The Breakfast Club - INTERVIEW: Uncle Luke, Jay Allen & Nikki Byles Talk 'Freaknik' History, Luke's Legacy + More

Episode Date: March 22, 2024

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey y'all, Niminy here. I'm the host of a brand new history podcast for kids and families called Historical Records. Executive produced by Questlove, The Story Pirates, and John Glickman, Historical Records brings history to life through hip-hop. Flash, slam, another one gone. Bash, bam, another one gone. The crack of the bat and another one gone. The tip of the cap, there's another one gone. Each episode is about a different inspiring figure from history. Like this one about Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old girl in Alabama who refused to give up her seat on the city bus nine whole months before Rosa Parks did the same thing. Check it. And it began with me. Did you know, did you know? I wouldn't give up my seat. Nine months before Rosa, it was called a gold mine. Get the kids in your life excited about history by tuning in to Historical Records.
Starting point is 00:00:59 Because in order to make history, you have to make some noise. Listen to Historical Records on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey guys, I'm Kate Max. You might know me from my popular online series, The Running Interview Show, where I run with celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs, and more. After those runs, the conversations keep going. That's what my podcast, Post Run High, is all about. It's a chance to sit down with my guests and dive even deeper into their stories, their journeys, and the thoughts that arise once we've hit the pavement together. Listen to Post Run High on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We've got chills, thrills, and stories that'll make you wish the lights stayed on.
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Starting point is 00:02:38 Listen to Crooks Everywhere on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. affect black and brown people, but in a way that informs and empowers all people. We discuss everything from prejudice to politics to police violence, and we try to give you the tools to create positive change in your home, workplace, and social circle. We're going to learn how to become better allies to each other. So join us each Saturday for Civic Cipher on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Wake that ass up.
Starting point is 00:03:22 In the morning. The Breakfast Club. Morning, everybody. get your podcast wake that ass up in the morning the breakfast club morning everybody it's dj nv jess hilarious charlamagne the guy we are the breakfast club we got some special guests in the building people are nervous about these three individuals they think they're gonna ruin their lives with this new documentary ladies and gentlemen we have jay allen nikki bowles and uncle luke the documentary freak nick the wild Party Never Told, streaming now on Hulu. Welcome. Thank you.
Starting point is 00:03:47 Appreciate it. Thank you for having us. Good, good. Now, we've all seen the doc, and a lot of people who haven't were very nervous. They thought they were going to see older videos of Uncle Luke throwing money on him. They thought they were going to see videos of themselves at Freaknik, you know, twerking on cars. They didn't call it twerking back then. It was booty shaking on cars.
Starting point is 00:04:05 They weren't going to see that. But the doc is not really like that. It kind of explains the story of the origin, how it started, how it helped so many people, how it helped the land of music and all that. So break down a documentary and why you guys wanted to put this together. Yeah, we were a few years behind, you know, what the essence of Freaknik was to be able to attend. So when Nikki and I created the original concept, you know, we the essence of Freaknik was to be able to attend. So when Nikki and I created
Starting point is 00:04:26 the original concept, you know, we knew we were missing the stories and that's when we went and found Uncle Luke and found Jermaine so that we could tell the story the right way. And essentially as we were putting it together, everybody had a Freaknik story. So what you see is a hybrid of everybody from the DC Metro Club to
Starting point is 00:04:42 you know, the people that were at the end telling the story about how it happened. Now what what y'all know about Frina? Because y'all weren't there. So y'all must have heard stories from uncles, aunties. What? Anybody coming back, like, you will wait for them to get back so you can see what happened. They coming back with the shirts with the big Looney Tunes characters
Starting point is 00:04:59 and the Bart Simpsons and all of that and the music, all of that coming back. And you're like, oh, I can't wait to go. Only for it to end before you can get there. and all of that and the music, all of that coming back, and you're like, oh, I can't wait to go. Only for it to end before you can get there. This is interesting, though. I think about it. Jay and Nicki, y'all wanted to do the doc,
Starting point is 00:05:15 but the OGs like the Lukes who just were there, provided the soundtrack for it. Did y'all not want to tell the story, Luke, just because you're like, you know what? Some things are best left unsaid. You know what I mean? Some things are best left off the record. No, no for me you know it's it's always telling the stories you know because my story has never been told you know and i looked at my whole career you know my stories you know
Starting point is 00:05:36 have not been documented you know for whatever reason and uh you know when i jumped on this, it was about my whole life story. I did a deal with a film company, and I looked at the actual script that was written for my biopic, and then I was like, half of my stories ain't being told. So I then entered into a deal with Swirl Films to be able to do these different parts of my life stories. So when Jay and Nikki mentioned Freak Nick, I was like, that's another part of my life story that wouldn't have been in a long, scripted film.
Starting point is 00:06:18 So amongst that story and other stories that I know, so, you know, that I'm doing for the next couple years, you know, documenting those stories and putting them out. You know, this is just one part of it. Could you ever do a proper anything about Uncle Luke in this era? Everybody's so sensitive. People want to cancel folks. Could you ever do that properly? Because you would have to.
Starting point is 00:06:41 You can only do it one way. Yeah, you can only do it one way. And that's why, like, I have a – i'm doing a biopic with uh will packer and we negotiating with a couple different companies and in a unique way of how we put that together you know uh kind of took the sensitivity out of it because yeah you live in a different era you know and and even with this right here you know freak nick is a large part of my story different era, you know, and even with this right here, you know, Freak Nick is a large part of my story, you know, and, you know, I put the freak in Freak Nick.
Starting point is 00:07:13 And so, you know, you had to do it in a unique way because if you did it, if we did this story a certain type of way in this life that we live in right now, we'd probably all be in jail. That's a fact. Now, did Uncle Luke ruin Freaknik and change the HBCU proper picnic of what they were trying to do? They were trying to be the D.C.
Starting point is 00:07:36 people that couldn't afford to go home. They were trying to create this brilliant and nice space and, you know, the Greeks were stepping and there was barbecue and there was food and then came let me see you and then we couldn't have fun when the fun came
Starting point is 00:07:51 that's what you're talking about I would say he enhanced it I wouldn't say he ruined it you don't think Atlanta wasn't ready for that obviously I mean I'm not going to say it wasn't ready it just didn't know it was ready because that him coming in, wilding out and all of that,
Starting point is 00:08:07 made other people come there, made other acts come there. And then that's where the music came from and the South got something to say and all of that. And I mean, Uncle Luke. And Luke, what made you want to go to Freaknik? Like, was it the buzzing at the time?
Starting point is 00:08:20 Because it was small at first and then you took it to another level. Well, I mean, you know, you having a party in Atlanta, and it's called Freaknik, I got to be the ambassador. That's right. So, I mean, basically, you know, this was at the time when I went, it was the height of my career, our career, the controversy, going to jail, doing all these different things, you know,
Starting point is 00:08:42 and then I hear about this little party going on in Atlanta called Freakniknik so then when i heard i thought it was a freak party you know real talk i need to be there you know i'm the king of freaking this i gotta go show my face in this joint you feel me and then at the end of the day you know we went there and did that plus some shot videos and all these different things and come to find out later on down the line it was like no no no it wasn't no it wasn't a type of party yeah it was people out there with little teepees and then they'll you know candles and all that little Greek thing and before you know it I you know I put the freaking in the picnic so what was the difference between freak Nick in the classic in Florida the classic Classic was wild, too.
Starting point is 00:09:25 Yeah. Well, I mean, you had different degrees of it all. And I lived through them all. You had Myrtle Beach. Yes, sir. Black Black Weekend. Same situation. You had Myrtle Beach.
Starting point is 00:09:40 Then you had Daytona Beach. Then from Daytona Beach, you had Carabana and Canada. So you had different verges of these different parties, you know, that was generated through young people. Then you had Galveston, the beach week, the bike, what it was. It was some sort of beach week out there that we would go frequent. Philly Greek. Yeah, Philly. Yeah, yeah.
Starting point is 00:10:05 I remember, you know, doing that, doing that party, watching people run by my hotel naked. So you had all those type of parties and, you know, Freaknik was just one that you had to go to. During that time, did you ever get the money you were supposed to get? Because I'm thinking about it now. When Uncle Luke pulled up, it wasn't like a regular rapper where he could
Starting point is 00:10:21 just perform with a DJ. Uncle Luke had a tour bus man luke had a like you had a lot of people to pay did you actually get what you was going because you you had an mc hammer type staff like you had mad people no no i'm not mc hamster staff i heard them going to japan and i'm like, you got all these people in here, wardrobe and all that stuff. Like, how you pay them? But yeah, I mean, my crew was a big old, I mean, it was mostly girls. It was girls and DJs and
Starting point is 00:10:54 you know, we ain't had too many securities. It was new artists like Pitbull would be on the bus. You know, Trick Daddy would be on the bus. You know, guys that I was breaking along the way, you know, Trick Daddy would be on the bus, you know, guys that I was breaking along the way, you know, using my popularity to spin them off to hopefully have
Starting point is 00:11:09 them become hit artists. Could you tell me what was the Miami influence on Atlanta sound? Because Atlanta was known for its bass too, but there's always, you know, a little debate about who came first. No, we came first. No question about it.
Starting point is 00:11:25 Yeah, yeah, yeah. I started hip-hop in the South. Absolutely. Yes, no question about it. I mean, it was no hip-hop. It was no hip-hop nowhere in the South. When I basically started, we was touring those areas. We went to Atlanta.
Starting point is 00:11:36 They were playing. They had New York DJs on the radio. So they didn't even play any music. I mean, I signed artists out of Atlanta called MC Shadi. Yes, sir. I would go to Sharon's Showcase. They had some rappers up in Atlanta,
Starting point is 00:11:54 you know, Kizzy Rock. They had a few dudes doing some underground stuff, but there really wasn't, you know, nobody picked them up. Nobody signed them. And so I would go there all the time and pretty much do shows at Sharon's Showcase, the hot spot,
Starting point is 00:12:10 that little underground spot. Once we went in there, we signed him. He was one of the top rappers in town. Then the kid blew up. Then we just kept on moving around. Even in New Orleans, we signed a guy named Bustown.
Starting point is 00:12:25 You know, it was a big hit. You know, I always, you know, I had these conversations with, every time I see Birdman, he tell me the story that he tried to get Bustown to then link him up with me to then get him a deal. I say, well, it all worked out right for you. You know what I'm saying? But, no, it was no hip-hop, period. You know, and even when we did shows with New York artists like Rakim and all of them,
Starting point is 00:12:49 they gave us five minutes on stage. Then we would eventually end up in a fight, run DMC another five minutes, and almost end up in a fight with their management and all that because we were the only thing. So it was like really breaking ground in an area that it was unheard of. That makes so much sense. I didn't know that because everybody always credits Shadi as being a pioneer for Atlanta bass.
Starting point is 00:13:13 But you assigned him. Yeah, I assigned him. I didn't know that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And he eventually became a pioneer because he was the first one to break out. Were you mad at J.D. back then when you were doing what you were doing and then he did the first one to break out. Were you mad at JD back then when he kind of, you were doing what you were doing and then he did the bass all-stars, which was very similar to what you were doing.
Starting point is 00:13:32 Were you mad at him back then at all? No, no, no. Because, you know, I knew the story of Lil Jon, you know, working at So So Def and Lil Jon wanting to do bass, you know, and when Lil Jon wanting to do bass. And when Lil Jon got, when he got his opportunity
Starting point is 00:13:49 to show JD that he was a producer, he did this version of bass, which is, we called it R&B bass, with the Mah-Boo and all that. He put a little twist to it instead of trying to do it the same way we were doing it. So I loved it, I loved it. I respect it. I mean, my thing is the more the merrier for everybody.
Starting point is 00:14:09 If you diversify anything, then the staying power becomes longer. Now, how did y'all get all the footage? Because that was when you had big-ass camcorders on you. There was no cell phone footage. How did y'all get all that footage? Well, some people that we interviewed actually had their own footage. And then so when we saw that it wasn't enough, I put up a post and was like, give us all of your footage.
Starting point is 00:14:34 So it started coming in and it was footage from there. It was footage from, I literally went to people's houses who had active DVD. I mean, what'd you call them? V vcrs and yeah went to their house and and got that met people in the in the parking lots however we could get the footage i was getting it was there any celebrities wilding out back then because everybody was wilding out back then let's take that one out because you have to take anything out but like we're not gonna put that up not many celebrities but you had to take something out. But like, we're not going to put that up. Not many celebrities. But you had to take something out. Oh yeah.
Starting point is 00:15:07 No, we definitely took footage out. Why? Well, because again, I think when people saw this, the announcement, they thought this was some salacious documentary that was being made,
Starting point is 00:15:16 but just like Woodstock documentary was made and those stories were, were able to be told just like we go see, you know, what happens at Mardi Gras, like black stories deserve the space to be told in a way go see what happens at Mardi Gras. Black stories deserve the space to be told in a way where it's not a gotcha thing. Black people got to stop trying to get motherfuckers.
Starting point is 00:15:33 We be the main ones on social media ready to get each other. We're not, for real. But even when we put out the announcement, people were like, I hope they don't show this picture of me. You know what I'm saying? People presented it in that way and we feel like Freak freak nick which is why we have these legends jd luke we feel like freak nick is a a story in black history that deserves to be told because it wasn't just you know twerking
Starting point is 00:15:55 on peace tree you know outcasts these these major groups were formed during this time like these major executives like shanti das you know and and KP, all these people came out of this ecosystem. We want to make sure we told the full story of Freak Nick. You can't feel 90 minutes of just twerking on Peachtree. The funniest part about this is Uncle Luke will be having a little smile on his face the whole time.
Starting point is 00:16:18 He's just reminiscing about it. You already know. This is the only way to cut right here. I do have all the footage of the scene. We were getting hit in the back of the bus. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. How important was Free Nick to your career, Luke?
Starting point is 00:16:36 It was very important. I mean, you know, going to Atlanta in the 90s, in the early 90s, when I heard about the actuals, you know, heard about the party and then going there, we did videos there. We marketed new artists there. But at the same time, you know, I was right there when it kind of went bad, you know, and then trying to work with, you know, city officials and trying to straighten it out and clean it up,
Starting point is 00:17:02 working with different promoters and all that. So I was, like, really in the thick of things when it kind of went bad and then tried to actually save it. But then, you know, like you see in the doc, you couldn't save something when the Olympics was coming. You know, that was too big for everything. But it was real important, you know, especially, you know, the couple – I remember one video I did, I think it was Bouncing the Beat,
Starting point is 00:17:28 and we rented the whole Nico Hotel and had helicopters flying and had girls over the balcony and all that. And, you know, that became a big song for me. Did you ever try to move it? Like when they was talking about canceling, you was like, man, let's bring it to Miami. Well, it was all similar. I mean, because we remember
Starting point is 00:17:46 we started uh cancun we started doing the parties on memorial day weekend in cancun and all the celebrities would come down there and then we moved to south beach and then same situation right now that you got going on that happened with freak nick uh thought about it but it was it was it was hard i mean because you know because Atlanta, and just like Jay said, it became a monster because everybody started using it as a promotional tool. It wasn't just Atlanta going to
Starting point is 00:18:13 Freaknik now. It was the world coming to Freaknik. It was everybody from Detroit and every black college on that spring break weekend, and that's where the gridlock happened because the city just couldn't hold that many people coming to Atlanta like that. They tried to do it a couple of years ago, right?
Starting point is 00:18:30 It didn't work out. Could Freed Nick ever happen again? That's tough. Too many phones. Yeah. I don't think Freed Nick could happen. Everybody has a different opinion. I don't think Freed Nick could happen the way it did back then.
Starting point is 00:18:42 I just think that's impossible. No major metropolitan city is going to let you shut them down like that. But one of our other EPs on the project was 21 Savage. And what I love that Savage did, he threw the party with Hannah Kane. Hannah Kane, who is a
Starting point is 00:18:56 monster out here. But what he did was a Freednik theme party. And when you went to that party, which he graciously allowed us to attend, it felt like Friedenick. He had Uncle Luke on stage. Drake was there. You know what I'm saying?
Starting point is 00:19:09 It felt like in the 90s, he had a car club with the 90s cars. I mean, it was. He had Play-A-Poncho, Kizzy. He had the artists that were back then doing it on stage. Yeah, I really think it can come back, and it can come back in a positive way, because when you really look at the story, you see how it started with, you know, some some HBCU grads and they. Is your country falling apart, feeling tired, depressed, a little bit revolutionary? Consider this. Start your own country.
Starting point is 00:19:43 I planted the flag and just kind of looked out of like, this is mine. I own this. It's surprisingly easy. There are 55 gallons of water, 500 pounds of concrete. Everybody's doing it. I am King Ernest Emmanuel. I am the Queen of Ladonia. I'm Jackson I, King of Capraburg. I am the Supreme Leader of the Grand Republic of Mentonia. Be part of a great colonial tradition. Why can't I create my own country? My forefathers did that themselves. What could go wrong? No country willingly gives up their territory. I was making a rocket with a black powder,
Starting point is 00:20:13 you know, with explosive warheads. Oh my God. What is that? Bullets. Bullets. We need help! We still have the off-road portion to go. Listen to Escape from Zakistan.
Starting point is 00:20:25 And we're losing daylight fast. That's Escape from Z-A-Q-istan on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey guys, I'm Kate Max. You might know me from my popular online series, The Running Interview Show, where I run with celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs, and more. After those runs, the conversations keep going. That's what my podcast, Post Run High, is all about. It's a chance to sit down with my guests and dive even deeper into their stories, their journeys, and the thoughts that arise once we've hit the pavement together.
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Starting point is 00:21:40 with the Story Pirates and John Glickman called Historical Records. It's a family-friendly podcast. Yeah, you heard that right. A podcast for all ages. One you can listen to and enjoy with your kids starting on September 27th. I'm going to toss it over to the host of Historical Records, Nimany, to tell you all about it. Make sure you check it out. Hey, y'all.
Starting point is 00:22:03 Nimany here. I'm the host of a brand new history podcast for kids and families called Historical Records. Historical Records brings history to life through hip hop. Each episode is about a different inspiring figure from history. Like this one about Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old girl in Alabama who refused to give up her seat on the city bus nine whole months before Rosa Parks did the same thing. Check it. Did you know, did you know I wouldn't give up my seat Nine months before Rosa It was called a moment Get the kids in your life excited about history by tuning in to Historical Records.
Starting point is 00:22:53 Because in order to make history, you have to make some noise. Listen to Historical Records on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's up? This is Ramses Jha. And I go by the name Q Ward. And we'd like you to join us each week for our show Civic Cipher.
Starting point is 00:23:12 That's right. We're going to discuss social issues, especially those that affect black and brown people, but in a way that informs and empowers all people to hopefully create better allies. Think of it as a black show for non-black people. We discuss everything from prejudice to politics to police violence, and we try to give you the tools to create positive change in your home, workplace, and social circle. Exactly.
Starting point is 00:23:33 Whether you're black, Asian, white, Latinx, indigenous, LGBTQIA+, you name it. If you stand with us, then we stand with you. Let's discuss the stories and conduct the interviews that will help us create a more empathetic, accountable, and equitable America. You are all our brothers and sisters, and we're inviting you to join us for Civic Cipher each and every Saturday with myself, Ramses Jha, Q Ward, and some of the greatest minds in America. Listen to Civic Cipher every Saturday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey there, my little creeps. It's your favorite ghost host, Teresa.
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Starting point is 00:25:04 Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. is programmed. If you program something, it don't get chaotic. If Freaknik was programmed, it wouldn't have got chaotic. It would have been similar to the Essence Festival. Right now, we all would be talking about how it started and how great it is. Again, it takes programming and organization to do something like that. I think
Starting point is 00:25:40 you could bring it back and be able to give a large portion of the money to HBCUs and things like that. Do it in a positive way. I'm a firm believer in taking something that was so negative and then creating a positive out of it.
Starting point is 00:25:53 And if you could do that, you know, it'll be a good thing. I don't want Wokenick, though. You don't want Wokenick? No, I don't want no Wokenick. But you want the girls sitting on your face? No, I'm married. But I want some young man experience But I want some young man to experience that.
Starting point is 00:26:06 I want some young man to experience that. Well, just send them out on the weekend with me. But I do like what you said because I never thought about it. Freak Nick didn't have no programming. It was just everybody was just out. And that's what they do. That's what they do when they want to shut something down for young African-American kids, no different than what's going on on Miami Beach right now.
Starting point is 00:26:25 You know, they'll take it. And when they want to gentrify a neighborhood, they let crime, crime, crime, throw it on TV. Crime is bad. It's all this, you know, and let it just go real bad so the general public can be behind what they're getting ready to really do, which is shut something down or go and take over a neighborhood. That's how you feel about South Beach canceling spring break?
Starting point is 00:26:47 Oh, yeah. South Beach got one of the most racist governments ever to mankind. And they have a blueprint for whatever council come in, whatever mayor comes in, spring break and Memorial Day weekend. You know, I always tell people, just don't go there. Don't go spend your money there. It always bothers me because when you see the white schools and the white people do their spring break, right?
Starting point is 00:27:10 They got crime. They're drinking and driving. They're public intoxication. They're fighting and all that. They kind of get swept under the rug. They don't have a problem. But when it's us, they shut it down and they go hard. Like you said, spring break in Miami where they said 230 people got arrested.
Starting point is 00:27:24 Those are college kids. How are they going to pay to get out? Exactly. Absolutely. But being drunk, like that was what spring break was about. You walk around with your red cup and have a good time. And what people don't realize is you have a white spring break where white colleges go all at the same time. And then later in
Starting point is 00:27:39 the springtime, you have all the black colleges that have spring break at the same time. So they know, you know, they know the schedules of these different colleges. And like right now is black college spring break around the world because all of the black colleges kind of do they do their spring break the same time. And so that's why you have it like that. And the same thing as Carolina brethren deal with in Myrtle Beach. The same thing happens.
Starting point is 00:28:04 Black bike weekend. Yeah. It's not white as Carolina Brethren deal with in Myrtle Beach. The same thing happens. Black Bike Weekend. Yeah. It's not White Bike Weekend, but it's Bike Weekend. It was like two weeks ago. It was kind of like White Bike Weekend. But they just called it
Starting point is 00:28:12 Bike Week. And the second one was called Black Bike Week. It's, you know, completely different and shut down. Did you hear Earthquake when he was up here,
Starting point is 00:28:20 Luke, and he said that he dropped a nuclear missile because he was in the military? Yeah, I heard that. You can't miss y'all's show. Luke and he said that he dropped a nuclear missile? Yeah, I heard that. You can't miss y'all's show. When I heard that story right here on y'all's show,
Starting point is 00:28:38 I was like, oh, Lord, this man finna blame me for a nuclear disaster. That's my dog too quick. I mean, hey, but that was funny there. Do you still feel like hip-hop forgot about Florida when it came to all these hip-hop 50 celebrations? No question about it. I mean, we had to go, you know, me and Trick Daddy, we had to actually go on social media and say, hey, you forgot about us.
Starting point is 00:28:58 What the fuck is going on here? We're a part of this. We're a major part of this. And then people start calling up and like, oh, we're sorry. Oh, we want to invite you. We want you to be a part of this. We're a major part of this. And then people start calling up and like, oh, we're sorry. Oh, we want to invite you. We want you to be a part of this and everything like that. So, I mean, that's been happening my entire career. And that's why, you know, before I was mad, but like right now,
Starting point is 00:29:18 being able to tell all these stories in different forms, the Freak Nick, Coach Luke, this other show that we're partnering up with, LeBron, that we're getting ready to do on a scripted series. What is that? Is that going to be the Book of Luke? That's going to be probably the Dark Side of Luke.
Starting point is 00:29:38 And give you a real story of Miami. Between that and the movie that we're doing with Will Packer, and then the other show with me coaching that we're doing with Smack and Strahan and all of them. So you'll see all these different pieces of being able to tell these different stories, which I'm happy right now.
Starting point is 00:30:00 So I pretty much created a damn film company out of the whole thing because they didn't tell the story and then I'll get to tell my own story but you're a hip hop pioneer Uncle Luke that's what pisses me off when people have these conversations about hip hop pioneers and hip hop moguls you're one of the original ones
Starting point is 00:30:18 we don't get down south hip hop without Uncle Luke I don't think they realize what he sacrificed and what he went through parental advisory you fought the government for hip hop got arrested for it had to pay lawyer fees got locked up
Starting point is 00:30:32 he fought for hip hop and they left him out there to fight by himself he was literally fighting just like you say man nobody came to my defense there wasn't nobody in the industry. Matter of fact, people in the industry was talking shit about me. I mean, they would go on Donnie Simpson's show, other rappers,
Starting point is 00:30:51 and be like, oh, that's not hip-hop. You know, it got to the point where when we did shows with hip-hop artists that they would say, oh, put them on last, and then they would all leave because you know how you do a show, everybody on the side, seeing who rocked the stage and shit. So we had to go through a lot, you know how you do a show everybody on the side seeing who rocked the stage and shit so we we we had to go through a lot you know people but then people start understanding and that's why you know i was happy that we put savage a part of this because when he looked at you know you know this young kid is trying to understand you know just what went on you know this part of
Starting point is 00:31:21 history you know and and people like asap rocket when i would sit down conversation with him you know man i'll just embrace the history so you got some artists that go deep into it and then they be just wanting to vibe and like know where this shit came from but then you got a lot of people that really try to brush it up under the rug but you know this docker this docker be the beginning of something big i think because this is the only this is the only description of the south you know on this level you you don't have nothing that ever been done on the south and i think a large part of it didn't want to tell the story because then a lot of people had to give me too much credit you feel
Starting point is 00:32:00 me and so you know when you do that then it'd, okay, who the fuck was a part of this and not telling these stories? I think because so much of the media was in New York back then. So that's who they documented as opposed to the Lukes, the Jermaine Dupri, the J Prince's, the Master P's. Like it wasn't until maybe early 2000s when you started seeing like the South really get its props. And honestly, probably because of cash money. Yeah. Yeah. You couldn't deny them. their numbers was too crazy their numbers was crazy i
Starting point is 00:32:29 mean and just like you say they were you know uh when you see i was never affiliated with a major label only one time i was affiliated with with uh with with atlantic records and that kind of went bad because uh sylvia roan never embraced uh me you know uh and what we were doing as far as the label and then we kind of jumped off of that real quick uh but but at the same time so everybody got that big machine behind them you know i never had a big machine which i was happy you know at the time because i got all the money you feel me i you know shit i pressed the records and manufactured them and sent them out and we pretty much got all the money. You feel me? You know, shit, we pressed the records and manufactured them and sent them out, and we pretty much got all the money off of the records,
Starting point is 00:33:08 and everybody kind of lived good. But at the end of the day, you know, that's why it leads all the way up to now that I can really tell them stories, you know, because a lot of people don't know. A lot of people don't know I had the first download record ever in the history. When you look up the history books, which banned in the USA, and when I came up with the idea of letting every radio station play it on the 4th of July at the same time, and then, you know,
Starting point is 00:33:35 that's when I was with Atlantic, and they downloaded this shit. I was like, how you mean download? You know, and I never even knew that existed. So it's a lot of different things, you know, that people don't know that, you know, through these projects that I'm doing that they'll get the story. They got to go, too. They got to go. I just need two more quick questions.
Starting point is 00:33:53 Why do you think they tried to ban what you was doing when literally all you was doing was making people dance, making people have sex, but you have all these artists who are killing people on records, selling drugs on records. I don't see nobody trying to ban them. Why did they try to ban you? Well, I mean, the thing is, I was the first.
Starting point is 00:34:12 You know what I'm saying? We was the first to cuss on the records. But it was really fun because we say, I looked at what everybody was doing, every Wells, what they was doing in Cali, what they was doing in New York. And I was like, okay, we ain't going to sample Janeane brown we can't be like somebody else we gotta be like where we from a lot of people don't understand miami is half naked people walking around everywhere you
Starting point is 00:34:34 know strip clubs naked so so when when when it came out to us it was because you know for a couple reasons one the album covers you know they know, they were exotic. Then the back of the album cover, the titles were Face Down, Ass Up, Hey, Once a Pussy and all that. I'd do that because I had no money, you know what I'm saying? And I had no budget. So at the end of the day, when you
Starting point is 00:34:58 looked at the music and when you listened to it, then it started crossing over into White House holds. Then I became a target. Same same time you had the music industry same way you know the music industry was against what i was doing because i was taking sales away from everybody else you know and then when you take sales away then it's like okay we gotta shut this motherfucker down so then they sent tipper gore uh al gore's wife after me you know, and put me on this list.
Starting point is 00:35:26 You know, they tell George Lucas, because at the time my name was Luke Skywalker Records, you got to sue this motherfucker. So they were pulling me from all different angles. You know, I had to pay him a big-ass settlement. You had to settle with George Lucas? Yeah, I had a big-ass lawsuit with this motherfucker. That's why I don't look at no Star Wars right now.
Starting point is 00:35:44 Jesus. For Luke records? For Luke Skywalker records. He sued me and I had to pay a goddamn... What was the amount back then? You can tell us now, right on now. It was a half a million dollars. You know, back then, you know, and I kind of,
Starting point is 00:35:59 you know, when I saw Kenny Skywalker, okay, Luke Skywalker. You know, and this motherfucker. So I had a whole bunch of shit that I was going through at the time. And, again, you know, a lot of people think it was one case. It was actually three cases. It was one, the Roy Orbison case that went to the Supreme Court. I won that.
Starting point is 00:36:20 If I don't win that, you don't, you know, there's no more satire. There's no more Saturday Night Live or none of that shit. You can't, you know, make a joke about somebody. Then it had the. Oh, so satire, that was a satire case. That was a satire. That didn't just change music. That changed TV.
Starting point is 00:36:36 And the internet. And the internet. And the internet. Because right now they use my case for any internet claim where it's intellectual property. It became an intellectual property satire case. When you had that shit going on, now I got,
Starting point is 00:36:54 I'm fighting this, I got to go get this ruling overturned that the record is deemed obscene by this federal judge and then I didn't say fuck him and we go down the street and perform and then go to jail for it. So I got three cases going on at one time. Plus, you know, plus all the other shit happening around me trying to run a record company and
Starting point is 00:37:14 all that. And that's why, that's why, you know, I got really, really, really deep into, into the politics of it all, you know, and, uh, and seeing where it was coming from. How much did you spend in lawyer fees back then? Oh, shit. Millions of dollars. But then the crazy part, I ain't had to do it. I wasn't going to jail. You know, I knew the big picture.
Starting point is 00:37:34 And the big picture, it was really coming out to hip-hop. You know, and it was coming out to me. Yeah, I was a part in the game because I was a low-hanging fruit. I'm not affiliated with a major label because I'm sitting there like Andrew Dice Clay saying worse shit than me on the record.
Starting point is 00:37:49 But he's on this label here. So you start putting two and two together and all that and before you know it you see how that shit is played out. It's crazy because you said what you did is really to fight for hip hop for the next artist but the artist didn't support you at all. All the hip-hop artists basically said,
Starting point is 00:38:06 fuck you, but you still knew the bigger picture. Yeah, I looked at it from the bigger picture standpoint, because I knew, alright, these motherfuckers stupid right now. You know, the industry is not supporting me. You know, I remember going to the Grammys and they were like, yeah, we want you to go to the Grammys and everything, and we're
Starting point is 00:38:22 going to celebrate your fight for free speech and all this shit. And I go there and I sit down on the third row and they fast. I have this big speech about, you know, artists being attacked and we're fighting. You know, we're supporting and all this and everything. You know, our artists for free expression and everything. And right now we want to honor a person who's out there on the road doing it every night. Madonna.
Starting point is 00:38:47 No. No. Madonna. I ain't never went back to a fucking Grammy's. That's hilarious. There was a last time when, you know, Celebration of the 50. I went back there. They said that shit.
Starting point is 00:39:00 I was like, I don't know, walked up in there with my shit on and taking the the pictures and all that yeah that's hilarious no that that it was crazy man but but again that that's why i got so deep into politics man because i know everything is political i'd love to see that genre of bass music come back there's a couple of artists that's that's doing it a little bit and i saw that you was in the studio with uh carisha yeah yeah yeah yeah she's bringing it back she's bringing it back i mean the song that that we did together i mean you know because i don't go in the studio with uh carisha yeah yeah yeah yeah she's bringing it back she's bringing it back i mean the song that that we did together i mean you know because i don't go in the studio for no body i mean people call me all the time you know go and sample the you know so you know only two people can get me in there missy i went in there with her uh before colvin and then with carisha you know and you know
Starting point is 00:39:46 I heard the track and I was like okay I can fuck with that you know what I'm saying and we went in there and knocked it out real easy
Starting point is 00:39:52 I think it's gonna be a big summer club banger and everything and I'm looking forward to people listening to it alright
Starting point is 00:40:01 ladies and gentlemen make sure you check out Freak Nick the wildest party never told it's on Hulu now they should build a statue of Uncle Luke into it. Ladies and gentlemen, make sure you check out Freak Nick, The Wildest Party, Never Told, It's Gone Hulu Now. They should build a statue of Uncle Luke in every major hip-hop city. They should. I'm not even joking. New York, LA, Atlanta.
Starting point is 00:40:13 I'm gonna take the motherfucking down. Do I get to have my genitals hanging? No, man. Like that statue? Yeah, like the Greek statue. Jay Allen, Nicky Bob, Uncle Luke. It's the Breakfast Club.
Starting point is 00:40:26 Good morning. Wake that ass up. In the morning. The Breakfast Club. Hey, y'all. Niminy here. I'm the host of a brand new history podcast
Starting point is 00:40:40 for kids and families called Historical Records. Executive produced by Questlove, The Story Pirates, and John Glickman, Historical Records brings history to life through hip-hop. Each episode is about a different inspiring figure from history. Like this one about Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old girl in Alabama who refused to give up her seat on the city bus nine whole months before Rosa Parks did the same thing. Check it. I wouldn't give up my seat Nine months before Rosa It was called a moment Get the kids in your life excited about history
Starting point is 00:41:28 by tuning in to Historical Records. Because in order to make history, you have to make some noise. Listen to Historical Records on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey guys, I'm Kate Max. You might know me from my popular online series, The Running Interview Show,
Starting point is 00:41:51 where I run with celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs, and more. After those runs, the conversations keep going. That's what my podcast, Post Run High, is all about. It's a chance to sit down with my guests and dive even deeper into their stories, their journeys, and the thoughts that arise once we've hit the pavement together. Listen to Post Run High on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, my undeadly darlings. It's Teresa, your resident ghost host.
Starting point is 00:42:27 And do I have a treat for you. Haunting is crawling out from the shadows, and it's going to be devilishly good. We've got chills, thrills, and stories that'll make you wish the lights stayed on. So join me, won't you? Let's dive into the eerie unknown together. Sleep tight, if you can. Listen to Haunting on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Daphne Caruana Galizia was a Maltese investigative journalist who on October 16th, 2017, was assassinated.
Starting point is 00:43:02 Crooks everywhere unearths the plot to murder a one-woman Wikileaks. She exposed the culture of crime and corruption that were turning her beloved country into a mafia state. Listen to Crooks Everywhere on the iHeartRadio app,
Starting point is 00:43:18 Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's up? This is Ramses Jha. And I go by the name Q Ward. your podcasts. Everything from prejudice to politics to police violence. And we try to give you the tools to create positive change in your home, workplace, and social circle. We're going to learn how to become better allies to each other. So join us each Saturday for Civic Cipher on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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