Drink Champs - Episode 480 w/ Arrested Development

Episode Date: November 21, 2025

N.O.R.E. & DJ EFN are the Drink Champs. In this episode we chop it up with the legends, Arrested Development! Arrested Development pulls up to Drink Champs for a powerful, soulful, and absolutely unforgettable conversation that blends hip-hop history, cultural truth-telling, and classic Drink Champs style storytelling. Speech and the legendary crew sit down with the Champs to break down their groundbreaking rise in the early ’90s, how they brought a fresh, conscious energy into a gangsta-rap–dominated era, and why their message still resonates decades later. From the creation of timeless records like Tennessee, People Everyday, and Mr. Wendal, to the pressures that came with worldwide success, the group opens up about their journey, their conflicts, their reunion, and the purpose behind their art. They share stories from the road, industry politics they had to navigate, and how they stayed true to their identity even when the mainstream tried to reshape them. The episode dives into the state of hip-hop today, what “conscious rap” really means, and Arrested Development’s mission to uplift, educate, and empower through music. With laughs, gems, and emotional moments, this sit-down bridges generations and reminds the culture why AD remains one of the most influential and authentic groups in hip-hop history. A true celebration of legacy, unity, and art with a message. Make some noise for Arrested Development!💐💐💐🏆🏆🏆 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.

This is an I-Heart podcast. The Big Take podcast from Bloomberg News keeps you on top of the biggest stories of the day. My fellow Americans, this is Liberation Day. Stories that move markets. Chair Powell opened the door to this first interest rate cut. Impact politics, change businesses. This is a really stunning development for the AI world and how you think about your bottom line. Listen to the big take from Bloomberg News.

every weekday afternoon on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And she said, Johnny, the kids didn't come home last night. Along the central Texas plains, teens are dying, suicides that don't make sense, strange accidents, and brutal murders. In what seems to be, a plot ripped straight out of Breaking Bad. Drugs, alcohol, trafficking of people. There are people out there that absolutely know what happened. Listen to Paper Ghosts, the Texas Teen Murders, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm Robert Smith, and this is Jacob Goldstein, and we used to host a show called Planet Money. And now we're back making this new podcast called Business History about the best ideas and people and businesses in history. And some of the worst people, horrible ideas, and destructive companies in the history of business. First episode, how Southwest Airlines

use cheap seats and free whiskey to fight its way into the airline is. The most Texas story ever. Listen to business history on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. What do you get when you mix 1950s Hollywood, a Cuban musician with a dream, and one of the most iconic that comes of all time? You get Desi Arness. On the podcast star in Desi Arnaz

and Wilmer Valderrama, I'll take you in a journey to Desi's life, how he redefined American television, and what that meant for all of us watching from the sidelines, waiting for a face like hours on screen. Listen to starring Desi Arnaz and Wilmer Valderrama on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Hey there, Dr. Jesse Mills here. I'm the director of the men's clinic at UCLA, and I want to tell you about my new podcast called The Mail Room. And I'm Jordan, the show's producer. And like most guys, I haven't been to the doctor in way too long. I'll be asking the questions we probably should be asking, but aren't. Every week, we're breaking down the world of men's health from testosterone and fitness to diets and fertility. We'll talk science without the jargon and get your real answers to the stuff you actually wonder about.

So check out the mailroom on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows. Make some Lord! He's a legendary Queens rapper. Hey, hey, hey, I agree, this is your boy, N-O-R-E. He's a Miami hip-hop pioneer. What up is DJEFN? Together, they drink it up with some of the biggest players. You know what I mean?

In the most professional, unprofessional podcast in your number one source for drunk facts. It's drink champs, motherfucker. Every day it's New Year's Eve. It's time for drink champs. Drink up, motherfucker. What it good, be, hopefully you're to win to see me.

This is your boy, N-A-O-N-A-A-A. What up is DJEFN. And it's Drink Chaps, Jappy. I will make some notes. And when we started this show, we started this by saying that we wanted to give flowers to the people who came before us, so people who paved away for us. But people who have set, you know, their mark in this hip-hop game. You know what I mean?

These people in front of us are icons. They are more than legends. they are tycoons. I was so happy when we get to call that we get a chance to interview them. So I want to do something, I want to do something personally because we've never had one and three artists at a time. So I want to pass the mic and let them introduce theirself. We know the group, the name of the group are Rest of Development.

We already know. I'm going straight into a question after this, but I want everybody to introduce their self. You know what I'm saying? You got to talk for the ladies because we were very, yes, yeah, yeah. That's right, Atlanta, right? Atlanta, I got that. Okay, let's go.

Okay. Okay. Woo-woo. Thank you, y'all. Yeah. JJ Boogie from the ATO's. God damn, God damn. What's up?

This is Farita, Alain, ATL, baby. Hey, okay. Oh, I'm Tasha Luray. Okay. I'm one love. Okay. And I'm speech. Yeah, from everywhere.

You from everywhere. Because when you Google you, it says Milwaukee, but then you lived in Atlanta, but you got a song name, Tennessee. I was born out of coaching. So let me ask all of y'all collectively as a group. How much do we hate the show arrested development? How much do we hate the show? Even if the show is good, I just can't respect it. You are correct, when I googled and that came up first,

like, my hip-hop and me bothered, it bothered me so much. I was cursing about it, I didn't even notice it made so. I never saw it, nothing, but I was like, man, fuck them. We were talking about that earlier, right? Because, actually, my very first album was called Capone Noriega, right? And what I didn't know is when I signed, my name, excuse me, when I signed for the deal, I sign my name.

So that's why my next album, if you look at it, it says N-R-E. Because I was in the process of buying back my name. I didn't even know you can sell your name. That's how naive I was. So let me ask y'all because you guys got Grammys we're going to go through all that. But how did like, because

I asked G. Depp, right? And G. Depp was sitting right here and Little Wayne had sampled this record. And I said, G. Depp, how did you feel about that? And he said, on one hand, he enjoyed it because it was a new generation paying homage. Right. But on another hand, they didn't even have to clear it with him. So I want to ask all of y'all, like, you know, because you're all arrested development. Yeah.

Is that like a, how does it, how did that feel when you first heard? It felt confusing because we heard it at the Super Bowl Sunday many, many years ago. Oh, wow. And the announcer said, and coming up next is arrested development. And I'm looking like, no, we ain't coming up next. You know what I'm saying? So I didn't get it. It was a TV show, so I was confused.

They had to announce the TV show at that point. They had never announced it. First time announcing it. They were saying it was coming on Monday or whatever, or tonight. Actually, they were saying it was coming on tonight. And I was confused. And so was the commentators on the Super Bowl. They was like, are you talking about the band?

Right. And it's like, no, it's a TV show. And so I found out that way. And I was like, what's going on? Like, I never heard of this. I don't know what's going on. So, yeah. And then we sued them.

Right. Oh, yeah. All right. So I'm going to make you feel better. Let me go on y'all feel better. I didn't know my record Super Thug was in Arntaraj 2-hour watch Artharge

So yeah So listen Everybody feel good We don't like that Yeah What's the result of that lawsuit were you We settled out of court We settled out of court

But they We had the name trademark So they weren't supposed to use it I didn't know that I didn't know that We had it trademark They were not supposed to use it They just used it anyway

Wow And they figured we was broke That we had no way you know, no means of fighting it. And so we was like, yeah, we had to go to court and everything. That's awesome. Yeah. So, but for kids who's listening, that's something that you have to actually know.

Like, there's other people who would come and take your name. Facts. But you have to fight for it, especially if it's something that you know that is work, fight for. I'm glad to hear that. I'm glad to hear that. Me too. So it's amical. It's amicable.

It's amicable now. Yeah, it's amical now. It was weird at first, though, for real. Right. I still don't like the show It's a little bit of a second You know that's my second You haven't watched the show?

No, you know, I don't know I watched it a little bit A little bit of the first episode And they made a joke about Bob OJ I don't know if y'all did it They made a joke about one of our members That's our brother that fast away Rest of peace, BoboJ

Yep And he was seven And Baba means grandfather, right? It means grandfather That's a little fuck That's a little fuck They knew what they were doing They knew what they was doing, exactly.

Wow. Yeah, they made a few jokes about us, a couple episodes, just little, you know, little sucks, you know what I'm saying? Yeah, basically. So let me ask you all this famous Biggie Small Line. It might sound cliche. But every time, you know, you get to hear, you know, like a bad bunny doing a Super Bowl and you get to hear, like, you know,

Kendrick, you know, great grace in these days. Did you ever think that hip-hop are making this far? You know what, that's a great question. Yeah. Not for me. I didn't think it would make it. it like meaning the Super Bowl. You know what I mean? At that time, for me, Michael Jackson,

that's what I meant for me, you know what I said? Okay. So, no, I didn't, I didn't think it would do the Super Bowl. I knew, I knew it, I knew it should make it. Put it that way. You know what are you off? Yeah, I agree. But, yeah.

You said it didn't think it would make it to the high school. Well, it got, to me it kind of got broad, you know, where, you know, everything was kind of being called hip-hop. And so it was being let in doors that, you know, what we thought was hip-hop shouldn't necessarily be in hip hop, but I feel the same way. Like the version of hip hop that I'm rubble this, so I didn't think it was, though, you know, to the extent that.

You know what's, you want to say that? Okay, you know what's about me is, if you asked me that question, I would think it was going that far because of you guys. Right, right. Because I'm, like, you know what I mean? I'm 48, right? But I'm 48, so I'm, like, maybe a little longer.

But, like, when I've seen y'all have that melodic. Yeah, yeah, that's it. sound that you knew it was still hip-hop, like, for lack of a better term, like, that's weird, like, Nate dogs and, you know, the T-Pains kind of get that style from. Like, the first time I ever see a melodic hip-hop song that was still a hip-hop song was you guys. Thank you. I appreciate it. I didn't know. I'm talking about that on your show.

That's what's crazy if you asked me that side of the question. But, all right, boom, moving on. Yeah. the Grammys, right? Yeah. Like, you guys got two. We got two Grammys, yeah. Two Grammys.

And I'm sorry, kids today. That's taking hip-hop that far. I'm sorry, kids, today, because I know some of you, some of you, and a lot of them listen, winning a Grammy back then was way different. Way, way different. That was opening doors. Yeah. First of, they were not only representing black people,

but you also represent a whole genre of music. So it wasn't popular. And then at that time, you might have faced the backlash from your own peers. Yeah, facts. So describe to me anybody who wanted to take this question. How was that moment in time? It was crazy. Okay.

So we were up against Billy Ray Sears, right? Billy Ray Sears. I think, was it Chris Cross? Maybe Chris Cross, yeah, I forget. Somebody else. Boy, it's the men, I think. So it was before they had a hip-hop category. Before they even had a hip-hop category.

They did. They had a rap category. Yeah, they did. But we got best new artists. So we had best new artists. Got it, got it. Yeah, the first time. So, yeah, the first time, I think we, yeah,

we were the first rap group they got you. So we honestly thought that Billy Ray Cyrus is going to get it. Right. The best new art. That's Molly Cyrus Pops, right? Yeah. Okay, cool. And so then they called our name and we were like,

what? So we had just finished performing and we went back out. It was just amazing like, I mean, it's such an honor because people have been in the industry for years legends, legends, they've never won grannies. And then for our first time out, and I just so happened to be 16 at the time and we were all really young.

I was in my early 20s and it was just a blessing. And I believe that's the first time they televised it as well. So we got to see y'all. Exactly, yes. It's a good point. I think Fresh Princeton won something, but it wasn't televised. Did they boycott that one? You got me confused when I, when I, because I know there was one that everybody in hip hop

tried to boycott. But I think it was two. I think it was one with Will Smith and them stage and I think it was one with Jay-Z and I think that's two separate ones and I think when people bring that up I think they mix up the two. Yeah, I don't think Will and them was boycotting necessarily. Maybe they was, but I forgot. He spoke about it on our show and we just forgot. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Yeah. No. backstage or something they gave it to them backstage yeah exactly yeah if you look the footage from

ours it you could tell it was like part of the first ones yeah yeah yeah but looking at the grammy shows from now so then do you see a more representation of the culture in it or that's a great question to me i feel like it can't really be said that it represents the culture perfectly or where it needs to be because tribes never won one I mean so So many people have never won a Grammy. You know what I'm saying that gets so much respect. I'm about to say Nas didn't win one, but he won one on recent. Yeah, he won one on his newer stuff.

Right, right? So, yeah, so I don't know, I can't say a representative. But we have, um, um, that was on the Grammy campaign and he's letting him have it, uh, uh, was, Ninth Wonder? Yeah, night wonder. He's on the great committee. He's like, you're on the Grammy committee and this motherfuckers ain't getting in. Right, right.

He's like, no way, don't control all that. We're like, oh, I don't know you're nice. But I think that, in my opinion, right, I think that hip hop is always just one of the placement. Like, like, like, like, like, when you, when you see the Rock and Raw Hall of Fame, right? Yeah. We know that's not ours. Right, exactly.

But we know it's still somewhat of an honor. It is. And we're going to salute our L, L, L. We're going to salute a Missy where. Right. Public enemy. Do you think that hip hop need a full-fledged award show? Like, we had to be here.

Awards. Everyone complains about it. Yes. Absolutely. But, like, I mean, it's really the artist controlling it. Not, not VC, not a venture capitalist. What do you guys think? For me, personally, definitely. That's exactly what we need.

Without a question. I mean, the original Source Awards was... Source Awards was dope. Zeno and Dave Maze, we all owe your apology. We all owe your apology. The original source. Yes, they did a great job. We just...

Five mics. The Five mic system was a great. I think the people because I forgot was it Little John I forgot who said it just recently

was like yo we really don't have a platform where we're saluting ourselves like that and I agree with that I think we're ready now I think we're ready

for something like that because the conversation is just bubbling and hovering we're ready for something like that now yeah we're mature enough multi-generational now yeah I think we're mature enough

to like that's a fact right yeah I agree with you because we're talking about it but we can make it happen Yeah, right. It could be one year old. Even with the committees, right? Like, I don't know who these committees are, right?

The committee that people are. But what if this guy is a person that's just a rich guy that owns Toy's Arrest? Right. I know I'm old school. Toys arrest and I even open. My fuck up. My bad. My bad.

Right. But that's what I'm saying. Like, because they never reveal who's in these committees who actually does these voting facts. So I wouldn't mind if it's always been our peers. Like, like, like, credible artists who's been through it. Maybe even win a Grammy. But he's a credible artist that we respect and they be in charge.

Like when you said Q-Tip earlier, I thought of that automatically because I believe Q-Tip was mad at. Like, I believe it was Q-Tip. Oh, I forget what it was. But we know it's credible. Like, like, he's credible. Like, yeah. So do you think that that that's what we need? We need our own committee?

Without a doubt. Also, to be fair, hip hop is not a monolith. It's not just one thing. I think that's one of the things that's missing throughout the life of hip hop is that, you know, in the beginning, everything was different. You had the West Coast, the East Coast, and everything that popped up was so unique that that was kind of celebrated because it was all hip hop. Now you have such a wide variety of what is considered hip hop that isn't always represented in the mainstream. And you need to celebrate it all. had something like that, you can have the categories

and not for nothing, now that you don't have to be too old to be hip hop no more. We had ghost face on this show and that's what he was trying to say. I believe you said it in like a better version. He basically said, yo, it's messed up to say like hip hop and then you go on and you see dance music or you see like

snapping music. He said, there should be different versions of hip hop. Like it should all like, you know. Like subgenres? Yeah, yeah. We deserve that. I mean, our new album is called Adult Contemporary Hip Hop because of that. Right.

We felt like there needed to be more, you know, split it up. You know what I'm saying? Like you're talking to your peers. Exactly. I mean, I mean, that's why, like, 444 is one of my favorite JZ album. It's because, like, and that's, and that goes against his original albums is because, like, I like who he has, is as a black man now. He developed. And I can identify with that more.

Like, being in the streets, when we not be in the streets. I can't identify with that. So I love, I love, like, people making, should that genre of music be called that? A dope contemporary. I mean, I personally love it. I think it's dope. I think there needs to be different categories,

whether it's adult contemporary hip-hop or anything else. And then whether, you know, whatever the newer styles of hip-hop is, that's cool. But, like, have a few different categories because that makes sense to me. You know, a lot of young people ain't vibing what we're vibing with, you know what I'm saying. And they feel left out when it's only, when the discussions about what, whatever, we're like it, you know what I'm saying? Rock and Roll has a bazillion genres. Right, yeah, I like that.

I like that. And you all created the genre. Yeah, and hip-up likes to discard whatever they think is old or different. It's like, okay, this is what's in, everything else is that. Exactly right. Yeah, that's not cool. But we would give them in their lane, too. They would have their, I don't know.

I'm saying, you know, we'd call it new hip-hop. I'm going to say drill lane or, you know. But didn't there's a lot of, like. You need the committee for that, though, to do those subdivision. Yeah, and that's something that I always wanted to ask. because, like, do you guys winning the Grammy? You guys were, like, conscious music. You never, like, you know, like, winning the Grammy.

I can imagine the nights, the parties you guys were inviting to, especially back then, it's probably cocaine everywhere. You know what I can imagine, but you guys stuck with your guns. I mean, I'm going to say cocaine in the picture. But I imagine, because, I mean, those days was different. That's any birthday, you know. That's right. That's right.

How did you maintain, because you've never heard, like, nothing like, you know, they're out here getting pulled over for speeding? Like, how did you have maintained that? Or was it supposed to there was no Instagram, and y'all just got away with it. So, we just, I know, speech and I can't speak for Roz, but we never really, we don't drink, smoke. Right on. It's a weed kind of soup. But, you know. This is Ross. His name is Ross.

Ross. His name is Ross. His name is Ross. Right. Raza done. So, yeah, we just, I think for us, we were so busy and just focused on what we, you know, just the whole energy of the group, you know, and we were representing the black community, all these different facets of it.

You know what I mean? And the music, just life music. We just wanted to stay in that vibrational energy. And then we were able to do shows with, like, we did a show with, like, Lenny Kravitz came on stage with us. Then we did, like, a whole tour with all these African artists. A lot of stuff that jazz festivals, we went on tour with these folk festivals, folk festivals, so a lot of stuff that hip-hop artists weren't able to do at the time. We were able to do it. We were the only ones.

So, yeah, and I was, like, wait to y'all to be doing any type of drugs. Right. And I mean, so, you know, no, no, there's no. Let me keep it real. I won't say any names, but there was people in the group struggling, you know what saying with addiction and things like that. We were dealing with that, but it just, it wasn't what we were striving to, like, chase after a dude, but there was, you know, some real things going on, but we just, you know,

we was the ones trying to save everybody from it and, like, you know, let's keep it focused on what we striving to do. And see, we just found a lot of that out recently. We didn't even know during that time that they were struggling. Yeah, at least some of them, yeah. Realize, one of the worst drugs in the world is fame. And she said, Johnny, the kids didn't come home last night. Along the Central Texas Plains, teens are dying, suicides that don't make sense,

strange accidents, and brutal murders. In what seems to be, a plot ripped straight out of Breaking Bad, drugs, alcohol, trafficking of people. There are people out there that absolutely know what happened. Listen to Paper Ghosts, the Texas Teen Murders, on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Robert Smith. This is Jacob Goldstein.

And we used to host a show called Planet Money. And now we're back making this new podcast called Business History about the best ideas and people and businesses in history. And some of the worst. people, horrible ideas, and destructive companies in the history of business. Having a genius idea without a need for it is nothing. It's like not having it at all. It's a very simple, elegant lesson. Make something people want. First episode, how Southwest Airlines use cheap seats and free whiskey to fight its way into the airline business. The most Texas story ever. There's a lot of mavericks in that story. We're going to

have mavericks on the show. We're going to have plenty of robber barons. So many robber barons. And you know what? They're not all bad. And we'll talk about some of the classic great moments of famous business geniuses, along with some of the darker moments that often get overlooked. Like Thomas Edison and the electric chair. Listen to business history on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. What do you get when you mix 1950s Hollywood, a Cuban musician with a dream, and one of the most iconic sitcoms of all time?

You get Desi Arness, a trailblazer, a business, a husband, and maybe, most importantly, the first Latino to break prime time wide open. I'm Wilmer Valderama, and yes, I grew up watching him, probably just like you and millions of others. But for me, I saw myself in his story. From plening canary cages to this night here in New York, it's a long ways. On the podcast starring Desi Arnaz and Wilmer Valderama, I'll take you in a journey to Desi's life, the moments it has overlapped with mine, how he redefined American television, and what that meant for all of us watching from the sideline.

waiting for a face like hours on screen. This is the story of how one man's spotlight lit the path for so many others and how we carry his legacy today. Listen to starring Desi Arnaz and Wilmer Valderrama as part of the MyCultura podcast network available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Hey there, Dr. Jesse Mills here. I'm the director of the men's clinic at UCLA Health. And I want to tell you about my new podcast called The Mailroom. And I'm Jordan, the show's producer. And like a lot of guys, I haven't been to the doctor in many years. I'll be asking the questions we probably should be asking, but aren't. Because guys usually don't go to the doctor unless a piece of their face is hanging off or they've broken a bone. Depends which bone.

Well, that's true. Every week, we're breaking down the unique world of men's health, from testosterone and fitness to diets and fertility and things that happen in the bedroom. You mean sleep? Yeah, something like that, Jordan. We'll talk science without the jargon and get you real answers to the stuff you actually wonder about. It's going to be fun, whether you're 27, 97, or somewhere in between. Men's Health is about more than six packs and supplements. It's about energy, confidence, and connection.

We don't just want you to live longer. We want you to live better. So check out the mailroom on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows. On an all-new episode of IHeartRadios Las Culturistas, Emmy, Golder, Golden Globe and Tony Award winner Sarah Paulson spills on red carpet hacks. We saw these pictures and you're like, what is the story with this? She gets real about the inspiration behind her roles. Oh, no, there is no end to how people will behave.

And she puts host Matt Rogers and Bowen-Yag on notice. I don't think so, honey. I feel very, very triggered by this. Open your free I-Heart radio app. Search Las Culturista. And listen to the full podcast now. Oh, that's fast. That's fast.

And the most addictive. addictive yeah yeah like i say this all the time it's hard being the person on monday and not being that person on wednesday and vice versa some people so some people chase that fame like and they chase they chase it and instead of chasing the art you know what i'm saying so like so i think that's the best way to to say it no like for me i was always trying to just focus on the art like stay focused on the art despite these distractions that was going on at certain little times in our in our group you know and I tried, yeah. Well, I know one thing that kept me

grounded, too, and I remember after we won the Grammys, I came home, my mom was like, I need you to walk down to the corner and give me some orange juice. That's, I went and got that. Mama kept it real. Shout out of the cake, look. Yes.

Yes. But I'm sure it's also just as difficult to be, to want to be that example to people and to be in that positive lane. That has to be just as difficult. Yeah. Especially at that time. No, you don't feel?

I'm not with you. You got to battle in the NWA, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, it was, well, I'll tell you this. I come from Milwaukee, and the disparities between black and white was so clear cut in Milwaukee where I'm raised. It was known statistically as the worst place for black people to grow up in. Wow.

I heard you say that. Yeah. And so I did see the disparities, and my mom and dad were both civil rights leaders. So my mom still owns to this day. Biggest black publication. There you go. The biggest black. publication in all of Wisconsin.

Let's get shout out. And so for me, I had this burning passion to bring other things to the table for hip hop. Like, okay, we got this, we got that, we got this. Now we need this part too. You know what I'm saying? And that's, that was a big thing.

So my point is, is not being distracted. Just like, okay. You were on that mission. We was on that mission. So as far as how hard it was, it was hard, but it was also the passion we had since day one. You know what I'm saying? It wasn't like, yeah. I was going to say the other thing is it was, it was definitely our backgrounds, how we came up. Like, my dad as a pastor, my mom, you know, like, these community people.

So I hooked up with them, more community people, more community people, more community's mom was a dancer's truck. We're kind of really focused on helping our community, you know what I'm saying? So the stuff was coming at us, but it wasn't. And think about what we was doing back in those days. Like, when we first started, we would do soundshund. leave sound check and go where y'all remember do community centers

do community centers we go to the projects we would go to the projects and speak about things there we go to the homeless shelters and speak about things there we had two tours going on simultaneously one tour was the shows at the night and then we had a whole other person named Dera who used to work with Bob Marla she

was in charge of making sure we were going to the community centers every day every day so there's two different tours like living that you know saying so nonstop nonstop yeah It helped us focus, you know, to speak to what speech was saying about and rise about the upbringing. My mom was one of the first black-owned dance schools owners in the state of Georgia.

So I grew up with the arts and just, you know, coming from ATL being born in the Swats, we had a level of black excellence. Right. And we had to care of me. Yeah, well, Seelow used to take dance from my mom. Okay, wow. My mother taught him tap and jazz. Wow, wow. Yeah, and I went to school with sleeping around.

So shout out to Celo And Sleepy Brown went to We went to Theron together Yeah, so he was in the dance group I was in the dance group He was in a lot of yikin And Rico Wade was in that group So it's just their whole

ATL, you know what I mean Right I remember going to ATL And please people from ATL don't kill me Well I remember back then And I used to say, it's Brooklyn in the house And people would be like, yeah Yeah, because I remember ATL at one point

didn't have an identity. But, like, when you look at it now, like, I remember, I think you was on Beehive TV, and you're saying that, yo, I couldn't go to people with a record label because they had no, no, nothing in Atlanta. And I remember just looking at it now, like every record label in the world is in Atlanta.

I want to shout out some artists, like Atlanta did have a sound, but it was just, I think it was just more regional, local at the time. When we came out, it kind of exploded, because it was us TLC, Chris Cross. I think it was not yet even. They came. We were all around the same time. But Sammy Sam, the Hitman. Sam and Sam and Sam, the Hitman.

We had Rahim the Drink. Cocaine. Cocaine. Cocaine. Shai D. Shai D. Yeah. So, Kilo.

Kilo. Yes. Kilo. So it was a lot of. That's the South. We're staying in the South. Oh, yeah. The A.m. Straight A.

He was from, um, from, I think he was. I think he was from Miami. I thought he's from somewhere else, but he. Yeah, I think he lives from New York originally, I think. And then he came down to Atlanta. But he was doing his thing in Atlanta. He made his part, like everything in Atlanta. But he made his mark in the ATA.

So, yeah. So they, you know, we, we definitely had a sound. Right. And then, you know what I'm saying? Yeah. Yeah, but it was just not as gloating. Yep. But it wasn't labels at that.

Yeah, absolutely. And shout out to the DJs. Because the DJs in Atlanta, they created like a culture around our music and our sound. That was very specific. DJ Smurk. Yes. You know what I'm saying? I saw the evolution of that. I feel like I saw

an evolution of that because I felt like it was but so much time that they was going to keep fronting to say like they're from over here. Like they're like like, it was one thing for sure to be absurd. I know this is so simplistic. Yeah. But it was the Waffle House. We didn't have the Waffle House. We didn't have the Waffle House. I was like, how the fuck y'all got a club at the fucking, at the rest of them on?

It's a full-flex club going on. They're like, just leaving the shows like, they're like, where you going? We're like, where you going? And they're saying, the Waffle House. They were like, they were saying that like it was something to do. Oh, yeah. And then even the strip clubs. Like when, when, what was it, players club?

Yeah. When we heard of that, we were like, in us in New York, we were like, wait a minute, y'all throw money. Oh, wait a minute, you're talking about the gentlemen's club The gentleman's club Yeah, yeah Wait, what I'm saying? That's a movie That's what I meant

I made, that's the first time in Atlanta And then I came to Miami But it was the first time where they chilled Like they chilled at the club And they were eating dinner And never see, that's how they were breaking their records They were like, and it was a certain type of job Like, I believe Jermaine and pre-cored

The strip club music He's like, there's also strip club that's just made for just strip clubs, but I had never seen that. Yeah. But let me ask you, right? Because from Milwaukee, I believe you said that the day you graduated, I left. Someone pulled out a gun on you. Facts. And you had left.

Yeah. But at the time, Atlanta is not the place that it is now. What made you choose Atlanta out of everywhere else you could have went? So I used to spend all my summers in Tennessee. my grandmother's from there my father's from there everybody on my father's side so I loved it

I fell in love with the South I fell in love with the community the self-determination like people was growing their own foods they was poor but they were able to barter and make things happen

and it was all in the community I fell in love with that so when I graduated high school which I did horribly in high school so I knew I needed to do something different in my life because I wasn't going anywhere. And I got this gun pulled on me at my graduation.

And I said... Not actually actual graduation, right? After you left. After I left. All right, God, God, because I'm thinking about that. He ain't in front of the principal doing this shit, right? And so I said, you know what? If I don't leave here, I'm not going to... I think I won't make it. Right. Because stuff was getting tight. And so I wanted to go down south. So I went to Atlanta.

Because Atlanta was, it had, first of all, school, which is where I met, Headliner, who was the first person I brought into the group was headliner. We met at Art Institute of Atlanta. So it was the one place that my low grade point average, which was a 0.9, but my low grade point average could get into this

school. It's the only school I could think of. Without that head. And that's what we did. So Atlanta was the place to come. Not to mention, there was a lot of progressive stuff coming up in Atlanta. It was like a little Africa. Like, it was very progressive. Like, people would think it differently in Atlanta.

Right. Yeah, you know. Because what it is now is like, shit, it's almost baby Wakanda. That's what it was even then, even more. Even then, wow. And see, we didn't get to see that. Yes.

Yeah. It was. It was a lot of like revolutionary stuff going on there. Like, the main community we grew up in, or at least I could speak for me and headliner, we spent most of our time in West End. Well, West End is a very cultural center of Atlanta. It's all the rosters are.

All the rosters, all the Africans. a lot of, you know, Nation of Islam, Shrine of the Black Madonna, like all of these kind of, like, landmark places. And so that's the area we, and, of course, the HBCUs, the Clark, all of that, exactly, sole vegetarian, so vet. So all of these places was where we used to hang out at. So it was sort of our, like, place to be, you know, is where we felt the most comfortable.

At the West End. And the West End, West End, which is still a dope cultural area. So did it really take y'all three years? Five months? Two days. It did. Wow. I was like, this got to be true.

Yeah, exactly. Right. Yeah, the evolution of it all is really funny. So I met a speech in headliner. So my, Ian Burke, we got a shout out. We got a shout out Ian Burke. So Ian Berg, I mean, if you were doing music in the 90s and Ian didn't bless it or touch it, it wouldn't happen. And in the 80s, late 80s.

Because I met speech in, what 88, 89? Yeah, yeah. I was 13 when I joined a group. My sister was offered the. opportunity by Amber to dance, and she didn't want to do it. So I went to the audition. They wanted African dances, right? Yeah, I wanted African dancers, yeah.

So I went to the audition, because I love Cuomé. I was dressed like Cuomé. Yes, she had to hold on. Yeah, we auditioned and then we were together for a while when we had some people, Nyssa, Astrid, they came in, some other dancers, and then we met Roz. And Dionne, who they were engaged at the time. Yeah, they were engaged at the time.

Yeah. I think y'all was engaged at the time. We were working on it. Oh, we were working on it. Yeah, and we was at a step show, a Greek. Yep, that's what we met him at this. That's what we met up. Yeah.

We got booed on that show. Damn. We did Mr. Window. We got booed. But it was ahead of his time for Atlanta. Exactly. Like, Atlanta was on a certain tent. In general, I think it was ahead of his time.

Yeah. And so for us, we were just doing crazy stuff. like that they didn't get. And so, yeah, they just like, did you consider what you were doing, experimenting? Very much so. Okay.

But I'll say this, I got a shout out De La Soe, because when they released three feet high, or even when they released Plug Tuning and stuff like that, they gave us permission. I didn't know them, but I'm saying, like, meaning when they did it,

it was like, okay, we could go further now. Right, right. Because it worked and it was dope. They were different and it worked. They were different and it worked, and it worked, and it was dope. Right. And so I always tell them,

I tell them this all the time. And I used to call Poss back then. I got his number from a sister named Kat. And I would... You wanted to be on Tommy Boy. That's exactly right. And if you could imagine, Poss was like, no, you don't want that. So he was like, no, he didn't do something different.

You know what I'm saying? But yeah. So you was raised Muslim? I was. In California. Yes. Okay. My father is Imam Abraham Hassan.

That's right. Mastred Balal. Wow. And we just finished the masjid there. We've been building it. He's been building it since I was in school there. It's Siss Claire Muhammad. Wow.

And it's now a beautiful school and mosque. And he's so nice. Shout out to dad. Yeah, yeah. And I'm so proud. He's 94. Which is crazy. He's like the healthiest dude ever.

Wow. Oh, yeah. Let's make a lawyer. Yeah. Shout out. Because what was the fight for the religion? What was the drink that you had? Oh, fish and for religion.

That's the one thing that I never could understand. Like, of what religion, I researched you. I knew you was a Muslim, but one thing that the group embraces is it feels like it's all religions. Or is that something that could because it feels like it's Christians that's down with y'all. I feel like this five cents that's down with y'all. Am I accurate in the assumption? In the beginnings, it was just spirituality.

Because for me personally, I really wasn't, I wasn't a Christian. I was, at that time, I wasn't a Christian. I was more so, you know, just believer in spirituality. Yeah, you know what I'm saying? Exactly. I was sort of on that tip at the time. And so, yeah, we embraced everything to some extent or another.

You know, but it's funny, I did use a lot of talk like Lord and, you know, I say stuff like this, you know, in Tennessee, like, so I do think that it's sort of seeped into me from my grandmother, you know, just being raised around it, so, yeah. But they just labeled a straight gospel hoop at once in the time. They just labeled it conscious, though. Right. That was the easy way to talk about it.

Just call it conscious. It's just conscious. Do you think that's the easy way to talk about it, conscious? That's the easy way to accept all of it. Okay. Right, exactly. Because we were just conscious, you know, just conscious bands. That's facts. That's facts. Because it's a difference between conscious and backpack rack, right? Right, right. I believe, like, Moses is that. Like, since you on the people's party. Yeah. And I, and I, and I, and I, and I, and I, I assessed that too. Yeah. So, um, okay, what's it called? Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, your father's club. Oh, the Fox track. Fox track. The Fox track. That's when you first learned how to DJ. Yep. So I, my, my dad owned a night. He was a serial entrepreneur. So he started off with gas station. He had a, um, a fast food restaurant. He had a corn roasting,

business and then he got this club corn roasting i want to invest in that business right there so he started a club called the fox trap and um at the fox trap it was the best club in Milwaukee for black people so everybody was going there the DJs were crazy but they weren't at that time this is in the 80s at that time 83 somewhere in there at that time DJs at that time DJs at least weren't scratching and mixing and stuff but I was because I was in love with like Gramix of DST and you know what I'm saying like Herbie Hancock

on the Grammys actually when they did rock it it was like that was my first time ever seeing scratchy so I was on that tip so I learned how to do like the regular fades and stuff like that from the DJs but then I was bringing to Milwaukee you know to scratching and mixing and stuff like that

what's the name of a group was attack attack was my first group yeah exactly and that was the first people on Wax in Milwaukee first black people or first hip hop? It's argued that we're, you know, there was another group that did like some kind of wrestling record that had rap in it. You know how like fat back like, you know, it's sort of like debated, but like, but yeah, we was one of the first without question.

So it's probably the first or second, it depends how you look at it. I went to Milwaukee one time and they had shootouts and pimps. I was like, wait a minute. Facts. I was like, I thought Captain had a baseball team. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. So, yeah.

So I want to talk about Tennessee Okay Because I was surprised to find out That this was the last record Y'all recorded for that album Yeah, so what happened We finished the record We recorded the record

Album done We did it in Milwaukee actually At a studio called Tracks 32 And then Unfortunately my grandmother passed That same week my brother died And so The last place I saw both of them

Was at my grandmother's funeral in Tennessee So that's song just was written out of pure motion just like as you could see you know you can tell you know what the with the lyrics and everything so um so yeah that was the last record we did and we did that one at bobby brown studio called boss boss town he had a studio which is now stankonia right or was stankonia now stank only so yeah i'm gonna tell you how good that record felt for me as a young I was born in 77. Okay.

So I must have didn't pay attention to the lyrics and I just paid attention to the feeling. Right. I would put that record on for a good feeling. I didn't know it was about that. Right, no, I hear you. Because the melody and the message

was so powerful that I might have never listened to the lyrics to like, I would take me to another place. And I didn't realize, you would say, take me out of this place, because this is fucked up. I got older, oh shit, this might be a habit this record. Like, this is, now energetically, it lifts you up.

It lifts you up. The lyrics are a little bit, you know, like, somber. No, it is, but you know, it's funny, Karras one called me one day. He called my, uh, I was the home. And I wasn't there, the answer machine picked up. And so he left a message and he's like, yo, speech, I'm just getting this mother. 10 years later, I'm just on this bedded with this father. Just like, yo, it was so, like, it was encouraging to me

because to me, that's a skill set, you know what I'm saying? To be able to talk about stuff that's really from your soul, but it doesn't bring you down. It lifts you up. And you don't even have to listen to it if you don't want the first time, like the lyrical track, you know, that track of it, you don't have to even be on that track. You just be on the five, you know what I'm saying?

And just, that's the track you want to be on. You know, so it's just different, people can get on different tracks listening to it a lot of times. You know what I'm saying? Different pathways or whatever. But that's the power of music, though. That's the power of music. It's like, I just, I just saw what I saw. Exactly.

And I felt what I felt. Exactly right, yeah. And every time I get it, it's still goosebumps to this day. That's dope. You know what I mean? I still remember the black and white video. Yeah, exactly. I remember, like, Ralph McDaniels.

I remember it going to the jukebox, me trying to order it and get in trouble for it. That's tough. You know what I'm saying? So it's like, damn. And then years later, I'm like, holy shit. As a lyricist, I'm listening to the lyrics. I'm like, you've been celebrating, like, almost dead. But it is.

It is a celebration. But then here's what's crazy about that. Is his what's the best thing about the group, right? Is us all know when we come from Africa. Yeah. Right? No matter what. I don't care of you, white, black.

That's fact. Germany. Original. Saxic. You're talking about, whatever you all, whatever you are. We all come from Africa. And the one thing about the African Proverbs is the family trait. Facts.

It's the fact that, like, you know, what's my man name? Baba O.J. Bobba O.J., our elder. Like, I love that, even the story of you asking him, I wanted an elder person in a group at the time. I believe he was 57 or something like that. And it was just like, when you hear that story, it's just like, that's that African,

you know, messages that we heard, like, of how family was and how, when they say, when they say it take a village to raise a child, that's what they talk about, the African villages, and you sit there. And when I look at the group always, from back then to now, I always say, damn, like, if I've learned something from them, I've always learned that the African camaraderie, that shot put together. And I even seen, like, I kind of like kept going back to see, like, you know, the interviews that was happening after the Grammys. And I'm sitting back and I'm saying these guys have always been the same. They stayed the same. And that's a lot, that's a lot hard to do. So let me get back to my original question is how hard is that, right? Yeah.

Because back then, it was gangbangers. Yeah. Like, it really wasn't fly to where, you know, it was the X-Klan era. right righteous teachers and then that kind of like you know went out and then it was like gang bang it was big and you know being a drug dealer

was big and then how how was it to navigate through that and still maintain who you are I know I ask it in a different way but I'm asking this musically now because like when you started to be long winning with this question that's perfect if you look at a lot of New York

artists when the South started to change South started to take over a lot of New York artists started to play their bags with the South and change their their tone of music and try to see what they could fit in

what made y'all never want to fit in yeah for us I guess the sort of good part about it for us was we was before a lot of that so you know it was before our cast it was before so for us it was like okay

you know we was playing it earlier mama's always on stage we brought this like harmonica energy, you know, to the hip hop sound. So it's like, for us, it was just trying to be unique, trying to bring that southern energy, even the video, Tennessee, making it in the rural south instead of in the city landscapes, which is what New York was already on that, right? So just trying to be different, it wasn't that hard because back then, you were celebrated for being absolutely unique.

You know, you're right. Like if you can bring something unique to the tape, right? Absolutely. To some extent or another, you're going to be. celebrated because that's what was, that's what it was about, you know what I mean? No one sounded like each other. No one, you didn't want to be compared. No one would sound like it's a problem, right?

You know what I'm saying, it's a problem, right? It was biting. It was biting. Exactly. I love me old school, right. Exactly. I like those rules, man. Exactly.

That's not going to say. Exactly. So she said, Johnny, the kids didn't come home last night. Along the central Texas planes, teens are dying, suicides, suicides that don't make sense, strange accidents, and brutal murders. In what seems to be, a plot ripped straight out of Breaking Bad. Drugs, alcohol, trafficking of people. There are people out there that absolutely know what happened.

Listen to paper ghosts, the Texas teen murders, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Robert Smith. This is Jacob Goldstein. and we used to host a show called Planet Money. And now we're back making this new podcast called Business History about the best ideas and people and businesses in history and some of the worst people, horrible ideas,

and destructive companies in the history of business. Having a genius idea without a need for it is nothing. It's like not having it at all. It's a very simple, elegant lesson. Make something people want. First episode, How Southwest Airlines, use cheap seats and free whiskey to fight its way into the airline business.

The most Texas story ever. There's a lot of mavericks in that story. We're going to have mavericks on the show. We're going to have plenty of robber barons. So many robber barons. And you know what? They're not all bad. And we'll talk about some of the classic great moments

of famous business geniuses, along with some of the darker moments that often get overlooked. Like Thomas Edison and the electric chair. Listen to business history on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get it, your podcast. What do you get when you mix 1950s Hollywood, a Cuban musician with a dream, and one of the most iconic it comes of all time? You get Desi Arness, a trailblazer, a businessman, a husband, and maybe, most importantly, the first Latino to break primetime wide open.

I'm Wilmer Valderrama, and yes, I grew up watching him, probably just like you and millions of others. But for me, I saw myself in his story. From plening canary cages to this night here in New York, it's a long ways. On the podcast starring Desi Arnaz and Wilmer Valderrama, I'll take you in a journey to Desi's life. The moments it has overlapped with mine, how he redefined American television, and what that meant for all of us watching from the sidelines, waiting for a face like hours on screen. This is the story of how one man's spotlight lit the path for so many others and how we carry his legacy today. Listen to starring Desi Arnaz and Wilmer Valderrama as part of the MyCultura podcast network available on the IHard Radio app,

podcast or wherever you get your podcast. Hey there, Dr. Jesse Mills here. I'm the director of the men's clinic at UCLA Health. And I want to tell you about my new podcast called The Mailroom. And I'm Jordan, the show's producer. And like a lot of guys, I haven't been to the doctor in many years. I'll be asking the questions we probably should be asking, but aren't. Because guys usually don't go to the doctor unless a piece of their face is hanging off or they've broken a bone.

Depends which bone. Well, that's true. Every week, we're breaking down the unique world of men's health. From testosterone and fitness to diets and fertility, and things that happen in the bedroom. You mean sleep? Yeah, something like that, Jordan. We'll talk science without the jargon and get you real answers to the stuff you actually wonder about. It's going to be fun, whether you're 27, 97, or somewhere in between.

Men's health is about more than six packs and supplements. It's about energy, confidence, and connection. We don't just want you to live longer. We want you to live better. so check out the mailroom on the iHeart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your favorite shows on an all new episode of iHeart radios las cultureistas emmy golden globe and tony award winner sarah paulson spills on red carpet hacks we saw these pictures and you're like what is the story with this she gets real about the inspiration behind her roles oh no there is no end to how people will behave

and she puts host matt rogers and bow and yag on notice i don't think so honey i feel very very triggered by this. Open your free IHeard radio app. Search Las Culturista and listen to the full podcast now. So, no, it was, it was, it was easier for us because of that,

because, but it was still hard because, I mean, here we are, like I was, like we was talking about when we got booed at the step show, a lot of the music that was coming out in the South at that exact time sort of had that Miami-based style. It was, you know, 120,

you know what I'm saying, 130 beats per minute. And we're coming out with this. other vibe, we was very influenced by New York, very influenced, well, I'm from Milwaukee, so for me I was very influenced by New York but also D.C. Go-Go-Go music, the, you know, house music from

Chicago. I was Chicago, yeah, but to ask. Yeah, Chicago meant a lot to us. Like, that was a big deal. Only 90 miles away, right? 90 miles away, an hour and a half away. So, house was a thing. You know, the house music. So all of those different styles, we embraced it. And

I'm the producer for the group, so that early music, I was producing that stuff, too. It was like, you know, I wanted to embrace all of that sound. So it was a little easier because it wasn't, we wasn't expected to do a particular thing. We had all those energies, though. Some of those energy, like, I'm from Jersey. Right. Okay.

Same area where. Makes a northern Jersey. You're. So, me and PRT from the same neighborhood. Yeah, exactly. Men and wise and culture freedom from the same neighborhood. So when I met speech in the-R-T, saying poor-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-S-T. That's right.

So when I met them, the, you know, the jury. Jersey energy. Facts. The New York energy. The House energy. I brought that to the group. Because Jersey was big in house at that time. It was huge in-house at that time.

I agree. I agree. But I was partying in New York. Okay. So like Latin Quarter. I was going to, I want to say Red Pair, but that's way, that's way back. What is it? Anyway.

Mars, you know, Mars. Yeah, Mars. So I brought that energy to the band. Fast. So when we started performing, people knew, like, oh, he's from up top. But it's not just the Georgia energy, you know what I'm saying? So we had a cover. Milwaukee, New Jersey, New York, Atlanta.

Yep. Exactly. I feel like, for lack of a better term, y'all are officially a global band. We are. We are at the end of the day. And it's funny, because while hip-hop, obviously, represents wherever you're from, right? I was on a, me personally, I was on a tip,

it ain't where you're from, it's where you at. You know what I'm saying? So it's like, okay, I love Milwaukee. I love Atlanta. I love, like I said, D.C., blah, blah, blah. So for me, it was just a matter of, well, this is what we're doing. This is what we're bringing to the table.

Exactly, exactly. We've been born in the past 30 years. This is what I'm trying to say. You know what I believe, like I believe on certain job applications, they should ask hip hop. Because I believe some people religion and some people who race is really hip hop That is true

I know I'm just being honest Like I know people who I don't consider black or white Nothing I just consider them hip hop We can just sit there and just talk hip hop Nothing else And that's like crazy because This music raised this person He might have not been raised by me at all

Right He might have been from Portland, Oregon But his knowledge of hip hop He knows G rap like I do Right. Hey, we used to talk about the hip hop flag that you wish to see that at a hotel I always wanted to be a hip hop flag.

Just think about it, right? That's crazy. So think about, and this is real shit, I know I'm saying this like, you know, bugging out, but I'm not bucking out. Right, right. If you was to check into a hotel and you was to see the hip hop flag

and you say, I am welcome here. I have to follow all the rules. It doesn't mean I could break the rules because, but, like for lack of like a soho house almost like these people go to soho house and they respect the rules they do it

imagine we had a hip hop soho house like I'm sorry I know I'm bugging out Are you setting it up because you've done this No no no no no no I'm speaking there to perisian Because I ain't got no clue how to do it I have a clue of how it would look You understand I'm saying like me doing that like you know Going to Hollywood and hanging out

And these guys go oh these clubs is here And these clubs is here And I'm saying, okay, then one day I was with Alchemist. And Alchemist says to me, we're in Amsterdam. And he goes, I go, I can't smoke at my hotel. So I'm going to smoke in my coffee shop. He goes, well, you can smoke at my hotel. And I go, well, what the fuck is your hotel?

Why your hotel is special? He goes, well, I'm at the hip-hop hotel. And I went to his hotel. It was graffiti everywhere. Wow. It was graffiti everywhere. And I was like, holy shit. And it was smoke everywhere, too, though.

like I didn't agree with the smoke in the lobby part I was like hold up hold up hold up hold up it's taking it too far I spoke in the room some type of like that's some type of some type of but what I thought about it is I'm like okay

what if this is an 18 year or older but that's not that's not it I want hotels where it's like a hip hop hotel we're accepted you know what I mean and we deserve it at this point and we have the bank

and we have the characters to get behind a person Like, I always, I always said this. I always wanted K.S.1. I know we brought up KS1. And me and him been fighting for the hip-hop union forever. I always would put the budget in KS1 hand like this. I would put it in Chris hands like this.

Like a sag for hip-hop. Yeah, no, yeah. Like, we got to check D and Curtis Blow. Yeah, I think Carris 1 is involved in that. So, you know, we're doing that now. Because when you think about it, the only other entertainment that doesn't have a union is boxing. We're not that brutal, bro. Right, yeah.

Come on, bro. Hip-hop is American worldwide culture now. Like, everything is influenced by hip-hop. Yeah, I'll say the biggest cultural export from this country. You hear the country wave now that's out. Oh, definitely. It's hip-hop is a trap country now. Like, what is going on.

I love that. I love that. I love that. Yeah. I love what I think about this hotel. No, no, no, yeah. You see me? No, because I...

He's doing like the architecture. You know what? I thought... Why did you? I see it. I see it. I see it. But beyond that, beyond that, beyond the hotel,

the flag, when you look at an establishment, like, what would... When you look at the establishment, if you see, uh, uh, uh, a Jamaican flag, you know I, I, this guy might have some good curry chicken. You know what I'm saying? You know what I'm saying? Like, my bad, yeah. The two Jamaica, the two Jamaica is a little good way there, man. That's all we get, when you get a Jamaican flag.

No, I didn't mean it like that. But you know what I'm trying to say. So I always wanted the hip hop flag. Like, wherever we go. So does alchemists actually have a hip hop hotel? No, no, there was a hip hop hotel. He was staying at it and he did. And I don't know if he was actually called the hip-hop hotel.

Or he called it, he didn't name it. But I walked in and we smoked and I was like, holy shit. Right. But I knew what he meant because they accepted Archon. They were like, oh, no, I'm literally. I'm limited to just smoking, because that's, that's like, you know, it's very simple, but I'm saying in its totality, what it meant was, yo, you want to, um, a room, you would go do graffiti and run room.

Right. You could go, like, DJ and run room. And I was just like, oh, that's pretty, that's kind of like, ew. That's crazy. Yeah, this is like, years ago. That's cool. I want to track back to the album again. Okay.

Because we're talking about how you guys were experimenting, making the music. And it felt. may be different, right, than what was going at the time. How do you get a deal? Three years. Okay, my back. Three years. And, you know, everybody turned us down. So, and I'll have to say this, I think you already picked up on this.

Like, we shopped everywhere, you know what I'm saying? But they just was turning us down, and there was no labels in Atlanta at the time. This is before LaFace. LaFace South came soon after us. But there was no labels that was doing hip-hop. at the time. So you, it was a tough, you know, road. And only one label, which is Chrysalis, took a chance on us. And they didn't give us an album deal. They gave us a single deal. The first deal was for Mr. Windle with a B-side of Natural. And this wasn't created yet,

this song. Wow. So we signed that deal. And I don't even know if y'all know this part, because my mom told me I had two years to try to make it in the rest of the time. development in Atlanta. And if I didn't make it, she said, you're coming back to Milwaukee and you're going to school. We didn't make it in two years, which is why that three years whole thing. You're a school teacher, right?

She was a school teacher. You know, that publisher of this paper. Okay. And so two years, it didn't happen. So I went back to Milwaukee, and that's why we ended up recorded in Milwaukee. We got the single deal, three years, five months, and we got that single deal, and we ended up

recording the album in Milwaukee, and then that single, you know, a little, the last thing we did. And that was in Atlanta. Also, too, I want to speak to that, what speech was saying. I think we did a lot of shows. Like, back then it was a lot of showcases and stuff. And we, we performed all the time. All the time.

Every weekend. We did. V-103 would have, like, talent shows and stuff like this. And so we were constantly, like, performing. We used to rehearse eight hours a day. Wow. And at this place, called Rehears Too Much. And so.

It's called Rehears Too Much. Too much. Yeah. Yeah, and then we started going to crossovers and rehearsing there all the time. I think we were the first hip-hop group worked out of crossover studios. So I think that has something to do with it, too. And then I remember the year we did Jack the Rappers. Yep.

So we did Jack the Rappers, and I remember when we did the performance, no one was in the room. I was like, no one. No one. Y'all heard it. Yeah, Jack Rappers. right yeah no one was in my room neither but let me tell you the power of the of the music vibrational we started playing yeah one by one queen latifu came oh then we saw naughty naughty by nature tribe i mean and everybody whole room was just packed out with just these people that we look

up to yeah exactly i love queen latifah you know what exactly and this is the first time y'all performing as an Atlanta group yeah well yeah like well not first time ever It's the first time, but like in that space. In that industry. Exactly. And so after that, that's when I feel like everything kind of just took off. Yes. It was a raw show.

It was a very raw show. Always. It was a beautiful vibrational thing. And I want to say, rest of the moment to me, we always have that vibrational energy. Like, when we come on stage, I think it moves people in a different way. I swear to God, I say that about y'all. You know what I'm saying? I swear to go, like, me doing the research and seeing flyers.

Yeah. And seeing y'all, like, well. Some gaster groups, I was like, they was the large school people were the night. Everybody had to see them and be like, this is now, now we're good. Yeah, you know what I mean? That we good, yeah. So, how about EasyE? What was your relationship with EasyE?

I never met Easy. You never met Easy? I never met Easy. Did y'all, have y'all met him? Oh, okay. I met Q'd. Okay. And that was interesting.

Okay. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. What about the airport? Wasn't that easy at the airport? Tell me more Maybe I'm not forgetting We were walking in the airport One time

And they were together This is when all of them And we walked by them Because they were gangster We were like We ain't know We can speak in now So we just got to keep it going

You're in the airport Going in the morning And I think it was easy to say Why didn't it speak to us Because he knew it was us Oh wow Somebody came and got us And we walked back

Okay I remember that Wow I remember that It was like we walked back and we said what's up and then we went on the car. We definitely see

I'm a huge fan of NWA Right right right right Like a huge fan Right So I mean for me it was But I will say I now get why At that time period

We were sort of pitted against gangster hip hop And I think it was mistaken Because I would get on stage And say a lot of our peers Are calling black women bitches and hoes We're not down with that

Uh huh yeah But we weren't saying anything bad about those that we're down with that. We're just saying we're not down with it. We're trying to do something different. But I understand how that could have been misconstrued as like we're dissing, you know, anybody that's not, you know what I'm saying. Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah, yeah. So I think that's why we were probably in a zone of are we speaking, like, are we cool? You know what I'm saying? It's funny you said because we had Kwame on last week and I didn't know that he was on the NWA tour with Kid to Play and I was like, you know, that sounds like an

incredible tour. I was like, I was like, This just makes so much sense. We literally had Kwame. I love that. You said you come out with the Volga Dots. I'm like, oh, shit. I mean, it's a master. It's like a boy Janians.

Yeah. Yeah, for us, it was, you know, it was a little. And plus, our song people every day, I said in a lyric, and I ain't ice cube, but I had to take the brother out of being rude. Ooh. And to read, one of our members,

said, who? and she knew who he was but so that was that I think came off to ice cube as like maybe a diss and so when I met him we were at one of the award shows and I met him

and he didn't want to speak so he just gave me that that famous ice cube look he won an eyebrow up and that was it he was making no Vaseline it was all good

no baslein the record for people that don't understand what I'm saying What's interesting about that time was I was in California at my dad's school and Arrested Development was at the heights of it. And because of the type of messaging, that was like the sick because it was, we was listening to all the iced tea, ice cube. My brother, who's eight years older than me, he was all into that. So it was kind of like refreshing to have hip hop that was also okay for nine-year-old. me to be listening to

because we was listening to all of it. But then when MTV came out and videos was like, okay, now we're going to see what these groups look like. And you see the group and they're in the rural countries and they're driving to pick up. I'm, you know,

we're going back and forth from L.A. to Georgia. Right. So in L.A. you got the Snoops and the L.A. vibe. And then you got Atlanta and And being there, you know what it's like. Exactly.

But you know the difference. But it was like, wow, I can relate to this. I see Ishi. I'm like, that's who I want, that's true. That's why I'm right to. Because in all the other rap you got, end up, or not, uh, too loud crew. My brother loved two out, two out of crew. We all there.

The album cover with the ladies. I teach you to me. We all love you. They had lyrics. We're growing up, where you had to be, yeah, and you had to be, you know, more conscious of females' queendom and all of that. And that's what this group represented.

So my dad, my step day and was like, okay, yeah. So I saw Ishi and I was like, boom. We can still be in hip hop and not represent that side of women. Right now, who represents that Rhapsody? Yeah, we love Rhapsody. Big fan of Rhapsody. I believe that comes from direct from this lenient. I mean, I think the best, in my opinion, the best part,

place for hip-hop is when there's balance in hip-hop. Absolutely. Which is that balance? Oh, definitely, definitely. Yeah, I agree. Which to your point about having the hip-hop kind of coalition,

it's like you can represent all of it and give it balance so that you don't, right now it's so one-sided. You only hear one type of thing. That's what I liked about those tours that Kwame was talking about, like, we were all touring with each other. You know what? So all this different energy. That's not incredible to me.

Same tours, you know what I'm saying? Different regions, different sounds. Exactly. But everybody represented hip-hop. Exactly. But you're also introducing every crowd to a different thing. And so now if you weren't a fan of this or that when you got there, now you are. Exactly.

Yeah. Very true. A few years ago, we did that cannabis cup in Alaska. Oh, shit. White Claflap was on the bill. Okay. He's opening for us. Wow.

He's shouting from the stage. Arrested the violence come on next. Boosies, we wanted to beat him. Yeah. I can see that. I'm here for them. Yeah. We model ourselves.

to arrest the development. He's telling the audience this. So you can clearly see that though. Yeah. A couple years later we can do a show with the black IPs in Jerusalem. Wow. Yeah, that was awesome.

We went to be you guys when we were starting. We bought it, model, by us. Yeah. I can see, and not only that, you could see, and not only that, you could see even, like, you know, the Farrells. You know what I mean? For my solo career, which means

that I might not not exist without me and his camaraderie together. And so you can see, like, I'll say it, for lack of a better turns. We can see y'all sons. You know what I'm saying? But I'm not dissing nobody. I'm just saying.

I totally get what you're saying. And I think they'll agree with it too because, like, that was, like, that was one of the first feel good hip-hop moments for me. Yeah. Like, watching the rest of the brother, watch me with what you guys are doing.

And then here's what I want to know. As a personal question, one thing about me having like Super Thug, what, what, what, what? Right. And then I come out with another record, oh, well, let's not Super Thug. And then, all right, cool, I come out with Grimmy. And well, it's not Super Thud, and then I come home boy. I came in a party finally. And they're like, all right, that's better to Super Thub, but it's it.

And then I come out with the next record. And then I come out with OUy Mika, I got to keep doing. Like, you guys have major hits. Yeah. were you guys like what is it of your own success

like you know what I mean because like when you make you boxed in because you make Tennessee and then you know

you drop another record and they're like well it's not Tennessee right yeah and it's like nothing can't be Tennessee

we're trying to but yeah we're not trying to do that it's lightning in a bottle so like like like of course a luck for his career

but you guys got these these super major your records. Does it haunt you? You know what I'm saying? It does. It does for me. I'll speak for me. I got you to harm me so. It's haunted because

you're wondering if the fans are ever let you get past that particular thing and really embrace this thing, which you're excited about. Like, you're in this moment now. You know what saying? So it's not like you don't appreciate that moment, but you're in this moment. Yeah, they don't sometimes let us go to that moment.

Exactly. I seen Havoc say on the other day he said, you know what I realized? Your fans are like your parents. They don't want you to grow up sometimes. Oh shit. They want you to be frozen in time. You know what that's what they're going to have something too in time. It does.

It means something. If you think about it, if you think about it, that's their selfish needs because they don't want to grow up. They don't want to leave that time in their life. You understand? That time and that life was so perfect for them and they're like, why are you growing? Why are you wearing a suit now? Can you go back to the dashiki, please? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And you're like, I can't wear a suit one time? Like, get on, put it on a tucks. But I like what Jay-Z said. He said in one of his lyrics, basically, like, if you want to listen to that, go back to that stuff. But this is what I'm doing now. Like, why would I go back? You know what I think it was Blue Plant 3. He was talking about that.

Yeah. What we talk about, I think that was a song. Yeah. Yeah. But you have been haunted by this. Definitely. Okay. Not only through the record labels, but through the fans.

Do the fans. Without a question. You know what I'm saying? It works when you're doing the show and you see. Start the show. We just started the show. 10. Yeah.

And y'all got an hour and a half, or he's on one thousand and he want to go. And y'all got major. Like, y'all see this major, major, like, with all love and respect to y'all, like, y'all broke genres of music. Like, it was, it was. it's still a hip-hop record but it was played and it was like everywhere you went you heard this record

you know what I mean like no matter it didn't matter what bar you was at or whatever facts so I know how hard that shit is and people come out

I'm like you know I had one dude one time I was performing I was amazing about me he just was like bloody money and I was like what the fuck man

I'm an album cut bro can you relax he just did you all like bloody money I'm like and it's like And there's no disrespect, so I can't take you this disrespect.

It's like, you got to shut up, though, man. Okay, so. Flowers, man. Listen, our show is about giving people their flowers. Which we appreciate. And I'm really like, man, you guys, what you did is legendary, which you continue to do is legendary. Thank you. I love the fact that you're still in the role.

I love the fact that it was like, yeah, they're going to do sound check right now. I said, damn, still. I was like, that shit is y'all are like a wrestler. Let's do that shit. Y'all got flowers. You know, like the worst. Oh, yeah. Yes, yes, yeah.

Yeah. Oh, thank you. Oh, that's beautiful. We get literal flowers. Oh, wow. That's great. Yeah. Yeah.

That's so crazy. That's awesome. It's so. It's ridiculous. Oh, that's beautiful. Yes. This is better than a Grammy. We know it's not a Grammy.

Okay, so I'm a surprise. Tears. Real tears. Because now, listen, what y'all did is. Listen, what y'all did is really, really legendary, is groundbreaking. I mean, I need to give you all these because I'm all on you. Yeah, how to open it up. Go on and take a little bit.

Right there, yeah. Right, my car. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, this is good. This is crazy. What y'all did, and y'all continue to do, it's legendary, man. We all owe you, you know, hip-hop owes you. The fact that y'all stayed down, the fact that y'all stayed.

family. Yeah. That is the first thing. It is. It's so important. People can't stay together two months. That's neat. Now, look at these faces.

We've been together for decades. That's beautiful. That's beautiful. She said, Johnny. The kids didn't come home last night. Along the Central Texas planes, teens are dying. suicides that don't make sense, strange accidents, and brutal murders. In what seems to be, a plot ripped straight out of Breaking Bad.

Drugs, alcohol, trafficking of people. There are people out there that absolutely know what happened. Listen to paper ghosts, the Texas teen murders, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Robert Smith. This is Jacob Goldstein. and we used to host a show called Planet Money. And now we're back making this new podcast called Business History about the best ideas and people and businesses in history

and some of the worst people, horrible ideas, and destructive companies in the history of business. Having a genius idea without a need for it is nothing. It's like not having it at all. It's a very simple, elegant lesson. Make something people want. First episode, How Southwest Airlines, use cheap seats and free whiskey to fight its way into the airline business.

The most Texas story ever. There's a lot of mavericks in that story. We're going to have mavericks on the show. We're going to have plenty of robber barons. So many robber barons. And you know what? They're not all bad. And we'll talk about some of the classic great moments of famous business geniuses,

along with some of the darker moments that often get overlooked. Like Thomas Edison and the electric chair. Listen to business history on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. What do you get when you mix 1950s Hollywood, a Cuban musician with a dream, and one of the most iconic sitcoms of all time? You get Desi Arness, a trailblazer, a businessman, a husband, and maybe, most importantly, the first Latino to break primetime wide open. I'm Wilmer Valderrama, and yes, I grew up watching him, probably just like you and millions of others. But for me, I saw myself in his story.

From planning canary cages to this night here in New York, it's a long ways. On the podcast starring Desi Arnaz and Wilmer Valderama, I'll take you in a journey to Desi's life. The moments it has overlapped with mine, how he redefined American television, and what that meant for all of us watching from the sidelines, waiting for a face like hours on screen. This is the story of how one man's spotlight

lit the path for so many others and how we carry his legacy today. Listen to starring Desi Arnaz and Wilmer Valderrama as part of the MyCultura podcast network available on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcast. podcast or wherever you get your podcast. Hey there, Dr. Jesse Mills here. I'm the director of the men's clinic at UCLA Health.

And I want to tell you about my new podcast called The Mailroom. And I'm Jordan, the show's producer. And like a lot of guys, I haven't been to the doctor in many years. I'll be asking the questions we probably should be asking, but aren't. Because guys usually don't go to the doctor unless a piece of their face is hanging off or they've broken a bone. Depends which bone. Well, that's true. Every week, we're breaking down the unique world of men's health.

From testosterone and fitness to diets and fertility, and things that happen in the bedroom. You mean sleep? Yeah, something like that, Jordan. We'll talk science without the jargon and get you real answers to the stuff you actually wonder about. It's going to be fun, whether you're 27, 97, or somewhere in between. Men's health is about more than six packs and supplements. It's about energy, confidence, and connection. We don't just want you to live longer.

We want you to live better. So check out the mailroom on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows. What up, y'all? It's your boy, Kevin on stage. I want to tell you about my new podcast called Not My Best Month, where I talk to artists, athletes, entertainers, creators, friends, people I admire who had massive success about their massive failures. What did they mess up on? What is their heartbreak? And what did they learn from it?

I got judged horribly. The judges were like, you're trash. I don't know how you got on the show. Boo, somebody had tomatoes. No, I'm kidding. But if they had tomatoes, they would have thrown the tomatoes. Let's be honest. We've all had those moments we'd rather forget.

We bumped our head. We made a mistake. The deal fell through. We're embarrassed. We failed. But this podcast is about that and how we made it through. So when they sat me down, they were kind of like, we got into the small talk. And they were just like, so what do you got?

What ideas? And I was like, oh, no. What? Check out Not My Best Moment with me, Kevin on stage on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcast. And I'm not saying that to people to diss them. I'm saying that to people who to, here goes an example that you can actually do this. Yeah. And here's a question I want to ask you, right?

You know, all the time the record labels would always see the guy artists, they call him the lead artist, and call him the producer or whatever. always try to get him away, right? Yes, Bax. They always say, yo, you know what? You can do a rest of the development, but what do you think about doing your own solo and doing

your own and breaking off and you doing that? What made you not anticipate doing something like that? You know, it's funny because there was a lot of that going on but on a micro level. So like, at photo shoots,

you would see the photographer I would say, hey, speech, come up to the front, come to the middle, do this, do that. Headliner, you go back to the back. You know, like, and those kind of things was happening all the time. I don't think the label ever told me to try to do a solo career. I did do a solo career, but it was after we took a break. We took a break from 95 to 2000. During that time period, I did start a solo career.

But the label didn't push me to do that. So I would say that from a group perspective, I don't think they ever really, the label ever really tried to make, like, you know, a speech thing or a headliner thing. I don't, I don't remember that, you know. Okay. Yeah, I mean, we had, we definitely had our issues. Oh, yeah, definitely. Yeah, definitely had our issues.

Okay. But I think what's so important is just getting together and talking things through. Speech and I, like, a few months back, we had a beautiful conversation about the early years. because I've known this man since I was 13 years old so it's like it's kind of those type of relationships

regardless of what you go through you're going to make it you're going to make it and so and we've been able like now my role position sort of speak is

I've been doing a lot of stuff behind the same producing with speech on me videos you get what I mean and so and and Raj you know we do like special shows

because we're, you know, two of the original members, so we're special shows of the group. And I just am so grateful for these people here that are continuing the legacy and keep us right. So, I mean, it's just, at the end of the day, it's so important to just come together and heal. Right. And I think we had a lot of time to heal over the years.

You know, speech, you know, I know he, if you're okay, I know it's been public, but he was sick. sometimes, you know, I've been, I'm a breast cancer survivor. We all have been through different things. And when you face things like that in life, you're like, you know what? My little tiff with him or her, it really ain't that important. What's important that, you know, we can feel good about being each other's face and really loving each other for real.

You know, like genuinely really loving each other and caring. Because the one thing, it seems like your group has expanding. Absolutely. As opposed to, like, most people are like, oh, they get trapped in this industry and they say, you know what? I got to split the pie four ways. Yeah, right, right.

And the fact is, like, that's why I brought up the African family thing is because I feel like it's, I feel like to y'all, outside of looking and it's the inside of looking out. I feel like family is more deeply rooted into y'all than her. It's really important with us.

Yeah, it's a big deal with us. Vibrations that energy, like all of that stuff we talk about a lot in this crew and it's a very big deal. for how we run things we run things very different than a lot of other people do but it works for us

you know seeing everybody's growth has been so beautiful yeah beautiful you know because we listen we and I finish right

right totally children like seriously it's like oh to that point one of the things that I loved about being in this

in this group is that if you've ever been in the band you're a part band everybody from from early days so if you've done a couple shows you're part of the band you're part of the band and when i came after ishi speech never was like okay did ishi did this so you got to do this is what is she did so you got to do exactly what ishi did he it's the everybody's

unique thing that you bring to the band is the bank that's the band not one particular vibe it's like we we all bring the energy. Like there's a foundational energy that needs to be there, that anybody that has been in the band embodied that energy. Now, there's a lot of women that's rocking ball heads now.

She was like the originator. And you know what, Dionne rocked one too. Okay. And yeah, I love my ball head. Okay, okay. Now I shaved my side. I was like, I was like, now I was the thing back then,

it was looked at like an Afrocentric. Oh, yeah. And being from the South, too, I got a lot of flasked in that. Oh, wow. Oh, yeah, I did. You know, a lot of men would say, why did you cut your hair? That's your glory and, you know, all that. But I just felt comfortable like that. Headlining used to cut my hair. Okay. Okay. That's horrible. Okay. Oh, yeah. Yeah, that's right. That's right.

Headline is why I named them that. I gave him that name. Yeah. Yeah. And so I would be walking around, yeah, ballhead. I mean, I just recently started wearing it back now. But yeah, I loved it. It was such a freedom in it. And even now, like, when I went through my breast stance, I shaved, you know, shaving it off, started all over. Okay, wow. So, yeah, I still do it. Okay, okay, okay.

That's dope. Yeah, you were known for that at one point. Yeah, definitely in the blind, the short blind. Yeah. Let's do a quick time. I think we can. Okay, let's do it. Okay.

You got you sent it? All right. This is our drinking game that we're going to play. Now, obviously, not you don't have to drink. Drink whatever you're drinking. That's Seymour? Now, you're because Michael B. Jordan's drink. Okay, Mars, okay, okay.

Yeah, yeah, you can get some tea. I got sake. That's different. Yeah. Is it hot? I don't know. No, no, no, no, I do cold soccer. So we're going to give you guys two choices.

Okay. And you pick one and we don't drink. But if you say both or neither, so basically you don't really want to answer the question. Yeah, then we all drink. Okay, okay. So what if some of us say one and some of them say a little. I mean, we're probably going to be drinking up.

Yeah, we'll start picking out. I mean, this is disorganized anyway. But the real point of this is not to peg people against each other in these questions. It's really to bring up any stories you might have with someone. That's really, it's really to bring up names because we want to talk about, you know, positively about people. Thank you. Thank you. So good.

Appreciate it. All right. Public enemy or NWA? Who you point at? Who you're going to start away? Public enemy, public enemy. Yeah. Yeah.

Tribe called Quest or brand new? Oh, my God. Tribe. Oh, man. She's a fast. Called Quest. Tribe called Quest. I had to go.

Bigel or Biggie? Mm-hmm. Ever once? Biggie. Biggie. Bigel. Bigel. Okay. I think we might have the drink just because.

Yeah. I caught that, let's do it. What's beef? Okay, Rakim, or Kress a morning? Oh, Lord. That's not fair. That's not fair. That was the both.

But that means we got to drink. Okay. Cheers. Ooh, I like drinking, all right. Outcast or ghetto boys? Okay. Outcats. I don't even know who else you say it.

Get a boy. Oh, okay. I love the ghetto boys, too, though. I love to get a boy and sit. I like that. But remember, any. But anybody we mentioned, if you got a story that pops out, please, by all means, tell us. Obviously, Outcast, you know, that's from Atlanta.

Yeah. But I absolutely. I often wondered if they got their name from the Donat of the Dreads. Because I say Outcast in there. I'm not saying they did. Yeah. But I don't know if they did or not. I danced in there at Rose Parks video.

Yeah. Yeah. That's dumb. Yeah. Shout out to Outcats. Yeah. Outcast is major. I mean, and to me,

to me they always anything that they might have been inspired by but what we did they took it so much further and that always just blows my mind like how far they took it. As much as we love our cast I do know all the words of my mind playing tricks

Oh yeah, yeah. Get a boy. Legendary. They're legendary. Right. The Fugis or Diggible planets. Oh, Lord. Both are you just come out of the road with us. Digible planets. And the food.

I just want to say, I just want to say some back to you. Just so you know, my mind's playing tricks on me. I'm a grown-ass man. I still get kind of scared when I hit out. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was free. Yeah, I still get kind of scared, really. Yeah, Bush. When he was catching on the car, please.

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I smoked out with Bushwick, Bill. You know, he's wild, man. He's a different one. He's a different one.

I used to promote shows, so I used to do concerts, and I brought Outcast. I brought, if somebody else, Goody Mob, Outcast, Fujis. Oh, why? Brought Fuji, so, like, for me, like, all of these people. Where were these shows at? In Atlanta. So I used to promote huge shows, well, huge rap shows in Atlanta. And so, yeah, I brought all of them to shows, so, yeah.

And I'm assuming early on, right, in their careers, early on? Yeah, early on. Well, they was already huge, you know, like doing their thing, you know what I'm saying. But it was, it was great. It was great. Far Side or Souls of Mischief? Far Side. Far Side.

Which we toured with them just, we literally just got off the road with them and digible. And I think they have a tour right now, Farsight and Solz of Mishish were shows right now. Which is just like that. We would love to do shows with Soles of Mists. Sozumption is all crazy. And shout out to Farside. I went to school with the Phillips Cuff. Oh, yeah?

Shout out the Sisway. Yeah. Yes. Heavy D or Chab Rock? Heavy D. Heavy D. Heavy D. I was, oh, I'm so in love with him. I said, Chub Rock.

Heavy D. Heavy D, good, dance, his. Oh, my God. Rest and peace to that, Beth, yeah, rest of piece of that, brother. Yeah, he's amazing. I love this question right here. X-Klan or poor righteous teachers? Oh, my God.

To me, I'm going to say X-Klan. Yeah. But I love some righteous teachers. I love both of them, but X-Klan came before a poor righteous teachers, right? I think so. But they're very close. Very good.

I got to do. I'm not sure, actually. Yeah. If you're drinking first, I'll drink with you. We're going to drink too, yeah. Mm-hmm. All right, main source or third base? Mm.

For me, it's going to be main source. For me, it's third base. Mm. I like that. Main source. Yeah, main source. Yeah, we get some popcorn. Yeah, we got popcorn from third base from search.

I'm going to say them. And I do have an interesting story. We did a show with Third Base, Arrested Development, and naughty. And I was backstage with Tretch, search, and speech. And I didn't know all my career, people come up to me and say, yo, Tretch, or, yo, search. Oh, I'm like, I didn't Tretch, search. Exactly.

So, like, everybody got our name. I didn't know what was happening to them, too. Okay. Oh, so we took a special picture. I have that picture. Exactly. All of us have been mistaken all the time by people saying speech, you know. That's hilarious.

Yeah. Run DMC or Beastie Boys? Run DMC. Run DMC. That's a really good one, but I'm not to say run to. Run DMC. Beasts would say run DMC. Yeah, Beasties would say it.

Yeah, Beasties would say it too. I usually would answer like, they would say it too. These were incredible to me. Incredible. No, Sleet to Brooklyn. Absolutely. And their evolution was crazy. Incredible.

How about this? M.J. or Michael Jackson? I mean, Prince. We know who's speech going to say. But I'm going to say Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson. She got to say Prince. And we love us in France.

Prince is from the Lake of Minotava. Exactly. But, I mean, to me, it's just all the instruments the brother played. Oh, he was crazy with it. He's not just an amazing entertainer, which he was. But he was also just this multi-instrumentalist songwriter, producer. I mean, come on, you know. And so now he has a friend story.

Oh, yeah, we need a million. Print story is on drink, champ. He might have a lot of your one. Well, tell me which one you think about. Look at me in his eye. I was thinking that one when he invited us to the club. Tell me that story. Can I forget about that one?

To the club. And then that was when the lawsuit happened. Oh, yeah. Okay. So, yeah. So, okay, now I know what you're talking about. So Prince, I'm a huge fan of Prince. I sampled Tennessee, his word from Alphabet Street.

He says, I want to take it to my backseat and drive a to Tennessee. And I grabbed that Tennessee for. Tennessee and sample it throughout the song. And the song went to, it was going up the charts. It went to number one on the rap charts, number one in the R&B charts. And then it went to number six, I want to say, on the pop charts or whatever they call it, the Hot 100. And the day it went down to number seven, our office got a call from Prince saying he wanted

some money for that word Tennessee. And so we had to pay him $100,000, which was a lot of money. back then. Exactly. Right. And the truth is he did us a favor because that could have been

he could have told us to take it off the shelf. Like Bismarck he got his whole record taking it off the record. Or own the whole record. He could have asked for any percentage he wanted for that. Because y'all already did it

without his permission. Without his permission. Exactly. Exactly. And so instead what he did is just ask for cash. He got $100,000 right off the rip for that.

He was showing up at all our shows. He was. And we did shows at his club, too. He was up there. He was up there. Gapman. Gapman and us, yeah, at our glam slam in many of the house. That's my record, motherfucker.

Exactly. Exactly. He was going to show what they're going to do with this. Right, exactly. He was showing up with high heels like that. Exactly. Yeah, everyone went to high heels, man. Oh, I was living there on my story.

I mean that, no. I mean, yeah, no. Because he got a verbal. I was like, all right, cool. He already had a verbal. He got her purple. He got purple and high hills. He wore some crazy shit.

Yeah, he definitely got on high hills. One of my favorite stories of Drake Champs ever is I say with Nazz, and I asked Niz. I said, I don't feel like no one ever told Nause no. And then he goes, yeah, someone told me no. And I go, who? And he goes, Prince asked me, did I own my masters? I heard, yeah. And now I said, no, I don't own my master's.

said, well, come see me when you own my master's and when you own your master's. And you would think that's like a harsh thing saying to a younger artist coming up in the game. But it's probably the exact statement that you need to hear. Continuing forward in this game.

Maybe it was like the Mike Tyson. You ever seen Mike Tyson with a little girl said, where's your legacy? And Mike Tyson, like, fuck my legacy. Like, really? Maybe it was that moment for Nas, for Nause with Prince, but maybe moving forward, Nause needed to hear that.

You understand what I'm saying? And we don't know that with Mike Tyson. I don't know if y'all seen this footage, but we told that little girl, maybe it's the moment she needed to hear too, like, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, but that's crazy. So when you hear Prince,

he was so advanced in his game. You see about the slave tattoo and you realize that years later I had to buy my own name, back. And I'm like, oh, when he changed his name to the sign to avoid the contract. I didn't know that then. I didn't know that then.

Yeah, he was definitely fighting that fight. Yeah. And I think to be honest, he might have been the first in our generation, like in our general generation, to fight that fight on such a public platform. You know what I mean? Like, and they say, against the machine. Against the machine. Against the machine.

Exactly right. Exactly right. But see, that was a whole other, you know what I was. In this generation. You know, because Sam Cook did it as well. Shout out to Sam Cook. Damn, y'all right. Dan, down, down.

Yeah, you're right. Sam Cook and Ray Charles, yeah? Yeah. You're all right. I ain't arguing that shit. All right. All right. So, got to get.

Eight Ball, MJG, or Goody Mob? Oh, Lord. I got to say Goody Mom. Goody Mom. I got to say Goody Mom. You know, from the South. We got to go with Goody Mob. Goody Mob is my people.

That's my people. That's my people. When I tell you, I can pick my friends by how much they know about Abol and MJJ. Right. I'm like, do you know this song? Right. Do you know 9mm boys?

Right. Good and mob, though. Yeah. Black star, Deb Prez. Ooh, that's a good thing. Wow, that's a good. I'm going to have to say both for me. I can't.

Yeah, I can't see one or the other. I just can't do it. Wow. Cheers. Yeah, that's a good. Hey, and by the way, Dead Prez, wherever you all, we miss y'all. We miss you. man.

Everyone's in Africa. I think he moved to Africa. I'm going to go to Africa. We were with them about both. Yeah, shout out. And M1, man, they're great people, man. They're all right. Yeah.

The Bleridians. Word up. Yeah. I didn't realize that. Okay, that's dope. Yeah. Oh, they weren't there. Wow.

Yeah. See, to me, both of them made such an impact in a totally, you know, in the same way, but just, I can't, I can't, for me, I can't choose either one as more important to me. Like, Black Star. Because you know that Kanye made that beat hip, hop, hip, hip, hot, yeah. I did not know that. Yeah. Really?

Alchemists told us that. Oh, I didn't. I know I researched that. No, no, we searched it. Did we research it? Yeah. It's kind of, yeah, it's kind of like up in the air. Fuck that, Kanye. The bass line. I'm going to ask, I'm going to text that more right now. Yeah. Yeah.

Is that bass line? Is that just going to hit, yeah. I'm going to say, wait up, wait up. Was he signed as a producer already? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. What? Sorry. Was he signed a producer already? Kanye was. I don't remember.

I don't remember, but I know that he has something to do with that production for sure. Word up. That's crazy. I ain't heard that. That's crazy. It says on your way on it? Yeah. Lord Jamar's on there?

Lord Jamal's on there? Well, he was a part of that, like, Dead Prez, like a dog. Oh, that's right. That's right. I didn't know that. I didn't know that. Yeah, like, I think helping them get the deal and, yeah, like a whole. Oh, I didn't know that. Yeah. Brand new being helped a lot of folks, man. That's really, really dope. Yeah. Yeah. We had Lord Jamar and... I guess I don't have to ask the questions, but...

Okay. No, right. Were you saying about Lord Jamar? No, I said we had Lord Jamar and it's a dot, right? We want the whole brand new being together, and we would need... Grand Puba. We haven't had Grand Puba yet, man. I actually liked Grand Puba's album. He just dropped an album last year. He dropped it out, either late last year or early this year. I forget because it's, you know, it's been nine or ten months.

But, yeah, it was dope. I liked it. I liked it. Shout out to Grandpa. He's dope. Oh, yeah. What's the? Next one.

All right. Let's see what we're at. Ice cube or common. Or common? Cute. Ice cute for me. That's tough for me. I'm going to have to say no.

Because they don't know. They don't feel they beat, too. Like, that's crazy. It was crazy. Yeah. Yeah, they did. But I got to say both for them because. Yeah.

Did they did. Barbershop together. No, no, that, yeah, they came together. I didn't even know that. Yeah. I did not know that. But that deep was serious. And Comyn is such a cool guy.

He's such a good spirit. He's a very kind. I mean, to me, those early Ice Cube days, like his first number of solo albums. Jacket for Beats, the America's Most Wanted, that's certificate to me as crazy. I mean, I could never put anything above that easily. Right, yeah, that whole lethal injection. But then, of course, Common is just, he's ridiculous. I mean, I love that.

brother, yeah. All right. EPMD or Pete Rock and Seal Smooth? For me, I'm going to say EPMD, although I love Pete Rockies. Yeah, EPMd. Yeah, we're going to go with the boat. Oh, we're saying both.

I got friends. Yeah. I'm saying, I'm saying. Or Pete Rock and Seals smooth. Do we say both or no? No, I'm saying. Who are you saying? Who are you saying?

We're not answering. I ain't going to answer to my background. I said both. We said both so we drank them. It's an official group. I don't like picking people. It's official drags, well. Yeah, you're right, you're right.

You're getting us some good. I mean, but I think Pink Rock and Silsman would say EPMD. Because EPD was like, you did it came in for them? Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Yeah, yeah, definitely. Man, that stuff, their albums is just major. And we just did a show with them too. Yeah.

Yeah, P-M-D? Yeah, yeah, you have to do shows with everybody. Let's just make some love. Your favorite rappers. I love that. I love that. I love that. Okay, this is a tough one.

Dayla, so are Jungle Brothers. Oh, that is tough. Wow. Both, both, go. I'm going to have to say Dayla for me. I'm going to have to say that. I'm going to say that. Yeah, but it isn't a tough one because to me, Jungle Brothers brought Daylaw in to, you know what I'm saying?

Yeah. So that's, but Dayla to me, the catalog is just so, you know, expansive. I mean, just everything they brought to the table. I mean, man. Yeah, last year we did, was it the, for the love of hip hop, the Hollywood Bowl? Yeah. And they were there. It was just, the energy was so amazing.

Yep, facts. It was so many people on that show. Just the big, true boy. Yeah, I just, I remember before, uh, when we were in Africa. Yeah, before. And we went to go visit that orphanage with Dayla. Wow. It was such a dope experience.

In South Africa, too. In South Africa and in Houston. And, uh, yeah. Yeah. South Africa has black people, right? Because I always debate with him. Oh, of course. Yeah.

97%? Yeah. I told you I went there. I know. I'm debating you. I was playing around. You're in South Africa? You're talking about?

Yeah, yeah. You said South Africa, you're talking about? Yeah. We did, the first time we went to South Africa was in 1994. And with Nelson Mandela. We did something to him. We spoke with him. And I spoke from the podium right before he did.

It was amazing. That was like. It was amazing. And then we shot one of the United States. one of our videos of that. United Front. Antoine Fouqua was our... Yeah, the director that did on Training Day. He did our videos.

Back then? Yeah, he did a song called United Front. Yep, United Front. Ain't that a gang in South Africa, too? United Front? You know what? I don't know. I don't know. The Blood Diamond is in United Front. Yeah.

That's the way. That's the South Africa. That's here. Isn't that album cover? I saw that movie. the two kids walking down the dirt road. That was Ross. Rod shot that album cover. That was in South Africa.

That's what I remember. I think Tim was telling you that. That was amazing. That was an amazing little moment. Yeah. Yeah, you got a little. Lauren Hill or Queen Latifah. Are you serious?

Queen Latifah helped my baby. She held your baby? Yeah, she just came over. I'm going to have to say both for me. I can't say. can't say one of the other. Latifah came to show on time when I saw her. Latifah, as a young woman coming up in, you know, before I got into

arrested development, I would look up to her. And I had all the crowns, like the hats that she used to wear those crowns. And I was like, I like this woman because to me, she represented a curvy black woman. And I could relate. And she said, you were in our T-Y. Oh, my God. Yes. She was just powerful, just everything about her just powerful.

And covered up. I love her. Her outfits were flag. Yeah, good job, yes. And you know the versatility of her artistry. That's all the same. Versatility, yeah. Yeah.

She does jazz. My madness was crazy. Man, we've been trying to get her on the show. Yeah. Queen Latifah is, she's a beast. But of course, Lauren Hill is absolutely. Yeah, we're not taking that away. No, not at all.

And when you shout out, in Lauren Hill, let's talk about that album, Miss Education. Well, that's a very kind spirit. She is such a sweet person. She's so awesome. Yeah, we've toured with her many times. And incredible career that she's had, too. And Lauren, I mean, like I said, I brought Lauren, well, I brought the Fugis to Atlanta. They opened for us in Europe, too.

I don't know if y'all remember that. Yeah, yeah. They opened for us a lot of times. So we've known them for years. Yeah. Yeah, okay. Black thought or Andre 3,000? Oh, no.

You're trying to get in three. John. Black thought is my top of the C. I got to go. Both for me. That's definitely both. I like both. Yeah, I have to say both.

I have to say both. Because they're two different. They're dope for two different reasons. And we just, obviously, tour with Black Thought and the roots. And so, yeah, they are awesome. Rod Digger or Lady of Bray. Oh, my God. Lady or Rage.

I love Ruff. I like love Roveman. Yeah, I love Rage, yeah. She also got my baby. She love Ezaa. Right, there you go. Yeah. Yeah, Lady Rage.

Incredible. Rhapsody or Lady London? Rhapsody. I'm going to say Rhapsody. We just did a show with Rhapsody, too. So, yeah, we got to see Rhapsody. Another beautiful soul. That's the last one to get back to the interview.

Loyity or respect. respect or loyalty of respect all day long yeah I would say they almost mean the same thing to me they mean the same thing but if you don't have respect

what good is your loyalty come on that was deep but can you be loyal if you don't respect exactly come one you can't have one without somebody that you don't respect but are you loyal though because you just inside the crew

you might be part of a sabotage if I don't have you If you don't respect, you got to respect. I think I could be loyal to someone I didn't respect. There you go. There you go. That does make sense. So that we didn't answer the question.

So you're saying respect. I'm saying respect, first and foremost, all day long. I'm going to just drink because I'm going to see how we're going. We say that we say that this is the one. time that we should say both. I do believe that loyalty and respect those goes out. Yeah, that's my opinion. And I think you have both. Like if you have the option to get both, you've got to get, give me both. If I got one, if I got respect, you better be, you're going to be loyal because of your respect. I believe so. I believe that. So you know. She said Johnny, the kids didn't come home

last night. Along the central Texas plains, teens are dying, suicides that don't make sense. strange accidents, and brutal murders. In what seems to be, a plot ripped straight out of Breaking Bad. Drugs, alcohol, trafficking of people. There are people out there that absolutely know what happened. Listen to paper ghosts, the Texas teen murders, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Robert Smith, and this is Jacob Goldstein,

and we used to host a show called Planet Money. And now we're back making this new podcast called Business History about the best ideas and people and businesses in history. And some of the worst people, horrible ideas and destructive companies in the history of business. Having a genius idea without a need for it is nothing. It's like not having it at all. It's a very simple, elegant lesson. Make something people want. First episode, How Southwest Airlines Use Cheap Seats and Free Whiskey. to fight its way into the airline business. The most Texas story ever.

There's a lot of mavericks in that story. We're going to have mavericks on the show. We're going to have plenty of robber barons. So many robber barons. And you know what? They're not all bad. And we'll talk about some of the classic great moments of famous business geniuses, along with some of the darker moments that often get overlooked.

Like Thomas Edison and the electric chair. Listen to business history on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. What do you get when you make sense? 1950s Hollywood, a Cuban musician with a dream, and one of the most iconic sitcoms of all time. You get Desi Arness, a trailblazer, a businessman, a husband, and maybe most importantly, the first Latino to break prime time wide open. I'm Wilmer Valderrama, and yes, I grew up watching him, probably just like you and millions

of others. But for me, I saw myself in his story. From planning canary cages to this night here in New York, it's a long ways. On the podcast starring Desi Arnaz and Wilmer Valderrama, I'll take you in a journey to Desi's life, the moments it has overlapped with mine, how he redefined American television, and what that meant for all of us watching from the sidelines, waiting for a face like hours on screen. This is the story of how one man's spotlight lit the path for so many others,

and how we carry his legacy today. Listen to starring Desi Arnaz and Wilmer Valderrama. That's part of the My Cultura podcast network available on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey there, Dr. Jesse Mills here. I'm the director of the men's clinic at UCLA Health. And I want to tell you about my new podcast called The Mailroom. And I'm Jordan, the show's producer. And like a lot of guys, I haven't been to the doctor in many years.

I'll be asking the questions we probably should be asking, but aren't. Because guys usually don't go to the doctor unless a piece of their face is hanging off or they've broken a bone. Depends which bone. Well, that's true. Every week, we're breaking down the unique world of men's health, from testosterone and fitness to diets and fertility and things that happen in the bedroom. You mean sleep? Yeah, something like that, Jordan.

We'll talk science without the jargon and get you real answers to the stuff you actually wonder about. It's going to be fun, whether you're 27, 97, or somewhere in between. Men's Health is about more than six packs and supplements. It's about energy, confidence, and connection. We don't just want you to live longer. We want you to live better. So check out the mailroom on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

get your favorite shows on an all new episode of iHeart radios las cultureistas emmy golden clob and tony award winner sarah paulson spills on red carpet hacks we saw these pictures and you're like what is the story with this she gets real about the inspiration behind her roles oh no there is no end to how people will behave and she puts host matt rogers and bow and yag on notice i don't think so honey i feel very very triggered by this open your free iHeart radio app search las cultureistas whole podcast now. Is there anything that if you had, now that concludes

a quick time, fine. Hey, good, uh, but is there anything that if you guys had a chance to do over, you would do over the, like, basically I'm asking, is there anything you regret in this beautiful, illustrious career that you guys have had?

Yeah, I mean, there's a few things. I mentioned a couple. One is, I wish, um, if I knew better in the early days I would have figured out a way to make sure

that everybody in the group felt appreciated thoroughly by me. So I'm just speaking from me right now. And then the other thing I wish I would have

known and done differently is when we finished our first album, put it out. We sold 4 million albums, five million albums. The label was really rushing us to put out new material and I wish I would have just waited and just took a little bit more time.

Took as much time as we needed because I do feel like it just would have gave us a chance to check out the landscape of what was happening. You know, because Wu-Tang was coming out. It was a whole different energy. Nas dropped in the ballpark of the scene at the time. Exactly. So it was like just seeing, okay,

this is what's happening okay now this is what we can contribute right you know what saying I think that that would have been a good play for us yeah so that's for me that's what I'll say anybody else nope no I just say regrets or anything but I can we hear yeah yeah okay I feel like artists need the opportunity to experiment like we need that permission to suck like make some stuff let it be as whack as possible because you're letting your creativity go as far as you can let it go. Right. And then you kind of reel it back in.

You know what I mean? But sometimes artists, I think we feel like once the first album is dope, the next album, everything has to be dope after that. And if it's not dope, then you fell off. And it's like your creativity doesn't get this chance to be able to grow. Yeah. And growth isn't, it's not comfortable. It's not pretty.

And it's not always, like, you won't always be on top every single time. It's not always linear, too. you know what I'm saying that sometimes it's like that you know what I mean so yeah giving artists the opportunity to put some stuff out that's different yeah and give it the chance like we open to just hear something different that'd be the difference between industry and culture industry and art yeah yeah yeah like creativeness too right right right and that to me is what Andre 3,000 and outcasts yeah absolutely like they were able to do a lot of different stuff right that period of time and it was dope you know I think for me I was

all passion and I didn't know much about the business so I was very green when I came in because I was so young and then we didn't have the internet you know my mom was an avid reader so that's how I learned a lot about the industry actually through my mom

just reading books and about the industry but I was just all passion all passion and no business and so I think if I had to do it all over again I would learn a lot more about the business But back then, someone literally had to take your hand to say, just follow me.

You know what I'm saying? It was just a different world back then. Yeah. And I just, I wanted to learn more from a business perspective because once we got out, the group came out and just how everything moved so fast and just how I was in an adult world as a teenager, you know what I mean? And just how they were, everything was more business than it was creative. You get what I'm saying?

And then we spent more a lot of time. being creative, you know, in rehearsing and stuff like that. So I didn't know about, like, copyrights and, you know, writing, publishing, none of that stuff. So, you know, learning through trial and there and then, like, latter years, when we came back together and got to do records, we wrote, we wrote a lot of stuff on the, that was a third album. Heroes of the Harvest? Yeah. So that was, like, our third album. And, um, that was super fun.

and, you know, a lot of growth had taken place through those years, throughout those years. So, you know, just being in the industry, you know, not knowing how it really worked, you know. But, but honestly, I don't think we, I mean, speech, none of us, none of us think. It was just, all young kids, trial by fire. Yeah, it was truly that. You know what I went through my own shit that I went through?

Yeah, exactly. I didn't know nothing. Yeah, we didn't know. That's why I tell a lot of young artists now, when I do have a chance to talk to them like learn as much as you can and relationships are so important you know

and a lot of people don't build relationships now like we used to back in the day because we didn't have the internet you had to get out and talk to people I don't think we do that as much anymore Yeah, here's something that if I can comment on what you just said Here's what's crazy about the new artists

is they definitely don't need a label at all That's true Yeah, it's changed. Like, they don't need what we needed. Yeah, right. Yeah. We needed a top 40 record. We needed a record to go and travel.

Right now, God bless me, NBA young boy is all over. He is selling out arenas. Yeah, he is right now. And I don't know anybody in their 30s that could even quote a record. Now, what I'm saying about that, I'm not dissing him. I'm giving him light. What I'm saying is that people under 30 could be people that's, that's, that's, that's doing it um that's quoting his records right what i'm saying is that's an example to us

it's an example to people that came before us is that people that's coming after us is that look we don't even need these people right right right really apply the pressure to ourselves and say look that's it's a direct to consumer market right now let's just talk to them direct and NBA young boy I don't know who's behind you I see birdman sometime behind you I see whatever yeah NBA young boy you You're a great example of that. I see you selling out of arenas. I see you doing this shit. And I see you, it's like with your fans.

That shit is, that shit is something to that. I agree. What we strive to do is like, you know what? Yeah. That's the beautiful thing about this podcast. Is I remember like going on tour and they sending me to places that it didn't matter to my career. But I had to pay for it anyway. Right, right.

So let's suppose I had to go to. Wichita, Kansas, right? I don't know. I don't know. Just give you an example. I'm not saying this. Right, right. I mean, I go to Richard, Chicago, Kansas, or whatever,

and there's three people at my end stores. Word of them. Yeah. Yeah. It's three people, but I was right next door in Cleveland killing them. Right. I was right at the block, and they didn't have the algorithms back there.

Exactly. Now we actually have the algorithms where you can actually see and say, you know, listen, we're not going to do a 40 city tour with, drink chance. We'll do a 28th city tour.

All of these 28th cities is going to matter. It's the right market. It's the right market. It's the right market. Yeah, exactly. And you young brothers that's out there, you got the algorithms. Yeah. You have an advantage that we didn't have.

You better take full advantage. And please continue to take full advantage. Because this is like, I love Leo Kohn, right? Yeah. I don't care whoever feels about Leo Cohn that's who y'all feels because your relationship with him

but Leo Cohn told me this is one of the best times to get in the industry and you say why okay well you don't got to press up an album if you're producing your own album you have a relationship with a person

that's producing your own album y'all can make a deal and you can say you'll listen let me do this this and that and then you can really own everything your algorithms from the photography and it's not as expensive Remember, your album packaging was

170,000 when you could include who you travel to, your stylist and, you know, all that you were spending money that you didn't even really understand. So true. But now, it's like I can look at everything and I can control it.

So I want elder artists, you know, younger artists. Don't be confused by these algorithms. Understand these algorithms. I say, yo, you know what? continue to promote to your own fans. Facts. Yeah, I agree with that. But I want to add something to that because one thing we got to be careful

with is as independent as we feel in this tech age, these platforms are the new record labels. Yeah, they are new record. And they can de-platform you. Yeah, no, it's true. So artists should also understand that don't think you're totally this indie artist, like diversify these platforms that you're on, try to find the most independent ones, understand your audience, and have a grassroots part of your campaign as well.

I agree. There's a new platform called Coda that I think is dope, so now I'm just saying that. And I want to just add. I think that what needs to happen or continue to happen, I know I actively do it. I know other people that actively do it, I know other people, but a lot of older artists,

we got to embrace these younger artists and bring them up. And then the younger artists also, like I spend a lot of time with younger artists and they teach me a lot of stuff I did not know about the internet and they're like Ms. Ishi you can do this Miss Ishi you can do that and so I'm learning too and I think is

you know we've got to take the old and the new and bring it together because that's what's going to make us greater you know what I mean because I think a lot of the ways like our work ethic and how we came up everything literally we weren't a carbon copy

like that was considered whack if he was like somebody else just the individuality we had back then I think we still need to embrace stack. You know what I'm saying? But I also understand it's tech world because AI is here, it is here to stay. You got to, you know, we got to embrace stuff that's coming. You know what I mean?

Be cautious, though. Yeah, cautious. Absolutely, but it's coming. It's coming. You know what I mean? Understand it. You got to understand. I understand it. I understand. Yeah. I mean, you know what I'm saying. It's coming. Yeah, yeah. That's the one thing that I really would love to improve on is bridging the gap. Yeah. And what I say by bridging the gap is

you know sometimes I listen to these young brothers and I don't mean to sound like the old dude but fuck it let me just sound like the old dude for now okay they'll be like yo man you know I got the Jordans on and I got on

Patrick Ewens or they'll do and you know the sneakers that you're wearing when it comes to basketball you know the throwback jersey that you're wearing when it comes to basketball but here you are making money or for hip hop and you don't know

know who fucking Biggie Smalls is. Right, exactly. That shit is disappointing. Yeah, I agree with you. And I don't mean to be the old homie that critique you. But I also have to be the old homie that be like, yo, you're not right when you come on the block. Right.

Got to tie your shoelaces. Right. You got to pick up your suspenders, homie. You got to do that. Like, I have to be that person. Yeah. Because it's like, damn, we're all benefiting off of this. Yeah.

And you could tell me that Jordan won these fucking. Right. It's 87. Right. You could tell me that, but you can't tell me Bismarkey's record. Yeah. You got what I need.

What? What? What? You can't tell me if you're You want to be friend the girl. Yeah. And you want to take it from platonic to wherever. You can't tell me you're not going to sing

Bismarkey's right. Yeah. Come on, bro. But you know what's happening in baseball and You know, Messies watch? Right. Like, I can't respect it. And I think to that point, as a culture, we need to stop pitting generations against each other.

Because everybody's going to have a different greatest of all time type of thing based off of what era you came up in. But I don't like the idea that it's like the older generation is like, oh, that's whack. And the younger generation is like, all the old stuff is whack. It's like, nah, it's just different. And if you educate yourself, like the idea that what happened before you isn't important anymore because it's about the now, well, you'll end up making the same mistakes that the artist before you did that we were hoping you would push it forward. And then there's going to be another generation after you that's going to build off of what you do. But we have gotten into these pies where it's like the only thing that's dope is this. And that's not true.

And if we're more celebratory of every, it doesn't. We don't have to like or everything don't have to be your cup of tea. Right. But just the idea that anything but your stuff is whack or the older generation or newer generation, we just got to get out of that. I wish it was a podcast that gave flowers. You know what I'm going to say to this, but I wish there was a real platform where it was a hip-hop platform. Like what I mean by that is like, and I'm not saying we're not the hip-hop platform. What I'm saying is we prefer to give flowers to people that has been.

in, you know, 10 years or more, right? Right. But then there's a platform where we should all coexist, right? Meaning the newest or the newest guy from fucking, you know, Indiana should be connected with the newest, newest guy from Compton. Yeah. And, you know, and vice versa. Do what the fuck we do in hip-hop.

You know what I'm saying? Right. But we do it's so beautiful. And it's like, it is. It's like that's the one thing I regret when you said I forget what you want to say like the younger generation I always regret that because me as an OG sometimes I look over there and I want to say to him

similar to like you said the new the NWA story the NWState story I'll similar I'll look over there and then I can look and I can see one of his homies and I can feel like one of the homies like look at the old nigger trying to say I'm not that guy I'm going to hide over here I'm going to look at my home

I got my own smoking, I got my own champagne, I don't need none of that shit. But that's me as an OG being wrong. I'm supposed to be able to supersede that and say, all right, let me introduce myself. Right, yeah. Young homie, look, look, regardless if you know who I am or not, you know what I mean? Like, I know I met Young Thug one night,

and I did the wrong thing. I walked up to Young Thug, and he uses slime. Slime is my sling. Slime is my sling. Slime is my slug. since 2001 you can pull it up and I walked up to him and I was just like yeah what's up bro he was like oh what's up bro and I was just like all right I know it's me that was wrong though like I fully didn't even introduce myself right I just wanted him to know who I was right

and he did and I was just like you know what stay in your own zone but that was wrong of me right like you know what sometimes we can even bow down to ourselves because this is our community. Right. And by the way, the reason why your name slime is because of me. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Someone else named you slime. Right. Right. But that original name was was me since 2001. Yeah. And I could have easily said that I didn't know how to say it. Yeah. But I knew that that was the problems for us sometimes. Yeah. It's like, I didn't know how to be like, yo, you, you know, you made a whole career 10 years. Right. Yeah. And you kind of took my shit. And laugh about it, though.

And laugh about it. Because I'm like asking you for nothing, I'm not. You know what I mean? So, but that's the part that I wish we could improve in hip hop relations. I was, I was looking like that when you said that, because that happens to us a lot. Yeah. Where we're, it's like, I don't want to introduce myself. I did.

I don't want to sometimes. You know what I'm saying? I'm good. I want to get your handshake and you'd be like, what's up? I feel like you should just be real. Yep. That's it. You ain't, I don't really needed it.

Mm-hmm. All right. Yeah. Or I'm on that. But then you got, you got, you got, you got, you got, uh, you got this younger generation that does know. Yeah. You got a Kendrick Lamar that would sit there and be like, yo, what's up, bro?

Right, right. You'd be like, oh, shit, you? Yeah. Yeah. Everybody, I didn't expect that from you. Right, yeah, right. And you got Jay Coles. You got these people who will sit down.

But I think you could easily say that there's artists that are culturally invested. Absolutely. And artists that are just here for. What they got right now. Let's just make this buck. And so I think my issue for generationally going younger is that there's no problem with you not knowing something. We all don't know everything.

There's a problem with you not wanting to know. You should want to know. Oh, I didn't know that. Let me find out about my thing that I do. Let me know that history. I will say for us, we're getting a lot of young people coming to our shows all of a sudden. All the sudden. I'm talking about 18.

You know, so they weren't even born when we were. Let me drop. Because, you know, why hip hop is trying to learn. Exactly. They want to learn now, which is encouraging, you know what I'm saying? That's beautiful. Yeah. Yo, man, I had so much fun doing this, man.

Yeah, this was beautiful. You know, I appreciate it. Yeah. But, to the same thing, you guys are a group that people should study. People should understand definition of loyalty. people should understand the definition of respect and people should understand the definition of unity facts

that is not that is not common in hip hop I've been in this motherfucker 25 years like I said I see motherfuckers can't even survive two months let alone two years let alone 27 to 30 years and that shit is not normal I want to take

the timeout to respect y'all. Thanks, man. Tell you how much y'all mean to not only me, you know, not only to EFN or not a drink chance, it's a hip-hop. Thank you, man. There's an example that we should all study and continue to study

and continue to represent and respect because it's not a lot. And the fact that y'all are one of many, but y'all are probably the first. Yes. I have to salute y'all. I want to tell you how much I respect y'all. Thanks.

I want to tell y'all, man, like the shit that y'all did is not normal. It's not normal. Like, I, all right. All right. There was a Rockefeller tree, right? One time. And they said Rockefeller. But then they seen every group that could be related to Rockefeller.

Word of. Do you not understand every group? And if we did that same shit. Yeah. No, I'm dead serious. every group that could be related to y'all y'all would look like John Gotti and the mafia

because it would look and it would keep going because there's certain groups that y'all birthed that birthed other groups so that shit keeps going so in case y'all didn't know it I would just say it I would like to say it

and tell you all thank you man this is Thank you. Come on. This is good. This is good. Hey, but we made this drink too. That's right.

Yeah. How about it? Yeah. But it always has to be. We always have to validate each other some kind of way. Facts. Hell yeah. No, but it's well warranted, man.

We've been waiting for this. Okay, one last question. Yeah. Okay, one last question because, you know, hip-hop, we always have these crazy. names. But how the fuck you get there with the name, speech?

I used to be called DJ. And you know, you know I used to be DJ, yeah. And they used to call me DJ Peach because of my head and how big it is. Period. I was like, damn, what a name. Yeah, he said, Peach. And, of course, when I started rhyming,

I didn't want to be known as MC Peach. Right. I was like, nah, that's not a good one either. Yeah, they did. So I put an S in front of it. Boom. That was it. Speech.

It just made sense. I just started rhyming. I was like, this is, this is it. This makes sense. Something to say. Yeah, I had something to say. So, yeah, that was it. Let's let these people go to the show.

Thank you, y'all so much for having pictures. And I need y'all to sign this for me, please. Absolutely. Make sure you take a look at the record, because it's dope, the actual, like, open it and take a look at it. But he's very, he's very, oh, you talk about this one. Yeah. Okay, I think about the old school one.

No, no, no, no. Yeah, we had, we had Bujubon Tart on here. that he gives Booja Bontas one of the old records like that Burt up Bucci Bontak like this

like change the record I was like you're like Right right You know how wrong it is to get this This is

this is a cure Yeah Yeah This is so dope It's so It's so amazing You guys This is

I'm not I'm not a crime 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 Chams, hosted by yours truly DJEFN and NORE. Please make sure to follow us on all our socials. It'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. The Big Take podcast from Bloomberg News keeps you on top of the biggest stories of the day. My fellow Americans, this is Liberation Day. Stories that move markets. Chair Powell opened the door to this first interest rate cut. Impact politics, change businesses. This is a really stunning, developed.

for the AI world and how you think about your bottom line. Listen to the big take from Bloomberg News every weekday afternoon on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And she said, Johnny, the kids didn't come home last night. Along the Central Texas Plains, teens are dying, suicides that don't make sense, strange accidents, and brutal murders. In what seems to be, a plot ripped straight out. of Breaking Bad.

Drugs, alcohol, trafficking of people. There are people out there that absolutely know what happened. Listen to Paper Ghosts, the Texas Teen Murders, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Robert Smith, and this is Jacob Goldstein, and we used to host a show called Planet Money. And now we're back making this new podcast called Business History about the best ideas and people and businesses in history. Some of the worst people, horrible ideas and destructive companies in the history of business. First episode, how Southwest Airlines use cheap seats and free whiskey to fight its way into the airline is. The most Texas story ever.

Listen to business history on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What do you get when you mix 1950s Hollywood, a Cuban musician with a dream, and one of the most iconic sitcoms of all time? You get Desi Arness. On the podcast starring Desi Arnaz and Wilmer Valderrama, I'll take you in a journey to Desi's life, how he redefined American television and what that meant for all of us watching from the sidelines, waiting for a face like ours on screen.

Listen to starring Desi Arnaz and Wilmer Valderrama on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey there, Dr. Jesse Mills here. I'm the director of the men's clinic at UCLA, and I want to tell you about my new podcast called The Mailroom. And I'm Jordan, the show's producer. And like most guys, I haven't been to the doctor in way too long.

I'll be asking the questions we probably should be asking, but aren't. Every week, we're breaking down the world of men's health from testosterone and fitness to diets and fertility. We'll talk science without the jargon and get your real answers to the stuff you actually wonder about. So check out the mailroom on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows. This is an IHeart podcast.