The Questlove Show - Black Music Month QLS Classic: Donnie Simpson

Episode Date: June 21, 2024

Legendary radio DJ and television VJ Donnie "Green Eyes" Simpson spoke about getting into radio at 15, breaking some of the biggest artists and songs of his time and the key to success: being true to yourself.    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. 2%. That's the number of people who take the stairs when there is also an escalator available. I'm Michael Easter. And on my podcast, 2%. I break down the science of mental toughness, fitness, and building resilience in our strange, modern world. Put yourself through some hardships and you will come out on the other side a happier, more fulfilled, healthier person.

Listen to 2%. That's TWO percent on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for both. black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Daniel Alarcon, and this is my friend.

This is much more famous than I am. I wouldn't go that far. But I'm John Green, co-host of the podcast The Away End with my old friend Daniel. On our podcast, The Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 26 World Cup. Together, we'll find out why, of all the unimportant things, football, soccer, is the most important. Listen to the Away End with Daniel Alarcon and John Green on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Questlove Supreme is a production of IHeart Radio.

This classic episode was produced by the team at Pandora. What up, y'all? It's Unpaid Bill from Quest Love Supreme. As you may have seen throughout June, we are celebrating Black Music Month by releasing an episode every day. So every day, you'll either hear a specially picked QLS classic, and on Wednesdays we are dropping new two-part episodes with Wayne Brady and the legendary James. Poyser, both of which were filmed in studio. Black music is deeply important to me and has been an influence throughout my entire career. It's also something to celebrate here at QLS. Back in 2017, we had Donnie Simpson on QLS.

The Radio Hall of Fame inductees spoke about his journey, his impact, and cultivating a personality that emphasized the power of broadcasting. We are so glad you're tuning in. Quest. Yeah. Yeah, I got soul. Yeah. But Donnie Simpson cool.

Yeah. Life goals. Rock on. Suprimo. Supriva. Rocault. Suprema, Supriam, Supra, Supraima, Roll Call. My name is Fonte, yeah.

Rocking your world. When my hair gets dried, yeah. I use Donny Super Curl. Rocahn. Supremma, Sura, Rocahn, Supremma, Rocahn. Supremma,

Sub prima, Roca. My name is Sugar, Yeah. Like Sugar Ray. Yeah. It's great to be here Yeah.

With a real DJ. Roll call. Oh, oh. Sub-S-S-S-S-Prima Roll Call I'm unpaid Bill Yeah Ain't got no problems Yeah

Shout out to North Korea Yeah And Dennis Rodman Ro-Con Suprema Suprema Ro-Call Suprema Ro-Call

Boss Bill is here Yeah Not far from Mars Yeah Shot for the Moon Yeah Still among the stars Roll Call

Suprima Suprima Sub-Sah Supreme Supremea Subrima roll call It's like here, shut Yeah

And damn it I'm hype Donnie Simpson in the place Shut up, he's rocking the mic right I hate song Supraima roll call My name is Donnie Yeah They call me green eyes

Yeah If I could finish this rap Yeah That would be a surprise Oh come Supriva Supraima Sub prima roll call

So, peep out. You're so good. You try to call Audible with Donnie Simpson in the place. It's the same thing. Tell the truth, you're going to say Donnie Simpson's here, right? No, I said it's written down. Okay, whatever. Anyway, anyway.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another episode of Questlove, Supreme. I'm your host, Klessloaf. We have Team Supreme with us. Lightier in the place. Shooka Steve. Is Questlove in the house? Yeah, Koreslove is always in the house. Sugar Steve is here.

We got Fantigolo. Unpaid Bill. Yeah. Hey, how are you doing? I'm happy to be back. You've been so quiet, the last few. I'm so glad that you're here. And our boss Bill's here as well.

What up? I will say that every culture needs a pioneer, and our guest today is Beyond Pioneer. For 30 years, his morning show in WPGC, the Donnie Simpson morning shows, trailblazed and dumb wonders for the culture of soul and R&B. And I guess you could say that he's attained God status in the eyes of all of us in this room for 17 years as the host of, uh, uh, video soul, born BT, which practically gave the, uh, the world its, its first view of, of artists like Whitney Houston and Usher.

You've done in-depth conversations with greats like Aretha Franklin, anybody from the Purple Camp that I've not seen on any other networks. Jesse Johnson. Yes, Jesse Johnson. I mean, the time the list goes on and on. And he's just known for his grace, his knowledge of music. I mean, do you imagine that once upon a time there were hosts, of radio shows and video shows that actually had knowledge of the music.

Who would have thought, man? Yeah. Who would have thought? That's, that's, it's a novel. That's sadly missed right now. But more than anything, this episode will probably be a master class on how to host such. We can use it. Yes.

Yeah, I will sound like an amateur. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Donnie Simpson to our show. Thank you. Wow. Thank you. Thank you, Questlove. Appreciate you, bro. Yo, he just said my name.

I'm sorry. No, of all the episodes, this is probably the one that I will be the most nervous because, I mean, we all grew up with his voice and always imagine the day that we'd have an opportunity. I never thought that my first time sitting with Donnie Simpson would be on your show.

On my show with not his. show. Well, I'm honored to be here, man. I really am. This is awesome, man. I'm a big fan of yours, bro. I know it sounds like false modesty whenever I say, like, I can't believe you know I'm alive, but I mean, that's really like, oh, for real, man. Man, I can't stop smiling. Mad respect for you, man. Thank you. Thank you. And a lot of people in this room, not all of them, but a lot of them. He's talking about you, Steve. Sorry. I gave you props

And he shot you down So you're actually I know that we're lucky to have you today Because you are going to induct Your friends tonight Yeah well I'm not actually inducting them I'm just there having dinner with them Yeah I'm just there in support

That's amazing Yeah I know that no one is a bigger fan of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and the Time family been Oh no doubt man Even to this day, I still watch your interviews on YouTube with those guys. Yeah, man. And those are my toughest interviews, too. It's funny because, yeah, because they were, we were boys, you know, we're so close.

So my toughest interview, you mentioned Sugar Ray Leonard. Sugar Ray Leonard, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and Smokey. Like, those are my boys, always the toughest interviews because, you know, you know them so well, and then all of a sudden you're in this formal setting. You know, you got to ask questions, and they're like, why are you asking me that? You know that. You know, it's just weird. To me, it's like those are your, especially when you did the, I think the pandemonium interview back in like 1990 with the time.

Yeah, yeah. Like that was the first time where, you know, normally there's a cool demeanor about you. But then like I saw you just as the Billy Preston to their Beatles, like the Times Beatles, where it was just like, oh. Wow. Donnie Simpson's just like, he's one of the crew. And that's, he was on the record. That's, yeah. I'm on the Pandemonium album.

Wow. That's right. Well, you know, that's very flattering to say that. And I remember when they got their star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame, they said, man, all day long all we kept saying was just one person missing, man. You know, and that just, you know, what an honor. I mean, it wasn't me. It was Billy Preston. No, but, you know, we are, we're just friends like that.

That day that we recorded that show before we recorded it. Jimmy and Terry set me down at the board in the studio, and they're playing the album for me, the Pandemonium album. So I'm sitting there, and the intro comes on, and, you know, I do the intro. I'm doing this intro, and I'm sitting there like, how, wait, what? Wait, that's my voice. I couldn't figure it out, how they got me to do this introduction that I didn't record. And what happened was that they had lifted it from like five or six years.

years prior to that, I went to present them just to introduce them at the Minneapolis Black Musicians Award show. And they lifted it from that and used it as the intro for the album. Man, it was just, what an honor to open up, to open up for the time. That's right, because they briefly, when Morris did Fish Nets, I guess they briefly reunited as the time. Were you actually introducing them back in 87 as a full unit, or were they just going on to get an award? Wow. In 80... Yeah, that was a full unit then.

Yeah, that was the time. That was everybody. That was before Fishnet. As a matter of fact, Fishnet was a part of that show that you're talking about, I think. I think we introduced that then. Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, man. There's a video on YouTube of you in the studio with them, and they were playing the track for Fishnet. Oh, is that right? Yeah, yeah. They were in the studio together. That was a few years earlier, though. A song was so hot, man.

Oh, yeah. So, you know, you're... Those that know you well, know... of your love affair with music. But where did it start? What was your childhood into as far as your relationship with music? I was always around music from the time I was 12. Well, actually, I'll say even earlier than that.

I remember when we got our first record player. And the first record we got was the drifters, say the last dance for me. And we would play that thing over. It's the only record we had. We played it over and over. A 45? Yep, a 45. How big was the half?

household. Oh, it was six kids. I had five boys, one girl, my mom and dad. And so it was eight in a little tiny house, man. We had two bedroom house. Mom and dad had a bedroom. My sister had a bedroom. Boys, we were upstairs. It was like army barracks up there. Really? Lined up, man. I'm telling you. But my mother decided to open a record shop when I was 12. And so I worked in that record shop. from the time I was 12. So I was always around music. You know, I knew when music came out, the day it came out, you know, everything. And then we used to have a little contest between each other.

We go, all right, so what do you think this is going to do? I said, you know, I think it'll go number one, R&B, top 10 pop, you know. And I would be right all the time, man. I would always be able to predict them. You know, and this other thing, and I don't know if it's, like, I don't, maybe it's not psychic. Maybe it's just from experience of knowing people. but I could see you coming across the street to the record shop and I go to the shelf and pull off, say, three songs

and guarantee that they would ask for those three, you know, and not two of the three, but all three, you know, I would do it all the time. How was your record with that? It was really good, really good, really solid. What city is this? Detroit. From the D, you were born in the D, baby. So I grew up under Motown.

I said, wow. So don't, I'm not, can't even give them. I'm a record shop credit for that. It's going back to the Motown Review. Okay. You know, living there in Detroit under Motown with the temps, man. You know, I remember as a kid, man,

I used to watch every Cadillac that went by, hoping you're going to see David Ruffin. One of the temps are smoky or one of their cousins. Would have just been just as cool. Anybody, man, related. Sitting at the Motown Review, my wife Pam is here with me, and she remembers that so well. We would go down there, man.

I mean, five shows a day, temptations, four top supremes, Bobby Taylor in the Vancouver's, Junior Walker, Smoky Robinson. It was just endless. You know, so to grow up under that, how could you not have a love for music, man? You know, and so I was just always in that. When I was 15, this radio station there, WJLB had a group that called a WJLB, sole team reporters. Okay. One student from each public school came in once a week

recorded a little 60 seconds spiel about what was going on at their school. We beat Pershing High last week 54 to 52. Cap and gown measurements are Friday. The lovers of the week are and the number one song is. That kind of thing. So. I thought it was an upfront. I was like, wow, that's amazing.

So they had asked me to do that for my school. And so I kind of wasn't interested at first, but finally, my mother one day had a live broadcast with a local DJ who came out and did his show from there from the record store. And man, I went into that booth and saw him doing his thing, man. And he's sitting here patting his foot to the music man and grooving. And I was like, man, I could do that, you know. And that was the very day I fell in love with radio that I said, I'm going to do that. And so I went to join the reporters.

And they, they, I got so popular from these. little 60 second things that ran once, maybe twice a day that I was more popular than the DJs because I was his kid with a heavy voice. And so they started putting me on on weekends for three hours on

Saturday. And that lasted for about two months. They fired a guy who did eight to midnight weeknights and asked me to sit in for him for one week to give them time to find somebody else. I sat there for seven and a half years. Wow. A teenager, a teenager would have

radio job. Oh, yeah. I mean, I couldn't even do my whole show live because I couldn't work past 1030. You know, so I used to go in after school, man. So you've had that golden voice since you were a teenager? Since my voice changed the summer between the seventh and eighth grade. And I

remember well, because I was in the choir, man. I was the only male first soprano, which I loved because I sat with the girls. Next summer, I come back and I'm this baritone, you know. But, um, Yeah, so, I mean, so, you know, I was really blessed to have a start like that, man. It was just, it was just heaven-sent.

So for you, was it always radio aspirations, or did you have music? Like, did you want to maybe be a singer or whatever? I still want to be a singer. But I don't think I'm going to make you. Pam Shaker. Nope. No, Pam will tell you, all right, she tells me two things. He ain't no singer and he ain't no rocket scientist.

No, but I mean, you know, I've always felt that anyone who doesn't sing wants to sing or wants to be a musician. As a matter of fact, I said this is part of my induction speech when I was inducted in the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame, which was, I said, this is just such an honor for me because I've always felt that musicians, always the coolest people in the room, respect Questlove. You're definitely the coolest person. Seriously. No. I'm the dweeb today. We learned our cool from you. I offered as advice, I mean, as proof, Prince appearing at the Oscars.

So you've got the biggest stars in the movie stars, $40, $50 million a movie. Prince walked on that stage. Oh, you ever like little girls, you know? Musicians, man. And I said, you know, for one night, y'all let me in your group, you know, and I appreciate that just for one night. I could never be. I just always wanted to be cool enough to be a musician. I just ain't going to make it.

So did you have formal training when you finally started to do this radio? Because most people, they'll go to RTF programs in their colleges to learn how to, you know, do up front and be prepared. We're going to put you to the test on that. Backs. Backs. Backs. Yeah. So did you, was it a learning curve where you just had to live?

learn on the spot how to do these things? Well, I started so young. I mean, I did go to school eventually. I mean, I was in school already in high school. But I went to college and studied radio and TV also. But I was already doing it. I mean, you know, I mean, I was one of the most popular DJs in Detroit. And here I am going to college.

It was, the experience, nothing beats that. And you know that. Nothing beats doing it. And so, you know, I think it was just kind of a natural, or God-given gift that I had. And they certainly taught me how to develop it. Like, in school, I learned how to use my diaphragm, you know, those exercises like singers to, you know, because I remember, yeah.

I remember my teacher coming up to me in college one day. He walked up behind me, and he said, and I didn't know where he was there. He says, so, Donnie, how come you always talk like this in the hall? I said, because I'm a brother. That's how we talk in the hall. But he's, you know, he taught me that. You have to use your diaphragm. It's like a backhand in tennis.

You've got to practice it so much that it's second nature, that that is the way you talk, and that you can still be cool and talk from here. You don't have to talk from here to be cool, you know. Have you ever interviewed Barry White? Oh, yeah. Only because anybody that ever seen interview Barry White will suddenly find themselves trying to. The base off?

No, man, I love my little boys too much. I'm going to try to get down there with Barry. Okay, so this is, whenever we have anyone that has notable radio experience on the show, we ask them to. front sale or back sale the song. Okay, all right. You got a time on the song, or you have to... No, I don't even want to...

He'll know what the song is. He just don't hit it, okay. Now, see, now I've got to pick the perfect song with either a short intro or long intro or middle intro. What should I do? I think a long intro would. Longs are easy, just so you, they're easier, but whatever.

No, but what if it's... That's okay, musicians, you know? But if it's Barry White, X's X's a little next to me. That's a one minute and six. Temptations. Papa was a rolling stone. It's like 216. And I had a jock worked for me that actually hit that post once.

Really? Two-16. It's like, man. So wait a minute. If there is long space in the front, are you expected to feel every last ounce of it? No. I don't think so. Well, you know, that's interesting because I think most radio people feel that you do.

But to me, I love music so much. that sometimes the music. So should you talk all over Love's theme by Barry White and the Love Unlimited Orchestra? No. I mean, you know, some of the music is so beautiful. It's vocal in itself. You know what I mean? It's, you know, it has a moment where it's, the intro is over.

The song is started. Okay. Yeah. Are you ready for your, uh, I think so. Let's try. Here we go. Oh. It's magic.

142.3. You're listening to Donnie Simpson, hanging out with Questlove. We've got my boys on the stage now, man. These dudes do it right. It's going to get hot in here. Not hot enough for Norris to sweat. You know he doesn't sweat.

He just condensates on kiss. Oh, Bravo. So does this also mean that you have to study the song? Yeah. As in you... I mean... I mean, when you, at the height of you being immersed inside of your radio days, would you pick a designated day to just study all the songs?

Definitely not. Really? Definitely not. No, I would never study it. It's just knowing it. It's just appreciating it. I know it because I love it. I see.

You know? Yeah, no, I've never studied songs. I thought, wow, sit there with a stopwatch. This is 18 seconds. You just feel it. You know, you just know. You know, you know where the song is. My songs usually have like a four bar, eight bar, whatever intro.

Okay. All right. I see you now. But you ride it too. It's a rhythm thing because that's what you were just doing. You were riding it. Yeah. There you go.

Like a musician. So in Detroit. Say that again. Like a musician. Oh, man. You wanted to make sure you just ever heard that to let me know he's a musician. So I will say that Detroit is also a very unusual. town as far as music culture is concerned

because of their appreciation for other cultures as well. Yeah, yeah. You know, at one point, I knew that I forget the J. Gallo band's song that was like number two on a particular station up there. I used to play J. Giles, man. I used to play J. Giles.

All kind of stuff by J. Giles' band. So what was it that made such a black city so open to Gary Newman, the talking heads or fail out or like just because I would look up old playlist from all their radio stations up there and it was endless.

There were no boundaries on what was black music. Right. I don't, I can't, I wish I could tell you why we are that way, but I was always that way, man. Love. You know, and I feel like for radio program directors or programmers that, you know, radio people feel that people's ears are a lot narrower than they are. You know, people like different things, man. And, you know, I mean, growing up in Detroit, I mean, I played all that stuff on the radio,

man. Without doubt, the biggest moment in my radio career was breaking Benny and the Jets by L.T. John. I've been sitting around with my boy, man, he's turned. turning me on to Elton, right? And so I kept, I made this one off for a week, man. I said, man, I love this song. Benny and the Jets, man. And but I was scared to play it because, you know, black folks didn't really know Elton, you know. And so finally I said, man, Claude, I'm playing this song. And I played it, man. I played it twice that night. And I played it the second time because the phone was jumping off the hook from the first time. I'd never seen anything like it before or since. It was so instant. The next morning, the morning DJ, calls me at home, wakes me up at 7.30. Donnie, what is this song you played last night? Ginny in the Nets or something? Man, you got to bring that down here.

We got to play it. So fast that in two days, Elton was on the phone. Really? From London called. Want to know what's going on here. Benny and the Jets is breaking black in Detroit. You know, he comes to Detroit four or five months later to present me with a gold record. I mean, and this is at the height of his career, man.

This is, you know, man, it just turned me out, man. It was just, it was amazing, man. It was just an amazing moment. And I always use it, especially now when I tell that story, it's important because it saddens me that there are young people in radio now with good ears that can't express themselves musically. You know, that's sad to me, man. You should be able to have a moment like that to come in.

I mean, DJ, I'm supposed to be turning you on to music. So is it understood then whatever radio station you go to that you have some kind of freedom in that way where you can play what you? You can take out in that way. Okay. You have freedom to play whatever. Absolutely. And when did that start in your career? Because that's amazing.

So there was no program director that was ringing the emergency line. Like, I'm certain every radio station has. has that the red phone or whatever. They do, man. Bro, you can be starting. Are you playing Princess Dirty, my mind? I'm just saying like... They know not to bother me with that.

I mean, I just... And I don't mean that to sound vain. I think that I just... You know, they know that that's the only way I can work. I'm not going to do this if you're going to tell me how to do me. I can only do me. And if it works, I told in a negotiation for this return of mine... I said, look, you got caught up in a while, and I just finally said, look, let's make it real simple.

I do what I do. If it doesn't work, you tell me, I'll take my records and go home. You don't have to buy out the rest of the contract, nothing. I'm just gone. All right? Okay. I mean, you know, I just, I have to have that kind of freedom, man. You know, I'm a look out the window kind of guy, man.

How does the day feel? You know, because this is a spirit that connects us all. man. A computer can't do that. You can't tell me that this song works the day. This day feels a certain way. I used to get it, when I did the morning show, man, once an hour I would get out and walk around

the building just to smell it. I need to smell the day. You know? And I know it may sound strange to people. No, I... Not in this room. But yeah. And you've got to have that to me. You know, and as far as like calling jocks, you know, I

programmed W.K. YS in Washington for 12 years. I mean, and it was, you talk about a meteoric rise. I mean, and I didn't even, I kind of bumped into it. I wasn't trying to program. I never wanted to program. I just wanted to be a jock. But the station was in 16th place.

We were losing so badly. And they said, what's wrong with the station? I told them what I felt about it. And I said, well, will you do that? Wow. Yeah, okay. I mean, I felt like I can at least do better than 16th. Man, we went from 16th to number one.

in nine months, you know, and it was just with feel. You know, I don't have anything against research. Research is cool as long as you use it. Don't let it use you. You know, it's just another tool if you want to use it. But I remember this programmer coming to me once had done this big research project. It's paid like 65 grand to research all these songs. He came to me and he said, man, do you know what the number one song tested for us was?

I said, Barham and Gay, let's get it on. How did you know that? I was like, I'm a brother. I live this dog. I ain't on safari. And you're talking to the research. You know, so. But, you know, when I was programming,

I wanted to just bring this up to because it's, you know, and I certainly don't mean to come off like I'm chastising programmers. Right. But, you know, when I program, man, hotline, the hotline, it would never ring. I never once called one of my jocks during the middle of his show to tell him something that was bad. Hell, I know you know it. You know what you did it.

You'd know it's bad more than I do. Why would I call you at that moment sacrificed the last two hours of your show for the first two? And then, bigger than that is that what happens is that then you start talking to me. because you're afraid of me. You're afraid of that phone ringing. I don't want you talking to me. I ain't got nothing to do with this. Talk to the audience, man.

This is about y'all, you know. And I gave my jock's freedom. You know, I just, I'm old school like that, man. Bring your records, man. Do your thing, you know. Just express. You'll be amazed at the performance you get from people when you entrust them, when you let them do what they do.

When their name is on it, instead of just them representing you. It's like you hired them for a reason. That's what you hired them for. Right. Let them go, man. Because this way of thought is not very prevalent right now, have you ever, I mean, I know it's another burden,

but have you ever considered ownership? Yeah, I used to think about it. We had looked at it a long time ago, and, God, radio stations had gotten so expensive then. It was just kind of crazy. But, you know, I don't know that it's a business that I would be that interested in now. You know, it's, you know, the dollars have dried up to a great degree, as you know.

I mean, with everything that is that advertising-based model, radio, television, print, those dollars have gone to the Internet. You know, so it's a different day, you know, and radio and TV are lucky. Most of them are just suffering pay cuts. Print, shutting their doors. Yeah. You know, I mean, it's a different day. So, you know, no, I don't have that level of interest in it now. No.

2%. That is the number of people who take the stairs when there is also an escalator available. I'm Michael Easter. And on my podcast, 2%, I break down the science of mental toughness, fitness, and building resilience in our strange modern world. I'll be speaking with writers, researchers, and other health and fitness experts, and more to look past the impractical and way too complex pseudoscience that dominates the wellness industry. We really believe that seed oils were inherently inflammatory. We got it wrong.

Many of the problems that we are freaked out about in the world are the result of stress. Put yourself through some hardships, and you will come out on the other side a happier, more fulfilled, healthier person. Listen to 2%. That's T-W-O-P-P-Cent on the I-Hart Radio app. podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people.

I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at It podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the A-Eval.

To be clear, 84 is big to me not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really?

Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app. Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clivert Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw,

unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be.

Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, Ernest, what's up? Look, money is something we all deal with, but financial literacy is what helps turn income into real wealth. On each episode of the podcast, Earn Your Leisure, we break down the conversations you need to understand money, investing, and entrepreneurship. From stocks and real estate to credit, business, and generational wealth, we translate complex financial topics into real conversations everyone can understand. because the truth is, most people will never taught how money really works. But once you understand the system, you can start to build within it. That means ownership,

smarter investing, and creating opportunities not just for yourself, but for the next generation. If you want to learn how to build wealth, understand the markets, and think like an owner, earn your leisure is the podcast for you. Listen to earn your leisure

on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. American soccer is about to explode. The World Cup is coming. Ramos sending on to Ernie Stewart at the chip. I'm Tad Ramos. I'm Tom Boe. On our podcast, Inside American Soccer, you'll get the real storylines.

I'm not worried about Policic. I'm not worried about Balligan. I'm not worried about McKinney. My only concern is what happens in the back. The biggest decisions. If you're going to look at stats and numbers, he has no shot at making this World Cup team. And the truth about the U.S. national team.

It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals. The World Cup is almost here. Experience it all with us. Listen to Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tab Ramos on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. Speaking of you breaking Elton John and bidding the Jets, what were some of the other notable artists that you had a first thing? Like, I feel like this person's the next one. Well, I had a, I have a gold record at home that says, thank you for being the first to play Whitney Houston.

You give good love. Wait, I literally only pulled that out there. Oh, I thought you knew that. No, I was just, I was like, oh, I know you gave Whitney Houston. Well, I saw her very, when she first came to Video Soul. Yeah, yeah. I remember that interview. Do you remember Shadee?

Yeah. First interview with Shade. Her first interview, I think, I know. in America, if not on television, period, was with me. You know? So, you know, I, you know, I certainly don't want to sound like I started all of these careers. Dude, this is why you're here in the chair. This is a master class.

No, seriously. There's a lot of artists that we probably wouldn't know about if we hadn't seen them on video so. You know, you were introducing them so. So you were a very important part. Well, you know, thank you. You're allowed to teach your own horn. No. And I won't.

But it's, it's, it's. It's so flattering. I had Big Daddy Kane on my radio show yesterday. And he was telling me, he says, man, I just want to thank you for the first time I was on video soul, man. He said, I was so nervous, man. I couldn't believe it. But he said, what blew me away was that I came in there, man, and you treated me like all the other artists. You treated me with respect.

And I thought it would be just like, you know, all right, we got this rapper in here. Let's get the rap thing out of the way. He said, and it was just so different, you know, which blew me away that he thought I would treat him. You know, as I told him on the air yesterday, I say, Cain, man, if President Obama walked through this door right now or the janitor, they're going to get the same level of love and respect for me. Believe that, you know. But it's always fascinating to me that so many artists come up to you and tell you what you meant to their careers, you know. I remember going to see new edition one night. This is 25 years ago.

No, not new edition. I'm sorry. New kids, not the new kids on the blog. Boys, the men. Okay. Same thing. No, boy. I play it.

That's funny. So I go backstage and they go, oh, my God, Donnie's here. Look at it. Say, what's the date? April, whatever, whatever. 1987. They all knew the date they came on video. So it was that significant.

team. You know? I remember. I was going to say, oh, Mary, don't you eat, aquapella. Yeah. And they wore the tan jackets. Do you remember better than me?

Wait, only, okay, because I was in the Motown, Philly video. So even me and my parents were, like, sitting there with a VCR open, like, like, the video's going to come on because this is the first time that I'm seeing the video. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, no, that was, and we all went to

high school together, so that was like a moment. Like, someone from my, my homeroom classes that still owes me $2,000. 35 cents Juan Ye, thank you. You know, is legit, like on

video soul. Yeah, it meant something to sit on that couch, you know, and that's flattering. That's really an awesome thing. So, well, I want to ease in two video soul. How did, how were you convinced

to, well, you didn't totally abandon radio when you did video. Oh, no. You did both, but did you figure that, okay, it's time for the black version of MTV to come to fruition and I want to be a part of history? No, this has not happened. I mean, it wasn't my creation. I got a call from Bob Johnson asking me, or actually was Jeff Lee, his right-hand man. We're starting this show called Video Soul, and we'd like for you to. hosted. At the time, I was still doing radio, of course, but I was also, I just started doing TV locally in D.C. for the last two years. I was a sports anchor.

George Michael. Yeah. I was George Michael's backup for George Michael's sports machine. So, you know, so, yeah, it was cool. I mean, I enjoyed that, but I like music. You know, sports is not what I do. So, anyway. Thank you. Go ahead. I'm paying Bill. I didn't even pay anything. Sports ain't your thing either. That's actually how I know you.

I went to school down in College Park, Maryland. Oh, really? In late 80s, early 90s. So I was watching the George Michael sports. Oh, cool. Dream machine? Sports machine. Yeah.

So him, he's sports legend, Donnie Simpson. Yeah. So anyway, they, had wanted me to do this show, and I'll be very honest with you. My first answer was no. No, I didn't want to do it. I've always been very careful about what I get involved in because all I have to sell is image.

So I'm very protective of that. It's got to be right. And BET, in its infancy, wasn't a pretty baby. Okay, can we talk about that? Yeah, right. It was kind of public service. Yeah, right, exactly. Public access.

Right, so I didn't want to do that, but I thought about it for two days, and then finally, the bottom line became this, that this is our first black television network. If you have something to offer it, you have to do that. Period. Let's go. And so I'm glad I did, man. I mean, it was amazing. When we first started, we were in one and a half million homes. when I left, that number was like

45 million. You know, now it's like 100 or something. I mean, it's just crazy, you know, and, you know, it put me in black houses all across this country, you know. And not just black way, not just black. I didn't even know about your radio career.

I just thought. Most people around the country don't. They're shocked when they find out I'd do radio. Yeah. But, yeah, but, you know, it was really something special, man. It was, you know, Terry Lewis, we were talking about it recently,

and he was saying how that... I was just telling him about the love and respect that I get and how it just blows me away, you know, every time. And he says, it's because you mean something to people, you know, that you represented a time when music was fun, you know, the videos were fun and all of that. You know, it was clean, fun, you know, and you represent that time.

It's like, well, I'd never thought about it. like that. Absolutely. But you know, it's I remember one night, VH1 did a series called Black in the 80s. And they had interviewed me for it.

And so they told me it was coming on, so I watched it that night. It was an hour long. And the first 15 minutes they did Brian Gumble, the first Black to host an early morning national television show. Then they did Arsenio Hall.

First Black to host a late night talk show. Then they did Cosby, the Cosby show. And first Black TV show were the mother and dad were doctor and a lawyer, not a plumber and a janitor or something. And then they did Donnie Simpson and Video Soul. And, man, I'll never forget it. When the show ended, all I could think was, well, how the hell am I supposed to sleep tonight?

Seriously, because I'd never had it put in perspective. like that. You know what I mean? It's like a line that I've always always loved from Elton John Rocket Love. Not Rocket Love. That's Stevie Wonder. Rocket Man. Right. When he says, In all the science, I don't understand.

It's just my job five days a week. You know, I mean, you think this is a rocket man, an astronaut. It's like, it's so glorious. You know, you're a DJ. It's a glorious. You know, man, I don't care who you are or what you do. is just what you do.

So at the time you weren't thinking that you're doing a historical service for mankind. Absolutely not. That there's a bunch of 11-year-olds watching you and recording this. Because we will record the show and watch it. Over and over and over. And over again. That's crazy to me. No, I never thought.

I mean, I've had three or four to ESPN anchors come up to me and tell me you're the reason I do TV because I used to watch you. It's like, man, that's mind-blowing to me, of course. I'm telling you, man. No, no, between you and probably, probably the only person that could challenge or even match your cool might be Don Cornelius. Like, you two are like the air appearance. Yeah, it was cool. He was one error and then you kind of were the next. And that's the thing.

You always pervade this level of intelligence and cool and, and, and, and knowledge no matter who the artist was. Like if I were interviewing like Wild Animal era vanity, I would have been sweating profusely. But you gave her the same level of respect that you would have done for Sergio Mendez or Sadie de Garrett or Quincy Jones or Al-Assiard or Quincy Jones or I'll be short.

Like, you know what I mean? Like, that to me was even more amazing. Like, it's one thing to interview someone that you love and that you're, you know, that you have history of. Like, I'm sure that, you know, if a Motown Luminary comes on the show, then, you know, you're just giddy about it. But how do you prepare yourself for an artist that you might not know of? Like, say of like first year, Karen White comes on the show,

and you might not know that much about her. I ask her. Like you did. I asked her. Seriously, that's how I prepare. There's no preparation. But I've known her for like 10 years. But there's no preparation.

I mean, every artist I've ever had on VideoSoul, they would give me a bio and a list of questions. And I would take and go, all right, sit that on the side. Seriously, I would never look at it because I felt that there's nothing wrong with me not knowing you grew up in Tuscaloosa, that I can ask you that.

I mean, this is an interview. This is getting to know you. What's wrong with that being the first of where you grow up at? You know, oh, I grew up in Philly. Oh, man, what happened to the Sixers the other night? Right. That's conversation. Okay.

You know, it's just, you know, I mean, if it's somebody I knew, I'm telling you, this may be the depth of the preparation. I'd go, all right, Luther's on the show today. I'm riding in and I go, what is it you want to know about Luther? man, why does your weight keep going up and down? You don't get that under control. I say, all right, that's what I'm going to ask him.

And, you know, it's... But you could ask him that, though. I don't think nobody else can get away with it. But, you know, and that is a blessing for you to say that. You get it. It's just like on... With all due respect,

I'm going back to Johnny Carson, the Tonight Show. that when the conversation with Johnny was always different from any other host I ever saw, because they had so much respect for him. He could ask things that others might not, because they just lose. But Jimmy's like that, too, because he's so cool. You know, when you're cool with people like that, man, and they feel you and it's real, it's not staged questions. And, you know, when you've read the bio, the chances are I'm going to ask you a question.

question based on that bio is something that you've been asked a thousand times already before. What was your first interview on? Do you remember your very first interview on the show? Who was your first guest? Absolutely. My very first interview was with the fat boys. What year was this?

What were you? It had to been 84? 83 or 84? God. Something like that. Yeah, man. The fat boys. Second one was with Rick James bitch. Okay. What was that like? Okay, we've yet to have a potential off the chains guests.

We're kind of entertaining that. Like, all of our guests are either like super legend or we've worshipped them. Yeah. But, okay, Rick James is a perfect example. If someone has the potential to sort of be off the chains. Oh, yeah. How do you reel them in? How do you maintain, how do you drive the car and not have to.

them drive the car. Wow. That's, wow, what a great question. Because you still have to steer and navigate. Yeah, you still got to steer. And he's still a Rick James. And it was the 80s, so we know that Rick might have been on that, you know. So you don't know where the conversation was going to go.

But I'd never had that problem. I never had anybody had anybody go rogue on me. Just, you know, go crazy. It just never happened. But a little left. You've had some people maybe go a little left. I mean, because even that new edition interview, Everybody's left in this business. You know, shoot.

I was going to say for you, has an interview going a little weird and you guys had to do a lot of editing magic? Well, back in the day for... Like, what interview was like, got through that? No, most of the years on video sold, we were live. Whoa.

So not going back and edit it. It was live until the last three or four years. Really? I didn't know. Yeah, yeah. I never knew that. Yeah, yeah. We used to do it live, man.

That was risky. Well, yeah, but that's the way I liked it, because that made it, like, radio for me. I hate tape. I hate recording. It's just, it's a different pressure that you perform better when it's live, for me. You know, when it's live and I know you don't get to back it up. And then it's real because for me, when you're backing it up and editing, then you're trying to make it perfect. And, like, I never, ever, ever watched video soul.

I don't listen to tapes of my radio show because I feel like I'm trying to make myself perfect. And I'll never be that. All I need to be is me. That's it. That's all I need to be. Donnie Simpson, does that mean a programmer has never pulled you in an air check meeting and said? No, Lord, no. Since you were a teenager, there's never been a boss.

Because I mean, most people know this. But like in radio, usually your boss will at some point at the end of the week pull you in a room and say, let's listen to what you did here. you know what for one period when I first moved to D.C. in 77 we did have a program director and oh my goodness

it was crazy for me for a year and a half I did live under that I forgot not because it was such you know that's out of how many years God I started in 69

so you know one and a half years of slavery but you know where he would walk in with a stop watch and go, that was 17 seconds. You had to come in under 15 seconds on anything you said.

You know, I mean, it was just, so finally, I was gone. I was gone. I said, I can't do this. I'm leaving. And I had a job offer in L.A. And so they offered me the music directorship to keep me. So I stayed. And then I worked under this music director.

My music director was, he's a brother, but he had so much. Or was he your brother? Yeah, or is he really? We know wink, wink, wink, we get it. Yeah, we need Mueller to investigate this one. But we would

have our record meetings every week, you know, the music meetings, and he'd go around the room. I was the music director under him. He was the program director and I had two assistants, and both them were political appointees. This is D.C. One was David Brinkley's son. The other was this senator's son.

He goes around the room He play I'd never forget this one He played Beast of Burden Rolling Stones You know So he goes So John what do you think of that

Oh I love it I think it's great Dave what do you think it's great I think it's great But we can't play that shit Thank you That ain't no Benny in the Jets Right

You know I mean I love it But it's got to fit Brothers don't Can I assume that That was the single After Miss You Were you guys playing Miss You

No, that was before Miss You. Miss You came after? As I recall it, because I played Miss You as a program director. So I wasn't programming then. Yeah, I'm pretty sure we could check the records. Okay. I always thought Miss you was first. Yeah, I think that's the way it went.

Because I played Miss you. That works. Beast of Bird does not. Little River Band reminiscing. We can't play that, man. Really? Yeah. It's like that would work.

I love that song. I love remittance though. Because you also got to consider the area, right? It's not just the people. It's the area you in. D.C. and Go-Go, baby. You know, it was hard. Yeah.

That's my next question. Okay. Now, as the top tastemaker of D.C. that had the world's ears, how is such a beautiful subculture like Go-Go? How has it meant so many

obstacles. And I feel like the ripple never gets to expand more west than West Virginia or Ohio. West Virginia. Or, okay. The Potomac River. Let's just go back to Virginia.

Yeah, but it's you've lived in D.C. for decades. I assume you still do. Oh, yeah. How is black people's Bam Bam music not resonated to the rest of the United States of America, at least. I have no idea why that is. It's like, I mean, we thought it was going to break out when we've had, yeah, well. And good to go to that movie came out?

Chuck was the first. Yeah, Chuck Brown. Busting Loose was the first number one go-go song in the country. I mean, it was number one song in the country that was go-go. And then the second was the butt. by EU with the help of the movie school days, you know. So we're thinking, man, it's going to break out now

and it never did. Those are the only two to this day that ever went number one in the country. You know, you had people like Grace Jones, some people used it. Elements in the song. Yeah, used elements, yeah. But it just never broke out for some reason. And I don't know. You know, I don't know why the rest of the world never caught on to.

Drop the bomb on the white boy. You know, I just don't get it. Yeah, well, I wonder why. that never got back. It's a mystery. You think that has something to do with it? I have no idea. I'm not a lost.

We see down. No idea how that didn't work out. It's weird. Shocker. So on the other side of that coin, though, worrying about someone going rogue, there could be the other side of that coin. of having artists that are shy and reclusive.

Now, as I, as obsessed as I am with all of David Ritch's work as a writer and read both of those Aretha books, I know that she was a frequent guest of yours on the show, and you go into her house and her playing for you. And she, you know, she was rather loquacious. She talked a lot, which if she didn't know you, you could tell that, you know, there's a distance there. Right. So how did you – what was a hard interview for you, like for an artist that wasn't that talkative? Did you ever interview Prince at ever in your career?

Yeah, on radio. Okay. What period? What year? This was about seven years ago. Oh, I thought you meant 70. I was like, oh no, no, no, no, no, no. No, because you remember Princeton to do any interviews.

Yeah, I was going to say, wait, how did I miss that? He had done that one interview. I think we ran on MTV, and he interviewed himself. Actually, I was watching a clip on YouTube today of you introducing that on video soul. Oh, is that right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, so, no, and it was Prince and Michael were the only two artists that I always wanted to interview, you know, but never got to have them on video soul, you know, even though we were friends. know them off of, yeah, I was like to say.

Oh, yeah, yeah. Me and Prince were friends, and, you know, as a matter of fact, the night you referenced earlier when we went to flight time for the pandemonium album for the time, should we party that at Paisley Park? That night. You'll love this story. This is so funny. Yes, bring the stories. That Wednesday, we were recording video solo. I had David Bowie on the show. and who was so cool.

And so after the show, we were talking, and I was telling him I was going to Minneapolis that Friday to do this time thing. And he says, I'm playing Minneapolis Friday. You ought to come to the show. I said, all right, cool. I'm there. So get my buddy to go

with me, Sugar Ray Leonard. So we rode to Minneapolis. And we do the thing. I don't recall. That's so casual. That's a good one. That's so casual. Yeah, well, that's me and Ray Hong

every day. man. My boy, still to this day. But, so anyway, we get to the show that Friday night,

and they set like eight seats at the sound board, right? So we go to sit in our seats, and so I'm going by, and I bump this lady in front of me, and I say,

excuse me, ma'am, and Prince turns around. Wow. So, what do he say? He says, hey Donnie Hey, Prince, what's happening, man?

So, sorry about that. No, that's cool. And so then he turns back around a minute or two later. He says, I'm having a party at Paisley Park tonight. You and Ray ought to come. I said, all right, cool. So we go to the party, man. You know, it's like 12 people there, man.

He always parties with just six people. I know. It's me, Prince, Ray, David Boy, and his band members. cat who was dancing with him and my boy Jeff Newman who produced my show VideoSoul and I mean that was like that was it you know but we had the greatest

time man it was just the coolest night and he played the black album that night okay and now this is so years later he tells me because you know that album was notorious because it wasn't released right and

so years later Prince told me he said you know you're the reason I didn't release the black album. What? And I said, what do you mean? He says, you remember what you said that night at Paisley Park? I said, he said, you said,

this is such a groove and I was about so much more. And I thought, wow, is he serious? Or is he just... Damn you, Donnie! Seriously, that was really deep to me. Because that is what I said. It's like, man, this is such a groove.

you know. But what Prince needed to know is that you could be about that much more, but I can't hear it. I don't hear lyrics. I hear groove. I hear vibe. I hear feel. You know, I know where it is. But man, it could be 30 years later.

And I'd be like, damn, that's what they were talking about. You know, too close. He was, but no. See, the thing is, it's like, the thing is, I know I know that, you know, a lot of his earlier Nelson George reviews of his post-rise, post-1999 rise, kind of got under his skin and that he didn't want to be that philosophical and he just wanted to let y'all know that he was still down. And I've, you know, that was his statement of letting y'all know like, yo, I'm still down and this is me.

but and you validate it, you're still down because that's such a groove. Yeah, yeah. But maybe there's that itch in his soul that's just like, I gotta say the deep statement. Right, right. We're stuck with love sexy.

Damn. I got to tell you, this is going back to something you said earlier, but it's so cool because Jimmy and Terry are my boys and my mom introduced me to the time. That's who told me about the time. How?

Well, I was in D.C., mom still at a record shop in Detroit. You talk about that diversity. What was the name of the record store? Simpson's record shop. Wow. Wow. 50 years, man. Really?

50 years. Yes, sir. And you've never been there? No. I always shop in a gross point blank. Wait, what's Gross Point in Michigan? Is it out of Los Angeles, right? Yeah, yeah.

This is a place called Melodies and Memories. out there that I do all my digging, but Simpson's record shop is still there. Yeah, yeah. A mom and pop record store. The one I told you, that's where I started my career. Steve.

Yeah. He and I'm booking a flight right now. Steve and I are doing a week tour of America at record stores. She sells more hot dogs and candy than she does records now. Can I interject a question, Donnie? So what's your record collection looking like these days?

Oh, we said, oh, wait, There's a frown over there. Are you in a situation where you had to get rid of stuff and put it in storage? All my records are at home. Yeah, yeah. All my records at home. Are you asking what am I into?

Well, do you still have all your records from when you were a kid and stuff like that? I still have everything, everything, man. I would assume it's worth some money, man. Okay, fire in the house. Hypothetical. Whoa, whoa. That's a knock wood situation also, yeah.

We'll pretend this way. Fire in the house. You're saving five records. Oh, okay. Top five. What albums? Ooh, what's your 45s into? Okay.

Yes. What five albums are you saving? What's going on? Hot buttered soul. Yes. Ooh. Off the wall. Wait, now before you name the last two.

I also mean that I'm certain that you have rare items of your your collection as well. Can we just save his whole collection? We'll all show up at the fire and help him get the fucking records out. All right. What are the final two? Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. I got one more.

Woo! That's hard. Oh, look, they're all fighting. They're trying to get out the fire. Oh, wow. One left. Oh, ooh, God, I,

well, I got Marvin. Let's see. Fires burn. Okay. Stevie's anthology. I'm cheating now. No, no greatest since. You have one Stevie record.

Wow, one Stevie. Oh, my goodness, man. That's like Sophie's choice. You'll stream. You can stream the rest on Pandora. I'm just saying that. All right. Fulfilling this first finale.

That's the Stevie Wonderfucking each other. I think. I don't know. You put me under pressure. That was a great crescendo. I mean, what would you say? That's weird. No, because out of the genius period,

that's my least favorite Stevie record of the genius period. Really? It's the one I know the least songs on. I know it, but I mean, besides, What's the time? Is it, music of my mind? For me, I don't know why I like music of my mind out of the five of them.

Because it was the first of the five. No, but even then I was like one. So, I mean, like, it was the first of the five. He was just more raw in that. It was the first of the five. Or do you count where I'm coming from It was the first one of five.

Yeah. The first record I ever bought was by Stevie. Uptight. Really? That's the first purchase I ever made of music. The first, your very first record. Yep. Because that's before my mother.

I didn't buy records for long. Because you opened a record shop and then I got in the radio. But yeah, I paid 69 cents for, baby, everything is all right. So 45s were 69 cents back in, well, that came out 66? Yeah, 66 or 67. 2%. That is the number of people. who take the stairs when there is also an escalator available.

I'm Michael Easter, and on my podcast, 2%, I break down the science of mental toughness, fitness, and building resilience in our strange modern world. I'll be speaking with writers, researchers, and other health and fitness experts, and more to look past the impractical and way too complex pseudoscience that dominates the wellness industry. We really believe that seed oils were inherently inflammatory. We got it wrong. Many of the problems that we are freaked out about in the world are the result of stress.

Put yourself through some hardships, and you will come out on the other side a happier, more fulfilled, healthier person. Listen to 2%. That's TWO percent on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like it. black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jay. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode. where we've discussed correct. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying.

Yep, that's me. Clever Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger.

So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, Ernest, what's up?

Look, money is something we all deal with, But financial literacy is what helps turn income into real wealth. On each episode of the podcast, Earn Your Leisure, we break down the conversations you need to understand money, investing, and entrepreneurship. From stocks and real estate to credit, business, and generational wealth, we translate complex financial topics into real conversations everyone can understand. Because the truth is, most people will never taught how money really works. But once you understand the system, you can start to build within it.

That means ownership, smarter investing, and creating opportunities not just for yourself, but for the next generation. If you want to learn how to build wealth, understand the markets, and think like an owner, earn your leisure is the podcast for you. Listen to Earn Your Leisure on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. American soccer is about to explode. The World Cup is coming. Ramers sending on to Ernie Stewart. I'm Ta Bamos.

I'm Tom Bo. On our podcast, Inside American Soccer, you'll get the real storylines. I'm not worried about Policic. I'm not worried about Balagan. I'm not worried about McKinney. My only concern is what happens in the back. The biggest decisions. If you're going to look at stats and numbers, he has no shot at making this World Cup team.

And the truth about the U.S. national team. It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals. The World Cup is almost here. Experience it all with us. Listen, Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tab Ramos on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. Well, I also know that you as a concert spectator, that you've probably seen some of the best shows of all time.

Now, in your radio career, you told us about your childhood career, but what were the experiences like? Because I'm certain that you saw the very first mothership connection shows, like stuff we take for granted now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The ideas of the Jackson's levitating or Earthwinter Fire levitating, all that stuff. Like, what concert will stay with you forever as far as like? All the Michael concerts.

Really? I mean, he's just the greatest ever to me. Yeah, without doubt. Michael. The fire, you know, see Earthwitted Fireman and their prime, you know, with Maurice. you know, was amazing. The very first concert ever saw in my life, James. Where?

Cobor Arena in Detroit. This had to be 67. Jesus. Something like that. Maybe 68. Did he do Sead Low? No, it was before Seid Low. So say it loud, I'm black and I'm proud, was 68.

And James was my king. Right. You know, and I used to tell him that all the time, man, you're my king, I'm your soldier. There ain't nothing I wouldn't do for you. And I meant that, man, because he taught me to be proud of who I was, you know, my skin color, man. Say it loud was the most significant song ever for me. There would never be a song more important than that for me, you know. And so James gave me all that sense of pride.

You know, I mean, he had assists from Curtis Mayfield and, you know, but it was James. So to see James in concert was just amazing early on. Because I remember as a kid sitting there at 12 years old. So, wow, I was 12, so that was 66. And all I could think of, I'm not a musician, so I don't know why. But I'm like, damn, this dude's got two drummers. He's going to wear one out. He knows that.

One ain't going to make it. So, wow, I saw Sammy. Davis Jr. That was amazing to see Sammy. You know, wow. You'll appreciate this. I know shifting gears a little bit. No.

But say it. People that I've had the opportunity to spend time in the studio with. Tell me. Now, of course, you know, there are a bunch of them. But the four that just, when I think back on my life and my career to just blow me away, Marvin sly Prince

Prince invited me in the studio one night and that's rare he didn't you know yeah don't have people in the studio and Stevie you know to spend time in the studio with Stevie man it was just oh my goodness.

He's speaking of watching Marvin in the studio can you speak of watching Marvin in the studio well actually it's kind of cheating because he wasn't he wasn't doing His album, he was recording the originals. He was producing the originals. Yeah. Did you know that?

Yeah, because they did a baby I'm for real. Maybe I'm for real. Just to keep you satisfied, right? Yeah, maybe we did. And the bells. Yeah, yeah. But Pam was with me. She was just my girlfriend then.

She's my wife of 43 years now. But. It's crazy because she only 44. It's crazy. I know, I know. But I remember Pam saying to me like, because Marvin was trying to show him how to sing the song. And she goes,

God, why didn't he just sing? You can't nobody do that? Yeah. But, you know, Marvin, when he invited me to his student, how cool is this? I'm hanging out with Ron Banks of the Dramatics. Wow. Yeah, me and Ronnie was my best friend in that side of the business, of music. Ronnie was my best friend, all the Dramatics, but Ronnie in particular.

And so we're riding down the street and we see Marvin going in his house, going up to driveway. And so Ronnie says, there's Marvin, man. Let's stop and say hello to him. It's all right, cool. So we stopped and he introduces. He said, yeah, man, I listen to you every night, man. I was like, all right, cool. And he says, you ought to come and check me out in the studio. I said, all right, I'd love to do that. He says, well, I'm going in tomorrow night. He says, but here, let me give you this phone number. Call me tomorrow morning, man, because I'll get up in the morning and decide to climb Mount Everest and I'll be gone.

You know? And he said it in such a way it's like I'm not trying to act like I'm eccentric or something like that. I'm just telling you, dog, you need to check because I'll do that. Right. That's how I'll roll. He's known for that. Right. He is known for that. Yeah, man.

Not many cats know that Marvin lived in a bread truck for seven months in Hawaii. Oh, yeah. Is that right? Right after Dream of Life, came on. He took his remaining money. It was right before, I thought it was before

a minute love, I thought. Well, yeah, after Dream of Love, before he did that, before he moved to Belgium and lived in the monastery. And he did, uh, what you call it? This is around 80. Yeah, yeah, he purchased a bread truck because it had a good aroma to it. Oh, you mean in our lifetime? Yeah, in our lifetime.

Yeah, in our lifetime. He was... Sorry, in our lifetime. If I had to pick one voice, I mean, one artist, I mean, Marvin's my favorite vocalist ever. I just love Marvin. But the most intimate, is that the right word? Most emotional moment I ever

had with music was with Marvin one night. I was sitting there listening to Flying High in the Friendly Sky. And I heard the song for 40 years. I told you I don't hear lyrics, right? So not really. I mean, flying eye on a friendly sky? All right. I guess it's commercial for United. I don't know. But that night, I'm sitting there and I'm listening to it, man. And I heard every

word after it had to be 30 years at that point and man you know I'm telling you bro I sit there and cried for 40 minutes and I mean bawling man because I saw Marvin's life in his drug addiction

it spells it out so well you know my second oldest brother was classic Vietnam case you know came back from the nom decorated war hero addicted to heroin you know and watch that struggle that he went through and sent my family through.

You know, we, you know, we all got touched by that thing. And, you know, I just sat there, man. It just took me to a place where nothing but music could take me to where I went that night, you know. But, you know, I go to the place where the danger awaits me.

Self-destructions in my hand, you know? Yeah. In the morning, I'll be all right, but then the pain, soon the night comes and the pain. Oh, man, it's just I was out running yesterday morning and that's, I always have

my iPod on random, yeah, on shuffle. And that song came on, I'm running, crying. People, you saw me, you thought I was sweating. Now that fool crying. So, yeah. Can I ask,

I mean, it's it's, it's no secret that where we are now in 2017 is a long way from where we were in 1967 or 69 when you first started. So I know that it has to be bothersome to not necessarily watch the evolution

of where black music and black culture is going. Or de-evolution, rather. Or yeah, just the de-evolution. evolution of it. Does it worry you that very few members of the next generation aren't necessarily grabbing on to the baton that the forefathers

had and sort of, not even dropping it, but just having a disregard or a sheepish shrug like, eh, okay. Like, is it, well, I'm just saying that you seem to be an open book culturally to everything.

Like, you know, in 69, you know, say loud, I'm black and I'm proud changed your life. I'm certain that Prince's arrival with, or the onslaught of dirty mind and what he would later unleash was new and shocking, but you seem to be a bored of it and what came afterwards. At what point, and you don't have to specifically mention names or, whatever, but at what point or at least the year, did you were the seeds of indifference there for you?

We're like, man, like, I guess, I guess this is what passes for talent or this is what passes for music or hmm, guess I'm just getting older. Yeah, well, you know, well, first of all, I have to tell you this, that I was always

hesitant, I never wanted to make the statement that they don't make music like they used to. Okay, because I felt like every generation makes that statement. And they're right. They don't make it like they used to. They never have. They never will.

It's always changing. So then I remember when we did the interview with Quincy Jones from his house to Back on the Block album. I was going to say you committed him on being open-minded. And that always stuck with me. Like, I'd never want to be the old guy that's like, you know, I hate this music. Right. And you said that. And I was like, oh, okay.

That's what I need to be. Yeah. Like Quincy. You know, you look, I mean, that album, I go to do this interview with Quincy. I mean, there's Ray Charles and Ella Fitzgerald, Saravan, Big Daddy Kane, Melly Mouse, Ice T. You know, let me kick my credentials. Young player, Bread, in South Central, L.A., home of the body bag. You want to die.

We're the wrong color rag. I used to walk in stores in the L.A. down. You flinch your inch, A.K. Sprade. Woo! Man. I just rap with Donnie said. Yeah. I'm sorry.

Like a duet. That was a. Too wet. Holy shit. You deserve that. But the first time I heard that, me and L.A. Reed had this conversation because I was telling him,

I said, man, when I first got that album, I was listening to it, I said, it took me 40 minutes to get through the first song. And he said, me too. Because, you know, I mean, I know Gulamateri, Quincy Jones. Right, right, right. And then I opened up, the first thing I hear is this gangster rap. But then all through the album was like a lesson to me that, you know, you can embrace it all.

All right, so now they're doing the human beatbox. All right, so, all right, well, let's get Ella, Sarah, Bobby McFerrin, and take six. No instruments? All right, well, let's do that. You know, it was just he could make it all work, all right? Now, get past that, and I'll have to tell you that in the last five, six, seven years, you know, it's not like there was any particular moment where I felt like, well,

where are we? Where is R and B? But, you know, I look at the charts. It's like me, Jimmy and Terry have had this conversation. Like, it's just like it's just hip hop and pop. You know, like, we're not there. You know, I miss those days, man,

when the top 10 pop songs, you know, half of them were black. And I mean, black. black. Soul. You know, right. Soul. There you go.

Thank you. Soul Charter. Right. You know, I miss that. It seems like it's just, it's changed. And that's very frustrating for me. You know, and you're asking me to question, but I ask you to question. Is it that the musicians have bailed on it?

They're just so nonchalant about it, or is it that the music companies don't want that anymore, or are giving it voice? I have a theory. No, because they're there. I can name about six or seven people on the internet that are like killing that might not get a shot because they're not easily digestible. But I also feel as though I don't know where black people are spiritually. I was about to say black people don't know the church anymore. Yeah, I don't know where we are spiritually now as opposed to 50 years ago where we relied on the church as a training ground for the church.

as a training ground for singers. Yeah. That's true. And musicians. I never thought about that. I'm going to be, this is probably the most explicitly honest

I've ever been concerning my spirituality on this show. But just lately, just as far as the political turmoil that we're living in right now.

House of Card season 6. Yeah, pretty much. And what's been going on in the past three years, as far as justice is concerned, as far as the unarmed killings of black boys and black women. You know, I used to question on Twitter, like, well, you know, where's the spiritual center that says that this is wrong? Like, if this were, if the injustice that was happening in 2016, all those unarmed shootings were happening in 6667, I would have heard from the church from now.

And I'm not saying that, okay, well, maybe question, you know, because it's so blasphemous for black folks that have been raised in the church to even have thoughts of atheism or whatever. But, you know, just where the idea of Christianity in 2016, it seems very tainted to me. Then it was when I was a kid growing up in church and your grandmom took you to church. You had to be there for eight hours. So I know that if I'm sort of questioning that,

then I know there's a lot of people that are just like me that are moving away from that spirituality. I'm not saying that, oh, well, God doesn't exist. If all this injustice is happening, but I know that our answer was always priming. Primarily, always hang on to the Lord. The Lord will make it all right. And just, you know, and I don't know if black people are there now.

Like, even in our singers, like, the hero now is Rihanna, who is about as not in the church. Anti. She's more the mall. Or the, you know, like, I don't know where, like, her home base is where you think of Rifa's like, oh, that's the church. No doubt, no doubt. You know, but the generation that Rihanna's raising isn't spiritual based. like Lauren Hill in a way that yeah that's

and it's not just blank I mean you look at what the Christian right just allowed to happen in our last election you know I mean if you you can give him a pass for talking about grabbing women how he wants to grab him and that's okay yeah we've just lost spirituality

yeah right not even religion but just spirituality so I just feel like that that reflects in the music and if that's not there then we've pretty much lost soul music. Unless the spirit of it has just

gone to the UK where there's still people there. And we're also becoming more inclusive as a people as well and I think that has a lot to do with it too. We weren't, you know, I mean not watered down for lack of a better term, but you're talking about the 60s and when music was made then, it definitely was not as

inclusive as it is in 2017 and then you have to do with the cultural appropriation and who's making the money off of the soul music. I just point that a label's not wanting to do more work than, you know, if they can just market one artist one certain way instead of having to do it a whole bunch of different ways to target, you know, all these different audiences.

And if they can sing soul and not be black and capture two different audiences? Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! So do you find it ironically weird that some of the more popular soul artists are not looking like the person in the mirror when you're listening to it? like or is that to you just I'm sorry, what do you?

No, no, no, I'm saying that now, if you think of soul music, nine times out of ten, it's Sam, Spithordell. Right, right, right, right, right, right. Oh, I know. Yeah, it's strange. Yeah, it's strange, you know. And I mean, I mean, the artists are still there. I don't fault you for that, you know?

I mean, you got soul. I mean, the artist that you just named, very soulful, and I love their music. You know, but, you know, it reminds me of watching, and God, should I call it sound like, American Idol or, you know, these shows. And, you know, my wife and my daughter would get so mad at me. They finally just stopped watching it with me because I'm sitting there, oh, God, he's so crazy. I was like, what? You know, I'm like, I take you to church this Sunday and just on this Sunday and find you, and find you three, four voices better than anything you've heard on this whole season.

You know, that's how I always felt about. Except for Fantasia and Jennifer Hudson. Well, yeah, there were moments. Right. The thing that I find problematic about reality shows and the contest is that, you know, I feel like since 97, we've negated the idea of subculture or an underground. You know, Aretha Franklin wasn't made in 13 weeks. Yeah.

She was made in 17 years. She started at eight, you know, and it took slow development in her father's church, in a subculture. You know, because of the rush, because music is more as a means of escape for poverty for a lot of black folk, you know, it's more or less probably used now as a means to survive as opposed to express your spirituality. So, yeah, I'd find those so. rather dangerous, but that's a whole another episode of course, Love Supreme. Yeah, and those shows aren't really about music. They're about TV. You know what I mean? It's not even

about. That's true. You know what I'm saying? About who's the greatest, it's about. That's why you get William Hung's out there. Exactly. Right, right. Just try to get you to watch. I'm trying with Joe's right home. I'm sorry. That's what I'm So, what would you...

By the way, I found a CD at my mother's record shop of a Rifa singing in her church in her father's church when she was 12. How good is that? Mama had that in her record shops. You still haven't? I haven't.

She doesn't have any more. I just want to say, did you guys sell Reverend C.L. Franklin's sermons? Oh yeah. Yeah. Oh, man. We're making a pilgrimage because I know somewhere in the storage unit, there's a gym

in there. Yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah. We are growing up there. Hot dogs in right now. She more or less specializes in gospel music now anyway. As a matter of fact, wow, going back. I remember I used to send Elton gospel music to London because he couldn't get it.

Right, right. I'd send him stuff from my mom's record shop, man. Yeah. All right, we are coming to Simpson's record shop. Is this a DC trip? Is this a DC trip to say? No, it's Detroit. That's Detroit. It's better than DC. But wait, is that where every... Okay, so it's right, because the record store is still in existence, right? Yeah, it's still. For right now, it's struggling, though. It's tight.

Because it sounds like Donnie might have half of the record in D.C. too. No. Yeah, well, I got a few. Okay. We'll come and save this story. Don't worry. Wait, I want to ask one, this is kind of backwards to go back then. But since there's a movie about Detroit coming out in August about the 67 riots,

I want to ask, how is your mom's story? How is that unscathed from, because 60% of the city went up in flames during those riots up there. How are you guys able to protect the store and not have it affected? Well, we also had Simpsons Patrol service. That started first, actually. My dad had a rent-a-cop service.

So actually, he protected the store. Plus, you know, she was protected anyway. Everybody in the neighborhood knew Mama. They knew, okay. Oh, yeah, man, she was protected. They weren't, you know, mama's a... They weren't going to be. to burn the jams.

No, they weren't going to burn, no. None of this. No. But, you know, and Mama's always been cool, man. Like, you go over there. My mother has, I always say it has the best security force there is, the Wino's. They don't miss no days. Don't mess with that, the Miss Simpson's house.

Oh, yeah. You know, and they were always so cool with mom, you know, if you need a cigarette, whatever, man. You know, mom's got them, man. Just whatever. They call Mississippi. Mississippi. But, you know, when she'd come to open up, man, they'd be standing in front of her store. They stand there, make sure she's in, okay.

Once she's in, they go across the street because they know it's bad for business, you know. But let somebody come in there looking threatening that they own. Enforce, baby, I'm telling you. What side of Detroit was it on? East of the west side. Whoa, east side. Yeah, not far east. Okay.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's east side. One eyebrow up. Not two eyebrows. Right. Yeah. You started thinking about your pilgrimage again. Yeah, I was like, oh.

You stay in with Steve. Yeah. We're going to have to skip this one. I want to ask you, do you still keep in touch with any of the old crew like Sherry Carter, Madeline, I think Paul Porter, like all those. Everybody you just named. Is it a Facebook group somewhere that y'all have? No.

I'm friends with Madeline. Yeah. We are friends with. Madeline on Twitter. She'd be going there. Oh, really? Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, yeah, no, we still talk.

Yeah. Yeah, man. Did there ever talk on it? I was going to, just on that sprint of what you just said, is there ever talk of, like, a full out reunion on BET with y'all, everybody? No. No, okay. That's mine.

That was a very quick no there, don't think so. No. Are you? No. No. You know, for me, you know, when it was done, it was done. And that's the way I am. When I'm, you know.

When did it end? When the video so officially in? That's a great question. No, it was before. Oh, no. Planet Groove was in. It was like 1997, I think. I know, because they brought me back to do a special Millennium show,

the top videos of the century. Okay. And so I came back for that. Yeah, but for the last two years that I did the show, I'm telling you, man, it was on New York Avenue. And every night, I would drive up New York Avenue. And all I could think was that, God, 40 minutes more,

and you could be at the bay having dinner with Pam. That's all I thought about every night. And that told me that it was time. Yeah, that it was time. I didn't want to do it anymore. And it just changed for me, I think, because I started, they started before we used to do it in the afternoon at 1 o'clock. And sometimes for a number of years we did at 3, but always live.

And then we started recording it at 7 o'clock at night. And, you know, with me doing my morning radio show, it's just too much. I just, it didn't feel the same to me. I didn't, I just, I don't know. And it was 14 years, you know. And so, no, I, you know, it was done. It was the people always go, man, God, don't you miss it. You know, I don't.

I mean, well, I missed the people. The show was fun. But I always think about those last two years. man, where it was just like, no, it was time. Everything has its time. You know, that's the way I feel, man. And we had our run. And it was cool. It was great. It served his purpose

for that moment, and we're done with it. But you did, Ms. Tee, because you came back with Donnie at the dark a little bit. Yeah. Yeah, I decided I wanted to. That was Pam's fault. Really? She wanted you out of the house. Pam just sitting there by the old. She did. She so used to it. All the G.C. knows, Ms. Pam.

Quest, let me tell you how she put it, though. She says, Donnie, everywhere we go, all you hear is how much they love you and want you to do something else. You know, God has given you a talent that you should be sharing with people. That's the way she put it. What I heard was, get out.

It's been five and a half years. I want you out of the house. Take all those records right here. Because I didn't do anything for five and a half years, man. What was that like? Was that going from just going, going, going, to having

years to chill? Oh, it was that. man, it was great. I tell everybody I started, I started a shuttle service. Yeah, I was shuttle grandbabies back and forth. And I was good at it. And in the summer, I became a pool boy. For my grandkids, man.

So I loved it, man. But I'm happy to be back in the game. You know, it's, you know, I love music in particular. And I felt like it was. five and a half years of me not knowing what was going on. You know, and I don't, and I'd never experienced that before. I'd never been out of loop

since the time I was 12. You know, always knew what was happening, you know. So, you know, so it's been cool, man. And then the love of people give you two, man. You know, it's just, you know, it was almost like me and Ray Leonard had this

conversation because we were talking, he took off for five years before he came back and fought Hagler. And he was talking about how it was so much more intense when you came back because, you know, people, you know, they're used to you and then you're gone for this. And you figured that's it. There's no more. And then all of a sudden you come back. And it's a different level of appreciation, you know. And, you know, people just, people treat me swell. But, Donnie, when did you realize that you probably could never do radio anywhere else but the DMV? Like, the DMV might not let you. Was there a moment where you realized that you can't or that you just wouldn't? Dog, you got me, you're painting them straight up gangster.

No. No, for real. Now you can't leave in him. Right. Like, you on Ben's Chili Bowl wall now. Like, you can't leave. Yeah, no. Whoa.

You are not like you and Mary and Barry. Like, y'all are like D.C. Staple. No, I never felt like that. Like they wouldn't let you leave. I mean, you know, I mean, because I was always. So you love D.C.? Across the country anyway.

You love it? Oh, I absolutely love D.C. Without doubt. Because I'm certain that at one point you could write your own ticket and, oh, let me see what's up in Chicago or go to L.A. But for what? I mean, you know, I mean. All right. You love D.C.

Yeah. And I love Detroit. I mean, Detroit, that's, you know. Okay. That's home, baby. But, you know, I mean, I'm already, I've been in Chicago. and BET Video Soul put me in

every city in this country I don't need radio to do that Okay Because I've never felt a need to To leave to go do You know That's another reason why I've never felt Pressure to do syndication

You know I was going to ask You know BET Put me in More homes than syndication Could ever put me in From radio

You know That could never be matched with radio What BET did for me. So it's not that big a deal to me. And when I've had those conversations, and I go, well, I play some of everything, you know. So what happens on this station

in Detroit that plays Kim all the time? What happens when I play Drake or Tupac or whatever it is? I'm like, well, you can play them, but you know, and you can talk about them, but we'll cover

the Tupac song with Luther. Oh, no. No. No, you won't. No. Because, you know, for me, it's not, like, I'm not a bit-driven show. You know, I just, I play music. We talk about it. And, you know, that's what I do. So music is such a big part of what I do. I can't, you can't take the music. You can't cover. It's got to be like a listen line. I mean, you know, you got to listen to the same thing in Chicago and San Francisco that they're listening to in D.C. You can't cover my music. You can't cover my music. You. You're

music with something else. Right. You know, that's part of, that's the biggest part of the experience to me. And sometimes it's good to be local, you know. Sometimes it's, I'm telling you, man. This is one of those cases where to be local is, is to be better. And, you know. I'm old school in that way.

I like that. But again, I'm very blessed in that TV gave me that thing that most people in radio are seeking through syndication. I had it in TV already. One question I had for you was in regards to the culture of BET. When you talk about the early years and you were saying that it wasn't pretty, you know what I'm saying? I remember those early years, but I remember it was kind of rough, but it was also really real. And I mean, just from watching your show, and I remember there was this other show.

I think you just come on out of the video, so it was a movie show. And this lady had a segment called Popcorn and Pig Feet. What? Yes. I can't. Yo. But in this, this particular episode was notable because they dissed graffiti bridge. Like, I mean, straight up smash graffiti bridge.

And I was like, whole, like, I mean, there was that segment. There was another segment where, like, DeWain Martin was going through the record store, like, holding up records, like, on some, like, kiss of the dissing kind of shit. Like, yo, this new Tony, Tony Tony album is crazy. Yo, this is the new Tisha Campbell album. shit is whack. Like, I mean, they were just, it was ruthless, you know what I mean? And so, and even like on your show, I mean, you would give like, I mean, God, man, was it like vertical hole? I think that was the first place. Seems you much too busy. I remember that

interview too. She had, Angie Stone had a cold. Yes. Yes. I remember that. Wow. So, like, you got, like, y'all remember so much. And it was no PC, no cut card. It just seemed to be, I mean, as, as much as you described those early years as they were kind of rough and kind of ugly. To me, that was the charm because I knew I was getting just uncut blackness. When did that change? Or do you remember when it kind of shifted? And they were like, all right, maybe we got to polish it up. Like, we can't just, you know, be dissing people. Can't play a rough side of the mountain commercial. No, you know, no, I don't. I don't know. Can't play the what? The rough side of the mountain commercial every hour.

Damn it. Oh, yeah. The rough side of the mountain. But no, I'm coming up. I don't know when that changed, man. I don't know. You know, I've always felt like you've got to keep it real. Like, there are times when I'll play a song to this day, and I'll go, you know, wow. My boys will kill me, but I'm going to say it anyway. Cool in the gang, celebration. Oh, you're a doppelganger.

I played that. Yeah. I started talking about that song on the air. It's like, God, I can't take that song anymore. I said, I, you know. I mean, I'm happy for cool in the gang that this, every bar mitzvah, wedding, any celebration you got

over the last 35 years, they played that song. I said, but I go including Steve. But when I go down to Jamaica and I hear, it's a celebration. It's like, oh. You can't escape it. There's no escaping it. You know, give me some of the other cooler stuff.

But, you know, I think that people appreciate that. because it's real. And that's just my opinion. You know, that if everything is great, then you can no longer be believable. Because everything's not great. You know, yeah, you should sometimes say,

yeah, you know, that song's not for me, but I play it. It's popular. People like it. You know. Well, Donnie, we thank you for coming on the show, and this has definitely been a master class, man.

Thank you. Thanks for having them. I have one final question. This is about for my mother who like absolutely loves you. She wants to know, I guess what I want to know. Did you ever smoke before you went on the air? No, man.

My mother swore up and that's like, he hot. No, man, definitely not. I always waited till after the show. No. And now you have to ask you a question. Donation is not high. People used to ask me that all the time. And one show, I actually came out.

I addressed that. I said, people always ask me that. But no, I am not high. I said, but when I smile, I squint. My eyes closed. They would try all kind of makeup and stuff trying to get my eyes to look more open. And it's just, that's just who I am. It just, so I explained all that on the air, and I said, so anyway, so no, I do not get high. But let's get our show started. We're going to play this video, and I'm going to go in the back and smoke a joint. We'll be back in a minute. Oh, God. I thank you, Donnie Simpson, for all that you've done for us and, you know, raising us. I don't want to put it like, oh.

No, dude, it's not an exaggeration. He pretty much raised, like any left of center, like black stuff you got put on, like, it came through video sold. Yes, it was. Thank you, brother. Well, amen. Thank you very much. We appreciate you. One more time for Donnie Simpson.

Thank you. On behalf of my year, it's an honor to be here. On behalf of my here, Sugar Steve, Boss Bill, M.Beeville, Fon Tiglo. this is Questlove. You've been listening to Quest Love Supreme. Only on Pandora. We'll see you on the next go round. Thank you. Quest Love Supreme is a production of IHeart Radio. This classic episode was produced by the team at Pandora. For more podcasts from IHeartRadio, visit the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. 2%. That's the number of people who take the stairs when there is also an escalator available. I'm Michael Easter.

I'm on my podcast, 2%. I break down the science of mental toughness, fitness, and building resilience in our strange modern world. Put yourself through some hardships and you will come out on the other side a happier, more fulfilled, healthier person. Listen to 2%.

That's TWO%. On the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at a Podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 is big to me. I'm Sam Jay and I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Daniel Alarcon, and this is my friend.

is much more famous than I am. I wouldn't go that far, but I'm John Green, co-host of the podcast The Away End, with my old friend Daniel. On our podcast, The Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World Cup. Together, we'll find out why,

of all the unimportant things, football, soccer, is the most important. Listen to The Away End with Daniel Auer Kohn and John Green on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.