The 85 South Show with Karlous Miller, DC Young Fly and Chico Bean - Eric Benét | 2024 BET Awards | Karlous Miller & Navv Greene

Episode Date: September 9, 2024

Karlous Miller and Navv Greene sit down with Eric Benét at the 2024 BET Awards!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. When your car is making a strange noise, no matter what it is, you can't just pretend it's not happening. That's an interesting sound. It's like your mental health. If you're struggling and feeling overwhelmed, it's important to do something about it.

It can be as simple as talking to someone, or just taking a deep, calming breath to ground yourself. Because once you start to address the problem, you can go so much further. The Huntsman Mental Health Institute and the Ad Council have resources available for you at loveyourmind today.org. 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.

Our IHeart Radio Music Festival, presented by Capital One, is coming back to Las Vegas. Vegas. September 19th and 20th. On your feet. Streaming live only on Hulu. Ladies and gentlemen. Brian Adams. Ed Shearin.

Fade. Glorilla. Jelly Roll. Chon Fogarty. Lil Wayne. L.L. Cool J. Mariah Carey. Maroon 5.

Sammy Hagar. Tate McCray. The awesome. Sprint. Tim McGraw. Tickets are on sale now at AXS.com. Get your tickets today. AXS.com. The OGs of Uncensored Motherhood are back and badder than ever. I'm Erica. And I'm Mila. And we're the host of the Good Mom's Bad Choices podcast, brought to you by the Black Effect Podcast Network every Wednesday. Yeah, we're moms, but not your mommy. Historically, men talk too much. And women have quietly listened. And all that stops here. If you like witty women, then this is your

Listen to the Good Mom's Bad Choices podcast every Wednesday on the Black Effect Podcast Network, the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you go to find your podcast. 85 South Show 2024 BET Awards exclusive. I don't want to talk to nobody who ain't interesting. And today, I'm talking to a legend. If you know, you know, this is a real legend now. I told you I was going to make sure you got to the 2024 BET Awards and I wasn't bringing

you around. Nobody but the best that this entertainment industry has to offer. And we got none other than the OG himself. Eric Bonaise in here with us. What's up? What type of intro you place to get in? Man, I need that intro everywhere I go, man. I love that.

All that. When I wake up in the morning. This is, you a legend. Wake up. I like that. You are. Man, thank you for that, sir. You've been giving us hits for years.

Man, I ain't done yet. Man, how does it feel? It feels, it feels. Gratitude, man. That's the word. Gratitude. I mean, you know, it sounds like something you see on a poster, inspirational poster, but it's the truth. It's like the more gratitude you feel every time

something happens like that, every time I come out with a song that starts going up to charts, you know, don't take it to the ego place. Take it to the gratitude place. And then that just like feeds more blessings, you know? So, I mean, that's what it feels like. And, you know, we're doing it again. I got to sing a lot with Tamar Brack. that we're going for ads.

She is incredible, man. Come on. Shout out to tell you. Like, we go for ads at radio next week, and it's already blowing up. So it's, but she sounds incredible on it. The song is called something we can make love to. I knew it.

Yes. That could have been the name of your album, man. I know, right. Anytime you drop some music, that's what's happening anyway. That's right. That's what's supposed to have. That's right. Exactly.

What's up? What's up? Hey, you better come holl at me. I bet. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But, you know, she's just been a dream, you know, to work with. And she said something about her voice and my voice together is like it's perfect alchemy of just romance. And y'all got to hear it.

So I decided to do a project that was all duets. My upcoming project is all duets with me and female artists. And I wrote about. bunch of songs with a bunch of producers. And, you know, I, Alison Ball is the CEO of, of my label. And she had the brilliant idea that, you know, we need to, we need to go roll through Atlanta and go holler at Tricky and Lainey Stewart. Because, you know, they're king of the world right now. And so Lainey was like, yo, you need to check this out. So he sent us the, the demo of the song. And I immediately resonated to this thing.

And Tricky reached out to Tamar and said, Tamar, you think you want to jump on this with Eric Brunay? And she didn't hesitate. It was like the same. Literally, the day he asked her, she was like, shoot, let me drive over to the studio right now. And she hopped in the vocal booth and killed it, y'all. You know what's crazy?

People always see the reality TV show, Tamar. They don't get to see how she could like, she's like a sniper when it comes to that music. Oh, like vocally, she's, like, as soon as you hear the song, it's like, I don't. I don't know that side of Tamar. I know like this incredibly beautiful, sweet person. Whoever we hang out, we crack it up laughing and making jokes.

And she's just a sweetheart. And vocally, she's a beast. Absolutely. So that's the- What's your process when you write in these ballets and these duets? You know, that's a good question. So my biggest hits are, people always think songwriting is kind of like journalism. It's like, oh, you're writing that because you're going through that right now.

Not so much with me. Some of my biggest romantic ballets I've written when I was just lonely or there was a disconnect in my relationship. So basically I'm writing about a fantasy that is not really happening in my life. And somehow when I'm in that empty place, I can find the words to describe what I want beautifully. And I think that's why they, like when I wrote Spend My Life, Me and Tamia Joint. I hadn't been in a relationship and I don't know how long and I was just like

dang I just got to find somebody so it's just so I started we need in this context yeah man I make the record hit completely right just knows what I won't yeah exactly so I start thinking about what do I want I want I want that person where I see them

every morning when they open their eyes and I feel like wow this is where God put me just to find my piece my side so it's like that was the that's what I started writing about so that's what I came from Mr. Bonnet could I ask you just like what keep you in spite?

Man first of all Mr. I'm E, man he tried to put you in the pocket No we got an OG a legend I just hold up he just was around the Disney star and she was calling everybody sir and Mr.

Oh yeah I saw that she was so cute yeah so I was like I got air respect I can't cause hey Eric no I know me like that man don't know me like that bro I ain't call me E E B yeah E B there you go there you go now what keep you inspired

though, like, just to keep putting out, like, you know what I'm saying, like classic material, though. Man, that's an excellent question. I think I made a decision to make a long story short. Like, before I got my first solo deal, the label was interested in me as an artist because they liked my voice. So they put me with all of these producers. We're talking about in the 90s, right? And, you know, there was a very distinctive sound of R&B in the 90s. and so they put me with all these producers

that were getting placements and this, that, and the other and I was out there I was in L.A. for a couple months and then at the end of the couple months I sat down with an R person and we listened to all these demos

that I did with all these producers and it was like I sounded good on the songs but there was some disconnect between the track and me. And so I said, how about this? How about this? How about this? Let me just go back to Milwaukee. I'll post up in the studio. I had a little bedroom studio. I'll call some of my cats in Milwaukee. I'm going to write some songs. And I'm going to just like do me. And when I got back to Milwaukee, I wrote all these songs from my perspective. I was trying to put in those songs,

all of those elements that made me fall in love with R&B music, being a kid growing up in the 70s. That was the roads, that was horns, that was like strings on some stuff. And so when I let her hear that demo, the Milwaukee demo, they were like, that's it. So I think from that moment, I made the decision, you know what, I'm only going to record music that gives me those boost bumps of when I felt, when I heard earthwind and fire for the first time, when I was listening to Bobby Caldwell, when I hear Donnie Hathaway's voice, I want to use that. as the barometer, you know, regardless of what's happening trend-wise in music, I'm going to use that. So that's why I call the record true to myself, and that's why every time I write, that's my inspiration. I'm going to pull from my life, and I'm going to just make sure it comes from, like, this authentic R&B place. So you never lose yourself and lose that's...

That's why I call my first album True to Myself, and I pretty much stayed to form that whole time. That's what you're a great singer. Do you ever find yourself just like at the crib of just making up shit that ain't going to necessarily be a song? Oh man. Like you ever made a dope-ass song like washing dishes or some shit? Yeah.

I mean, it's just like that's part of songwriting. It's like sometimes it's annoying to some people because there's always music. There's always melodies like, you know, especially if you're talking to somebody, you don't, they really ain't grabbing your attention. The music will just start taking over, and I'll be like, nod my head, yeah, yeah, yeah. But I'm like, I'm like, oh, shoot, that's a dope horn part right there. You know, so it don't, the music never stops.

Sometimes it's not a part of a song that you're going to put into something. But sometimes it is. You're like, oh, I got to remember that transition. I'm going to put that in something. So, yeah, that's always going on. Can somebody be taught how to sing? I think so. I think so.

But I don't think you can be taught. But like, hmm, you can, there's a certain authentic soul that can't be taught. You can be, you can be, your pitch can be imperfected, like things like your cadence and your timing can be perfected, but there has to be like this raw soul there somewhere. I mean, because I always tell my book, you know, look, yeah, I can. can't sing. Yeah. I'll be the most singing this motherfucker you ever sing. Well, maybe you, I mean, can you, is it

that you can't hear the pitch or do you feel like, because I'm sure you got some Bobby Wormack song from back in the day or some. I was going to go more blues because they don't really care too much about the singing. You probably be singing along with it and the soul come out. Right. I got the soul part. The pitch is messed up though.

I want the shit to sound. Right, okay. Yeah. That could be taught. I think that could be taught. All right. I'm working on something then. I think so. Is there some singers that you're all hip to now that, like, be catching your ear? You're like, oh, no, they got a dope voice. Let's see.

Whose voice do I really like? I like, man, I really love the Lucky Day. I love the October London. October go crazy. I love. There's this Icelandic singer, which is weird. I know. Like, she's so dope.

And she's like this quirky looking white girl, but her name is Laughy, L-A-U-F-Y. She mixes a bunch of genres, but somewhere in her Icelandicness is like soul. It's like, it's, yeah, it's, yeah, it definitely ain't like straightforward with R&B. It's something else, but it's dope. How do you find something like that? Like, how do you just always look? Oh, yeah, you know, you just peruse, just be peruse. Just be perusing through what was uh or if I hear something you know we got technology now Shazam you be in a restaurant you be like oh shit what is that so you heard any of that Korean like they got this Korean version of 90s like R&B.

Yo let me tell you something. Let me tell you something from my travels to like to South Korea and Japan. They always take something and and and and hone in on it. And what they did what I don't think. They really, maybe they are. But what they're doing with like 90s R&B is so dope. Some of these Korean and Japanese, but a lot of them are going back to some of these amazing producers from the 90s. Like they're getting dark child. They're getting Teddy Riley to come over there and do some trade. They are not wrong.

But they are not wrong. And that shit sounds incredible. Yeah, a lot of that stuff sounds incredible. I can't tell you none of the names of them. Me either. But sometimes. It sounds good. Sonically.

Sonically, it sounds crazy. Yeah. So look, what's the date of the drop with the duets and all that? So the we officially, the song is out, it's called Something We Can Make Love to, Tamar Braxton and myself. I think, shoot, I think we're going to come out with the EP. We're coming out with an EP first in another month and a half. And then after the EP, the top of the year, I'm releasing a whole album, still duets. Because I wrote too many songs, man.

Now let me ask you one more question. BET Awards 2024. Yeah. This is not your first rodeo with the BET Awards. Give me one of your favorite BET Awards memory before we get up at it. Man, that's a good one. I'm trying to, shoot, didn't I do like a,

I'm trying to think, didn't I do a tribute? What did I did? I did a couple tributes that are, uh, uh, dang, you put me on the spot like a mud scratch. That's my job. Let's see. I remember one time Shaka was performing. She killed it.

Man, I remember another time Beyonce opened the show. That was crazy. Y'all remember that? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I think Monique came back and she redid the... Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a lot of them, man. It's a lot of them, for real.

Eric Benet I need you to come on the real show man come on what's up I need you to come on the 85 South show Come on what's up Get him on 85 man Yeah yeah Wait what's it tell me what city am I coming to

Atlanta Man I'm always in Atlanta Come on man let's make it happen Because I got a million and one question I gotta go man let's make it happen I roll through I gotta bring my CD we're gonna have a CD player When you get that

Man I got shit different on a CD play It does It hit way different It really does Because I was, like I said, I was just there with Tricky and Laney and, you know. I know you be in the city. That's what I'm saying. Next time you down there, I got to catch you on R&B mode.

Get my man, my man, going to get your contact, man. You got to come on the show. I'm coming through. All right, bet. I ain't going to hold you all day. We got, we got plenty of duets to do. And I told you, I'm working on something. I'm going to send you something over.

Man, come on. All right, man. B.T. Awards, 24. None other. Eric Bunae. The ship leader, Nav Green. Yeah, yeah. We're out of here.

And here's Heather with the weather. Well, it's beautiful out there, sunny and 75, almost a little chilly in the shade. Now, let's get a read on the inside of your car. It is hot. You've only been parked a short time, and it's already 99 degrees in there. Let's not leave children in the back seat while running errands. It only takes a few minutes for their body temperatures to rise, and that could be fatal. Cars get hot, fast, and can be deadly.

Never leave a child in a car. A message from NHTSA and the Ad Council. 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 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. Our I-Heart Radio Music Festival, presented by Capital One, is coming back to Las Vegas. Vegas. September 19th and 20th.

On your feet. Streaming live only on Hulu. Ladies and gentlemen. Brian Adams. Ed Sheeran. Fade. Glorilla. Jelly Roll.

John Fogarty. Lil Wayne. L.L. Cool J. Mariah Carey. Maroon 5. Sammy Hagar. Tate McCray. The offspring.

Tim McGraw. Tickets are on sale now at AXS.com. Get your tickets today. AXS.com. The OGs of Uncensored Motherhood are back and badder than ever. I'm Erica. And I'm Mila. And we're the host of the Good Mom's Bad Choices podcast, brought to you by the Black Effect

Podcast Network every Wednesday. Yeah, we're moms, but not your mommy. Historically, men talk too much. And women have quietly listened. And all that stops here. If you like witty women, then this is your tribe. Listen to the Good Mom's Bad Choices podcast every Wednesday. on the Black Effect Podcast Network, the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you go to find your podcast.

This is an IHeart podcast.