The 85 South Show with Karlous Miller, DC Young Fly and Chico Bean - Backwoods Backstage w/ NYLA SIMONE | 85 SOUTH SHOW

Episode Date: July 14, 2025

DC, Lex P and Drea Nicole sit down with NYLA SIMONE at Backwoods Backstage!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an IHeart podcast. Join IHeart Radio and Sarah Spain in celebrating the one-year anniversary of IHart Women's Sports. With powerful interviews and insider analysis, our shows have connected fans with the heart of women's sports. In just one year, the network has launched 15 shows and built a community united by passion. Podcasts that amplify the voices of women in sports.

Thank you for supporting IHeart women's sports and our founding sponsors, Elf Beauty, Capital One, and Novartis. Just open the free IHeart app and search IHeard women's sports to listen now. I knew I wanted to obey and submit, but I didn't fully grasp

for the rest of my life what that meant. For My Heart Podcasts and Rococo Punch, this is The Turning, River Road. In the woods of Minnesota, a cult leader married himself to 10 girls and forced them into a secret life of abuse. But in 2014, the youngest escaped. Listen to The Turning River Road on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Welcome to Pretty Private with Ebeney, the podcast where silence is broken and stories are set free. I'm Ebeney, and every Tuesday I'll be sharing all new anonymous stories that would challenge your perceptions and give you new insight on the people around you. Every Tuesday, make sure you listen to Pretty Private from the Black Effect Podcast Network, Tune in on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Your entire identity has been fabricated. Your beloved brother goes missing without a trace. You discover the depths of your mother's illness.

I'm Danny Shapiro. And these are just a few of the powerful stories I'll be mining on our upcoming 12th season of family secrets. We continue to be moved and inspired by our guests and their courageously told stories. Listen to Family Secrets Season 12 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, y'all? It's Adrienne Nicole from Pormines and Lex Pee, and we here with D.C. in 85 South at Backwoods backstage.

And we have the beautiful Nala Simone here. Yeah. Yeah. Hey guys. She got a toe finish, y'all. She got a toe finish. I do not have a toe finish. It was just, I seen your toes, and I was like, damn, this nigger, bold.

She said, uh-uh. Let the world see him. No, don't know. Come on, D.C. Show them. Show them to the camera. Period. Point them. Point them.

You know, that's right. I know that's right. You know, I can appreciate the confidence. It's a ballerina point for me. Actually, that's what I was about to say. You know, that's a nice art. No, that's a band. That's a 90-degree.

Yeah, you got a nice little art. Did you use the dance? Are you a former dancer? I said, bang, crazy that, girl. Oh, no, I know I heard you. I was just asking, though. Oh, like, did I dad? Yes, you do a nice pointed toe.

Yeah, yeah, you got too. You know crazy legs get down. Okay, Dila, back to you. Okay, so you are a DJ on the most epic show that has been around breakfast club. I feel like, as a person in the industry, like, once you get on breakfast club, that's like the pinnacle of, you know, media. Right. So talk about that link up and how you got that opportunity. So I was working at Power for the past eight years prior to working with Breakfast Club.

I worked on every other show. I worked with Angie Martinez. That's who like really brought me in the game. I worked with DJ Clue. That's who really taught me how to DJ. I worked with DJ self. I did overnight. So I've always been in the building.

And when I was doing overnight, I used to work 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. and then I would run the boards for the 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. shift. So I would just sleep at the station or, like, just read books. And while I'd be at the station, me and Charlemagne realized we had similar interests. Like, I'd be reading Asada. He's like, what do you know about that? So, like, we started building a bond. And from there, he would just book me to DJ for him.

Okay. So, yeah, so then when the opportunity came up for me to, like, promote new music on Breakfast Club, he was like, yo, are you interested? I'm like, absolutely. Right. Can you explain how, like, certain times in the radio business are more popular than others, so you really got to make your, you know what I'm saying, like your image known when you have a certain time, when you're like, you know what, I'm going to get people to listen during this time.

I'm going to show them that I'm special. I mean, I feel like you just always got to do that all the time. I don't even feel like it's like a particular moment where you got to hit it. I feel like because it's so competitive and because everybody is somebody now, like you constantly got to put out, constantly got to show up, constantly got to be on it. So I don't know. I can't really be like, this is the time where I'm like, let's lock the fuck in. Just stay locked in because you just never know.

Never know. So how did you get into DJ and have you always just really been into music and it was something that you wanted to do? Or was it kind of one of those hidden talents that you stumbled upon? Because I feel like, you know, sometimes people have hidden talents that they don't know they're really good at and then one day you can try something so how did you end up? I've always been a nerd about music

like awkwardly nerdy about music like YouTube rabbit holes watching your MTV raps when I was like five you know so and I was also the kid making CDs off line wire selling it to the kids in the neighborhood Oh that that was you

You were the bootlegger She was a bootleg girl Okay I remember them lime ride That why she's going to buy the feet The bootlegger Yeah I've always done it So for me

them people are. DJing was just a hobby that I picked up in college because I needed money. Oh wow. And then it just, it just triggered into a career, thankfully. Like, I'm so happy. I never really thought, like, damn, this could be a job. I was going to school for computer science. I was going to get a government job.

I'm from the DMV. And everybody in the DMV works for the government. So that's what I thought I was going to be doing. Husband, kid, government job. But no, like, I'm a DJ. I'm at Dreamville Fest talking to fucking 85 South and four months. Okay. Yeah.

But, like, mixing records, bro. It's, like, super duper hard. Even though I'm an artist and I be trying, like, how did you realize, like, you was good? Like, you know what? Oh, shit. Um, I don't know. It don't feel hard to me, to be honest. It probably took me, like, a month to really master blending and stuff like that.

Especially if you're already naturally into music, I have playlists for days. Playlists are essentially crate, like, your crates. Like, if you're a DJ and you're trying to set it up. So I think I've always... That represents you. I was always doing it. So when it came to me, you... it really was just, like, alignment, I guess.

So, as a DJ, when you're hearing music, do you be like, oh, that's a good song to play? Hell yeah. That's a good song to play after that right, right, right, right. All day long. I'll find one song that I haven't heard a while, and it inspired me, like, about 10 other songs. Like, ooh, this would sound good next to this and that and that, so. Yeah, I'm excited. And, like, to expand my DJ portfolio, I'm about to drop a tape.

It has all New York City artists on it, so, like, we got Kai Cash and Nico who y'all just had on. Yeah. They're on there. Iman Nunes, Life of Tom, who's on tour right now, Fergie Baby. Like, it's cool. We're trying to usher in just, like, a new era of rap. And I'm like a rap head. I love rap, and I love R&B, but rap is my shit.

So who are some of your favorite artists right now? Well, I'm a cold stand. But favorite artists right now, I would say Ruben Vincent. I would say Rhapsody. I would say Nico Brim, the guys on my tape, I don't know, I'm so committed. Like, I feel like mainstream media gets so much love that I'm kind of tired of talking about.

Yeah, I'm the same way. I hate when the guy's acting about. The underdogs, I always be the best. I don't want to hear shit about Drake Kendrick Cole respectfully. I'm tired of the conversation. Yeah, it's changed the conversation. There's so many other dope people we should be talking about. Yeah, she's like that too.

She listens to a lot of indie music. I'm like an indie. So we have a segment on our show called Bop of the Week, and I've like literally made it a point to like always shout out like indie artists small artists I got to get in my bag because I hate when people say R&B music is dead and I'm like R&B music is actually probably the best it's ever been right now

It's so many like new artists and people are always sending me their songs It'd be people that just are listeners of the show I'm like yo you actually like really dope You know what I'm saying? Speaking of Lou is really dope I know Lou's around here Yes Lou is super dope Luke go crazy

Yeah Oh when I tell you they sent me I said who I said who I said who I said And I ain't got... No, her single is dark. Yeah, Luke go crazy. She'd be going crazy. But we got to fuck with Cole

because we had dreaming, you know? So we didn't got no Chuck Buck for Cole. That's my favorite. That's my favorite. I love Jay Carl's school. I went to St. John's University because of Jay Cole. I'm not about the middle host school. I love Cole.

All I'm saying is there's other niggas we could be talking about. They don't need the help. You know what I'm saying? That's why I really fuck with the fact that you do that highlight indie artists. It's so. important. All you got to do is bring it to people's attention.

Who's your favorite interview artist right now, though? So honestly, I discovered this guy probably like two or three months ago. His name is Yotrain, and he is like super, super dope. Like, I have just been on this listening to all his stuff.

I like Aaron Ray. He's not like super, but he's indie. It's a lot. It's so many. No, we need to share a playlist. Oh, for sure, girl. Period. I got you, girl.

I got to go fuck with him. Yes. So I do have one more question. being a woman in the industry, especially with DJing, is such a heavily male-dominated field. Do you feel like you being a woman helps you because it's different, or do you think people kind of like, try to question your knowledge or don't take you as serious because you're a woman?

Man, I think whatever you are, male, female, whatever race, whatever color, you always have disadvantages and advantages, and you just got to work what you got. Right. But I will say for sure, when I first started DJing, Because I was the first, like, female DJ hired at the station at power. But also, I was just the first young talent in general at the station. Like, there was nobody before me, period.

So when I got through, it was hell from a lot of people. Like, a lot of older niggas was hating on me saying they're going to come and plug my USB. Wow. Hold on, wait a minute, wait a minute. What type of threat you at? I take your USB. There'll be no more music for you. I'm fucking weird.

These are like older. Don't you touch my 512 MB. You never DJ in this town again. That's why I got two terrible. I got a copy. But it was intimidating because these are like older New York vets. Like these niggas been DJing for like 20 years. And I'm like, I'm not from here.

I just started. It was just a lot to like digest. Yeah. But and I will say for a minute I did believe them. Like I did believe like I wasn't enough and I did let it take. my confidence, but I would say Charlemagne was somebody who was in my corner like, them niggas is hating

and they're fat. Like, you're pretty just like him. That's what he said. Just lock your door. They can't come in there. But yeah, man. So, shout out to Charlemagne, for real. He's helping a lot. We love Uncle Baddy. Charlemagne, yeah. So, what's you got coming up next? Where can people find you, all that good stuff?

Yeah, man. Oh, so we just did our very first. I do I have a music collective I'm going to be dropping the album through the collective. It's called Certified Vibe. We just threw a party out here yesterday in order of Dreamville Fest. It was really cool. A lot of, like, Riley artists came out, like painter artists and then artists, like artists, producers. So we've just been heavy on, like, building community with that.

We have our next battle of the beats in Brooklyn. Okay. April 11th. And then we have our next showcase in May, huh? 23rd. That's your manager right this. She's been through the whole thing You do good

That's not even my manager But that's just my left hand Shout out to Sydney But yeah So more events on the way Just follow us It's a certified vibe Because every week we're doing the same thing

Like listening through indie submissions Shout out And then the best ones I just shout out on Breakfast Club Oh, very it Well shout out to you Thank you so much Thank you for you Period.

Join IHeart Radio and Sarah Spain in celebrating the one-year anniversary of I-Hart Women's Sports. With powerful interviews and insider analysis, our shows have connected fans with the heart of women's sports. In just one year, the network has launched 15 shows

and built a community united by passion. Podcasts that amplify the voices of women in sports. Thank you for supporting IHart Women's Sports and our founding sponsors, Elf Beauty, Capital One, and Novartis. Just open the free, IHurt app and search IHard women's sports to listen now. I knew I wanted to obey and submit, but I didn't fully grasp for the rest of my life what that

meant. For My Heart Podcasts and Rococo Punch, this is The Turning, River Road. In the woods of Minnesota, a cult leader married himself to 10 girls and forced them into a secret life of abuse. But in 2014, the youngest escaped. Listen to the Turning River Road on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to Pretty Private with Ebeney, the podcast where silence is broken and stories are set free.

I'm Ebeney, and every Tuesday I'll be sharing all new anonymous stories that would challenge your perceptions and give you new insight on the people around you. Every Tuesday, make sure you listen to Pretty Private from the Black Effect Podcast Network. Tune in on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you. you listen to your favorite shows. Your entire identity has been fabricated. Your beloved brother goes missing without a trace. You discover the depths of your mother's illness. I'm Danny Shapiro, and these are just a few of the powerful stories

I'll be mining on our upcoming 12th season of Family Secrets. We continue to be moved and inspired by our guests and their courageously told stories. Listen to Family Secrets Season 12 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.