The Breakfast Club - Best Of 2024 Full Interview: October London Talks New Album, Death Row Records; Working With Snoop,'The Rebirth Of Marvin,' + More

Episode Date: December 24, 2024

Best of 2024 - Recorded April 2024 - October London Talks New Album, Death Row Records; Working With Snoop,'The Rebirth Of Marvin.' Listen For More!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People, my people, what's up? This is Quetzalove. Man, I cannot believe we're already wrapping up another season of Quetzalove Supreme. Man, we've got some amazing guests lined up to close out the season, but I don't want any of you guys to miss all the incredible conversations we've had so far. I mean, we talked to A. Marie, Johnny Marr, E, Jonathan Scheer, Billy Porter, and so many more. Look, if you haven't heard these episodes yet, hey, now's your chance. You gotta check them out. Listen to Questlove Supreme on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Wake that ass up early in the morning. The Breakfast Club.

Morning everybody, it's DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, Charlamagne the Guy, we are The Breakfast Club. Jess is on maternity leave, so Lauren LaRosa is filling in. And we got our niece with us today, Nyla. Big Nyla. Alright, and we got a special guest in the building. We have October London. Welcome brother. What's up, have October London. Welcome, brother.

What's up? What's up? Good morning, sir. Good morning. How you feeling? I feel good. I feel good, man. Is it hard to put on a double vest and suit and tie ensemble in the morning? Not at all.

Easy. I actually love it. Yeah, fresh look. Very fresh look. Yeah, for sure. Sometimes I sleep in it on the bus. I do. Now you're signed to Def Roe.

Yeah. With Snoop. Yeah. Now talk about how you got the deal and how he heard you and how that all came together for people that don't know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I was actually on my way to graduate in truck driving school.

Trucking school. Trucking school. You had your CDL? No, I quit right before I did it. He be going hard at truckers sometimes though. He be going hard. I was about to. I just don't like how they drive.

Yeah, it's a lot to sometimes though. I was about to. I just don't like how they drive. Yeah, it's a lot to it. But I was about to. I didn't do it because I ended up linking up with Jazzy Faye. I ended up linking up with him through a friend of a friend and I got his number and I text him like, yo, I got these records, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But I was sending them records. They were rap records. They were records for Future.

They were records for all these other artists. You were producing. Yeah, yeah. I was producing. I was writing them records, they were rap records, they were records for Future, they were records for all these other artists. You were producing? Yeah, yeah, I was producing, you know, I was writing them also. Doing hooks as well. Yeah, yeah, putting hooks on them. And I happened to just kind of sneak in one of my songs that I did called Colorblind

that had that kind of Marvin Lane. And I sent it to him, I just waited, and he hit me back and was like, yo, you got some heat, you know, I'm linking up with somebody, he didn't tell me who it was. He was like, I'm not gonna tell you who it is or anything like that, but I'm linking up with somebody

like really important legend in the game. I might play it for him. I was like, oh, awesome, cool. He thought it was BSA. Yeah, yeah, you know, I've been through the ringer, you know, so I'm like, all right, cool, whatever, whatever. So I kept going back to school, all that kind of stuff as far as trucking.

And come, but we kept, you know, conversation on and off. So that was like, that was like December, when I got to talking to him first. So fast forward to about February, and he hit me up, and he was like, yo, you remember I told you I was gonna play your records for someone? I was like, yeah, he was like, I'm gonna have him call you, or we're gonna call you together, and you can talk to him,

and he can, you know can tell you what's up. I was like, all right, cool. What year was this? This was 2016 now. Okay, 16. Yeah, yep, this was 16, and the night before Super Bowl, he hit me up and was like, yo, I got that person online, hold on just a second.

And he was with him, and he was like, yo, it's the big homie Snoop Dogg, man, I'm a big fan. I was like, oh. How did you feel? Honestly, I was like, this has gotta be a joke. It was dead, it was AI generated. I was like, yeah, How did you feel? Honestly, I was like, this has gotta be a joke. It was dead, it was a AI generator. I was like, yeah, you know, at that point, I'm like, nah, this can't be real.

And yeah, it was real. And he was like, I'm gonna fly you out. Me and Jazzy gonna link up, talk about, you know, how we're gonna do this. We're gonna do it together. Said, okay, cool. And a couple days after that, he was like, yeah, we're gonna fly you out around March.

So, you know, I got there March 16th, and that was a wrap, that's when I met him. But why just throw away the CDL dream? We need a lot more trust. Shut up, man. But I mean, he was right there. He was right there. I was right there, but I don't know,

it just wasn't for me at that. I mean, I'm not gonna pass up opportunity to like, snoop. I guess the question I'm really asking about is just faith. Like, how does your discernment say, man even though I've been doing this for so long and I'm right there, I'm gonna have faith in this situation over here to come through. I don't know, I believe in God,

so I just kind of was going off of him. And I really was like, nah, this is gonna be messed up, you need to go stick with this, due to nine to five, it's just gonna be another obstacle, you're not gonna make it, the same thing I've been doing for years at this point, I've been, oh, it's about to be on, oh, now it's not happening, oh, it's about to be on,

oh, so I've done that several times, over. So at first I was kinda skeptical, I was like, man, you're gonna go out here, people's gonna hear your music, they're gonna say, okay, cool, you're gonna do one song, it's not gonna go nowhere, what I'm thinking, a million and it just happened you know it just we got there me and him clicked you know me and him both are Libras so we

did one song he played one beat he's like yo I want you to hear this track he played it we got it's a called top-down think it's out still and he played that record and I instantly started, you know, writing to it and I had a hook really quick and he was like, damn, okay, all right. He's like going to the studio and you know, record it. Went in there, recorded it. He put his verse on there.

He's like, all right, let me do something else. Put another beat. And then I did that one really quick. And he was like, okay, so you got a little work ethic. And then me and him for the next six months, maybe three to six months, we're just back and forth, working on each other's little work ethic. And then me and him for the next six months, maybe three to six months, just back and forth, working out each other's work ethic. Just he was like, okay, you're for real.

You're for real. How did your family feel about you being like, oh, okay, I was this close, but I'm gonna just go over here and do this thing. Cause they've been riding the waves with you, right? Yeah, yeah, they've been riding the waves with me for a long time, but they've been really supportive. Family, friends, everybody's been supportive.

I don't know how many times I've called my boy Jamie. But they in the business though. Your mom's a singer, your dad's a... My dad was in the business. Yeah, my dad was in the business. He toured and toured with Earth, Wind & Fire and all that. Probably opening up for him, something like that, but it never really reached this level, so he's a static.

Got you, so that's where you're so full, like your household was full of music. Absolutely. I hear it in all the songs you do. Absolutely, yeah. I grew up on, before even listening to even rap or even snoop or anything, I was listening to Earth, Wind & Fire,

I was listening to Confunction, I was listening to, you know, so many artists, Frankie Beverly, Rest In Peace. You know? So I've been listening to old school for a while and then I started listening to jazz and I started getting into that more, a little bit of Miles Davis,

so as far as music goes, I'm all across the board. Now you also- So where were you before you got the call to go to L.A. Because how does the truck driver connect with Jazzy Faye? Well, I mean, you know, it was just because my boy knew somebody that knew some it was it was that whole you got to know somebody kind of aspect to it. So, you know, my boy, DeMarco Black, called me and was like,

yo, come over to the house. I got this contact. I was like, all right, cool. I was like, I really don't want to do this, man. I'm doing this. I'm about to do this nine to five thing, man. I'm tired. I don't want yo, come over to the house, I got this contact. I was like, alright, cool. I was like, I really don't wanna do this, man. I'm about to do this nine to five thing, man. I'm tired, I don't wanna, you know. Went over there, I was like, okay, cool, let's make this call.

And then we ended up making the call and it just worked out. Were you doing all of this in Indiana or did you venture out to another city? I was doing all this in South Bend, Indiana. South Bend, Indiana, that's where Mayor Pete Buttigieg used to be the mayor. That's right, yeah, he gave me the proclamation before he dipped out of office.

What kind of town is that? That must be a progressive town. They elected the first, well, I don't know if he's the first gay man. He had to be the first gay man at South Bend, right? Yeah, you have Notre Dame. I live right across the street from Notre Dame, so yeah, so you have that.

But yeah, it's a college town. It's not too small, and it's not a big town at all, but yeah. He gave you what, a key to the city? No, no, he gave me the option. He said either I can give you the key to the city, because he had heard Colorblind and saw where I was going with it. And it's not, South Bend is definitely

not musically inclined at all. It's more sports. It's Notre Dame, or it's Colts, or it's all that kind of stuff. So he was like, you can either have a key to the city, you can have the proclamation. I was like, OK, well, what does the key to the city even open up? He's like, you know, nothing. But you can have the proclamation. I was like, okay, well, what is the key to the city even open up? He's like, you know, nothing.

But you can have this proclamation. And I was like, you really asked it? Yeah, I was like, well, I mean, I knew, but I was just like, I was kind of being, you know, I was joking, joking. Like, yo, what door is his mind? Yeah, what door is that? What is this?

Or you know, what am I getting off of this? And he was like, no, it's just, you know, I was like, no, I was like, no, I'm good. I was like, what's the proclamation? Show him there's an idiot body with a bug in his head. Yeah, I was like. Just let it go, just let it go good. I was like, what's a proclamation? Yeah. I was like. Just let it go, just let it go. He's a great dude, the secondary P is a great dude.

Yeah, yeah, no, no, he's good, he's good. So, it was like the proclamation, you have your own day and they have to celebrate you for the rest of your life on this day and I was like, I'll take that. Now, you signed to Def-Ro, were you nervous to sign to Def-Ro? Cause this was the relaunch of Def-Ro and I'm sure, you know, with icons like Pac and Snoop

and DPG and all that, I'm sure people were assuming the first one was gonna be a rapper, right? A hardcore rapper. But it was you, was you nervous at all? Absolutely, yeah. I just knew, I was in the room when he was finishing the call like, deal's done, okay cool. I was like, bad, oh this is gonna be dope for you, man.

You know, you're gonna find some dope rapper out of LA or somewhere like that cool. I was like, bad, oh this is gonna be dope for you man. You know, you're gonna find some dope rapper out of LA or somewhere like that. And he was like, no, no, no, it's gonna be you. I'm like, what? Like that don't even make sense. This is gangsta rap label. Like I thought we was doing this other thing. He was like, no, no, no, you're gonna be

the flagship for Death Row. I was like, ah. Jesus Christ, I better learn how to crit well. Yeah, like, not really, you know, I'm working on it. But I'm just like, man, I don't know if that's gonna work out, but it's Snoop. You kind of roll with that, and it worked out. It was just, we were like, we're gonna put out this R&B album, whatever this R&B album was gonna be, we didn't figure out what it was.

He knows I'm a multi-genre artist, so he's like, we're gonna figure it out along the way, but you're gonna be the first person that we put out. And I was like, okay. Is there any death row legacy, like Dr. Dre or Shug commented on your work? Yeah, Dr. Dre has for sure. Yeah, yeah, I've been in the studio with Dr. Dre several times.

I'm actually on the new Dre and Snoop album that's coming out this year. Missionary. Yeah, Missionary, crazy title, I love it, I love it. So I've been able to hear that whole album in full, and that album sounds incredible by the way. So shout out to Dre. It's on that level?

Is it? Cause you know, it's a lot of expectation. Dre and Snoop, they saying it's the follow up to Doggystyle. It's a lot of expectation. It's amazing. It hits the mark. Yeah, it hits the mark, definitely. So, you know, Dre definitely loves my music.

I've played him other stuff too, but he really loves, and even that track that I'm on is very Marvin Gaye-esque. Because he loves Marvin. Wait, now I'm being nosy. Is the project cohesive? Is there a message with Missionary? Or like, or is it just a day? I don't want to give too much.

Yeah, I don't want to give too much. I don't want to, you know, I don't need Dre calling me. I do not need that. What happened with the Marvin Gaye? Wasn't Dre doing the, they were doing a Marvin Gaye movie and he was doing the soundtrack? Were you involved in that? Yeah, that's what I heard. I heard that there was a soundtrack

or something like that or a movie, but I don't know where it was going and I think I was gonna be a part of that, but I haven't really heard anything on it, so I don't know. When you put out the rebirth of Marvin, I thought you was bugging. I know, I saw it, I saw it. Because I felt like you was putting

too much pressure on yourself because when you compare yourself, the mythical, iconic ghosts like Marvin, that's an impossible bar to reach. So what was your mindset when you put that up? That album was not supposed to come out. I wasn't trying to be Marvin, not trying to fill his shoes, I'm not trying to do any of that.

That's not what I was trying to do. Like I said, I'm a multi-genre artist, I just go off of vibes. So if I'm feeling, oh today I'm going to do pop today, then I'm going to go in the studio, probably knock out a whole pop album real quick, and I'm going to go ahead and set it aside because that's what I'm feeling. So I go off of feeling, you know, feeling the music and what I'm, you know, what I'm feeling at that time. So I was in the studio, and if you've been to Snoop's compound, he plays music 24 hours

a day, seven days a week through the hallways. And at that time I was in the studio just going through stuff and trying to figure out what track I was gonna do next and Marvin played like three, four times. So then instantly in my head I'm already in that zone. So I was like, okay cool, then Snoop sent over a track and I was like, oh this is dope. And then I started doing it and I was like, oh it this is dope. And then I started doing it.

And I was like, oh, it sounds a little bit Marvin, but I'm just gonna keep doing it, whatever. Liked it so much that I was like, I'm gonna do another track. And then Snoop came in and was like, yo, this is really dope. Let me know when you finish with it, because he knows I like to work in spurts.

So I don't do just one track and go to the next. I'm like, well, if I've done two, I might as well do eight more and make it an album. And I just put it up. I have a bunch of records just put up. I finished the record in like a week. Rebirth of Marvin was done in a week. I pretty much freestyled the whole thing as far as freestyling.

I know it's different, but it's like going up to the mic and just kind of saying what I feel. Did that, like Back to Your Place was done in an hour. My Holland Drive was done in an hour. Both of those went number one. So that's how I do all of my music. So I put it away. I was like, an hour, Mahalan Drive was done in an hour, both of those went number one. Wow. So that's how I do all of my music. So I put it away. I was like, all right, that was fun.

I was in that Marvin Lang gray. Let me put it aside now. Let me get on this Bryson Tiller lane real quick, because that's what I wanted to put out. That's what I thought. Dog wanted me to do. And that's not what happened. Dog came in and was like, what you doing?

I'm like, I'm just putting it up. I'm going to start on this. He was like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. We're putting this out. And I was like, no, nobody want to hear old school right now. He's like no no no no no no no we're putting this out And I was like no nobody want to hear old school right now. He's like trust me. This is the lane is open Nobody's doing it right now. Let's just do it All right cool, but it sounds a little bit like Marvin. He's like no I don't worry about that I'm like they're gonna chew me. They're gonna chew my ass up so

You know we started sitting with the album back to your we put we put it out, we didn't even pick a single, we let the audience pick. They picked Back to Your Place. They picked my Holland Drive. You know how many girls I know that love Back to Your Place? For real? Yes. That song is just, I didn't even, I forget what I was playing,

but I think it might have been me on Instagram, but that song, I was like, what is this song? I was telling Envy that, like, that is how I found you, because of that song, I didn't know who you were, and then I heard the song and I was like, who is October Lime? I started Googling, I'm like, what is this song? I was telling Envy that, like, that is how I found you, because of the song. I didn't know who you were, and then I heard the song, and I was like, who is October Laine? I started Googling, I'm like, Death Row. Like, it just, all of it. Yeah, but it made me, I was so interested.

I'm like, okay, if Death Row is gonna go for this type of sonic sound, he has to be talented. So it made me wanna listen to more, because it just was completely different to what I thought it would be. But I know that, like, some people did have things to say, but a lot of people love the music because it sounds good. But I know that Ziola Gay, who's Marvin Gaye's sister,

she had made some comments that she liked the music, but she did say that she was just confused why you would want to sound like another person and not do original songs. What do you get out of it? Did you get to have a conversation with her or any of his family? Yeah, I did.

She seemed like she was mad as hell at me, which I knew that was gonna happen. I was like, you know, and Dog wanted to name it Rebirth of Marvin. I did not. I was like, let's just call it the Rebirth. I tried to push towards that, but, you know, I'm following, you know, at this point. I'm like, okay, all right, you know, Dog has a plan.

I'm just gonna go with it. He's been right this whole time. I've been with him for a long time. I know him. Let's just do that. And we called it Rebirth of Marvin because that's what he wanted to title it. And then, yeah, she was not happy about that because she was like, yeah, you can sing.

That's great, but you sound like my brother a little bit and it's freaking me out. And I was like, that's cool. I just wish she, at that point, she didn't go, you know, on wax and say all this stuff. Also, she'll be there, yeah. Yeah, and just, I wish she just would have called me or called Dog or somebody like that, because then people got on her that love my music, that love Back to Your Place. So then

they attacked her. And I'm like, we have to stop this. But then, you know, we ended up getting on a call together, me and a few of the other family members, and they were like, we completely support you. We understand now that you're not trying to be Marvin. You don't even want to fill his shoes or anything like that. You were just in a vibe. And I was like, that's what I've been trying to tell everyone. That's not me.

I was just feeling something. For people that never heard you, right? Because we introduced you to some people that might not have heard you. Listening, some people might think that you are a mimicking artist, right? Because you just said I was in a Marvin zone, and then I was in a Bryson zone.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Even on the new album, it's like, sounds like old R. Kelly from Public Announcement. So who is October London, and where does the sound come from? Because when I first heard it, I thought it was like, well, that's his voice. He can't change his voice. Right.

If he sounds like Marvin, he sounds like Marvin. Right. But who is October London then? Yeah, October London is, OK, so this new album, October Nights, it's more of a transitional album. It's getting out of that lane, I'm finally being like, okay guys, let's get away from this. When you start the album, you have Touch on Me and all those records like that.

And then, yeah, like you said, R. Kelly's been my top number one artist, because I mean, the writing style, I mean, come on, it's Kelz. Then once you get towards the end of the album where you have the big record called Time, that's me, you know what I'm saying? Like those records, that's me, like enjoying myself. And then the third album, obviously,

whenever I do that, then you're gonna get all of me. But right now it's just kind of showing people that I can do these waves, and I know that we're missing this sound. I'm not necessarily taken from everybody. I just have been listening to everybody so much like Kelz and Ronald Izey and all that. I just take this a little bit, put it here, but I don't really take from them. I'm just taking that vibe to give you that vibe, give you that love and that pain and

that what you feel, what we've been feeling for years. So. Though this is a transition project, I still feel like sonically production kind of sounds cohesive. Do you have like a built-in team that you work with, or did you decide to work with new people for this project? I mean, usually, and Snoop will tell you,

usually I do everything myself. Like I write, I produce, I mix, I master, I engineer myself because I'm like, I gotta get it done right now. Like if I feel something, I need, I mix, I master, I engineer myself because I gotta get it done right now. If I feel something, I need to get it done right. I don't wanna sit here and be like, oh hey engineer, what's up? I can be there at four o'clock. No, no, no, no, I gotta feel this now.

So I learned to do all this stuff on my own. So I do, on this album, on October Nights, I teamed up with producers like Jeff Giddy, Pooh Bear, I got with Babyface, you know, obviously Snoop executive produced the album as well. I got with my homie Superfly also, everybody knows Superfly. So yeah, legend in the game. So he came through, put his spin on it as well.

And it came out really, it came out really well because we had kind of went through a thing where I submitted like this album, we were like, all right, let's change this. Let's put horns here, let's do this. And it just turned out so beautiful, I love it. I would love to know what the babyface sessions were like. Cause I know babyface, he didn't want you to come in on nothing except for you, I'm sure.

So what was that energy like? It was good energy, man. We pulled up, he was just ready to get down to business immediately. There was no, oh, let's kick it and chill, let's eat, let's have a little breakfast and all. He was just like, all right, you ready? I'm like, yeah, let's go in there. And we did the session, we knocked it out.

It didn't even take all day, really. He went to writing it, and I just let him do his thing. Because you're in front of a legend, I'm not trying to be like, well, I do this and that, I'm not about to do that, I'm doing much sit here and what you need me to do Give you a lot of coaching like yeah, I mean yeah, he did man in the lab. We actually yeah It was a lot. I'm not going okay. I can't I can't hold you It was a lot and he knows it was a lot cuz I was like, oh it was funny cuz we were doing the takes

He was like, oh, okay. Let's do this first take of this and I do the line It's like all right. Let's do it again. I do the line. It's like, all right, let's do it again. And I do the line. I'm like, okay, that second one was perfect. We're good, that's what I wanna say. All right, we're good, let's go. Let's go to the next line. He's like, no, let's do it again. And again.

I'm like, okay, all right, okay, cool. All right, we'll do it. And then he's like, all right, cool, now you're ready to really do it? I'm like, I thought we were just doing it. I thought that was it. He was like, oh no, I wasn't recording at all. I was just making sure you were on top of it. I thought the classes get made, though. I'm like, I thought we were just doing it. I thought that was it. He was like, oh no, I wasn't recording at all. I was just making sure you were on top of it.

I thought the classes get made, though. I'm like, OK, cool. So see, I'm not used to that. I'm used to, like I said, back to your place, one take, boom. The first line. It was just boom, boom, boom. I just make it quickly. And even when I told him that, he was like, yeah, no,

impossible. Like, no, that's how I do my records. So he was like, oh, so I'm really, at this point, you know, like putting you through it. I was like, yeah, but it's cool, man. that's how I do my records. So he was like, oh, so I'm really at this point, you know, like putting you through it. I was like, yeah, but it's cool, man. It's all good. I'm, you know, ready to learn. It's all good.

Did you ever think in your life that you'd probably signed to OVL? Or did you ever want to sign to OVL? Yeah, I did. Mm-hmm. Absolutely. I'm a fan of Drake. So yeah, I definitely wanted to.

I remember having conversations with Snoop, like, hey, you know who we should go should go to man who I should do some records with let me go over and go to Drake he's like yeah yeah no for sure yeah I'll call him all right cool and then I wait and then you go Kendrick messed all that up Kendrick that's a whole other thing yeah but I like them both why did you ask that? Because his name is October. Yeah so I wanted to be that you know I was like I'm both. I'm fans of both. Why did you ask that? Because his name's October. October. Oh. Yeah, so I wanted to be that, you know? I was like, I'm October, birthday's 1017.

This would be perfect fit, but. Or Gucci. Gucci is 1017, yeah. 1017? Yeah, that's right, that's right. But Snoop is a great, great fit, man. I just love, I really love, I'm actually a happy artist. Like I talk to so many artists that are just so unhappy

and depressed and, you know, it's like, they have people over their shoulders all the time, and that's not what happens at Death Row. Snoop is like, hey, how you feeling this week? I'm feeling like a pop record. All right, cool, call me when it's done. That's it. There's no stress about it.

There's no, oh, we shouldn't do that. Let's do it. Being someone who has done it all for so long, like for yourself, what was the transition like having to take the lead of like other people with your vision? Tough. Yeah.

Very, because I've just been, like you said, I've been doing this for so long, learning, doing this engineering thing, doing the mixing, doing all this stuff, and I'm just like, okay, I can get this done, because I look at a lot of artists, it's like, oh yeah, I really want Sade to drop another album. It's like, oh, eight years later.

In my head, because I just taught myself, in my head, I'm like, it'll take that much. So, and now I look at other artists too, and I'm like, well, you got all the resources. You have everybody's number in your phone. Why isn't your album getting done quicker? Like why aren't you, maybe they're not in the zone, maybe they're getting pressured, I don't know.

I just, like I said, I'm a happy artist so I'm not pressured by anything. I'm financially stable, like I'm good. So I can go in the studio right now and be like, okay cool, you need art, I'll work on the third album right now, or I'll work on a country record, I'll work on a pop, whatever, that's what helps me make great R&B, is by switching genres, taking a break,

because I don't wanna be Marvin, so let me not get too heavy in that bag, let me go over here to country real quick and write this real quick, and just take a break and then go over here to something else. How was tour with Maxwell and Jasmine Sullivan? Amazing, amazing. Two great artists, me and Maxwell, close man.

He's just a really great dude. Like he's been making sure everybody's taken care of and it's just been amazing. The crowd is just absolutely just, I'm in like, I'm in awe of they saying word for word, even my stuff, you know, and me opening up for them. Like, I did my first tour in January, which sold out, majority of the tour.

And they were singing it then, I was like, I don't know if they're gonna do it this time. They're doing it this time as well. Have you got a record? You sound surprised by that. You said even my stuff, like, you didn't think you would know your music? Yeah, no, because I just, in my head,

I'm just still this dude in South Bend, Indiana that's trying to make it. I still feel like I'm going to the studio just trying to, oh man, I really hope they like it. I still have that. So it's a slight imposter syndrome kind of. Yeah, I'm just like, I'm like, man, there's no way, I don't think they're gonna like this.

Snoop's heard me say, I don't think they're gonna like this 100 times over. I did not think they were gonna like Rebirth of Marvin. I didn't think they were gonna like Back to Your Place. What? I was like, no, there's no way. I was like, this ain't hot right now. And they love it.

And I'm just like, okay. So that's why I like letting the people decide. So you let, real quick, you let the, you were kinda letting the trends of R&B guide you as opposed to what traditional R&B is. Because you make, to me, traditional R&B. But you thought because of the way people make R&B now, they don't wanna hear this tradition.

Exactly, that's exactly what I was thinking when I got this. You wanna sing about them hoes. Oh my God. I mean, I just. You wanted to redo Bitches Ain't Shit but Hoes and Tricks, R&B version. Bitches ain't shit. Oh my God.

We goin' some tricks. You know, yeah, we. Actually, yeah, I think Dawg's gonna watch this. Oh my God. Oh my God. I think he's finding another ass. Dawg's gonna be on that now. Man, I'm on that. Thank you, Shawty, man. I think Dawg's gonna watch this. Oh my God. I think he's gonna find another album. Dawg's gonna be on that now.

Man, I'm on that. Thank you, Shawty, man. I'm definitely gonna credit you on that. I'm gonna send you something. I'm gonna send you a gift. But that's how it broke through. When I heard it, I was like, who is... I thought you, honestly, I thought you were like an older god.

I really was so surprised. I was like, what is this song? And then I just kept hearing it. So to hear that you didn't even think that we were gonna like it, I'm like, that is insane. I'm so happy that you didn't get in your own way. No, no, no, no, no. Definitely would like to add that I went to that show at Barclays,

the mic was on, and that was really impressive too, because a lot of people vocally live don't hit the actual record. Yeah, yeah. Now the mics were on, man. Max's is on, Jabin's on, mine is on, and I make sure I let people know like I'm not an auto-tune artist.

I had my phase. When T-Pain came out, I was, everything, I have a list of albums in my hard drive that are just- Oh, you got everything. Oh, that are just like, so T-Pain, it's ridiculous. You know what I'm saying? So I was like, oh, this is it. Boom, I'ma do this.

Sup, y'all, this is Questlove, and I'm here to tell you about a new podcast I've been working on with the Story Pirates and John Glickman called Historical Records. It's a family-friendly podcast. Yeah, you heard that right. A podcast for all ages. One you can listen to and enjoy with your kids starting on September 27th.

I'm going to toss it over to the host of Historical Records, Nimini, to tell you all about it. Make sure you check it out. Hey, y'all. Nimini here. I'm the host of a brand new history podcast for kids and families called Historical Records. Historical Records brings history to life through hip hop. Flash, slam, another one gone.

Bash, bam, another one gone. The cracker, the bat, and another one gone. The tip of the cap, there, another one gone. Bash, bam, another one gone. The cracker, the bat, and another one gone. The tip of the cap, there's another one gone. Each episode is about a different inspiring figure from history, like this one about Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old girl in Alabama who refused to give up her seat on the city bus nine whole months before Rosa Parks did the same thing.

Check it. And if you get with me, did you know, did you know, I wouldn't give up my seat? Nine months before Rosa, he was Claudette Goldman. Get the kids in your life excited about history by tuning in to Historical Records. Because in order to make history, you have to make some noise.

Listen to Historical Records on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You know, I'm gonna get on like doing this, and it was that time, we were like 10 times over, like, oh, okay, nope, that didn't work out. Oh, I got this meeting with, never mind, it didn't work out, so. This is really random, but speaking of like trying,

like things not working out, you were on Empire. I was on Empire. Yeah. And then you were so you did. I read about it. You were doing really well. They were talking about making you a bigger character Empire. Yeah.

And all the Jesse. The Jesse Smalls stuff happened. You were pissed. You look like a lion. Oh, shit. You know, I knew you were. Because you got the look. You definitely look like the baby at Lucia's head

that we didn't know about. When you walked in, I'm like, I know he was pissed. That would have been so perfect for you. Oh, man. Man. Come on, man. No, I mean, yeah, I thought it was, that was my first time doing any type of acting. Snoop was like, y'all, we're going to add you to Empire.

I'm like, nigga, I can't act. He was like, yeah, you can. I'm like, no, I can't, man. That's not my lane. I'm just,'re gonna add you to Empire like I can't act. He was like, yeah, you can't like no, I can't man That's not my lane. I'm just come on man And I went on come home and I went on there and and did it and the director was like how long you been acting? I was like today. He was like, I think we should sit down and talk. I'm like Okay, this is thing. I still think I'm dreaming. So so I'm like there's no way even being on here to breakfast I've been watching y'all for a long time. Just like Like just as I was sitting in the background was just like damn

This is really happening. So that's how I kind of felt on Empire. So then when Jesse messed it up for me Come on, man. Don't do me like that, skinny. It's interesting, right? Because these are the type of stories when you really, really take off, everybody's going to be like, damn, this guy came out of nowhere, but you've been with Snoop since 2016. That's crazy. Yeah, just doing background stuff like doing, you know, when I first got with him, he was like, yo, I'm about to go on tour.

I want you to come on tour with me. And I was like, I'm going been with Snoop since 2016. That's crazy. Yeah, just doing background stuff like doing, when I first got with him, he was like, yo, I'm about to go on tour. I want you to come on tour with me. So me doing a small crowd, it didn't start off that way. It started off with 50,000 people. So now when I'm doing this with Jusman and Max,

Max is like, you're really comfortable on stage. I'm like, yeah. I'm like, small crowds make me anxious. Really small crowds. If I'm in yeah I'm like small crowds make me anxious really small crowds if I'm in a crowd of like a hundred I'm like I can hear everybody's thoughts like and again in a note like that you know like I sound a little dry today you know so doing that kind of just molded me to be a better performer so doing that and then now coming on this tour where it's you know tens, twenty thousand people it just feels normal to me and being with Snoop since 2016 I've just been doing that. I've been touring with him several times

overseas everything and just doing like the all the stuff with him and Martha Stewart like I did the song for the him and Martha Stewart show, The Cooking with Mark you know and I did that record. And then all his albums from 2016 I've been on. I've been doing backgrounds or I've been doing hooks. So I've just been chilling and really caking up. Does October London trust his own talent? Not his ability to, I guess, sound like others,

but do you trust your own talent? Absolutely. I've been doing it for a while. so I know exactly what I can do. I have so much stuff in the hard drive that I can't wait to drop. Like, it makes me anxious. Even being on the bus this whole tour, I'm just listening to the records, and everybody gets together and we listen to all the records, and we're just like, yo, this is really just the starting point. Like, they have no idea what's to come you know let's can we play a record

oh I was gonna say I know that you're involved on the doggieland for kids yeah yeah talk to me about what do you exactly do you do yeah yeah yeah no I've been that's what I'm saying so you know snooze been looking out for a long time Snoop came in the studio one day or one night and was like hey What do you think about doing a kid's record? I was like, yeah, that's fine. Whatever. I can do that I made one kid's record. He came back in the studio. Let me hear what you got played it He was like dope. Can you do another one like that? I was like, yeah, of course This time I called my son on FaceTime, my son's seven,

and I was like, hey, I need you to add some vocals to this. He was like, okay, dad. And this time we did a record called Brush Brush. So we ended up doing that and Snoop came in, he was like, who is the kid? I was like, it's my son, it's your nephew. He was like, oh, snap, like, okay, cool, I think we should do an album. All right, cool, give me till tomorrow.

Because I'm quick. Give me till tomorrow. Tomorrow's crazy. Give us a little album? Yeah, Colorblind. When we came out in 2016, when me and Snoop came out with Colorblind, I did 18 songs in two or three days. Wow.

I got myself sick and he was like, all right, you need to go back to the hotel. Because I was like, no, one shot. You get one shot. And that was my one shot. I'm knocking out eight tests. So I'm very, I knock them out really quick. So he was like, okay, cool. So I knocked out the album and then he called Claude Brooks

and he was like, yo, I got an idea for a show. Call it Doggyland. And now I'm the co-creator of Doggyland. I am the voice of Woofie, and I do the music. That's dope, congratulations. Yeah, you don't see this type of artist development no more. You don't see people just like working with an artist every step of the way, you know?

And then Moe's Artists wanted right away. You remember, he been signed since 2016. Moe's Artists would have left in 2017, was like, I ain't popping yet, I'm gone. You seen the vision. Absolutely, yeah, I saw the vision, but Snoop would tell you, I gave him a hard time too. You did?

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, yeah. I get you. What artist did you see popping? Was like, yo, that could have been, that should have been me. Bryson Tiller. No, I wouldn't say Bryson Tiller. Bryson Tiller came out of nowhere to me.

I was like, oh, this is dope. I'm actually a fan of Bryson Tiller. I don't know what artists came. I know one artist that made me actually kind of pissed me off to be honest and that was and that and I'll tell you the story why so it's 2004 mmm who was popping who just came out with just gotta make it it's gotta make tray songs yep all day he got the braids I got the braids he lies skin I'm like skin and my boy Travis looked at me is

like damn you don't let this nigga eat you up like that. And he just walked away. And ever since then, I've just paused. Definitely a pause moment. Sorry. He should have paused the back door before with the key, but go ahead, keep going. Yeah, yeah, that was true.

If he hadn't paused that, he missed it. If he hadn't paused that, he missed it. But go ahead. He missed it. So, at that point, I was like, poor, that. He missed it. He missed it. But go ahead. He missed it. So, at that point I was like, okay cool. It made me competitive. So I'm super, super competitive.

Like I've been on, I'm not going to say the artist, but I've been on different shows where you know several artists on this show and they'll do certain things and I'll go in the back room and I'll put on Michael Jordan's Last Dance and I'll sit there for about a good 30, 40 minutes, watch that and I'll go in the back room and I'll put on Michael Jordan's last dance. And I'll sit there for about a good 30, 40 minutes, watch that and I'll go out there. And compete. Yep, everything's a competition. Dog, Snoop will consistently, like, it's not a competition, man, you don't have to be like,

you know, you don't have to be so hard on yourself. I'm like, nah, uh-uh, nah, you see that high note he did? No, no, no, I can't let him live. Damn, I love that dog. How exhausting was it working with Tyrese? You know, Tyrese is a great friend of mine. He's a great dude. He's a great guy. He's a great dude. He's not exhausting at all. He's just passionate. He's just a passionate person. He literally wears his heart on his sleeve and you got to give it to him. Sure but how exhausting was it working with him in the studio? We all know him.

I just want to know, like, Bedroom Bully, how long did it take y'all to make that record? That didn't take a day, not with him. I don't know how long it took him. You know how long it took me. So he sent the record to me and was like, I got this record, he called me and said, I got this record, I think you'd be great on it.

It's very secret garden. I was like, okay, bet, just send it. I was in the lab already, sent the beat, and I was like, yo, this is dope. And he had a little bit of his vocals on it, and I was like, okay, cool. So really, I wanted him to do his vocals first, that was the competitive part.

And then I was like, nah, I don't worry about it. You know, it's Tyrese, I ain't trippin', you know, we're brothers. I went ahead and put my part on there, then he put his nah, I don't worry about it. You know, it's Tyrese, I ain't trippin', you know, we're brothers. I went in and put my part on there, then he put his part on there, and that was it. But it took me, you know, 30 minutes to knock that out. I don't know how long it took him to get his knocked out, but for me, it was nothing but bedroom bullies.

And that's on the album, too. It's on his and mine. When you do a song like that, do you feel pressure to always deliver to a woman sexually? Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely. I love cars and women. Period.

Did you guys make this record before or after you almost burned his house down? That's just what I heard. This was after. This was after. Ty Reese's. You almost burned down Ty Reese's house. The person that almost burned his house down is sitting right behind me. No.

Oh yeah. What, this was the house in LA? No, Atlanta. Atlanta, OK. Tyrese's Atlanta house. What happened? Burn a hookah. I forget that.

That's a shame that you knew what it was. That's the only way you burn a house down nowadays is hookah. The hookah coat you're driving is a hookah. Burn a house down with hookah. Because, you know, we were listening to some music, and we were all drinking except for Tyrese, because Tyrese don't drink. And my boy Jamie was listening to the music.

He got hyped up and he was just like, whoa, you noticed that? Just the record is going to be crazy. And he got up and he knocked it over and nobody noticed that first. And I turned and I looked and I was like, I saw security moving really fast. One of the security guys moving really fast.

He started patting on the floor. And I'm like, what the hell is he doing? Stanky lag or something? I don't know what the hell he's doing I was just like okay. All right. I guess he's filling the record now. Look i'm like oh, oh, oh the rug's on fire His motron rug's on fire. I was like, oh nice So he's trying to put that out grabbing the coals off the thing and all that And jamie fell bad and tyrese gives him gives him shit every time. What flavor was the hookah? Damn it. I don't even know. I'm just trying to see was it worth it. I don't know it might have been like mango berry cream or something. Not even no mint? Y'all almost burnt that house down with mango berry. That's crazy.

I know right? That's crazy. That is not a good way to go out. So you know every every time Tyrese sees Jamie's like he can't come in my house. He can't come in my house unless he sees Jamie. Yeah he owes me a carpet but you know he lets him in anyway so it's good. Now the song time, did you have a wedding song in mind when you wrote that? Absolutely. Okay. Absolutely. So time actually is... we are in 2024 so that was done in 08 so what are we... it's 15, 16 years in the game? It's been sitting in my hard drive for 15, 16 years. So that's an old song, old song that me and my, one of my best friends Mike Letter,

out of Miami, we did that record. And yeah, I played it for Dog. I think I played it maybe four or five, six times, and he remembers and then doesn't remember, but he remembered it this time, he was like, yo, we should put this on the album. And I loved it maybe four or five, six times, and he remembers and then doesn't remember, but he remembered it this time. He was like, yeah, we should put this on the album. And I loved it because I've been waiting to put that album out because it's just a beautiful ballad.

So you didn't do nothing to it? That's how it was recorded? Remixed. Oh, okay, okay. Yeah, yeah, remixed and we added some organ to it. Superfly came in and added little things to, little splashes, but other than that, same record. When you wrote that in 08, what was your mindset?

Was there somebody you wanted to marry, or somebody you wanted to spend the rest of your life with? No, I was a sap, man, back in 08, so I was doing everything I possibly could to, you know, I was doing the most. I was, I was, yeah. What's a sap? But ain't nothing wrong with it.

Like a, no, like a, kinda like a, you know, a sucker, you know what I'm saying? What's wrong with that? Nothing wrong with it, but you like I'm kind of like a sucker. You know what I'm saying? What's wrong with that? Nothing wrong with it, but you know. You would tell a woman stuff like that. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Oh my God.

I had poems and shit. Oh, poems. What's wrong with that? Nothing's wrong with it, but. Charlamagne had poems too. She did? You was texting the poems or you would like mail them? I feel like you would mail them.

I was, I was, I was. I'm just asking. Depending on how old you are, that was. I'm just asking. Depending on how old you are, that's the era we come from. We come from that, you know, will you go with me? Yes, no, maybe era. I just want to know because why, is there something wrong with, we always be online,

like we miss that, like the begging, begging, we love you, we love you, you was doing it, and you got scared out of it. I was writing a lot of poems back then. For some reason, I can't write a single poem now. Who tricked you out just bought what happened. No. Look, man, I got my heart broke. So I was just kind of...

And then got my heart broken again. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to laugh. No, it's all right. You're just laughing at my pain. She ain't got nobody. I just hate to hear that because that... She's projecting. She's been hurt. She'd like to see men that have been hurt.

Well, I can't believe that. Now she's into white men though. She likes white men. Oh! Oh! No, not the whole group. Brad Pitt. Travis Kelcey.

Travis Kelcey. Oh. Kayla Plant. But you're light skinned, so she's willing to meet in the middle. Oh, nice! That's dope. But she with the Delaware State.

They here lying. HBCU. All right, y'all got more questions for him? The sappiness makes for great music. Absolutely. I agree. That's all I was trying to say. Yeah, even the record, Eternity,

that got on the Color Purple soundtrack, that was a 15, 16 year old record. I did Eternity right after, me and Mike did Eternity right after time. Third Shift was a freshly done record. I saw you just preview that. Yeah, yeah. Was that the bridge or the hook that she was playing? Who was in there conducting this? What, the whole record? For Third Shift, yeah. I went to Jeff Giddy and Jeff was like,

yo you want to record it here? I was like, no, I'm going home. And I flew back home to South Bend, I recorded there. And then sent it it to Dog, and Dog was like, yo, this is something fresh, this is something new. And then went back to Jeff Giddy and got another track, which is Kill Shot. So Kill Shot and Third Shift was produced by Jeff Giddy. So you still live in South Bend? Absolutely.

Wow. Nah, if I leave, it's not gonna be anywhere. I'm not going to LA, I'm not going to New York. Miami's my weak spot. That's my weak spot. Is it good, because you probably get grounded when you go home. Mm-hmm.

Yeah. Absolutely. I get to be around family, friends, people on tour with me, they're my day ones. I feel like I might lose myself if I go and move somewhere where I have to be seen all the time in red carpet all the time. I love that. I just feel like I'm gonna lose myself if I go and move somewhere where I have to be seen all the time and red carpet all the time. I love that.

I just feel like I'm gonna lose myself, so I go back home. I can come to New York, come kick it for the weekend, come see y'all, and then I'm back home. I'm right back home, because my son is there. He goes to a great school there, and I just, you know, I like being with my son. I like chilling, being at home. And if I need anything or something goes wrong, I'm right there where I need to be.

So, you know. Two final questions. How did your mom feel about mama? She loved it. She loves it because we played it in the studio for a bunch of people not too long ago. I think that was maybe last month or something like that. Or maybe soon. I don't know.

Time is flying by But we played it and she gets teary-eyed every time and one of the people that were in the studio She's like, oh my god, like I love mama so much It's just there's your mom know that you you know, you made this record and I was like she's sitting right behind you and she's oh You know, so yeah the mama right? I really cannot wait to put that record out I cannot wait cuz I I love the record a lot. And I actually did that when Snoop's mom passed. Wow. So Snoop's mom passed was the inspiration

for you to write that? Exactly, so when Snoop, yeah, the day after Snoop's mom passed, he was in the studio and I was just like, I got my boy, I got him. And I went in there and I just did it, and then I was like, yeah, I want you to hear something. And I played it for him and he just, you know. Broke down crying. It made you appreciate your mom still being here. Absolutely, yeah, I want you to hear something. And I played it for him and he just, you know. Broke down crying.

It made you appreciate your mom still being here. Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely. So, you know, I just think it's a great record. I can't wait to drop it. And that's one of the reasons you probably don't want to leave South Bend, ever. I don't, no, I just feel comfortable there. People, you know, like, everybody knows me.

I know them. Nobody really messes with me there. You know, nobody's messed up any of my cars yet, so that's great. So I'm pretty good. Everybody knows me, I know them. Nobody really messes with me there. Nobody's messed up any of my cars yet, so that's great. So I'm pretty good, I'm happy there as of right now. And it's really cheap to live. That's the cost of living is important? Cost of living is very important. So you go do all this and then just go back home and chill.

Come on. What you wanna hear off the album? What you wanna hear? Let's play something. Well, she brought up Third Shift. shift, so might as well play third shift All right. Well October nights comes out this Friday, and we appreciate you for joining us. Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate it And let's get into it. It's October London. It's the Breakfast Club. Good morning. Wake that ass up in the morning the Breakfast Club People, my people, what's up? This is Questlove.

Man, I cannot believe we're already wrapping up another season of Questlove Supreme. Man, we've got some amazing guests lined up to close out the season, but, you know, I don't want any of you guys to miss all the incredible conversations we've had so far. I mean, we talked to A. Marie, Johnny Marr, E. Jonathan Schechter, Billy Porter, and so many more. Look, if you haven't heard these episodes yet, hey, now's your chance. You gotta check them out.

Listen to Questlove Supreme on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.