The HoneyDew with Ryan Sickler - Cipha Sounds - CiphaDew

Episode Date: January 23, 2023

My HoneyDew this week is comedian, Cipha Sounds! Cipha Highlights the Lowlights of growing up in the Bronx, finding his way to being a DJ, and then pivoting his career to comedy. SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE and watch full episodes of The Dew every toozdee! https://youtube.com/@rsickler  SUBSCRIBE TO MY PATREON, The HoneyDew with Y’all, where I Highlight the Lowlights with Y’all! You now get audio and video of The HoneyDew a day early, ad-free at no additional cost! It’s only $5/month! Sign up for a year and get a month free! https://www.patreon.com/TheHoneyDew  What’s your story?? Submit at [e-mail]  SUBSCRIBE to The HoneyDew Clips Channel http://bit.ly/ryansicklerclips  SUBSCRIBE TO THE CRABFEAST PODCAST https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-crabfeast-with-ryan-sickler-and-jay-larson/id1452403187

The Honeydew with Ryan Sickler. Welcome back to The Honeydew, y'all. We're over here doing it in the Night Pant Studios. I am Ryan Sickler, ryansickler.com, and Ryan Sickler on all your social media. I want to say thank you, like I do every week, for real, for all your support on this show. It grows every week. It has since day one.

So I can't thank you guys enough for that. All right. Subscribe to that YouTube channel. That's what really helps the show. It's a free way to help, too. All right. And if you've got to have more, if you're one of those people, it's like, man, one isn't enough. Then you've got to check out that Patreon. You hear me say it every week and every week some new shit comes up with your stories.

It's the honeydew with y'all and I highlight the lowlights with y'all. And like I said recently, we just talked to a guy who was dead for three and a half minutes because a pickup truck fell on him, pushed him down in the water and he drowned in the water. He was dead for three and a half fucking minutes. Okay. That's the kind of shit I get weekly. All right. It's five bucks. If you sign up for a year, you get a month free. You're also getting this very show, the honeydew, you're getting it ad free and you're getting it a day early for no additional costs. There's no levels and tears and shit. It's five bucks. All right. Now, you know what we're doing over here. We're highlighting these low lights and these are the stories behind the storytellers ladies and gentlemen very excited to have this guest here first time on the do please welcome cypher sal to the honeydew thank

you thank you for having me you can do the show multiple times what do you mean because you said it's my first time here yeah so i might have a second or third let's see what happens okay okay but people have done it one before two or three yeah i'm already already playing in the trilogy yes people have definitely done it for sure okay good because i got a lot of stories um well before we get into any of them please plug and promote everything at the top okay i'm gonna plug some stuff you're not gonna care yet but hopefully as the episode progresses you'll be like let me rewind see how to follow this guy first of all at cypher sound c-i-p-h-a it's gonna be written somewhere right thank you uh that's instagram and tiktok all that stuff uh i have a podcast called juan ep is life it's the first hip-hop podcast ever we relaunched it

during covid me and my partner peter rosenberg so juan ep is life is my hip-hop podcast ever we relaunched it during covid me and my partner peter rosenberg so one up his life is my hip-hop podcast and then i have a comedy podcast called talk clearlier with me and will sylvans and if you listen to me and will sylvans try to speak it's horrendous we butcher the english language it It's so good. It's really fun, though. So check those out. All right. Oh, sorry. All shows on my Instagram and stuff, so you'll see all that stuff.

So Dan Van Kirk introduced us, and I have definitely heard about you. I don't know you. You're a New York guy, and I don't really do much but stay in la and do the road but um i was interested because i know you have an interesting background and you've were music first and you shifted into comedy 100 so let's talk about you first where are you from tell me about how you came up so i'm from the bronx new york um i'm pu Puerto Rican but here's the thing I'm Puerto Rican ethnically but not culturally so I like I'm not one of these proud Puerto Ricans are like my family's from by a moment I'm from the Bronx and I grew up in the Bronx until I was about 15. Then my mom got a promotion and we moved to Long Island.

So I went from the hood to then a very white high school. All right, so let's stop there for a second. Are your mom and dad together? No, my dad died when I was like three. Wow, how? Were they together at the time? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. What happened?

Do you know? You know what? I don't really know. He drowned. know he drowned apparently he drowned said this shit the guy i call to drown he drowned but the re apparently he went fishing with some friends something happened with the boat the thing that fucked him up is he lost his glasses he was like almost legally blind like horrible so they say he was just swimming aimlessly because he lost his glasses and

eventually he drowned which is really sad so then somehow my little cousin who's like my father's sister's son got mad at me one day calls me leaves me some voice messages your father was in the streets nobody told you he got killed. So I was like, whoa. I asked my mom, I'm like, is Matthew lying? Or were you lying to me? She's like, no, he fucking drowned. And showed me the newspaper article.

She's like, the fuck is he talking about? But yeah, apparently he drowned when I was just turned three. So I have literally three memories of him. Man, what are they? He drove an ice cream truck. What kind? Mr. Softy, classic New York. I remember being in the ice cream truck.

I remember sitting at a table and he was drinking a Heineken. And I remember one time I was in bed and he he leaned over and gave me a kiss on my forehead. I remember that. It was my grandmother's house in the Bronx-based apartment. And I remember these hooks above. And that's really it. Everything else I know is pictures. And yeah, it's nothing.

And are you his only son? Yeah. Yeah, it was super young. My mom had me when she was 16. Oh, wow. I think he was 19. Okay. So teenagers having a baby.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then your mom is doing what when she gets this promotion? What was she doing? Oh, my mom worked for FedEx at that time. Oh, okay. Yeah. All right. She drove the big trucks for FedEx.

Really? They call them the Grumman's. Through the Bronx? No, Westchester. Okay. Like above the Bronx. But she knew all his, like there was some rappers from there, like Heavy D, Brand Nubian. She would get their autographs from me.

Junkyard Dog. Yeah, the JYD. He lived up there. But my mom was gangster though. My mom was in a gang when she was young. Really? Yeah. So when she delivered FedEx and the projects, this is really cool.

I want to write a joke about this all the gangsters all the hood guys in the projects loved her she was like one of them they'd be like oh they used to think you know FedEx used to be Federal Express so they used to think it was like cops

so they were like nah we know y'all 5-0 but we like you. So then she's like, I'm not a fucking cop. I'm a delivery. What are you talking about? So what they would do to drug dealers, they would put baking grease on the steps. But they would have a code of which steps didn't have baking grease.

So if they were being chased by the cops they would go three five seven oh hell yeah i love right like this so they would go three five eight so like when you're running from the cops the ones you jump you jump on and the cops would just slide that's fucking great so they would give her the code they're like yeah we like you three five seven or whatever and she would like climb up with boxes and no one come on that's their shit but that's why i love hood stuff is like these people are smart but they just this condition that they're living is fucked up but like that's genius it is that's some that's some uh guerrilla warfare shit right so um but yeah so then she got then she became a dispatcher. And whatever you call it, the dispatcher room was in Long Island.

So she got you out of the projects up to Long Island. Well, we didn't live in the projects. Okay. But she just worked in the projects. Got it. But we lived in the Bronx. But you don't know it's bad when you get older. You'd be like, oh, there was some.

It was bad, but it was normal. Right. You know what I mean? Yeah. And people always talk about the bad stuff in the hood, but it was super fun, too. Like, people outside hanging out, music, food. Like, you know, yes, bad things happen, but, like, when you watch gangster movies, it's always, like, focusing on the bad stuff. It was a lot of fun.

It was like families. Yeah, and you think about a movie, it's 90 minutes, two hours. So even if that bad shit does go down, there's still 24 hours in that motherfucking day. Exactly. Yeah. lot of fun it's like families yeah and you think about a movie it's 90 minutes two hours so even if that bad shit does go down there's still 24 hours in that right exactly yeah it's like concentrated yeah and you're telling the story but like i loved it man i loved it so did you like your new place when you moved to the you said you were the only you say you were an all-white school mostly yeah it was how old when you're when you saw i was in 10th grade so i was like 15 okay so you're starting a new high school yeah so i went one year high school in the city and then

moved in 10th grade so like now i'm new you know i mean i'm the new kid and what's that transition like for you it was like rough like i had so i get really dark when i tan and I right before we moved I went on vacation with my mom so I was dark and I like literally first day gym class I take all my shit and this guy you part n-word and I was like what just punched him right away and like first day I'm in the vice principal's office and he's like oh Luis Diaz from the Bronx like we don't want that kind of trouble here i'm like me what right yeah this guy just so i was i had to like readjust and then um and then so there was i was the only puerto rican but again i don't even speak spanish like i'm not culturally puerto rican i'm just a new yorker So it was me who has like a Latin name.

Then it was like three kids from like South America. And there was five black kids. But they all lived in a group home that was in that neighborhood. Oh, all of them together. There wasn't even a black family. Wow. They lived in the group home. Wow.

It was like one of those charity type things. So there was like no, what's the word people use now? With lots of different people. Gentrification. No, with a D. Diversity. Diversity, why am I blanking out? So there's no diversity.

But this is like 90s, early 90s. So like all these white kids loved hip hop, but then they were racist some not all not not all but some i watch guys at raven's tailgates wear like a ray lewis jersey and drop the m-bomb yeah how are you doing that no because the the stars get a pass right yeah well he's not. He's not. Yeah. What? Like, what? How's that working over there? But, yeah, that was a weird. So did you play sports or anything? Like, what did you do to, like, ingratiate? Or did you never, like, really blend in with the kids in school?

Music. Music. Okay. Music. So tell me about that. So they, there's, it was like, like like some people were racist but they weren't like hateful racist they just i guess they hear they're more than ignorant and they hear their dad used the n-word and like if they get into a fight with a black kid they throw the n-word out but they're

also not really racist they just know it's gonna hurt that person in that moment right so whatever i had a lot of friends and then um they thought i was cool because i was from the bronx and like i would like get the new cool music from my friend and his older brother and then um so i started watching a lot of yo mtv raps video music box i was a a local video show in New York and listening to the radio and I was like, oh, I miss, because hip hop was just around me everywhere. Like it was just playing in the street and then now it wasn't.

So I was like, oh, I miss that. So then I went looking for it and I got into like my stepfather or my wife, my mom got married. That didn't last long. And he had like a turntable and an old mixer he lent me. And that was it. I was in.

Like, I was in. I used to record on videotape all the rap shows. And then I would try to buy records as much as I could. I got a job. Oh, no, I didn't get a job yet. I would try to buy records. My mom bought me some for Christmas. And I would just be in my room for like hours.

Hours, hours, hours just practicing. Isn't it crazy, though, that this person in and out of your life but left you something that sticks with you forever? Oh, no, they took it away. But I'm saying not the moment, not the passion, not the— The thing, yeah, to get into it. Yeah. And— They say—what do they say?

People are here for a season, a reason, or a moment? Is it some shit like that? You know what? I never even put that together. Like, he definitely wasn't around long, but he gave me a turntable. But he left a hell of an impact. Created my whole life. That's a great point, man.

Great point. So I didn't do anything else. Like, I just wanted to be a Marine. That's it. So you just liked music. You weren't wanted to be a Marine. That's it. I did. So you just liked music. You weren't thinking about DJing or any, or being working in it.

You just liked this. Everything I did in life was a pastime until I turned 18. Like my birthday's April. I would have graduated in June and June 28th. I was going to enlist. So everything in life was just, I loved like Vietnam, like Platoon, Vietnam movies, Platoon and Hamburger Hill. And I just wanted to be a Marine.

And my mom was like, why do you want to be a Marine? I'm like, yo, the uniforms is fly. I mean, it was like so on point. And I liked order. So I was like, and I didn't have no other like goals really i didn't know anything and i was just waiting till i turned 18 so like i was very smart but i never did my homework so whatever i'm just everything is just like waiting till i'm 18 wait till i'm 18 i'm gonna go join the marines and then i get into music, and I go, well, I can't rap.

I don't know how to rap. I don't know how to play instruments. But if I practice DJing for hours, I'll get it. It's something you can learn and not be like. So interesting you say that because here at the school, Lana has a nonprofit where I've taught podcasting, like a 101 class. But it started with her doing DJ classes. And she teaches these kids, like, look, you can go out and you don't have to work at Starbucks or Little Caesars or some shit like that. You can go out just on a weekend, do a bar mitzvah, make bank, and boom, you're good to go.

So it's a skill that you could take out with the end of the world and not have to hit that minimum wage, not the fire shit. 100%. 100%. And now it's so much easier. Now you can download songs for free, get a laptop and a controller, and you're gone. We had to spend money on records every week.

So I get into that, and I start liking it more and you're actually are you scratching like record records like i remember seeing dj hurricane like do it behind his back and shit run from one turntable to the other one and shit yeah and i wanted to be a producer so a lot of my favorite producers were djs like dj premiere i'm like oh you i'm young i'm like oh you have to be a dj be a producer. So I had to like learn it. And it just turned into an obsession. And I never had an obsession before. So my mom was like almost kind of worried.

I was in my room for hours. She's like, I was a good kid. I didn't get in trouble or whatever. So she's like, what's this guy doing in there? So one day I come home and the turntables are gone. And she's like like i don't want you're in your room too much you need to go out and i got so pissed i walked out of the house walked down the block and got a job at this place called chicken choice is that right chicken choice

man pissed off walked right into a job first place It was literally like two blocks away. It was like a little four-store strip mall. You know what I mean? One of them little ones. Donut shop or whatever. I go into Chicken Choice. I go, I need a job. The guy goes, put on an apron. You know what I mean?

And it's just frying chicken, making fries and zucchini strips. You know what I mean? And then clean the grill. They had like flame grilled chicken. I would just clean the grill. and i remember i was making money like doing still getting some tips stuff and i just saved up bought a brand new turntable what's your first one tell me that you bought technique 1200 that's that's the tank that's the one to this day now they cost a lot now they cost like a thousand dollars what was it back then? I think like $400.

Still, back then, that's a lot of money. Yeah. It's probably what it equals today. Yeah. $400, and I saved up. And that's just two of them? I had to buy one. Only before one.

And then I bought like some, somebody gave me like a shitty mixer, and it had a shitty turntable. So you would play one record on the shitty turntable but you would scratch on the good one okay and then i would switch you're listening to the the shitty one and scratching the good one okay yeah so that the beat is playing and then you're scratching and then i would take it switch it put on this side practice on this side you know you make way but that's what hip-hop is hip-hop is taking nothing and making it something you know i mean and um and then i i do that for a while then i'm i meet some kid and i moved out at 17

my stepdad didn't get along i don't even say stepdad my mom's husband we didn't get along. I don't even say stepdad, my mom's husband. We didn't get along. So I move out. I move into my friend's house for like two months. And then his older brother had like a shitty basement apartment in like the hood in Long Island. And I got down there. I had to go through their home to get downstairs. It wasn't like a separate entrance.

But I was like close with his family. So it was cool. So I'd be in this shitty basement apartment i had a girlfriend i had all this equipment i and i bought a car from him a datsun what datsun 200 sx okay you know that yeah i do remember like they were popular maroon when we're all popular navy blue car yeah yeah a little two-door. Yeah. Little speakers in the back. I was living, working. And then I just, yeah, then I waited until I was 18. I went to the Marines.

The guy, but I was DJing. I was still learning how to DJ. The guy makes me take the tests. Apparently, I got a really high score. He's like, you can do anything in the Marines. i got a really high score he's like oh you he's like you could do anything in the marines you know you got your choice he's like we're coming to get you uh you know tuesday morning 5 a.m and i haven't spoken to my mom in years not maybe a year why the reason why i left you know i feel like she picked my stepdad over me tell me like you were leaving

you left because you felt like she or or when you left you felt like she picked my stepdad over me. Tell me, you were leaving, you left because you felt like she, or when you left you felt like she picked your stepdad or her husband over you? It was just like, he was just a jerk. To you as well? Yeah. And her? Yeah, to her.

But I didn't know as much as he was that later I found I was really a jerk to her. I see. to her but i didn't know as much as he was that later i found i was really a jerk to her i see but you know i yeah i guess look at she was like picking him over me with certain things and then she took my turntables away and then you know she was like you know you gotta like get a real job you know i mean what are you what are you doing like you gotta go to school for this and i'm like i kind of like that i want to try doing this and she's like no you got to go to school for this. And I'm like, ah, I kind of like that. I want to try doing this. And she's like, no, you got to do something real. And she's,

my mom was a truck driver. You know what I mean? Like she's, she's to the core. Like, she's like, get a, get a,

like, I think I went to, I took airplane mechanics, no interest, but it was like learning a skill. You know what I mean? And finally I was just like, I don't know.

I've always been like independent. Like I couldn't, I can't take people I've always been independent. I can't take people bossing me around. So I just left, and then I called her. I said, you know, I'm enlisted in the Marines. I've always told you I was going to do, and I'm leaving tomorrow. She's like, I want to come talk to you. She comes talk to me that night, and she goes, is this sure something you want to do

because it seems now you're into this music thing and i go this is always what i wanted to do and she goes yeah but are you stuck in this mind frame of it's what you always wanted to do but now you're kind of doing something else she's like the marines are never not going to be there. So why don't you try this for a year and then go? And I was all night, up all night. And I called the guy at 4 a.m. I go, hey, man, I think I'm not going to go tomorrow or today. I think I'm going to take a year and think about it. And he went off on me.

He started screaming, you're soft. I thought you had heart you we had the same experience with the same thing right i've never told this story go ahead you did it it was in person like luckily i was on the phone no no i i'll tell you yeah and he's screaming i thought you had heart you said you wanted to be a marine and then it literally clicked i was like wait a minute i left home because somebody was yelling at me. Now I'm voluntarily going to a place where they're going to yell all day. And I was like, oh, I made a terrible decision. I'm not coming.

And that's how they let you go? Yeah. Not me, dude. No. I had gone in. I was living with my grandmother at the time. My dad had died. And in this process, like she remembers my dad going into the navy during

vietnam and she's telling me the whole time don't go don't go and there was a recession at that point i had applied for 21 jobs i'll never forget record and tape traders all these places i couldn't get a fucking job i i became a manny i went and fucking helped a kid a young boy with baseball i taught his sister to drive, all this shit. Really? I took anything I could get. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was going to donate sperm, and my grandmother was going off about that.

But then I did research, and I learned, because you think you're going to jerk and make all this money, but you can only do two samples per square radius of an area. Oh, right. a square radius of an area. Oh, right. Because even though it's not probable, it's possible those two siblings get together and they're related. Hilarious. So you can't just be dropping loads all over the Bronx.

You know, you get one in the Bronx, you get one over here, and that's it, right? So I was like, well, there goes that shit. My grandmother's Catholic and yelling, it's still your child, you know, that shit. I'm like, God, shut up. So I go in. I go in for my first uh i go to meps i go in for my first training thing and they i test really well also they tell me i could do whatever i want i'll go in higher as a c whatever especially because i

had some community college credits all this stuff and uh my grandmother dies during that process and i'm just devastated because i've always i just lost my father i just lost my grandmother dies during that process. And I'm just devastated because I just lost my father. I just lost my grandmother. The way it happened was brutal. I don't have it in me. And I call the number, and it was a lady first. And she goes, you know what? I don't blame you one bit.

She goes, they're going to fight you. You called the number to say you're out? I called the number to say I was out, and it ended up being this angel. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And she's like, they're going to fight you. She goes to say you're out? I called the number to say I was out, and it ended up being this angel. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And she's like, they're going to fight you. She goes, but you stay strong. If this is not what you want, you stay strong. That's crazy.

I said, okay. And I called my friend's father, and he was a lifelong Marine. I'm in college, and this is his dad who's still in the Marines. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's his job yeah job yeah and he told me get the out he goes you're not actually sworn in he goes what happened i go man they told me i could do this all of a sudden now they're telling me i got to be a jet mechanic and the computer's froze and they're just going to sign me this position

and then don't worry we'll figure it all out. I go, uh-uh. I already know what this bullshit is. He goes, it is bullshit. So he said, you're not officially in until you swear in that second time. I go, when do I do that? He goes, you swore in once. I go, I did. He goes, all right, you won't swear in again until the day you're going to get on that bus and go to boot camp. That's when you swear in. Again, that's the official one because so many people change their mind.

Of course. And he's like, when you get on there, if you do that, and he goes, get the fuck out now. So I call, and the guy's doing that to me. I thought you had heart. I thought you, and they're just going on and on. You got to go. You got to go. And I'm just staying calm.

I'm like, I know I don't have to. But you're a kid. Yeah. How old are you, 19? I was 20. 20. Like, they know you're not there yet. And I'm like, my grandmother just died.

I need to be around my family right now. They need me. I'm not going. They're like, well. So the guy comes and gets me at my home. Really? Oh, yeah. They went all out.

Comes and gets me at my home. And he drives me back to the MEP center where I sit and talk to somebody else who in person is doing the same thing, trying to intimidate me and scare me. And I'm just smiling. I'm smiling because I know i don't have to go and i'm not gonna fucking go and now that i see the way you guys are i'm so glad i'm not fucking going this is bullshit and um yeah they fucking told me you had somebody that could tell you didn't have to go right because how many kids think they already did the swear in? I fought that. Yeah. I'm like, no, I already swore in, did the thing.

And I remember being, I also remember testing, and I was making the guys laugh during the testing. I'm like, this is some weird shit we're doing. I was like, hey, guys, did anybody stick, did they stick a pencil up your ass? And these dudes would start dying laughing. I'm like, I should be doing something else here. I know I should be doing something else.

And I fucking, the guy goes, he goes in like he does with you. And at the end, he goes, so what's your decision? I go, here's what's funny to me. You're screaming at me for five minutes telling me I have to do this. And then when you wrap it all up, you ask me what my decision is. And I told three of you three hours ago, I'm not going. And then they let me walk out of there because you're not really in. Right. Yeah. hours ago i'm not going yeah and then they let me walk out right because you're not really in right

yeah yeah because if i was obligated to go legally you drag me in or throw me in cuffs that's right i'd be arrested when i left here right so yeah but it's i get it it's the same thing so when you said jet mechanic i was like oh it sent me into it i was like nah fuck that's same shit they did to me yeah that, that's crazy. Yeah, yeah. Listen, I have all the respect. Me too. I love our military. I support it.

But my experience and what I was going through at the time personally and then the experience I had with you trying to recruit me in, nah. Yeah, man. Wasn't a good experience. Yeah, I love that. I love those guys, man. So then I just got into music out music yeah and you dive into music i go i go some kid i met at community college i'm taking a program in college studio recording learning how to be an engineer i'm like oh this this i can explain this to my mom

when people record stuff there's a guy pressing all the buttons this is what i want to go to school for i'm killing it there's a special pressing all the buttons. This is what I want to go to school for. I'm killing it. It's a special program. The guy, it was a national community college. He was an engineer. He created this program. Killing it. So he learned like music theory, music business, studio recording.

Learned everything about working in a studio. Machinery, gadgets, equipment. Loved it. And then I met some kid. He had a rap group. He goes, hey, we're going to had a rap group He goes hey we're gonna Bring the rap group To this college radio station

This other college In Long Island Adelphi Can I go? I've never been to a Hip hop college radio show He's like yeah Come with us

We go in Shitty studio This guy named Wildman Steve He would do an hour Of playing like Unsigned artists And that was at 10 to 11 and then 11 to 1 it was a dj named dj riz and he would play all the underground hip-hop

stuff but the first hour was unsigned artists so go there this guy brings his rappers they rap they're about to leave and i go i asked the guy wild man see can i hang out for the show he goes yeah you know just stay out of the way but you can hang out so everybody leaves i've stayed by myself within that those three hours i figured out everything i go every time someone rings the doorbell he has to go downstairs and open the door okay there's phone lines ringing he has to answer it in three hours i go hey man um can i help you like answer your phones and maybe open the door and get you like food or whatever he was like i don't got no money for that i go i'll do it for free it's you know

monday nights he goes all right we'll try it come in next week come in next week box of donuts early before him i'm sitting there waiting for him letting people in going sounds to bring bro i was in i was in and i every week i met like q-tip from a tribe called quest mob deep because they were it was like this is like the 90s so big artists who became big superstars were underground hip hop artists at that time. And is this the place you want to get your shit played if you want to hit the next level? One of them. In New York, there was like five college radio stations. But they were to us where we listened to all the new music.

This is before internet, CDs. This is where you listen to it. So this one is on Long Island. A lot of them are in the city. So I'm up there every week, every week, every week, helping out, meeting all my favorite underground rappers, the Alcoholics, Big Daddy Kane. I got pictures from all those days.

That DJ Riz is a white kid, but he's incredible. He goes, oh, I'm DJing a party on Friday at this club, I go, hey, can I, oh, I know he doesn't have a car, so I go, hey, can I drive you to that gig, and he goes, yeah, I guess, bro, take my bullshit car, go to Brooklyn, pick him up, drive to the city, watch him DJ, I go, oh, this is it. This is what I do. And just worked with him for years. Doing what?

Bro. So back then we had to go pick up vinyl. If you were a notable DJ, you would get free vinyl from the record companies. But sometimes you had to go pick it up. I'd go drive them there, sit in the car. They don't just go up, pick up the records, come down. They're up there bullshitting. I'm sitting in the car two hours.

This is no phone, no iPhone. Just listening to the radio and then driving to another place, driving to another place. And you'd be like, yo, you sure you want to? Yep, no problem. No problem. He didn't have a car. Drove him. We go to record shops

then we go to other college radio stations just to hang out i mean all my favorite rappers and i'm in heaven and i've i found my calling this is what i want to do then he worked at a club on sundays called the tunnel he was the. So he was there from like 9 o'clock. This party was 2,500 people every Sunday. He plays before the middle DJ and then the main DJ, Funkmaster Flex. I go with him carrying his crates, getting to meet everybody. Eventually, my friend DJ Riz kind of blows up

and wants to just go off on his own. He doesn't want to be an opener anymore. So they're like well who are you going to put in? Syph. I've been with him for so long. He trained me. I can handle it. I get in there. I'm DJing from. It's supposed

to be 8.30 to 9.30. Okay. The reason why they needed a DJ so early is because first 500 girls free. This was the ghettoest club. It was like jail. I was DJing in jail. Jail.

Listen. 90s. That's hilarious. This is like you don't have to dress. There was a lot of clubs in the city, but they were like R&B clubs, and you had to dress up, and they were on saturday night this is the crack dealers drug deals but it was the hottest hip-hop party so the other guy big cap he died rest in peace he's supposed to play from 9 30 to 11 30 and then the main guy gets up so he comes in in 9.30. He sees that I'm there. Next week comes in 10.

Next week comes in 10.30. So I'm just playing, killing it. Then he gets off at 11.30. And then I get back on and play a half hour of reggae before the main DJ. So I'm running around trying to learn how to play reggae music, grabbing all over. Because that's a big thing in New York, like a lot of Caribbeans. Play a half hour of reggae.

And it also resets the room then the main dj gets on 12 o'clock all the hottest shit people going crazy and like so then that guy funk master flex i'm in there for like a year or so and he goes he's on the radio as a dj but now they want him to be an air personality at seven o'clock he goes hey you want to work with me at the radio station i need uh i need you to same thing i did get the people in set up my records bring food all that shit he goes i'm not gonna pay you but i'll teach you how to get paid the best lesson in my life i'll teach you how to get paid take the job within weeks like i would um any gig he got he'll be like yo i need scythe to open up so if he's getting a thousand or two thousand i'm getting 200 and it just

starts the whole dj life and what's your first big gig like on my own yeah oh my first big gig is uh djing for little kim how'd that come about so funk master flex manager her name was jessica rosenbloom she had all the hot djs so if anyone needed a dj for anything in hip-hop they called her. So little Kim was in a, you know, in a group called junior mafia with Biggie. And then she's going to go solo. Like they're all still a group, but she's going to do a solo album.

So they need a DJ for the, for the promo run, which is like, all she had out was two junior mafia records, an R and B remix and one single. And then she's going to go on promo, no pay. So they give me three. Is that right?

No pay, she did it? Yeah, when you go on a promo run, yeah, you'll go to a bunch of radio stations around the country, and they'll have Hot 97 night, Saturdays, live broadcast, and you go perform two songs, three songs. There's no money. You're just getting per diem or maybe like a thousand bucks whatever and uh she gave me 300 a week but see the thing with her that she was hot like she was on fire so people were booking her everywhere right everywhere we were out wednesday thursday friday saturday sometimes sunday and um so i did that for a while you were her dj her dj exclusively

yeah so like i go on stage i play the music they perform and uh 300 a week and then she uh i, now she's getting, now her album comes out. The album's selling like hotcakes. Now she has more songs to perform. Now she's getting like, I watched her get 20, 30 Gs. You know, I watched the road manager pick up the second half, 15 Gs. I'm still getting 300 a week. A week.

So I go, hey, this is, you know, it's not working out. Like, I need a little more. And they're like, that's all we got. Sorry. So I quit. They hire some other kid within like two months. They're like, Syfe, you got to come back. You got to come back.

This guy, this guy is fucking girls and acting up, messing up the shows. His records are always skipping. So I come back for $300 a show. Bro, I thought I was rich. I have a $700 apartment with a roommate, $700 rent. I'm coming home $1,500 a week. Bro, I was rich. I bought a chain. i was out of here oh and then all that just started

accumulating like dj with flex dj with kim getting other little gigs sometimes kim would do two shows a night so that's 600 bucks instead of 300 bucks and we're just just rolling she was going everywhere everywhere anywhere like even rappers weren't going because she was like this girl talking about all this sex shit. You know? Like, so they wanted to see it. So we were going everywhere. Down south, west coast, London. It was great.

London, huh? So then what next? What after? Let me ask you this question. Sorry, I'm all over the place? No, you're not. You're in comedy enough now to know what bombing in comedy is like. What's bombing for a DJ? Have you ever bombed?

Have you ever fucked up, played around, anything? What is a bomb for a DJ, though? You get booed at the club for the track? Yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah. So I was at, I explained to people there's a lot of, people think I made this jump from comedy to DJing, this crazy jump. I go, it's a lot of similarities.

You got to read the room. You got to, like, is this a clean show? You know what I mean? Is this more of like a woke crowd? Is this like a conservative crowd? A wild Trumpy crowd? You know how to like, still the same jokes, but you kind of like, there's an urban room, there's a white room.

So you got to read the room. Bombing is not as bad in DJing because you're playing hit music, other people's music. So I talk a lot when I DJ. I have like a personality. So I'm talking, yo, we're going to get this party right. talking yo we're gonna get this party right everybody sometimes it's not working but see in the dj booth you could turn down the lights so they don't turn off the mic and just play hits hide and play hits huh bro if you play the hits like if you're bombing you can't all of a sudden start doing Chris Rock. Get some Jay-Z. Yeah.

Get the fuck out of there. Yeah. Yeah. And like, I'm just up there eating. Bro, you just, it's by yourself.

It's all you, which I love. Yeah. And what's the scary part? Bro, you can hide. You know what? I'm just going to play Biggie, Jay-Z,

Fugees, hits, and then eventually, like, it's also, I'm DJing three hours. So you might bomb the first 30 minutes, get them back, and then turn the mic back on, turn the lights back on. Here we go. I got you.

New people walked in. Yeah. People walking in, walking out. So the bombs aren't as bad as DJing. The gigs might be shit. Yeah, let's give me some bad gig. You know what? I don't know anything about sports.

Obviously, you do. There's a big picture of you playing football behind me. I know nothing about sports. Okay. So sometimes I didn't realize I'd be DJing the night of game seven or the fight, night of the fight. Bro, you go in there. Like those fights sometimes go to like two in the morning,

depending where they're at. So you go in the club and nobody's there, bro. There's like 10 girls who are not interested in baseball. And you're like, it's one o'clock. This is when I would play all the hot shit, but I got to save it for when the people come. And there's a moment when you go, oh, they ain't coming. They not coming.

At all, huh? There's like this, like, it starts off slow. When does it hit you that it ain't going to happen? It's always case by case. It's case by case. I wouldn't expect you to say that. And then the promoter's like, oh, it's a little slow right now. You're like, oh, it's cool.

No, they coming, though. No, guest list is crazy. They coming. So it's a little slow. So you might not start right away. Eventually, the promoter's looking at you like, you going to get on? And I'm like, I guess. You get on.

It's 20 people. You start playing. And then five more come in in six more come in and then you're like but what are you expecting what are you hoping for the packed house is how many i know it's case by case but we talk about a couple hundred all right i used to dj this club speed every week that was like at that club was probably like 400 people okay Okay. Maybe five. Basement. Crowded. Fun. Dancing. And there's like 90 people in there. And you're like, oh, it's starting off slow.

And then also if Thanksgiving Eve is a big party night. That's a Wednesday. But if you DJ every Saturdayurday sometimes that saturday after that wednesday yeah not popping because the wednesday was popping right so you walk in normal saturday vibes why was parking so easy tonight that's a good indicator anytime i get a good spot i'm like yeah they shit, man. They be going there, and it's light, and they're like, no, no, they coming, they coming. The guest list is crazy, so it's making me laugh, because I've heard that shit so many times. Yeah, you know what it was, school night. Everybody's back from college tonight.

There's always some bullshit. There's back to college. There's the weekend so depending on when new year's or holiday new year's eve like if it falls on a tuesday saturday's dead saturday's dead i used to say to these motherfuckers every time i get a promoter and there'll be nobody there and he's like man you should have seen it last week i'm like you should have booked me last week i would i would have if you booked me but i got i got to a point where i was pretty popular where we get our money up front. We get our money before we even go in.

And they start, I got to run to the ATM or whatever. I'll be over here sitting on my crates. And me and my boys would just be sitting there waiting. If I knew them, it might be different. But if it's the first time I'm working with you, no dough, no show. I like that. I like that. I no dough, no show. I like that. I like that. I learned that from Biggie.

I like that. Is that right? Yep. All Genial Mafia, Lil' Kim. Because I was so excited. I was like, I want to perform so badly. Yeah, well, you've worked with Biggie, Jay-Z. I want to hear stuff about that for sure.

But that's what you learned, that no dough, no show. So if you don't pay fully up front, we're not performing. They do half up front. Half is sent. Oh, and then you get the other half when you get there. So you still haven't pay fully up front, we're not performing. They do half up front. Okay. Half is sent. Oh, and then you get the other half when you get there. So you still haven't performed with a – okay, got it. Bro, we used to be with Lil' Kim. She wouldn't get out of the limo.

Sometimes she wouldn't leave the hotel until they – depending on how grimy it was, she would send the road manager, and then I would go with them just to check out the stage is the dj booth on stage or is it across the room and they'd be like yo yeah i'm with kid we're here to pick up the deposit the the second half oh we you know we wait for a couple more people i'm like oh are they getting the money from the door like they didn't have it already and be like all right yo bro no, bro, no dough, no show. And they would call.

They'd call back the hotel. We almost got it. If y'all want to come now, nah. And then a lot of these shows were like, in this day, there was a lot of drug dealers doing shows to launder money. I see. So this is the hood days, right? And some shows were like big tours and stadiums, arenas.

Some were like just drug dealer shows. And they'd be like, bro, they picked us up from the airport. And it was just a fleet of Benz's, BMW's, Acuras. Acuras. So there's like eight of us. Yeah. And they're like, yo, two per car. So we're like, what?

So we get in and all these, they got jewelry and they flying in these Acuras. We go to do the show. Sometimes they had all the money. Sometimes they give us the money at the airport. Because they're like, we don't give a fuck about this. We just cleaning up this half a million. Please take this. Yeah.

Yeah. But they also were like, you know, flossing. They wanted girls at the club, whatever. So it was always different. But then, so I'm with Lil' Kim. I mean, I met Jay-Z in London. His DJ, he only had two songs out. He had a single.

His DJ, he only had two songs out. He had a single. We're in London, and his DJ couldn't get through customs for some reason, made passport issues. So they're like, yo, Kim, can we borrow your DJ? That's how you came to work with Jay-Z? Yeah, that's how I met him. That's how I met him.

And they're like, yo, can we borrow your DJ? Because we're only doing two songs, and then you're going up after, so he'll just be ready to go. So I go up there. So turntables have the speed 33 and 45, so 45 is faster. So it was set on 45 for some reason, but they're like, yo, we got to go now. We got to go now. So I grab his record.

We run on stage. I put it on. They're like, give it up for Jay-Z. And I play it it and it's fast so it's like doom doom doom doom doom doom doom there's a video of it he walks on stage he's like what the fuck are you doing man i'm sorry because the song has no intro it he's he rhymes right away oh right so it's like so he so as soon as you play, he would rap as he's walking on stage. And it was a disaster.

So to this day, he will be arguing about something. He goes, shut the fuck up. You ruined my first show. To this day. Is that right? That was 19. 19. Enough said right there.

Yeah, enough said. So you're still friends with him? Yeah yeah i worked with him three different times so he didn't say fuck off after that huh he gave you another shot bro let me tell you something about jay-z um that guy is funny like he doesn't show it a lot in public he has a real cool persona but in private and in his raps he's so smart he says a lot of slick shit but personally super funny is he so he got it you know he was laughing at the moment whatever we and we talk shit about it and and i and he'll fuck with me like he still but that's the thing he still mentions it it. He still brings it up. I'm like, shut the fuck up, man. Ball buster. I love it. Ball buster.

So yeah, I worked with him. But then I worked with like, I didn't work with everybody. I met everyone at the radio station. 97, 98, 99 was a big turning point for hip hop. It went from underground. Like Biggie was one of the first wave to make it commercially successful 98 is dmx jay-z nori big pun all going platinum which was new for a lot of new york too right all out of new york the locks high 97 was the mecca, was the culture. So everyone came to the radio station.

So I just met everybody. And they would have album release parties, mixtape release parties, birthday parties. And they always need a DJ. And the radio guy, I would shout it out on the radio. So it would guarantee be more crowded. Everybody would make money. So yeah, I met all my favorite rappers um then i became an a and r and a couple different labels what's that mean a and r so a and r is the

guy at the label who he's like a liaison no i know who he is oh what does a and r oh and i know the actual what is it yeah it's artistsertoire. But that's like an old. Yeah, it is old. I know. It's a term from like the 20s. It's so old. I never knew what the R was. You're like, we gotta get our repertoire.

Bugsy Malone's label. So yeah, so I'm a hot DJ. This record company hires me. They're like, we want you to be like an A&R and tell us if our records would work in the clubs you DJ at. So I'm listening to records. That won't work. That won't work. Ooh, that'll work.

You know? Then, so now we're in the 2000s. And this is what I was trying to tell you earlier about working for free. It's like my my my i'm like a forever intern in my mind i'm if funk master flex called me today and i was like yo bring me a sandwich i'll go you want mustard on that to this day bro that's great yeah i wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him yeah my list when i finally one day get an award i already got the list in order mom thank you stepdad fate fuck you but thanks for the turntable boom boom boom boom

everybody who gave me my shot so now it's the 2000s you know pharrell like the neptunes they're blowing up they're the hottest producers they want to start their own label so i go hey i've a and r for this label i a and r for this label smaller but still had some records i was like can i a and r for you they're like our budget's kind of low i'm kind of just doing it myself until we build it up i was like i'll do it for free do it for free so they're like do it for free i'm like do it for free so they're like okay so i go hang out with them at the studio now i'm in the studio with mega stars that's a lot of them i already knew they met me like i'm the cool kid from hot 97 i don't drink i don't smoke everyone loves me just a cool guy but also like if anyone's dj sick on the road, they would call me.

Can you do this weekend with us? I'm like a reliable, last-minute guy. Drive anywhere. And so, like, that reputation is starting to take hold. And I go work for the Neptunes. And I worked there for, like, six months. I would just – Pharrell was so talented. The Neptunes was so talented.

It was a very easy A&R job. I would bring the records to the record companies. Hey, this is what Pharrell did last night. Oh, we love it. Just easy. Six months and then I go, man, this is amazing. I learned so much. I got to go figure out how to make some money though

because I can't be here all the time. And Pharrell goes, we don't pay you? No, they forgot. They forgot. They forgot. He goes, we don't pay you? What do you mean? I go, bro, I've been doing this for free.

I just want to do it. He goes, you have an office. You're on. He goes, aren't you on like the, you know, it's through a record company. He's he goes aren't you on like the you know it's through a record company he's like aren't you on like the payroll and direct corporate yeah human research i go no i just have like a guest pass every day he goes what the fuck so he calls people gets me in officially and he gave me back pay for like three months how about that all right so well the point is i try to tell

everybody i don't have any connections as a kid there's no famous family members i have not great education nothing how that's why the marines were like the bet like you don't need anything you just go in and you fucking become somebody so i had to figure out a way and like i always offer to this day i'll do it like can i come like do you need help now they go yeah just come syph you don't have to do anything but i find a way in and working for free is a great way to get your foot in the door well what you're working for is the experience. You don't get that dollar right there, but that's the long game. The experience is harder to get. That's right.

You're not going to get – I don't give a fuck who it is. No teacher is going to teach you something better than Jay-Z. Yeah. Then Pharrell. Being around it. Then Funkmaster Flex. Yeah. DJ Permit.

Yeah. You're seeing also what you're learning is how each one of them handles their business business how they maybe things you would do differently that could will work better for you there's so much i tell tom all the time when we're out look if segura called and said i don't have any money anymore i would still go out and work with him because i love tom and i loved being around him but i tell him and his manager all the time i'm not just happy to be here i'm paying attention to what you guys are doing you've built an empire yeah what a fool i would be to just you know not be there like i watch how they handle thing i watch how they i don't take

i don't walk into a room i walked into your spot i was like okay got that on the wall oh put the logo here with the cameras like i, I watch all that shit. So that's, you can't get that. So I agree. And I say to young comics ask me, if you're getting in this to make money, then forget it. Because you're going to work for free for a long time. You've got to fucking love it. And you loved DJing. That's the other thing.

Loved it. You didn't mind working for, I'm not going to work for free for shit I don't love. And I'm not going to work for free forever like we talked about. You don't want to be, get taken advantage of. No, but like a lot of people, you know, you might have to have a day job. I'm lucky that my day job was a night job. Right. Where I was DJing at night.

I had no sleep, but I loved it. So you're DJing for the biggest hip hop artist in the world, Biggie. Yeah. Did you work with Biggie? You said you did? No, not Biggie. Right after. Okay. Right. But Kim. the biggest hip-hop artist in the world biggie yeah the uh did you work with biggie you said right after okay right but kim what makes you shift gears and at what point do you do that into comedy see this is not we don't have enough time this is we need more we need more fruit we need more fruit so um this is all weaved together but okay. So the reason why I was getting into why you work for free.

So I'm working for, I'm friends with Mos Def and Talib Kweli. I A&R'd at their label. Mos Def, he went on a five. He go, I got to do five colleges. Want to come with me? Give me a thousand a show. Where Lil' Kim was giving me 300 a show. And Lil' Kim's supposed to be a hip-hop superstar

most dev is like underground and i go how am i making more with him with her and he goes he gave me the best advice he goes yo pay your friends because what's the what i don't understand people pay your friends i was like yeah i'm gonna give this guy more money because he's an expert right my friend does the same thing. Right. So whatever. So I'm hanging out with Mos Def Talib Kweli and they're friends with Chappelle. Chappelle loves hip hop. He's a hip hop guy. I meet Chappelle one night with them.

We're hanging out. And I meet him another night. We're at some party. And he goes, hey, I'm going to walk over. This is the first time I ever heard the words, the cellar he goes hey i'm gonna walk over to the comedy cellar do a set you want to come add some girl with me i'm like can i bring the girl he goes yeah come so we walk you know 20 blocks that's normal in new york walk 20 blocks and he's like yo what how did you start what'd you do how did i So we're talking hip hop. He goes in the cellar, walks in, does two and a half hours.

Wow. And the cellar, it was crowded, but it's not like how it is now. It's like a fucking megaplex of comedy. And I go sit there. We watch him two and a half hours. I'm amazed. Because the thing I loved about him is shit we talked about on the walk was on stage. And I was like, how the, we just, how the fuck did he do that?

So we hang out. So afterwards, the girl left. She's tired. I got to go home. Bye. I'm staying here. And so afterwards, we're hanging out and he goes, I'm doing some pilot for Comedy Central. He's like, could you DJ when the people are walking in?

And so there's some energy. I go, yeah, I guess. We go. We shoot the Chappelle Show pilot. Wow. I meet Neil Brennan. He goes, yeah, just play music while people are coming in. And in between while we're shooting.

Great. Do that that time goes by nothing's mentioned about it then i bump into him again and he go i go what happened with that thing that we did you that thing you shot he goes oh yeah yeah they're doing it they're doing it i go okay you want to dj on it i go do you want me to see you don't see like you care you know I don't know boom Chappelle show so he shoots the sketches and then we go in front of a studio audience and he showed like that on the show he shows the sketches to the audience so he wants me to play in the room like before people like he loves music to this day he always has a dj on stage he loves that energy so i'm the dj on the chapelle show when you watch chapelle show the first thing you see is my face like ha and it goes past me but i'm fucking around with

him when he's warming up the crowd like donnellnell would warm up and then Dave would come out and do some time and I would like play songs and he'd laugh. And like, if he mentioned something, I'd throw in a song and then I would say something back to him. And one day he goes, you're fucking funny, bro. He goes, you should do comedy. And I go, comedy, what the fuck?

Why would I do comedy? I'm a DJ, like I'm, whatever, shut up. And that was like, oh, two. And like, bro, like how much further would I do comedy? I'm a DJ. Like, whatever, shut up. And that was like, oh, two. And like, bro, like, how much further would I have been if I listened in oh, two? Oh, so you didn't start then? No. Oh, I see.

I laughed. What are you talking about? Yeah. I didn't even know what he meant. Then as I grow on the radio, people keep saying, like, now I'm a personality on the radio not just a dj so people keep saying i'm doing stupid pranks i'm calling two chinese restaurants on oh dude conference yeah and they're calling each other like you call me no you call me what do you want

but i'll put it on the air yeah uh. Bro, remember the Nextel chirp phone? Yeah. So I recorded the sound. And when songs were playing on the radio, I would just go, beep, beep. And drop it into the song so people would think they're phoning. I don't know how many people looked at their phone, but I would do it constantly. And people would call out, your phone's on the air. I was like, no, I don't even have a Nextel.

I hear the noise. I go, what are you talking about? Beep, beep, beep, beep. So anyway, so people would be like, you're funny on the radio. And I just kept hearing it. And I was on MTV, too. And one time I was on MTV, I had this show called Direct Effect, which was a hip hop show,

but once in a while they would bring me on TRL. It's like if they had like an urban act, TRL, they'd bring me in. So Will Smith, I'm fucking with Will Smith and in the commercial break, he goes,

you're funny. He goes, you do comedy? I go, no, he goes, you're funny. And then I swear to god jamie foxx said

the same thing to me and then now it just keeps twirling now i'm in the new york hip-hop scene where i mean listen if you've got chapelle and you know fuck will smith but if you got chapelle and and i hear you fuck uh fuck him will are uh chapelle and fucking jamie foxx telling you and like rappers too, like Snoop. But still, those are comedians who've done it, who've been there from zero all the way to mega stardom. Bro, I'm a smart guy. Like, I know when the universe is sending you signals, right? And I go, and I'm in the New York hip hop scene where every DJ is like a tough guy.

And I'm corny. I'm funny. Even when I used to DJ clubs, I didn't know I was doing bits. I didn't know what it was called. But I'd be like, yo, there's so many Puerto Ricans here. What's up? We're going to party tonight. My car's right out front.

Nobody steal my radio. You know what I mean? In a nightclub. And people would look up at the booth laughing and they're dancing. So anyway, so I keep hearing funny. So I go, I got to do something with this. How can I make money? So they were like, just do a night at a club.

You know, what's the guy's name? Old school guy. Bobby Collins. You know Bobby Collins? Yeah. you know uh what's the guy's name old school guy bobby collins you know bobby collins yeah bobby collins comes to my radio show to promote his weekend at a whatever comics that it was a club called comics the booker was there with him and i go i'm always i want to try doing like a comedy night what should i do and i see her light up like the guy from hot 97 wants to do a comedy night she goes do one of our nights she's like do like off night so i'm like all right what's your worst night she goes tuesdays boom tuesday i started a show called don't get gas that was like my little slogan first night packed rappers ball players no shit packed all black and spanish First night, packed. Rappers, ballplayers.

No shit. Packed. All black and Spanish kids, like my fans. The club had people trying to buy bottles. The club was like, what the fuck just happened? They didn't think it was going to be anything. So I do that for like five years. That's 07.

So I go on stage. I had a host. I just went on stage. I had a host. I just went on stage. Thank y'all for coming. We're going to have a great night. Sit back, relax. We're going to have some fun. That's all I did.

The host takes over. And I go up in the middle. I say one thing. Get like a tiny laugh. Okay. Right. And then every month, it's a monthly show. Every month I go a little more a little more

then like by the fifth month no hosts i do it right and i get a little laugh then i find myself like oh that worked trying to like but like i never had to go through like the open mic scene because i had a you built your own i had a crowd it was packed every rick ross little wayne drake everybody in there i don't know sports again i Ross, Lil Wayne, Drake, everybody in there. I don't know sports. Again, I would say, but like John Stockton

was in there and my boy goes, that's big. My boy goes, he dunked on Jordan. Say he dunked on Jordan. It's like, okay.

I go, yo, my boy John Stockton's here. Like, remember when you dunked on Jordan? Crowd goes crazy. I go, I don't know.

All right. Crowd goes nuts. Ah, you're, I don't know. All right. Crowd goes nuts. Ah, you're from New York, Nick. All right. So then like a, like a year,

year and a couple months in, like Talent, Capone. It was like a more of an urban show, but I always put, I never liked it to be all black. I always mixed the audience, the comedians.

Cause I love, I loved comedy. I just didn't think i wanted to do it i used to watch you know the the caroline's hour and um live at the improv all those shows johnny carson everything with a comedian but i never thought i wanted to do it so i always made sure it was mixed comics, white guys. I'll book three black guys. You book two white guys. Mike Vecchione, Dan Natterman, they're all in there. And about a year and a half in, Talent, Capone, a couple other guys. Who else? Who's that?

Mark Vieira. They go, okay. They sit me down. They go, okay. Looks like you like doing this you want to actually try doing stand-up i go yeah i'm doing it they go no no no this is not you're fucking around they go this doesn't count these are all your fans they're gonna laugh at whatever you say if you really want to try it you got to to come with us. I was like, whatever, I'll go anywhere.

And then this is where the two years of bombing. I'm cocky. I don't give a fuck. I'm funny. Okay. Hood rooms in Queens, ghetto Jamaican spots. Bombing. I get the little fame off my name.

Oh shit. Cypher sounds. Oh shit. It was just, my favorite one is I'm at a, uh, this Puerto Rican bar in Brooklyn. I don't speak Spanish.

Uh, but Puerto Ricans love me. I had a, I had a show on the radio by now I'm doing the morning show so like I'm on fire so the morning show was a black, a Puerto Rican and a Jew walking to the station that was the show, it was all about

different viewpoints of New York City so it was me, Puerto Rican my friend Rosenberg, the Jewish guy and this girl Kay Fox and like whatever news subject we'd be like how do black people feel how do Latinos feel about whatever so the Latinos are loving me now because I'm like representing

so I go into this club I didn't know about going last headlining none of that shit so the guy puts me last so I'm like whatever man I'm safe as hell I'll kill it so three guys go up and the guy before me Edgar Rivera,

does his whole set in Spanish. Crushing. Crushing. Bro, so the stage was, behind me is like the window to the street. You can see the sidewalk. But they had like a black curtain, and then there was like an emergency exit right there. Bro, up they bring me up the crowd goes nuts and within a minute it was like cricket i can't even tag the last guy because you know what you're gonna be like what the fuck he said

you know what he said about cocaCola. Yeah. It was so bad. I literally just walked out the emergency exit. Did you really? How long in? How long in? A couple minutes? Six, seven. And you just ducked out of the emergency exit.

Bro, I walked out the emergency exit. I think somebody said something like, somebody's like, yo, you corny. You corny. You corny. I walked out. The alarm goes off. The alarm goes off. Yeah, it's like the red, you know, the red push thing. I walked out.

My boys are with me. They have to like run out the front. The owner comes out. Yo, what the fuck? Yo, I'm not paying you. I go, I don't want to be paid. I want to get out of here. So that was my worst bomb.

Not my worst bomb ever, but the one where I didn't go back up for like three months. Right. So I have a monthly show. I would just hire a host. No, you stopped doing that one. Either mine.

The one where you were killing it, you stopped it. Bro, I couldn't. It shook you up. I couldn't. And I go, I don't. And then my guy, Talent. Oh, God. So, sorry.

You know Talent? I know who he is. I don't know him personally, but I know all these guys. So, I was on Hot 97. He used to do, he was the comedian on kiss fm which is across the hall every morning like you get up last night what'd you do how'd it go you know he would give me like so for like three months i wouldn't even go in there he goes what the fuck's going on bro he goes why are you not telling me but i can't i can't he's like well you

have to he's like the only way go back so finally i did it and then then i learned how to take bombs you know i mean but that was that interesting like not only do you have to learn how to write jokes and then your own voice like how do i put this art form into my yeah body and process it out this way you also have to learn how to fucking eat shit yeah you gotta learn how because the nugget the the gold is found in that shit it's like okay 20 minutes i bomb for 15 but there's five minutes of something in this yeah yeah and then you gotta dig it out and figure out how to use i actually like that now because you um what's a truer gauge to what is really actually funny right and then you get that you got that treatment i've seen some celebrities get who've done stand up and they get a first

maybe five minutes because of who they are yeah but if they're not bringing it the crowds are they don't give a fuck like okay great you had a tv show or get some movies man but you're sucking ass right now right yeah and even after you bomb there will still be fans that come up to you that want a picture and all that. But you know in that moment it was not going well. But I like now, I finally, when I bomb now, I literally go, I'm bombing. You know what I mean? And just be honest.

This is not going well yeah yeah and then that sparks if you're a funny if you're just a joke writer maybe you know there's funny people there's pristine joke writers there's guys who are hybrid you know i mean there's like all these different uh architects of of a comedian so like if it's not working i just talk to the people and start finding stuff and those turn out to be the funnest shows now you know but the shit is when you're with other comics and you're bombing and then you hear them laughing oh it's our favorite the true joy it's our favorite i did a show watching this motherfucker die up here because especially if you're done or if you know you're next or like god damn it but people turn around

look at you like you think that's funny you're like nah that's not why i'm laughing bro i did i didn't even do a show i was i used to open for michael che a lot and um like michael che when i met him he was a fan of me and he was nobody and I used to do my show and they're like, can you put this guy Michael Che on? I go, yeah. And he met me. He was excited to meet me. So we were like this. And then he's fucking out of here.

But I went and hung out with him for the, okay, I don't know sports. What's the Super Bowl of colleges? Well, the national championship. well, the national championship. Yeah, the national championship. So one year he got booked to do that, to do stand up for the teams. Okay. I think it was in Atlanta. So it's Michael Che, J.B. Smoove, Roy Wood Jr.

Three fucking killers. three fucking killers. So we go. It's a hotel, one of them hotel conference rooms. They got some food for the kids. These are college kids, so they're not really supposed to be going out. So they provide entertainment before the big game. So we go in there.

Each one of them ate all the shit, bro. They did. All of them. Really? Really. So there's three people laughing. Me, Che, whoever's on. Falling over on the floor. The players are looking back at us like, what the fuck are they laughing at?

So the first one goes horribly. Then we go walk through this tunnel to the hotel across the street to do the same show for the other team. And now they're like, you think it's going to be better? You think it's going to be better? I'm like, yeah, it's going to be. And then worse. Nah, worse.

Worse. Because I think the only difference that I could think of is the one team was from Georgia. So they were home. And the other team, maybe it was Alabama or something. So they're out of town. So they were more uncomfortable. And it was the funniest shit ever.

It's the best. But the second one, they all expected the bomb. So they were just ready for it. That's right. They were making jokes for us. Exactly. and then there was some shit in there and um sometimes i'll be like yo chate i was funny you should you should use that you should make that into something so you find the good shit in there but yeah so it's fun and now here you are do you still dj not much really you don't not much it's all comedy now all comedy and like i left the radio to do comedy full time right like it was at a point i left

so i was at high 97 for 17 years oh wow shit that's a long time especially in radio i never thought i would leave i thought i'd be there my whole life 15 years great the last two horrible new management okay my biggest problem right is um i don't i don't promote myself enough i've been part of so many different great things happening but i don't get my credit. I'm like this. Like I always say, when I die, it's going to come out of the woodwork and be like, oh, my God, this guy was incredible.

He did so much. He connected this person with this person and this person with this person. But I don't say it. And sometimes I don't care, but then I think I would be further along if I did. You know, I get all mixed up. So the last two years were horrible. Management fucked me. The new guys didn't really know the blood, sweat, and tears

I put into the last 15. Boom, boom, boom. But I was doing stand-up a little too. I asked Chris Rock on the air, hey, how do you get into the Comedy Cellar? I always hear about the Comedy Cellar. He goes, oh, you got to be recommended. I go i go can you recommend me but i'm joking around on air but then off there he goes you really want a recommendation he goes i'll wreck you wow i go oh my god i would love it

how do you do he goes you get an audition you gotta you know do an audition so he so that was december he gives me his assistant's number. Never hear from him. Christmas, New Year. He's a fucking asshole. He's lying. Whatever. I quit my job February 2015. I had all this drama.

Monday, I go, fuck it. I'm quitting. Tuesday, we do the paperwork, the severance. Wednesday is the worst day of my life. It's a place that I went to for six days a week for 17 years. I'm sitting at home like, what the? My wife goes to work. I'm like, what the fuck do I do?

I'm like, all right, baby, I got to go DJ for Pitbull or somebody. Like Pitbull's a friend of mine. Maybe he'll let me DJ for him. Oh, my wife's like seven months pregnant. My God, I gotta, maybe ask Jay-Z if I can work back with it. Something.

I'm like, fuck it. Just Wednesday. I just sit and watch Abbott and Costello movies, eat pizza. Just fuck it. I'll do, I'll deal with it tomorrow.

Thursday. I get the call from Chris Rock's assistant oh my god sorry forgot to tell you Rock got you an audition when tomorrow all right so I'm like oh shit I go to audition comedy cellar crush it get passed at the cellar. Literally I go, oh, I made the right choice. This was life telling me, boom. Now the next four times at the cellar, bomb the river.

Yeah. Bro, they put me on at one 30 after Dave Attell. Just, I go, oh, maybe I didn't make the right decision. Bombing,

bombing. But then the fifth one, I caught one and i go okay got it you know i mean but the first four bookings if she was there the lady who books at sd i'm sure she would have got rid of me dude that's great i mean so it's interesting to me to go from such a high level where you were as a dj but to follow a passion and start over completely again from zero zero from zero it's really impressive dude good for you you should be proud of yourself i always don't say zero because i did have a following to get my room packed you did and

you had connection in the music slash comedy world but brought it together zero i mean from as far as stand-up you had no family in shit. You didn't come up in that world. As far as proper stand-up, you used your music and radio connections to transfer. You really shut it down. I'm surprised that you don't DJ anymore. Do you ever do a once in a while or any benefit shows or shit like that? Yeah. But you're not out there doing like obviously you can't the problem is how much time you need to put into stand-up and i don't

want to jip myself also i don't love the new music like i loved music from the 90s to the 2000s 90s hip-hop is still my favorite shit it just bro at any moment if jay-z's like can you dj a 90s party bro am i i have it ready right now i can do it right now yeah i have my laptop like but the new stuff i still keep up with it i still like some of it but i don't love it so let me ask you this question then what do you love more comedy or djing now comedy comedy is that Does comedy supersede music, just music in general, or are you still more loving? Just because you don't perform or play, what do you like more? It's not even, it's hard to compare.

Comedy, like I'll go, I see comedy almost every night, even if I'm not on the show, man, bro. I, I music is my life is my life blood. It's always there. But like,

I even did improv at UCB. I had a hip hop improv show where I would bring my famous rapper friends to tell a story and we would do improv off of it. Okay. I had a TV show with that, that I almost sold. I did sell it um i sold what was that guy's name harvey weinstein i sold it to harvey weinstein the weinstein company and uh then that didn't work out but um but yeah i love fucking it's almost here's the thing it's almost, here's the thing.

It's almost the same thing to me. I listen to music in my car, but I also listen to, you know, all the comedy channels on Sirius satellite radio and podcasts. So it's like a rhythm. It's like a rhythm, a way to get your mind off the stress and all this shit fucking Scoville's one of my favorites that's how I met Dan Van Kirk and I was here

a couple weeks ago I did their podcast and I was supposed to go home that night and Scoville was like oh I'm doing this show what's that show he was doing some little theater in Frogtown is that a thing he was doing some little theater in frog town is that a thing he was doing some little show i changed my flight because i never saw him live yeah he did he did he did maybe 20 minutes because

he was like kind of bringing other people up i'll change i lost money on that yeah on that deal but i love it man i love it well first of all this has been a great episode i hope so it has feels like i was all over the place no you weren't it was well that was your life by the way you just talked about you've been all over the place because that's how you lived life yeah um advice you'd give to your 16 year old self now it's so funny you asked i literally just said it. Get your credit. Right? I get all weirded out about talking about yourself. I don't want to look narcissistic. I don't want to look like I'm feeling myself too much.

But then I know guys. You know DJ Khaled? I know who he is. How do you know who he is? Because he says it in every motherfucking song. Screams it in every commercial, every interview. Khaled was literally under me. I got him his first shot on Hot 97 like a guest DJ.

Khaled's my boy. And he just, he's a superstar now. And he just promotes himself like crazy. Now, I don't know if I want to be that, but I don't do it enough. I'm like, oh, the work. I'm going to head down in the work, get the work done, be funny.

No offense, there's a lot of kids on TikTok that are not funny. There's a lot of people on stage that aren't funny. And they're doing something to get them way more shows than I got. But I look at them, I go, it's not that funny. It's also not sustainable. You're going to get one audience. They're not coming back to grow with you as you become a comedian and a different person.

You know what I mean? Because your comedy is going to change. Yeah. And they're not coming back after that bullshit. There's a lot of guys that will sell one motherfucking ticket and that's it so don't even worry about that yeah i don't worry about it but like there's a there is a middle ground there where i do have to say the stuff i've done and and i'm doing yeah like i just did this tv show with l.o cool j where we search for hip- artifacts. It's coming out on A&E next year.

And I'm like, I told myself, I'm like, make sure you focus on promoting that you're part of this thing. Yeah. Because you'll just keep doing your spots, keep doing stand up. And there's a thing out there that could help, but you got to tell the people. Also, there's so much good shit out there today that if you don't tell these people it's out there, they don't fucking know it's out there. Because they're living on Netflix or Hulu or Amazon. They're not jumping over to A&E.

You know what I mean? So you got to tell people. I'm interested. It surprised me because I thought you might say start comedy in 2002. Oh, yeah. But no, it goes the way it's supposed to go. I was just curious if you felt like you really missed an opportunity, but it doesn't feel like you have.

No. Knowing how long it takes to get good at stand-up i did wish i started when chappelle gave me that little piece of little nugget because i could have still did everything here's the beauty i was on the radio in the daytime comedy prime time is seven to midnight and still could have dj'd midnight midnight to 4 in those time frames. So that's the only thing I regret. But it's not that because, like, Paul Mooney, all the comedians usually come to the radio station and promote their weekends or whatever.

And I asked Paul Mooney, Paul Mooney, oh, you're a legend. You know, I just need a little advice. This is why I don't ask comedians advice anymore. I need a little advice. How do I, you know, know do comedy get on fucking stage listen that it's i was gonna say it earlier because the young comedians ask me they ask all of us yeah and you do sound like you're pushing them away and shoving them off when they ask you but it's it that's it there's no program that says get in this and after six months you'll do this and you'll be paid this and you'll get a title it ain't none of that shit it is figure it the

fuck out and there's only one fucking way to do and that is to get on stage again and not just once again and eat shit over and over and over keep going back back. Yeah. Yeah, so 16-year-old Syph, I would, because. Interesting, 16-year-old Syph. It's been my name since 16. I love it, I love it. But I always, no matter what I did, I would have always went for it. So I don't have to give myself that advice because I always was doing that. for it so i don't have to give myself that advice because i always was doing that like you find something you like like the marines dj like just go in but also promote it you know what i'm saying

and big it up and and and don't be afraid to work for free i don't know if i would have told myself that but i'm telling you that is the the camera on me, Kristen? Just to get in. Che, Michael Che. Hey, can I go on the road with you? I don't really like bringing people on the road. I'll go for free. Flew myself out.

Got there. No intentions of getting on. He goes, you want to do five? Yep. Five. Because you're on the road. Now there's just us. Five turns into 10. turns into every week,

you know what I mean, Chappelle, hey man, Chappelle brings me to DJ his shows, and I go, can I, after I DJ, can I do five, you want to do five, yeah, do five, all the other comics, I usually go first, love it, because no one wants to go first. 5, 10, 20. Now Chappelle brings me to Denver, just me and him. I'm DJing 20, doing stand-up 25, bringing him up. But all that comes from just going, hey, can I do this? Can I do that? That's all it is. This is great, dude.

Thank you again for sharing this story. So you don't give out honeydew. I'll give you that mug, bro, says honeydew. No, we don't give out the honeydew. I didn't eat because I thought it was going to be a platter. You'll throw it away. You'll just throw it away. Plug and promote everything again, please.

At Cypher Sounds. That's all my Instagrams. C-I-P-H-A. And then sounds will come up. The show coming out, Hip Hop Treasures, Top of the Year, podcast Talk Clearlier with Will Silvins, and the Juan Ep is Life with Peter Rosenberg. So good.

Thank you again, man. And thank you all, as always. RyanSickler.com, Ryan Sickler, and all your social media. We'll talk to y'all next week.