New Rory & MAL - Episode 146 | Bryan Michael Cox Is Bigger Than The Beatles

Episode Date: February 28, 2023

Today we are joined by legendary songwriter/producer Bryan Michael Cox and co-founder of LVRN, Justice. We immediately jump into music and discuss top catalogs and Bryan’s early days working with a young Beyonce. We then divulge into her personal life and discuss how her high school boyfriend has possibly the biggest of all time. Then we discuss how Bryan Michael Cox’s relationship with LVRN eventually led to him recently taking the role as head of A&R. This leads to a conversation about the landscape of R&B and the history of the remix and Usher’s Confessions. Then we put our guests through rapid fire questions where we pin artists they’ve worked with against each other. Then Justice shares his gripes with Puff, which leads to how everyone shouldn’t have an opinion. We divert from music for a minute to discuss conspiracies. Tune in as the guys discuss all of this + far more in this music heavy episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

It's Financial Literacy Month, and the podcast, Eating While Broke, is bringing real conversations about money, growth, and building your future. This month, hear from top streamer, Zoe Spencer, and venture capitalist Lakeisha Landrum Pierre, as they share their journeys from starting out to leveling up. There's an economic component to community striving. If there's not enough money and entrepreneurship happening in communities, they failed. Listen to Eating While Broke from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Who has the bigger fumble? Lidl or J.D.? Oh, man, this is, this is hard.

Is it, though? It's not really. It's not. J.D.'s still JD. The Lindo definitely had to be. No, Lindo is not. No, Lindo is not. Look at the burgers going crazy.

I'm going crazy. I'm just laughing because... No, Rory and Mom! To my confession. Just when I thought I said all I can say my chick on the side says she got one on the way. I'm throwing. Man, I'm droid.

And I don't know what to do. I guess I gotta keep on to... Welcome to a new episode of the new Rory and Moll podcast. I am all. I'm Rory. And today we are with you guys with... We have... It's a family day, Rory.

It is. So like, you know, in your home. We need to make it a little family day, man. Catch up with some of our family. Today we're joined by the legendary. How do I, how do I introduce the actual guy that was in the Beverly Center, man in hand, not caring, who saw him? Yes. The real one. Yes. The inspiration, the motivation behind the story behind Usher's words. Today we are joined with legendary single songwriter and just a cool all-around guy, man. We are joined by Brian Michael Cox. How you doing? I'm good. I'm good. What's up, man? Oh, yeah. And Justin.

is here too. Oh yeah, in justice, too. Y'all know justice. Yeah, our friends. Mr. Cool Pants. Justice. First of all, just, before we get into this, congratulations, man, with LVR and everything y'all over there.

Thank you. We support y'all. We love y'all. We love everything you. I appreciate it. Congratulations to y'all. That's why we're here. Well, thanks. You know, Brian Michael Cucks.

Listen, today, it just feels like the air feels legendary today. It's a successful scent. I don't know if that's a potpourri, but it smells like success in the air. It smells like success. It smells like success. It smells like a lot of things.

of Grammys. It smells like a lot of black excellence today, Roy. You know what I mean? I know you're Blackby Association. But today Still Black History Month, is? Yeah, still Black History Month. Obviously. And we're here with some history makers and just a great part of...

Even though Justice is a history maker, calling him a history maker. Brian is a history maker too. But that's solidified. I'm talking about just saying it's a nasty work. For me, it feels weird. It's nasty work. Where would you like me to call you, Justice? Just a guy. Just a guy? Yeah. All right, fuck it. My guy's here. Am I your favorite, Rory?

Because I know it started, LVRN. Oh, yeah, for sure. You talk to me more than you talk to the other, Roy? I feel better, I feel better now. It's nasty work. So today, man, we sitting here kicking in with our guys. First of all, Brian, one thing I didn't know about you that I found out recently, you broke a record held by the Beatles.

Yeah. You got to walk, Brian. We're not going to do this cool, humble shit today, man. You know, when you break a record held by the Beatles, you're supposed to just be walking around, like, chest hairs out. You know what I mean? Like gold chains on. You're just walking around chilling, you know.

Or do what Drake didn't, tattoo the Beatles on you. Yeah. You ain't even do that. No, it was crazy because when it happened, I was like maybe, I was five years into my career at the time. So, it was like six years. And I remember I got my first hit record. And I was like, yo, you know, I don't ever want to be.

off the charts. Like whatever that feeling was, you get your first, like, top five. You know what I mean? I'm like, oh, you know, I saw my name in Billboard and I was like, okay, that's, I'm never coming off of this chart. And literally for five years straight, it was like, I had like multiple songs, like 20 songs, 30s, like it was crazy. That's insane. You know what I'm saying? That's insane. What's the record? Um, well, let the people know. It was a five, it was the five years consecutive on the charts. Yeah. So, the Beatles hold that record. They held it. The Beatles sold their record

was five years and then I beat the bracket. You know what I'm saying? Nice. I don't know, Justice, you ain't know that? No. So you might have been able to negotiate your deal.

Y'all a little bit of a little bit. Yeah, like, oh, by the way, the Beatles that's second to me. Don't worry about it. Yeah. No, it's funny, though, because I didn't know. They did this thing for,

they did this performance thing for me in Atlanta and it was like the day that it broke. And I didn't know. They gave me a day in the whole thing and they gave me this big old plaque. Like, oh, you broke the Beatles record.

I was like, yo, this is crazy. And I don't even think I felt it. I don't think I felt the heaviness of it at the time. It was years later when I realized like, oh, tripping. Yeah. I should have really. You're so submerged what you're doing.

You don't really look at the scoreboard. You're like, oh, shit, I did. I should just, you know, I should have amplified that a little more. Are you kidding me? Breaking the Beatles record is just like, he's just chilling. Look at him. My broke a Beatles record. They would never stop hearing that.

Literally. Are you kidding me? Oh, yeah. My name is Brian Michael Coxie. The Beatles second to me. Don't worry about it. Introducing away that's sick. Yeah, yeah, I'm Brian.

The Beatles are second to me to worry about it. With everyone selling their catalogs now, have you thought about what your publishing would be valued at? Has that crossed your mind? I've been analyticals, you know what I mean? The first thing really was unraveling deals that I was in. You know what I mean? I had a partnership with Warner Chapp for a long time, and then I was able to get out of that deal, and I did that partnership with another company, AVEX, when it was brand new.

And the deal was a little vague, a little, you know what I mean? You know, when you're the guinea pig of a deal, you know, it wasn't as clear as, like, my deals with Warner Chapel were. Yeah. And so I had to do a lot of unraveling, and it missed me in unraveling, you know, that deal and becoming a free agent. I've done a lot of, like, analytical stuff and figured out what the publishing looks like, you know what the value looks like. I'm in a space where I would never sell 100% of it though. Okay. You know what I'm saying?

Why is that? Just I'm weary about it. You know what I mean? I've been as been as a long time. And I've seen, you know, I've seen things, you know, trends happen. Yeah. And I'm weary about like everybody is trying to scoop up catalogs. Yeah.

Like it's like people are starting hedge funds to scoble. People who don't know nothing about our music business. They're investing in LVRN. You know, so, um, I think, wow. Yeah, you sit next to the Illuminati. So, no, so, wow. He's quiet now, huh? Shout out of Matt Pink is, man.

Wow. Yeah. Well, not, so for me, he's a big fan of me. It's funny. For me, person. No, that's a music family. You know what? You're a nasty, man.

Go ahead. For me personally, it's like, I'll do half. I mean, you know, I'm, you know, I was still half of it. But you want to. I want to keep something. I want to keep something because I want to make money when I make money. Yeah. You know what I'm saying?

Like, you know, we can make, we can be partners. We can make money together. Well, why do you, why do you think that so many artists and songwriters are and producers are selling their catalogs? It's a big, you know, it's a big check. You know, if you feel like, you know, you take like a person who's like a legacy person like Dr. Dre who just sold his catalog, right? I mean, but Dr. Dre's already got so much money.

Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. And those songs, we're talking about. about, you know, we're talking about NWA, Michelle A, DLC, songs that are 30, 40, you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. Years old, you know, they've probably seen the actual peak

of what they will probably make, you know what I'm saying? I was very surprised when I saw the dream sell his. He was one of the first. Yeah, and that's what I was like. But I think, I think, you know, there's like stuff landing out of the sky. We're close to like, we're in right there. Like, we're close to like. No, those are ancestors.

Don't run. That's the Chinese balloons. Yeah. Yeah. That's what's above. I will cash out and go get to spread. And then do what, though? Might as well live it up while you can.

Live it up. I think the dream was doing okay. I think he was living. No, but like. He's doing really okay now. Yeah, yeah. He's doing a lot better. I don't know what's going to look like next year.

Yeah. I just think that people are because of the way we, you artists get paid from streaming now. I think that I don't know how much you couldn't be able to monetize records because now it's like it's getting lower and lower for the artists and the songwriters. like what they're making off of these records. So it's like I think that they feel like let me just sell my catalog to one person so that I can always go to just one person

and I have to go through all these loops and these circles to get my money and all of this. If I ever want to go back and buy it myself, I can, that may be an option. Because I know the dream, like he sold what he's worked on already. Yeah. But now he has more shit coming down. Everything new is his.

You know. So it's like, I kind of feel like, let me just put all my shit right here. and then one day if I want it again I have to just go through one person to get it back Well I mean when a tech company is now valuing what a song is worth money-wise That could change tomorrow

It's not nothing's set in stone So yeah we'll liquidate all this shit Yeah We've heard all the horror stories of artists And publishing and artists and labels and everything As a songwriter what are some of The nasty music industry tricks When it comes specific to writers

It's interesting you might have an artist who's not a songwriter who because they're a big artist, they want publishing, which I think that trend started maybe, I would say it started when I got to the business that trend actually started. And there's no problem with it. I didn't see any issues with that. If I'm going to get on a, you know, a Beyonce album, you know what I mean? I don't see an issue with that.

But I think that there's some artists who are coming up who try to make that a standard and it's like, you know, that's for. you leave that for the artists that are like top tier you know I mean also the whole you know it's always nasty when you know

you're going through certain producers who may not be like creative you know what I mean they may just be the people who can put the talent together and then you have to explain to the talent yo I'm producing from outside of this space I'm producing the producers

yeah and a lot of times people can can, you know, can not understand what that really means and can take a personal when they don't get like top line credit, you know what I mean? But I mean, you know, this business has not been, it's been great to me. You know what I'm saying? I've been able to really be associated with a lot of really solid people. Yeah. You know what I mean?

When I came into the business. Yeah. And it's been great to me. You know what I'm saying? You know, dealing with everybody I've dealt with. I've dealt with everybody. You know what I'm saying? Everybody has their different stories.

But me personally, you know, I can't say I made a bad deal. I would say the most recent deal was what I made with AVEX was probably my worst deal I made. And I was just because I was just trying something. I was experimenting something. So I knew I was kind of going into something, not really knowing what the other side was going to be. You know what I mean? So you're born and raised in Houston, right? Born in Miami.

Born in Miami. Born in Miami, raised in Houston, Texas. You worked with Beyonce early on her first demo. Yeah. Well, no, I can say that the real, the real story is they work with me on my first demos. Like, they were already, like, signed. They just got signed to Columbia. And Beyonce and Latoya were students at my high school. I went to a high school for a visual arts in Houston. And I was a senior. They were freshmen.

Okay. And we knew them before that. I knew them when they were younger because they went this group called Girls' Time. And they were really popular around Houston. And we used to these competitions together called the People's Workshop. Yeah. And, you know, all the young musicians and groups used to do all these competitions. And that's where we all kind of connected at a young age. So when it came to our school, we were already acquainted with each other, already knew each other.

And they knew I was writing songs and producing and whatever like that. So it was Beyonce and Latoya that went, like would tell their dad, like, hey, you know, we don't work with Brian. We were our friend, you know what I mean? And that's how that relationship started. Did you know, like, could you tell then that they were going to, don't want to be what they are? Yeah, it was the most talked about thing in the city. And they didn't really do much, you know, like, besides those little performances they would do for the people's workshop. It was still a mystery, you know what I'm saying?

Like, because they would go off, go to Oakland and work with Duane Wiggins. They would sign of Duane Wiggins. They would go and turn and turn and turn and they would go off to Oakland and work with him. They go to Atlanta, work with Dowell Simmons. So it was really a mystery, you know what I mean? And I was privy to a lot of that information early on because we had gotten close. And my mom would let me call them long distance when they would be out of town. You know what I mean?

And they would play songs over the phone and, you know what I mean, bring songs back. And that was really the gateway for me to know that it's actually possible. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like something that was like when you're 16 years old, you know, 17 years old. And it's such a, it's like a dream. You know what I mean? And then you have friends and it's tangible.

And they're bringing music back and that's back from producers that you read on credits. And it's like, yo, this is ill. I can actually go do this. You know what I mean? I always give credit or credits to when it comes to Matthew Nulls and Nose family and like always because that family showed me that it was like, no, this is tangible. It's possible. This is real. Is there any standout memories from those sessions?

Yes. Early, early ones. Early ones. So I was in a collective as a producer by name of Greg Curtis. It was my mentor. Very early on, took me in his wing. Down the line, Greg Curtis ended up writing and producing love for Keisha Cole. And I remember, and he's like one of the most talented people that I've ever encountered.

It was him. And there was another guy named Terran Mitchell, who was in a group called Grooview. It was a really popular group in Houston. And one of my best friends who passed away a guy named Scooby. we were like trying to be like a production team. You know, in the 90s, production team was like really popular. Yeah.

We were trying to be a production team. So when they were trying to do like these songs, you know, we were calling about the songs. Like, yo, we went and made some songs that came to the studio. Well, Matthew came in the studio first. Matthew came in the middle of like a thunderstorm, hurricane or something. We were there in a studio who came. We played in the songs.

He was like, oh, okay, y'all little niggas got something, you know. And then he went back. We made the session happen. Tina brought the girls over. And, you know, I remember being, it was the first time I was like directing a vocal. You know what I mean? And these are my friends, so it felt easy initially.

But then I never really seen Beyonce or seeing them or Kelly, seen them work in the studio. Yeah. You know, you just go to the show, you know, you group for them, you know, whatever, but I never seen the process. Yeah. You know what I mean? Yeah.

Them and they were so already polished in the studio. Like it was unbelievable. You know what I mean? Like you throw anything at them and it was just like, got it, got it. And I was like, oh, this is, okay, this is different. Yeah. You know what I mean? And we knew, we knew early on those girls were going to be stars.

And we knew that Beyonce was going to be a star. She was always humble, but she was silent with it. She was a silent assassin. She opened her mouth. He was like, oh, you know, shit. You know what I mean? Yeah. She was young.

They were like 12, you know, 12, 13 at that time. So them being that young and that polished. Yeah. Just before the album, before, you know what I mean? I've never seen a lot like that. Outside of maybe Bow Wow. Bow Wow is probably only the kid that I work with was like 11. And bow was like a monster, you know, give him.

Like, Brad wrote the second verse to bounce with me. And I was concerned. Yeah. Because it was so fast. You know what I mean? She's double time. Yeah. Bow was like 11, ate that shit.

like one take. Wow. You know what I'm saying? We was doing three songs a day when. Were you compromised in the divorce of Destiny's Child? Once they broke up? There's a lot that happened behind that. Yeah.

Because, you know, I was working with Jagged Age at the time. Yeah. And so I got a bird's eye view to, you know, and because of the girls with my friends, Brian and Brandon, obviously my guys. And we all know Matthew. And Matthew was very ambitious. and he was very no nonsense.

You know what I mean? He talked plenty of shit, but he was, he was by this bit, he was about that shit and he was about that business. And he wasn't gonna let anybody disrupt that. You know what I'm saying?

Like, so as soon as the disruption started like, it's gonna like, I own the name. It was like, he made that shit happen so fast, you know? And next thing we know,

they was out, Latourian Latavio was out and Michelle and Farrow were in. Do we, as, as the public, Did we get the real breakup reason for a destiny child? What was the break of a reason that the public got? Some bullshit. Like, oh, creative differences or something like that.

Okay, so no. What happened was... Like, there's that viral clip of Beyonce telling her, like, you could just, like, pack your bags later. Like, you should leave. Wow. Yeah, I think... It's one of the funniest videos.

We could just ship you, like, your luggage. You could, like, you'd get on a plane now if you want. I think there just layers of it. I think they had... you know, they were all kids, got parents involved. Yeah. You know, Matthew is the mastermind, you know, but the other parents feel like they want to be involved. They want some safe.

They want their kids to have a voice and this, that and the third. And when you get kids and parents and parents who are living by character through their kids, there's always going to be some clash, you know what I mean? And they were, and they were big when the clash happened. They were on the second album. No, no, no, it was a platinum single. They won a second album. Those records going out the roof, they would,

right in the law, they're 10 million. Yeah. You know what I mean? So it, it, the clash can have happened at a more like pivotal point. You know what I'm saying? With the parents, they want, a stake in the, you know, when their kids have, you know, be the state group two. Yeah.

You know? We don't look back at that split enough because that was kind of like, it was wild. Yeah. And it kind of felt like, remember when Fresh Prince rolled in the new Aunt Viv and she was like a light skin lady. I was like, what is this?

Are you calling Michelle Anvib? No, no, no, no. I'm definitely not doing that. But it felt like it was just a whole different aesthetic. Nobody said anything. It was like the fucking video came on. It was like, who are these two girls? That's what I'm saying.

It was like, yeah, what the hell happened? Especially that first album, how much did it sell? The first first album. The first album, I think it ended up going platinum. Two times platinum. The first album, I think, yeah. There's like four diamond records on that shit. And then just the next album is a whole new group.

Oh, you know, we're talking about the second album. The first album is no, no, no. The second album is writing as well when it changed. Then all of a sudden, Survivor comes and it's like, who are people? Yeah. And that was when it was three of them. Yeah, there was three of them. At that point, because Farah was in and out.

They got Farah up out of there quick. And then she had like a sex tape scandal or something. Yeah, I don't remember that. It was something like that. It was something. I remember, like, that was a long time ago if we're talking now. But like, I remember. But just thinking back, like, it was a lot of weird shit going on.

Like, yo, what the fuck is going on right now? Then Beyonce did the hip hop opera, Carmen. Carmen, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Carmen's underrated. That's a great MTV production. And great soundtrack. Yeah. There's a most deaf and Beyonce song on there where she's rapping with most.

Crazy. She was playing temptations after, you know, Beyonce's star just was going up. That happened after like the, what was it, Miss Independent? What was it? Yeah, the, the, Charlie's Angels. All these angels. After that, that was like, all right, we know what Beyonce is. That group was destined, though.

That group was destined and Beyonce was destined. Like, it was so crazy because she's always been one of the nicest people. Like, you've ever, like, to this day, she's one of the sweetest people you meet, right? Yeah. And she was so sweet in high school and people still didn't like her. She was just one of the sweetest people. I mean, when you're, when you're, you know, you know how it is in high school. Pretty girl, light skin, talented.

All the boys probably like her. Every nigga in the school. which means all the girls are not going to like her. You know what I'm saying unless they're pretty girls and they're not insecure. You know how it is in high school. That's just how it goes. Speaking of viral videos with Beyonce,

there's the photo of Beyonce and her boyfriend from high school. And like the meme is like the number one ball dropper of all time. Lindo. Did you know this gentleman personally? I did. I know him well. What's his name? His name is Lendo.

Damn, Lindo. I'm no Lindo for a long time. Have you ever had that conversation with him? He wasn't destined to win. Don't do that to Lindo Lindle I mean yeah Lendell A name like Lendell

You gotta either be very athletic Yeah No he was probably He was really He was really popular He was popular You know He was definitely in sports

He was a popular kid When was the last honor He cheated on her He cheated on Beyonce Yeah It was high school What's wrong with him What's wrong with Lindle?

Yeah So Lemonade was technically about Lindle it wasn't about Hove. Oh. Definitely wasn't about Lidl. When was the last time you ran into Lindo? It's been a long time. Early on.

I can't believe we're talking about Lindol. Listen, this whole shit went viral and no one has ever talked about this dude. He went to high school with him. No, I didn't go to high school with him. We grew up in the same neighborhood. Gotcha, okay. He went to a neighborhood high school.

I went to, from that house school, which is a special school. But he went to like, you know, he went school with my friend, Like my boy Sean who was like my right-hand man right now. Like I got a bunch of friends that, my neighborhood kids that went to the neighborhood school. And he went, he went, you know, he went to Westbury, you know what I mean?

Which is a popular school in Houston, the southwest side. And I would see Linda all the time, especially like when we, as teenagers, but when I started making it in the music business and I would come home, I would see him a lot. Yeah. Because he was still kind of in the mix. Like he was still kind of. Well, when he dated Beyonce. Yeah.

But him hurt, but this is like, you know, early on, career in late 90s, they were still dating. It was off and on, but it was still a thing. So I would see him, you know, all the time when I would go to Houston and just randomly see him. It's been a long time. You know he'd be in the barber shops getting his shit off.

You know, he'd be getting his shit off. He's like Alvuddy. Or do you think he's dead quiet? Wait, did you see the updated version? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. No. So he's doing, he's currently a chef. But Linda, I mean, from what I hear, he's married, he's got kids. I'm pretty sure Linda was.

I mean, he's doing well. Listen, he dated Beyonce. I mean, he knows that that was the one that got away, obviously. Do you remember his girlfriend after Beyonce? No. Okay. Nobody. Nobody.

When he showed up to the party the next day. That's the whack bar, but it's like, yo, man, like, every time you bring your new, your new girl out of the homies, they're like, yo, we're supposed to be in Turks, homie. Yeah. Yeah. Like, you're cheating on Beyonce. We're supposed to be in Turks. Like, you know the homies is on Lindo next to the day.

Yeah. You cheated on, like, how you cheat on B? Yeah. Like, you idiot. Like, you gotta kill your homie forever behind that. Yeah. You know, like when she headlined Coachella, it was like, yo, y'all, y'all trying to go to the desert this weekend?

I'm trying to link at Coachella. Yo, yeah, Lindo. He was a, he's a good guy, though. You were kids. They were children. Yeah, that's all the bus, man. But the internet does find a way every year to... Oh, yeah, every year.

It's going to come back. Shout to Lindo, man. Shout out to Lindo, man. I hope that he's sheffing it up somewhere in Texas. I haven't been a long time, but do you... All right, to fast forward a little bit because I know Justice is getting antsy. Yeah.

When he doesn't talk or yell or give an insane take, I can tell. He gets uncomfortable. How did this come together? This partnership, B. Cox, LV.R. It's so funny, we were talking about it two days ago, but it started during the division sessions.

Okay. Like, obviously, you know, Cox, you know, being a legend and, you know, him being in Atlanta, we always knew each other. And it was like, you know, it was cool. But I think that we got a real feel for each other, you know, when we were spending, like, you know, excessive time with each other, right? And when you, you know, obviously everybody that's in the music business spends a lot of time complaining about the music business. Yeah. So it's just a thing to do.

It's just a thing to do, right? Which is so stupid because it's such a dope business. But I think it's dope when you like the way y'all You're work and create because I've been fortunate to like be in the studio with y'all That's a unique thing though That's a unique relationship that y'all have the way y'all work Like just you'll just bring artists through And J.D. and B Cox is there and they just start viving playing music

Like that's not that's not a way that a lot of people work in the business Everybody kind of keep shit like to themselves and kind of like lock themselves off from other dudes. Like, no, I don't want to, I don't want them to hear what I'm doing or I don't want them to get in this artist's ear. Like, what you do with your artist is like, and what y'all do, y'all have a relationship. Like, y'all spend time talking about an artist.

Yeah, for sure. Before, like, you probably bring them to the studio. And then by the time you bring them to the studio, Brian and Jermaine already know who the artist is, has heard some of their stuff and already have an idea of what they want to do with this artist. Yeah. So y'all have a unique way of doing things.

Yeah. Absolutely. I mean, I think for me, I like to consider that part like the world building, right? Like, I think that like music is like driven by energy. And, you know, like I do. It should be. Should be. And I, and I do get the, you know, the other process, which is like, you know, we're going to stay over here. But I think specifically what we're trying to do, it needs energy. But anyways, to, you know, to, I guess fast forward or rewind back to what I was saying about Cox, you know, like I was just saying, yo, like, Like, for me, the art and A&R is lost, right? Like, I can name more like five A&Rs in the whole business that I actually be like, you're like, these guys are dope.

Yeah. Right. And I think that what happened is the music business got away from people that make music. Mm-hmm. Like, that's just, that's, it's like, wait, you guys are making decisions about records and you don't make music. Right. Or you're not close enough to the people that make the music.

It doesn't make sense. So I'm just like, okay. You're listening to it in the office and trying to make a decision. It's crazy. Data. Just looking at data. Yeah. Right.

You know. So, you know, Cox, I was just like, yo, like, man, like, I want to do something different. Like, we have an opportunity, again, just to, like, just to be leaders in the space and do what's obvious. And, like, I want to bring in somebody that, you know, number one is a great person, but also just, like, is a producer. Yeah. onto the A&R side. And at first it started off with us just like brainstorming off who that person could be.

We were trying to help him find a person. I'm giving out names. And then just like, what you're doing tomorrow? I know. And I didn't get what happened was like that night we were talking and I was like, man, I got to think about some more names, you know, and I was not, and I went home. I thought about it because what he didn't know was that I was actually having a conversation with like naeem and people at universal

about possibly doing something with them. So we have, because out of a conference with name, I was working with an artist's name. I was working with Coco Jones. I was working with another artist. Love Coco Jones.

I got the girl name. I don't know. I lost a girl name. Another young artist I was working with. And Naim hadn't been in the studio with me in a long time. So there was a studio watching me do his girl vocals. He was like, yo, like we need this back in,

like the art form of actually making records this back into it. like these type of buildings. So we started having conversations about maybe doing something over there. But then it was right before Tunji took over. And so he was like, we got to wait to Tunji, you know, gets YouTube. We don't talk about it. And we never got a chance to really talk about it.

So I just like, I just let it go. Like, hey, if it happens, it happens, whatever. Yeah. This is like maybe six months later or seven months later, we having this conversation. And I'm trying to tell him other hand I was on knowing town. I said, what are you looking for? And he tells me like, exactly what was looking for? Atlanta base, somebody who was in the coach.

somebody was outside, but somebody who's also, you know, can make music or understand how I make music or that. So I went home and I just sat with me. And I was like,

this probably is probably the opportunity I've been looking for. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. And I hit him. I was like, yo, man, like, I'll do that job. Yeah.

And he was like, you would? You know, I was like, I was like, hell yeah. He saw that investment headline and was like, oh, you can afford me. No, no. It was before that investment.

No, no. I'm joking. It's, it's, it's, you know, again like you know we've built a company like you know with my friends um but i also know how tough that is yeah right so you know like i like to consider cox a friend and when he said he would do it i'm like wait wait a second yeah we really like each other yeah yeah yeah and i'm like i am not the easiest person to work with yeah like i know that about myself right so i'm just like are you sure like you know like you actually can he's like nah like this is like a good

a good pivot for me, you know, and I was just like, this makes the most sense. Like, yeah, why not? And then again, just doubling down on, on, you know, the R&B niche that we're building around our aura. I just think that it was just like a beautiful addition. Where's the disconnect between like the elder statesman legends and the new generation? Because there's a gap. Yes. Like this, you two sitting here is rare as far as new generation and legends actually working together.

Mm-hmm. There always seems to be some type of. I love this because it was like, this made so much sense. It was like what LVRN is doing, like y'all are clearly the new wave. And then like grabbing somebody like a Brian Michael Cox who is a legend in music business. But then y'all have a unique, a real, like a friendship and a relationship. And it's like when y'all announced that, I was like, this makes perfect sense. And it's not something that you see that people do all the time.

The new generation doesn't really kind of connect. to the, you know, the guys before them that laid the way for them, actually, especially when it comes to R&B, you're not going to find many people more talented than Brian Michael Cox. Right. So for what y'all are doing and to have Brian now part of that, I thought it made perfect sense. No, thank you. I mean, I think what you said was important, right? Like, you know, like me being around my peers and really watching that disconnect and how they speak about, you know, like the generation that came before us but also also being around that generation and watching how they speak about them yeah and I'm just like you guys both want something but nobody's

going to put the ego to the side yeah right and you know I'm just like for me I'm just like you listen like I'm comfortable in my space I'm comfortable in what I know and I know that I need to know a lot more yeah right and I understand today and I understand what's going on outside but one thing I do know that I wasn't around for is the creation of these errors and these records that were being made that you know that still live to this day like it's crazy you go to an R&B party now they play records just from their error not this error yeah right that says something about the music right so I'm just like okay um for me selfishly I just want to just go and soak up all the game like in you know and be a sponge and offer up to whatever I know right um but

But then over time it became strategy. It's like, wait, there's actually a gap here that needs to be filled. And if I could do that or I could offer up that, you know, like showing that, yo, there's something dope that can come out of this. Like, why not just like, you know, make it public and, you know, come in the Royal Royal and Marshall. Do you feel like, it's funny you say that at parties, they just still play the 90s shit when it comes to R&B says.

Is that dead, the party R&B record? because R&B has gotten, I don't think across the board. I think R&B is an incredible place. But everyone, you know, on Instagram, Twitter, especially after Puff said R&B was dead, was like everything's too moody now, it's too toxic, it's whisper singers. How did y'all feel about that when Puff said that?

I feel like y'all had a lot of reason to feel disrespect. Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Like, when Puff said R&B is dead, like, I want to know what y'all group chat was like. I mean, it was crazy. But, I mean, I had a conversation with Puff and But like, oh, I know.

You have other little gripes of some puff about some things he's done. I know the whole love. I mean, it's a little obvious. Yeah. Listen, obviously, you know. Similar logos, too. Yeah, absolutely. Listen, puff is, puff is.

He's puff is puff. He's puff is puff. He's puff. You know, he paved the way. He made it, you know, it's funny. He was talking about Matthew, you know, making it possible for him to see. For me, Puff made it possible to see. I don't know why for him specifically.

Like, it just. felt like if he could do it, anybody could do it. But anyways, my conversation. You know Puff is a legend. We know that. Tell him shit on him. Like, what don't you like about it? Well, no, I mean, my... What? Like, you don't need to explain how dope Puffers. We know how dope Puff is. My thing is,

or my issue with it was my Puffie just came outside. Like, you've been... Came back outside. Yeah, came back outside. Like, you've been like... You've been rich for a very long time. Absolutely. And like, there's a lot of groundwork that's going into, you know, trying to just, like, put

R&B back into the forefront. But I understand what he was trying to say. And I understand the point of marketing, right? But I think that, like, I think that he just went about it the wrong way. But he's wrong. Oh, absolutely. Yeah. We know that.

Yeah. And I mean, the next day, when he did that, the next day, me and Jermaine got on a live with him next day. Oh, absolutely. And he was like, you know, man, I just said that to get the, you know, get the conversation started. Wake up the Army. Because I was like, I mean, Jermaine's like, hey, like, bro, like, what you're talking about? You know what I mean?

Like, this is, you know, I feel like we are in, you know, we're in full motion. You know what I mean? And at that point, I felt like because people was trying to bridge the gap, right? I feel like especially what we were doing, you know what I mean? Yeah. And just leading up to the division's release and all of the little things we were doing, people were getting excited about hearing this music, you know what I'm saying? And at the time, I didn't even realize the strategy.

Like, like, I don't realize how good of a strategy or a strategist that justice is or how good, you know what I mean? The strategy was going to be for division. You know what I mean? I was like, we're all posting. We're all posting. It's all. It's just post every piece of this process. And I felt the energy.

So for him to say that, I was like, you, you know, you feel this energy over here. Like, you know what I'm saying? then you want some of this energy. That's what this is. And then next thing, you know, we're doing the camp, whatever,

you know, so I just think he needed to do that to get, yeah, I think, you know, no, I'm saying,

it's funny, right, because like, the internet has this thing, right, where like, it takes, it takes a headline

and it acts like, it, the internet acts like they don't know what you're trying to say. Yeah, and I know exactly what he's trying to say. Yeah. And I agree with him,

right? Because the aspect that I do pull out of it is like from the business, of R&B, it really is dead, right? Like, you know, you go to R&B radio, they say, like, you basically just going to die. You know what I'm saying? Which is crazy. It's crazy, right?

But, like, you know, R&B records don't cross over. You know what I'm saying? Like, it's so hard to introduce new R&B artists to the world because it takes a lot to get to the R&B fan. Yeah. Yeah. So I understand what he's saying. I mean, it's tough.

I feel like R&B now has much. more press than it does actual sound scans. Like, outside of summer, like, R&B isn't a great, the music is great, it's getting a lot of attention, but it doesn't sell. Outside of summer, what R&B artist really sells? I mean, you consider Sizer, right?

Cizzer. Fair, I'm sorry. Yeah, Summer and Sizzah would be... Ten weeks, that number one's shit. Like that. Yeah. So it's weird because I think the music's great up right now. I don't understand why it's not selling, though.

Like, even Givion, when that shit dropped, that's all anyone was talking about. And I don't want to make it sound like I'm shitting on him But he just did Irving Plaza And I was like, that's weird Yeah This is the only shit moving right now in R&B It's incredible

It's real R&B Every young chick is talking about it Every box was checked Yeah And then I saw the tour I was like Irving Plaza Yeah Granted that shit was packed wall to wall

And the show was incredible But I think maybe that's more What Puff was trying to get at With the dead part Like that's not because hip hop is in The greatest selling space It's ever fucking been in And I tweeted this

like two days ago and that's the point right it's not the lack of music it is the lack of support financially i will say that but more importantly is the lack of energy sure r&B artists now are they're isolated in like their own little islands right but like if you understand hip hop culture or just urban culture in general it's driven by energy so like something is going to be bigger when there's a lot of people around it that are making it feel important right But like if you're an R&B artist, you're just sitting there and like in your corner and nobody really knows you for real. Like, yo, you're trying to finish your album, but you don't know the other R&B artists. Like, you know what I'm saying?

Like, you can't even collaborate. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, you can't even get nobody on the phone. Yeah. And you're like, you know, supposedly doing numbers. That's like counterproductive to like what hip hop is, right? Like you see QC come outside and like, you know, when, you know, when little baby's dropping his, everybody's behind it. Yeah.

You see when Kendrick is dropping everybody's behind. Like, there's an energy. So it makes it feel bigger. I think Army doesn't have that. I think, well, to me, I blame it. I kind of point to a number of things. I think that, you know, just the way that a lot of guys, I guess, court women or their relationships with women today changed, the conversations that men have with women today

changed. So it's a lot to do with just, I guess, the error, the timing, you know, guys kind of think it's corny to put on like slow music if a girl comes over now. Wow. Like everybody wanted to be turked up, twirking, you know, it's just a different energy. I think that the younger audience has with girls now. Right.

So I think I can blame that for why Puff would say R&B is dead is because if you play R&B at a club right now, you're probably going to be playing an old school R&B record to what people are going to, you know what I mean, kind of groove to that. If you play a new one, people are like, oh, this is my shit, but I'm going to go get a drink. Right. You know what I'm saying?

It's not the same type of, you know what I mean? It's just a weird energy now when you hear R&B in a club, which is why I love what Brian is doing with the R&B parties. Because I feel like shit like that is needed. Yeah. Like I think it's dope to have a bunch of guys that you wouldn't think know a lot of R&B records. See the top of their lines in the club. Yeah.

Like it's like, because girls start looking like, oh, you know about this? Like me and my girls play this when we in the crib or we in the car going to the club. Like I didn't think guys was like, nah, this is my shit. Like I'm Sabrina Claudio all day I'm playing that shit. You know what I mean? It's a pocket of people that still listen and support R&B, but it's definitely not the genre. But also R&B is also it's also market. It's so old.

Yeah. It's market is so out of style. Yeah. And this shit just sucks. It feels like it's for old people. It feels like it's for old people. And it's really interesting because when I was coming up, R&B was such a young thing. Yeah.

There were all the groups that I produced, all the groups that was coming out. Come on. We used to leave the Army song on our voicemail, like, yo. Play the R&B, play 15 seconds of the R&B. You'll leave a message. I was 14. What was I doing? It's a nasty thing to be doing.

It was such a young thing. It was the music of the youth. It felt like it was the hip-hop and R&B when that marriage happened. Yeah. In the late 80s, were really in the 90s when it really, really took off. You have marriage, you have Bledges, you have Jolese, you have voices, you have voice amends. It just felt like we were coming up together. You know what I'm saying?

And then the split happened The rapists started sipping lean Right Well no the rapers took melody You used to have to go to R&B to get melody Like as a I grew up a hip hop nerd baby That's all I fucked me

But that shit even to me was like All right I need a break This is just too much drums and rapping I need some melodies I don't have to go to R&B now You know All the melodies are in hip hop Yeah

So I also feel like Once that happened in hip hop And hip hop number started going crazy R&B artists started chasing that, right? So then now you're breeding new artists who are looking up to the R&B artists who's doing that. Now they're all doing that. Versus, when I was coming up, there was

the thing that made Jodicey special was the church influence. The things that make Mary J. Blige obliged the queen of hip-hop soul is because of the church influence. The things that makes Mariah Carey, Mariah Carey, and Whitney Houston, Whitney Houston, because the church influence. And once R&B split,

R&B hip-hop, people start chasing hip-hop, and just be real, you know what I mean? You know, the world becomes, we become more liberal, you become more expressive about what we believe. Church is not put on,

like, church was on me. No matter whether I like it or not, you know what I was there? But I got my, my teachings from that. I play piano because of that. I sing because. of it. All these artists that are

top at the top of the food chain. You know, like, if you look at an usher, you look at a Beyonce, you look at, you know, who are now who has been around for 25, 30 years, you know what I mean? But they're still at the top of the game. Their learning come from... The foundation. The foundation is church.

Yeah. R&B's foundation, the beautiful thing about Army in the 90s, it was like, church meets rap. Yeah. Now we don't have none of that. The foundation is brunch. Yeah, brunch. The brunch is foundation.

Burking, memoscious, Waffles. Also captions. Yeah. Yeah. They just want a short part of the record. Yeah. Because as much as words were important in R&B, of course,

but it was so much based off singing and melody. Now, a lot of that shit, the same way we've rap. You have to have the caption part of the song. Like, what's the thing that people are going to share? Yeah. Yeah, I don't think she deserves the blame because she's incredible. But Jeannay is probably the sole artist you could look to to see where R&B completely changed. Her success

changed R&B to more of what we call the Whisper Singers and more of like that really moody R&B less singing out, less love songs, even though Jeney makes those. Yeah. She started this wave

intentionally or not intentionally of where we're at with music now. It's to me it's, it's Alia and it's Jeney of what R&B is right now. I think I think Jena is a huge proponent, but I think that she's the reason. I think I think the post-era that we're living is we're living in a post-era, post-weekend and post-Frank Ocean. I think those, I think those three artists

specifically when you're talking about R&B shaped the sound, like whatever we say, like the modern R&B is a derivative from what 40 and Drake we're doing. Yeah, 100%. Yeah, 100%. That's their fault. But even 40 sound to me is very similar. What was Jeney's not her first album, but that mixed? Salin' Souls? Classic. Love that. A lot of that, I mean, of course, Drake was even on that.

Yeah, 2012, yeah. 40 sound is similar to what Jenae was doing as far as that underwater dark tone type of thing. So yeah, Frank's there as well. But I think Jena, Drake and 40, yeah, would be the, yeah. And then. And a lot of Drake's R&B shit is, especially the early stuff. was his best Alia impression written by party next door.

Yeah. So these artists, even though they did it the best, like I don't consider Jeney a whisper singer, but she did open the door for a lot of bullshit R&B because they thought it looked, it looks easy, but it's not. I feel like, I feel like Janice. What, it's nasty word. She opened the door for bullshit.

Blossy R&B is nasty work. I feel like Janay. That's a crazy thing. And what's funny is I like a, I like Whisper singing R&B. What is whisper singing? Um. But they're not belting out high, no. I'll talk about a whisper singer I love.

People do want to hear that. I don't. You don't. But people want to hear that. People want to hear that. They don't. What do you mean? You only want to hear that if you're past 45.

Whisper singer, R&B? No, that's what the young chick's like. They feel like it's supposed to be an older thing. But this is the whole point. This is the reason why the- Like Jasmine Sullivan does that. She's amazing. Yeah, but it is.

But again, look at Jazz and Sullivan today. Right? She's found a way to obviously still vocal flex. but not. Oh, content. Her content is very different but also just like

it's in moderation. Isn't that much different? Huh? Yeah, for sure. Because Jasmine could She could bang you in the head. Yeah,

she was knocking when those The fact that she went against the lion tiger and a bear. I don't think it should have changed that much. Yeah, she's got it back. No, it's. I love Jasmine. Yeah, but now

I mean, I mean, I think if you're looking at the space of it, like, for me, the only reason why I say who wants to hear that is because it's like, we're trying to catch a vibe, right? Like, what is R&B serving to you, right? And if you're listening to, you know, modern R&B, it's like, it's melody that's in rap form, right? Because it's like rap has trained us to almost live our life to it.

And then now like R&B has been taken outside of just the love sector and you're able to sing about other things outside of love, right? Like if you're looking at like the Trace Songs era, Jamie Fox era, you know what I'm saying? Like it was so specific. It was like you only were going to be successful if you made a sex song. And R&B was so sexualized. And it wasn't until, you know, the new generation was like, yo, like there's more to do, guys. So he can sing about more besides panty droppers. Yeah.

I went from being love, love, and then it was sex. And now it's like, oh, you dog me, I'm a dog you first type of shit. Well, no, it's real life. Professions is a toxic album. I mean, no offense to what you were going through at the time. But it's a toxic album. That's why I also find that weird when the internet is saying R&B lost love songs. I'm like, I mean, granted, Billy Jean is a pop song, but Billy Jean is a top song.

but Billy Jean's a toxic song. Like pop and R&B have been toxic forever. It's not just been nothing but fucking love songs that fell from the earth. And most of those love songs are about eating pussy. It's not about fucking love for real. I know I'm getting old. Summer rain is about pussy. It's not.

I told you all the other day, I can't even listen to rap before 3 o'clock no more. I don't want to hear that shit, man. Oh, man, before 3 p.m.? Turn that shit off. Like, when y'all, we walked in and y'all was playing Migos, I looked around like, I feel like I walked into fucking the Twilight Zone. I'm like, this is what y'all on before three? The Migos?

Like, we love the Migos, but it's one o'clock, fam. Like, turn that down. What happened to, like, the R&B remixes or the hip-hop remixes of, like, real R&B ballads? I just think that those, the music got blended so, you know, the genres got blended. You know what I mean? And then when they separated, it was like, okay, for R&B. beat, you know, if you caught a record, let's say you caught a tempo record, on the record, it was like, let's get married.

Yeah, you did that. Yeah, so. Yeah, all the way hip-hoped out. Yeah, but yeah, the remix. Run DMC, right? Yeah. The remix ended, I think, in the early 2000s because when people started doing, which is, let's say, a song came out and it blew up, but they would do, they would just use the same beat

and had them put people on it, you know what I mean? Versus going in and reconstructing the track, you know what I mean? how Jermaine did in my bed or how, you know, I did Super 1 part 1 and include remix it and did Super 1 part 2. You know what I mean? That was, we were, and the remix business was a business too, by the way. It was like a real, you know, maxy single business. It was interesting as though we had, even in our meeting a few days ago, I think the

remix business is coming back. How so? You know, I think we're talking about TikTok and people taking songs like Quilla Ray now. you can go to her page and her the Spotify page and that record has five different versions. Yeah. And fiancee with the wetter shit

that's having all these mashups. So these mashups, these people speeding the records up. And kids wanted to listen to it in that space. I think the remix or what we used to call a maxi single is being redefined right in front of our face right now. You know what I'm saying?

How do you feel about the fact that so many people get married to one of your records? Was that was like going into it, did you feel like that's what y'all wanted to do? Well, let's get married for sure. Let's get married was very, very intentional. You know what I mean? Jermaine wrote the hook. It was very, very intentional.

It was my first time actually, because when I first started working with you- None of them niggas ever been married. Which is crazy, right? Which is insane. That's what I was getting to next. Like, you wrote a song that so many people get married to. Like, let's get married is the equivalent to like Whitney Houston's, I believe, the children. Everybody has walked in graduation to Whitney Houston.

Most people in our culture have walked out and had their first dance to left you man. Absolutely. And none of y'all ever been married. Y'all some sick niggins, man. You don't live your rinds. You don't live your rinds. Yeah, y'all some sick niggins.

I mean, nobody's, no, no, no. She's not, no, no, no. As a songwriter, we write about conversations. And I always say this. My number one motto, as a songwriter, the songwriter, the song is in the conversation. Now, I learned that actually working with Jermaine because we wrote You Got a Bad.

It was literally me, Jermaine and Usher having a conversation. And in this conversation, Jermaine concludes the conversation with man, you got a bad talking to Usher. And then next thing, I know we're making the song. So let's get married is the same.

It's the rid of a conversation. Me and Jameen were having, Jermaine was having a conversation with one as homies. They was talking about how they were just going to go ahead and do it. they've been with a girl from 15 years. He got two kids. He might as well, you know what I mean?

And that was the hook. The hook was, we might as well just do it. Like, that was the sentiment of the conversation. We ain't getting no older. We're no younger. We ain't getting older. And I'd never written with Jermaine in that space, right? Like him actually trying to sing a hook to me, right?

So it kind of threw me off when he started trying to sing a hook to me. And I'm like, oh, we're about to write the song now. You'll be like, okay. And it was very intentional. We were like, okay, this is going to be the marriage song, right? So the song comes out, comes a hit. And then the remix was like a gift. You know what I mean?

The remix, you know, a guy who did the remix guy with Lamarcus Jefferson, who was signed as Jermaine. And I remember he was just in the back room working on it for no reason. Like it wasn't like we, you know, ordained it. We did a remix with Kanye. The original Les Game May remix is a remix video with Kanye West. Really? Yeah.

Was that leaked anywhere? It got leaked. It's one of those YouTube shit you were doing it. It's fine. I never knew that. It's Kanye's first time rapping as a guest on a major artist. How did Kanye even get involved with that? Because Kanye had a song that's So So Def.

Kanye worked on Germain's Life in 14th, 272 album. And he worked on Harlem World. Him and Just plays in the Harlem World. So he was already in the loop with Germain. and so when we were doing Diane, just later who worked with your man named Diane McDonnell would send

CDs over to Noontime. I was at Noontime with twins working and she would send CDs over and like oh we wouldn't pick one of these beats for a remix because they had a deal with them so they're like, you know, let's try to get through this deal and they picked a beat

and it was this hollow note sample called Ground Separation and and it had all like vocals and this was before blueprint. So all the little things that, you know, would you hear on blueprint had all those things in it. And I remember we were listening to the track

and we thought the track was really dope. But twins were like, I can't write to it with all these, all the sample shit in the way. Tell them to, you know, can't see the sample out. So we do the remix and then Diane's, okay, cool. Brian, I need you to go to, Lord John had a studio and used to have a studio off of South Cobb. used to have a studio of a South Cobb

and you go to Liljohn's studio and work with this guy you know because you know you're wearing on the studio so okay cool. You go to the studio Kanye got his ASR 10 and it's you know, his proteus and his NPC 3 of 2000 and he set up and

he has a VS 1880 this is a this is a Vs 880 I'm sorry this is like a digital A-track role he used to make and he's like you know He told me talking. He's like, yo, man, you know he's way around the studio.

I was like, yeah. He's like, man, I'm to tell you truth. I only make work. I only make a beast because I'm trying to rap. I'm a rapper. I'm an artist. I didn't ask for this information. Right, right? You know, we were there to do a job. Kanye thought ever. I was going to try to meet out and do overdubs and plays.

I'm good to see you and him and by yourselves. He's like, you know, I really rap, right? No. No. And he was me and him and the engineer. He's like, yo, like, for real, man. I'm an artist man. I'm big than Michael Jackson.

He's like really. talking to shit. That's crazy. And I'm okay, cool. You know, he's like, man, I want to play, I want to play some shit. All right, cool. This 8-80, he plays what these skeletons end up these huge records down the line.

We played, he had Jesus walks already a skeleton up, but he had, you know what I mean? Wow. A lot of records that were, that we hear, he's still pulling from back there. Right. You know what I'm saying? There's a lot of records that.

Yeah. He had a lot of ideas. You know what I mean? And he was just like, yeah, I'm telling him. He was rapping. So then. When we finished the overdub session, right? I called Jady.

He's like, Jaydi, the shit's finished. You know, we got to figure out who we're going to put on it. You know, Jermaine was like, got to figure out we're going to put on it. This is, he hears us talking about the shit. He's like, I know somebody. Me. He didn't say me. He just said, I got somebody.

And cool. So we go to mix. We still ain't heard of the verse, right? Yeah. But the mix session is at Jermaine's studio. So I guess we need Jermaine go off to go do something, whatever. Come back. Kanye's versus on there.

Yeah. You know what I'm saying? And it's like, well, you might as well keep it on that. It was hard. Yeah. Keep it on it.

And we thought that was going to be the remix that we're going to lead with. But in the other room, Lamarcus is making this mashup. It's like that, you know, mashup. And it's like, you submit both to the label.

Columbia was like, oh, you know, this is obviously, look, yeah. This is obviously the bigger, the bigger,

the bigger one. It's, it's not a whole, it's not a whole different song. We took the acapella, just put it on. Yep. It's like that. And, of course, you get run on it and then say the more record.

So Lamarcus, you will never be getting a call from Yeezy ever again in your life. I do want to hear this Kanye verse on it. If he says Mazel Toff on it, I just think it's a full circle moment. Imagine he ends his verse on Let's Get Married with Maseltoff. I'm sure I remember. What were his views on the Jewish community at that time? Oh, man. But to justice

point of you guys never being married now that I'm looking at these lyrics this is looks like it's set up for divorce like we might as well just do it

that's probably not the best way to go in marriage he's just like yo might as well just do this so uninspired He said Me at the altar In your white dress

We didn't get a young girl We might as well just do it nasty work Yeah And then on top of that You're telling a girl She's getting old Like that's already fucked up

Yeah You kind of Classic fucking record This ghetto just some ghetto shit It worked. You know what I mean? It was just some ghetto, you know. How many people you know that, you know,

that's been with their lady for eight years and got three kids, they, you know. And even talking about marriage. And he didn't even talk about marriage. All the kids, but the kids got the dad last name. Yeah. No one gave them ring just vibes. Just saying vibes. Been together 10 years, two kids.

Sabrina Johnson. Yeah. Yeah. But her kids last name, Brown. Yeah. It's like, you know what you just saying. You. You ain't part of the family yet.

Go marry that girl, man. Stop doing that. Stop doing that. Don't marry, you know. Make an official, dog. Make an official. This is really about an arranged marriage

is what you're trying to say. It's funny. But it's like, but it's interesting because after that it became like a trend. I wasn't even trying to become like the married guy trend. Yeah.

It just ended up becoming a trend because I did a little most record. And then that was a conversation that we were having. And I was like, well, we did it with, from a guy's perspective. Let's do it from a woman's perspective. I mean, and she and she wrote forever.

And then that record is now a thing. It's a trend. It's something that's played at every wedding, something that, you know. So it was like, and then it was like, wait, why don't we keep going? Do we do to me and still? Yeah. You know, country artists are remaking that song. It's become like, you know, if I look at my statement, you know,

those three songs are like probably definitely the top ten of my, like, top performance songs. What's your favorite song that you've written and produced? Like one that she's just like And then Matt, Let me change it What's your personal favorite song That you've written and produced That most people didn't kind of gravitate to it

Like you thought they would Oh, you know what? I did a song for early on I did a song for my guys This is a group called Ideal I did a song for them called Creepin That I thought Me at the Creepin

Yeah, I thought that was gonna be a big You've been a sick nigga for a long time See we were around the same man You're a little older But I was outside for creeping, nigger I was young, but I was outside. You're a sick nigga, man. Creeping, I thought, was going to be, because we were coming off,

Get Gone and Get Gone was a big record. Creepin, I just, I love that song. I loved the sample. I thought, you know, it was like the first time the Twins and Jontay actually did a song together, you know, being the Twins to the Hook and Jonti wrote the verses. I was really hyped about this song. That the song was going to be crazy. And it did, you know, it did okay, but it didn't really,

because I think they put it out, version put it out, too soon after Get Gone was still cooking on fire at the time but Creepin's one I would say

one of my favorite songs I've produced or co-produced would be you got a bad you got a bad it's just sounds like something

yeah I could just to me it was very very different we list all the songs that we made on him and granted

I mean, confession is huge. Burn. These records are a big, you know. Yeah. But it's just something about that particular song, his vocal, has no harmony. He's singing straight. There are no harmony. It's in that record.

I just thought about it. I didn't notice it until now. Singing it straight down. You know what I mean? It's just one vocal sitting on top of about six sounds. How many women you lied to and said that you wrote that about them? You got a bad? Yeah.

Just a... I've never told anybody that I wrote that song about them. I always tell the truth about that song because I was so... You look like you say, I wrote a song about you. You got to listen and guess which one it is. Yeah, yeah, I'm that guy. I'm that guy. You got to leave it open that day.

Yeah, you got to guess which one. And it gets your strength. Becogs every other bitch, text me back. And we know which one you think it is. No, the one thing about that song, because I was, that process, I was so amazed at how we finished talking about something. And then the very next hour we had this song. And it was like, this song?

And that's something that, lesson I just stuck with me forever like to this day like I have to talk to the artist I have to like what are you going through what are you what do you want to talk about what's what's happening in your life I know something happening right who you seeing right what the nigga do right what you know what the whole the whole situation I got to have the conversation because in every in every situation I could point at in any songs I've been a part of when you have the conversation it like be without you was a conversation it was like literally We got a call from Jimmy Iveen, and Jimmy's like, I need a rhythmic record like this, right?

And I was like, okay, what does she want to talk about? And it's okay, we're going to get Mary and him on the phone. So Mary can do Chris, we all get on the phone and Jonté, and they tell us what they want, you know, to talk about. And we talk about it and we literally did. I mean, I did the track. Literally, you got, I mean, be without you. That track happened in like between 8 to 10 minutes because I was just trying to get the idea. And I called Jontay.

I was like, yo, man, I got this idea. Like, come to the studio. You know what I'm saying? He said, I played for him on the phone. So I played him to the eight bars of the phone. He was like, I'm on the way. Got to the studio. Song was written.

Jontes is a big. Jontes is a beast. That's one of the greatest writers ever. Johnthier. He doesn't, you have to be a sick human being to be a great writer. No, no, no. He's one of the people that I want his verses done over like, no, no, in a, like in a space, a theater.

Yeah. It doing it on that IG shit wasn't, yeah. Either of them justice. You don't understand. I was, I watched the first time I ever watch this man write a song. Like he gets in the booth, right? No pen and paper. No.

None. Gets a glass of wine. He has a little wine thing he does. Start swirling. I'm a home, man. Yes. All of his thoughts in that glass. Drink your thoughts.

Swirling the emotions around. The button up on. All the way to the top. Yeah. Write the song in slacks. It's hilarious. suit on. Yeah.

He'll put a suit on. He's a suit on. He's a helmet. Get in mode, man. But then he gets in this, he gets, here's a beat. Maybe two minutes, the beats plays. He's like, all, cool, load me up. So he's just singing things that aren't sentences.

And it's like, what are these? What is he singing? And then he'll go, all, cool, record this again. And he's like, keep that. And then he'll, now he'll do something. that seems like a verse. And you're like, wait, where did that come from? What is he writing?

Yeah. Yeah. And then he's like, all right, cool. Then now he's going to do another take. And he's doing something that seems like one half of the chorus. But the first thing that he recorded was the answer to the chorus. Oh, okay. No, it's crazy.

Like he writes in like, it's wild, bro. I ain't fucking seen it. It makes sense in his head. And then at the end, it all makes sense. Yeah. It's like, yo, this man is crazy. And he quick. Showing up to right

and the suit is like... No, that's his flow. Yeah. I mean, Johnson's a gentleman. Even if he's in like, like dressed down, yeah. He's got the buttoning up jeans,

hard bottom. Yeah. He's hard bottom. You know, he's hard bottom. Hard bottom. You seem a different error. Yeah.

You see some shit. Yeah. When you wear the hard bottoms with the jeans just kick it, like, yo, you come to the homie crib with hard bottoms order some jeans. I'm like, yo,

that's his dressed down day. Yeah, like, yo, we just chilling and the game is coming on. Like, yeah, bro. I'm chilling. John Tate is a, he's a different. He's different.

Yeah. This is a mix of writers and producers in Atlanta. I was talking to Jady about when I was at the studio last. Like, y'all have a real interesting group of producers, songwriters in Atlanta. And I was like, yo, Jady, do y'all really fuck with each other? Or is it like some secret? Because I know y'all got the group chats outside of the group chat. Like one of the niggas ain't in this group chat.

But he and the other one that he talked about a record and y'all go to the other one. He's not in. Like, yo, what he's talking about? I think just even that, even having the concept of the group chat, the Atlanta produces group chat, I think that in itself is insane. It's some special shit.

That's crazy. Even if it's like a couple of group chats, right? Yeah. The fact that at some point in my phone right now, there's a chat with me, J.D., Polo, Tricky, Jante. You know what they? There is a chat. That's great.

You know what I mean? That's Sean Garrett. a chat that we're all in. You know what I mean? I think that that is some amazing shit and just in general. You know what I mean? That we all have, you know, Dallas. Like, you know, you might go to Jermain's house.

You know, we went to go watch the game at Jemain's house one night, the playoff game. And Dallas just pulls up and we just over there. Me, Dallas and Jontay and, you know, Germain. You know what I mean? The names of the fucking Avengers. Yeah. The Avengers.

Yeah. So, yeah. But it's the thing. It's kind of like, you know, I think that's what's the The most special thing about... Well, you can't call the Atlanta producer group chat unless Amaretta's in there and verify who's... You got to verify what you have, bro.

Like, what part of Georgia is Dallas Austin really from? And his name's Dallas. Like, we gotta... He's from college park. That's not Atlanta, according to... It's not Atlanta, apparently. Apparently. Let me tell us funny, though. You hear that, J-D.

If you talk to... But if you talk to J.D., he actually would say, you're right. We started Atlanta. Yeah. Jamaic, we're arguing... Jamainter would say college parks started Well, Jady told me he was from Brooklyn at Pergola yesterday, so I don't know.

He lived in Brooklyn for a year. He said, now I'm really from Brooklyn. I was like, I never knew that. But he made a good point, though. I ain't checked your Wikipedia page. He made a good point. And I think he was saying in the Welcome to Atlanta video, they didn't show college part. No, he didn't.

He didn't film a college, but no, they did go to college party. They went to World Changers. They went to Creflos Church. All right. He said he didn't. So either he lied or. He was he going to remember. Was it Welcome to Atlanta he was talking about?

Yeah. He said he lied or you're lying. Yeah, and the, in the, in the, in the original video, the video with him a ludicrous, the original version, yeah. They went to world changes. World changes is a college part. Okay.

Oh, so, Jady, he must have forgot that, though. But they didn't go to, like, the hood. They didn't go, like, to, like, yeah. No, him and Justice had an amazing conversation about who's from Atlanta, what part is Atlanta, like, and then, like, Rory said, they keep looking at me and Rory, like, we can, like, vouch, like, bro. He's like, like, justice, like, did you hear what he just said? I'm like, Justice, I don't know what Cobb is.

I couldn't tell you what none of that shit is. All of that is Atlanta to me. Jady brought up Gwinnett and I was like, I don't know her. I was like, why are you looking at me for verification? That's his one though. He loved, he loved the shit on Gwinnett. Jermaine always talking about Gwinnett. Meanwhile, Jermaine lives in Not Atlanta.

Well, I mean, he's rich. He should probably move out of. In fact, St.a, St. Springs. Yeah, it's like, come on, my guy. We had a same night, a same night, same city thing that we did. doing a show where it's kind of like versus but we like if it's you're in your city and these two artists have a show tonight which show do you go to and I brought up Cizzer or Summer Walker well contractually they both have to go to the summer one we're going to summers concert

okay take your take your business hats off and your affiliations off just as a fan yeah I mean I'm I'm a bigger summer fan yeah I'm a bigger summer fan since okay I'm I agree to specifically I like I love Sizzler. I really, I really, I really, I really, I really try to clean up. Try to clean up. I'm fucking with you. A new album is insane. Yeah.

Cizzer's new album is insane. Overall, I just like some, first of all, I met Summer around the time she signed them. Or she, probably right before, because the, because the story I got was the other Summer Walker. Yeah. You know, so I met her through. She was mad. The other Summer Walker was managing. That's how I met.

We initially thought it was the other Summer Walker. We were like, she making music? This shit is hard. Which would have been crazy. Yeah. So. Think about that. Like if that was her voice. So I remember, I met Archer.

And I remember them playing me the music. And then I started following her on Instagram. And then Chris would tell me that you got to pay, that Chris, you got to pay attention to this girl. This girl is really, like, fire. You know what I'm saying? And I just like her, like just her perspective. You know what I mean?

The wild shit she's on. I just like everything. about who she is an artist. You know what I'm saying? Like through and through. I want to ask Justice specifically. Age old debate. 8701 versus Confessions.

What's a better album? Confessions. You ain't even think about that. Not at all. You already thought about that and knew the answer. No, I mean, it's like 871 was great. But like, confessions was like, especially when yeah, it happened.

Yeah, just a moment. Yeah, it was. Where I was, I mean, I was like 12 years old. That's shit. my viewpoint of like R&B. I was, you left that on your voicemail. Yeah, it's it. That's an aggressive voicemail.

I didn't have a voicemail, but. You never had a voicemail with the record on it? Not until I was like 15. But you got to understand. Justin and I come from the era where we would have the ringtone. And then also when you call, we could put a song instead of hearing the ringer. Like, we're from that era. We're not really the voicemail, like play a song and say, leave it after the beat.

I used to really think about what I was going to play in my voicemail now. I haven't, I haven't activated my. my voicemail on my phone. You can't read it within my phone. You know. I used to really, really, like, really try to curate the proper. Yeah, you had to.

The shit was gonna be next week, you know what I'm saying? Did you only use songs you wrote? Yep. Well, I'm talking about, I'm talking about when I was, before I was like, you know, a favorite songwriter. I was, uh. Like when you were in high school, writing for Destiny Shal? I would do, I would do, I would do, I used to do stupid shit in high school though, too.

Like, singing telegrams, like, in school. Like, if you came to the class and you saw a keyboard set up, some roses, you was about to get a singing telegram. So I used to make, that's how I used to hustle making school. Oh, wow. That's smart. How old were you when you lost your virginity? Huh? If you was doing that in high school, you lost your virginity at what, 12, 13?

No, what I, nah. This thing you got some of the greatest ears on a planet. He said, huh? Yeah. Yeah, no, no, no, it was later. It was later. 14? It was later.

I was later. It was later. Our guy Julian had, I thought, an amazing question for you, Vee, fuck Mary Kill, confessions, emancipation of Mimi, or the breakthrough. Merry Confessions. Nothing about that album is about marriage. But I'm saying, I'm fucking.

For me, if I'm, if I'm going to marry an album. Yeah, forever. That motherfucker got $20 million. I'm marrying. You tell him confessions. We might as well just do it. Yeah. Yeah, Mary Confessions.

Fuck emancipation. Kill. Break them. Yeah. Fucking emancipation. It's tough one. It's tough. Yeah. Justice, fuck Mary Kill.

Free Black. Fuck Mary Kill. Over it. Free Black. Or more black superheroes. Hmm. Ah. That's tough.

Damn. As a fan? Or as an executive? As Justice. As a fan or as an executive? No, like as you. As Tony Starks. As a fan or as an executive?

Yeah, it's Tony Starks. You Tony Starks. I want to hear. As a fan, I'm a go. I'm a marry Free Black. I'll fuck over it and I had to kill Buggie's album. That's crazy. He finally got vulnerable, opened up his therapy album, you want to kill?

Yeah. He's not going to do well for his mental health. Yeah. Yeah, no, that's my answer. Yeah. I've fought with the toxicity now. Over it or still over it? As a fan or as an executive?

Both. Both. Give me both. It's Tony Starks. Not as the Iron Man. As a fan? That's a fan. And over it.

As an executive still over it. As a fan over it as an executive still over it. Yeah. Why? Marketing y'all did behind still over it was insane. That was hard. That was hard. That was hard. As an executive, I mean, I mean. They broke it in Harlem, right? Didn't they get the box? Then they break the glass?

Yeah. In Harlem, yeah. Yeah, but I mean. Leave it to a nigga from 7th to break that glass. Nigger from 7th. I told you, I made that the last stop. I was the first. Yeah. Because that's a nigga going to break that for real. But yeah, as an executive, because it's just like, like I said, but you were with me when we were trying to finish that album.

I mean, they broke up mid album. Yeah. Like the shit that I had to go through to finish that album. But it was such a, I remember, because I remember you hit me, I was like, bro, this album, yo, they wait. And because it was such a real, the fans were going through a real, I think we was together when she posted the video and you was like, yo, dog, I woke up, I had to deal with all. I said, yeah, I said, justice.

this you couldn't ask for anything better than this it's fucked up because she's going through some real shit dead ass but this is in real time like this is happening right now as the albums pretty much he was like what two songs away from being done with the album no well when we were talking yeah I was like this is this is amazing yeah

like it's fucked up but it's like it was tough was fifth baby mama done already or that was after no that was the last song that was last song he was there night she wrote it right and she laid it down I was like Like, yeah. First of all, I want to start off. Your mama should have beat your ass. I was like.

Wait, you witnessed her just bar him up? She was in the other room writing and then she had laid it down. And then I came back in the studio when Pock made hit him up. She barred London to death on that song. First of all, your mama should have whooped your ass. I said, oh, my God. And that album was so tough, man. Because her and London are so good musically together.

Oh, yeah. Yeah. And to break up in the middle of it, and just leave me in the middle of no man's land. Wow. And then I'm burning through cash every single day. Yeah. Because I got London in this crazy house.

Yeah. I'm saying he's comfortable. She says she ain't recording no more to I get that motherfucker out. Wow. And he's like, bro, we have an agreement. Yeah. It was tough. And how it was tough.

How do publishing splits, they're already difficult. How do publishing splits happen in the middle of also a breakup? I had to handle everything. I literally had to maneuver the whole thing. I had to maneuver their personal relationship in terms of like speaking through me. And then the creative part of it. Yeah. And the business part of it.

Like it was a really tough album to make. Like a divorce attorney. Yeah. It was a toughest thing. But it made me a better executive. That's why when you asked, I was like, when was the last time? Because of course you had to choose summer in the divorce. I mean, he was there from the beginning.

What was the last time you saw London What's that relationship? Like, I saw him at the Rock Nation brunch. Okay. We don't speak. You in London don't speak at all? No, he acts like I don't exist. I feel him.

I do. I saw him with you when he pressed me about more. And that was after the breakup. That's not there. I went to the studio with you for when Puff was trying to steal all y'all sauce. Yo. Yo. I don't know what you're talking about.

See, that's why you can't take the white boys. You were supposed to leave that in the studio, my brother. We have the edit button. Yeah, no. But yeah, he was cool with you at that point. And we can't take all that up. When? When me and you went, when Puff was doing the loved Valentine's Day album?

Where were you? What are you talking about? In L.A. Oh. That was after the breakup, no? Was it? Oh, they might have broke up before that and got back together. That might have been one of those.

No. Yeah, it might have been one. Yeah, it was one of those. Yeah, it was one of those. They had broken up and that was, it wasn't, it wasn't official because that was, that was before the baby. Before she had the baby. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. But no, no, no. After the breakup, no, he don't, he don't speak to me. I get it. I understand. I finally met him. I was like, what's up, man? Because, you know, he's working with Saint now.

Yeah. So I met him last. As long as they have his heart. Yeah. They got a few joints that they're doing together. So I finally met. I thought it was funny. The Vauri situation was like, yeah.

Now, he asked me about you, like, what's up with your boy? Liking someone's pictures and all, I'm just a summer fan. I'm just a fan. I mean, you flew to Toronto for the show, though. It was a good show. Great show. Great night, great audience.

Great a state. He came to support me, man. Yeah. Oh, my God. That's what you think you did? Yeah, yeah. Okay. Just the whole night.

I was with me and my boy. I know because he was with Summer. No. No. Talk. Here you go. Actually, I've never even met some, I don't think. You met her that night at the studio in the Lennon?

Oh, yeah, I did. Borthy moment. Yeah. But that was like, it was a different meet. She was a different zone. Headspace. She didn't fuck with nothing. And I kept it moving.

She ain't fuck with nothing. Nobody moving. No. She was tough. But, no, it's just, um, yeah, man. Shout out to my boy, Lundj. Um, actual serious question, Justice. With Summer specifically and, and just us now seeing how much the music business can affect artists,

their anxiety, their depression, how much this really fucks you up. how have you been able to manage personalities outside of just business dealing with artists that have social anxiety can't come outside? And how does that fuck with your mental wealth? Because at that point, you can't even have feelings. Like, you just get serious?

Yeah. Sounds like a therapy bag. Sounds like, this is your, like, you're evolved, Rory? I mean, no, I'm not involved. Okay, cool. This is Dr. Oz bag, right? This is my let's get married

where I'm saying good things, but I'm not really going to be right. Because I know what's really underneath. Yeah, yeah. But not like, for real, though, that's been a huge thing with Summer specifically with the fans. Like, she has this crazy social anxiety shit. People either get upset with her or support her over it. As an exec, how do you balance both of those things?

I think is nothing new. I think it's just different because now people have words for these things. Like, narcissists, gaslight, anxiety. Like, like I say, like how. And not to compare, but like, you know, what would, what would have Twitter have looked like if Whitney Houston had one? Yeah. Like, Bobby Brown had Twitter. Like, they look nuts, right?

I think. But that's what makes good artists, unfortunately, because they are dealing with something that they know how to just put in the music that resonates. Now, how do I maneuver it? I think the hardest part is letting the artists know that they're not crazy. Yeah, no, I think for me, the hardest part is navigating with the actual artist to like, you know, like let them know that like, you know, don't take other people's perspectives to heart. Everybody wants an opinion. Everybody wants to feel like something that's going to trigger you or be able to say that. So I think that's the hardest part is really just making the artist feel comfortable and creating a safe space for them to express themselves.

But because, man, the fans are so mean to artists, bro. It's crazy. It's fucking awful. Yeah. It's just like, you know, like they're giving you music. Like they're giving you a piece of their soul. And he just shit on them. Oh, brick.

You came outside with a brick. Oh, your career's done. You fell off. I'm like, Jesus Christ. Like, you're supposed to champion your artist and push them to. So you get more. It's just like the quality of life is made better with better music. But then, you know, you want to just tell them they fell off.

They're for sure going to fall off. Yeah. Like if you, if they believe it, they for sure going to fall off. Yeah. It's tough. And I mean, in this era, so crazy because, you know, back in the 90s, you couldn't just tell an artist that. Yeah. Even if you felt it. You know, if you bought a CD, you know what I mean?

You know, you thought the CD was whack. You couldn't go to, like, Twitter and say, let's see it's trash. You know what I mean? Like, you got to just something, it may sell through 100,000 copies before you realize the album is not good. You know what I mean? Now you drop. it ain't been out of hours they're like now I've seen it

Facebook Frisbee yeah like it's also easier to listen to music you wouldn't listen to or care about so you have more negative comments like before you went out I have $12

I'm going to get this CD because I really am interested in this now I could pull up any song if I feel like putting a comment on fucking a YouTube page or open a Spotify album of an artist I probably wouldn't listen to but I see that's what everyone's talking about

the timeline so let me go listen to it for free yeah now i have an opinion about something i shouldn't have an opinion about because i wouldn't have liked it to begin with also majority of people shouldn't just have opinion on music i mean you can't across the board i guess it's just the value of the of the opinion wow you can have a shitty opinion about an album if you you care specifically about it then you should have a valid opinion you know what i like i'm like a twitter trod and like i go like look on like well not trobe a stalker like i i go look at like i go look at like certain people that like have negative opinions about albums and music or whatever. And I'm just like, I go look at their profile and their photos and like what their liver

room looks like and like how they like wear their like their clothes and everything. I'm just like, you of all people can't have an opinion on music. Yeah. Like on taste. You have no taste. On taste. Right? Like, no.

A lot of y'all don't have no taste buds. All right. First of all, that's not fair because the artist on your roster. sell crazy. That's okay for an artist that has like a niche cliche fan base. Not every one of Summer Walker's fans have taste in putting their apartment together. I think Black has a niche. You can't do

that. You can't only want people that have quote unquote good taste to listen. No, to have an opinion? The only way you can have an opinion or a valid opinion and my credible opinion is you, number one, have spent enough time with something.

And number two, where you have a vast amount of experiences with other sounds or other music to be able to compare because you can't compare something putting too much responsibility on art that's supposed to just be talked about. And that's what I'm saying. It's like it's like me having, it's like me at 12 years old having an opinion on Blueprint 2. Like, I don't know what he's saying. Like it's flying over my head. I know I like age to the is, though, because it's easy for me to understand.

But like, that's it. Like, it's just like you have to like, you have to go through certain things. things to be able to have a real opinion. And I'm just like, I get it, but like, I mean, I guess in the valid opinion area. But everyone that listens to it is entitled to an opinion. Yeah, fuck them. It just, there's no values of the opinion. You can't say someone that doesn't put their apartment together, well, shouldn't be able

to talk about a summer walker. When you're on the Twitter timeline and you've come across one of these pages, what are the identifying factors that you're looking for that validates their opinion? Cool pants. And no, I mean, I think you, for me, first thing, I go through, I go through the timeline and I just see like, do they even read books? Like, do they have thoughts that are their original thoughts? And if you don't, then I already know that like you're already like controlled in a way.

So like your opinion is not even like a real opinion. Yeah. And that's like 99% of people. All they do is just take other people's tweets and just retweet them. And I'm like, oh, y'all are even real people. You're not even real. Like, are y'all even human? Like, y'all are box?

Is somebody in there? Yeah, somebody. I agree with them, though. No, no, I understand what you're saying. It takes, I think for people to connect to certain R&B, especially R&B, I think that it takes a certain type of experience. Like, it takes a certain type of just style. Like, you know what somebody is going to connect. Like, if you go to a Sabrina Claudio show, you can kind of, you know what the audience is kind of going to look.

Yeah. Or a summer show, you know what the audience is kind of sort of going to look like. A Black show. Yeah. Like you're going to know like, okay, these are the, because this is who. Black is talking. Like they've been through some of these same experiences. They like some of the same things.

What's one of the artists that y'all have worked with when y'all went to their live show, y'all were actually surprised to see like a different fan base there. Like I never would have thought that these type of people would be at this show. Yes. That's a good one. That's a good question. Yeah. I don't think, I don't think I've had that. I think it's all been pretty spot on for me. Like, artists that I work with or just like an artist in general?

Both. Well, artists in general, when I went to, um, I mean, it was like actually like, when I went to the weekends per show. Yeah. And I was just like, I know what he's talking about. I actually know what he's talking about because I'm doing it with him as the music is playing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, I'm living this shit. I'm living this life.

I've taken that pill. Yeah. Yeah. And I look out in the audience and it's just like, you too? Yeah. I'm like, ain't no way. Do you see me? Y'all look at each other like, yeah, we're here.

And honestly, too, like, honestly, too, scissors too. She, her fan. are a lot more other girls. Yeah. You know, like, I'd say other girls, but I'm trying to think of, like, the best way to. Like, Taylor Swift fans will be at a CISO concert. Yeah.

Which is interesting. Yeah. But I get it too. I think she showed us that with this last album. Yeah. Yeah. I remember because, and I tell the crew all the time, like, us being on tour and some of these albums that came out,

I'll never forget where we're at when these album dropped. So we were in Seattle when the CIS album came out. And I'm in the hotel room. when I'm listening to it, I thought it jumped into another album. And I'm like, yo, this is a Cissor? Like, this sounds like... Some Aver-Levin' shit. Yeah, like, Avril Levine.

Like, what the fuck is? Like, this is what she... And I was just like, not only does it sound amazing, but it's like, oh, she's in her MTV TRL. Yeah. Like, she wants that. And it's authentic. It didn't feel like it was something else she was trying to try.

Yeah, it wasn't forced. It felt natural. And, I mean, look at where she's at, what eight, nine weeks, number one. Shout to Cizzer. Pivoted out of me. music with trains blowing up, Chinese balloons do either you have a favorite

conspiracy theory? I live conspiracy. But it's, give me your top top five dead or live. Conspiracy, it's like it's truth to me. And that's what's wrong with it's just like it's not dead ass real. It's dead ass real.

So what's your favorite one they deem a conspiracy? I mean, well, I mean, let's be you can talk. about Fauci and the vaccines. You want to go there. I don't know if you want to go there. I would like to, but I want to monetize our YouTube video.

Yeah. So let's not. Yeah. They will stop all your money. Yeah, literally. The vaccine was wrong. Which is crazy. It's nuts.

Wow. That in itself was conspiracy right there. Of course. If you say something, if you say it. Yeah. If you say anything. If you say COVID and bleep this out, I'm serious. Keep this part, but bleep out the word COVID.

If you say COVID, on Instagram they'll put the little link no matter what at all and YouTube will demonetize some of your shit. If it's on text on a post like I worked a record when I was Atlantic called Vaccine

and when we were posting the artwork for it it would say CDC fax checks about not even audible audio. You might even be too deep now where like this video is not going to get monetized. Yeah we're going to stop. I think even the talk about it

is three minutes. It's done. And you know what's hilarious. they put the CDC fact check thing on all the posts, right? And then the CDC came out last month. It was like, yo, we was lying about all the facts. Bro, they backtracked everything. They backtracked everything.

You put something on my post that said it was facts. And now you're saying it's not facts. Bro, listen, I was saying this when all of this shit was happening and people were killing me for it. Yeah. And I'm like, bro, yeah, just you. Yeah, because you put money bags after it. What? Yeah.

Yeah, I saw him all tweet something about Biden today and put money bags. I know because he sent 500 million to you. You didn't think that was on brand? he just sent 500 million to Ukraine. That deserves some money. It's a money bag. Yeah, absolutely. They got the bag.

It is funny for a mall to be like, yo, don't get $1.000. Money bag, money, money. I mean, if you want to keep getting this money, don't get... But we could obviously clean all that up. I'll save it for Patreon. The deal that

you made with LVR in, how did, because y'all are really friends, family, y'all, y'all came up together. How did you feel what was the energy like after the deal was done? And how, from where LVR and started, did you ever see it being what it is today? Yes and no.

I think that specifically I was just, I knew that it was going to be something that I archived or I architected in my brain, but how it shaped was kind of its own form. I had kind of no control over it. Like I knew what I was going to do was going to be successful. How successful or when it was going to be the most successful that I didn't know. It's just kind of just stay down, right? That was just the mentality.

So let's just stay down. Like, let's just do the work. the feeling of, you know, post-signing deal and, you know, check clears is definitely like, yo, I, the first thing that I think we text each other in the group chat is like, yo, I need more of this. Like, I need more. Like, we ain't even really did nothing yet. That's crazy to say. We didn't even did.

Like, we haven't really done anything. Like, we've been lucky a few times. Like, yo, I want a real run. Yeah. Like, I want one of them nasty, like, the Motown runs. Yeah. Yeah. It was just like, you know, this.

Like, what kind of money do? This nigga invent music? Yeah. Like, it's real. Like, yeah, like, I want one of them type runs. Mm-hmm. And I'm just like, okay, cool. Now we have the opportunity to go get Cox.

Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Like, to be in the, being in the conversation of, signing competitive artists. Yes. Right? Like, we had to, like, grow all of, all of our artists from nothing. Now it's just like, we don't have to work as hard.

Not to say we don't have to work as hard, but we can, like, we can throw ourselves in the pool of, you know, superstars as well. Yeah. What do you want to know? We need one of them bad. What do you think you would prefer more in that regard? Marketing and grabbing some of those superstars or starting, again, the way you guys did with Black and Summer

where it's zero, zero views to a billion. Yeah, I've already done it. So I want to just grab one of them. You just want to be the Yankees. Yeah, we did that. Let's just buy, let's just buy a little shit. It's hard work.

Yeah. It's hard work. And you got to understand, like I was 18, 17, 19, when like that was like kind of like coming about. Yeah. I was living it, right? Like now I'm just like, you know what I'm saying? I appreciate that honesty because most people,

especially on a media, media wrong and be like, yeah, that's the thing I love the most starting there. I watched Neil Brennan and Dave Chappelle say, every question, would you guys do Chappelle's show again? No. It was, it was hard work. Like, my life was completely fucked up during that entire time. I don't want to

do it again. I'll just go fucking host SNL, do Radio City. Like, I worked this hard, so I would never have to do Chappelle show again. Yeah, exactly. So I appreciate that. Honestly, most people don't say that. They're like, nah, that was the worst thing ever. Yeah, no. It's like, fucking ruined my life of trying to get

someone from zero to here. Doing that shit again. Sharon Taco Bell. Right. I'm cool. No. I don't want to do that no more. J.D. told me that. Well, they got the 10 pack.

They got the box. Yeah. It's nasty. You get more artists, more tacos. JD told me that the guy that he looked up to was Barry Gordy. Yeah. He wanted to be Barry Gordy. Who is the guy that you looked to and was like, I want to do that? For me, there was a couple of people.

Naturally, you look at like a Quincy John. Jones or Rick Ruben, you say, hey, you know. I love the Rick Rubin, what was it, 60 minutes? Yeah, yeah. I love that. He was like, I don't know how to play an instrument, but I have taste. He said he got vibes. That's really what he's like.

I know what's good when I hear it. Exactly. If I had a pick a trajectory, it would be like a Rick Ruben trajectory because of he's done everything. He's been able to touch a little bit of everything. Johnny Cash. From public image, Johnny Cash is like, you know what I mean? But then in my specific genre that I would become, you know, that I've mastered, I would say, you know, there's a multiple of people there's, you know, there's, um, the late great Chuckie Thompson and, you know, Jimmy Jammy, Tammy, Terry Lewis, baby face. Um, you know, it's, it's, I was really into the music part of it. You know what I mean? Um, um, um,

and looking at those people saying, yo, like, man, if I could just be in the same conversation of a, you know, a Jimmy and Terry, the same conversation of a, you know, L.A. and Barry face, a same conversation of a Teddy Riley. Teddy Riley is actually, he is the guy. He's the guy who, when I was a kid, I didn't really, I knew that producer was important.

You know what I mean? I'm a credit reader. I was a person that literally studied the CD booklet, the cassette booklet, you know what I mean, from front to back, write the addresses down to the labels and all kinds of, you know, I was that guy, which is why I know so much about, you know, what I know. You know what I mean? But Teddy was, it was like an atomic bomb when Teddy Riley, like,

dropped out of nowhere. You know what I'm saying? Like, being from Houston, it felt like Teddy Wright dropped out of nowhere. You know what I'm saying? Where people who probably grew up in New York, You know, who experienced that energy becoming something, you know, have a different story for us, you know, growing up in these different regions. It's another thing. Like now with the advent of social media, music is not regional.

You know, it's one world. You know what I mean? Where, you know, in the 80s and 90s, it's like I had to watch TV all day to get to, you know, if I wanted to hear that Method Man record. if I wanted to, they weren't playing that shit in Houston. I'm playing Wooten Klan on the radio. Right. You know what I mean?

You know, so you, you get to learn about these different things and develop a taste. You know what I mean? Things you like, oh damn, I would have thought I would have liked that. Like, T's for Fears,

I wouldn't have thought that I would have liked Tish for Fears if I never, you know, if I didn't have to sit through it to get to the, you know, to the guy video. You know what I'm saying?

Yeah. But so for me, Teddy was somebody who just, it came out of nowhere. it felt like it was a bomb. You know what I mean? Groove me came out and it felt like there was nothing. I was like maybe Groove me came out.

I might have been 10, 10 or 11. And I just remember nothing sounded like that. Right. I just remember being like, the shit was hip hop. The shit was church. The shit was like the gap band. It was funky.

It was, you know what I mean? It's Teddy playing the key tar. Niggas got the jewelry on. And understanding what Harlem is now. You know what I'm saying? At that time, I didn't know what that was. Right. Yeah.

I just was like, yo, what is this? You know what I mean? It was lifestyle, not just a producer. Yeah. His production came with a look. Everything. It was crazy. It was like, what is this?

Not that I know, it is Harlem. Yeah. I know that now. It's uptown. Yeah. But at the time it's like, like waiting for the video. Anything that Teddy, anything that had Teddy Riley on it, anything. And then you understand, like I said by remixes.

Like I became obsessed with remixes. because of Teddy Riley. Because it was like, you hear a song, and back in those days, you knew Teddy was going to do a remix. Like, he was like the, you know, he was the guy. You knew that there was going to be a new Jack Swing remix coming. You know what I'm saying? And I was obsessed with it.

Like, I was just, I was completely enamored with what Teddy Riley was doing. You know what I mean? And he's the reason why I am a producer. So if Virginia is allowed to claim Teddy, let's do a city versus producer. producers. Virginia as a state versus Georgia as a state. I mean, because he brought the economy there.

It will not be a Virginia. And I think why I bring up Virginia and not like a New York or L.A. is Virginia, to me, is probably the best state when it comes to producers. The richness of talent? Yeah. It's crazy. Georgia versus Virginia producers. In a versus.

Mm-hmm. Who takes it? Yeah. Georgia. Georgia. I don't know, man. I think Virginia. I'm talking my dog.

I mean, Timbalyn had to be. It might get down to the 20th song. Dallas, Austin, these people, no disrespect to anybody. All legends, and I love all of them. You know, like Farrell is one of my favorite people. And where Timbaland is one of my, he changed the game. Missy. You know what I mean?

But I'm saying, we have to, a lot of those guys wouldn't exist if it wasn't for Dallas Austin. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Teddy Riley, Dallas, Jermaine Dupree, You know what I mean? Like a lot of this shit wouldn't even happen. But for Dallas, really. Like, Dallas don't get the credit he's supposed to get because Dallas is, he was a rock star.

You know what I mean? Yeah. Rico wage. We have a total organized noise. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like. But also the reason why I say Georgia is that because it keeps going today.

Yeah. Yeah. Very, very much so. Like, Metro is outside. Mike Willis outside. You know what I mean? Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's no. And, and now, Missy Elliott. lives where? Atlanta. In Marietta.

Yeah. You know what I mean? It's not Atlanta. Oh, it's not a lot. Little John, I mean. Little John, little John. Deep.

I guess deep, man. Very deep. Yeah, I saw Little John, uh, DJ in Vegas. DJ Toon. DJ Toon. I mean, it's deep, Atlanta's deep. No, no.

I'm, I, Georgia's deep. It's Georgia. It pains me being from up here to have to give you guys the flowers that you deserve. Atlanta might be the greatest music city in history. Detroit, you could definitely put there. Because Detroit put it on the map. I don't think anything really compares to what Georgia.

In modern music, yes. But not even because it's been so long, not just modern before that. Just Atlanta has been. It's shaped everything. Atlanta's losing the ball a little bit. Yeah. And to who, though? I don't want to dive into that.

I don't think Atlanta's losing the ball. It's just such a wide market now that these new artists that come out, you're like, they're from where? Because of the internet, you can be. be from the most random town on earth and pop. Whereas before so much was focused on major markets. You had to go to the market. You had to go to New York.

You had to go to L.A. You had to go to Atlanta. So I don't think it's... Memphis's got some of the water right now, man. They are. I mean, your guy is one of the best executives. Water right now. Like, I'm not even going to hold you.

Like, man, it's quiet. But why do you say that? Why you feel like that? I mean, 21 Savage just did an album with Drake. I mean, yeah. We know our mainstays. But again, Atlanta is like, like, known for having a hot one every summer.

We ain't had one in a while. Interesting. Yeah, and I hate to say this on camera because I'm ripping Atlanta. But I haven't been thinking about it. I'm like, yo, like. No, but it's good that you say that because, one, I mean, like, we go back to people that have to, that can say that would have to be somebody like you. That's really like making the music and really from the city.

So if you feel like that, I want to know why. And if you're saying like because you haven't had one of those summers in a while, you're talking about as far as new artists. New artists. Yeah, like, come on. What's the new wave? The future. You got the new wave.

Yeah. What's the new wave? Yeah. What's the new wave? I mean, like, I fought with baby drill. Like, I like, I like, I like some of the new guys, like, that's coming. But, like, I don't know if it's going to go all the way. That's, I think, baby drill is what made me officially feel old.

Yeah. Really? It's one of the biggest records. and I just, I don't get it. I just don't get it. But I just don't get it. But again, again. Even things I didn't like, I understood why they would pop.

This, I just don't. I don't know. Let me tell you why. It says more about me, not him. Actually, Maw, I just thought about it and I know why. Because we haven't, as much as we have new artists, we haven't had, like, new super producers yet. Like, like, ATL Jacob, like, has, like, has, like, a very. very strong way right now, but I love ATLJ.

Yeah, but I think that like the presence and the celebrity around him hasn't really caught up to like, you know, what he's actually done. Which as versus like when Atlanta, when we kept one every summer, it usually came from either a really hot label or a really hot producer. And I don't think that like we figure out a way to kind of get back into that groove. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like when Southside was moving. Yeah.

You know what I was giving us. He was giving us. He was giving us. You know what I'm saying? And like, it was like, you know, Mike, like, we always kept one in the chamber. But we don't, we don't really have a young, you know, as versus in Memphis, they got a few of them. Like, take Keith is still, like, bringing him out. Was the guy who did the Gloria Lissom, hit kid guy?

Yeah, he hard. Hit kid. You know what I'm saying? Like, Memphis caught. They got something right now. Yeah, they got a way. Which they definitely have an opportunity to the next few years can be there. Yes, for sure.

And we can stay in the versus category. I don't want to do your catalog versus someone else. I want your catalog to battle itself. Circle Marquise Houston versus pressure R.E. Linux. Wow. I'm going to go with the, I'm going to go with pressure. Why? Because it was unexpected.

It was a record that I feel like Circle would, I was, I was, in a stride that I had a proper sound and anybody who had caught any whiff of that sound at that time had a hit. You know what I'm saying? I think pressure kind of came out of nowhere. It was like, you know, AriLinix with the single and it goes gold. It was like her first certification. You know, her first top 10 record.

I just think that there was a lot of first with that. You know what I mean? I like pressure from an optic standpoint because it was like a slow build. When was the last time you had a slow build on a number one record? We watched it grow. Because now shit just hits like one day. It's at 100,000 views. Then it's at $1 billion the next day.

It's like, all right. Let's get married versus don't forget about us. Oh, yeah. Damn. That's tough. It got to be let's get married, though. That's a wedding anthem. I know, but don't forget about us.

You know what I mean? Niggas get married every day. Yeah, they do. Like, they're coming out. Let's get married. And let's get married because you're right. culturally. Yeah.

It's going to, it's going to, it's going to. Oh, I'm like a Mariah stand, so I'm going to stay with Mariah. I'm with you too. Don't forget about us. It doesn't matter when it is, where it is. Yes. It doesn't matter what it is. All right.

Confessions part two verse burn. Hmm. And I have a follow up. Confessions one verse confessions two. Okay, so for me is burn out of the first. Yes. I'm with you too. Burn is one of my favorite argument.

This song video is so hard. You know what I mean? Confessions two is hard. Because she was hard. Confession might be one of the greatest R&B songs ever. Burn is just a special, like writing, like written. You know what I'm saying? It's just to me it's just a special.

It's just more special than me. Was that a metaphor and a chick had maybe burnt you that week or? Yeah, you wow. I'm sick. Asking the man if you got burned. You know, it's sick work. It's sick work. Wow, bro.

We're in the middle of a verses, Mom. No, I get it. I get it. Is it a confession one versus confessions two? I got to go with confessions two, even though we wouldn't get confessions two without the story of Confessions one. Yeah. Confessions one is funny because how it didn't even happen was I had to go to the dentist

and Jermaine had, was having writer's block. So when I'm at the dentist getting my teeth pulled, he's driving around, L.A. trying to, you know, see some shit. And he said he saw the Beverly's in a sign. and was like, I'm gonna write a song about that. Then we get back to the... I'm thinking, I'm making my teeth pull

and go right back to the studio. I didn't realize I was going to be out for like three hours, four hours. So I'm taking bike and popping viking in, go to the studio with him. And he's telling him. Sick man, bro. Right on everything off the bikin.

Right in anything off I get in. And we go to studio and we start this process and literally, the whole story came just came but it's just talking and then I end up seeing in a demo with great gals in my mouth however I can in wow do you still have that no do you still have the demo oh yeah jamaans demos we have the demos I got to hear that every demo I was saying for us I still have was there any type of marketing in you and Jadis's brains when writing confessions, obviously with Usher and

everything that was going on with Chile. We didn't. Was it a happy accident? Yeah, it was an accident. But let me tell you what Confessions 2 was really about. It was Archielly had ignition. Yeah. So Ignition 1

had came, you know, there was a teaser of Ignition 1 right. Oh no, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Ignition came out. The first version, right? And at the end of Ignition 1, he teased it. is ignition too. Yeah. So this back in the day,

we would still get 12-inch singles, we get the record pool. So we got the record pool, and we're like, of course, you know, I mean, I know, I know it's not, you know. I mean,

R. Kelly, we know that he was that nigga. So that's not. You know, I get it, you know, and we don't want to, you know, like a piece of shit. He's a dirt bag boy. Yeah, this conversation. I've tried to go,

this whole conversation about R&B what I mentioned him. Yeah. But this particular, you know, situation, we have to acknowledge, knowledge, he was, he was moving a needle. Right. And the ignition. He was the needle.

He was popping. Exactly. He was the needle. And at the end, when you had the previews of the remix, like, we were waiting for that. It was like, everybody was waiting for what part two was going to sound like. Yeah. And then he put out part two and it was blowing up. So I know that for us, we felt like the story wasn't finished. And we were like, well, how are we going to finish the story? It was like, well, I mean, shit. Archela just put out of part two. Let's write part two.

You know what I mean? I never even really put that comparison. And it's kind of the same thing where Ignition Remix is the one and people kind of forgot about ignition. Yep. And confessions, even though I like part one

better, most people don't go to that long. I think lyrically it's a better song. It's, to me, it's just a better song. It's a better song lyrically, I think. Story-wise. The course is insane. All that. Yeah, it's weird.

I never even put those two and two together. And so it was like, part two. And I'm like, what's part two going to be about? He starts telling me the story. He has a baby. I don't realize that why he was so excited about the story because it was his story. You know what I mean?

So he's telling me the story. I'm like, this is coming out of your head. Just right. Out of top of your dome. But no, but it's really was something that happened. Yeah. So he, and then he told me the story, he told me the actual story about how he found out

about, you know, his daughter. And like, you know, his daughter's mother that put the first certificate in the pictures in the mailbox. And his mom would go check the mailbox. He's in the pool kind of chilling. He was drinking the Corona in the pool. I must have a dose off. And then the pool, you know, you're going to float.

And the float hits the edge of the pool. He looks up and his mom and says, I'm like, you know, what is this? And it's like an envelope with pictures and. That's sick. You can imagine laying in your pool. Imagine being on a pink flamingo. Yeah. Oh, man.

You look up. It's the first certificate. So he's telling me this, he tells me the whole story. And I'm just like, damn. You know, and he's like, I got the story. So, yeah. And I live that song came so fast. Of course.

After that type of, the long waking you up with a birth certificate from a girl saying she just had your kid. Wow. That's crazy. That song came so quick. So, you know, it, you know, I like confessions too because of energy. Yeah. There's just so much energy behind it. And we see it live, it's like.

Yeah, I got to catch us yet in Vegas. I have to. You have to. It's really definitely going to do that. Who has the bigger fumble? Lidl or J.D. That's a great. Lindo.

Lendell? Lendell. Lendell. That is a great fucking legend. The biggest fumble. My God. The biggest fumble was bigger. Oh, man.

This is, this is hard. Is it though? It's not really. It's not. It's not. But Lidie's still J.D. Don't do that. No, Lindo is not.

Lindo is not Lindo. The burger's going crazy. It's not the burger's going crazy. It's not. The Linder is not. is going crazy. I'm laughing because we're always, there's always a joke. You know, there's always a joke about, you know,

Jermaine and Janet. Everybody, you know, we always joke about it. But, yeah, Lindo definitely had the biggest fumble. I mean, look, I mean, there's no question. He fumbled in a Super Bowl. I'm talking about, I mean, that's terrible. He pumbled in the Super Bowl for games. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, he had the biggest fumble ever.

It's my name. And it's history, like, it'd be one of if you fumbled it and nobody could Google it. Yeah. Like, you could Google the fumble. They bring the front picture. The bust of history is terrible. And at least, JD, it was good to see him into Janet Doc.

Like, they still... No, they're tight. You know what I'm super tight. He's like, it was... He fumbled, but we still friends, though. And really, you know, you let them tell it, it was really just time, bro.

Like, if you really look at the story, it's really time. Like, you know, she's off doing what she's doing. He's off being Jermaine Dupree. Because he was, he was Jermaine Dupree. Absolutely. You know what I mean? It still is.

You got to find that time to try to... You know, it's hard. It's hard to do that shit. We got both are like super successful. It's a hard shit to do. We all have that one homeboy that lies to his friends that like, oh, she's feeling me. Like, I think this girl likes me.

When Jermaine came to y'all, I was like, yo, I think Janet Jackson is feeling me. I was actually. Did y'all laugh at him? I was actually there. I was there when it happened. To be like, no, she probably just wants to work with you. No, no, no, no, no.

You don't, do what I'm saying? We would, me and Jermaine did a remix for someone to call my lover. Right? And like I said, remixed business was a thing. I mean, you know, they flew us to L.A. We were sent at the, you know, the peninsula. We was at Larrabee. We had Lerbie booked out for three days, you know what I mean?

So I remember the first day, I got to the studio. I got this early to like 1130. And me and an engineer guy named Brian Frye, just waiting, waiting. Jermaine pull up. I would go by, two hours go by, three hours go by. No, Jermaine. You know what I mean? You know, nobody could get them on the phone, whatever, whatever.

So I'm like, well, let's start something. You know what I mean? So I started, I start dealing around with some chords or whatever. We listen to the master. We kept a few things that that was on the master. And then Jermaine comes and let me start working. And I go to the bathroom. I'm going to the bathroom.

You go to the bathroom. The lounge, the door was open. And Jan is just in there chilling. Like, you know. She didn't come to work. I didn't expect to see her because we were doing a remix. Yeah. So I thought we just do remix.

Take her bubble. Send the tape on in. But the fact that she was there was like, why is she here? You know what I mean? She went in the studio. She wouldn't be like, oh, overseeing the remix. Right. She was in there chilling.

I'm like, that's cold. I got Jen and the lounge just kicking his show. What this boy up to? Yeah. You know what I'm saying? You up to something. You know what I'm saying? And literally after that day, it was like they were together.

It was like. He was wearing her in the lounge? No, he was in and out. So me and him was in the room and he would dip and then he'd come back in the room and I went to the bathroom and I realized why he was dipping.

He was dipping to go to go to the lounge with her. I don't care. Who you are. Imagine dipping to go to the bathroom and Janet Jackson is just sitting. Oh yeah, it was crazy. Crazy.

But I'm like just, you know, it was just one of them things kind of like, and I think it had been building up. They probably had talked before. You know what I mean? And which is probably how we got the remix in the first place, you know what I'm saying?

And then next day I know, it was like... Just together. You know, we... Tough catching up with him because he's... Jed said that schedule was super tight after that. It was like you couldn't even... We had to figure out when we was going to work. You know what I mean?

And they were together for a long time. Yeah. You know what I mean? They would, you know, you know? That's why I still love there. You know what I mean? I don't think... I don't think they'll ever not, like, be cool.

All right, man. Well, we want to just let y'all know. We're looking forward to more legendary shit from y'all, man. Yeah, man. Super proud of y'all, proud that we, you know, have this relationship with y'all. Proud to call y'all friends. Can't wait to get some new music. Yes.

And can't wait to find the next, I guess, superstar that y'all going to just, you know. Absolutely. Put the LVR in sauce on. That's the goal. You know, more hit records. Continue success to both of y'all. And I'm just, you know, I'm just happy for y'all, man. Like, honestly, like, you have you having some.

You having so many years in the game doing what you doing. Justice, LVR ain't doing with y'all doing things that you're building over there. It's phenomenal. Thank you y'all for kicking it with us. And, yeah, we'll talk after this. New Black album. New Black Album. This has been a new episode of New Rory Mall podcast with our guys, Brian Michael Cox, and Justice.

Can I say your last name? Justice wears cool pants. Justice wears cool pants. Mr. Cool Pants. Mr. Cool Pants. We'll talk to y'all soon. Be safe. I'm that niggie.

He's just ginger. Peace. No, worry and not. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey,

or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford Show on the Iheart. Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

On the Look Back at it podcast. For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam Jay. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s.

84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important. year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. It's Financial Literacy Month, and the podcast, Eating While Broke, is bringing real conversations about money, growth, and building your future. This month, hear from top streamer Zoe Spencer and venture capitalist Lakeisha Landrum-Pierre,

as they share their journeys from starting out to leveling up. There's an economic component to communities thriving. not enough money and entrepreneurship happening in communities, they failed. Listen to Eating While Broke from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.