That's what was until one love
We didn't realize
You know who put me on
He was really large.
Large told me.
He was like, think up large.
That's my best case scenario.
For me, he told me, he was like, Tip was in the crates.
Tip was really the one.
Because back then, we always thought to put the DJ in the beats.
And shout to Ali Shaheed.
I'm sure he had a hand in it with Q-Tip, man.
Can't say, you know, he's...
Sorry to get the subject a little bit, but you told me a great story one night.
You said that I believe, I believe...
quite sure this was you.
You said that Large Pro went to a Ray Kwan show,
and Ray Kwan didn't have it on the Cuban link, and he walked out?
Yeah.
He disappeared.
We went to the show in L.A., the crowd.
Ray came out.
Lodge was gone.
Where'd he go?
His man was like, nah, he's outside.
He's chilling, and I came outside afterwards.
Ray came out, killed it.
But he didn't have his normal big link on.
He had like a bejeweled shirt or something.
It's Ray.
We can do what he wants.
And Large was like, I want.
outside. What's up? He's like,
God didn't have the links on, man.
He felt like, nah, like, as a fan, like he wanted to
lodge is the essence.
No, he is the essence.
He cannot be hip-hop.
Like, everything he does.
Look up hip-hop. You got to see it.
I imagine he order a pizza, like, yo, yo, go.
I want chicken on it.
Not so. He's swine. You know what I said?
I took, one time we went to Amoe record stores in L.A.
This is a store you, he snuck.
a turntable in his own table
and he had gloves
for digging.
He went into the dollar section
and this is for people who understand this.
He found a Rupert Holmes drum break
which is like a break we used to all chop up. It's a dollar record.
Yo, he hid it
so no one else could get this. This is shit
we used to do. He went and hid the record
so nobody else could get it.
It was like some old B-boy shit was to do
like there's not more
copies of it that exists. But yeah,
Large is, he's the essence of this whole shit.
He feels it.
And rhymes, beats, DJing.
He always did it all.
And that's been a big inspiration for me because I always wanted to have all, all sharpened, you know what I'm saying?
All elements to able to.
And he's been a mentor to a lot of folks.
Six degrees of archery.
You could like break hip-hop down.
He used to come in my DJ sets.
And I would hear somebody, I know when he gets there because I hear somebody over my shoulder going, come on.
Come on.
Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.
Yo, you know, that he would be there.
Worded up.
That's large, you know, large.
It's my brother.
I imagine him, like, having a baby talking to the doctors.
You know, man, make sure you don't look too much.
I can see that.
I'm sorry, I don't know why I thought like that.
My bad.
Okay, go to the next one.
Boldie James or Conway?
Come on. But I'm going both on that. Those are, I'm both, both.
Solid. Both. I didn't know to say about that. Two legends.
Billy Holliday or Nina Simone?
Billy Holliday.
Currency or Earl sweatshirt?
Very, very disrespectful and horrible question to ask.
Yeah.
But I had to answer it. I don't want to drink another shot back.
You would have said both
No, yes
You can bring in someone to be your
drinker if you'd like
Is that a part of it? I mean, you have to drink a little bit
Okay
You can have a substitute you drink anything but
We would like you to drink a little
No, no, you can't be a shoptaker
I think I'm good though
Socky smooth though
Socky smooth, it's cool
It's very smooth, yeah I like
Might be a tricker
You know, it is.
The end of the rest of the episode.
I was out here.
You stand up and then you realize.
Yeah.
We took a picture.
I went to the bathroom.
I came back and I said, we didn't take a picture and I got mad at everybody.
Yeah, he was going to go hard to me.
Because I wanted to take a picture with some thing I brought some paraphernalia.
I was like, this is the first fly.
He's like, we took it already.
Like, nah, man.
On the tapes.
Currency or Earl sweatshirt.
Wow.
I'm going to have to go both.
Both of them have a significant role in what I've been able to achieve.
Like, currency was the one that kind of started the run of me doing these one-person album.
And at the time, I was kind of nervous to do it, and he wanted the Cobra Coupe.
You know what I mean?
And he wanted to just throw it out.
I was nervous as hell.
And he was like, we'll do this and we'll sell some merch and we'll put it out free.
And that kind of was the first time when I started looking at how to,
to sell music differently because he had a whole fan.
Seeing the whole indie lane.
And we sold merch and put the music out free.
It's above a currency.
With Kobe Coop.
But he's not your first because Prodigy would have been your first, right.
The Prodage would be the first, of course.
And then we'd do Albert Einstein later, but I felt like currency was one of the ones
because I gave it my all.
I remember I wasn't holding back with the beats when we did Covert Coop.
I just met him.
It was like a new thing, but I was like, fuck it.
It's been put my name on it.
I got to, you know, put some heat on there.
And, like, it kind of helped start the run of doing these, like, albums with people.
And Earl, like, Earl is, like, my brother, first of all, but he's also, like, I could basically give him A&R credit.
Like, so much shit in his last 10 years that you see me staying in the loop was because of Earl.
Really?
What?
He put me on to everything.
Like, he's so ahead.
Earl is a generational gift.
He's for Pisces, brother.
Yeah, he's not regular.
And, like, me being able to, he's younger to me.
So me being able to stay in the loop with him
And then he got his young homies
It never ends
You know what I'm saying
And there's that like local history in a sense
That you guys kind of relate to
Of course
And I'm just thankful to have him as a friend
And a mentor and his shit
Because trust me man
A lot of the shit that
People know me, they say
Yo, Al's always putting me up on shit
They don't know
He's putting me up on it
And then he got his young homie
Who put him up on shit
It never ends
So shout out to Earl
That's the way
Yeah, both my brothers.
You got it?
No, no, you got it.
Eve or Missy?
Who?
Eve or Missy?
Missy.
For me.
Yeah, I'm gonna go Missy, too.
How y'all gonna put them in the same category?
I'm gonna tell you guys over there.
This Dominican guy and the Colombian guy right there.
Missy?
That's not even...
It's tricky ass.
They write it so that you look at it's crazy.
Yeah.
What do you all know about Missy?
Yeah.
dope is what
performance artists that do what
she's an incredible writer
she's a producer
she makes beats
yeah that's different
that's something else
yeah
I'm good
I'm good right
I'm good yeah
get that shit
watch out
What are we comparing tits?
Shout out to Missy Elliott and E.
Yes.
Missy, we need you.
We need both y'all, but Missy.
That'll be a dope episode.
We've been trying to figure it out.
Hopefully we can get it done soon.
NBC 3000 or the ASR?
10.
10.
Me?
Yeah.
Do you use any of the machines?
ASR 10.
ASR 10?
Okay.
Rack mounts.
Okay.
Yeah, ASR 10.
I did all my, all my classic shit.
Everything I've done.
On ASR 10?
For MP.
Yeah.
Okay.
Wow.
You're still using machines, both y'all?
Yes.
Because some people come in now and saying now they're just using programs.
No, I got floppy disks everywhere.
How do y'all feel about Fruity loops?
F.
I never really learned FL as well.
I got stuck in logic.
Okay.
You say that shit like, you know what Frooty Loops is, Mother's.
I mean, that's a Rigetone.
You know what it's funny?
Rigetone is made on fruity loops.
A lot of people made.
A lot of the current shit that's out in general is through fruity loops.
We just have outside on the show too.
He's a foodie loop.
He's the man.
Outside gets busy with Frutty Loops.
I do work with people who use FL Studio, but I've never used it.
Yeah, he does.
It's just another machine.
You know, people get caught up in the machines.
It really doesn't matter.
That's whatever gets you there.
If you got an ear, you're going to make anything sing.
Like, you can make any machine work.
It doesn't matter.
All right.
Oh, look, we ain't taking a shot.
That is the truth.
Marvin Gay or Stevie Wonder?
Son.
And you've got to tell us stories.
Stories.
That's why you're doing.
I was talking.
Stories come.
with it.
I'm like, what's wrong with Al?
She catches on, but just take his minute.
You know, I'm a slow burn.
That's right.
I'm the best.
Stevie Wonder or Marlon gay.
I can pick one today and change my mind tomorrow, huh?
Absolutely.
Yeah.
So I'm going to go with Stevie Wonder because he can hear me and he's here.
and I want him to know as well
he's maybe one of my
biggest influences ever
in the world
I started listening to Stevie Wonder as
a toddler
he came out maybe
1971
with an album
I think called Talking Book
and
don't quote me
world
don't come on my
we drunk facts
we call it drunk facts
if you get a year off
drunk back
19 and 71
and I just been listening to him
it's a voice
I thought it was my daddy.
As a kid, as a toddler, you thought it was your...
Because my mom used to say, my husband.
Play my husband out.
But it was kind of satire a little.
Right.
Yeah, but I love Stevie Wonder.
His voice, there are billions of atoms of him.
Have you worked with him?
Never worked with him.
Really?
No.
That kind of surprises me.
Well, nothing public.
Oh.
Yeah.
Well, you said that.
I was definitely mentor.
bring me yes he seems open to to work absolutely it'll happen right well you said that
that he can hear you yeah right some arguably say here on drinking tea too do you think that's
a rumor that he can see i have no idea you know i i uh i don't think so though
snook came on the show we've heard some wild stories he came on the show and says stevie facetamed
them.
Yeah, but that's doable.
Someone could have just put them on FaceTime.
All right.
But the one in the elevator was ill.
Oh, yeah.
I'm Shack.
He saw over in an elevator.
And Shack walked in
and he didn't say that in the Stevie.
And Stevie was like, what's up, Diesel?
Like,
yeah, he said, what four are you going to?
Yeah.
And the Izy brothers said they saw
crossing up busy street.
These are all stories on the show.
They said they're,
they said they're going to.
They stole across the street.
And they were that serious.
No one is laying around, by the way.
No one, we're laughing, but no one is wearing around.
If he can see, he's playing a long game.
I'll tell you that.
Can we just drink because of it?
Salute.
Salute.
Oh.
Analog of digital.
My favorite questions.
Thank you.
One of my monocers is an analog girl in the digital world.
But I do prefer the warmth of childhood because it's like, you know,
nostalgia for me.
And I love, you know, what we can do and how quickly we can do it now, too.
But I'm an SSL board kind of.
a girl, so I'm going to have to say analog.
Yeah, I'm analog, too, for sure.
Like them tapes.
I like the round.
That I can touch things.
It's a comfortability of digital, but I like analog.
Like, one thing for sure, two things for certain.
Like, us just hearing that y'all both was in the studio for age to every record makes me remind me of the analog days.
You used to can't, you used to couldn't send a person a record.
They just physically come to the studio.
Remember the two-inch tape?
That was the better days to me.
You know, I feel like we're lucky, too, because, like, my first beats, like,
keep it thorough, we're going to make it.
Those were on two-inch tape.
And those were, like, right before the real-to-reel?
Yeah, that was right before shit switched over.
And it's like, if I play those beats out of the ASR, they don't sound the same
because that saturation that when they would hit the tape and go through the SSL,
like, I feel blessed to have those first couple batches of beats that went through.
Bang, bang, we did.
That was through the SSO?
We got bang-bang.
How old I had the other day.
I was sitting there talking to the brothers outside, and I go, yeah, because, you know,
they was performing on a dat.
And then I realized no one knew what the fuck I was talking about.
I changed the subject.
I was like, hey.
D, D, D-A-88.
Yeah.
But no one of them was dats.
You remember?
The Adads, the two-inch rails.
You remember when we were mixing, you'd have to sit there in silence when they'd rewind the tape.
Oh, all the way back.
And it wasn't no plans.
You had to, like, be lucky enough to have two reels.
to reals, so you can drag one
in order to make a flange sound.
You got some shit I don't even know about
She's talking to science. Actually, cutting the tape to edit?
Crazy.
Y'all don't know nothing about sitting there waiting for the whole shit to rewind
and you're doing an eight minutes on.
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I remember.
Oh, not an eight minutes on, but I know her.
I remember not you the eight minutes or what.
Which I know about them drops on the board, though.
Oh, that's the best.
A lot drops.
Uh-huh.
For automation, flying faders.
Uh-huh.
Yeah, we're from that.
Remember right track?
Right track.
You used to be in there?
Is Wright Tracks still over?
I don't know.
You know, just studios still exist?
Yeah, of course.
Not, man.
Is Wright Track the one by...
47th Street?
Okay, by the music stores.
Right, right, right.
Right, right, my sadmash.
Yes.
And you're on point.
It was a real bad strip club next to Right track.
Remember that?
It was like a real bad.
Sound on sound on sound.
Sound on sound.
We did Queens over there.
Yeah, we did Queens over there.
I made that beat on the spot.
I remember.
That was a good time.
It's horrible.
We had a good time, yeah.
I drank.
I went there to drink, but I didn't have fun.
It was like, it was just, and back then.
I didn't have fun.
Back then, we were coming from Miami, seeing y'all,
but you were making hints over there.
Yeah, but we would go there, like, on downtime.
Like, as they mix in and just have a drink, you know what I mean?
Like, or whatever.
Who sang on that joke?
It was a complexion?
Complexion, yeah.
Hold on, hold, hold on.
Let's finish.
Let's finish.
Let's finish.
So we say for sure analog, right?
Yeah, sure.
Both, everybody said analog.
What's not the drink?
is that you cannot roll a joint on a digital download.
Mm.
Mm.
You cannot roll it.
You have to have an album.
That's right.
Can't roll a joint on air.
Yeah.
I don't know what that means.
You can't use a digital for shit.
Good.
You'll get it later.
You think on that.
December 29th, 1975,
LaGuardia Airport.
The holiday rush, parents hauling luggage, kids gripping their new Christmas toys.
Then, at 6.33 p.m., everything changed.
There's been a bombing at the TWA terminal.
Apparently, the explosion actually impelled metal, glass.
The injured were being loaded into ambulances. Just a chaotic, chaotic scene.
In its wake, a new kind of enemy emerged, and it was here to stay.
terrorism law and order criminal justice system is back in season two we're turning our focus to a threat that hides in plain sight
that's harder to predict and even harder to stop listen to the new season of law and order criminal justice system
on the iHeart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts
Culture eats strategy for breakfast.
I would love for you to share your breakdown on pivoting.
We feel sometimes like we're leaving a part of us behind when we enter a new space, but we're just building.
On a recent episode of Culture Raises Us, I was joined by Volisha Butterfield, Media Founder, Political Strategist, and Tech Powerhouse for a powerful conversation on storytelling, impact, and the intersections of culture and leadership.
I am a free black woman who worked really hard to be able to say that.
I'd love for you to break down why it was so important for you to do C.
You can't win as something you didn't create.
From the Obama White House to Google to the Grammys,
Belichia's journey is a masterclass in shifting culture and using your voice to spark change.
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My dad was shot and killed in his house.
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podcasts.
G-wrap or Slick Rick?
Cool, G-Rap?
Yes.
Can we have an error?
Or do we have to just...
It's whatever criteria.
It could be that Koojee rap made amazing mac and cheese one day.
And he was like,
that's why I'm going to pick him.
Slick Rick.
Slick Rick.
I mean, Koojee rap.
I mean, I feel like he's an inventor of so much style.
Like, you could just, you know what I mean?
But Kooji rap, like, I feel like at this moment right now,
like you could get a verse from him and it was smoke.
Yeah, he's still.
And he came from the era of Kane,
not Kim, K-R-S, like,
and he never really got that.
But G-R-Rap, always through every era,
like, slow back to go for your guns with M-O-P,
and you can get them, the realist.
I mean, the realist, that, I never forget that day.
Because, you know, I didn't know him,
but really well at the time.
Okay.
And I had just met them, and P called me and was like,
I knew the beat because I had played it for him already.
He said, come to the studio, we want to use that beat.
I loaded up the feet.
fucking ASR and the big ass, that shit
was huge, you know what I mean? Took it to the studio
and walked in and Koogee rapper
sitting there. And I was just like,
you know, the fan in me was like, wow.
He didn't tell me. He was like, you know, we wanted
to do that beat. I loaded it up instantly.
I didn't call my manager.
I didn't. And that's the thing I always tell people
because I could have fucked
that moment up. You know what I mean? But I was
so, so much a fan. I was a
engineer. Plug me up.
I tracked the beat and
and GRAB went first because he finished his rhyme first.
All right.
And he went in there and laid that shit, and everybody in the room was just like,
what the hell?
I remember, you know, P took, both P and Half took their time and wrote,
half mother wrote four rhymes for that before he laid his verse.
You know what I mean?
At the time, I was kind of insecure because it was a loop.
You know, it's really just a one shot, you know?
And I had all these, like, fancy beats at the time, and they wanted a rhyme on that.
And I was kind of insecure because I was like, damn, you don't want these.
You wasn't able to showcase yourself.
I didn't understand at the time yet.
Now I get it.
You got to get out of the way sometimes.
I can do any style, but if the beat is already there,
get out of the way.
You know what I'm saying?
And that was just one of those moments.
But G-Rap, man, G-Rap.
Was that the record that opened you up to that whole side?
I mean, that's what started the connection with Mobb Deep.
It was out and thug music.
Because it just felt like from then on, it just spread.
Because everyone thinks you from New York.
I mean, you could put my career on a timeline.
with Mob Deep and like like like BC and AD like you said you was Puerto Rican for about eight
years I was saying what I had the thin you know I never heard this I wasn't saying it but you know
I showed her old pictures I had a thin mustache you know that's when we were back when we was rocking
you know but you know my whole shit you could put on a timeline once I linked up with mob deep
I mean that's how I linked with CNN right that's what I'm saying opened up that I remember walking
in a Hav's crib when he used to live in Freeport,
walked down into the basement one day.
He said, come over.
We making beats and shit.
All of a sudden, Nas walked in.
That's the first day I met Nas at Hav's crib.
You know, and I was making the beat for, um,
TikTok.
Doon-o-doom-Doon.
I was making the beat in Hav's basement.
And Naz walked down and was like,
yo, I carromptor this?
And he thought, like, he didn't know me or nothing.
He just, that's when he made that song.
And it was like, like I said,
everything happened.
I owe so much to Mob Deep
Like my hope like we wouldn't
Yeah
Shout out to Mom Dee
Rest and peace
My brother P
I mean come on
Between Soul Assassins
And Mob Deep and that whole side
Like it's crazy
Yeah
Shout out
Nah but when people
Found out like you was from LA
People was like
Get the fuck out of it
Even Snoop when I first worked with him
He didn't know until later
Because I did
You know
I moved to New York
In like 95
And I was going to NYU
And I just immersed myself
And you know
Mugs
he basically connected me with Mobb Deep
because he was
Recipe Bigger Bee
Let's just shout out Bigger Bee one time
He was an important person on the West Coast
Who worked with Loud Records
And Mugs was working on a Soul Assassin's first album
And he connected Bigger B connected Mobb Deep with Mugs
And then I was moving to New York
To go to school at the time
I was working underneath Mugs
And he was like yo you need to link up with Mob Deep's young homies
You're my young homie
They got these guys infamous mob
Time D-O-D, G-O-D, twin, and so I linked with them first, and we did thug music.
And then he heard it and was like, I want to put a verse on it.
And that's how the whole connection started and all that.
What do you consider your style, East Coast style or pretty much?
It's a blend.
It's a blend, right?
I think I got a little of everything.
And at this point, I'm on the West.
And I've been there for so long now that I feel like, but.
moving to new york was so pivotal and important for me like i feel like just all the people like
that era that we caught i saw we were in the tunnel together like we caught i caught the new york
era when it was when when when norrie was hit records margaret hit records the biggest shit
and i feel blessed because i just caught the time and i was able to link with the right people
and um showcase my that's how me and nory hooked it linked up and we ended up making
shit, some of my biggest
records, you know what I mean, to this day. So I'm
just thankful to be in the right place, right time.
You know what I mean? And just doing the work.
Nice. Legendary, man.
Yeah.
Pete Rock
or Lars Pro?
Ah.
Need some more.
Both.
You're more.
Okay.
Can't do that.
I'm going both.
I'm going both.
I ain't picking between those two, man.
No way.
Two greats.
Salute.
Salute.
Shout to both.
All right.
Comment or Yassimbe?
I just had a shot.
I don't have to choose.
As quiet as you are, you're very loud right now.
Am I?
What do you think I'm saying?
I don't know, but you're contemplating.
What you think?
I mean, both grades, but for me, I'll go with Yassine.
I'm going to pick Yassine.
Okay.
Yeah, I mean, both.
I'm going to say, babe, because the versatility, creativity, creativity, viability,
Caden's
voice tone
I would have to say
you'll see
he's the most natural
he's so like he just had a rhyme
and just effortlessly
like if his conversation
I first saw him in a commercial
with Dion Sanders
or somebody like
I remember seeing him early on
before even being an emcee
yeah
yeah we have a question
I've known to us as an emce
so it's very impressive
because usually that doesn't really
right work out you got anomalies you got drake you got jamey fox
and yassine other than that it doesn't really
does he get mad if you slip up and call him most
uh no i don't think i don't slip up
did i just do it no no no we have down his most uh yeah because i i do
sometimes i see him and that's what i think he gets man okay
no i think what he prefers is jacin was jacin but if you slip up and call him most
he ain't gonna bug out
Did we slip up when we had them?
I definitely slipped up.
I slipped up like four times.
What did he say?
No, no, I don't think he was mid-interviewed.
No, he was great.
He was great.
Yeah, he's both.
But, you know, and he respects that because that's what he made it smart for us.
So.
Yeah.
We have a crazy record.
I'm excited to put out this record as well.
Forensics.
Yeah, with me and Yassine.
It's like nine records.
It's done.
It's real good.
Yeah.
Yeah, I'm excited.
Good thing.
Shout to Yassim.
Lauren Hale or Queen Latifah?
Both.
Need some more juice.
Oh.
Quentin?
Thank you.
Both.
I know them both very well.
And Alchemist, too.
You got a shot.
Queen Latifah, Gio, Scott,
and I went out on a tour called Sugar Water Tour, early 2000s.
It was all Queen Latifah's relationships, all of her sponsorships and things.
She was doing a lot of stuff, Cover Girl, Tamfax.
She's had a lot of broad relationships that were solid, and she brought all the sponsorships
for sure and invited Jill and I to be her coat.
She was performing?
Yeah, it was a tour.
Okay.
And we had a lot of great start out Neo Soul groups open for us.
We had Floor Tree open for us, music Soul Child, you know, a lot of different artists like that.
But I love Latifah.
She's a powerhouse.
She got in my ass, though, when I was late to the studio.
Oh, my back.
Like with no hesitation.
No, she did.
She said, hey, I've been waiting here for two hours.
told me you were coming at a certain time and you didn't come.
I mean, I don't have time to wait
like that. That's not cool. You're going to have to fix that before we do anything
together. I was like, okay.
Yes, queen.
Yes, queen. She was right.
Like, I'm going to be honest.
It must have worked because you had a first
guest in Drink Champ's history that came
an hour early.
Well, my chief, thank you.
Yeah, I was, I thought you
was bugging like we're all on group chat and they're like they're here i don't like wait a minute
somebody come 20 minutes early they might come a half hour early but it's usually 10 minutes
early no one came an hour early we was on a higher way like just hey come on man i was here
we don't we don't play that late yeah uh drink champs man we got crazy now we appreciate
early but that's super early though i ain't gonna even lie you i was like i was you're
And so, you're always early.
Just so we know, yeah, early, but y'all, y'all was another hour early, you know.
So just so you know, we, um, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we're going to know by what, uh, uh, how this, this, this interview is going to go.
Okay.
On who is going to, who's going to come late.
Havick, I have one million percent, say he's coming late.
I said, one million, I won, I won that, but I said, I know havoc too long, bro.
like he's coming and no i didn't make it and no he didn't make it no but no but i i i didn't know
how i was going back on this one so we usually get here to to make the bet y'all was here before
so who lost the bet no we didn't even get to make the bet because it's usually i'm here our
yeah we do it that's how we do it yes you guys got here and our text messages
blew up.
Boom, boom, boom.
And I want to, I want to brag about this.
Did you want a black, strong woman get together?
It becomes this.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, like the new saw and pepper.
You know what?
Let's just do it.
Mortals.
The people thought it being guys.
Where are we at?
Black Dot or Andre 3000?
Oh.
Now you're messing with my child support.
These guys are here.
I actually thought y'all were going to pit two of the baby daddies together.
Listen, that was a conversation and I walked away.
I said, I want no parts in this.
That would have been better.
All right, let's do it then.
You can't remix the question.
It's all right.
We can do that.
We can do anything.
We can do that.
File, foul, foul.
Well, I thought you know I got love.
But I think I may be one of Andre 3000's biggest fans outside of being family.
Right.
Super inspiring.
Now, if we're talking about rhyming, that's going to even be hard, too.
Right.
Y'all going to hell.
Yep.
Yeah, you guys are going to hell.
Yeah, you guys are going to hell.
Say, it's, whoof.
Of course, I'm going to have to say,
wow, say André, I follow him a little bit tighter than I do,
Tarek.
I lean more toward the creative,
side of art
and I am inspired
so much by that
so I'm going to have to say
3,000
I like how she calls everybody by
their real name though
like
I mean she has
relationships
I got the inside
I'm so what you
I'm going both
both yeah I'm going both
I mean with my glass
fuck that
I can't do that
yeah
but do you think black thought is a
lot of people are going to see this
I'm not sure nobody's going to
but do you think black thought
is a trillion times better than Jay Z?
Who said that?
Will I am?
Will I was my guy man
He was on AI that day too much
I think I understood what he was saying
They try to run with that
Yeah, come on now man
I think I know what he was trying to say
Jay Zee.
The trillion thing is the trillion thing is the
part of the crazy
If he prefers black thought I understand that
If he prefers black thought of Jayz
I understand that
It's a trillion time.
Jay-Z?
Yeah, come on.
What are we talking about here, man?
That's, come on now.
But Black Thought is a piece.
Black Thought is insane.
He's perfect, but we're not about.
I just saw Black Thought the other day
doing a freestyle.
You know what's that?
It was, uh...
It wasn't a, not the Flex when he had to FaceTime it.
That's the old one.
That's not a new one, right?
No, yeah, but still, that still goes around.
It was pretty new. Maybe within the year.
Oh, really?
I didn't see the one within a year.
Okay, well, maybe it was older.
Yeah, he's a couple years ago.
He's perfect.
I mean, he didn't take a breath?
Oh, yeah, at all.
At all.
It went about six minutes.
Right, yeah, yeah, that's the one.
It was crazy.
Yeah.
Insanity.
Yeah, it was perfect.
Yeah.
Nah, Blackthold is hard.
I just.
What?
I started out as an emcee, so I mean, I have a...
That's what I wanted to ask you.
A lot of love for that.
I write all my baby's daddy's raps.
Raps.
Raps.
You didn't want to have a lot.
I didn't know.
Exclusive.
Starting with the DLC.
Why y'all left?
What was the rap name?
My rap name?
Apples.
Apples?
Yeah, I'm not the big apple, but I'm not from New York.
I thought it was Bucci Knife Betty.
What?
Oh, Butchie Knifee Betty.
No, that's just another alias.
Oh, okay.
Yeah.
But you were an emcee for real, though.
Yeah.
Yeah, okay.
Because I know people are thinking of your jokes.
I didn't even know I was a singer.
until I wrote Appletree.
That's crazy.
Yeah.
What do you mean you didn't know?
I didn't know that.
That was a...
That you had it in you?
That's crazy.
The singing thing.
You know, I was a writer.
And I liked writing, literature.
I used to write raps.
But I had poetry.
I saw so much.
It's crazy.
Stumber on it.
Yeah, like...
So would you ever do a all-rap album?
I would.
But, you know, if you're an MC, you got to
keep up with the weather.
You got to, it's a currency, it's a feeling.
Right.
A current.
Yeah, it's a feeling.
Some bars on the album.
It's socky, it might be there, may I mean not be some bars on the album?
You might have to tune in.
Okay.
Okay.
We can hear something.
We don't have to put it.
Maybe.
You know, just for it, you know.
Cheating.
All right.
We should let him hear the whole album after this.
Oh, you got time?
Yeah.
Okay.
Yeah.
We have all the time for that.
Okay.
Prodigy or Biggie?
Rest in peace.
We'll get my shot ready.
Rest and beats.
I mean, impossible to pick.
Yeah, it's not.
There's no way to pick that.
You just want us to get drunk.
Yeah.
If you just want to drink, just say that.
This game.
It is bullshit.
It is a little bullshit.
Rest and peace.
All right.
Oh, meo.
Now it's when the Mama Hwana hits.
Line of our bartenders.
I know.
I was like, it was maybe nothing in that fucking thing.
Where were we at?
Okay, there, I'll see.
You got it?
You can take down.
Wait, these questions are.
You might as well bring a couple more.
Yeah, she knows.
She knows.
shit-ass questions, I'll tell you that.
So the next bullshit question
is...
Is?
J-Electronic or Jay-Z.
They're having fun.
You want to
let y'all know right now, liquor make me sleepy.
That's my sock. It keeps you up. It's an upper.
That's what Rizza said. And the words of
wizard. Let me sit up straight. So I can believe it.
Yeah. Yeah.
Okay.
It's like, let's all fix our posture.
I'm not sure.
I told you that mess is with my child support.
I can't.
Anything like that.
So on you out.
Okay, yeah, that's, that was great.
You could pass it.
How about that?
That's a new rule.
Pass it.
It's a new rule.
When it's a new rule.
Yeah, yeah, pass it.
Yeah.
Put your fucking glass up because I ain't picking nothing right there.
I tell you, I might get mad, but my money don't get mad.
That's a new rule.
Drink.
You can just pass it.
Sell it.
Oh.
All right.
Imagine some new JZ shit right now.
Imagine some new JZ shit.
I'm just saying.
Leak said, he alluded to that morsel is working on something.
He spilled the beans.
Yeah.
Why are you working on it?
He could be, it could be.
I have a line.
But we're going to throw that energy on him.
He's working.
Yeah, we're going to throw that energy on them.
He's going to say he's in the studio right now.
No, it happens.
It happens already.
Okay.
So you picked?
You picked?
We drank.
No, he drank.
He drank.
Oh, we drank already.
Okay.
You got to do?
Jill Scott or Alicia Keys
Jill Scott or Alicia Keys
This is a kind of show that like
tears up friendships
No I'm saying
No we said it's not about
You can stay drunk
It depends on I guess your honesty level
And you can say a beautiful story about both
We would love to hear stories
Can I just tell stories about both
Yes
You got to pick one
Pick one.
Or, you know, that would be saying both.
I'm going to give you both stories and then we'll have a shot.
I don't like to pick between our sis is.
It's my cissies.
Oh, so we just take the shot and then we tell us a story.
Okay.
Let's do it.
Shot first, then story?
Yes.
Can we do story first then story?
Okay, story first in the shot.
Okay, story versus then shot.
You can lead the way.
Well, my story with Alicia Keys, I was, it was 1997 or eight, and Bodooism was going to come out.
And I lived in Brooklyn.
I had an apartment in Brooklyn.
And a woman called me from Universal, I think my label,
and said I have this young girl, a high school student,
and she likes you.
Or I think she said, I just want you to hear the music,
whichever the way it was.
And I heard it.
And it was Alicia Keys singing butterflies on acoustic piano.
Oh, wow.
Before it came out.
Before it ever came out.
And I was like, who is this?
It was so beautiful.
And I don't know if I told Alicia that, but yes, I was, I played it for all my friends and everything as a way to compare myself to you and say, see, this is how we do when we have the, you know, and I was trying to leverage myself with you because you were so amazing at that point.
And my music hadn't come out yet either.
But I just want to tell you that.
Jillie from Philly, we started off a little rough because we were kind of both played a little bit.
I sang a song called You Got Me, written by Jill.
And I never sung a song written by anybody in my life.
And it was so amazing that I took a chance to do it because the Roots said,
we want you to sing this song.
Well, I didn't know it was written by Jill until it was time to make.
win a Grammy and it kind of
inadvertently knocked her out of
her opportunity to be this
first artist with this
beautiful music and I always
felt really bad about it and
we've talked about it since then.
How did it knock her out? Well because she
didn't come out until 2001.
I came out in 1997
and I was already
a recording artist
and she was a writer
at the time.
an aspiring artist whose album would come out soon.
So when that happens sometimes,
I didn't know the writing game and all that.
I just, it was a good song.
Right.
I didn't know she did it, but when I performed it with the Roots,
we won a Grammy.
And a couple of nights before the Grammys,
Kamen told me, this is the writer of it.
And, you know, I called her, talk to her about it.
and got up on stage and won the Grammy.
But I still couldn't help but to feel like, oh, my, I wish.
New to the new.
Yeah, or something, you know.
But that's my Jill story.
Me and Jill are real cool now.
And I love her.
She's a great mommy, great friend, great listener.
She's dope.
Yeah.
I don't know, Alicia as well, but we will.
She's a lot of comments.
I saw her.
Yeah.
This is the last one I saw.
She was amazing.
She seemed like she wasn't drunk at all.
You know, she drank.
Dracking the shit down and shit.
I'm sorry.
I say both.
Did we drink already?
We say both.
No, we didn't drink.
We didn't drink.
We didn't drink.
We didn't drink afterwards.
Yeah, yeah.
I don't know why I'm reminding.
This is terrible.
You want to take a break?
Quick time and going to flower time?
No, no, no.
Not yet.
I've seen it.
I've seen it.
Okay, making sure.
Dead prez.
or Black Star
Yeah, the people.
Whoa.
Very Afrocentric.
It's two different kinds of things, though.
Okay, are you okay?
You can break it down.
Pass.
And shout out to my Florida homies,
they're going to drink.
Pass.
I can miss want to drink.
No, no, no, this one I'm going to go Black Star.
Black Star, okay.
And I think they're both just,
Personally, I think it's just a minor edge, but they both represent something very important.
Their president, like when they came out, that record was, yeah, we need them right now, really.
Two different regions of the same kind of energy.
All right.
Yeah, that's down south.
Yeah, I was hype with them.
And then there's the East Coast.
Yes, yes.
They were early on their shit, yeah.
You know, I think Kanye did that beat.
A lot of people don't know that.
Which one?
It's bigger than hit
Are you serious?
No, he did not
Somebody check it
I'm pretty sure that's right
I don't believe that
I don't know I can't hear that
I know
I know
I know my shit
I know my shit
You know you would know
Oh wow
I didn't know that
You'd be surprised
I traveled with DP
Dead Press
We traveled around together
For about a year
We had shows
But we also
We were going to community centers
And having forums
and, you know, reaching out to younger artists
building programs and things like that,
food banks and food deserts and those kinds of things.
And then 2000s.
They're great.
We were really into some important works.
Yeah.
Is it?
Yeah?
It's in the Matrix, so.
Is that around the time that Kanye did the Dead People's record?
It was around that time.
When he was in his
underground bag
Yeah, yeah, making beats.
Yes.
Hmm.
Good one.
Black star, you know, that's amazing.
That's a good trivia effect.
You know, you know who produced Top Billing?
Who?
I'm asking you.
It's just a good trivia.
Wait, wait, wait, let me think.
Milk is chilling.
Who produced Top Bellin?
Wait, wait, wait, let me think for me.
She might get it.
She might get it.
Molly Maugh?
Nope.
Did they self-present?
I think you should know this one.
No, I actually, and I used, I have them on my album.
I'm, this one of my album.
It's one of the greatest beats of all time.
Of all time.
Drum program insane.
That's the beginning of all and on and on.
And we know the producer.
And then Biggie re-did the joint and we know the producer you say.
I snatched you for a legend.
Jabborn snatched.
Say that again.
Wow.
Daddy Ossess As a Sonics.
Shout to Daddollin.
Now I always is trying to get us like, take a shot.
Take a shot.
Take a fucking shot.
I'm going to take a shot for that.
Yo, shout out to Daddyo.
I did not know that.
Shout to fucking Daddy.
I did not know that.
We did that all the greatest beats ever.
The greatest beats ever.
That drum program is mind-blowing.
We did the Zoom with him.
Yep, we did.
No, Brooklyn.
I'm going to take a shot.
I'm going to take a shot for that.
For what?
For top billing.
Just for top doing the beat.
But not knowing it, yeah.
But can I tell you, this might be just a personal opinion, but I think the
Diet of People's Joint you did, that's one of the best beats of the hip-hop as well.
Yeah, one of the best.
Chalkoutherty people's, man.
Yeah, great, great time.
Those are my brothers.
We'll come back to that.
Yeah, let's go, quick time, quick time.
NWA or Wu-Tang plant
Oh my God
That's what I say
You said oldie but goody on the show
I know this question
What do we got here
Just get the drink ready
I think it's not the same
I think it is the same
I don't think it's not the same
You know Doc told me a story about NWA
When you say Doc you're talking about Dr.
The DOC
Oh my bad
Okay
No problem
It's Puma's dad
Okay that's right that's right
He told me that in his understanding and vision, that NWA was a political group, was a radical group who was trying to express what America had created through the characters that they portrayed.
Right.
I see that.
Where E.E.E.E. or Eric was really in this, you know, in this world.
Right.
And it just became something else.
but he said at first they were trying to
balance public enemy.
They were the same thing
on different sides of the spectrum
but the same energy.
The first thing.
NWA and public enemy.
In public energy.
Those are my two favorites of all time.
Those two.
Drake was a visionary
and he definitely took some of the East Coast
inspiration and turned into the
which everybody in hip hop at that time
had to take that was a world of all.
It is a visionary. Let me correct about it.
DOC is a visionary.
DOC is.
That makes a noise with D.
So important.
So important.
He's been on drinks.
He's very important.
One of the most important.
Very important.
Shout to the DMC.
And the fact that he lost his voice and kept writing rhymes for Drey, that's like, how it calls that?
Humility.
Yes.
Yeah.
Obviously you've seen his documentary, right?
Have I seen it?
Yeah.
I think I'm in it.
Yeah.
No.
If I'm saying, well.
But, you know.
Have you seen his children?
I gave birth to them.
And what I'm saying, how good that is, how good that documentary is.
Like, it's fucking phenomenal.
Like, yeah.
And he's a great dude.
Like, his first album, but he seems like a great person.
He is.
Like, World Wind Pyramid, let the bass go.
Like, in the West Coast, he was, like, an anomaly.
Yeah.
Like, he was, we were just completely fucked up by that first album.
And we didn't know he's from Dallas, neither.
We didn't know that.
Well, we didn't know.
There was something that happened.
What was he wearing?
wearing the kings lord of lords he was in front of that oh right right but it was and that's
that's los angeles yes yes but there was something that he would say in the album that would
say that he was from texas i forget what it was right knew what he was doing he's he i believe he
said it but i believe his his attire was like so much looking like the west coast that we just assumed
it yeah that was already but it was already his style too before he left
he was dressing like that yes he was like he was actually wearing phila oh oh okay
Let's make some noise.
In Spanish, we say we're in Spanish.
We say, we're in five.
We say, oh, bye.
All right.
Yeah, he was already wearing that kind of stuff.
He's in Fila.
I mean, he was, his hats were the same as the style he wore.
And it's the Fila Fresh crew, right?
Yes.
Yeah, he was ahead of his time as a kid.
You know, and we all looked at him.
So you all met each other in Dallas?
Yeah.
Oh, okay.
We were both in the rap era in Dallas.
Where Colchris came up.
That's right.
Chelsea Colchrist?
Mad play.
Yeah, so it was only a few, like, groups that were, like, really thriving in that era.
But the whole, everything was inspired by East Coast, of course.
Yeah.
But we had our own culture of hip-hop.
And in that culture, D.O.C. reigns supreme.
And so did Colchris.
That's right.
Yeah.
And when he got discovered by a man called Dr. Rock, who was a DJ,
Dr. Rock introduced him to Dr. Dre.
And as a kid, he's not even finished with high school.
He was disenchanted with high school.
That's how he met Dre?
Yeah.
He got introduced like that, and they went out there, and he wrote so much stuff.
And this is the story I understand, to be true.
He wrote so much stuff, and he kind of helped to shape and form the minds of what we hear as West Coast rap.
Or NWA.
Or NWA.
He's in the DNA.
of West Coast.
Or the popularity of West Coast.
His flow is unmatched, man.
He was so ahead of his time.
I was so ahead of his time, man.
We were with DJ Quick in the studio
recently. He came when we were working on the
album and the stuff that he said about
DOC was so endearing.
Like, he really said the same thing we're saying.
Like, D.O.C. was pivotal.
In the West Coast sound.
That touched me so much. DJ Quicks
with my favorite producers.
Yes.
Shout to DJ Quick.
Yes.
That's a quick.
Just safe to say, you got DJ Quick on
album. Yes, he plays
Woodblock.
He has it.
Quick.
Quick. And he did something
really important that expanded
my production game.
He gave me an Ovenheimer.
He gave her, he came to a studio
with a keyboard and just gave it
to E. Oberheimer, which
is, I think you're using it on stage
with us. I do. And in the album.
Shout to DJ Quick, man.
Yeah.
And drink
alumni as well
I was a great episode
All right
Larry June or two chains
Oh you silly
You must be drinking
That's not going to happen
I mean
That's not going to happen
Soki
Yep
Snaki yagi
Drink up
Cheers
Nothing to say there
This is crazy
This is crazy
December 29th
The holiday rush, parents hauling luggage, kids gripping their new Christmas toys.
Then, at 6.33 p.m., everything changed.
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In its wake, a new kind of enemy emerged, and it was here to stay.
Terrorism.
Law and Order Criminal Justice System is back.
In Season 2, we're turning our focus to a threat that hides in plain sight.
That's harder to predict and even harder to stop.
Listen to the new season of Law and Order Criminal Justice System
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Culture eats strategy for breakfast.
I would love for you to share your breakdown on pivoting.
We feel sometimes like we're leaving a part of us behind when we enter a new space, but we're just building.
On a recent episode of Culture Raises Us, I was joined by Volisha Butterfield, Media Founder, Political Strategist, and Tech Powerhouse for a powerful conversation on storytelling, impact, and the intersections of culture and leadership.
I am a free black woman.
who worked really hard to be able to say that.
I'd love for you to break down.
Why was so important for you to do C?
You can't win as something you didn't create.
From the Obama White House to Google to the Grammys,
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A very fake, capital-driven environment and society
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I'm telling you, I'm on the energy committee.
Like, if the energy is not right, we're not doing it.
whatever that it is. Listen to Culture raises us on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
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My dad was shot and killed in his house.
Yes, he was a drug dealer.
Yes, he was a confidential informant, but he wasn't shot on a street corner.
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Pretty private isn't just a podcast.
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Every Tuesday, make sure you listen to Pretty Private from the Black Effect Podcast Network.
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Sometimes it's hard to remember, but...
Going through something like that is a traumatic experience, but it's also not the end of their life.
That was my dad, reminding me and so many others who need to hear it, that our trauma is not our shame to carry.
And that we have big, bold, and beautiful lives to live after we.
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The unwanted sorority is a safe space, not a quiet space.
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Listen to the unwanted sorority, new episodes every Thursday on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
We're almost done.
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Get us home.
Get us home.
Your MTV raps or rap city?
You own MTV raps are me?
Me too.
I have Freddy all day.
Dr. Dreya, I love it.
That was the beginning of everything.
Yeah.
We saw everything.
Yeah.
I saw all the videos first there.
Shout to Uncle Ralph, though.
You know what I'm saying?
Shout to Uncle Ralph.
Absolutely.
No, absolutely.
We didn't get him down here, but we knew the significant.
Of course.
He would get VHS tape.
Very pivotal.
Yeah.
Primo or Havoc?
Both of you.
It hasn't.
He's laughing.
He knows who both the presses.
He looks right now.
I'm not going to lie.
Look, no, no, I'll let this.
Be more a havoc.
Why?
He just wants to get drunk.
What's you have to get drunk?
No, we want you to talk about your friends.
We can have a conversation.
I like the conversation.
And the drinking is kind of like the casual part of me.
And then we drink.
And then we drink.
Stop taking all this personal.
They're both so important in everything I do.
You know what I mean?
Like first, first, first it was premiere.
premiere was my everything
you know like premiere
I think any producer could say that
as an exterior or like
as an inspiration like my first
beast you could ask evidence they were fake premier beats
and he used to be like nah no no that sounds like
rappers are in danger now that sounds like
emcee whatever and it was like
I had to learn to craft mon style
and then later when I moved to New York
that's so sweet
I became friends with them so then of course
I can't make a beat that sounds like
like him.
You know what I'm saying?
And then from there, it went to Lincoln with Havoc and Mobb Deep.
And Havoc.
He's a beast.
I can't even say it because you experienced it.
At the time, like the Mobb Deep days, it was like shit you never saw before.
Like they used to be in a studio 20, 30 deep.
And he was like a conduit, like a wire.
Like he used to come in there drunk, E&J, throw a disc in.
And then he would just start making beats in the studio.
And was it, right track?
Right track, unique, D&D.
Yeah, and he would make shit live,
and then his whole crew would just, you know,
Gadi would be in there swinging his arm
and knowing he would be wilding,
and it would be like he was feeding off of the crew's energy.
And I swear, I learned so much from havoc,
like drum programming.
Like, if you listen to Byrne, that's like a perfect beat.
Nix, baseline.
He played that shit on the MP.
The guitar.
He played that shit on the MP, like, he just took one chop and went, da-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-a.
I just say that to say, like, I used to sit there and just absorb, you know, so both of them are, like, are in my DNA.
You know what I'm saying?
You can hear it, premiere and have it.
So, pour a fucking drink up.
Let's go.
Let's go.
Oh, my God.
Let's go.
Absolutely.
I'm sorry.
We drink it tonight.
Make sure you guys order the mineral water and the...
You know, it's a good thing I have like a...
Oh, shit.
I answered a fucking rope.
Like I have a piece of peter bread in my pocket.
Just a cake.
Damn, I shouldn't do that.
You want a bite?
Yeah, my God.
It's great bread.
I love you.
You got peter bread and hummus.
Just so people don't think that we had to peter bread.
She didn't bring it with her.
I was a Girl Scout.
I don't know if she makes sure.
She's not like an away without bringing it in her pocket.
I'm going to keep my people straight.
That's all I know.
Eat some peter bread.
Here.
All right.
Here, have a piece of peter bread.
Thank you.
So dilated peoples or Cypress Hills.
It's definitely a high ass crush.
Where's she at?
Pour up.
I'm not picking between those two, man.
Those are both family for me.
Oh, my God.
Pick someone.
You have to pick someone.
How are you again?
Okay.
Who is it?
Dialeted people are Cypress Hill.
Dialeted people are Cypress Hill.
Thank you.
Cypress Hill.
Oh, day long.
Yeah, but he said both.
So we still want to y'all said both.
The rules of the game goes.
Did you say that?
Yeah, but he could drink alone.
I'm going to say Cypress Hill because when I met you, we were on tour at Cyprus Hill.
1997, I'm pregnant as hell.
Andre 3,000 is on the tour.
He's an outcast.
They're on the tour.
There's Parliament, Funkadelic.
the tour.
Cypress Hills
on the tour.
Far Side is on the tour.
Who are you with?
That was with Cyprus.
Oh, you was in Mugs.
Yeah, I'm going to have to say that.
I'm going to have to have Cyprus.
Dilated people.
Ecclectic and beautiful.
I just don't know the music as well.
Someone to choose that.
What about you?
What's hey you?
I'm going to go with both.
Just because they are both
my family.
Both. My first beat might have been
Dylated people's. I think third degree
might have been one of my first actual
Bees. Is Dylid an official liquid crew?
We all were. Okay.
I know some people say, yeah, some people say that.
We were madly. We were all.
The Far-I.
L.A. was like a really dope.
Right. Mix. And everybody sounded different at the time.
Like Will, like Will,
like Will, we grew up together.
Will and evidence were in a group together.
From Dillet. You was in the Mexican neighborhood.
Yeah, I was about to say.
Will used to get busted in.
He told the story over here.
Yeah, well, he was on the west side hanging out with us.
Right, right. Right. He did.
Say that, yeah.
Really?
Will I am?
I swear to God.
That's crazy.
If he didn't become what he became, it would have been criminal.
He was so talented when we were young.
Like, he used to win.
He'd been the first one committing crime on AI.
No, he used to win the dance battle, the freestyle battle, because it was a club called Ballistics.
Shout to David Faustino, Bud Bundy.
He used to throw a party in L.A.
Oh, Bud Bundy from?
Yes, yes.
They threw every Thursday night in the whiskey.
You look so drunk.
No, I'm not.
I'm getting there, though.
Don't worry, I'll get there.
I'm just saying.
I'm like, look drunk for real?
Yeah.
He's solid.
You solid?
Okay, good.
The west side of L.A. was just a dope mixture of sound.
Farsight was there.
You had Cyprus.
The underground L.A. scene.
It was dope.
We all grew up underneath that.
What was the name of like that one club that Razzcast talks about?
I'm sorry.
You do it.
I'm sorry.
The promo.
I'm speaking to my boundaries here.
This is the promo right here.
Okay, I'm sorry.
This is the promo.
We love it.
Y'all go here.
What was the name of that club?
Unity.
Shout to Club Unity.
But yeah, LA was a great time, man.
Shout to Allent.
Did we take a shot for that?
Because he said both.
Yeah, kind of.
She was trying to.
If you want.
I'm learning to us out right now.
Shout to evidence.
I'll take a ginger shot.
Okay, yeah.
That's a ginger shot.
It's a ginger shot.
Shout to Dial it.
I think they're right.
My brother.
Right here.
He owns a juice bar.
Really?
He owns a juice bar.
Yes.
You could have what you, ginger, yeah.
I would love to talk to you a little bit later.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, thank you.
I'd love to talk to you later about.
Yeah, yeah.
I'm an all-greens girl.
No fruit, no lemon.
Oh, wow.
Cale, celery, ginger.
Cucumber.
Spirillina.
Yeah.
Perulina.
Ginkgo Biloba?
Right, so this is the last one?
No, it's the last one.
The last one to get back into an interview.
I'm not going to say, I'm not going to lead the witness.
Don't.
Loyalty or respect?
I mean, okay.
Loyalty or respect?
I'd say respect because you can't have it without loyalty, right?
I say respect because you can have a bunch of people loyal to you who could be dream killers.
You know, who could be someone who doesn't think you deserve what you have or who you are.
I'll say respect.
I'd rather be respected in front of me and from a distance.
And it's okay.
But either way, I don't really care.
But if I have to choose, I'll say, I say respect.
How about you?
Thank you.
Neither.
Damn.
That's a shot, too.
You say both.
Neither.
Neither.
Neither.
We should need anything.
We don't need validation, man.
I thought this was just the game.
You're trying to be a same.
He's a scholar.
Yo.
I don't think no one's ever said neither.
Neither.
I don't think no one.
We don't need nothing.
I don't think no one's ever said that.
That's one of these.
Yeah.
now we got a flower now
now when you look at hard
you know copies
I was just hard and like you know you know
yeah I was going to finish I was going to finish
this my bad but when you look at hard copies
does that remind you of a good time in the industry
or is do we own our masters
or is it looking at saying man
I remember for years I couldn't listen to the war report
one because I didn't own it and I just
when I would look at it it was just so much pain
in it or a person I used to be
so when y'all look at these hard copies
what do you say to y'all?
Ladies first
yeah all shit
I see
a green person who is very fortunate
that got an opportunity that a lot of people did not have.
I see a partnership between a machine
and a singular artist that worked out very well
because both of our plans were demonstrated
in the collaboration.
I wanted people to just hear what I have to say
and I'm not a big money
focused person. I don't really care about that.
Al could tell you that. He doesn't
think that's very smart all the time.
Right. But I take his advice on it.
Yeah, I just see
that's good shit. I tell my children
all the time. If you want to know who your mom is,
listen to Badoo is and Mama's Gun.
Worldwide Underground, New America
1 and 2.
But you can't use my phone. And now
Abby and Allen.
Abby and Allen. Yeah, I express myself best
through this music and I'm so happy
it has a platform
and the deals that I made are
mine and I
and I'm good with that.
I'm proud of that work very much so.
How about you out?
Yeah, like
I'm like, I'm thankful
for the journey
you know, of the whole
like even look, that's like old mix tapes.
That was like the Bob Perry
days and we could just like give fucking
what was that? Landspeed. Lanspeed.
They distributed my mixtap.
And it was like, I went through so
many phases, you know,
and then it went from that to Koch.
Yep. Cod's after. That's what I did my first
album, the first infantry. And it was like
it was so many stages
that I had to go through. And it was like
one shit started clicking, like
maybe five or six years ago.
It was like, damn, I wish I
wish it was like this 20 years ago.
And we could have just sped to that. But it's like,
you have to go through those steps you have to you can't skip any steps you know and i don't know
how to explain it but it's like it's in the process you know and it was it was all i learned
every step of the way like i told you with e i'm just learning new shit yeah you still learning right
and it's like i got into the indie stuff and started doing my own thing and i started realizing
we don't need these companies right they're just giving you money like we have all the ideas they're just banks
Bank loans of high interest rates
Yeah, he told me like
when I finally, I was liberated from
my label after
27 years.
Yeah, and
when we were trying to figure out what we're going to do
about this album, he said, I'd rather take a loan from
a bank.
For real. That's a better deal. The way she thinks
is independent. She was telling
me stories every step of the
way. She had to fight the fucking power.
The label, the people were
like convinced people and it was like
she had the independent spirit
and she won every time
every time she told me about the shit
she went through like with even Tyrone
like she told me they had to convince
the label like the biggest fucking record
the call on Tyrone
yeah I mean when it's something new
nobody really knows the vision by you
I mean it's it's all a part of it
you know the convincing
is a big part of it
you know
getting everybody on the
same team.
A lot of politics.
Thank you for all of these beautiful
compliments in our place.
I learn a lot, but just
like...
He's never said any of this to me.
Well, that's what we're here for.
But look, as artists,
we see...
That is not what you...
Go ahead, go ahead.
We see shit, you know?
Yes.
You know what it is?
We all created.
So we see shit in our mind,
and she moves at the fucking speed of light.
Like, she'll see shit in her head.
and start moving and fill me in later
and be like yo my bad and I said it's okay
right I trust you but I think
sometimes the people don't see the shit that you see
right and then like
you'll explain some shit to one of your people
you know I got an idea and they'd be like
yo you you're bugging yeah right
and then two three years later
it actually happens
and then those same people come back around
and be like oh shit it's crazy and I
it's like I had to learn how to be
humble and just accepted instead of
of being like, I told you, you should have listened to me, because that's not classy.
Yeah, no.
And that's what I learned from her, too, how to be tasteful and classy and be like, just follow
your ideas.
Like, every idea she had that was insane, it's worked.
You know what I'm saying?
So I realized, like, how do collaborate with somebody get out the way and inspire their
ideas, and it's been a crazy journey.
He's like that across the board, though, just with everything, every part.
of his life.
Willing to learn or willing to share or willing to step down.
Sometimes you have a choice between being right or being a good friend.
And I see him choosing being a good friend.
And it's inspiring to me as well.
So I feel you.
Thank you for that.
Thank you for trusting me.
You know it.
Can I have a better program?
Crime crime and Erica? Are you kidding
me? This is an
amazing collaboration. It's my guy.
For sure.
When did you start smoking
joints with tobacco? When you went to Amsterdam?
Amsterdam, right?
We have a song when you were saying.
He was like, you went to Amsterdam and got turned
out. He has never.
Yeah, it fucked up. He has never turned back.
That's right. That's right. That's right. So our show is about
giving people a flowers
when they can smell them.
The thoughts where they could think them, and they drinks where they could drink them.
We want to give y'all both flowers to your face.
Snoop's that it's better than the gram.
Long overdue.
It's an honor, man. It's an honor, man. I appreciate you.
And this is.
Let me see yours out. Oh, I love it.
Let me see me too again.
This says Erica Badoo.
Thank you, man. Thank you.
Thank you.
It's a champion flower vase.
That's right.
This is so special.
No, thank you guys for being here.
Thank you so very much.
I want to bring you guys something to.
Yeah, we're sold out.
It is sold out sometimes.
It's sold out.
No, no, no, no.
Whenever I say it is.
Oh, shit.
Oh, damn.
Sonny's who you got the wrong Google then.
She does drops.
Whenever she wants, she do a drop.
Yeah.
It's like vinyl.
Yeah.
Oh, okay.
So it's kind of when I think you deserve it, basically.
Okay.
Okay.
But this bottle of pussy incense and people have been talking about it on your show.
I heard busts.
Yes.
Talk about it.
Are you going to light one?
I'm going to light one right now.
I can say this.
You got to get some of that to me.
That's for you.
That's for you.
That's for you.
Yeah, relax.
Put that on the table.
We don't share that about us.
Put that on the table
I bought the torch
I bought the torch
You don't help me out
We like it to be like that
Yeah, definitely
Sold out everywhere
Y'all
So
So that is like a question in this
This is the point where everything will change
Okay
Let y'all know
everybody got serious
even no more jokes and shit
everybody got real serious
relax
I'm joking
relax
so all entertainers
like have a product to sell
and you know
some people sell
liquor
some people sell
you know
marijuana
some people sell shoes
so what
what made you want to do
incense and then
the scintet
the sense
the name of the instance
The name would have instant, yes.
I understand.
I understand the question.
Okay.
Well, incense and candles and things have always been a part of my aesthetic.
I did not create it, any of it.
Okay.
It was just a part of, you know, if you came into my world, that's what's happening.
But I've always been associated with candles and incense.
Okay.
And then there was this urban legend, of course, as you all probably know about,
that my pussy make niggas change gods and jobs.
I don't know why
But you said it
We didn't say it
No, I've heard it all around the industry
It's like an urban legend
Is it? Have you heard that before?
I've heard that
Yeah
Did people tell you when they met me not to look me in the eye?
They told me you being careful
They told me to do that
Did you see what my friend went in to get
The vinyl's autograph?
Boris.
Boris.
He came out of the room
sweating bullets.
he said like oh my god that was so very difficult that is so funny what a legend can do you know a legend that i make men change jobs and gods come on that's only half the legend women too children and animals any living breathing thing i feel cheated on that legend because they didn't tell the whole story
Everything.
What?
Everything.
I'm not sure what we're talking about.
I don't know what we're talking about.
But we're talking about everything.
I'm taking a shot for that out.
I'm sorry.
I'm taking it with you.
I thought we were up for the shots already, but I don't know.
Come on.
Come on, everything.
You guys want to try my shit?
It's drink champs.
Y'all ain't no champs.
Oh, shit.
Let me say so.
I knew.
I knew when you.
Down with it? Up with it.
No, but that's what a up with it.
Up with it?
So that's an urban legend you're saying.
You know that it is. Stop this.
You've heard everybody come on your show and say this type of thing about me.
Right.
So what is true and what isn't true, Erica?
Well, I don't think the magic lies between my thighs.
I think it lies between my ears.
And I think that's hard for people to understand or accept.
That is a mental connection.
Perhaps.
Yeah, it's mental.
it has very little to do with
any of these other things
but I think it's a good thing
to sell body who puts the instance
because I think I all deserve it
Sonny
he said it sold out twice
oh more than that
you can get it
more than that baby
we've been trying to get it for a long time
we want to support you
well now you have it
well you gave it to him now he's never going to bring it back
I'll make sure I give you one too
thank you all right there you go
Thank you very much
You got set up
your shit
There you go
I'll make sure
I give three sticks
to Boris
So he's sweating his room
Like that
Yeah
That's funny as hell
It's the first thing
I walk in the door
It's like
You're Boris man
I'm shaking
No but you know what
I'm not gonna put it all
on Boris
Because obviously
I sent Boris in
To get the autograph
So I was like
Oh go ahead bro
You got this
You got this
Boris
You didn't have this
Do you think
People meet you
And are
Are nervous of that
Like, like you said, people, people say don't look at you.
Nervous a vet.
No, just your presence, not of anything.
Like, you just said, people.
Oh, me tearing your world apart?
Yeah, like, like, people, like, people who say, like, people who say, don't, don't look, don't look, don't look you in the eye, like, is that.
Wrecking up your happy home?
I mean, what is it?
What's you talking about?
No, no, no, so they're saying.
Like, they say that about Janet Jackson, too.
About Janet Jackson, too, they say that security is out of control.
He tells you, don't look at Janet's eyes.
You never heard of it?
I heard that about Nick Minnaz
and they would say
Don't look at that.
Well, maybe it's a lot of us
then, more than you think.
Okay.
Yeah.
But I think the urban legend kind of comes from
just being a creative
person.
Yeah, creative who is fearless
and is
Saki.
Okay.
Saki?
Fuck it.
Have a lot more.
Fuck all of what I just said.
I think Mama Juana goes more with the conversation
It goes more with the conversation
That's for you
I don't even know what the fuck I was saying just now
You said
What I'm trying to say is what you was saying
The urban legend is what it is
Because
There's something happening here
There's something happening here
When I get into the lives of guys
Something happening here
Do you see the pattern?
No
You don't see the pattern.
No, I do.
Well, you're fired.
We do see the pattern.
Okay, well, this conversation is over because I don't know where it's going.
All I'm trying to say is I'm giving a gift of body who puts the incense, and I want everyone to enjoy it.
I enjoy making them and I enjoy sharing.
And you said, but you didn't make it.
Make what?
Make it?
I made the incense, but I didn't make the legend.
The legend made itself.
So the big question was, without being crude, how is it made?
How did the smell come about?
How did the smell come about?
Well, most guys say that my vagina smells like strawberries and gunpowder.
Man, sounds like a nice place in the wild, wow, what?
So I tried to duplicate that, you know?
I don't know. That's what they say. I don't know.
She said, eat that. I don't know where they get the strawberries from, but yeah, that's what they say.
So I try to duplicate the smell of strawberries and gunpowder, and I hope that I'm doing that.
All right, guys, do that answer your questions? Because you guys, they had all kinds of reasons of how you got it together.
And it's weird. It got weird. It got weird. They were like, let them pass it.
Someone back there has their hand up.
You got your hand. You got your head. You got it.
He got a question.
Hey, come on camera.
Come on camera.
Come on camera.
Come on camera.
No, come on camera.
For Haiti, man.
Yeah.
No, not for Haiti, maybe not.
Because he's going to fuck up this table.
Sonny is entering the building.
Come there, son, here.
No, listen, listen, that candle is outstanding.
I mean, sorry, that instance is outstanding.
And I would definitely use those every day in my house for the rest of my life.
Go sit down
That was sunny
The legend
For the rest of his life
He said
I understand
He said
Strawberries and gumpowder for the rest of his life
That's it
That's what it is
Oh man
That was amazing
How did legends get started
I don't know
Something's happening though
Something has definitely happened
Something.
Yeah.
And early on, you worked with Tom Ford.
Yeah.
Like, how did that come about?
Tom is also from Texas.
Tom Ford is a designer and he reached out.
He's from Texas?
He's from Houston, Texas.
Really?
Oh, Austin, Texas.
I never would have thought that.
He started out in soap operas.
Okay.
As an actor.
But he reached out to us and he had a campaign called White Pachuli.
And he wanted me to be the face of it.
And I thought it would be really fun.
It was the first kind of campaign thing that I did like that.
And I really love and respect Tom.
What I love about fashion and houses is who the current creative director is.
And the creative director is kind of the person whose vision everyone follows.
And it's really cool to have seen him grow from Tom Ford or from the creative director of Gucci.
Oh, that's where he comes from?
Well, he came from himself, but he was hired as the creative director of Gucci.
Okay.
And then to his own brand.
10-4.
Very classy, very cool.
Were you the first artist he collabed with?
I'm not sure about that.
Okay.
Yeah.
And then you had a collection come out with...
Marney.
Yeah, or after that.
Yeah, with Marnie.
Same thing.
The brand reached out and wanted to collab.
Francesco Riso and I became very, very good friends because of our same kind of creative eye
in art and in fashion and shape and sculpture.
And that's how that happened.
And we did a really, really cool line, very short run, but very fun things.
He used all my aesthetics, basically, and created a line and gave me permission to
create with him so it was his world yeah what do you love more fashion or music i love art all of it
takes the same process all art yeah it's i have to be doing it making something yeah feels good to me
it's my therapy
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Both of them fall under art.
Yeah. I would think...
You mean, anything that inspires your creative.
I'm not...
Okay. I'm going to chill.
Yeah, yeah.
Come on. I came here to drink.
I would have never thought you came here to drink,
but he's in. He's all in.
I smoke really, but I'm, you know, keeping up.
He didn't drink the whole thing, though.
Oh, she called you out. You got to drink it, bro.
Not I get to
Boil it, man
Refill, refill
How's the guy
Let me go into this record
Because I wanted to go into this record
So I got the test press of it
A bang bang
This is the test press
How the fuck you have that?
Come on, you know
And this caused a lot of controversy
When it came out
And I remember you showing it to me in the studio
when you got, I think you got the mix
here in Miami at Criteria, I believe.
Okay.
You mixed it in Criterio?
No, no, no, no.
I think you got it.
We got it.
No, no, you didn't mix it there.
I went to the studio.
You were playing records and then boom,
and then you play and then you was like,
this is going to be bananas when it comes out.
And it was Foxy talking about what she was talking about.
Did you know when you made the B
when the record was made?
Because you didn't make Quiet Storm, right?
No, having made Quiet Storm.
But I remember the same.
for this for bang bang
because I came to the studio
and one thing about Norie
like anytime
we ever worked it was always
so easy because
it was like the second beat that I played
it was never more than two beats
he was like that's it
put that shit up let's go
and I remember that day I came to the studio
and I played that beat
he was like put it up
and then he was like
this shit is hard I'm gonna get my little sister on this
and he went on the phone
on the studio phone.
I don't know who the fuck he was calling.
He called Foxy.
Oh, you didn't know I was called boxing?
I had no idea.
She must have been in the neighborhood
because she was there in like 15 minutes.
She must have been in a death jammer somewhere.
15 minutes she pulled up.
Beach playing.
She wrote like three different rhymes,
and I'll never forget.
See?
This is the same story.
She wrote three rhymes.
And then Jonathan Lidey came through
because I had to go leave to go to another session.
I think it might have been even to do
we're going to make it with Jada.
But we stand.
Oh, come on. That's a flex.
We stayed.
Relax.
I swear you're like that.
It was the same time.
It was the same time.
It was the same era.
Wow.
And we stayed and waited and she went in the booth and laid that rhyme.
Right.
And I was like, she went in there with vengeance.
Yes.
Like, like, because I, so just a case.
Yeah, set the stage.
Set the stage.
Yeah.
Because I didn't know.
All of us help understand what happened.
So Little Kim and Mar Dee.
drops quiet stone
the remix right
this is the remix the quiet
yes the remix
the remix okay excuse me my bad
Foxy
at the time I considered my sister
right so
I finally she was like
yo let me get on the record with y'all
because like we're Mar-Dib's competition
but we're like not their competition
neither but we're trying to be up there
right parallel so
I hear
And it's like, this is more of deep producer, too.
It's like, so it's like, it's not, they can clearly know that.
I didn't think of it like that.
I didn't think of it like that.
So they could clearly, she's a good shot.
Holy shit, holy shit, go on.
So they can clearly know that there's not no beef because there's alchemists that did it.
So, but I didn't, in my naive mind, I didn't know how far Foxy was going to take it.
But she was just, the first book.
So she was just like.
she was like I'm talking about like she went right in like I'm talking about in the booth she had three different rhymes like she was she was exercising in the boot in my mind like I was like hold and I just have never seen nothing like that especially from a female and I wouldn't I wouldn't and the beat is all right like I wouldn't edit a man so I wasn't I couldn't edit her you know what I mean I couldn't be like yo chill don't say that so
It was weird because, like, she just puff on the shit.
Like, she just, she just, she went crazy.
She just people weren't even had to do with nothing.
Let me bring some side.
I was just the mailman.
I was like, oh, shit.
When you showed me the record, you were uncomfortable.
Yeah.
He was uncomfortable.
He's like, he's like, it's like, hi, right?
Yo, that led to a hole.
He's like, stop like, I don't know.
It's hot.
No, the hook.
bang, bang, bang.
By the way, to this day,
it's one of the best records I performed.
I played one of the best records I before.
But I ain't got a lot.
We had havoc on here last week,
and I just had to tell it.
I was like, yo, bro, if I had the,
if I had, like, a more of a, like,
idea of where life was going,
I would have asked Foxy to calm down a little bit.
Really?
I would have asked, but I didn't even know how to.
Because I was like, she came in just like,
and then
she had three different ones
she had three different ones
you know what I'm trying to say
because I don't want to say
that would have been a hot verse today though
I was the one though
I love making
I love making the record with Foxy
but I do regret
making that record
because you still regret it to this thing
it led to a lot of drama
it led to unnecessary
problems
obviously this is a regional thing
Yeah, this was in New York
It's in New York thing. It's a New York thing.
Yeah, for sure. Because you have no idea what the fuck we're talking about.
None.
But it's...
She was lost.
It's an interesting, though.
Yes.
And I asked you what you are, like, more performing or...
Recording?
Or recording, yeah.
It's different things, but I prefer performing.
Thus, why we did this tour this way.
A lot of times, as artists, we have to wait.
Like myself, I'm a performance artist.
Uh-huh.
I came from theater.
Yeah, theater.
Yeah.
I got that in my notes.
Yes.
I majored in theater in high school and in college.
I went to perform.
And you went to HSBCU, right?
I did.
Gremlin State University.
G.
G.
Yes.
I can't say that, right?
It's round upon, right?
Thought you knew.
What college is that?
I went to Grambling State University, Louisiana, HBCU.
I majored in theater there.
And I did that also in high school.
I was a, I had a lot of fun.
acting and creating you know I forgot the question though what was the full question do you
remember shit I forgot too I was I was into your answer what do we say oh performing or
or recording or recording yeah I prefer performing I think recording
gives you an opportunity
to perfect a moment
where performing gives you
an opportunity to
just create a moment.
That's why we don't have any cameras
in our shows.
The press can't have any
equipment. They can only have
digital
what is it?
You said disposable cameras.
Yes. We want to be able to
create that moment to stay in your mind
and urge the audience to write
about it, you know, because I think
that it's very special.
It takes us back to another time.
And I love
performing a lot. It's where
I get the immediate response from the audience.
It's kind of like we become one
living, breathing organism
together. It's a feeling that
cannot be duplicated anywhere
else, not even on an album.
Right. Yeah, it's different.
There's a special feeling from a record,
recorded record or an album.
Because you get to kind of
relive that over and over again
but the performance is one time
and I really like that
kind of
of energy
it's a
it changes something
from
yeah
from another point of view
listening to it over
and over again
you get the perfected version
but performing is just once
it's only that time
no cameras is crazy
it's really dope it's super dope
it's so dope
it's like lyricist's lounge
type of thing, right?
Does it feel weird?
No, it's actually better because the crowd is
completely in tune.
They're in tune.
You forget it because we came from the error
when it was no phones.
Right.
You forget it.
When you do a show now with no phones,
niggas can't catch nobody
crowd surfing with them phones.
All right.
I learned the hard way.
But you try to jump in with the phones?
Yeah, they had to like protect the phone first.
All right.
So let me ask because
We live in real time, right?
We live in real time, right?
So, meaning, like, you know you guys can perform a new album and can see there's great reactions to certain songs, but there's, like, subtle reactions to other songs.
Do y'all live in real time and say, let me chuck this song, or let me, like, replace this, or what do you do?
Like, do you stick with it?
Like, how does this go?
Because we live in real time, really, we can switch the record.
Like, and the album could be live in a sense that I mean.
Half an hour. Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So.
I haven't experienced any of that yet.
Not yet.
Okay.
I think that everyone is so present because there are no phones.
Okay.
That you are absorbing every single thing.
Okay.
You know, and we're doing the same thing, too.
We're absorbing the audience's reaction and becoming even more inspired by that.
What do you think?
Yeah.
You're not changing nothing.
Right.
And is it live band or are you?
DJ. It's like a mix.
Okay. So we like nobody's heard anything
before anyway. I heard you're playing some of the
beats live. You got to come see it, but like like
performing with her is something I've never done.
Like I've done DJing. I've
wrapped.
Once I got on, we went first
before this tour, we went to Japan.
Like about two months ago.
Yeah. We did. Performing. We did a whole
tour in Japan. I'm going to practice in Japan real quick.
And the crew is called the
cannabinoids.
First of all, shout
to the cannabinoids.
That's the whole one.
Shack the crew.
S-1, Jobborn,
Rob Free.
I don't want to leave
about anybody, R.C.
You know what I'm saying?
Cleon.
It's a crew.
You know, listen,
she has
the most talented
motherfuckers on stage with her.
We're all digital band.
I feel. We've been performing together
for a long time and Alchemist came
in and just became one part of the
thing. She has
aliens on stage with her.
Everybody on stage is
like, I feel like an imposter.
I'm just, I'm just
triggering. Where are you going?
Take a piss.
We went to Japan first.
We did a tour in Japan.
When we went to Japan, we didn't
play the new album. We played like
two songs. Yeah, maybe play two
songs, two singles. You know, you
were testing out the theory of what you were
It's testing out, like, our chemistry.
Right.
Because we perform totally live on digital instruments.
But you guys had never performed together.
So that's where you were, like, figuring it out.
It's a band.
Like, her crew of cannabinoids, they are insane.
It's all, everybody has their own, like, production station.
Were you intimidated by that?
Of course.
Everybody is, like, insane.
They're upset.
We had rehearsals.
He said that, but, you know, once he gets out there.
She pushed me.
Like, okay.
shout out to exile, shout out to ARAB beats.
You know about the live MPC thing, right?
I've never done that.
So when she had the idea, she was like,
I want you to play on your MP and trigger the beats and, like, join in with us.
I was nervous, you know, because that's not my world.
But she's the type.
She said, you're going to be right.
She believes in you.
Yeah.
You'll be eye.
And we went to Japan, and it was insane.
Like, I'm playing beats out to MP.
I never played before.
and shit.
In sync with the band.
S-1 is playing the drums.
Job Warren is playing the drums.
Did you ever fuck up?
Did you ever fuck up?
Of course.
But you know what she told me?
There's no fuck up.
You know what she told me?
If you fuck up, keep going.
She's from the jazz.
Well, that's analog.
You can fuck up.
She's from jazz and theater.
So she told me from the gate,
if you fuck up, just keep going.
You pick it up.
Just keep going.
There's no fuck-ups.
Yeah.
No one knows what you're doing.
Right.
The audience doesn't know.
And that gave me confidence.
So if you act weird, then the audience knows.
I've never done it, so it gave me confidence.
You know what I mean?
He's amazing on stage.
I wouldn't know that you've never done that before.
Never.
Yeah.
This seems like such an amazing collaboration, man.
Yeah, we have so much fun.
It was great.
And now the tours now is like we were able to go to Japan first and like tune it up.
Now we're playing the whole new album.
Now for nothing, though, you should probably go back to Japan and give them the other, now the refined version.
We'll do that too.
You know, we're playing it by air.
I'm a very intuitive artist, and I'm just lucky to have people around me who are patient with my pace as I am creating, and you have been that so much.
And I thank you, and the cannabinoids and all the other members of my Baudu world.
Thank you so much.
It's a labor of love.
Everybody sacrifices so many things to.
you know, when you have a head
like, I don't know who the head of this thing is
but when there's a
it could be a dual.
Right.
Like us.
But when there's a vision
and the main
concern is getting everybody
on the same page.
Right.
So that everybody moves in the same way.
Yeah.
And you look like you have a group of people here
that really believe in what you're doing
and have found fun
inside of it and that's what it's all about and that's what we try to continue to create within our
band and our do you name it like a new group or it's not it's not like this just i'm a live performer
so what people know about eric about do are these albums but what i do for a living is perform live
i put out an album when i have something to say but for the past 30 years i've been
forming eight months out of the year with no break.
Wow.
I have never taken a vacation.
Wow.
Because it's what I do.
And I've been traveling the world doing that.
It may not get a lot of press or everything, but I don't need a validation of that.
It is so I can live and survive as a human spirit person.
That's what feeds you.
It's my therapy.
It feeds me.
I don't have to pee it off of others because I have that.
Right.
And that's what I do.
do.
Can we see
a future in a second
project?
I see so many
projects.
So many different
kinds of things.
He's a genius
and he doesn't want
to talk about it.
He's trying to play
this sweet,
old shit.
I don't know.
This man is a
fucking beast.
I got to go
use the rest of them.
Yes,
they know me.
Yes.
So do you see
another project?
Y'all already
been working?
You see, you haven't been working on a project.
It's, um, yeah, it's a, I'm, I'm saying new beats, all that.
Oh, shit.
Yeah, that's about right, beat, Jen, baby.
Let me just say this, man.
It's been a fucking long time, man.
How long have you been working on now?
No, no.
Now, fuck the album.
What are you saying?
What are you saying?
What are you saying?
It's been a long time.
I came to drink champs one time
when I was a visitor.
And we were pissed that you didn't sit down with us.
You guys are in that fucking
Orion's belt, man.
What episode was that?
It was earthquake.
Yeah, he came through.
But listen, let me just say this, man.
I know you a long time, bro.
We made history.
We did all that.
This shit y'all got is special.
And I'm glad that I was able to be a part of it.
Because it's been a long fucking time, man.
Shout out of the drink champ.
All right.
One of a kind.
And don't forget,
you made the Dream Champ's record
when he was just hearing
the word Drink Champs
around the office.
Did you know that?
Let me tell you how Real Norrie is.
Okay, but you're going to take the shot.
Let me just take a shot.
I'm awake.
Yo, I did the original beat for the Drink Champs beat.
Yes, right?
Now, the Drink Champs beat.
It was a so-called Drink Champs.
Yeah.
He recorded in my studio.
In my studio, the beat was for, we originally, me and Norrie did it.
And I called Norrie, I said, yo, little Wayne, he was his fucking beat.
Little Wayne, he was just, God damn, God.
Norley was so gangster, he said, I don't give a fuck.
And we good.
And I have a picture.
I did the contract for $1.
One dollar.
Because we had to put some money on the contract.
I did the contract for $1 for the other remix for drinks, haps.
That's what I say, bro.
Yeah.
I appreciate you because that was one of my biggest records, man.
Little Wayne.
And he let him live.
No, he let me live.
Now, you were my friend and you called me and said Little Wayne.
I was like, yo, nah, you got to do that.
Just switch the beat and that's it.
Like, you know, I was probably more mad than him, though.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
I had to talk to you about it.
That was the thing we were saying at the time in the studio.
Drake, yo, he kicked out of a record called Drichet.
Oh, shit.
Oh, shit.
This was the anthem.
This was before the show.
show before the
second beat
was it wasn't
it was way before
the podcast was an idea
before everything
but like yo I just want to say
man I appreciate you
I love you bro man
I appreciate you for letting me live
I appreciate you holding me down
remember that's my
that's my little son
that I brought him to your studio
yeah he's older now
oh my god
yeah yeah remember he was so love
and my wife brought him to his studio
and we played ping pong all day
yeah and I drink all your organic wine
I appreciate I love y'all man
drink him is a
Staple, man.
Nothing like it, man.
I appreciate it.
I'm glad I did it take this long for you to get here.
I got my partner in crime.
Yeah, it was made to be.
Listen,
easily, both of you all separately, like,
Erica could be here by herself.
We needed her by herself.
Yes.
You by yourself.
Yes.
But this is amazing together.
Yes.
I appreciate you all.
I feel so blessed.
Yeah, to both of you.
So you're not going to change the group.
Like, you know how like Bruno Mars and what's it called it?
They named the group.
you're not going to name it Anderson back
It's just it's what is it Abby and Allen
That's the name of the album
Abby and Allen
No though
Don't you name the group that too
I follow her lead
She's my fearless leader
Okay
You know what I'm saying
It seems like that's what's happening
Okay all right
Yeah
Now who y'all think got more hats
Alchemist or you
In what?
Like hats
In just like the word of heart
Yeah he's saying
No no hats
Real hats
Like, real, like, hat.
Oh, hat.
Yeah, because you guys are hats.
People?
You know, I have more jackets.
I'm not sure. Because I, I don't remember seeing I'm convinced without a hat.
Never, never.
And I don't remember seeing, I'm talking about there.
I haven't seen you without a hat in a long time.
I understand.
Okay, so, so who do you, who y'all think has more hats?
We've got, we don't, we don't separate that anymore.
Our hats are one.
Oh.
One hat?
Oh, shit.
Equal hats, okay?
It's just our hats now.
That's because of Abby and Allen.
It's just kind of like we don't try to fight about it anymore.
At first, we did.
You know, we would decide.
Oh, yeah, have hat beef.
I did have had a hat beef.
We did have had.
They're not in a hat.
You know.
You're not a Colombian.
You know what I meant.
No, but Christopher Columbus is in hell, though.
That dude is off the chain, though.
First of the Colombians is crazy.
Yeah, he's off a chain.
That's crazy.
So, y'all had.
hat this reprisee before.
Yeah, but she had a crazy outfit.
She wanted me to wear it.
It looked like a mix of Mario and Luigi.
Oh, okay.
I thought you would be really cute in it.
This is real.
Has she really tried to impress anyone.
I thought you were just trying to impress me.
She's a style king.
I'll follow her lead.
Okay.
There's nobody.
But not in the close.
Hold on.
Let me just say this.
Let me just say this.
Is nobody iller in the whole fucking world?
I'm telling you the leopardites
would have been
Not for me, not for me
I'm just saying
I can't
You got him wearing leopardting
Taconas
He looks good in everything
He's like sample size
You're petite
I'll take you a shot
My audio bro
Sample size
Sample size
That's all we really need ladies
Anything else is too big
Oh shit
Sample size
is the illness I've ever heard in my life
A strong like six
Seven sample size
And I tried things on him
And he lets me
Oh a couple crazy fits I had to veto
Yeah
You're good
Like you suspend this
And I'm not gonna get mad if he doesn't like it
As long as she's let me try it on and take a picture.
Right. You just take a picture?
Yeah. For the album cover, you're going to throw on that shit?
He don't know what's going to happen for the album cover yet.
I don't know.
You don't know?
You don't know? You got the vision for the album cover?
I follow her leaves, man.
Okay.
No, but come on.
But if he tells me something like, I hate this, it makes me like a telotubby.
I don't.
I don't push it.
I don't push it.
Shit.
I wasn't ready.
Yeah.
I can't see out wearing some crazy shit, bro.
Now I've got ill style.
No, you go, he's a different bag.
Very subtle, ill.
That was just laugh.
Yeah.
I'm going to take a shot for our own weird shit.
Oh, my God.
I'll wear some weird shit.
You see them overall.
No, that's the empty shot.
I can see you clearly, sir.
Salo.
This is the one that fell up.
Come on, let's go.
She did you get the Yale.
She could deal.
So.
Yo, Miel.
Here's the super major question.
Oh, this is the super major question.
Wait, wait, wait, you didn't pour that.
I'm looking right at you.
Oh.
That's right.
You're not going to be looking over at me.
Is this major?
I'm looking at you.
I'm looking at you.
Looking at me.
I'm looking at you looking at me.
Go and drink it.
No, I drink my shot.
You did not?
Oh, I absolutely did.
Did anybody see that?
Yeah, Fannie.
No.
Okay, we ain't going to argue about it in the shower show.
Y'all, you're full of bullshit, I ain't see it.
Yeah, it's okay.
I ain't see it.
All right, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay.
But now you got to drink some of this.
So this is fully independent.
This album is fully independent.
Yes.
I think that's amazing.
But not, not, so who's what distribution, though?
You don't need it.
Say what?
Distribution.
Like, because you know, you can be independent, but still you have to have distributioning it.
Still, you have to have distribution.
Are you using empire?
Are you with what the SB?
I'm not going to answer that question until you use the right term.
You know of this lesson, right?
You know of dyslexic, right?
Yeah, I'm just next thing.
Okay, so, um, who is the distribution?
We can't really discuss that right.
The distributor, man.
Why do you ain't take over?
No, they should get you.
Distributor.
Distributor.
Distributor.
No, bro, come on, you're full of shit.
You can say that, man.
All I can say is a good distribution.
Yo, but you go to this bitch, bitch, this shit, bro.
This shit, but this shit is amazing.
You don't have to worry about that.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, okay.
All right.
That's not show.
You're wary.
And then what, are we looking at a date?
If we have a date or no.
Yeah, we do have a date.
It's late this month, right?
Yeah.
Wow.
That sounded like fulgacha, bro.
She's like, yeah, yeah, whatever, buddy.
Yeah.
Yeah, you got a good.
I thought it heard the 28th, no?
It's on the way.
Something like that.
Oh, that means not this month.
No, it doesn't mean that.
I could tell.
I can tell.
Stop this.
December 29th, 19th, 1974.
The holiday rush, parents hauling luggage, kids gripping their new Christmas toys.
Then, at 6.33 p.m., everything changed.
There's been a bombing at the TWA terminal.
Apparently the explosion actually impelled metal glass.
The injured were being loaded into ambulances, just a chaotic, chaotic scene.
In its wake, a new kind of.
enemy emerged. And it was here to stay. Terrorism. Law and order criminal justice system is back.
In season two, we're turning our focus to a threat that hides in plain sight. That's harder to
predict and even harder to stop. Listen to the new season of Law and Order Criminal Justice
System on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Culture eats strategy for breakfast.
I would love for you to share your breakdown on pivoting.
We feel sometimes like we're leaving a part of us behind when we enter a new space, but we're just building.
On a recent episode of Culture Raises Us, I was joined by Volisha Butterfield, Media Founder, Political Strategist, and Tech Powerhouse for a powerful conversation on storytelling, impact, and the intersections of culture and leadership.
I am a free black woman who worked really hard to be able to say that.
I'd love for you to break down why it was so important for you to do C.
You can't win as something you didn't create.
From the Obama White House to Google to the Grammys,
Malicia's journey is a masterclass in shifting culture and using your voice to spark change.
A very fake, capital-driven environment and society will have a lot of people tell half-truths.
I'm telling you, I'm on the energy committee.
Like, if the energy is not right, we're not doing it, whatever that it is.
Listen to Culture raises us on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Welcome to Pretty Private with Ebeney, the podcast where silence is broken and stories are set free.
I'm Ebeney, and every Tuesday I'll be sharing all new anonymous stories that would challenge your perceptions and give you new insight on the people around you.
On Pretty Private, we'll explore the untold experiences of women of color who faced it all.
Childhood trauma, addiction, abuse, incarceration, grief, mental health struggles, and more,
and found the shrimp to make it to the other side.
My dad was shot and killed in his house.
Yes, he was a drug dealer.
Yes, he was a confidential informant, but he wasn't shot on a street corner.
He wasn't shot in the middle of a drug deal.
He was shot in his house, unarmed.
Pretty Private isn't just a podcast.
It's your personal guide for turning storylines into lifelines.
Every Tuesday, make sure you listen to Pretty Private from the Black Effect Podcast Network.
Tune in on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Sometimes it's hard to remember, but...
Going through something like that is a traumatic experience, but it's also not the end of their life.
That was my dad, reminding me in so many of other.
who need to hear it, that our trauma is not our shame to carry, and that we have big, bold,
and beautiful lives to live after what happened to us. I'm your host and co-president of this
organization, Dr. Lyotra Tate. On my new podcast, The Unwanted Sorority, we weighed through transformation
to peel back healing and reveal what it actually looks like, and sounds like, in real time.
Each week, I sit down with people who live through harm, carried silence, and are now
reshaping the systems that failed us. We're going to talk about the adultification.
of black girls, mothering as resistance, and the tools we use for healing.
The unwanted sorority is a safe space, not a quiet space.
So let's lock in.
We're moving towards liberation together.
Listen to the unwanted sorority, new episodes every Thursday on the IHeartRadio app,
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Is it this month?
If you come to the show?
No.
You'll find out.
Oh, my God.
You guys in this like.
We say everything in this.
The show.
Thriller.
Let's take a shot for the show.
No, absolutely not.
You can't play it at the show?
Oh, no, you can't.
This is my last one.
When is this going to be over?
When is this going to be over?
In 24 hours.
We got you.
This show is...
No, this episode is 24 hours.
We have 10 hours left.
I promise you.
What is your favorite song to perform?
For this album?
Or just period.
Period.
Period.
Period.
other side of the game
from Badoism
you're like
you're not familiar
with that at all
first album
I swear it's gonna be
Tyrone
you think it was gonna be Taron
you think Tyrone is my
least album to perform
or least song
yeah
yeah
least song that you like to perform
I think it's the most
popular one
and people yell that out
in the middle of shit
you're gonna know anybody like
shut the fuck up
I don't want to do that
I'm not like shut the fuck up.
But kind of in your mind a little bit.
But I'm just like, shut the fuck up.
I just said kind of a little bit in your mind.
That sounded like a little bit in your mind.
In my mind a little bit.
Yeah, I don't, yeah, Tyrone is so popular that I've written all these really thoughtful lyrics over all time.
And it seems like a joke God is playing on me.
Right.
Called Tyrone is what they want to hear.
We don't care about that.
on the hair called Tyrone.
So it's hard to get out of the call
Tyrone box
or any kind of
box when people
really enjoyed and championed
what you've done.
But working with Al has given me
an opportunity to at least be seen
in another light.
As a producer, that's what I am.
And I don't really get to say that a lot
because there's no place to say it.
But in his world, I'm riding
an hour's wave right now, really.
I think we've got to say it again, as a producer.
Erica, as a producer.
Yes.
Yeah.
There was beats we made together on the album.
Like, I was about to play her beat.
She was like, let me see that shit.
Came to the MP and started pressing keys.
And I was just like, oh, go ahead.
And she remixed the beat that I made.
Like, your beat ain't shit.
And made a whole.
No.
Don't do that.
It's on the album.
She made a whole, like she made a whole different beat to it.
And then I played my beat and she was like, I like this one too.
I enjoy producing.
I enjoy making beats.
I enjoy creating.
And I felt safe in that space with you because unfortunately, you know, I'm in a room
full of dudes and some girls.
But it's very hard to be in a left.
brain game as a girl, you know, because I enjoy it just as much.
Yes.
And I am just as good.
Clearly.
Yeah.
And you don't get to really say that a lot because not a lot of people are like alchemist
who knows that he has a history of beautiful things behind him
and that me saying that I love what I do doesn't take anything away from him.
And that's, you know, it's a different kind of thing that I'm.
I've dealt with in my life in this world of music.
It's a very left brain male-dominated thing.
And I get it.
I also respect it, but I'm also here.
I also have something to say.
In this space.
Yeah, in this space.
Yes.
Yeah.
Oh.
How did you come up with Alchemist?
Because when she was talking, I never thought of that.
It was like a friend when I was young, came,
gave me the name and then
not based on the book
no no
that book is great
yeah it is a great
book
coo let me to read that book
that's a great book
you can read in one night
in my life
you can read it in one night
yeah it's an easy book to read
yeah great book
yeah but you know
but I take it serious
you know what I'm saying
but someone just said
call yourself that
my friend yeah
rest and peace
my man Bernard yeah
yeah it was like
that's your name
alchemist
but did you know what that meant
overtime, you know what I mean
Not in that moment
No, no
Okay
It sounded good
Right
Was it when you in the hooligans
After that
Like a couple years after
But he was around us
Around those days
So we can't gloss over
The hooligans
Yeah
That was the early
Listen
You don't understand
How long I was going
Through my records
To find the hooligans
Records and I have
I have that record
Yeah
I have doubles
Yeah
EFN is...
He got a 10th and he was one in 1988.
Hold on.
EFN is a hip-hopologist.
I could not get it because I have my record spread amongst my crib, my home office, my fucking living room, my outside office, the studio.
I couldn't find it.
And I'm pissed right now.
And I have the stickers, too, as well.
That was the early days.
But the stickers getting signed is whack.
So I'm only going to bring the stickers.
But the hooligans, man.
Yeah, early days.
You know, I was rapping.
And, you know, uh, you're Tommy boy.
Tommy boy.
Nah, no.
What do you just do like?
You just gloss over the shit?
No, absolutely.
The hooligans is amazing, man.
It's early.
I was early.
Hold on.
Hold on.
Shots.
Shots don't get fired.
Yo, and first of all, who's your partner in the hooligans again?
Shots in the action, right?
Scott Kahn.
Yeah.
My brother.
Yeah.
You guys know who that is?
Yeah.
You, you, we met him at the juice ball.
We hung out.
Yeah.
I was bucking.
We got the lemon ginger.
Yeah.
He got the lemon ginger juice.
You know, is he an actor?
All right.
Yeah, he's an actor.
Yeah, he's an actor.
Yeah.
I want to thank both of y'all, man, because I don't know.
Did you have an interview yet together?
Nothing.
No.
This is the first interview.
She don't do it.
She don't do it.
This is special.
This is your first interview together.
Yeah.
Oh, my God.
Like, oh, we love you, thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I wanted to brag on the Twitter.
So bad.
But I was like, you know what?
I don't need.
I don't even want somebody to hate on me.
No, no, no, no, this was the one time.
You know, every guest that we go on, I go on Twitter and I ask,
yo, what do you have any question?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But I don't want, I was like, I'm listening to the algorithms and I'm saying.
I'm going to skip that question on Twitter.
That's beautiful.
You know, because I go on black Twitter, and it's not the best sometimes.
What?
You ever go on black Twitter?
It's the absolute best.
Yeah, yeah, no, I love it.
It's nothing better.
It's very negative, though.
It's very, it's very negative, it's so, some positive, and fucking hilarious.
It's hilarious.
So you go on black Twitter
I look like
What other Twitter can I go on?
Listen, I'll be honest
I think we really need to claim black Twitter
Like it's like a
It's like a
It's a real different place
Right?
Let me tell you.
This is regular Twitter, right?
I'm just being honest.
I'm not trying to be on any particular Twitter.
Right.
But when you go on Twitter, you got to go on Twitter.
Yes.
I guess I'm on black Twitter.
Twitter.
So I'd be getting canceled.
Oh shit.
I'm black Twitter?
Everywhere.
I heard you say that, I heard you say that you felt this was a year ago, nine months ago,
that you said that you felt like it was tough to be an artist because of this cancellation thing.
Do you still feel like that?
I think it's kind of equilateral against across the board now.
know where the fans have just as much say i want to say fans i'm going to say that i want to say
the the people who are responding to the music and the art it's not just fans it's human beings
were very intelligent when we are on an equal playing field everyone is the celebrity
so yeah even the fan can be right yeah so if you choose to play that
game, then you are willing to be challenged in some type of way or be held accountable
in some type of way.
Right.
And it's not a bad thing, you know, because everyone keeps growing and learning and talking
and dialoging.
And the purpose of my art is to create dialogue.
That's what I want to do.
I want to talk about it.
But it could be chaotic.
Could be chaotic, but guess what?
It sells bottle of pussy incense.
Oh, shit.
Fucking bottle pussy in us.
Where's the box that?
You didn't hear the box?
See, you don't want me to have one.
No, no, no, I thought because he asked me.
He was being an aggressive Cuban.
It sells this.
So whether the people are talking about you negatively or positively or in any kind of way,
it's going to create a dialogue that will lead you directly to my pussies.
This is just the way it goes.
I don't know how to feel about that.
I'm so sorry.
Buster Rhymes wouldn't like that either
Yeah, Buster Rhymes did not like it when we talked about it
No, he doesn't
I mean, what is it? It's just a word, pussy, what's the word?
I mean, it's, I'm so sorry, it's, I didn't create it.
Listen, my brother, you just stop being worried about pussy.
Look, man, we just did a wellness retreat
and we couldn't even curse.
Percy?
You couldn't use the N-word every time we did it.
But pussy was not the word?
Yeah, but that didn't come up.
pussy but y'all couldn't say
nigger
I don't think pussy came up
Miss Badu
I'm gonna be honest with you
I think but we were you know
we were jogging we were doing
thing but
it was unnecessarily in words
being thrown out there so every time you say
an inward we had to do 15 burpees
and we all stopped saying it
because you didn't want to do the exercise
damn the way she said
yeah but that is it's just
this Christmas you don't want to exercise
Yeah, but shouldn't like you just didn't want to do this.
But shouldn't that be the mind frame?
Like, how are you going to exercise and still have a filthy mouth?
And we want to be, we want to be wellness.
We want to be better.
We want to drink a celery juice like you.
You know what, I'm going to say this as just, as a human, as Erica, as a person.
Filthy is relative.
Any word?
We are any word.
It's relative.
I mean, fuck is a great sentence enhancer, no matter where you are.
I mean, it's a great adjective.
Yeah.
All right.
I never thought you'd be done.
I know.
You never thought a lot of things.
Yeah.
We can build a whole new wear of all the shit you have thought about.
I'm taking a shot because I ain't think that.
That's right.
I take it with you.
Okay.
And you're not skipping wreck.
I thought you was going to stop at one point.
All right.
Hold on.
Let me get my own want on together.
I'm an escapeist.
Okay.
I will never stop.
Mm-hmm.
You guys show you on in Trousers?
I'm not going to be white and brown.
I'm not going to mix white and brown.
I know what you're trying to do.
That's for you.
Yeah.
But we're not doing that.
I'm not trying to do it.
I'm just saying, come and hang out.
A little bit.
A little bit.
No, Satan.
So let me ask you.
Do you still love this game?
Hell yeah.
You do.
Yeah, I want in.
It's a sport to most of us who are really creative,
who create every single day.
Every day I make something.
In the studio?
Whether it's a beat or music or a piece of art.
That's how BusterRimes is.
Yeah, anything.
Yeah.
It's a sport to us.
And it's a friendly competition because we love the competitors.
We love who we are leveraging ourselves with.
So it's a sport.
I like the sport
Yeah
I dig it
Keeps me on my A game
Yeah
Do you still love the sport?
Of course
No
I was
Every day
I think I can get better
Right
Like I'm still
You know what I mean
I want
I want to set beats to
Yeah
Let's go sit in to me
Yeah
I think we can
Inspire the new CNN album
Every time we work
A new CNN
I listen
I just did
Because you know
We've got a run club.
I did a run club song.
I know when Capone hears that, he's going to.
Because we've been trying to do a Capone of Noriega.
It just hasn't been together, but we'll eventually do it.
That's what I was going to do.
The new Copponaugia.
It's a no-brainer.
It's a no-brainer.
We'll eventually do it.
We're in a house in Malibu.
Eventually, we're going to do it right now.
We're in a house in Malibu and get it done.
Have fun.
Let me just go.
I'll have a couple drinks with you guys.
Come on.
Okay, a couple drinks.
A couple.
Oh, shit, all right, that means we got to do it.
Let's say, Erica.
We are so...
In a certain way.
We're so elated that you came today.
Yes, yes.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
We're honored.
Yeah.
I've enjoyed myself today.
I appreciate you guys.
I'm going to take a shot for you and join yourself.
You don't have to.
That's okay.
I will.
You sure you want to try my drink?
I'm not going to try.
Absolutely sure.
I definitely sure.
I definitely don't want to mix these two things.
I get it.
I get it.
I get it.
I get it.
I get it.
But I just want you to try a little bit.
Black folks who don't do that.
What?
Black folks don't do that.
They don't mix drinks.
Listen, Latino people, we do everything.
The first time I ever drank in my life, I was in my 40s.
I'm now in my 50s.
The first time you drank?
Wait, wait, the first time you drank?
Yeah, I was in my 40s.
No way.
And it was with Ringo Rashad, Tumbling Dice Smith.
There's a mouthful.
And Thundercat.
We were on tour together, all of us.
and we were in a hotel and they had a mini bar
and I was like, well, hey, I just want to try drinks.
Wait, Erica, you never drank until that point?
No, I didn't.
Into your 40s?
My 40s, yeah.
But you split weed and psychedelics or something?
Psychedelics or something?
Well, I started everything pretty late.
Yeah.
I was really very, very poised.
But you didn't do psychedelics or something.
No.
Okay.
Never.
Until my 40s, all of that.
Well, we're sorry for being part of this.
That's okay.
I missed out.
I'm catching.
No, you shouldn't do this
either. Yeah. What do you
mean? I'm in my 50s now.
Yeah, well, fuck drink champs.
I'm fine.
I'm saying
I mean, this man,
is he on y'all's side? I know.
What's you trying to do, man?
I don't give you the poison. He's not, he
wears no hats. Well, I'm drinking the poison.
God damn, I can't
get this fucking mic to work. I think
the poison's fucking up my mic.
I'm fine.
But I didn't start to drink to my, about my 40s,
and the first time was with Thundercat and Ringo Rashad, Tomlin Dice Smith.
Tomlin Dice.
We was on tour, and we, there was a mini bar, and we had a mini bar,
and I was like, okay, yeah, all my kids are, like, grown, take care of,
so now I can kind of be who I am,
and we took these shots of different liquors, liqueurs, and different bottles,
in the mini bar.
And I can guess I was
drunk because I told
the guys, listen,
if a fire breaks out in this
building, we're going to have to know the route.
Fucked up.
Yeah. So I said, this is how we do it.
And we start crawling down the hallway.
And they were crawling right behind me.
Are you what's crawling?
Yeah, it was crawling. In our 40s.
Are you farting?
No, in our 40s.
No girls don't fart
Apparently
In our 40s
You're trying to get some ratings
I'm going to whip your ass later on
In our 40s
We're crawling and then we crawl
Down the hall
We're in the
The hotel was called the La Park Hotel
It's in L.A. It's popular. Artists stay there
And we run into Splift Star
So Buster Rhymes crew
Yeah, Bust and Rhyr's
Flipstar goes, what's going on?
I said, we're doing a fire drill.
And you need to know
the route to go.
So he got behind
and he was crawling too.
And we had a good time
and we crawled all the way down the hall
until we just got tired of that.
And we sat in a little circle
and started talking about our feelings.
What the fuck?
So I'm sorry,
Slipstar.
Let's talk about your feelings.
I just want to talk about that.
Yeah, so we're just kind of chilling.
Sounds like an awesome night.
It was amazing.
It was nothing I saw wrong in that story.
Yes, and me and Sflip became kind of best friends after that.
You know, we were just about feelings and how moms and give us cookies and shit like that, you know.
Let's take a shot.
No.
Oh, okay.
Oh, okay.
How did we do this?
All right, everybody.
Salute.
Shows, good chance.
Norrie, I love you, brother.
I love you, brother.
I love you, man, for real.
EF.M.
Hey, what you want to fuck you at?
All right, where's the EFA?
Do you understand what it is?
Who owns this?
You own this?
No, this is eight on Jay-Z.
Okay.
You honestly sent me a bottle of this one time.
Oh, yeah?
Yeah, she did.
Yeah, this is a flash shit.
It's exquisite.
Actually, yeah.
That's the commercial right there.
It's exquisite.
Yeah.
Ace of Spays is exquisite.
Rionn's send me a bottle.
Yes.
Yes.
Yeah.
And I'm going to take a shot to that.
Oh, my God.
You don't got to take a shot.
Long time.
Saloo.
I'm no quitter.
Yes.
I'm glad we got the chance to make us happen.
Hadness.
What up, man?
I love you, brother.
Mr. Lee, who are you at?
Here is somewhere.
All right.
And then the cool going to want to take pictures of a job.
Okay.
You know, yeah.
I love y'all, man.
You're a legend.
You're a legend.
Oh, so are you.
Yeah.
And you're so fucking too.
This is my wife.
My wife, we've been together 17 years, right?
Oh, wow.
You're a lucky motherfucker.
So, look, look.
So.
Taking a shot, you know?
Since we've been doing the show, I have never not once.
I told her, I was like, do you know the song?
She said, I know all of her songs.
What?
Every wish.
Yes.
Thank you,
Steve.
So, Salo, let's do it.
All right.
Come on.
So, yo.
Oh, my God.
Yes.
We're bringing the finest of the finest.
We're breaking it off.
That's what?
Salo!
Hey!
Yay!
Yes.
Yes.
Thank you for welcoming us.
All right.
Cool.
Let me be taking pictures and then do the drops, right?
Yep.
Okay, cool.
All right.
Shit.
It's a beautiful.
show. It's not nice spirits.
Yes.
Drink Champs is a Drink Champs LLC production,
hosts and executive producers,
N-O-R-E, 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 N-O-R-E.
Please make sure to follow us on all our socials.
That's at Drink Champs across all platforms,
at the Real Noriega on IG, at Noriega on Twitter.
Mine is at Who's Crazy on IG, at DJEFN on Twitter.
And most importantly, stay up to date with the latest releases, news, and merch by going to drinkchamps.com.
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On a recent episode of Culture Raises Us,
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I am a free black woman.
From the Obama White House to Google to the Grammys,
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