The Breakfast Club - INTERVIEW: N.O.R.E. Talks 'Run Champs,' 'Drink Champs,' Diddy, Kanye, Jim Jones Vs. Nas, Wine Incident + More

Episode Date: June 30, 2025

Today on The Breakfast Club, N.O.R.E. Talks 'Run Champs,' 'Drink Champs,' Diddy, Kanye, Jim Jones Vs. Nas, Wine Incident. Listen For More!YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakfastClubPower1051FMSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Show me how good it can get today, God, and show the rest of the world what we already know. It can't get no better than being Hella Black, Hella Queer, and Hella Christian. My name is Joseph Rees. I am the creator and host of Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian, a fully Black, fully Queer, fully human, fully divine podcast from I Heart Media to Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. Wake that ass up early in the morning.

The Breakfast Club. Morning, everybody. It's DJ NVJ, Hilarious, Charlamagne the Guy. We are The Breakfast Club. Lauren LaRosa is here as well. And we got a Charlamagne the guy. We are the Breakfast Club. Lauren LaRosa is here as well. And we got a special guest in the building. Our guy, the legendary. N-O-R-E. Welcome, Norie.

Hello. Make some noise. Come on, make some noise. Make some noise. Make some noise. I haven't been here in a minute. What's up, Ano? Yeah, yeah, I'm over there.

I'm over there. OK, OK. I was like, yeah, I was like, damn it. Right under Joey Crack. They done replaced me? No, no, you right there, right there, right there. That's right, that's right, that's right. What's up?

What's going on, man? I gotta ask you a question before we start the interview, right, my daughters have dads, and this weekend I had to drive three hours, so when they sleeping, everybody sleeping in the back, that's when I listen to my music. So I turn on the Firm album, right, and I'm going through stuff.

The best record on the Firm. And then your record comes on, I'm leaving. I'm leaving. Right, and I'm like, how the hell did Nory get a record on the firm. And then your record comes on, I'm leaving. I'm leaving. Right, and I'm like, how the hell did Norrie get a record on the firm out and by himself? Make it make sense, I was like, I never asked Norrie that. Well, a lot of people don't know, Nas was on War Report, the first album,

and he was on a record called Music Makes the Dogs Calm Down. Music makes the dogs calm down. For whatever reason, we couldn't clear it. You know what I'm saying? No, we didn't have money back then. You know what I'm saying? You want a mixtape though?

Yeah. That didn't count. You needed it on the album. You know what I'm saying? So Nas wanted to pay me back. And I was in that little purgatory in hip hop at the time. And Nas was like, yo, I wanna put you on the Firm album.

This was before they kinda even announced it. So he was like, yo, I'm going to Miami, I'm gonna meet you in Miami. And whatever Instagram was back then, the niggas was in Miami, they ain't bring me. And I was like, oh. And then a month later, he called me and was like, yo, meet me in LA.

And we went to LA and I recorded I'm Leaving. I'm Leaving was originally on Capone and Noriega's War Report album. And Trag shut it down. Trag was like, that's wack. That was a single. Trag thought I'm Leaving was wack? That was a single.

I'm Leaving was wack. That's my man, that's my man. But he thought it was wack. And so we never used it. And when I got to the studio, That was a single. That was a track. That was a single. That's my man. That's my man. But he thought it was wack and so we never used it and when I got to the studio, I believe Dr. Dre was the engineer and he was like, you got something? And that's why to this day I always show nature love is because that was nature's session. That wasn't my session when I recorded I'm Leaving. So I went in and Dr. Dre was like, I said that to Dr. Dre recently and he was like,

you got something? Because he called me niggeragra. I ain't correct him. I ain't correct him because Dr. Dre, you know what I'm saying? Like I'm coming up from Left Frack City, I'm in LA. So I'm like yo, I didn't correct him. So that's why if you notice, I started the verse off, Norrie know this, Norrie know that. You're gonna remember my name, Dre. Yeah, you're gonna remember my name, Dre. And he laughed at that recently, we interviewed him in Vegas. But yeah, that's how that happened. So like Nas, and that record and Big Pun record really set off my solo career. You know, I used to rhyme in Envy's basement, you know what I'm saying? But I still wasn't a solo artist.

I was a component of Noriega, you know, even though I was going there solo. But that's what set off my career. So And why wasn't it a single? Because that is, it was, it's one of the biggest records. Steve Scott was hating man, come on, of course. Nah, nah, just playing. You know what is crazy? Like me and I spoke about this recently, that was one of the hottest street records there was like, and I just, I just, I wasn't smart enough to like go out there and do my own video. I wasn't, but I did, you know, I did take the accolades. The accolades that came with it, it changed my life.

You know what I'm saying? Like being on a firm project, that was Nas, Foxy, AZ, and I caught mega all nature, whichever one you wanna pick at the time. But that was the hottest group in the world. For me to have a record on that album, it set off my whole career. I got one more question.

Let's go. Like I said, I was riding. Have a lot of questions. I flew up here for this guy, damn it. No, no, no. I'll be getting these on. So then I turned it off and then I turned on your first album, right?

Now I'm rocking. And Band From TV comes on, right? Yes, yes. And I'm like, the original version had Cormega on it? Nah. It never had Cormega. So why was Cormega not on it and Nicho on it? Because at the first, Cormega's was with...

Well, me and Mega's always been cool. me and Megas are still cool to this day. But what happened was like I told you I invaded nature session because this is back then you know I know you guys probably do the coupon deals now like with the flights but back in the days I flew out on a Tuesday. I had to be there on a Friday but Tuesday was cheaper. Tuesday was cheaper. I had to be there on a Friday, but Tuesday was cheaper Flew out that Tuesday and I had recorded that Wednesday, but that was nature session so I wanted to repay him back so I told him to come to electric lady and

nature took about ten hours Picking beats he was like very very very very particular and he was he was actually getting to my nerves. Sorry, Nature. But he actually getting to my nerves. And then Swiss changed the beat to one beat. And Nature just, he wrote the whole rhyme right then and there. And I felt like that was my payback. And then Pun came and Bad Joe says he's a glizzy king. Pause.

Pun was a glizzy. I don't even know. We're bigger than king. The emperor. You gotta say hot dog. Say hot dog. No, no, no, we're gonna say glizzy. I don't even know. We're past the king. You gotta say hot dog. We're gonna say hot dog. No, no, no, we're gonna say glizzy, man. This generation don't get it. This generation don't get it.

Hot dog. So he went to Grace Popiah, because I don't know if you ever remember Electric Lady, it was the studio, Jimi Hendrix Studio, and he got a cat in there. So Pun saw my car, you know, I was the only one with the GS, or you know, 430, you know, brand new. You know, I had two of them, you know what I'm saying? Come on, envy knows that. You know, I was the only one with the GS or you know for for 30, you know brand new

You know, I had two of them, you know, I'm saying come on Envy knows that yes, Queens get the money for real and uh, so yeah Pun see my car out and then he was like, yo you you had electric lady and he went in and he just laid the verse I never asked pun to get on the record I actually told the engineer to erase it in front of puns face I was like my friend and he just jumped on my record. And I was just like, like, you're not supposed to do that. You're supposed to ask permission.

And then Cam, then Cam called me and Cam happened to be in the city. And Cam came, so that all, all band from TV happened in real life. This is not like, They just happened to call. This is not sending the record. You know, if you could pay attention to how people make music now, they send the record.

So you don't feel, I don't get to smell your Izzy Miyake. I don't get to see what watch you got on. I don't get to feel the feeling that you was in when I'm making my euphoria to collab with that. That's why records were better in the 90s. We had to be in the studio with Busta Rhymes. You had to be in the studio with Fats. We had to be in the studio with Busta Rhymes. You had to be in the studio with Fat Joe. You had to be in the studio with Jadakiss.

So that's how Bad From TV happened. It happened in real time. Only people that we didn't get that day was The Locks. And I remember my first time meeting Styles P and Jadakiss, I hated Styles P. He took my weed and didn't share it with me. He asked me for weed. I was like, yeah.

But it was natural back then, puff, puff, ass. I remember this story. This motherfucker. By the way, I'll give Styles P. McKeese to my house right now, so just so you know. But that's how he was back in the days. He was just very aggressive. Ignorant and negative negative.

That was his words. Yes, veganness saved his life. I can see the difference. I can see the person. But he was his work. Yes, veganness saved his life. I can see the difference. I can see the person. But he was, yeah, so that session was legendary too. Like, you know what I mean? Me and him and, uh. You know, it was never supposed to be a posse cut?

I didn't know what it was supposed to be, to tell you the truth. It was really meant to show nature love. You know what I'm saying? Because nature had just did that for me and I wanted to do that. And at the time, I know this sounds funny right now, but no one knew who the guy who made the beat,

he was called D's nephew. Yeah. You know who he is now? Swiss Beats, of course. The Swiss mother-fucker beats. Yeah, of course. I was the first one to work with Swiss Beats outside of Rough Riders.

This is facts, you know what I mean? You can look at, you could look at, when I spoke to LL the other day, LL said to me that I brung him for real and he just couldn't get it. Like I have the foresight to see shit. Like when I did podcasts, people were like, yo, this guy must be broke.

Now everybody got a podcast. Now hold on now, because Memphis Bleak said he was the first person out of DMX and Jay to work with Swiss. Bleak gotta relax. Bleak gotta relax. I heard him say that on the new episode this week. We gotta relax. That's on the Black Effect Drink Challenge.

This is on Black Effect. Bleak can say whatever he wants. But I heard him say that he was the first person to work with Swiss outside of DMX and Jay-Z. No, I mean, God bless. God bless, Bleak, but mine's just facts. Mine's just, that's my brother.

That's my brother, that's my brother. But I mean, this is documented. Banffom TV is documented as the first hit outside of Rough Riders. I'm now, he might've, he might've did work with him, but I'm not sure if it was a certified hit, you know what I'm saying? Banffom TV's a certified hit.

Like, I know people who ice grill me in a club when Banffom TV's on, they don't even know it's me. It was the Memphis Bleakies record. Memphis Bleakies. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's the same time though. That's the same time, I'll give it to Bleak. And bigger than Bleak, we know.

You was on that album too? Yeah. What you niggas wanna hate for? I got that plaque, I got a lot of plaques. I got a lot of plaques, yes. Bleak, we got Bleak, we got Drink Champs Network, through Black Effect, I Heart, Dope thing. We got Angela Simmons also.

We just wrapping hers up. We got Run Champs, something I'm very passionate about. Everybody that's here, they might look like hoodlums, they're not. You know what I mean? These are people that I run with. We are passionate. They wake up in the morning with me 430 in the morning. You know, I've seen DJ Colin and like and and you know I see how happy he was playing golf. And Khaled came up to me and said, yo you're an inspiration to me.

And I was just like, how the fuck can I be an inspiration to you? I'm sorry, that's why y'all didn't get me live. That's the reason why. Yeah I understand. So um and I realized you know I wanted, I needed a hobby. Like you know what I'm saying? Like I've actually and this is my hobby now. Like, so I go places, I've been to Hawaii to run.

I've been to Puerto Rico to run. I've gone all over the place and now I'm officially joining the NYC Marathon. You're in the Marathon. Yeah, Marathon, yes, yes. That's what, 26.2? 26.2, miles, not kilometers. No, miles, yes, of course.

Because we're American. We're gonna get rid of the kilometers. I don't like the 5Ks, the 6Ks That's what, 26.2? 26.2, miles, not kilometers. No, miles, yes, of course. Because we're American. We're going to get rid of the kilometers. I don't like the 5Ks, the 6Ks, the 10Ks. We are not in Dusseldorf. We are in America. We're going to change this to miles. Okay.

Okay, so we're 26.2 miles. Yes, am I scared to death? Yes. How do you, I always wonder this when I watch your episodes, how do you drink the full episode, all these episodes back to back, and then you do things like you run in and all that too? You still drink? Of course I do. Yeah, but I'm drinking St. Regis water right now.

But what you said, the question is how do I do it? I believe it's all mental. I believe like all this shit. And right now, like I'm more conscious. Like, you know, a person that I look up to is RZA. And RZA, you know, he drinks sake, right? He drinks a certain type of sake that gets you up. So that's where I switched to.

I switched to sake, it gives you no hangover. I wake up in the morning and I can go out because right now it's like, you know, I've lived this life where, you know, it's a different type of lifestyle. But now I fell in love with this. I fell in love with something that don't pay me. You know what I'm saying?

Everything in life is about money. And then when you find that one thing, so the New York City Marathon is probably my biggest goal that I'm ever like, and nothing can make me better but me. You know what's crazy, you know, I can never remember a time you don't be running. Like, that's your thing.

Like, I'm, I know Nori up in the morning and he jogging. You used to post the videos on your Instagram too. Yeah, I'm listening to y'all, you know what I'm saying? Like, I thought you was at the puff case. Like, I ain't gonna lie. I'm supposed to be on my way. What did I tell y'all? I said, I get my information from you. Like, everything I know about the puff case, I get't gonna lie. I'm supposed to be on my way. What am I gonna tell y'all? I said I get my information from you. Like, everything I know about the Puff Cakes, I get it from you.

Everything I know about a lot of the hip hop stories, I get it from you guys. Okay, got it, got it, got it. I can't watch her religiously trying to reno all these things. You back rapping? Um. Norrie sent me a record the other day, right? Yes, I did. I didn't listen to it yet.

Because I was like, and it was the first thing he said, I'm gonna send you a record. I said, you back rapping? You know what? Um, I'm rapping on my time. You know what I'm saying? Um, one of the, one of the, one of the, one of the things that I've been doing, I've been doing is I've been doing is I've been doing is I've been doing is I've been doing is I've been doing is I've been doing is I've been doing is I've been doing is I've been

doing is I've been doing is I've been doing is I've been doing is I've been doing is I've been doing is I've been doing is I've been doing is I've been doing is I've been doing is I've been doing is I've been doing is I've been doing is I've been doing is I've been doing is I've been doing is I've been doing is I've been doing is I've been doing is I've been doing is I've been doing is I've been doing is I've been doing is I've been doing is I've been doing is I've been doing is I've been doing is I've been doing is I've been doing is I didn't listen to it yet. I was like, and it was the first thing he said, I'm gonna send you a record. I said, you back rapping? You know what? I'm rapping on my time. You know what I'm saying? One of the worst feelings I ever got, I ever did was, you know, getting a whole bunch of money from Melvin Flint, the Hustler album, and then having to make it after, you know,

Pun passed away and my father passed away. My mind wasn't there, but I got all this money, right? So I had to like deliver. so I always regretted that so there's people who love the Melvin Flit album that people like every day I'm going through the airport and somebody's like why would you say that about Melvin Flit and you know whatever I want now I want to make music on my time like I got to see Meek the other day not in person but on the internet. And he was like, I finally own 100% of my catalog.

And a lot of people don't understand, like he was crying out, like he was venting. And I now own 100% of everything I do. You know what I'm saying? But at certain points, like, so I wanna, I know this is gonna sound crazy, especially you had Dame Dash up here, speaking the opposite,

but sometimes I wanna work for somebody. Being a boss is hard, bro. Ain't nothing wrong with that, that's what we were saying. You could have multiple jobs and multiple things, ain't nothing wrong with being a court employee. I love working for Love and Hip Hop. I just didn't give them the throwing the candle and throwing drinks in the face.

I ain't giving no drama so they didn't rehire me. But I love that. If I don't show up for work, then sometimes work don't happen. You know what I'm saying? I don't like being the pitcher and the catcher. So you're going to do an album or is it just release singles when you want?

I'm going to pay attention to the algorithms. OK. You understand what I'm saying? Like right now, we, like right now, I can, I can, an artist could come to Drink Champs, right? Let's suppose Little Wayne came to Drink Champs. I could actually see his algorithms and I could tell him where he could go on tour.

I could be like, stop going to Milwaukee, bro. You got two fans in Milwaukee. That's right. Why are you even there? Go to Seattle. Go to Utah. Go to Phoenix. Like, I can look at the algorithms.

I can see exactly, like, this is the time where we should take advantage of having this information. You know what I'm saying? Now we know. Remember back in the days you used to go on tour? I'm sorry to sound like the old guy. But you know back in the days you used to go on tour? You'm sorry to sound like the old guy. But you know back in the days you used to go on tour? You used to go to Delaware when your fans are in Philly.

Right. Big up to Delaware, you know what I'm saying? Oh, thank you. Big up to Delaware, but- Y'all actually used to go to Delaware? Yes. Delaware's the shit. OK, OK.

It is. But that was my preference. Yeah, they love you there. Yeah, that was my preference. You know what I'm saying? But sometimes during the algorithms, you say, OK, you know what? At the Delaware, you gotta go to Baltimore,

skip Virginia, or you know what I mean? But right now, you can actually see the algorithms, and I think this is the cheat code. I think it's the cheat code for everybody, because I did it for artists recently, and I was just like, yo, I don't think you should go here, here, here, here. You don't have no movement there.

And I think that artists should take advantage of that. I think a few years ago, you had a hit record that joint with Pharrell. Oh, you know what's crazy? I just, I just, I'm going to see Pharrell in Paris. I don't even know, like, I don't even know what the, me and Pharrell have nothing in common but music. And that says how dope music is though.

Right. Just think about it. Like you, you, you, you, we, we, like. If I think of all Pharrell rap friends though, to me, they don't have nothing in common. Like what do you have in common with the clips outside of being from Virginia? No, they got in common.

They dress, they wear bell bottoms together. You know what I'm saying? Like, like, like, yeah, they, they, you know what I'm saying? Like, yeah, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they come around to me. Me and Pharrell have a beautiful, like when we get together, we talk straight music. And I love that.

At first, I thought it was awkward, but the elder I get, I was like, yo, you know what? That is dope, you know what I'm saying? Like that's dope. And like I don't get none of this Louis Vuitton shit for free, man. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like I'ma try to work my angle.

I wanna meet Bernard Aldo, you know what I'm saying? I wanna do that, but I'ma go out there, I'm fuck with him, in Paris, he got a whole different sound and when he makes a different sound, I usually go out there and I'm a part of that new wave of sound. So you're gonna record and then do some more music. Yeah, yeah, I like Paris anyway.

I like L'Anche, it's L'Anche, L'Anche, L'Anche. I don't know what the fuck that is, what is that? It's like the Manhattan. Okay, okay, okay. It's just the Manhattan. It's a good fancy way of saying Manhattan of Paris. Let's do a Q and A like you do on Dream Chains. Let's go, I'm in.

Quick time, right? Now to Jim Jones. I mean, let me tell you something, and I'm gonna say this accurately. I see where Jim Jones is coming from. Like, I can see him, because if you're looking at the algorithms now, I can see where he's coming from.

But you can't take the legendary status that what Illmatic has done, just Illmatic. Illmatic itself has birthed Marv Deep, has birthed Capone and Noriega, has birthed so many other people, like just that album. And you can't, and that time was the tougher time for you to be noticed so that's the reason why but I understand

where Jim is coming from I understand his stance. What part do you understand? That the kids know him now. I'm gonna tell you something, I looked it up like I did I looked it up to see like who gets searched more in 2025. It's still Nas. I give you the numbers right now. And this is based off Google. Hold on. I was just looking at this shit the other day. And it's still Nas by a long shot. It's hard to beat Nas. Okay. Screaming wise, Nas has about 9.1 million monthly Spotify listeners, while Jim Jones clocks in around 875,000. And I fuck with Jim music. But that's dope for Jim. This is the Google searches.

The Google based searches, Nas gets between 200 and 300,000 searches a month globally. Jim Jones gets 40 to 70,000 searches globally a month. I'm gonna be honest with you. All right, we all know that Nas wins, but listen, the fact that we're even having this conversation, that's a win for Jim Jones. Man, that's what I was saying.

Jim knows what he's doing. Let me what I was saying. That's a win. Jim knows what he's doing. Let me just tell you something. I'm a Floyd Mayweather fan, right? I'll tell you about, I think he's better than Muhammad Ali, right? This is me, right? I get argued, people,

but whenever Floyd fights somebody that night, they're on the same level as Floyd. So that's the reason why I hate when Floyd takes you to these exhibition fights, because I'm sitting there as a fan, I don't want Jake Paul to touch my favorite fighter. Like I don't want him to have a lucky shot. You know what I'm saying?

But you know at Floyd Mayweather, how do you turn down 30, 40 million for exhibition three rounds? I don't know how to turn down 30, 40 million, but I know how to turn. But so, my point I'm trying to say is, by us even comparing it, that's a win for Jim Jones. Like I seen Jim Jones in the beginning. like I got footage of Jim Jones and Cameron I was

filming a pre to drink champs I have a documentary called what what I still have all the footage and Jim Jones was out he is on the internet you could Google this it's called what what trailer And Jim Jones is out in the camp and you're sitting there and Jim Jones is like, I don't even spend money on weed, you know what I mean? I buy five nickels with a $20. And you look at that person to the person that he is now, this man won, man.

This man won. And I'm talking about, you gotta take him serious. Like he was a hype man, a hype man, a person that was back in to where he is now. I think that's an accomplishment. I think that's what we should be celebrating. I hate in our culture that we have to compare. Like me personally, I don't do that on Quick Time with Slime no more, but I was forced to take out Nicki Minaj and Cardi B because people, I'm talking about the fans were

complaining. Not their camps, their camps were too, about the fans were complaining not their caps they camps were too but but um the fans were like yo it's it's it's it's in you like both of them yeah and tell you truth I like both of them like I am a Kendrick Lamar fan if you like both of them you can have a preference yeah but right now you feel like if you play Kendrick Lamar you got to throw away your Drake CD that's messed up I've never been a Drake fan like if you play Kendrick Lamar, you gotta throw away your Drake CD. That's messed up. I've never been a Drake fan like that. No, we know y'all got a funny relationship.

We know that. We know that. But you shouldn't be able to listen to both, right? Like when I'm in the club, I listen to Drake. But if I'm in the car, I can listen to Kendrick. That doesn't mean I like one more the other. I listen to Drake in the car, and I like Kendrick in the club.

But you can listen to whatever you want. But you can still like both of them. Yeah, I like both of them. Like, but go ahead. But you can listen to whatever you want. But you can still like both of them. Yeah, I like both of them. Like, I don't like you got preferences. Preferences in what you're doing. Like, if I give you two people, it's somebody you probably like more. Yes, of course.

Of course. But I do like both. Like, you know what I'm saying? Yes, I like pistachio more than I like vanilla. Exactly. But guess what? If you give me a vanilla ice cream and nobody looking, I'm going to eat that motherfucker.

You know what I'm saying? I'm not going to complain. But let me ask you another quick slide. Go ahead, let's go. Did he guilty or not guilty? God damn. You know what? I'm going to leave that in the air.

You know what I mean? I can tell you this. I got to tell you from my experience, right? Of course. You know, me and you know each other 27 years. There's people who could say, man, I don't fuck with Envy, right? I can't say that to them. You know what I'm saying?

Me and Envy have a separate relationship. What I can say is, when I've ever been around, and I've been around Christ sometime, you know, I got my, I've been married 16 years. So maybe I was- Show me how good it can get today, God, and show the rest of the world what we already know. It can't get no better than being Hella Black,

Hella Queer, and Hella Christian. My name is Joseph Rees. I am the creator and host of Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian. A fully black, fully queer, fully human, fully divine podcast that explores society, culture, and the intersections of faith and identity. Listen to Hella Black, hella queer, hella Christian

to hear conversations about what it means to sound the way you look. I think what I've had to make peace with is that every iteration of my voice is given to me by God, and I love it. Books that validated our identity. The library now for me is a safe space as someone who is writing books

that they're trying to take off of shelves. And how we as black queer folks relate to our Christianity. Listen to Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Over the past six years of making my true crime podcast, Helen Gone, I've learned one thing, no town is too small for murder.

I'm Catherine Townsend. I've received hundreds of messages from people across the country begging for help with unsolved murders. I was calling about the murder of my husband. It's a cold case. I have never found her and it haunts me to this day. The murderer is still out there. Every week on Hell and Gone Murder Line,

I dig into a new case, bringing the skills I've learned as a journalist and private investigator to ask the questions no one else is asking. Police really didn't care to even try. She was still somebody's mother, she was still somebody's daughter, she was still somebody's sister. There's so many questions

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Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops call this Taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that Taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley, comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission.

This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Inc. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season One, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes one, two, and three on May 21st, and episodes four, five, and six on June 4th.

Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. ad free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple podcasts. The summer of 1993 was one of the best of my life. I'm journalist Jeff Perlman, and this is Rick Jervis. We were interns at the Nashville Tennessean, but the most unforgettable part, our roommate, Reggie Payne, from Oakley, sports editor and aspiring rapper. And his stage name, Sexy Sweat. In 2020, I editor and aspiring rapper. And his stage name? Sexy Sweat.

In 2020, I had a simple idea. Let's find Reggie. We searched everywhere, but Reggie was gone. In February, 2020, Reggie was having a diabetic episode. His mom called 911. Police cuffed him face down. He slipped into a coma and died. I'm like thanking you, but then I see my son's not moving.

No headlines, no outrage, just silence. So we started digging and uncovered city officials bent on protecting their own. Listen to Finding Sexy Sweat on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Never really around that, but I've never saw it. You know, I've never saw this monster that they described when I hear the testimony, because I got ears and I got Q-tips. So I hear it, some of this shit I'll be like, whoa.

And then some of it I'm like nah but I don't know but you've seen the freaky first hand. No I've never seen that. We see the interview every day Nory. The interview goes viral every day. When you look back at that clip do you be like huh? We saw the freaky first hand. You ready for this? Yes. Alright. You all ready for this? Yes. I've been waiting to say this story.

OK. Let's party party. Let's go. I'm back at court. This is a witness testimony. You want me to want us to play it and refresh your memory? No, I'm very refreshed. I see it every time it goes viral and they uptact.

Yes, I look at it too and I watch the whole shit too. So all right, here's what happened. Fab and Jada, Fab's first freestyle you ever heard Fab is with me. Yep. Yep. Like so I basically put Fab on like in a good way. I'm playing around. I always say that to him. It's a joke. But it's not actually. Like if I could've, I was the hottest dude in New York at that time. Clue asked me can I have my dude Sport come up? And I was like Sport? He was like Sport. I was like that's a dope name. Sport? His name is Fabulous Sport. Am I lying? So he was like sport and I was like that's a dope name sport his name is fabulous sport am I lying so we did so what I'm

saying is me fab has a have a have a great relationship me and Jada has a great relationship drink chats we're hot at the time you got a budget to fly around we've using the revolt budget pick up to revolt everybody there thank y'all for holding us down so they're in in LA. We fly to LA If that was LA it was in LA that wasn't our studio EFN misses its flight off. I forget what happens boom Jada kissing them are on a promo run I

Like the creative person that I thought I was being I messed up, but I tried I thought I was being creative I hit puff and I was, yo, they're doing a whole press run. That was for the Fab and Kiss Out. They're doing a whole press run. What could make ours different? You come to the show.

So he's like, all right, cool, it's Groovy Lou birthday. We're gonna go celebrate with y'all. Now that part, you forget, that's why the candles was there. It was Gro movie Lou birthday. We're going to go celebrate with you all. Whoa. Now that part you forget. That's why the candles was there. That's right. It was movie Lou birthday. Who is a Rastafarian. The furthest thing from anything

flavoring right. Fab Jada Kiss and Diddy arrive at the same time. Remember Diddy's a surprise. So my friend Mr. Lee who's who is Dominican. what's his slang? Dottie. Yo Dottie, yo Dottie. That's how he talking Dominicans because they don't want to say Poppy. Poppy is a Puerto Rican thing. You understand what I'm saying?

So he sees Diddy, he's like yo Dottie, you got to put you over here Dottie because we got and we don't want them to see it. So Diddy got that in his head now. Dottie, now he just keying Dottie, Dottie. He think that's what we saying. No, that's not what we're saying. That's what Mr. Lee is saying. That's it. That's it. So we walk over and he goes, yo, what's up, Dottie?

Fucks the interview up immediately. Yes, it does. All right, cool. But here's what y'all don't know. When he's saying to Fabulous, yo, why don't you party with me no more? Look at us in front of Fabulous. That's not Sirak. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, he's saying. Why we don't party no more? Look, he's pointing at it. He's like, and Fab, if you look, Fab is almost trying

to throw the vodka away. Because he's like, and you know, he had a deal. So that's really what that was about. And the daddy part came from Mr. Lee. And you know. Hold on, Norrie. There was more to that freaking. Let's go.

I'm in for that freaking. He said, I like it when you like that daddy, when you're scrambling and scraping like that daddy. So where did that part come from, Nore? No Dominican was saying, no scrambling or scraping. Ain't that part? I can't. I can't.

I don't know. I don't know, daddy. I was thrown off, too. I was thrown off, too. And you know what's the crazy thing about it? You know I was sitting on the editing floor. And he was like, keep all that in. I was like, fuck it.

I mean, it's hilarious. You know what I really wish I would have edited was the Kanye. Now, you know, we didn't edit nothing until then. But Kanye's was very weird. Because I had never got third, what is it? Second grade, secondhand hate. Embarrassment?

Secondhand hate. Oh, yeah, yeah. I got secondhand hate. So yeah, but that's the story. Yeah, I mean, the Diddy thing is interesting. I don't know whether he's guilty or not, but that interview was classic before that. Yeah, it's classic.

Before any of this shit took off. Yes, absolutely. I played it for him when he was here. Yeah, I saw that. I saw that, yes. classic before that. Yeah, it was classic. Before any of this shit took off. Yes, absolutely. I played it for him when he was here. Yeah, I saw that. I saw that. I saw that. I saw that. I mean, you know, that's been a dope thing about Drink Chaps.

It's like I get to make mistakes in front of the fans live, like in real time. And they ride with me. Like, you know what I mean? Don't get it twisted. I love the hate, though, too. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I love Dallas because I've lived my whole career

where people have my back and just to see it's a balance to this shit, you know what I mean? I'm with it because, but that's why I enjoy doing what we're doing with Run Champs. It's all positivity. This is the only time I can post something. Right. But somebody will always say something,

you running slow. Yeah, yeah, yeah. This is easy. The Kanye shit was interesting too, though, because it's like, you're not responsible for what comes out of Kanye's mouth. Correct. You're a platform.

You're a host. Yeah, but I felt responsible. You know why? When I found out that George Floyd peoples didn't like it um I felt responsible because and by the way God blessed me I've never said this before but this parts that we edited it like there is actually parts that we did edit. Like, he compared, fuck it, I'll say it. He compared George Floyd to Martin Luther King.

And he was like, what's the difference between George Floyd and Martin Luther King? And we were all like, we've been at that time, so we thrown off, we're like, what? And he was like, Martin Luther King had bitches. And we were like, oh shit, we knew that had to be edited right there. And we were like, oh shit, we knew that had to be edited right there. We were like, oh no.

And so we were paying attention to the parts that we weren't paying attention to everything. Like, you know what I mean? And he had got me. He had called me. I don't want to blame it all on him, because it was a collective. We just did, I just didn't know what,

I didn't know how to edit at that time. Have you guys spoke since? We spoke, we spoke, since then, we spoke like five, six times. Then it disappeared and so did he. I have not spoken to him. So I'm gonna do a documentary of me, my two years with Kanye.

Cause I had two years, I just, like, I I thought he I thought he was listening to me at one point He's asking me marriage to advice and I was obligated. I was like I was going downstairs I was going to I was walking away from my wife because I even want my hundred know that I was giving wife Advice and marriage to advice and then he would listen to me and then he just tweet away right after I never took it like that. I think after you apologized, he was like... No, he said, no, he's a good guy. He said, no, he's a good guy.

That I didn't... Because I, to tell you the truth, I understood media, but I only understood the good side of media at that time. Like, when I come to the Breakfast Club and I go to Canada, people will be like, yo, Breakfast Club, like, it's positive. You know what I'm saying? So, this is my... This saying? So this is my turn of saying, you know what, it ain't all guts and glary. Like

sometimes you got to go outside and take the gum under the table and then put the gum under the table in your mouth and motherfuckers, nah, maybe that wasn't right. Maybe that wasn't right. Maybe that wasn't right. You can edit that part. That was a lie. That was a lie. But you know what I'm trying to say. Sometimes you got to stuff. Sometimes you got to scuff your Tims, even if they's Louis Tims, you know what I'm saying? And that's pretty much what it is.

I ain't scuffing my Louis Tims, but Norrie? So what's y'all edit process like now after that? Because it was lawsuits and everything his way after that. Oh. Lost his whole shit? Yeah. You did his deal, done after that. You know what was crazy?

I want to big up to unlikely people who called me during that time. Shaq called me, and you know Shaq, he's mad calm when he talks, you all right? I was like, yeah, he's like, need anything, I got you. And I was like, damn, you know. Shaq is a good dude, Shaq is a good bubble. Even if he was frontin', that shit made me feel good.

Pharrell called me, and then Ye called me, and I was like, yo, Ye, man, I feel like I'm about to lose everything. And he was like, interesting. That's all he said? That's all he said, bro. And that's pretty much it. So we had to shake it off.

And another part of that was my Jewish friends. I had rabbis coming at me like, hey, man, I wanna come on the show. So you, and I was just like, I don't know if I can go that far, but it was just crazy. It was just crazy. And then he doubled down on it.

Like, attention is crazy. So he doubled down on it and I don't know. I don't know, but if he called back, I think I'll accept him. I'll drink champs again. I'll just be more responsible and I won't know, I don't know. But if he called back, I think I'll accept him. On Drink Champs again, I'll just be more responsive and I won't drink a biggie. Yeah. What business-wise for Drink Champs,

because I know you got the network now. I remember it was an early episode where you were talking about how you learned that the audio and the video could be sold separately, right? Now with the network, you're doing that for other people. So business-wise, where does Norris stand as a businessman, giving people advice on things like that? Well, absolutely.

That was something that I noticed immediately. You know, God bless the dead, come back, Jack. Rest in peace, Jack. Come back, Jack. Come back, Jack. I was noticing when I first, because they were doing podcasts, but I don't think they were calling it podcasts. They were calling it podcasts.

OK. So a lot of people give Spher Sounds in Rosenberg, and they were the official, I believe, hip hop first podcast. But I was noticing when I was looking at certain people, like they would throw out episodes and the episodes would be on, what was that? What was that? SoundCloud or whatever. The audio will be on, what was that? What was that network? SoundCloud? SoundCloud or whatever. The audio would be there, but then the YouTube would be a kid that ripped the audio and just put it up there,

but it would be the kids YouTube. Yep. But it's their episode. So I would sit back and I would be like, why are they allowing that to do it? That's happened to the Breakfast Club for years. I didn't know that. I didn't know that.

I knew that happened to us for two weeks and I shut that shit down. How long was that for, Shulliman? Um, well, it was different because we used to put, we was always putting video up. Right. But they would rip the video and like it would go, you know, world star. I didn't mind because it was like promo. Yes, promo. Yeah. They would definitely do it just on YouTube. There was somebody making a bunch of money.

A bunch of money for years, a couple years. Yeah, so um, I noticed that. I noticed that. And then it was like, anything subscription-based, you know I got resource room, but anything subscription-based is not in competition with Lineart. It's not in competition with television, and it's not in competition with YouTube. So I made a genius deal a couple years ago.

A lot of people didn't like it. But I had Massappell, which is Nas' label handling the audio. I had Tidal, which is Jay-Z's, on a subscription level. And then I had Revolt on a television level. And everyone thought I was doing some funny shit. This was legit. This was legit. I mean, they didn't want to share with each other.

It was like, oh, I made them go to Black Excellence. No, no, no, no. You say Black Excellence. We're going to let this shit out. And we did it. It was a great time. You know what I mean? Yeah, so I feel like, you know.

Still doing it now. Yeah, I mean. Black Effect is the audio. That's right. That's right. The video was with, it was with Rev know. You're still doing it now. Yeah, I mean. Black Effect is the audio. That's right. That's right. The video was with, it was with Revolt. It's not with Revolt. It's with Revolt.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Everybody at Revolt, man. Revolt took a hit, you know, when Diddy stepped down. And they didn't miss a beat, man. They stepped up. You know, all of the people, they stepped up. I see they got a deal with Cam. Big that up. I've been telling a deal with Cam, big that up.

I've been telling Cam to come over here for a minute. And so I'm glad, and they got Brandon Marshall, a sports show. They're really trying to compete with the elite network. So I got their back, you know what I mean? And so I'm with them, I love it. Why did a woman get mad at you for ordering a whole bottle of wine?

Oh, you wanna talk about that? What was that? No, no, no, no, no. Well, I got the 911 call. I should play this shit, right? She called the police on me. Well, we were sitting in Houston's. In Miami, right?

In Miami. And it got busy. You know, I've never had these since I had the braids. I know Envy's hating because he can't grow hair. I definitely could grow hair. You remember that man over there hating. I could. Just my braids would be in the middle of my head.

Let's talk back here. Well, I believe she was trying to flip the table. And I go to Houston's. Flip the table? Flip the table. You know, like, get into somebody else. Because we were finished eating, and it was just another bottle of wine. And they were like, uh, you know, like, you know, get into somebody else. Because we were finished eating, and it was just another bottle of wine.

And they were like, you know, they were basically trying to flip the table. I own two juice bars, so I know when it gets crowded. Flip the table for people that don't know. We're trying to get you out to get another customer. To get another customer. How long y'all there? We finished our meal, enough to finish our meal.

So we just had an extra. So the lady was like, we're not going to order you another bottle. So we was like, all right, cool. Boom. So we just had an extra, so the lady was like, we're not gonna order you another bottle. So we was like, all right, cool. Boom, and we stood there. So you tried to buy another bottle, she said no. Yeah, so they went and got the manager and the manager took the actual bottle that was there

and was like, yo, I comped it. I was like, I don't need you to comp nothing for me. You know what I mean? And she took it away. And this was the most racist thing I've like, I don't need you to comp nothing for me. You know what I mean? And she took it away. And this was the most racist thing I've ever. So that's being racist in itself, right? But I was privileged to call for the 911 call, because she said, I'm calling the police.

I paid taxes, bro. I'm legit. I'm legit for 27 years. This here fooled you, man. You know what I'm saying? So she called the police. I stood there like a man that I am. The police came and the police, one of the officers said, this is two bottles. Is this something else going on? Like, he must have thought that

this was a secret, like something that like, like maybe I was messing with her or something like that. Cause he's like, people don't do this. They don't call the police. He's like, in fact, the party don't even start to three bottles. And I'm like, I didn't even get to the three. This is the police officer. So if I was belligerent or anything, do you know what happens when you call a police officer on a black man in America? That woman tried to get me killed. She said, I'm in fear of my life.

That's what she said. Damn. Like, I went to therapy. Like, I'm going to therapy right now for this. You know what I'm saying? It's traumatizing. What if these officers had a bad day? And they came and they just, I spoke very calm.

I stood my ground, but I'm still like, I'm traumatized from this. Like I got called the police on. They could have came in there with guns out. Yeah, yeah. She said on a 911 call that she felt threatened for her life. Because I ordered a bottle.

Like I wasn't partying, I wasn't on the table. I wasn't, I wasn't doing none of that. Like I was a bottle. Like, I wasn't partying, I wasn't on the table, I wasn't, I wasn't doing none of that. Like, I was actually celebrating. Like, you know, I was just chilling. Like, that's how I celebrate. And I'm traumatized. I don't even want to go in that area. I don't even want to go in that area.

Like, I'll go all around. And to tell you the truth, like I said, one of the black cops, it was two black cops that was there. So as I was describing it, the two black cops to the side, the head guy was a white guy, and the guy under him was a Spanish guy. But you just seen the two black brothers, as I was saying it,

you just see their head down like, damn, you still gotta go through it. You could make it to a level in life, and you still gotta go through regular stuff. You know what I'm saying? So it really, really, really, really, really hurt me. It really put me in a, and I just got back to it. Again, I think me running, me running

to get my mind off of that. And now we just ran with Angela Simmons and we didn't have a permit, and the police pulled over and I was like, oh damn, they ran. I was like, holy shit, I forget, like, oh. Because it's just- You didn't need a permit and the police pulled over and I was like, oh damn, they ran. I was like, holy shit, I forget, like, oh. Because it's just, it's just. You need a permit to run?

No, I mean to film. Oh, to film. To film, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So yeah, but that was a horrible situation. You know, you want to ask, you know, you've had success in two eras, right? You had the success in music, classic 90s rap, and the podcast game. Which hustle taught you more about survival,

the music industry or the media world? Nah, Reggae Thone taught me more. Reggae Thone was, at the time when I entered Reggae Thone, I was asking artists for their publishing, like doing records with them and giving them publishing, and they didn't know what publishing was at that time. Now they're very smart, they're very up to date now, but back then I felt horrible horrible seeing how they were conducting business and seeing like, for instance, like

Fabulous doesn't have to get along with Styles P, right? But if Fabulous and Styles P does a tour, Fabulous and Styles P would show up every single day. Styles would be on his side of the thing. I didn't see that in the regular. I'm not saying they don't do that now. But back then, Don Omar would not do a show with Daddy Yankee. Daddy Yankee wouldn't do a show with, I'm gonna give you an example. I'm not saying the exact thing, but he wouldn't do a show with Winston and Yandere. I'm talking about back then.

I'm not saying this is the case. I'm just giving you an example of names. And when I was seeing that with Reggaeton, it made me step up my hustle. It made me say that, damn, like these guys are, certain people are ahead and certain people are light years away. Like I remember bringing Daddy Yankee to Dame Dash

and saying, yo, this is the next dude. And Daddy Yankee wanted like 2 million at the time. And Dame Dash said, give him rocker wear. This shit, it hurt me. It hurt me. And this man became to be the most lucrative person on the planet. And then that genre of music turned into the most one of the most lucrative thing. And then that helped Afro Beats and look, so on and so forth.

Like I got the chance to see Reggae Thone. I got a chance to come to America and say, yo, this is the next genre of music. And people say, you're crazy, Norrie. So when you asked me what the most hustle I did, the most hustle I've ever got was from reggaeton because I had to start all over. I had to start from the bottom of that to make it to a king.

Which one taught you more about survival? Oh, reggaeton, yeah. Both reggaeton and reggaeton. You gotta realize Fat Joe is one of my closest friends. Fat Joe had an intervention with me. Oh boy. They wanted me not to do reggaeton. They were like reggaeton is wack. Joe is one of my closest friends. Joe had an intervention with me. Of what? They wanted me not to do reggaeton. They were like, reggaeton is wack.

That's one of your biggest records. Yes, he's like, EFN had an intervention with me, told me reggaeton is wack. But now, in their respects, both of them, as recently came up to me and was like, I'm sorry. He was wrong. They were wrong. But that's cool, when you first do something, you always gonna look a little stupid and was like, I'm sorry. He was wrong. They were wrong. But that's cool.

When you first to do something, you're always going to look a little stupid. You know what I'm saying? But also, they're your brothers, so they wanted to give you your opinion. They were trying to protect you. But if it's not happening at the time, what was the forward thought that even

make you want to be first in some of these arenas? I like going in my lane, because there's no traffic in my lane, right? Like I always knew that, like I said this on the show before, I always knew I ain't have the best work, but I know that I'm gonna stay out longer than anybody, right?

So what I wanna do is I wanna go to a section where it's just my section, right? So when Mobb Deep was the thing, and everyone was, you know, it was crack lines out the door to get a havoc beat, I wanted to work with a kid from Virginia that had a tight shirt on and a choker and he winds up being a legend named Pharrell.

But when I worked, messed with Pharrell, people were like, why is his shirt so tight? People were telling me, is that eyeliner he got on? And I'm like, wow, y'all looking at this man's features and all his other stuff. The man is making beats. Him and Chad is knocking shit down. You know, I'm the Neptunes.

I'm not just Pharrell, I'm the Neptunes. So people laughed at me when I did that. I like being the first, but I know that when I get there first, people will, I had the two way first. It's the one line, two way, first. It's online. Two-way. Yeah. Putting Lil Wayne on y'all. I'm putting Lil Wayne. He's still taking my music right to this day. Let's get into a record. Let's get into this record. Let me pull it up so I get the name of it. Well, you tell us the name of it, Norrie. Well, it's called Win Again because that's what we're

going to do. We're going to win again, and there's two features on there. I guess we'll figure it out. And make sure you keep subscribing to Drink Champs. Make sure you support the Drink Champs Network. There's a Myth Bleak show, Angela Simmons show coming soon. Yes, yes, yes. You know? And Run Champs.

Well, Healthy High is called Healthy High. Healthy High. All right. Well, it's the Breakfast Club. It's Norrie! Let's go. Wake that ass up. Early in the morning. The Breakfast Club is gnarly. Let's go. Wake that ass up. Early in the morning. The Breakfast Club.

Show me how good it can get today, God. And show the rest of the world what we already know. It can't get no better than being hella black, hella queer, and hella Christian. My name is Joseph Rees. I am the creator and host of Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian, A fully black, fully queer, fully human, fully divine podcast from iHeart Media to Hella Black, Hella Queer,

Hella Christian on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart Podcast.