The Questlove Show - Mark Ronson

Episode Date: December 17, 2025

Nine-time Grammy-winning producer and DJ Mark Ronson sits down with Questlove to discuss the many elements of his life and love of music, particularly as they intersect with the era explored in his New York Times best-selling book, Night People. Ronson reflects on a formative period in New York City nightlife, his awkward beginnings as a club DJ, and the experiences that sparked his passion for Hip-Hop and playing music for others. Drawing from the book—originally conceived as a companion piece to an album—he also opens up about balancing family life with a demanding career. Along the way, Ronson and Questlove compare notes on the evolving rules of DJ’ing, making this conversation a perfect groove for music lovers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-heart podcast. Guaranteed human. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits,

my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, the Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. This week on the Sports Slice podcast, it's all about the NFL draft. And we've got a special guest. The director of the NFL's East West Shrine Bowl, Eric Galco, joins the Sports Slice podcast to break down what really matters when evaluating draft prospects. From hidden traits teams look for to the biggest mistakes franchises make to the players flying under the radar.

This is the insight you won't hear anywhere else. If you want to understand the draft like an insider, you don't want to miss this episode. Listen to the Sports Slice podcast on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, for wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slica Life 12 and TikTok podcast network on TikTok. In 2023, Bachelor star Clayton Eckerd

was accused of fathering twins. But the pregnancy appeared to be a hoax. You doctored this particular test twice, Ms. Ellen, correct? I doctored the test ones. It took an army of internet detectives to uncover a disturbing pattern. Two more men who'd been through the same thing. Greg, a lesbian. Michael Mancini.

My mind was blown. I'm Stephanie Young. This is Love Trapped. Laura, Scottsdale Police. As the season continues, Laura Owens finally faces consequences. Listen to Love Trapped podcast on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. When a group of women. discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist.

They take matters into their own hands. I vowed, I will be his last target. He is not going to get away with this. He's going to get what he deserves. We always say that, trust your girlfriends. Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe. On the IHartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. Everyone, I'm Ego Wood. My next guest, it's Will Ferri. My dad gave me the best advice ever. He goes, just give it a shot. But if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat.

Just hang in there. Yeah, it would not be. Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to Thanks Dad on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Questlove show is a production of IHeart Radio. As if Nabbing Producer of the Year for Amy Winehouse's groundbreaking, Back to Black, wasn't enough. Not to mention two record of the year nods for rehab from set Back to Black and his own Uptown Funk.

With Bruno Mars, not to be outdone by the Oscar, he won for Lady Gaga's Shallow, for Starsborn. And you can also add in the executive producer of the phenomenon known as the Barbie soundtrack. Our guests can now add New York Times bestselling author. There you go. This is his love letter to a music era that's also near and dear close to my heart of, the late 90s, early arts, New York Nightlife. This is called Night People. I highly recommend

this essential reading. Our guest today, of course, goes without an introduction for his accolades and his roster. We'll be all day saying it. Miles Cyrus, Duleipa, Adelaide, Parma McCartney, Wale, Ronfest, Lily Allen, Christina Aguilera, ghost face killer, most deaf,

Q-Tip, Yava, Yava, yava, yada, yada, yada, ladies and gentlemen, once again, Mark Ronson. What's up, pal? How are you? Thank you for doing this for me. Thank you. You know what the great thing about the New York Times best seller thing is? What? You only need one week on there.

You can say for the rest of your life. As long as you get that first week. And they're like, they wouldn't put the sticker on there. New York Times best selling it. Put the sticker on my grave. Anyway, no, I mean, you've kind of blazed the path of like that, I guess, pivoting. The music writing that comes from a musician, there's plenty of great music writers that we love.

And we know Nelson, George, Dan Charnis, all this. But I definitely look up to you very much and I think you've written such great books and they just cast a wide net without pandering. And yeah, so anyway, I know you're congratulating me now. I'm throwing it back at you. I mean, I love books like these. And no matter how much I try to encourage our peer group

to take note of things, especially now that I'm in the dock space and it's really hard trying to extract information from a 70-year-old, you know, in a way that's not really. revisionist history or just wrapped in a bowl. Oh yeah, one day we uh, you know, when the studio did this hit single and then went home. And I'm like, that's it? Yeah. You know, so I love seeing how the sausage is made and kind of, it's a very fascinating read. So I thank you for

giving me the pleasure to nerd out on you. I was really inspired by Anthony Bourdain Kitchen Confidential was a book that I never caught when it came up. I read it much later on, maybe around the time that that doc came out about him. And I just thought it was, listen, he's an incredible, like, Hunter Thompson-level writer. But what I really took more inspiration from was that writing about a high-octane sort of occupation profession and all the crazy highs and lows of it. But also, like, I'm actually not really into cooking. I'm not a great cook. I don't know anything about kitchens.

But, like, his second chapter was all about. knives and then I'm like oh now I give a shit about knives like I just was thinking about this like he localizes yeah and I was like you can write about cartridges slip mats and the inner workings of a technique's 1200 like in a book like this because if you're going to write a tribute to DJ and as long as like you'll get so bogged down but I really wanted to make it yeah part of that like when you're a kid and you see two turntables together for the first time and you have that like lifelong infatuation with it and what some of those things are, as well as just what New York was like in the clubs. Do you remember the first time that you saw a DJ perform?

I do. Who was it? I do. And it's amazing that I remember because I was on acid or exasier, maybe both, because there was this all-ages kids rave. Like in pre-Juliani, New York, in like 92, 93, God bless David Dinkins. He was dealing with the housing crisis. He wasn't worried about like 15-year-old kids maybe like at a rave on ecstasy. Right. But I was at this club called the shelter, which before that was area. Shelter. Yeah, the shelter was.

But on Friday nights for about a year and a half, they had this all-ages rave called NASA. And they didn't serve alcohol. So there was a reason that kids could get in and be up all ages, but they certainly turned to blind eye to, you know, whatever else. I mean, when you say all ages, you could be how olding did it. I think that there were definitely, like, we were 15, 16. I, there were definitely kids that looked like 13. Okay, it had like a definite like, Lord of the Flies vibe to it.

Like, but at least before they started bashing each other in the head with the shells and whatever. Would they raise an eyebrow if, say, a 40-year-old? Yeah, that's what was so cool about it. It was like there was, it wasn't like there was this other scene going on that was a little adjacent, which was Disco 2000 and Limelight, which became the party monster, you know, that was much more debauch. And that was like older people going through the rooms trying to apply young kids with rohypno or whatever. But this really was just like schools out for summer. Like this was something about it.

And that's why it was just so incredible. It was the first thing that like I lied, beg, you know, borrowed, like whatever to get into this place because it was like Disneyland for kids. So what Disneyland is for kids. Disneyland for serotonin-phrased kids. I don't think so, but good. Yeah. So, yeah, so they had the big main room, and they had big techno-djays playing, and I would always go into those rooms with my friends,

and then after like five minutes, be like, I know I'm supposed to like this, but I just really don't. And I would drift to this other room down the hall, this small room that was called the chill-out room. And the first time that I was in that room, and we were on ecstasy or mushrooms, you know, depending on the night. And it did have this really fun vibe, like a PG-13 Collegular with Glow Sticks, like just kids making out everywhere.

But I saw DJ Dimitri from D.Light was playing in the corner. And he was playing the song. And I was like, it was like this girl singing about like Jamaica funk with these like beautiful lush chords. And unlike anything I'd ever heard. And I went up to him. I was like, what is this song? And he just like points to a 12 inch. Like he's kind of smiling, bobbing around.

And I see Tom Brown funking for Jamaica. But at that point, like, I knew Jamirkoi and Brand New Heavis. That was the extent of my knowledge of anything like this. So that was really exposing you a lot of music. And then I remember this other kid getting on right after him and where Dimitri had been like kind of smiling, Bobby Bouncy, like, Kippy Energy. This kid looked like, had this furious look of concentration in his eyes and just threw on his first record.

I think it was main source, Faking the Funk. And then he puts on a second copy. And then he starts bringing back the... ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba and I'd listen to Stretch Armstrong and DJs on the radio but I'd never seen somebody in person what he was doing and the room started to fill up he played this incredible set and I was so like he was like slamming records in mixing others doubles it was like this ballet like this fucking brutish movements and and I just remember being like holy shit like that and it was just after the time I'd really fallen in love with like Pete Rock and Tribe and I

That was like, I was like, this is what I want to do. Like, this is, yeah. Got it. So, Dimitri, who subsequently, I guess for our listeners, if line of notes are correct, Demetri, he also played a very instrumental role in the first tribe album. He gets credited. Wow. He gets a major shout out.

That's cool. Envy liner notes. I had no idea. What was his thing? I believe, I think I asked Tip about this once, like, what was the, the light connection because also would tip on grooves in the heart of course but yeah i believe that um demetri was key in a lot of those obscure samples that they might have not known about wow you know because the thing is is that the quick version for our listeners out there of course

is that you know when hip-hop starts especially in the africa bimbaata era DJs will wipe off the label so you had no clue what they were playing. And of course, the proprietor of what we now know is the Cliff Notes or the Wikipedia of breakbeat collections, the ultimate beats and breaks, it's like a 25-volume set record of which they will put seven of those hard-defined records that you couldn't, you know, Shazam or people over the shoulder of whoever's DJing during the initial era. Now all these records are available at your. your helm and you know of course as we're listening to hip hop between 86 and kind of 1990 you will hear a combination yeah of all those things that are on those break beats substitution funky drummer

long red just the breaks of the day yeah right and even in a clever way like you take it personal like gangsters like you know they had definitely people doing these very clever starting to you know manipulate and take these flipping yeah exactly so the thing is that occasionally, I'll say your first foray outside of the confines of ultimate beats and breaks is your parents' collection, depending on how expansive they are. And then once you get addicted, then you start rummaging through your relatives' collections. I had two uncles that were major collectors. So every Sunday dinner there or occasional barbecue, I'd go through their record collection, and see deep stuff that my dad wasn't into.

Yeah. And then the last place is, of course, the library. But the level of digging that, what I say, the Renaissance era gave us, when I say the Renaissance, I'm talking about the Pete Rocks, the Q-tips, the arts professors. Yeah, like kind of the sons of Paul C., if you will, Paul C being the, what I say is the person that read and studied the SB-1200 manual and then taught it to Paul, who then taught it to Paul, who then harder to everyone else. Yeah. Yeah, it's like that era of hip hop is going outside the color lines of what was initially spun back in the Bronx. And so as a result, you know, cats like

Dimitri, Tawate also from delight, being as though their quest for funk was a little bit different, but they would... Yeah, and they were bringing in like Exotica. I think of that, and I'm still obsessed with it, and I tried to do something. initially I only wrote this book because I was making an album where I was going to do some 90s covers and flip some 90s things that I loved and feeling a little nostalgic musically and I was like, I'll write a book to go along with it

and it'll give context to like a friendship with Alia and my relationship to these records and then I wrote the book and forgot to make the album. That's a very flippant silly thing to say, but I got bogged down. I was hoping this was a part of it, like a secret. Yeah, hopefully it will be, but I, you know, I've been flipping all these things and versions that hopefully will come out someday of stuff mentioned in the book.

And even that beginning of dintillin, ding, ding, ding, ding, we are going to dance. Like all that French exotica that, that silly spirit, which was also what, you know, De La Sol we're doing on 3Vite High, like it was obviously very, like, you could listen to Delight and now having you see this like, I can hear right. Oh, yeah, the thread between DJ Dimitri and some of the tribe stuff makes sense. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, no, that's super cool. I wrote a bit about in the book as well, like I wanted to at least cover in the book

all the touchstone things of being in New York at that time, and one of them, of course, is the Roosevelt Record Convention. And I remember this is a little bit later than when we're talking about, maybe 94, 95, but going there and seeing these amazing records on, you know, they would have all these record vendors around this room in this hotel,

the Roosevelt Hotel, and everybody would go there, right? This is where Q-Tip and Large Professor and Diamondy, and they would find their brakes. And the more high-end dealers would set up their crates, and then they'd make a makeshift cargo wall behind them with the top, top records pinned up, and I would see, like, Roy Air's musical project ramp, like up on the wall, like $100, you know,

like you kind of dream and then drooling as a kid looking at these records. But I remember, and I told Q-Tip, I don't think I even told until I was writing the book. I remember seeing him one time at one of those record conventions, and I was holding under my arm the Rotary Connection album that has the memory band, the sample from the beginning of Anita Appleball. Yeah.

And I went up to him thinking like, because I was so starstruck and geeked out of it. Everyone does this. Yeah. I was like, I'm going to go up to him and like say something cool and pretend. And then he'll bring you in the... Yeah, yeah, totally. You and I are the same for...

All right. Go ahead. Finish your story. I went up to him and I was like, oh, just like on the way out. He was wearing some bright Tommy Hilfiger jacket or Hellie Hansen. I remember, I was like, this is the record you guys sample for Benita, right? Like, trying to be cool. And he just looked at him and was like, I don't know.

And just walked off. You thought you were the feds. And he was like, he said to me, I remember when I told him this story, he was like, yeah, it was mercenary out there. Like, we weren't even giving away the stuff that we had already. Dude, sample, yeah. When we were first working with Bob Power at Battery Studio, when we were mixing D want more, Tribe was in Studio C

trying to remix, oh, my God, for the live show. Okay. So I would make these excuses to go to the bathroom. Right. To figure out. Right. And literally, it's Ali, Intip, and a turntable. and a 1200, and Fife is there too.

Two other guys are there who I didn't know, and I know that they were trying to mix what is... It's the second song on Minnie Ripperton's Adventures in Paradise after the Check the Rhyme sample. The second song on that record is a... Do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do... I think a feeling is,

or something that there was an issue... Not an issue with sampling it. Like, even I try to... sampling and I know the problem that they were having with it. It speeds up. You know, you hear the perfect loop. Yeah. But it's not when you take it apart. It's like, right. And it's not like now where you just like manipulate it so it fits four perfect bars. So they actually, I went to see them that show. It was New Year's Eve. It was De La Sol Tribe and Souls of Music. I went to that. I went to that show, 92, New Year's Eve. Yes. I remember watching Souls of Missive do 93 till Infinity

and thinking, is this going to sound weird because it's 94 now or something? Right, right. And now 30 years later, we're still listening to it. But anyway, yeah, I was at that show. That's crazy. Yeah. So I think that was the last night

that Tariq and I were, like, fans. Right. We had a good four-year streak of going to, like, all of our favorite shows and being in the front row. Yeah. Like, there's no feeling like... Just his fans. There was no, like, oh, we're artists, too. We better not, like, play ourselves.

We were fans. Like, the era of, you know, yelling, go, go, go, and jumping, and jumping, and jumping. Like, I was off with it. We were there for a Keras 1 doing that. Many a De La Show, many a Tribe show, whatever, but we were there that night. And the first time I had notes, I was like, ah, man, they should have filtered the mids more so we could hear the baseline better. Right, right. You know, they tried it, and it didn't work.

And I also remember Raphael Sadiq coming out to do electric relaxations and midnight to play bass on it. Yeah. wasn't up at all. Yeah. I was like, I was in the front road, but then it was also like, should I go to the sound? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So the first time I ever had notes was that. A win is a win.

A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clipper 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 Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. There's two golden rules that any man should live by. Rule one, never mess with a country girl.

You play stupid games, you get stupid prizes. And rule two, never mess with her friends either. We always say that trust your girlfriends. I'm Anna Sinfield, and in this new season of The Girlfriends... Oh my God, this is the same man. A group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist. I felt like I got hit by a truck. I thought, how could this happen to me?

The cops didn't seem to care. So they take matters into their own hands. I said, oh, hell no. I vowed. I will be his last target. He's going to get what he deserves. Listen to the Girlfriends. Trust me, babe. on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

I'm Ago Wadam. My next guest, you know from Step Brothers Anchorman, Saturday Night Live, and the Big Money Players Network. It's Will Ferrell. My dad gave me the best advice ever. I went and had lunch with them one day, and I was like, and Dad, I think I want to really give this a shot. I don't know what that means, but I just know the groundlings. I'm working my way up through, and I know. It's a place they come look for up and coming talent.

He said, if it was based solely on talent, I wouldn't worry about you, which is really sweet. Yeah. He goes, but there's so much luck involved. And he's like, just give it a shot. He goes, but if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat. Just hang in there.

Yeah, it would not be. Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to Thanks, Dad, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This week on the Sports Slice podcast, it's all about the NFL draft. And we've got a special guest. The director of the NFL's East West Shrine Bowl, Eric Galco, joins the Sports Slice podcast to break down what really matters when evaluating draft prospects.

From hidden traits, teams look for to the biggest mistake. stakes franchises make to the players flying under the radar. This is the insight you won't hear anywhere else. If you want to understand the draft like an insider, you don't want to miss this episode. Listen to the Sports Slice Podcast on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slica Life 12 and TikTok podcast network on TikTok. In 2023, former bachelor star Clayton Eckerd found himself at the center of a paternity

scandal. The family court hearings that followed, healed glaring inconsistencies in her story. This began a years-long court battle to prove the truth. You doctored this particular test twice in so-ins, correct? I doctored the test ones. It took an army of internet detectives to crack the case. I wanted people to be able to see what their tax dollars were being used for.

Sunlight's the greatest disinfected. They would uncover a disturbing pattern. Two more men who'd been through the same thing. Greg Alespa and Michael Marantini. My mind was blown. I'm Stephanie Young. This is Love Trap. Laura, Scottsdale Police.

As the season continues, Laura Owens finally faces consequences. Ladies and gentlemen, breaking news at Maricopa County as Laura Owens has been indicted on fraud charges. This isn't over until justice is served in Arizona. Listen to Love Trapped podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Have you ever had a DJ gig? We're sort of like, everyone like, wow, look at him go. Like, you're really killing it, Mark Ronson? I think I've definitely, I know I have. They all blur together a little bit after 30 years of this. You know, some of the highlight. There's nights that I remember something very special and transformative happening. Like the night that, like, I decided to drop back in black by ACDC at Cheat on a Monday night.

Like something that had never been done and could have gone either way. I remember DJing in Japan at that hip-hop club Harlem. And I remember I had never, ever got on the mic because, like, at that point and in New York, like, just white DJs, like, did not get on the mic. How's everyone doing? Yeah, yeah. With the owner of a blue superer who's been parked at double park.

Like, that was the only time you got on the mic. And I don't even want to make it like a race thing. There was something just about we knew that we were sort of privileged to be in hip-hop spaces. Well, there's a voice, I don't think it's black and white, because I, to this day, as much as I want to... You don't get on... Like, I don't have the voice that's like, what's our motherfuckers?

Right, right. So I just do sound bites. You could, and you definitely have a lot of much better voice for it than a lot of people who are presently doing it, but you observe that it's not something that you should be doing. Yeah, I'm just busy concentrating thinking of the records and records from now. Yeah, but I remember one night there was something I was playing in, in Tokyo and it was right as 2003, right as my record,

Ui with Ghostface and Nate Dogg had come out. And it was a big record. And there's something, you know what it's like. When you go into the booth or you step on stage, Japanese crowds are so grateful, enthusiastic. There was this thing, but I could just tell I was ripping it doing all this stuff. And I could just tell the crowd was like in this weird,

nervous, like, purgatory between having a good time. And I just was, I just looked down at the mic by the booth and I was like, I know what it is. I know until I say something to this crowd, I haven't given them permission to let loose. Like, I am, this is not New York where I go every week, I'm going to see them. They need me to say something.

And I remember getting on that mic, and then the place just, like, fucking exploded, you know? Listen, I've had some of my favorite ever performance experiences DJing. Like, that's why I keep coming back to it. That's why after 33 years and my beat up ears and back and all that stuff. Because on any given night, you can just go into a room. Like I went into Gabriella's a couple months ago in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, I hadn't played. I hadn't played in a while. I hadn't played vinyl.

And just like to play it again, to remember like, oh, not like in some way like, oh, thank God I still got it. But yes, in a little way, thank God I still got it playing for kids, half my age or kids who weren't even around when KRA's step into a world first came out, who weren't even alive. So I can't remember like the one gig where it was like the Pee We Tour de France experience you talk about, But there's just moments and snatches of these things that just kind of beat everything. That's why I keep doing it. Okay.

So then the other side of that coin is, can you tell me the story of the worst gig of established Mark Rodson's life? Yeah. I mean, devastating. When you do a bad gig, do you feel devastated? Yeah. Oh, it's terrible. And I go home and I'm like, I'm going to quit now. I'm going to save face.

like why am I still doing this? I think there's a lot of it, you know, sometimes it's what happened to me, and I talk about this about in the book, you know, in the 90s and the early 2000s before I was quote, unquote, Mark Ronson, I was just a gigging DJ. 85, 90 percent of my gigs were club gigs where I'm playing to a crowd, a crowd that I know, a crowd that I love that has great taste, and maybe 10 percent were corporate gigs or these kind of things. And then the shift starts to happen and you spend your time in the studio. You're not DJing out as much. you're not in the mix.

And suddenly it starts to creep towards like, oh, now it's like 75% weird corporate gigs and one-offs and 25% actual gigs where you're playing for the love and whatever. And sometimes those corporate ones, you'll end up at playing something for like, I don't know, some luxury brand in Singapore.

You're just staring out into the sea of like mild disinterest. But somehow there's this thing because I come from, the clubs and that mindset where you're like at no whatever cost I'm gonna claw my way through the thing until I play that one record that then gets you and then for the next few hours we're all laughing and partying but yeah

there's so many of those I've I do know that maybe more often recently like that terrible feeling of like that mixture of like that nightmare you have as a kid when you get up on stage and you're naked I never specifically had that dream as a kid but I know

the feeling like you go to school and you I'm naked at the assembly. See, now I'll say that probably... Okay, I called the Robin Hood theory, which is basically... And you know the deal. Like, corporate gigs. Yeah.

Good money. Yeah. Now, usually those corporate gigs are older people, my age. So I take advantage of whatever was popping when you were 16 to 26. Yeah.

That's memory. So for corporate people, 40 and 45-year-old people? Right. Jesus, to listen to Duran Duran Duran. If that was their thing, well, if you're 60, it's Duran Duran. If you're 40, it might be the Spice Girl. So that's almost become too much of a comfort zone. Okay. And then when I'll do an occasional hole in the wall where it's just like I'm not doing it for the money, I'm just doing it just to sharpen up. That was a rude awakening of like me not knowing. And the methods that I'm using now just to see what I should be spinning. Like I'm doing everything I'm promise I'd never do. I'm on every YouTube page of every DJ set

seeing what they play like, oh, that's it? And who are you watching when you go to those YouTube page? Are you watching like the black coffees? Are you watching like the open format guides or like, I'm just curious? I mean, it's now to the point where like a lot of the established,

like black coffee is now playing Madison Square Garden. Yeah. And he's playing a lot of his stuff. Yeah. And so unless, the one thing I'm not doing, which I probably should, be doing, Lord knows what all the masters I have and everything is my own remixes and putting on my own show, but just like to spin records, to spin records, it's kind of hard. Like I'm at the beginning. I'm the most nervous I've ever been DJing. I'm, like I just did Heidi Klum's Halloween party. I saw you did that and of course because we have such a shared things, our musical taste,

and where we are and like the kind of parties we play. I'm like, I wonder what he played at that? Like, what is that? Is that Halloween, so there's thriller? I swear to God, you know what? There's the one year I didn't get the thriller. Okay. Okay, so based on your wedding,

who's old boy that played your after party, the wedding DJ? Oh, my sisters. Yes. It was Charlie, that kid who was playing like all the 50s and rock and roll. Right. So I realized that it's been a while. I was like, do I know a good? 30 records that have that shuffle jazzy,

do you do-d-d-d-d-d-d-rock around the clock, right. Right, and so I decided, normally when I was DJ, sometimes I have to be my own opening act. Yeah. So for me, naturally, and I think you feel the same, because we come from hip-hop, the magic spot used to be 93 BPMs to like 103 BPM.

Right. That's where you can get all the classic hip-hop stuff out. Neptunes and tribe and everything. So normally I would start off. I'd let like 10 records go slow until the place starts to fill out. And then my first record is really the 10th record or whatever. Yeah. So normally I'm a slow starter and then faster and faster and faster.

In the end of the night you end up in house and disco lane. This is the first time where I decided I'm going to go backwards and start at 171 BPM. So I'm like starting with, you know, you got to. start with least three Teflon records. So for me, like, Hey, I will never die, no matter what. So, like, hey, uh, Don't worry, I'm not taking notes or anything. No, dude. So Heyya is still, it's still working. Okay. Heya is, is a Teflon song. Okay. Okay. Someone took Chaperones

had to go and shop the song in half. So instead of, d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d- Yeah. It's like, D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D. Okay. So, which kind of feels like Dead Prez is bigger than hip-hop almost. Okay. Yeah, like I started that fast and slowed down.

I'll say that half the stuff where I'm really ignorant is, I should be really knowledgeable. I should know 20 awesome reggae-tone songs. Okay. Especially now with the way that bad money is just ruling. Yeah. You know, I'm doing the worst things. I'm going on chat, GBT.

I've gone on Google. I'm calling people. In a way, it's exciting that I have to start all over again. And how was that party actually? Like, did you have a guitar and DJ at the Heidi Kloom? I was relieved. I survived. Okay.

What were the biggest record? The biggest record of the night. It surprised you. See, I cheat it because there are Teflon memory records that will never die. Okay. What are those? I wouldn't necessarily play wannabe by the Spice Girl in a normal setting. So it's almost like...

Don't worry. I'm not taking notes. Dude, totally. Take notes. I need confirmation that I'm right. Like, Lady Marmalade works, want to be by the Spice Girl. The original LaBelle or Lady Marmalade?

Oh, the original L'Bel. The original L'Bel. Many of my Latino brothers and sisters used to tell me that Swavemente was like a joke to them. Okay. Which one was Swavemente? Like Chibrofts? It's almost like the irony records.

The records that you would never play in this lifetime. Okay. Even 20 years ago, like Ice Ice Baby works now, whereas we would never play that back. Do you play Ice Ice Baby sometimes if it's the right crowd? I will play under pressure. Yeah. And Under Pressure now gets the same response that Troy used to get for Pete Rockins. You remember when you...

Yeah. And it plays me like, oh my God, he's playing! Oh, my God. Prococeros he was smooth. And one time I was like, well, wait a minute, I know they think I'm playing Ice Ice Baby. And I play Under Pressure. Yeah, yeah. And then it dies down a little bit because it's like, oh, he's playing the original.

And then I was like, all right, let me just see what happens. Stop, collaborate and listen. And it works. So we are in a very weird upside down where the wackest thing. Yeah. I almost feel now. Would you go Mambo number five? I'm not, I would not go in there.

That's a line you're not willing to cross. Also, but it works. I can see that it. You know offense, Lou Bega. No, I'm in the game. You're no worse than Vanilla, I say, promise. I'm in the game of what works. And the thing is, I'm about balance.

I've never been, like, anti-commercial. The reason why people are like, oh, man, I want to spend that commercial stuff or da-da-da-da-da, is because it's almost like, that's all that spun. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. What was Haie Kloom wearing? Isn't her outfit always like this? She went as Jabba the Hut one year. She was Medusa this year, and she,

she put like hair jail or dippy-do on her body suit I was dressed up as Randy Watson first of all okay to be on the red carpet and everyone's like so you're right yeah yeah I'm like look at me yeah yeah they're like Rick James yeah and I was like oh god I see you never seen coming to America they're like yeah and then I realize I'm the old guy at the club so I was dressed up as Randy Watson from coming to America she was Medusa and she had all the slimy stuff and she gave me a big giant hug so I had like

Yeah, you got slime I've been slime You've been slime In your head What's the theme song That is played In your biopic When you walk into a room

Okay, let me take the biopic out Just in general And all I can hear right now Is do Do do do do do do do do do do do do Which is the curb your enthusiasm Okay Sorry, sorry

I let you finish. What's the song in your head that plays when you walk into the room and people are looking. Why I'm about to DJ or just like when I'm going into like anywhere? Well, now I can't really, I think whatever the answer to that question is, is a good psychological exercise because it's like what you think the world thinks of you or what you like to project or maybe it's just like the music you need to hear. All right. Make it a two more question. What's the actual song in your head versus what's the song that? that you think people hear.

In my head, Earth Wind and Fire is running. Okay. Is the song that I walk to. That's in my inner walkman when I, like, walk into a room. And it's not notable at all. Right. But that's the running by Earth, Wind, and Fire. Maybe it's because I'm doing the movie.

But for you, what is it? I think in my head, it's, I'm just going to, the first songs of my mind are just songs that I've made because I guess it's like that is sort of your theme music in a way. In my head, I hear like, probably like ghost-faced innate dog ooey like la la la la la like big break beat like fanfare strings and in reality people probably hear do do do do do do do do so yeah but that's our whole line that we walks you know our sort of credibility versus commerciality it's it's the entire conversation that we're having and the reason that it gives me some solace to hear you talking about DJing because you're synonymous with like impeccable tastes. And the fact is,

I think of myself as like a serious hip-hop DJ in downtown New York who was playing parties for everybody from Q-Tip to to Puff to J-Z to whatever, the same kid who was like, you know what, fuck it, I'm going to play ACDC because no one's playing that and it'll be fun. And maybe there was a tiny bit of like,

not troll mentality, but like, let me just see how close I can get to the fire. And now, because I don't DJ as much, my own credibility is so much in question. Like, do I still have it? I'm still in touch that I'm afraid to play those. Maybe it's just in my head.

See, I thought now that you are Mark Ronson, you're allowed to, oh, I take advantage of the celebrity client. That's what I mean. So now I'm like... I would play happy feet by Kirby Frog and dare you all to side eye me. That's what I mean. And so I'm like, oh, yeah, that's what I used to do when I was a kid. I loved seeing what the line was and all this stuff.

And, you know, it's fair to say both of us, earned our right to play happy frog or whatever. And I love playing those kind of records because some of them I actually do love. I can completely appreciate what Spice Girls want to be will do to a dance for and looking at them and seeing the joy. And I always tell you this story. I remember walking into one of Nadia's Thanksgiving parties that used to always play on Thanksgiving Eve. Still do. It still do.

Nadia. And I remember you playing Rihanna and Calvin Harris. And even that just being like, oh, you can play fun records that people want to hear and not, they're not guilty pleasures. I don't believe in that term because I think if you like something, you like something. But yeah, so it's even comforting. Like, I have to play some 80s party on Saturday night. Like, as we're having this conversation, I'm like, oh, yeah, like, I can lean it. I can play Betty Davis eyes and not be fucking worried about any of this shit.

Wow, you were worried about that? I'd still think about those things. It's so weird. Maybe it's just my own. Oh. No, I'm about tabooing to death. Yeah. I'm about tabooing.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford 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 fans.

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 Clivert 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 Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok.

There's two golden rules that any man should live by. Rule one, never mess with a country girl. You play stupid games, you get stupid prizes. And rule two, never mess with her friends either. We always say that trust your girlfriends. I'm Anna Sinfield. in this new season of The Girlfriends. Oh my God, this is the same man.

A group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist. I felt like I got hit by a truck. I thought, how could this happen to me? The cops didn't seem to care. So they take matters into their own hands. I said, oh, hell no. I vowed. I will be his last target.

He's going to get what he deserves. Listen to the Girlfriends. Trust me, babe. On the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever. you get your podcast. I'm Ego Wadam. My next guest, you know from Step Brothers Anchorman, Saturday Night Live, and the Big Money Players Network.

It's Will Ferrell. Woo. Woo. My dad gave me the best advice ever. I went and had lunch with them one day. And I was like, and dad, I think I want to really give this a shot. I don't know what that means, but I just know the groundlings. I'm working my way up through.

And I know it's a place they come look for up and coming talent. He said, if it was based solely on talent, I wouldn't worry about you, which is really sweet. Yeah. He goes, but there's so much luck involved. And he's like, just give it a shot. He goes, but if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat, just hang in there.

Yeah, it would not be. Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to Thanks, Dad, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This week on the Sports Slice podcast, it's all about the NFL draft, and we've got a special guest. The director of the NFL's East West Shrine Bowl, Eric Galco, joins the Sports Slice podcast to break down what really matters when evaluating draft prospects. From hidden traits teams look for to the biggest mistakes franchises make, to the players flying under the radar. This is the insight you won't hear anywhere else. If you want to understand

the draft like an insider, you don't want to miss this episode. Listen to the Sports Slice Podcast on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slical Life 12 and TikTok podcast network on TikTok. In 2023, former bachelor star Clayton Eckerd found himself at the center of a paternity scandal. The family court hearings that followed revealed glaring inconsistencies in her This began a years-long court battle to prove the truth. You doctored this particular test twice in so-ins, correct? I doctored the test once.

It took an army of internet detectives to crack the case. I wanted people to be able to see what their tax dollars were being used for. Sunlight's the greatest disinfected. They would uncover a disturbing pattern. Two more men who'd been through the same thing. Greg Gillespie and Michael Marantini. My mind was blown. I'm Stephanie Young.

This is Love Trow. Laura, Scottsdale Police. As the season continues, Laura Owens finally faces consequences. Ladies and gentlemen, breaking news at Americopa County as Laura Owens has been indicted on fraud charges. This isn't over until justice is served in Arizona. Listen to Love Trapped podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What is the first things that you do in the 20 minutes of your... day? The first 20 minutes? What's the first 20 minutes of your day like? Well, now that we have an eight

month old and a three-year-old, so like the, it's definitely waking up with one of them. Like, it's probably the youngest one is screaming. So the first thing is like going down to get her out of the crib, quickly giving her the bottle or sometimes my wife will do it, I'll walk the dog, come up, and then the older one is getting up. So I also squeeze an entire lemon into a glass of hot water and I have coffee and that's pretty much like that's the first 20 minutes of the day it's like walking a dog waking a baby and drinking hot water and lemon all right I'm only asking this based on uh tarreek's answer in your household the way it is now when is your alone time zone tarreek now lives life where he will go to bed at 8 30 p.m just to have the alone time for just so that

he wakes up for him he needs to be completely alone to write. So, Tariq will go to bed at 8 p.m. And he'll wake up at 3 a.m. so from 3 a.m. to 5.30 before the kids wake up. That's all of his time. That's how he knocks out projects and everything. What's lucky for me is that I have much more time during the day to do that.

Like once I drop my daughter at school 9, go to the gym, maybe I'm done at noon. And then I'll go to the studio straight. total like whatever bed and bath time is go home do that and then if there's if i need to i'll go back to the studio after but i i am fortunate that i have i can carve that like you guys are constantly obviously because shows fall and everything i can see why his to his day he doesn't have that in the middle of the day but when i was writing this because one of the books that i read when i started to write was the stephen king book on writing and it's just a you know it's just gives you all the rules you need for like the stoic carving out of that time.

You read that book where you wrote this book? I literally went into like McNally Jackson and I was just like, oh, where are the books about writing books? Like I was just like so green and I picked up that. Okay. And then Mary Carr's the art of memoir and a few other things. But it was like he's very much like, lock yourself in a basement, no windows, whatever, five hours a day.

And, you know, realistically I could find three or four hours a day. but I had to have that. So, like, the number of times that I've been at 30 Rock and been walking down the hallways and seeing you, like, just, like, on the floor, like, on a laptop, knowing that you're writing your, like, ninth novel and being, like, I don't even know how you are able to do that and cram that in between what I'm only knowing half of your life.

Right. It's one of the craziest schedules. I had to find that, like, yeah, I had to find that carve out that alone time. Yeah, I'd just get it more fit in. now. Yeah. So what was your first creative project in your life? Your first thing? I would go on my stepdad studio a bunch when I was a kid and he had like this eight track tape recorder that I sort of learned how to use when I was like 13, 14 and I would record little demos. I remember he had a sync clavier the crazy programming sampling giant keyboards in that era. Yeah, no, it was insane. I mean,

He was like a successful rock-a-roll. It was foreign or money. Okay. Foreigner money. So him and Trevor Horner, the only people I know that own thing. I remember that I fucking around with it and hearing the calliopee sound from wishing well that does the pooh-poop-poop. Yeah.

And I remember, oh, fuck, that, I don't know if that's where they got the sound, but whatever it was. And then he taught me a little bit how to program and sequence on it. And I was like 12 or 13. And I recreated Terrence Jordan Darby's wishing well by doing like, the drums first and then the bass and listening to it to hear like what the bass is going. Do do, do, do do, do, do, do, do, do. Like, starting to understand what arrangement was. So that wasn't, that's not so much creative because I was almost just making like a crappy

karaoke version of wishing well. But the times that I spent in my stepdad studio making demos and then recording my band's demo, that would be the thing that comes to mind. Okay, so I'm going to apply this also to DJing and beep making. So when you first get your turntables, and this is the thing. Like most people don't know that when you first get your equipment of choice, whatever it is that you do, probably the best thing to do is mirror and sort of shadow whoever inspired you to do in the first place. You know, I got a drum machine by the time like the bomb squad was really hidden with the public enemy productions and all those things.

of course I'm trying to recreate Rebel Without a Pause and Bassheads like as practice. Yeah. But for you, like when you're DJing, what's the amount of hours that you're practicing in spinning?

Yeah. Before you're actually testing in this out of, well, the thing was that and I talk about this a bit in the book, so I didn't know anybody who DJed. There was this one older kid in my school, this cool kid who graduated by the time I got my turntables. And I somehow,

I think I stole the alumni list from my, this, the alumni office, got his number and called him. And he was like this cool kid named Manny Ames. It sadly, I think passed like a couple years ago in COVID. And he used to work up at the Stretch and Bobito show was like an intern and he DJed and I called him up. And I was like, hey, would you come over and give me lessons? And he was like amazingly disinterested. Like, who are you again? I was like, oh, I'm Mark Gronten.

And he was like, did you have that weird? blonde streaking your hair because my mom made me get dyed blonde streak, proxite streak in my hair, like right before my bar mitzvah, because she said like, so you won't look boring like all the other boys. And he remembered that. And I was like, I chose to take it as an identifier and not an insult. So I was like, yeah, that's me. Right.

So he was like, well, what do you know about DJing? And I was like, well, I listened to Stretch Armstrong. And he's like, you know Stretch went to our school, right? I was like, what? I was like, Stretch went to Collegiate. I had listened to Stretch Armstrong. I just discovered it. to it on the radio and he had that cool

deep baritone voice and I was like there's no way that I would have ever put that together with our weird buttoned up school women too and I was like no no way and he was like yes stretch Armstrong is Adrian Bartow's like class of whatever 87 I was like and then I was like stretch Armstrong is

white like it was so stupid I limited the thing of everything on the way this kid finally decided to come over and teach me and he was like just do me a favor before I come over make sure you have two copies of the same And I was like, oh, right, because I just got my turntables for graduation. I had four records, but they were four different records.

I didn't understand that you needed. You need to go to the same records. He came over, showed me the basic thing, how to mark up the records with tape, to know where, you know, how to play doubles. And I started to practice all the time. I spent every waking hour practice. But the thing was, instead of maybe spending my first six months or a year in the bedroom practicing, Peter Gation, who owned all the big important nightclubs in New York at the time, he was literally called the King of Clubs, lived in my building.

And his daughter and I were good friends, and she got me a gig, opening for the opener of the opener, like one night at a club USA on a Thursday. So I was already getting pretty insane gigs really early. So I always kind of regret that I didn't have that extra year of like just only practicing in the bedroom because my skills would be so much higher, but at the same time, I was just like, I wanted to be in the party,

I wanted to be rocking it. So probably what I, I lost a little bit in, like, that bedroom skill thing, I gained in crowd reading because it was just like, I was just straight

from the frying pan into the fire as a 17-year-old kid. And then a year later, I was, you know, opening for stretch in some of these guys downtown. So, yeah. You mentioned Club USA.

So a lot of my, for the first four root records we would always stay you know like midtown any Ian Schrager hotel so we we would like live in the paramount hotel I believe Club USA might have been around the corner it was yeah 47th between eighth and Broadway okay so I never went to club USA but I remember one night coming home I remember this so well we we just we just finished mixing that scat and normally Bob power is a daytime person. He starts at 8 a.m. And we might be done at 6 p.m. because this thing is like, I want a life. I want to leave here at 7

and have a life. But I remember, we had to recall like two songs or whatever, but whatever the case was like, it was like 11 o'clock. And I'm getting back to the Paramount. There used to be an arcade. Like, I don't know New York as I should. I'm doing things like getting a turkey sandwich at the Howard Johnson's on the court. We're going to the arcade. Yeah. Like, I didn't know. And one time I decided to wrench around the corner and

I saw Tupac and all of his Tupacness leaving. That's a famous night. There's pictures of that. So you saw the night that Tupac was at Club USA. Wait, was that the one time he was at Club USA? I mean, I know that there's this one night

that it's like one of the most famous pictures of the club. So I don't know if he was there many times. He certainly wasn't there many times. He might have been there two or three times. Yeah. Well, this was this 94, 93-94. I just remember seeing, I was on the corner of a bodega, and it just felt like, you know, when you see a tornado coming or whatever. Yeah.

And there's a clip of Tupac walking out of court where he's like strutting like this or whatever. Like, Tupac was walking out of what I later found out was Club USA, because I was like, what's going on here? Yeah. They're like, oh, Club USA is down there. Yeah. Tupac had just left the club, and it was just like how you imagine what the life would have been in 94. Yeah. Like a bevy of women.

I think a trech might have been with him or whatever. And I never went in the club USA. I did the tunnel once. Like, I don't know why. Yeah. To me, the tunnel was almost like what I imagined, general population being in prison. If club in a prison were working. What was Club USA like?

Like, was it... Club USA was much more so, like, all of Peter Gation's clubs had this, like, specific, like, they had, like, the limelight was the sort of gothic debauched thing. Palladium was a little bit more high end and had the Keith Herring and Baskat murals. Club USA, because it was in Times Square, like, really lent into the camp and Broadway sleeves. And there was a three-story slide that went down the middle and people would ride down it and come out there naked. and they had these money drops, like, they would drop $10,000 from the, from the ceilings, and there would be, like, people clawing at it, like, you know, dressed like. Say what?

Yeah, like, it had this very camp, decadent, silly. There were photo booths that, like, definitely doubled as, like, you know, blowjob havens. And they had all these crazy, it was like that adult funhouse vibe that was very much, like, doesn't really exist. It was, like, it was very silly. And then also, you know, there would be nights where they'd have Leonardo DiCaprio or Tupac and stuff like that. Jessica Rosenblum had a hip-hop night. So that was probably the night that Tupac was there.

Yeah, it was debauched, but it wasn't dark. And then all those clubs, when Giuliani started his war on club land, and he really went after Peter Gation was like public enemy number one. Really? And he went after him and they closed down Club USAFIR. And it would, you know, because of the way that these clubs were run, It was pretty easy to get them all on technicalities and stuff. Giuliani would do this thing over at Limelight where he'd send his dance police or whatever to make them close the door.

So they weren't allowed to let anyone and they make up some bullshit reason. We've got to look around the place. So the line would grow and grow and grow and grow longer after two hours until there were a thousand people on it. And then they would slap the club with the summons for unruly behavior on the sidewalk. Like they were just doing whatever they could. They finally got him on some tax evasion ship. But this was, that's also in the book, you know, I wanted to like, I had this really brilliant editor named Hannah Wellens who works at the New Yorker. And she kind of put me to task to really put stuff, not just my own experience, but like, oh yeah.

And then these clubs closed and then bottle service came in. She's like, no, put this against the climate of like what Giuliani and what policies in New York and gentrification, how that affected what was going through. So it was interesting. Like I did a deeper dive to put that stuff in the book. Okay, this is a weird question. One, have you ever been in a car crash? Yes. What song was playing when you were in your first car crash?

I actually can't remember the song, but I remember driving back from visiting a girlfriend at the time who was working at Mass Moka, and the Taconic State Parkway that goes upstate is quite famous, I think, for the way it has these windy turns in at night. It's like when it was first built, I think quite a lot of people, there were quite a lot of deaths and accidents and I think this could be like urban myth

that whoever designed the Taconic committed suicide out of like guilt or something, but it's true. There's something about the turns and a thing that will lull you into a sleep if you're tired. So I just remember like drifting, I don't remember, but I remember waking up

and there were tree branches slapping the fucking thing. I'd driven up the divide into like where the trees were and I look back on my dog, my poor dog's being thrown around in the back and I came to just quick enough to like straighten out the car but luckily if I if my arm had like slipped going this way as I was sleeping as opposed to going to the left instead of

going up the divide I would have gone off the fucking ravine so I don't remember and there was in a song playing I don't remember if there was a song playing but that would be crazy actually because have you been in a car crash with a song playing to this day I can't listen to alanus marces ironic without thinking of my first car crash oh whoa She's in a car in that video, which is also ironic. She's literally driving on the block where my forearm is now. Yeah, I just found out she shot it upstairs. Oh, that's crazy.

Weird enough, the same conditions. I think I've told the story before about driving 30 miles per hour to, it took me three hours to get to New York in the icy conditions so I can do handclaps on Valerie. Yeah. Oh, my God, I remember that. I didn't realize that you, like, risked your life to, like, come down. That was crazy.

I was not, the second you said, yes, I was like, no, this will never happen again in his lifetime. There's the greatest handclaps of all time. Like, I still sometimes, like, get psyched out and clap the wrong rhythm on it when it's, when we're playing it live. Because I break down to just to the vocal and the clap stem sometimes when I DJ it. Yeah. Yeah. Like, here in Amy was the first time where, like, a phenomenon to me was happening and I had nothing to do with it. One, I was glad, like, oh, okay, there's something out there that moves me that I didn't have.

have to, you know, slave over. Yeah, exactly. But also, like, I wanted to be a part of that magic. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford 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 IHeard radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. There's two golden rules that any man should live by. Rule one, never mess with a country girl. You play stupid games, you get stupid prizes. And rule two, never mess with her friends either. We always say that trust your girlfriends.

I'm Anna Sinfield, and in this new season of The Girlfriends, Oh my God, this is the same man. A group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist. I felt like I got hit by a truck. I thought, how could this happen to me? The cops didn't seem to care. So they take matters into their own hands. I said, oh, hell no.

I vowed. I will be his last target. He's going to get what he deserves. Listen to the Girlfriends. Trust me, babe. on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, everyone? I'm Ago Vodam. My next guest, you know from Step Brothers Anchorman, Saturday Night Live, and the Big Money Players Network.

It's Will Ferrell. My dad gave me the best advice ever. I went and had lunch with them one day, and I was like, and Dad, I think I want to really give this a shot. I don't know what that means, but I just know the groundlings. I'm working my way up through and I know it's a place that come look for up and coming talent. He said, if it was based solely on talent, I wouldn't worry about you, which is really sweet. Yeah.

He goes, but there's so much luck involved. And he's like, just give it a shot. He goes, but if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, The cat just hang in there. Yeah, it would not be. Right, it wouldn't be that.

There's a lot of luck. Listen to thanks, Dad, on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This week on the Sports Slice podcast, it's all about the NFL draft. And we've got a special guest. The director of the NFL's East West Shrine Bowl, Eric Galco, joins the Sports Slice podcast to break down what really matters when evaluating draft prospects. From hidden traits, teams look for to the best.

biggest mistakes franchises make to the players flying under the radar. This is the insight you won't hear anywhere else. If you want to understand the draft like an insider, you don't want to miss this episode. Listen to the Sports Slice Podcast on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slica Life 12 and TikTok podcast network on TikTok. In 2023, former bachelor star Clayton Eckerd found himself at the center of a paternity scandal. The family court hearings that followed revealed glaring inconsistencies in her story. This began a years-long court battle to prove the truth.

You doctored this particular test twice in so-ins, correct? I doctored the test ones. It took an army of internet detectives to crack the case. I wanted people to be able to see what their tax dollars were being used for. Sunlight's the greatest disinfected. They would uncover a disturbing pattern. Two more men who'd been through the same thing. Greg Alespian and Michael Marantini.

My mind was blown. I'm Stephanie Young. This is Love Trap. Laura, Scottsdale Police. As the season continues, Laura Owens finally faces consequences. Ladies and gentlemen, breaking news at Americopa County as Laura Owens has been indicted on fraud charges. This isn't over until justice is served in Arizona. Listen to Love Trapped podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Can you tell me what are the challenges of coaching old dirty bastard in doing vocals? He was, just to be completely honest, he was pretty like medicated at that time. So he'd come to the studio, it wasn't a lot of erratic behavior. It was also sad to see he was a little bit, you know. Not old dirty bastard, right. But he, and you know who he really loved, he loved Rimefest. Rimefest, there was a little bit. of like crazy recognized crazy in the most sweet artistic way thing and then rimefest was such a fan

of old dirty and ryanfess was writing the rhymes i'd done the beats and ruffus like oh you gotta say this like you know and he really channeled classic o db like a great writer would rime fest when he's coming up with it so we had fun and i remember watching that weird old dirty bastard documentary that came out after he got out of jail where he's singing blue moon in the car and that's what gave me the idea. I was like, you know, obviously for better or for worse, I was like, we should get him to sing Build Me Up Buttercup. I bet he loves that song. Yes. So, so that was something. I wish the track was a little better. Maybe what I should do is just take that a cappella and actually do it properly with band. Right. And just take him singing Bill Me Up Buttercup. Hell yeah. You just solved your own problem right there.

Okay. Okay. What the hell is a Glass Mountain Trust? Yeah. And just give me the genesis of that DeAngelo collaboration. Yeah, that was while I was working on my record collection album, and I've written that song with a friend of mine, Anthony Rusamondo, who played in the Libertines and Dirty Pretty Things. He was like an indie guy, but he had this chord sequence that I really loved. And in that era, before I met Bruno and Jeff Basker and kind of got like a little bit of

realign my thing, like, you can't just jam with your friends all day and necessarily think that, like, hit song they're going to come out of But at that time, I was just bringing all my friends down to work on music. And there was also something beautiful about it, that spirit of jamming. And so we had this working title, you know, back in the era of like you would make an instrumental and you would burn it on a CD and you'd write some silly working title on the CD. And it was just, it was just said Glass Mountain Trust. and at the time I hadn't seen our friend

Dominic Traneer in a while and he had drifted back into my life and I was really grateful and he actually came in while I was working on that record collection and gave me really good just help steer the ship I was a little lost what I was doing

and he said he's like this instrumental's kind of oh like you want me to play it for D and I was like of course but like would he ever do anything and this was at the time in between you know voodoo and black Messiah you know, he's working on his own record, why the fuck makes me think that he's going to work on something for me?

So he played it for Dee, and then, D really, he said, Dee loves the track, he's working on it, and then he was working at that time with that lyricist that he worked with a lot, the girl who wrote a lot of stuff with George. Kendra, Kinsure, Foster, yeah. So, you know, he was like, yeah, you'll get something back pretty soon, and then, you know, a week turns to a month, and a month turns to two months.

I've started to maybe let go of the probability of this happening. And then three months later, he sends this song back with this incredible vocal. Oh, that's like... Three months? That's like five months. I know, I know. And it's so much, it's, the vocal is so amazing that it's sort of the track is sort of now like unworthy of this vocal, which is another reason that might be nice to revisit that

vocal and give it something that it deserves. but he said he left me this voice message that said like you know man I'm sorry it took so long I was really just trying to get to like the heart of like what glass mountain trust meant and I was like oh my god it's like that was just like this silly working title but yet also so touched that like he felt to honor the thing of this like made out working title that that's what it was and and it was just like and it's actually kind of cool like what he found in it is it is it's amazing I'm going to break out, take all the things in it. It's just cool. It's weird to me. So when a person does pass away, and this happened with Prince, this happened with my, like, this happened was everyone. Like, I go back and listen to their work again. And it's a, it's almost like hearing it for the first time. Like, I'm listening to Brown Sugar for the first time in my life. And same with voodoo. And despite me being there, I'm actually outside of myself listening to it. And I didn't realize how.

how great of a lyricist he is. Because this time, I'm listening to it. I'm not distracted. I'm reading the lyrics. Lyrics, yeah. And I didn't realize, like, what a, like, what an awesome lyricist. Yeah, yeah. He was.

And so on the other side of that coin, I was talking to him. And what's weird is that he had a little bit of doubt of his ability. And Celo made him very. nervous. With crazy. Three thousand made him nervous, but Seleau really made him nervous. Like, oh no. Like, I'm not.

Right. Someone else is in the house with us or whatever. And for him, I know the motivation to get through that. It was almost like a person that had to, okay, I got to be in fighting shape in six months for this event. So I got to get to the gym and work out. So I don't know what he did to get to, but I know the beginning of that process. You know, when I was talking to him, it was like, oh, I'm about to do this thing for Ronson.

But we would just always talk. And there was a point where he just thought like, oh, well, people now have a new soul leader and I'm not needed anymore. So a lot of that 14 years was also just, you know, the obstacles we put in our heads, our own heads that are not a factor at all. but for him like when he said he finished it I was like great okay now we can get to your record get that you know get it out

oh god I can't even believe that like that record was like now I feel even more guilty that like him working on that I thought like maybe he was working out of alongside working on Black Messiah but I'm like oh my God my thing was like a like a delay to Black Messiah

you got to get out of your own way right I still think about lyrics that Dominic Traneer, like, and you would probably know this song because you played on it. There was a song that I know that was probably left off of voodoo that still lives in my head, just

Dom singing me, like, what the hook was, that it was something like, I used to get high and I only get a buzz. I wish things could go back to the way it was. Now it's on, it's on Black Massa. Go back, yeah, back to the future. So it is, it is a refrain, right? Okay, but that was.

But he changed the melody a little bit or something from what it was on. He disguised it. And that's the thing. When you now listen to it, like in Voodoo, I had no idea he was singing, this is my testimony on player player. Like at the very end, right before devil pie comes on. Yeah. You're this real scary.

And I just thought that was him making a stupid voice. And then I was listening. He was like, this is my testimony. But like seven-part harmony. Like, who does? Yeah. You'll hear there's a lot of subliminal things that I didn't catch the first time around that now I pay attention to. But yeah, okay, so real quick, and this is sort of rapid fire.

What are your three Teflon will never die songs as a DJ? No matter what, these will work. The Demetri and Paris wants you back, rework. Okay. Valerie, and music sounds better with you by Stardust. Okay. What one song are you a little dismayed that might not make it to the next generation? Like for me, the moment where I did that Troy intro and it didn't work.

Right. Oh, that broke my heart so much. I wanted to cry. Yeah. But for you, what was that song? There have been some songs that I've, like, played recently and been like, oh, like, I think sound of the police still rings off by Caras. but I remember playing step into a world and being like, oh, this doesn't

get the scream didn't get the scream like another one. That could have just been the crowd, but then I, listen, Keras had so many bangers. Like, I'm not worried for him, but yeah, that was one that happened recently.

And finally, will you do an adaptation of this as a series or? Well, it's been option, the book was optioned by Plan B and Warner Brothers have picked it up to be a film. Okay.

So it's exciting. Like, listen, there's part of me that'd be so happy if there wasn't, didn't need to be a protagonist called Mark Ronson. It's this film about the era. It's the DJ film. We all know that there hasn't been the, you know, the definitive DJ story

and we're in an entire culture of DJs now. So it would be wonderful. Last night, a DJ save my right. R.A. Yeah, yeah. So it would be wonderful if it all facilitated that. I plan B. you know my friend Jeremy Kleiner who I grew up with like

they make such incredible films of Warner Brothers you know obviously I've worked on Barbie and stars born with them it could be the thing to make the 90s Saturday Night Fever it would be very exciting and we'll see

how it turns out but um yeah hopefully the music man I know that's all it counts I know Mark thank you very much for doing this for me thank you for having me

and of course always Mark Ronson thank you sir Questlove show is hosted by me Amir Questlove Thompson. Executive producers are Sean G. Brian Calhoun and me. Produced

by Brittany Benjamin and Jake Payne. Produced for IHeart by Noel Brown. Edited by Alex Conroy. IHart video support by Mark Canton. Logos, graphics, and animation by Nick Poloie.

Additional support by Lance Coleman. Special things to Kathy Brom. Special thanks to Sugar Steve Mandel. Please subscribe, rate, review, and share the Questlove show wherever you stream your podcast. Make sure you follow us on socials. That's

at QLS. Check out hundreds and hundreds of QLS episodes including the Questlove Supreme shows in our podcast archives. Questlove show is a production of I-Heart Radio. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeard 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. This week on the Sports Slice podcast,

it's all about the NFL draft, and we've got a special guest. The director of the NFL's East West Shrine Bowl, Eric Galco, joins the Sports Slice podcast to break down what really matters when evaluating draft prospects. From hidden traits, teams look for,

to the biggest mistakes franchises make, to the players flying under the radar. This is the insight you won't hear anywhere else. If you want to understand the draft like an insider, you don't want to miss this episode. Listen to the Sports Slice podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slica Life 12 and TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

In 2023, Bachelor star Clayton Eckerd was accused of fathering twins. But the pregnancy appeared to be a hoax. You doctored this particular test twice, Ms. Ellen's, correct? I doctored the test ones. It took an army of internet detectives to uncover a disturbing pattern. Two more men who'd been through the same thing. Greg Gillespie and Michael Marantini. My mind was blown.

I'm Stephanie Young. This is Love Trapped. Laura, Scottsdale Police. As the season continues, Laura Owens finally faces consequences. Listen to Love Trapped podcast on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. When a group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist, they take matters into their own hands. I vowed. I will be his last target. He is not going to get away with this. He's going to get what he deserves. We always say that trust your girlfriends. Listen to the girlfriends.

Trust me, babe. On the IHartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, everyone? I'm Ego Wood. My next guest, it's Will Ferrell. My dad gave me the best advice ever. He goes, just give it a shot. But if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat.

Just hang in there. Yeah, it would not be. Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to Thanks Dad on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.