The Breakfast Club - Best of Full Interview - Lil Jon Opens Up About Mental & Physical Transformation, Origins Of Crunk, Meditation Album + More

Episode Date: December 22, 2025

Best of 2025- KING OF THE SOUTH  - Lil Jon Opens Up About Mental & Physical Transformation, Origins Of Crunk, Meditation Album , Recorded 2025. Listen For More!YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakfastClubPower1051FMSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast, Guaranteed Human. I'm Stefan Curry, and this is Gentleman's Cut. I think what makes Gentleman's Cut different is me being a part of developing the profile of this beautiful finished product. With every sip, you get a little something different. Visit Gentleman's Cut Bourbon.com or your nearest Total Wines or Bevmo. This message is intended for audiences 21 and older. Gentleman's Cut Bourbon, Boone County, Kentucky. For more on gentlemen's cut bourbon, please visit

gentlemen's cut bourbon.com. Please enjoy responsibly. Hey, I'm Nora Jones, and I love playing music with people so much that my podcast called Playing Along is back. I sit down with musicians from all musical styles to play songs together in an intimate setting. Every episode's a little different,

but it all involves music and conversation with some of my favorite musicians. Over the past two seasons, I've had special guests like Dave Grohl, Leve, Mavis Staples, Remy Wolfe, Jeff Tweedy, really too many to name. And this season, I've sat down with Black Pumas,

Alessia Kara, Sarah McLaughlin, and more. Check out my new episode with John Legend. I feel like, in a lot of ways, our careers are paralleled in some ways, but they just never intersected for some reason. I know. We should take it slow. We're just ordinary people.

We don't know which way you go. Listen to Nora Jones is playing along on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, everybody, it's Chuck and Josh from the Stuff You Should Know podcast, and it's that time of year again when we knuckle down to do our annual holiday episodes.

We collected our best past classic holiday episodes and compiled them into a 12 days of Christmas toys playlist that the whole family can enjoy. That's right. Maybe you missed it the first time we detailed the history of Beanie Babies, Monopoly, or Yo-Yo's, a whole lot more. So listen to the 12 Days of Christmas Toys playlist on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. Who would you call if the unthinkable happened? I said, it was y'all 22 times. A police officer, right? But what do you do when the monster is the man in blue? This dude is the devil. He'll hurt you. This is the story of a detective

who thought he was above the law until we came together to take him down. I said, you're going to see my face to the day that you die. I got you, I got you, I got you. Listen to the girlfriends, untouchable, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I got you. I knew it was a bomb the second that it exploded.

I felt it ripped through me. In season two of RipCurrent, we asked, who tried to kill Judy Berry and why. They were climbing trees and they were sabotaging. equipment in the woods. She received death threats before the bombing. She received more threats after the bombing. I think that this is a deliberate attempt to sabotage our movement. Episodes of Rip Current Season 2 are available now.

Listen on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hold on. Every day I wake up. The breakfast club. You all finished or y'all done? Morning, everybody. It's DJ NV, Just Solaris. Charlamagne de Guy. We are the Breakfast Club.

Lon La Rosa is here as well. And we got a special guest in the building. A motherfucking icon guy got there. Don't play with him. I thought he was up here. This is his first time up there, which is crazy. That's crazy. I only seen you on the road. I know, but I thought you've been up here. Ladies and gentlemen, Little John.

What's up, legend? Hey, man, thank you all for having me. Thank you, man. Good morning. Good morning, everybody. We don't say good morning enough to our fellow brothers and sisters. That is true. That's right. I was a victim of that until I started to change my mindset. Sometimes I would come down, get in the car, going, you know, on the road, I didn't say good morning.

And once I started to change my mindset, I realized that's a good way to start your day and a gesture to someone, whoever you're riding with, you know, the driver, whoever. Ask them how they're feeling. And then ask them how they're feeling. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Sometimes that's also the case. Sometimes just say, how is your day going? Yeah. You know, I found myself sometimes, I'm really in tune to my spiritual side. I've been for a long time. Sometimes I might just be in, I remember being in the club and I might walk by a random person and I can feel that energy and I'd be like, let me just give you a hug. Oh, wow.

And sometimes that just changes somebody's life. Absolutely. What about when you were the person that might have been creating the energy, though? Like if you felt like some aggressive angreness from this person, but it was your fault because you're sad that you just did. Well, you know, I'm going to tell you one time, I was in South Carolina, in a hole in the wall club way back in the day,

and it was supposed to be a night where cash money was supposed to be there. And they called me because cash money couldn't come. So these folks in South Carolina was mad than a motherfucker, and we was not cash money. Little Johnny Eastside boys show up. And so I understand it's a hostile situation,

but I said, I looked out on that crowd and I said the biggest dude in this crowd I'm about to make him my best friend and I made him my best friend during the show like playing to him giving him drinks and hyping him up and then he turned

like it turned the whole crowd around and then they were fans of us after that but it was it was a way you can always change the energy of a situation if you approach you to a calm manner that's why good security don't go and like try to fight somebody they try to diffuse the situation

that's the first rule It's diffuse it, not be the aggressor. Little John, I want to go back. So this is your first time here. Well, real quick, though, what is the little John morning routine like? I knew you were going to ask me that. Yeah. What is the little John morning routine? So this morning, I woke up, had a little water.

Because, you know, I do my, I do this Korean facial stuff. So I do skin, you know, my skin is very important. My skin looks very good. How do my skin look, ladies? It looks very good. Love it. One rule for that is positive. positive energy, positive thoughts,

because if you're a negative person, all that's negativity, it's going to wear the flesh down. So get up in the morning and do my skin care routine, brush my teeth, all that good stuff. And then since I'm on the road, a nice healthy breakfast for me was two hard-boiled eggs, some yogurt, some berries, and a great fruit. Wow.

That's simple, easy, and start with a positive mindset. It's going to be a great day. I'm always in my mind saying affirmations for the day even before I go to bed in my dreams like last night I was like it's going to be a great interview

I look at this is one of the biggest interviews I've ever done in my life because it's like it's 50 minutes 45 minutes, 50 minutes, a long interview it's a lot to talk about Charlemagne you you see me grow from I think one time we talked you were like you came to the radio station in South

Carolina one time. That was early on. He wasn't even on air yet. Right. Were you on air? I think it was a phoneer. You called in. You had just put out, I think you had just put out beer, beer. Wow. So that's 20 years ago. We were talking about you having the Confederate flag in the video. And I thought about that. So that's, you know, you've seen the growth. And I think it's important because, yeah, you've seen the growth. You've seen it from a different angle. You've seen it from a different angle. You've seen it from a different angle. And, you know, moved the needle of culture, and you've had everybody and their grandmama on this show. So I think it's one of the most important and, you know, best interviews I think I'm going to

have because of all of that. Let's claim it. Let's claim it. I want to go back. I want to start from the beginning. These are the interviews I love because for some reason I thought you've been up here before. So I want to start when you first got into the music industry, right? Let's start with you started working for Jemain Dupree.

Yep. 93. Start from there. So how did you hook up with Jermaine Dupri? And what did you do for Jermaine Dupree? So I used to be, in Atlanta in the 90s, I was like the hottest DJ in the city. I was the man.

I did all the parties. And I would see Jermaine all the time at the clubs. And then I did this one club called the Phoenix Night Club, which was the hottest nightclub in Atlanta at the time. We brought Biggie. We brought Biggie. I got Biggie and Craig Mack together when they did the Big Mac tour. Wow.

So I got them. That's an interesting story. because we got we we we I worked on the radio station but I wasn't the PD and you know how back then you had to go through the PD because you wanted to get the spins for your artists so did he you know he let us get Biggie and Craig because he thought I was like the PD and he get there and the club is slammed like a million people and he's like yo what the hell you know we need some more money because this thing is packed and then he found out that I wasn't the PD. And so he was

extra pissed. And then he even tried to get the rep that worked for BMG at the time fired because she got, because we got Craig and Biggie for free. Wow. Wow. So, yeah. That was normal back then when artists were on promo to us? Yeah, but you wanted to go through the station

so you can make sure you get the spin. You can get your look. And we wasn't that, but we were hot promoters. So I was doing all the hot parties and I would just see Germain all the time. But even if I wasn't DJ and, I was everywhere. Like, I had a thing where I was, I wanted to be from, I called it from bankhead to buckhead. I was from the boozy spots to the, the most hood you can get in

Atlanta. So I was literally everywhere. And Jermaine came to me, well, for one thing people don't really know, Dallas Austin's brother came to me first. So his name was Claude Austin. He passed away. But Claude Austin came to me first and wanted me to work for Rowdy. but then Jermaine came to me around the same time and Claw ended up passing and so and Jermaine came because I was just everywhere

and he was like I need you someone like you to represent you know my label because you everywhere so he hired me in 1993 I started working at Soso Dev and I was hired to do A&R and street promotions because I was everywhere right so he wanted

someone that had respect in the city that could go anywhere and someone like me that I was always out so that was represent social death from bankhead like i said to buckhead and what artists did you have been in a and all for social death at that time uh i i had i put together all of the social deaf based all stars and at night i think the whole yeah very slipped on era of atlanta yeah and that changed that changed music too like it gave us a whole genre that had never been created like had never been done before and that all started because in aladdin

We used to do, like, it was DJ Jelly. Shout out DJ Jelly. Shout out the Jay Team, DJ Smurf and all of those guys. They would take, like, slow jam acape acapellas. Like, say, one famous mix was, Can You Stand the Rain, New Edition, and put it over a bass beat. So they used to do all of these mixes like that.

They would just do a whole mixtape. It would be all bass beats, and then these R&B acapellas. And so I was like, love this so much in the city, let's take that and make a record from that. Nobody made an actual song. So I came up with that concept, and I went to my boy DJ Cool Kali, aka Rodney. And then at the same time, I met Carl Mo. He used to call the phone and So So Def and play his tracks on the phone.

Interesting story about that. So one day, I'm like, these tracks is dope. So I called him to the office. and he comes up there with a freaking keyboard and plays the keyboard. Like just playing the keyboard, not like no CDs, no cassette tapes,

just playing the keyboard. And I'm like, this is crazy. So I ended up using him and we did my boo. And so yeah, I did all of the Social Deaf Base All-Stars. And then out of that,

we had Player Poncho. He got signed and we did a couple of records with Player Poncho. And Player Poncho is actually how I met the East Side Boys. Wow. Because Player Poncho would always,

when he would go out, he would have a whole like 20 10 20 guys with him and the east side boys was always with him even if it was just like two or three guys with him and so I was always with poncho because he was my artist you know and so me and the east side boys just one day we were in the club and I think we were in the club five five nine and uh we just started chanting this chant who you with who you with get crook who you with and then everybody in the club start chatting and then I look at Big Sam I'm like, we need to turn this

into a song. And so I know I have access to people with labels and stuff, so I call somebody I knew actually I called Cool Ace. This guy named Cool Ace and Cool Ace connected me with this guy named Carlos Glover and we ended up going in the studio and we made the song Who You With?

And that started everything for Little John as an artist. When did you start producing? When did the production bar come in? Probably like 92 And you never made beats at that time. You just bought a machine and said I'm on. No, it started off with me and my partner.

I used to do a show in Atlanta called Reggae Jamming on the main station in Atlanta, B-103. And me and Paul, I was in the sound system with Paul Lewis called Four Seasons, so I was like a selector, like, was a Jamaican sound system. Did Jamaican music? Every type of genre of music. So we had a dance hall.

we had a reggae show on Friday nights on the station and what we would do is I would take hip hop acapellas and put them over dance all beats and dance all acapellas put them over hip hop beats through that we got linked up with CigNet Records and we got, we convinced them to give us

the Capleton Tour Acapella. That's how I got to do the Capleton Tour remix. When I did verses, I remember playing it and people were like, you ain't do that! Like, ah! And I remember like in real time DJ Scratch pulled the vinyl out and he put in the chat

like I'm looking at the credits he actually did produce it so what we did at that time we would kind of tell somebody how we wanted to produce the records and later on we bought a drum machine and I learned how to produce by the time we got to who you wit

which was 95, 96 but before that we kind of just told somebody like yo chop this, chop that do this da da da da da da da da da da. Did you have reduction credits on my boo as well? I did not. I should have gotten some because I really co-produced

the song with them but I thought it's part of my job description as an A&R. It's the first project I'm doing that that was just part of the job. But I was really there every step of the way of inception of putting that song together. I'm glad you mentioned Sam and Bo, too, because people always seem to forget about the East Side Boys. Yeah.

What did they bring to the table? What made Little John and the East Side Boys such an amazing group? We was just like because we were the sound of the rowdy guys in the back of the club. That's what we were. We were them niggas that were turned up in the back that you'd just be looking back

like, make sure they ain't coming over here with that bullshit. So we were that. And what people don't understand about crunk music, I know some people are like, why did it do what it do? Why did it spread? Why did it become big? Because it was an outlet

of energy for black youth. Yes. When you went to the club, you had a hard-ass week, you had a hard life, whatever the fuck going on in your life, you hear that fucking crunk music and you get in that damn mosh pit and you let all of that out and you feel

amazing. You know what I mean? So that's why crunk music was able to reach so many people. That's why I still like going, like I see you talking about all the time about knuckers you buck as a Negro spiritual. And it is. Like it touches your soul

in a certain way and I think we do in like crunk music tap into music to the ancestor because they were chanting and so on and so forth. What did you do when you were banned from clubs? I remember in college, there was some clubs that were like, you cannot play none of that in this club.

Yeah, put your hood up and all that stuff. We just kept going. Because when you tell somebody you can't have it, they wanted more, you know. But it was crazy that the music got people so rowdy that they were, like, losing. I've seen people, I was in Louisiana one time, we did a show and they got so turned up they started fighting the police in the club

amazing times it's an amazing time amazing time yeah it was crazy um it's i want to just talk about one thing real quick that i've been going viral it's the the video of the two dollar bill concert that we did in Atlanta it's a viral video of it's be performing get crunk and that whole concert and you can see the energy on each and every If y'all look at the video, each and everybody in their face is turned up. It ain't nobody. Not one fucking cell phone in the air. Everybody's enjoying the moment.

Everybody is energized. And even you can see that the ground was shaking because the camera, when it's steady, is, like, moving. That's how much energy was in that place. And I think it's just a testament to, like, we just brought something different, you know? And, like, the kids now think they are turning up, but they have no idea what a real turned-up time was from the 2000. And get crunk was such a great record because I didn't think you could get crunker than Kings of Crunk.

You know, I'm not even joking. I didn't think you could get crunker to that, but as soon as you hear who am I, Bo Hagan, being me, motherfucker. You're like, God. Damn. Yeah. Bo Hogan killed that salute, Bo Hagan out there. How did you even have the mindset to take that to another level?

How did you take that energy to another level? another level. That beat was produced by Lil Jay, who produced Knuck of You Buck. Wow. So it was time to, you know, come and work on the album and, you know, everybody down with B&E, of course, people that don't know Crime Mob, part of that

was through B&E, so we are part of putting them out there. So, of course, I call all of the squad, you know, Trilville helped me write some of the songs. And, yeah, Liljay sent me, I think he sent me some beats, and that was one of the beats, and I was like, This is insane. Wow.

I thought it was one of the cruckest beats ever, too. Absolutely. I think my favorite beats that I've produced or co-produced or been on is get crunk and what you're going to do. And what you're going to do is unique. I was in New York when I did that beat. I remember I was on TBT and Steve Gottlieb and shout out to Brian Leach. My boy, Brian Leach, he was the A&R at the time.

He was like, Brian Leach, Brian Leach was like, Like, yo, you got to go in and knock out this song for this. I think it was like a Christmas album or something, Christmas Crunk album that Steve Gottlie wanted to put out. And I'm like, he can't put no fucking album out called Crump without me. So I was like, fuck this guy. And so I was in New York and Brian was like, you got to go in and record this song.

So I was angry when I made that beat. I'm never mad when I make tracks. But that's one of the only beats I've ever made when I was angry. And that's why I sound so aggressive. because I was mad that I had to go in the studio and record this. I wanted to just go out. Like I was like, I'm going to the club. He was like, no, you got to go in to do this song.

And so that's my anger coming out through the drummers. Did you have a trademarked the word, Krink? I can't remember. Probably. He did all my ad lips. I know that. Because you're the face of Krunk, but to me I would have to give,

I would take three, six, Mafia are probably the... So that's another argument going around. It's an argument that says Memphis started crunk Here's my Here's what I will say We in Atlanta

You couldn't be Atlanta in the 90s And not be listening to 8 ball MJG You couldn't be riding around Not listening to Master P Master P Changed the landscape of The South

The South period That's right He was the first one That really got us rowdy I would say it was Master P But we was listening In Balin G and of course

36 mafia came around that. You think P got us Roddy before 3-6? I think about it Bout it. Bout it was. Yeah, but tear the club up. I bet you won't hit him. I think Bouta-the-club was 97. What year did it about it, about it come out? I was in college. It had to be 95.

I think it was like 95. 95. I remember what happened was in the club in Atlanta. It was playing bass music. And then when Master P came, that was over. About it, about it. That was 95. Definitely, I was a freshman in college. That was the record. Motherfuckers in the hood was getting no-limit tattoos.

1995. 95, yeah. Exactly. That's what changed it for us. So I will say Memphis is part of the influence, but our sound is different. Memphis was getting buck. They said body-to-body was 97. That's not even late, though.

No, no, no, it came out of 95. Treyfell is a part of the album true. It was a white label was 97. When we got Terry Club over, it was when they redid it, that was 97, because I remember it says on the vinyl, tear the club up 97. So, but it started for us with Master P. That bowdy, bowdy shit just changed everything. But we are influenced, but it's all different sounds.

But it all intertwines and works together. So what would you call what 3-6 was doing? They called it in Memphis, Memphis Buck, but 36 was doing it even, we wouldn't even buck music. I think it was just, 36 created their own lane of Memphis music. And then they changed the landscape of what Memphis music is. So salute, Paul, juicy, and the whole squad. That's family, too.

You know what the one asked to? When you were making these tracks, did you try to make it your business not to sound the same? Because, you know, when you look at your discography to see some of the records that you did, like, I'm so amazed because they don't sound the same, right? You can go to the window, to the wall. You can blow your whistle over here,

and then you, like, the shit is amazing. Yeah, well, it depends. Well, a lot of it, so, so let's talk, get low interesting story of get low get low became because I was trying to make party up I was inspired by party up DMX I love DMX's party up

so much I was like I want to make something like that let me go in the studio this was like 99 and so I go in and I come out with get low if you listen to it's got the whistle like party up it's some similarities I'm inspired by it but

I sat on the beat I couldn't really come up with nothing and then I had a session with Yin Yang and I pulled that beat out and we made get low. So it comes out like that just came like I said because I was trying to do something different but it turned from like a rowdy party up type song to a twerk song.

But then like say, tell me when to go, E40. We were in the studio together and that's the energy of what he's giving me and his squad is giving me and it comes out into the drummanship. So every time I make the best stuff when I'm in the studio. Youngblood's damn we were in the studio together

and it took two days for us to get that song done like I did the beat the first day we had the verses the first day but we did not have the hook and then the second day we just threw a party in the studio and then Bo Hagen

again shout out Bo Hagen he was like everybody was throwing hooks out and then he was just kind of mumbling something I was like what you got because I'm shooting everybody's shit down like that shit's trash and then he's just mummling son

I was like what's that? That's it. That's it. If you don't give a damn... Go lay that. And then I got the second part, you know? And sometimes that's how some of the records happen, too. Like, you just stumble onto it.

Blow the whistle. Blow the whistle. I did that beat the same week that I did tell me when to go. Damn. Yeah. So I was working on E40s album, and I think we had done muscle cars that day, so too short.

Too short had came to the studio a couple of days after that. So before, like, earlier in the week, I was making beats and I was going through sounds and I found that sound. And I was like, ooh, this sound like Freaky Tales bass line. Like, this is a bass like that. I was like, let me make some with that. And I don't know what made me, instead of making it slow, make it fast. Because I like to do stuff different, I don't like to be expected.

So I was like, let me make it 100 whatever BPMs. So I put it to the side. I'm Stefan Curry, and this is Gentleman's Cut. I think what makes Gentleman's Cut different is me being a part of developing the profile of this beautiful finished product. With every sip, you get a little something different. Visit gentlemen'scut bourbon.com or your nearest total wines or Bevmo. This message is intended for audiences 21 and older. Gentleman's Cut Bourbon, Boone County, Kentucky.

For more on Gentleman's Cut Bourbon, please visit gentlemen's cut bourbon.com. Please enjoy responsibly. Who would you call if the unthinkable happened? I just fell and started screaming. If you lost someone you loved in the most horrific way. I said through you got 22 times. The police, right? But what if the person you're supposed to go to for help

is the one you're the most afraid of? This dude is the devil. He's a snake. He'll hurt you. I got you. I got you. I got you. I'm Nikki Richardson, and this is The Girlfriend. Untouchable. Detective Roger Golubski spent decades

intimidating and sexually abusing black women across Kansas City using his police badge to scare them into silence. This is the story of a detective who seemed above the law until we came together to take him down. I told Roger Galoopsky, I said, you're going to see my face

till the day that you die. Listen to the girlfriends, Untouchable, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Have you ever listened to those true crime shows and found yourself with more questions than answers? And what is this? How is that not a story we all know? What's this? Where is that? Why is it wet?

Boy, do we have a show for you? From Smartless Media, Campside Media, and Big Money Players comes Crimeless. Join me, Josh Dean. investigative journalists and me Roy Scoville comedian as we celebrate the amazing creativity of the world's dumbest criminals we'll look into some of the silliest ways folks have broken the laws honestly it feels more like a high level

prank than a crime who catfish is a city and meets some memorable anti-heroes there are thousands of angry horny monkeys clap if you think she's a witch and it freaks you out he has x-ray vision how could I not follow Honestly, I got to follow him. He can see right through me.

Listen to Crimless on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Dad had the strong belief that the devil was attacking us. Two brothers, one devout household, two radically different paths. Gabe Ortiz became one of the highest ranking law enforcement officers in Texas. 32 years, total law enforcement experience. But his brother Larry, he stayed behind. built an entirely different legacy. He was the head of this gang,

and nobody was going to tell him what to do. You're going to push that line for the cause? Took us under his wing and showed us the game, as they call it. When Larry is murdered, Gabe is forced to confront the past he tried to leave behind and uncover secrets he never saw coming. My dad had a whole other life that we never knew about. Like, my mom started screaming my dad's name, and I just heard one gunshot. The Brothers Ortiz is a gripping true story about faith, family,

and how two lives can drift so far apart and collide in the most devastating way. Listen to the Brothers Ortiz on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Nora Jones, and I love playing music with people so much that my podcast called Playing Along is back. I sit down with musicians from all musical styles to play songs together in an intimate setting. Every episode's a little different, but it all involves music and conversation with some of my favorite musicians. Over the past two seasons, I've had special guests like Dave Grohl, Leveh, Mavis Staples, Remy Wolf, Jeff Tweedy, really too many to name.

And this season, I've sat down with Black Pumas, Alessia Kara, Sarah McLaughlin, and more. Check out my new episode with John Legend. I feel like in a lot of ways our careers are paralleled in some ways, but they just never intersected for some reason. I know. Take it slow We're just ordinary people We don't know Which way to go

Listen to Nora Jones is playing along On the Iheart Radio app Apple Podcasts Or wherever you get your podcasts And when Too Short came to the studio A couple days later I was like, here you go, you know I got something for you.

But first 40 turned it down Because 40 didn't want it? 40. 40. had to remind me this the other day. He was like, you know, you gave me that beat first, and I was like, this sound like Todd, so give it to Todd, so that's what happened.

Basically, he should get a co-production credit as well. I know. I ain't up kidding. I didn't agree. I gave it to me until he didn't want it. What moment made you realize Crunk had officially crossed from sovereign energy to a global move?

Coming up doing MTV, they let me get in Times Square on a double-decker bus with a little scrappy on TRL doing what you gonna do. Brud, MTV! I was gonna say MTV too because I remember watching the video music awards.

I forgot what year was. They played Get Low going in the commercial break. And the audience went crazy and Justin Timberlake was wilding. And I just remember thinking to myself, oh, Get Low is out of here. Yeah. And then we end up performing Get Low at the MTV video

Music Awards. Get Low, yeah. Lean Back. And what else we did that year? I can't remember. But that was a big time. And Dave Chappelle was the host. So that was pretty insane. That was a pretty insane year for me. And when you touched, when you started doing R&B, did you think you could do R&B or was one of the things? How did you get introduced to say, let me try to make R&B records, but doing all over. He was already doing them with the social base also. Well, that was different. So here's what happened. So Sean Garrett, shout out Sean Garrett. incredible songwriter. He reached out to, I guess he was trying to get in touch with me, and he couldn't get in touch with me. So he knew somebody that worked with me, her name was

Delicia. Delicia had all my beats. So she gave him a beat CD, and that's how he got the beat, basically the Freak Elite beat, which turned into Yeah. So she gave him the beat. So thank you, Delicia, for giving Sean those beats. And Sean wrote, yeah, to that Freak Elite beat. So, So crazy thing about that is that beat was for mystical. Freakleague's beat was for mystical. So I did, though, I used to like have labels book me in Circle House, shout out BB Circle House in Miami. And I like take a week and I just go and do as many beats as possible. And the label could take all the beats, put them on whatever artists they want.

So these particular sessions was for Mystical. That beat was in there. He passed on it. And so I think CO, shout out CO, he got the beat. and he wrote Freakleek I don't even know this but he wrote that and submitted it to the label Petey Pablo he ended up recording

but I don't even know this so Sean Garrett has the beat he writes yeah Usher don't want to record no more songs he's done with the damn album he's like I'm good I got burned I got all these other songs I'm good

we good LA Reid's like no go record the damn song so he goes and records the song and we come out with it I remember going in and doing the session too I think we recorded in LA and we were like this is a smash right and so the song is in the can

and then I remember it was around Christmas time the album was done L.A. Reed is in Miami and he calls J.D. going insane and J.D. called me on three-way and L.A. Reed is like why am I hearing this Usher record on the radio and basically it was the freaka leak instrumental playing as a bed they had released the song as a

single uh freaka leak and we didn't even know i didn't even know they had used to beat so la re is going crazy and then we're like all right we're just going to go in and do a new beat thank god we did because yeah over freaka leak is not as good as yeah as yeah now right that's how god worked And crazy story is when I went into the studio to, like, redo the beat, I'm like, oh, that Petey Pablo record ain't going to be that big. Just take all the keys off. Let's just play a new set flag. Damn.

I don't know because it's Usher. You know what I mean? And, you know, I just didn't think it was going to be that big. It could have been a cool record. Right. But I didn't think it was going to be a number one song like it was. So that's why the beats sound similar is because I just, used the same exact drums

but I played a different synth line so well got my boy Elrock my boy Elrock played the synth line so we just played a new synth line and here we are with two monsters at the same time. Well yeah probably helped Freakleague though because yeah you play yeah and now you want to play freebie

mix them together all that. Yep lovers and friends so that I was going to get to that. Yes that origin story tell them I'm so when we when I can't we working on my album crunk juice, right? So instead of

going with another up-tempo, I like to be different, I could have certainly went to Usher John and Luda with another fast song. I said, let's do something different. And in Atlanta, we go to the strip club for everything. So we always, you know, I was in the strip club one day

and the DJ played the Michael Sterling lovers and friends and I was like, huh, that could be pretty cool for Usher to do. So let's back up So this is before Usher's album is done I give Usher the Michael Sterling on the CD

Like check this out, we should do this over This nigga don't listen to it He don't listen to it So we're on my album So I'm like, I'm gonna take that Lovers and Friends idea and do it for my album So I do the beat over And I let Usher know

Yo I got this joint for us like come You know let's do it So he flies in, he records it And he's out and after he does his part so I'm just like wow this is a smash so I call Luda I'm like bro

we got another one like I need you on this ASAP saying to Luda he did his parts and then I go in last because I'm not the rapper and so I was like I need to take my time to make sure my verse is as catchy as possible

because I can't compete against ludicrous and then it's usher like come on so I was like let me take something from this record we had a record called it's a record we did with Ubi I forgot the name of it. Nothing's free? Nothing's free How you forget that? That's a classic. Nothing's free. So we did nothing's free

like in the 90s and so I was like that shoddy part was really catchy on that song but it was regional. Nobody really heard it out of the South. I was like let me take that same little thing and put that in lovers and friends and that will be the little catch for my verse to make it catchier and little did I know that that was going to be like people's favorite verses

because it's so simple it's so simple and it's catchy and yeah that's one that song went number one without a video why we never got a video for that record because it was the labels and superstartist and superstar

ad and da da da da da da da but number one rap song of the year without a video in the 2000s is impossible I was going to real quick you got three of fans and you And you made me think of it when you said nothing's free.

You got three artists that I feel like she'd have been way big. Yeah. China White. Yeah. Ubi and Bo Hagan. Yeah. What do you think was, why those dots didn't connect? We worked hard.

Like, Ubi was with me for a long time. We did a lot of records, but we just never got the right one. It just happens like that sometimes with artists. China went to jail right when we shot the video for Beah Bia. And me and my boy Rob Mack. left the video, at the end of the video shoot, we drove her to prison after the video shoot all the way in Louisiana.

So she did. I don't remember how much time. It was at least five years. That sound on brand though. When I hit, I was trying to take that. Makes off the lyrics. She went to fad time for gun running. Damn.

Yeah. So she didn't even get to perform the song at its peak at all. So that messed her window up. And then Bo Hagen, the same thing. We were just trying to get the records. We just never got the records. You know, we set them up nicely on Get Crunk and, you know, he did the hook on damn, but we just never was able to translate.

Those are things that, you know, hurt me to this day because those are people that are down with me for a long time and I was pushing, pushing, pushing, and working and make the records, but sometimes they just, it just don't come out, you know. I was going to say with the Lovers and Friends video, when I watched you, tell the story. You talked about, I know you mentioned labels loosely, but you said that the labels didn't look at you as a comparable artist to which when I heard you say that

at that time. Like I just I mean, I don't know, it made me upset when I heard you say it. Well, you got to think, ludicrous is a rapper, deaf jam in the 2000s. Usher is fucking Usher at Monster, biggest guy in R&B, and I'm this guy doing crunk music.

You got it. It's not the time it's not the same times now as I'm known, I'm established I've proven myself over and over again but early in those days it hadn't happened yet so really? Yeah they feel like you helped define that whole sound

at early dude but they didn't I don't I don't feel like you know deaf jam You know what I mean? They didn't get it Usher I don't think nobody got it back there no yeah Little John was it was he wasn't looked at as an artist per se like Luda or Usher he was a host

DJ. They love his music production. Yeah. That's what it was. Hype man producer. Yeah. You know. I can't imagine the clubs without you.

You know what I mean? I know. What was the clubs without crunk music? Little John back then. Like, no. A lot less energy. That's what.

Was there ever a low period for Little John? Yeah. I got burnt out probably after after E40's album. And I think I tried, we tried to do a second Trillville and Scrappy album. and I just was fried from all, you know, you got to think about, I've been going since the 90s, 93, you know, producing to,

what's that, 2008 or 2008? And I'm just depleted. I have no creative juices left. I go in a studio, I'm trying to produce and trying to make stuff. I think, yeah, nothing's coming out. I think that's also what happened with two, those artists, too, because I might have gotten to the point where I was just, I had nothing left.

I couldn't create it. And then, so what I started to do was just go back to the foundation, DJ. Go back to the clubs. Right. And what happened was Reggie Bush invited me out to the first game in the Super Dome after Katrina. So I went there and that night he had an after party, went to the after party and it was a DJ DJ, and I was just like, this dude is freaking dope. So I met the dude and he was cool. And so the next day

I was in the airport No, no, I'm going to say his name. Oh, okay, all right. His name is DJ Spider. So the next day, I was in the airport and this nerdy white dude come up to me like, hey, remember me? I'm like, who the fuck are you, bro?

He was like, oh, Spider. I was DJing last night. I was like, oh, shit. So what happened was he really inspired me to get back into DJing, by the way he was mixing. So me and Spider linked up. He, like, got me on Serrado. He started like gave me help me get my music library up

And we started DJing together And so I started to kind of get back into DJing And so DJing brought my producer creative energy back Is that when the record's like shot shot shots and all that's okay That came just by me being out and meeting people And and you know learning this you know open format world And EDM world and and yeah I ended up meeting LMFAO I was kind of following their story

and a mutual friend of ours named Eric Deluxe who kind of, he wrote shots too. He reached out to me and sent me to record and I was like, this record is a smashed. But around that time, I think I first met them when we did a Pitbull video. We were on like, I think it was crazy.

I think they were in that video. So I was kind of working with Pitbull because we did the anthem, we did crazy. Then, yeah, shots came. So I was still, I started to move into another world because I saw that EDM world I kind of jumped in right at just starting to get crazy. And I end up getting a DJ residency in 08 in Vegas.

So I've been in Vegas doing a DJ residency since 2008, and I'm still there now. So that was a place where I could really, you know, learn a different style, this open format world, and just get my energy back from just being in the midst of the people and understanding what makes people move and groove again. because DJing is the foundation of my production. I think I started playing the drums when I was in elementary school, so drums and DJing are the two key elements to my production style. That's why it's more beat-driven, and that's why they're all club record because of the DJ side.

When you choose the pivot, because you know you pivoted a lot, when you choose the pivot, is it because of where music is going or where you're going as a person? Where my spirit leads me. My spirit, you know, when I started to get back in the DJs, teaching, God put these people in my path to say, okay, you should now start moving over here. And I remember, like, telling my manager and my lawyer, I want to go over here and do this DJ stuff.

They were like, bro, you're making $100,000 a beat. What the hell is wrong with you? I was like, I can't do it no more. But I saw the future. And I just trust, I always trust my spirit. Ladies and gentlemen, don't listen to your mind. Listen to your spirit. And you've got to learn the difference between the two.

And when you learn the difference, your spirit is never going to lead you wrong. Trust it and it's going to be fine. And that's what I've been doing, you know, pretty much my whole life. And everything's been okay. You know what I mean? Like I've been able to now have a number one EDM song, hip-hop song, R&B song, AC song. How many people you know had a hit song in every, in four decades? Right.

I don't know. You know, we had a hit with even the Usher Glue song. I think it was an AC hit, number one. I take it. And then I had a song with Pitbull that came out two years ago called Jumping. That was like number one on some chart. So, yeah, since the 90s I've been doing this. And I'm just thankful every day to wake up and to still be able to do this.

And also like right now is the time where the 2000s is on fire. Like I'm doing so many shows that, and for crowds that I haven't seen and, you know, or maybe not have done as a headline. I have never headlined for 10,000 people until like the last couple years. They just headlined this week. Taco's in tequila. Yeah. So it's like, it's amazing that people, the memories that people have from that era,

the fun times they had is making this music, you know, now come back. and it's in a major way. What made you do the meditation of them? So that's totally far the other end of the spectrum. Yeah. Turning 50. Turn 50. A lot of things started to happen in my life.

First thing I hit me was like, I asked myself, what makes you happy? And I said, damn. Making sure everybody else good? but that's not what makes me like what makes me happy I couldn't really tell myself and so I was like you know what I need to kind of put myself first like I'm not happy in this marriage like so I said I wanted to divorce and also around the same time me and my my good

friend Doug Davis we talk like every year because he calls and gives me shit because he's he's like a couple months younger than me so he's like oh you're old man so we're talking and um he was telling me he wanted to introduce me to somebody that was in this space and i was like oh that's interesting because i've been listening to like all of this like binaural beats to sleep and relax and ocean and rain and all of this type of stuff so me and this guy kabir his name's kabir sego we connected and so i'm going through the divorce And, like, I didn't like where my mental state was at, because I'm angry. I'm like, ah, why can't she just do this and that?

And I'm like, so I'm, like, mad. And I don't like, that's not me. I'm a positive at all times person. I don't think negatively. So I'm like, I started to, like, meditate every day. I started to say affirmations every day. And it helped me to be in a better mental state, as well as having good people in my corner, like my queen.

Her name is Jamila. She was there for me at that time. And she would give me, like, also, like, just positive. She would just keep me, try to keep me in a positive mindset. And she had been through a rough divorce, too, so she can give me some insight and just, you know, help me keep my head up. So the affirmations every day, I would literally get a cup of tea, and I had a copper pyramid on my deck.

I would drink, get my tea, go sit in this copper pyramid, and meditate and just say these affirmations. I'm happy, I'm healthy, I'm at peace every single day and throughout the day. And so all of this happened at the same time I meet Kabir and me and Kabir talk

and he's like, let's do, we should do meditation. I was like, yeah, let's do that. I'm down with that. I think that's great because I was saying these affirmations. I meditated. So we went in, we recorded a bunch of stuff, but yeah, it was because

I needed it was time for a change in my life I needed to be in more positive mindset one thing that I also did was I was like I would say affirmations of I negativity can't live inside of me I like I don't I try to get rid of all negative thoughts right and when I did that when I really got rid of the negative thoughts I ain't not even saying the word hate

I didn't even use that word so I'm always trying to change anything that happens to me in any negative situation it's some positivity you can pull out of that you focus on that so I would always pull that positivity out and I've learned

if you pull that out pull a positivity out of any negative situation and you let God drive. Don't try to drive and trust God everything going to always be right. That's right. And so we went in we recorded these albums

and, you know, this time of my life is feeling like I'm doing what God intended me to do. But what's amazing is everything that got me here I was supposed to do. And even, like, all of the music that I've given people gave people positivity. So it's always been positivity, but it's meaning more now when someone tells me I never meditate. I'm Stefan Curry, and this is Gentleman's Cut. I think what makes Gentleman's Cut different is me being a part of, you know, developing the profile of this beautiful finished product. With every sip, you get a little something different.

Visit gentlemen's cut bourbon.com or your nearest total wines or Bevmo. This message is intended for audiences 21 and older. Gentleman's Cut Bourbon, Boone County, Kentucky. For more on Gentleman's Cut Bourbon, please visit gentlemen's cut bourbon.com. Please enjoy responsibly. Who would you call if the unthinkable happened? I just fail and started screaming.

If you lost someone you loved in the most horrific way. I said through you got 22 times. The police, right? But what if the person you're supposed to go to for help is the one you're the most afraid of? This dude is the devil. He's a snake. He'll hurt you.

I got you. I got you. I'm Nikki Richardson, and this is The Girlfriends, Untouchable. Detective Roger Golubski spent decades intimidating and sexually abusing black women across Kansas City, using his police badge to scare them into silence. This is the story of a detective who seemed above the law until we came together to take him down. I told Roger Galoopsky, I said,

you're going to see my face till the day that you die. Listen to the girlfriends, Untouchable, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Have you ever listened to those true crime shows and found yourself with more questions than answers? And what is this? How is that not a story we all know? What's this?

Where is that? Why is it wet? Boy, do we have a show for you? From smartless media, campside media, and big money players comes crimeless. Join me, Josh Dean, investigative journalists. And me, Roy Scoville, comedian, as we celebrate the amazing creativity. of the world's dumbest criminals. We'll look into some of the silliest ways

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He has x-ray vision. How could I not follow him? Honestly, I got to follow him. He can see right through me. Listen to Crimeless on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Dad had the strong belief that the devil was attacking us. Two brothers, one devout household, two radically different paths.

Gabe Ortiz became one of the highest-ranking law enforcement officers in Texas. 32 years, total law enforcement experience. But his brother Larry, he stayed behind and built an entirely different legacy. He was the head of this gang, and nobody was going to tell him what to do. You're going to push that line for the cause. Took us under his wing and showed us the game, as they call it. When Larry is murdered, Gabe is forced to confront the past he tried to leave behind and uncover secrets he never saw coming.

My dad had a whole other life that we never knew about. Like, my mom started screaming my dad's name, and I just heard one gunshot. The Brothers Ortiz is a gripping true story about faith, family, and how two lives can drift so far apart and collide in the most, devastating way. Listen to the Brothers Ortiz on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Nora Jones, and I love playing music with people so much that my podcast called Playing Along is back. I sit down with musicians from all musical styles to play songs together

in an intimate setting. Every episode's a little different, but it all involves music and conversation with some of my favorite musicians. Over the past two seasons, I've had special guests like Dave Grohl, Leveh, Mavis Staples, Remy Wolf, Jeff Tweedy, really too many to name. And this season, I've sat down with Black Pumas, Alessia Kara, Sarah McLaughlin, and more. Check out my new episode with John Legend. I feel like, in a lot of ways,

our careers are parallel in some ways, but they just never intersected for some reason. I know. We should take it slow with just ordinary people. We don't know which way to go. Listen to Nora Jones is playing along on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You help me meditate. I was having trouble getting over this grief of losing someone.

Your meditation about grief, help me. I'm inspired to, you know how many people have called me about getting in the gym? Yeah. It's insane. like celebrities, all kind of people are like, you inspired me to get healthy. So I feel now like I'm doing what God intended me to do. It took me a long time to get here,

but this is the time it's supposed to be. And crazy, I was thinking about this the other day, I met Mr. Farrakhan at the Source Awards. Lutonov, and he basically told me, he said, you got power, you got a voice. And he basically was kind of trying to tell me, like use it and that like that stuck with me like I'm like okay but now I'm using my voice and my power in a good way to push positivity into the world so that is what makes you happy

that's what that's what you know what yeah it makes me happy just to be just to do good you know just to do good because all that comes back and when you like a guy came to me I did the coli guard thing right a guy came to me in the club one night in the club and was like I did that colagard test because of you and it came back positive

and he did he didn't have colon cancer but he had polyps so just stuff like that it just makes me feel like I'm doing good in the world my brother you're all sure

inspiring people and being a good role model to my son I have a daughter now You know, she's 10 months old. Congratulations. I look at life like with health, like I got to be here for her. You know what I'm saying?

I got to be here for her first day of school. I got to be here for high school graduation. Walk her down the aisle. So health is even more important to me. It was something I was doing to just, you know, live a long, full life. But even more so now I have even more motivation because of my daughter and her mother. I got to be here for them. You know what I'm saying?

It's crazy to see you cry because a lot of people. A lot of people who never even thought you had eyes. No, you know what? Black men, we need to cry more. I agree. We need to cry. When you get more in tune to your higher self and you stop vibrating at these low frequencies,

you can let yourself let the energy flow because we should. We don't have to be tough all the time. And you're an advocate for therapy. I push all brothers. We don't have to suffer in silence. We suffer in freaking silence. Call your homie sometimes.

to just be like, my nigga, you good? How are you doing? Not just, period, but how are you mentally doing, bro? Because that one little conversation could make him not go do some stupid shit or take his life or whatever, you know? So I started doing therapy. I pushed anything, any knowledge that I got, I try to share with everybody. Because we got to help each other.

That's right. We all we got. That's right, right. What's the gym? What's the gym me? This is Satrine. This is positivity. abundance and it's also my daughter's birthstone.

I want to ask you a question about marriage. Like you never hear men say they were tired of the marriage. Like they wanted to walk away. What happens is when you start to walk on those eggshells, it's just not a positive environment. And then when you get to the point where a lot of times in marriage, we're just there making sure everything's good. And who the hell is checking on us?

Who's making sure we're okay Who's coming us and saying What do you need today? What can I do for you to make you happy? I know I know we're the providers and all of that But we need that love too We need that assurance Sometimes women go to your men

And just make them feel like Appreciate it Because to live in today's society To go out and make that money And all of the things A husband and a father has to worry about Every single day. Today, like I said, suffering in silence that y'all have no clue about, just be that positive

light. Make that house a home. Make it radiate positivity, you know? So, yeah, man. Y'all got me up here crying. You said today was going to be a good day, great. You did. You might have needed to release.

You know what I wanted to know when Dave Chappelle was doing the skits? At first, did you take it as disrespect or did you always was like, oh, this is great? No, a cipher sounds called me. And he was like, when he did the first one, he was like, yo, Dave Chappelle did this skit on you, bro. It's crazy. It's hilarious. I was like, on me?

I'm like, why are he doing a sketch on me? Like, I ain't nobody. And he's like, bro, trust me. And so when I saw it, I was like, that's really me. That is really me. Yeah. And I got on this show because I went one day to just tell Dave, thank you for doing the sketches.

Because we have a mutual friend, his name Corey Smith. With the Corey. And Corey is the reason Dave, is part of the reason Dave does the sketch too because I think Dave might have heard this, like, what song was it? I don't give a F?

Yeah, I don't give a. He might have heard it, and he probably was like, this would be interesting if that's all he says, but he's actually intelligent. And then Corey was like, yeah, John, Corey thought I went to Morehouse. I just was always hanging out in the AUC

because back in the 90s, if you're from Atlanta, you went to the AUC, Clark. Morehouse Spellman. all of that to just get girls you know what I mean so you just used to go hollet the girls so I used to be always up there

so Corey was like no he's smart he come from this and that so Dave ran with it and so I went to the show to thank Dave and Dave and Dave was like man hang out I want you let's do a sketch like he didn't even having he didn't even know I was coming

and so we would just we did one sketch and then we he had an idea to do another one so he just had me on camera and he was off camera and we was improvving back and forth, and that's how we got the Little John and Little John sketch, and to think that I was able to improv with one of the greatest comedians of our time,

how many people get to do that? Not many, you know? So that was amazing, and Dave took me places that music would never, ever be able to take it. How did that change everything for you? Just that sketch? It just opened me up to more people that didn't get it, or didn't would have never listened to the music.

I remember just being in the airport and like all kind of white people coming to me, like the whole families and all, just all types of people because he was moving the needle at that time for culture. So, and it just, yeah, it just opened up a lot more doors. And that's when they started putting the T's in the name, Little John.

That's when he started hearing that. Yeah. So, and shout out to Cat Williams, too, because he co-signed me too when he did his Pimp Chronicle, I think that's his greatest special too. Absolutely. I'm going on record saying that. And, you know, we, he brought me out and let me do my catchphrases.

And we ended up going in the studio, working on some songs together. He just come by the house. Shout out the cat. I need to get you in the gym with me, Cat. You can go work out. You can run, but can you put some weight up, catch. Yes. Do you get tired of doing that too?

Do people come up to you all the time? Like, come on one time. Oh my God. Does that bother the issue of you? Yeah, man. Man, they don't do it as much as they used to. Okay. But, like, people that used to hang out with me, like, say, early 2000s or, you know, 2010 used to be like, bro, you don't get tired of that.

And I'm like, I don't even hear it no more. I zoned people out. But, like, yeah, I used to be at, like, TSA, a grocery store. You're like, yeah, oh! Exactly. And they do it until they expect me to do it. So they keep doing it. And I might just be like, what's up, bro?

But even in the meditation album, you do it. Soft, yeah, but you say, Telling the universe, yeah. Yeah, so that's the new, the new meditation album. Yeah. So when we did the first, we recorded a bunch of stuff when we, you know, early two, well, sorry. When I did the first meditation album, I recorded a couple other projects.

Gotcha. So one of the projects was something that my guy, Doug Davis, came up with. He was like, you should take your songs and remix them into meditations. And I was like, okay. So we recorded it, but I was like, this don't need to come out first because nobody's going to take me serious. So I'm doing like, say yeah, to life.

Right. Get low and ground. You know. So I was like, we're not going to do that first. So now's the time. We're going to drop that. I think it's a fun project. But it's real meditations,

but it's just a playoff of the songs that you know and love. I just got a couple more questions. You know, the industry rewards constant energy, right? You got to always be on. How did you learn the difference between performance energy and just personal peace? I just am myself. It's spiritual again.

Like, I just know when to be crazy little John. I know when to be just cool, chill. It's just, just let my spirit guide me everywhere, you know what I'm saying? And you're talking about the meditation and the mindfulness, like, I want to ask, when you were at the height of crunk, did you even have the language for like stress and anxiety and burnout back then? No. I was just go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go. It was all just, because I don't know where the peak is. You know what I mean? And I don't even expect to get where I got, you know, because I just started off. Me and the Eastside boys, we did that first song, who you were with just to make something for the clubs of Atlanta. And then that turned into, okay, now you got to do an album. And then that turned into being on Anger Management tour with Eminem and 50 Cent. And then 50 Cent even took me to Australia. I went on tour with 50 in Australia.

You know what I'm saying? So it's like, I'm just happy to be here. I'm just going to keep going because, and that's how I am. Like, I just, I got to work. I got to keep working, you know, because these are opportunities that are coming to me. So I don't want to, you know, somebody's sitting at home right now wishing they could be out. Or somebody else could take this opportunity and use it if I don't use it. So I'm going to take advantage of all of that.

Now, you were a big drink at one time and totally stop. Yes. Yeah, no drink. What made you stop that drinking? turning 50 So you're at it to 50 to stop drinking? Man, why are you judging? Don't you have no goddamn judgmental.

You're still drinking in him. Yeah. Damn. So I turned 50 and for a while, like a year or two, I had this constant like discomfort, excuse me, discomfort in my side and I didn't know what it was. So 50, like I need to go get a,

I need to go to the doctor. Right? So I went to the doctor. And the doctor is like, okay, for one, I thought it was my liver, because I'm like, I drink too much. It's got to be my liver, and I'm scared of it.

So he's like, your liver's on the other side. It's not your liver. And then he's like, it's probably inflammation in your gut. He's like, you're 50 years old, you need a colonoscopy anyway to check for polyps.

So when I'm in there, I can do an endoscopy and check your gut. So comes back and I have inflammation in my gut So I had stopped drinking Because I was scared of the liver So I had already stopped

So by the time I had the colonoscopy It had been like six months And I was like, I'm good I'm just gonna not drink no more So I think I was going like three months And I was like six months I was like nah Then I was like maybe I go nine months

Then I went to a year and I was like When I got to the year mark I was like I'm good I don't even need to drink no more You know and I think one thing that kind of that that like brought some insight to me like health has been like important to me for a while because I know like a guy that had a triple bypass he was like 35 so that started me first on my like I need to start correcting stuff with myself before it's too late because the older you get the harder it is to reverse what's going on so that's that started and then when I was dating my partner Jamila, she really pushed me into, I think she saved my life because she pushed me into getting my blood work done and getting lab work done. I found out I had inflammation in my gut.

Like I knew I had inflammation in my gut, but I, candida, gut is the key to a lot of problems in your body. So you got to get the, I saw the rock talking and he said his gut was messed up too. So no healthy bacteria in my gut, candida, inflammation. And then I found other like markers in my blood work that I was like, oh, I got to change this or take this out of my diet. So all of that helped me to like hone in on exactly what I needed to do also to get my health like more tuned tuned into. I saw you say it was like you came up out of a like a haze or a fall when you stop drinking. Because if you think about it, I was drinking every weekend. So I never fully got over the drinking.

Like, I would drink a bottle of 42 a night. Jesus. Like, so Friday, Saturday, a bottle of 42. First of all, I ain't going to let none of these alcoholics and heads are about some goddamn Jesus. I be drinking, but all the nights, a whole bottle, everything. Because I'm doing shots with everybody.

We might do a couple shots, but we ain't doing no whole bottle. I'm a day. I'm the party guy. You don't want to drink with me. And I got to drink with everybody. Shot, shot. If I turned down a shot, they were like, bro come on man yeah so i got a damn near a bottle of night so i'm always constantly getting over the hangover or the getting my body is still trying to recover so i never am recovering so when you lay off the alcohol you come out of that fog and it's like it's like everything is clearer

your mind is clearer everything you know so i just i like the way that felt and then you know when i started working out is like I can work out like you can't work out when you hung over and then you put an alcohol in your body that's sugar that's that's not going to help you get the goals so if you write a book you know it should be to have a chapter turned down for what and you talk about exactly all the reasons why you ask you turn now yeah especially when you get in your up there in the years you know because right I'm 53 I'm going down the hill you know I mean I'm I want to have that's another thing at my 50s I was like I'm over that top I don't know how much time my god i want to enjoy my life i want to enjoy my life i want to do stuff that makes me happen

do you think people truly understand the loneliness that can come with success and entertainment uh no because they just see the private jets and the trips and all that they don't realize you know sometimes you can't go nowhere because people bugging you you can't spend time with your loved ones without people bugging you or the the the you i got to make another hit record or you know what I mean like or even when you start to go down you're not as hot as you were people not picking up the phone and all that yeah it's a lot of most people couldn't deal with this life it could not deal with it because there's too much pressure then people on the internet with all their opinions and all of this and that and it's a lot of pressure that you cannot be

built weak to be in entertainment industry yeah so yes sir when you when you when you My last question, when you think about legacy now, how much of it is about peace and purpose rather than, I guess, the plaques and the parties and all that. I think my legacy is going to be all about positivity because every step of the way, it's been, Kronk was positive, it was a positive release, then now EDM stuff was positive, positive part.

It was all partying based initially, but it wasn't like I was saying, go do a drive-by on the ops. You know what I mean? was just like, hey, go release, turn up. You know, and then, you know, now in my latter years, it's meditation, mindfulness, get therapy, fellas. I'm going to tell everybody out there, get therapy.

That's right. Get a therapy. If it's going through it, you should not be left to your own devices to deal with some serious issues. Sometimes you need to talk to someone that's a qualified person. And I did EMDR. Did you ever do EMDR? I never did EMDR.

EMDR is amazing because it taps into your subconscious. When I did EMDR, stuff came out that I didn't even really didn't know what's there. So it can tap to the, it can find the root of why you got that trauma. And then like. I did that with ayahuasca. Yeah, I have not done any of that yet. I don't want to do it. I'm thinking about it, but I don't want to, I don't want it to change me.

It won't. Because I just feel like I'm already at a certain place. Yeah. But I do want to go tap into. to those things that I have locked deep, deep, deep away. A lot of people who've done EDMR tell me that the I-A-Wi-Sk experience is pretty similar because everything that is in your subconscious

that you suppress, God is like, no, look at it, here. It's all on the table now. Is that a scary feeling though when you've got to face all that stuff? No, it's just, it's profound. EMDR is profound because it's like, that's why I act like that. Or that's why my mother treated me that way. Or this is why that happened.

It helps you, and then, like, EMDR, like, When I did it recently, I was able to go to my childhood self and say, it's okay. Wow. I'm here. It's fine. You're loved, you're appreciated, you know, all of that. And it helped me to get past whatever that was. So that's why I like it because it's stuff that, you know,

because I was kind of not forced, but I was like, someone was like, you should, you know, go. You should try it. Yeah. You know, because it helped them. and I did it, and I was like, man, I'm good, I don't need it. And then I was like, damn. Yeah, yeah. It's like, I did not know that.

And the more you do it, the more stuff comes to you and you just realize, this is why I'm the way I am. I can now get past this and I can change these habits, you know, and I can be living more, I can live a better life. Wow. Man, little John, you are an icon living. That's right. I love you, man.

You're an icon living. one of the greatest producers of all time. You bought people so much joy in this next chapter of your life where you are helping people heal, I think it's going to be your best work yet, my brother. I think so, too. I do too. I do too.

It feels so good when people come to me and say, you help, you know, without me even directly doing anything for them. I'm helping so many people and inspiring people. Like with the fitness journey, with the bodybuilding thing, coming in third in this competition, I it was just it was hard to just do it period it was hard to just even get there and I was just happy to be a part of it and I just want to inspire people to say that that say I can't work out I don't have time I'm on the road I'm a new father I'm in a studio I'm doing a million things and I'm able to go to the gym and transform my body eat right through all these things so you can do it too you can be a new billy

blanks, man. You can do training, hit training, where it's your music, playlist, all the crunk music, getting people going. Body by John. Body by John, I love it. Okay. Help me out with it, Solomon. I got you. That's all right. It can't make you happy, though. Oh, no, I love it. I love to inspire. There you go. Well, little John, we appreciate you for joining us.

And also, December 18th, you're performing for our sister station. 96.1. Jingle ball. Yeah. I'm coming. What should the people expect for Little John in that show? Crunk. Period.

They want it. Because it says Little John and friends. It's crook, crunk, and friends. Cronk, crook, crook. I can't wait. There's no commercial just, it's Atlanta. And I got to hit them hard. You know, Jermaine talking crap.

All like, ah. But Jermaine, my, that's family. Jermaine actually called me. It was like, who you bringing out? I was going to ask because I got friends that are friends. So, but I'm just going to bring the. crunk that's what they want that's what i'm gonna give them that's what they ain't seen in a while word so that's what i'm gonna give them i ain't trying to do nothing crazy crunk we're excited could that

era ever come back like the way metro boomer just did futuristic summer could that crunk era ever come back if it did it'll i don't know people can handle it i think we need like grown people who don't get the release yeah maybe you have something you put everybody put their phones up but you don't heal the same way you can't be jumping around yeah yeah and i don't know how out sprinkled down to the YN's like how would they We don't need your dad It's gonna sprinkle TikTok on get it I don't think that Crunk could be recreated

but I'm glad that we do have these Crunk classics that will never die So we go I don't think it could come back Maybe I do something next year Maybe I do something like Why not? You know Metro did Maybe I will. Why not? I was talking about it

But it's just gotta be the right Everything with me is the right time You know when the universe tell me It's time for it That's when that happened All right well 96.1 Get your tickets He will be performing at the

Lannis, Jingle Ball. Can't wait to see you guys. It's the Breakfast Club. Good morning. Hold up. Every day I wake up. Wake your ass up. The breakfast club.

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For more on Gentleman's Cut Bourbon, please visit gentlemen'scutturbin.com. Please enjoy responsibly. Hey, everybody, it's Chuck and Josh from the Stuff You Should Know podcast, and it's that time of year again when we knuckled down to do our annual holiday episodes. We collected our best past classic holiday episodes and compiled them into a 12 Days of Christmas toys playlist

that the whole family can enjoy. That's right. Maybe you missed it the first time we detailed. the history of Beanie Babies, Monopoly, or Yo-Yo's, and a whole lot more. So listen to the 12 Days of Christmas Toys playlist on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Nora Jones, and I love playing music with people so much that my podcast called Playing Along is back.

I sit down with musicians from all musical styles to play songs together in an intimate setting. Every episode's a little different, but it all involves music and conversation with some of my favorite musicians. Over the past two seasons, I've had special guests like, like Dave Grohl, Leveh, Mavis Staples, Remy Wolf, Jeff Tweedy, really too many to name. And this season, I've sat down with Black Pumas,

Alessia Kara, Sarah McLaughlin, and more. Check out my new episode with John Legend. I feel like in a lot of ways our careers are paralleled in some ways, but they just never intersected for some reason. I know. We should take it slow with just ordinary people. We don't know which way to go. Listen to Nora Jones is playing along on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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In season two of RipCurrent, we asked who tried to kill Judy Berry and why. They were climbing trees, and they were sabotaging logging equipment in the woods. She received death threats before the bombing. She received more threats after the bombing. I think that this is a deliberate attempt to sabotage our movement. Episodes of Rip Current Season 2 are available now.

Listen on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.