The Questlove Show - QLS Classic: Kimbra

Episode Date: March 28, 2022

Recording artist Kimbra talks about what it's like being a New Zealander, the rural wildlife of Silver Lake, California and how she makes records. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, 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 Clifers 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 Clivert Show on the I-Heart 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 Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slica Life 12 and TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Course Love Supreme is a production of IHeart Radio. This classic episode was produced by the team at Pandora. Hey, it's Unpaid Bill. Check out this QLS classic from November 2nd, 2016. We sit down with recording artist Kimbra. She talks about being from New Zealand,

the World Wildlife of Silver Lake, California, and how she makes records. This episode originally aired on Pandora. Check it out. Kimbra Johnson, ladies and gentlemen. Now, before we even get started, we got to know how did you get such a black last name as Johnson? Wait, your full name is Kimber.

Kimber Lee. Kimberly Lee Johnson. She's from like Nashville or something. Yeah. Kimberly Johnson. Wow. Yeah. I feel like you come from the wrong side of the tracks.

Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I only realized that when I moved over here. I'm from New Zealand, obviously. Aren't you from Hamilton, New Zealand? How did you know that? Because I have a computer. How do I know anything? I thought you're just trying to bring him back to Hamilton.

I thought I wrote that. That's funny. That's funny. Hamilton's not the most well-known place in New Zealand, but I'm... I can't say I've been there and or no if I could locate it on. Can I ask, do you get... tired of people kind of lumping. I feel like New Zealand is the jersey to New York or the Baltimore to Washington.

Kind of, I mean, I know it's cool. Yeah, yeah, yeah. People over here just tend to think like it's one big giant down under Australia experience. Totally. You know, there's 4 million people in New Zealand. It's tiny, you know, so I understand. And I spent five years in Australia. I moved there when I was 17 before I came to the state.

So I understand. How long have you been in the States? So how long have you been here? Oh, over three years now. I did L.A. for nearly two years, and then I'm about a year into living in New York. Wow. What's been the biggest adjustment for you so far? Oh, man.

I'm so happy here. I love walking and getting on the subway and taking, like, just simple things like that that change your experience of a city so much. You know, I was always in the back of Uber's in L.A. I didn't have a car. So I'm just loving. I live, like, in the East Village is so much history there as well, so many amazing people that have lived in that area. So wait, you didn't drive in L.A. I know, right?

Do you drive in New York City? I don't drive in New York, no. Oh, okay. I have a full driver's license, but I just never got on the car over here. I mean, we drive on the other side of the road, so it would be challenging, you know. Wait, so you don't drive here? I had, no, I don't drive. Wait a minute.

In America. The first time we met, I made you like a 400 song driving playlist. Yeah, yeah, but that was different. That was, that was, that was, that was... Wait, but... Yeah, you made me a sick playlist for the road trip, but I did that with a friend. Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I was going to say, like, did I make you a road to a playlist for no reason whatsoever? I was just going to Brooklyn. For New York. I see. I see. Yeah, so I, well, I guess we would all like to know about your humble beginnings. Sure. One, you're, you're, you have a wise soul for someone that is four months.

months younger than a tribe called Quest's debut album. Every time I see your birth year, I'm like, I was a freshman in college when you were born. But you seem to acquire a lot more knowledge than most people that I know that have a nine in the third year of their birth year as far as music's concerned. Thanks, man. And without the, really the development of the internet being in full swing until 10 years later, like, what were your first formative years like that really has you curious about soul music of all things? Yeah, you know, Stevie Wonder was really big for me. I first started learning guitar when I was about 13, 14.

The guitar was my first instrument. That's what I first started writing on. And learning a lot of those inversions and stuff on guitar was super inspired. you know, for opening my brain harmonically. And I was singing in a little choir at school that were doing a lot of Beach Boys' covers, you know, and Sinatra. And this is like trippy stuff for a kid who's been, you know, I also had all my R&B stuff that I was listening to on the radio,

Destiny's Child and all the Timberland era, you know. But then I was learning about these other styles of music. And I first got into a bass A track. That's how I started all my early recordings, all the first album. So then the kind of producer had started lighting up, you know, and getting excited about listening to records. in the sense of dimension and it's just like the same as you man

you know start in one artist and I mean Prince for example and it takes you on such a journey and you just get super curious I was a sponge when I was a kid What keeps you from being so dismissive because even I mean for whatever

nerd degree I have of music I mean I definitely went through that period where like you know when I was six or seven Marvin Gay comes on I'm just thinking like that's my honest music. Yeah, right, right, right. That's something that I'm impressed by being young. What kept you from being dismissive? That's right, or cynical even, you know, because when you

hit your teens, you start to be like quite niche with what you like, but I always had quite an openness, which I see as a gift, I guess. I was very intrigued by metal music, for example, like bands from New Jersey like the Dillinger's skate plan and Mushugger, you know, for the grooves. Something about just, just from a really open standpoint of what at the time, like, what makes me feel so primally engaged to these rhythms. And then learning that a lot of it comes from Latin, you know, it's like you just become so fascinated with stuff. And it didn't ever come across my mind.

Like, oh, that's cool and that's not cool. And that's what my friends, like, and that's what they don't. It was just all sound, you know. And I don't think we retain that openness sometimes as we get older. We get a bit more, you know, into aesthetics and into taste. And that's great. All of that's really cool. But as a kid, I really, I'm glad I had that openness.

So you started songwriting. I know that you were songwriting by, well, you said your first instrument was one of the 13th. Well, I was writing just in, you know, singing into cassette tapes. When I was like eight or nine, just little silly songs. But they had structure, you know, verses and choruses. I love pop music as a formula for writing. Would that come from your family or like?

They're doctor and nurses. So I don't know, man. It's, it was a really a, who's your, who's that older, who's the older brother figure? There's a person that trickled in. No, I don't know. I think it was just, I really talk about it almost more in a spiritual sense because it's like something needs to come out, you know, when you have a need to express.

And at that time I was asking questions, I was curious, you know? And this became a language. Melody was very intriguing. Lyrics were a way of like, yeah, just expression. And then learning an instrument, of course, everything changes because you can start to really get deeper with the art form. Was there ever a moment where you realized that you could write songs? Like, did you realize, like,

all right, I might can pay a bill off of this? Well, I'll tell you something about New Zealand that's really special is we have this competition, it's a high school band competition called the Rock Quest. And it's not televised or anything. It's not like American Idol or anything like that. It's kids in bands, you know, so kids

literally stay in high school to enter this competition. It's super important for kids of school. And so I entered this competition as a soloist just on guitar. playing songs from my bedroom that I thought were just for me. And I ended up being like the only girl in the finals and coming second in the whole country, which for New Zealand was a big deal, you know?

Yeah, so at that point, it's probably the same for you. You have those moments. You go, okay, this is not only something that makes me really happy in my bedroom, but people seem to be engaged with it. I'm being acknowledged for it, and maybe I can develop it more. And they were fully realized, fully arranged songs. Yeah, they were.

They were, I was about 14 at the time when that happened. and then later got signed at like 17. So from those ages, I was developing songs in the studio, learning how to record on an 8-track. So the songs moved from being less guitar-based and more recording the entire arrangement on vocals. And that was really inspiring to me, you know, fleshing out the drumbeat,

just beatboxing or just little silly ideas. But that became settled down, you know, a song I wrote when I was 16, which was probably the song that broke me first here in America before the Gautier stuff. Wow. Is Val's your debut album? That was the debut, yeah.

So how do you, how does your debut album feel in contrast to what you're working on now as far as, I always feel like you're working all your life on your first record? That's true, that's true. And then artists wound up like separating themselves from their debut record once they grow and that sort of thing. Yeah, I mean, I'm 26 now. That record came out when I was 21. I started making it when I was about 18, you know, and the songs are those ones from your bedroom, you know,

that you've lived with all your life. And like you said now, it's like, it's third album time for me. So, you know, new city, new experiences, everything's changed. The second album, the Golden Echo for me, was kind of, that was a very experimental time for me, you know, moving to L.A. and so much. Yeah, you're always drawing from where you're at. But the first, you're right, there's something like, listening to it now, you kind of look at it like it's a young child you have.

or someone you knew, but it's a strange connection that you have with your debut. Okay. It was coming. You know, I was actually trying to let the whole entire segment go by without even mentioning that. Too late. Yeah. I mean, does it feel like a burden that, you know, do you feel as though that's not a burden, but sort of like an asterisk or in your head where that mainly people,

might only know you for that. Yeah, that's understandable. I mean, yeah. The full spectrum of your... How do that collaboration come to be? It's so organic. It's kind of because I was making vows, and the main producer I worked with on the album

was called Francois Titas, and I knew his work because he produced the first Gautier record, and I was in love with it. You know, I was like, this is super Prague pop. I was so into it, and I was like, I want to work with a guy that made that album. And so he introduced me and Wally, So we just became friends and we didn't talk for a good year after we met.

And then he just called me up one day. He's like, I've got this song, you know. I'm looking for, you know, the other character in the song. And can I come over this afternoon and show you it and see if you'd be down to singing? And just came over. I had a little home bedroom studio and it's just so organic the whole thing. The video is like never any notion that this was going to be what it was. I was going to say, how long did it take you guys to shoot that as far as the editing was good time?

That was the longest, most grueling video shoot I've. ever done in my life. No question. That was, I mean. Was it days or? It was a full, yeah. So we didn't move for, you know, it was like we took toilet breaks, but it was a good 14 hours in that position.

Yeah, yeah, with, you know, sort of strategic breaks and then back in and just being fed nuts while we, because it's six, you know, six or seven photographs and then a second of, you know, sorry, six or seven, six or seven seconds in a photograph. Then six or seven seconds, then a photograph. Then, you know what I mean? You see the process. Yeah. It was a long day. That was amazing. Of course, you had no idea that, you know, that would lead to...

Well, would you? I mean, the song is not like what you would hear on the radio, and it's kind of... Yet it is. Right. Yeah, well, you know more than me, man. I... I did not see that coming. That's amazing. That's... But I'm here. It's cool. I'm glad you didn't see that coming. So why did you leave? I mean, what was the... Yeah. What was the community vibe like in Australia?

Yes, I'm one of those people that will love Australia and New Zealand. Have you been to New Zealand? Yeah. You don't have to stand for that. You've been a bunch of times? You're trying to start a tour for it right now, Bill? I get it, but the thing that you need to understand is there are. What's the difference?

There's a big difference. Tell me the difference. Well, first stop, we do have very different accents. Mine is all over the place these days. but if you go to New Zealand and then Australia, you'll hear very significant. Should we do the obvious one? Australians say fish and chips. New Zealand does say fish and chips.

There's a lot more blunt. It's a lot more. The eyes very different. That's New Zealand 101. New Zealand versus Australia 101. I don't know that. That's awesome. That's the word?

That's a tough. Wow. Yeah. Okay. So that's a good one. It's a good starting place if you give a go back. Again, it's like. Fish and chips, mate.

Jersey, New Yorkers and New Jersey is always battle with their turf and DC and Maryland battle with their turf. Yeah, right. Is there a South North Carolina turf war going on? South Carolina, North Carolina, kind of sort of. I mean, North Carolina, well, first off, like, when people speak of the Carolinas, in North Carolina, we really just count ourselves. Like, South Carolina is like its own separate thing.

Yeah. You know what I mean? And so in North Carolina, our leading export, other than basketball, is racism. And so, you know what I mean? So, you know, we pride ourselves on that. On the finest top shelf racism. I mean, only the finest.

I mean, it has been aged in oak barrels for for sycuries. Like whiskey. Oh, man, come on. So, so yeah, it is kind of like that. North Carolina and South Carolina don't really rock like that. In North Carolina, Charlotte is like the capital. Well, no, I'm sorry.

Charlotte is the biggest city. That's where all the banks are. So Charlotte is like Kind of they think they're Progressive They're well they think they are but they're really not Cosmopolitan Yeah kind of cosmopolitan yeah

Because it's like they kind of want to be Atlanta So they're like in Atlanta On the cusp You know I mean like they're trying to get there But it's like you know It's like Atlanta is the Bentley And Charlotte is like the 300 Christi

It's like it looked like a Bentley Until a real Bentley Pull up Right Is this is this a same with, I mean, would, who would have the upper hand

between New Zealand and Australia? Oh. Culturally as you. The upper hand in terms of, now this is, what are we talking? I don't want you to throw any of your places under the bus, but I'm just saying. Oh, look, they, you know,

like the landscape of the two countries are chalk and cheese, really. Yeah, I really have to go there and experience it because they've both got so much to offer and they've both been a huge part of my journey. You know, I lived in Melbourne for five years. made vials there. And New Zealand's my home.

That's where I grew up. That's where I go home every Christmas to see my family. So they're both important places. And America's a really important place now for me. New York's a home for me now. You know, it's amazing here. Was it hard for you to leave there?

Did you have to come to America just so that your music career could? I think it's like, I like the idea of continuing to move forward and having your experiences and form your art, you know? And I'd made a record there. I felt like I'd taken a lot of experience from the place and I'd just signed to Warner Brothers

in LA and it felt like, yeah, let's do it, you know, a new experience, a new record. And then same thing with this one's, third album, and I've gotten up and planted in a new city again. Something about that feels natural to me. I see. So in L.A., you mentioned, I know that you've crossed paths with what I call the animaniacs of soul.

Yeah. Like whenever I think of the cat or when I think of Lewis, Just like the way that they run that Tasmanian devil, like swirl of wind running in that Warner Brothers Tower. Yeah, that's true. That's how I think of that movement. I mean, you were you talking about it? No, no, I was just thinking of, you know. Thundercat worked a lot on the last album.

Yeah, he became, yeah, it's, again, man, all of these connections have been so organic. It's even how I kind of met you. It was just a mutual, like, you know. Well, I kind of stalked you on Twitter. I mean, I'll be stalking you. I just wouldn't put it on public, you know. Wow, wow. Was you in the DM?

Look, was you in the DM? I wasn't in the DM. I wasn't in the DM. I kept it out. Can we play that? Can you cue up your guy? He's down in the DM. Get it out.

No, I kept it out in the open. I saw her, this is, I first saw her on Leno. Yeah, that's it. And usually the music act is the very last segment before the show changes. And we were, this is obviously in the early part of, late night with Jimmy Fallon because I was still running home to watch the show afterwards.

I mean, after like a year, then that wore off. Then I stopped. But I'm just saying that when she was on, like, I was amazed. And, you know, then I stalked her in Twitter. I'm glad you did, man. And now she's here. Hey, sometimes the stalker wins. That is the lesson of today.

I don't know what? I'll never let laws keep you for the woman you love. Never stop that. You use expressed by font. Sometimes the stalker wait. Bill, write that tab. I'm going to write that down. You know, I just had a spit take.

Someone give me it. We get to see. I got to save my computer. You just spit on your computer? I did. I spit on my computer. Good job, good job. No, I don't love you, Kimbra.

No, I mean, I have mine. Oh, wow. Should have been a direct message. Should have been a direct. Should have taken that shit direct because now it's real real. Now it's in the world. No, in all seriousness. So organic relationships.

Yeah, just friends. You know, people that you meet out or at a gem or, you know, same way we did. And all of a sudden, I was living at a farm in L.A. It was very weird. Yeah, I'd like eight sheep, man. Eight sheep in the backyard. Oh, in Los Angeles, California? Holy sheep.

this lady. I found it on Craigslist and she had a little urban city farm at the back of her house in Silver Lake. Three sheep dogs 20 chickens. Wow. So Thundercat, Stephen would come over and we would just hang out with the animals and then he'd be like, play me what you're working on and he'd be

like, oh, I've got an idea. You know, press recording. That's just how it started. We're just lying like outside with the animals listening to tunes that I was working on. That sounds horrible. Isn't that crazy? I live. I live. What? What?

It's a rooster? A rooster woke me up? I lived in Silver Lake for you. There was a farm in Silver Lake? No one believes me. I don't. I moved out of Silver Lake because the skunk used to chase me home. Oh, wow.

Wow. No, like if you weren't home at a certain hour, you know, wild animals just come out. Well, check this out. Coyotes. Do you say coyotes? Coyotes. Coyotes came and ate six of the chickens, so we had to get three sheep dogs. Wow.

Oh, wow. They were, like, tough, you know. Oh, the sheep dogs were chased the cabas. They kept everyone safe, yeah. Wow, you really did live on a farm. Yeah, so it just started out hanging out at the farm, and then all of a sudden he was tracking ideas, and then he was like the bass, you know, sound of the last record.

So it's very cool when things happen like that. Very creative individual, that Thunder cat. Oh, yeah, he's one of a kind. I'm sorry, I'm still stuck on farm animals. Can we talk about the skunk chasing you? because there's more, there's way more to be said about. I've got a mental image in my head and running away from the skull.

Yeah. Okay, so, like, I would drive up a hill if you know California streets and, like, some of them are full of hills. And it's really dark there. And, you know, I drive, and then you'd see, you know, their eyes, there's like three or four of them, maybe in front of my door

and I didn't know what to do so I thought okay this is a smart idea let me get back in the car and I'm going to approach them at like 50 miles per hour like I was in a zone of like maybe you should be doing 20 so I figure if I do 50

they'll run away but what I didn't know is that in the face of fear they spray you kind of skunk one not one. Yeah, I knew that now. Right.

And literally, I got my entire, like, my bill for the car rental, they thought I had a lot. They're like, wait, we know you. You don't smoke weed. And I was like, this is skunks. And I explained, and they were like, yeah, you can't scare a skunk because they will spray you. Yeah, my car and me never get sprayed by a skunk, let alone three of them. That's why it's. Did you have to bathe in tomato sauce?

Is that a true? Is that a true? I didn't know about that. They'd like to get the scent. Well, I tried to dismiss it, but then, like, thank God for, like, we called you because everyone just thought, like, I had the good shit. I'm the plug. But you always smell like a bakery.

Did it smell like a bakery? No, I was the opposite of a bakery. I smelled like I had that good good. You smelled like somebody that was on his way to a bag. Yeah, right. Exactly. Like, yeah, there you go. No, that was the worst, like,

That was misdive night. I don't know if people still celebrate that. It was like the night before Halloween. Not to mention I got egged. The next night I got egged in Silver Lake. Oh, wow. It was a bad first week out there. Yeah.

So that's my skunk story in Silver Lake. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm 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 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. 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 Galko, 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, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slica Life 12 and TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Okay, so right about now, you're working on your...

your third album, and what is your vision or your, how do you even grow past the level experiments that you've been? Yeah, yeah. Well, I'm excited to do new things, you know. The last record was like a maximalist album. I got to meet all these amazing people and kind of just invited them all down to the studio, you know, why not? Which was super cool, but I'm really enjoying, like, trying more of a directness with some of the

beats that I'm writing and things that I'm, you know, doing as demos, there are a lot more to the point than I've ever been, which is exciting. It probably comes with like age and maturity. You kind of start to turn more things off and you don't have to do as many flourishes to get emotion across, you know. I've had more experiences. Yeah, I'm inspired by a lot of records at the moment. I've been spending a lot of time in Ethiopia the last couple of years. Yeah. You know, I was going to say your Instagram's kind of off the chain. You just came back from Ethiopia. What was that like? Yeah, yeah.

It's just crazy that place. It's gotten so under my skin. Like I'm hoping to go back every year if I can. It's just that powerful. Not only the music and the food and the culture, but the people have really touched me. And that wasn't really doing gigs or anything. That was just more doing some kind of work,

like more on a spirit tip, like spending time with the woman over there. A lot of them are HIV positive and kind of being a part of a team that does work over there. So that's been really cool. And I'm really into that balance, you know, of taking time completely. off music. Have you ever done that man?

17 projects. But then it's kind of like your food thing. I'm working now as we talk. No, but it's, it is like the, you are amazing at that actually. You know, how you have your finger and all at a different, you know, projects that are varied, you know? Well, is this your version of you need to recharge before you start creating so you have to take yourself out of music to?

Yeah, I think that's one way of looking at it, for sure. And just fill up with different, yeah, ideas, experiences. And being, there's something very. powerful about being completely anonymous in a place and not there to be a musician with all of your that skill set of that what that brings but just to be a human being you know and observe and offer your heart and offer so that's been really powerful and I'm excited to now channel you know the rawness of some of those experiences into you know my next body of work do you have uh well any artist especially an artist on a major label um do you have any thoughts whatsoever about

you know how far to the left you can lean as far as experimentation are concerned and how far to the right you should go to make sure that it's easily adjustable like you have those ongoing wars with your current A&R right now I mean of course I think I asked that question to my other musician friends as well it's like the answer is always the same we're all trying to balance it I'm lucky at Warner Brothers we talked about this when we did the Prince panel like Lenny Wonaker

has been with me from day one there he's got amazing music music he's still there yeah he's my main I've been with him from day one he's signed me to Warner Bros oh my gosh

I did not know that Lenny Warner Bros. Oh yeah even when we did that Prince piano yeah yeah yeah yeah I talk to him all the time Prince yes yeah he signed a whole bunch like yeah he signed a whole bunch

oh yeah he produced James Taylor did he yeah he purchased Randy Newman records he did the Van Dyke Park's first record I mean this guy is incredibly musical mind He'll be showing him songs. Do you have any stories, special stories about him? Just think of how cool this is.

Like, I'll be showing him, you know, you're expecting the A&R to tell you to make the chorus bigger, right? You know, it's a classic thing. But he'll be like, well, I think, you know, I think in the third bar you could make it a little more harmonically complex. I mean, what if you put a sound there, you know? And he will really talk to me in that sense of like, you know, it just needs a different contrast at that point. And this to me is very inspiring, you know, to be able to have those kinds of conversations. Yeah, and I can talk music in that way. way. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's amazing. I'll be lucky. I wouldn't trust that situation.

For a writer credit. But at the same time, I've had my battles, of course, you know. And I continue to, and that's kind of, I think the tension that kind of needs to be there as well. In a sense, it pushes me to explore both sides, and I have a great love of pop music, but I feel very strongly that what I have to offer as an artist is a unique perspective on that, you know? So, yeah, I think if you look it at it the right way, it can be fun. Maybe. Then it's awful sometimes. You know, it is, I mean, it is really hard sometimes, of course, if you're really going for a vision.

And people are there to essentially water that down, you know? So how do you deal with that? Well, you know, a lot of heated conversations, and you have to fight hard. You do. And I think we, you know, we're just talking about Prince, and it's been very, very, inspiring for me to go back into him as an artist and really be so reminded of how he never backed down on things, you know, and fought hard. But also was super smart and always listened.

That's what Lenny always says, man. He's like, Prince would, you know, he would never, he would never not be listening to you. He would always be taking it in, you know, and he would always go away. He'd hang up when he'd be like, I'm not changing the record, you know, I'm not, you know. They thought they didn't have an urban song for Diamonds and Pearls. He's not, you work it out, you know. But then that night, he went back to the studio and he may get off, you know? Right.

And he just came in with it the next day and put it on the desk. That's right. When we first spoke about Prince, you told me your favorite record was diamonds and pearls. Oh, I've said many, though. For you is probably one of my favorites, right up there with it. So you're really big on vocal arrangements and... That's what I'm saying. That's when I got the A track, started making, you know, arrangements.

with the only voice. So how, okay, so you've probably mastered that. I know a lot of people that use that device, the A-R-X machine. And the loop pedals, yeah. Yeah. But you're probably the one person that I know

that will find ways to push it into, okay. I don't want to say like it's the C word. I don't want to say commercial, but to least make it more accessible because I know that a lot of artists, that use that are far on the left as far as experimenting is concerned.

Right. What drew you to that as your weapon of choice? Yeah. Well, I think it all comes from feeling limitation. So I was doing gigs with just guitar when I first started playing in New Zealand, a little boss. My dad would take me, you know, I was like 16,

and so I couldn't get in. And then I felt I needed to express more color, you know and get more across in the performances so when I learned this little boss it was you know the boss loop pedals a classic ones I never really really read the manual but just kind of

all right let me break it down just in case people don't know okay so this device it is it enables you to sing with yourself you can loop yourself overdub yourself okay yeah yeah that's right that's right yeah you can put your instrument down all together and just form a bed

I think it's created for guitars first and then people started to sing in into the device yeah that's right I never used it with guitar though. I only used it with vocals and then eventually found that, you know, my voice has a very different texture when it's layered and, you know, can sound like a different instrument. So I started putting down the guitar and becoming more fascinated with that as a, as an instrument in and of itself, you know? So do you keep every performance fresh as, and do you have a go-to way for using those effects or

Well, here's a funny story for you. When you saw Jay Leno, okay, that was, I still refused to play to a click track of that. that point, okay? So usually when you're doing live television, you probably want to get the loop like synced so it doesn't completely fall out of time on the live television, but I was very stubborn. And we had to do it like three times, you know, because I was so nervous because my finger was shaking so much, you know? Because I would, I do, I change it every time, you know? I start up the intro just kind of with a new loop each time to keep it fresh because I don't want it to get to, yeah, rehearsed, you know, to rehearsed or feeling like, okay, here we go, she does this part, she does that part. I really thrived.

the danger aspect. But of course, live television is different. You know, camera crew. So from that point onward, I decided to start, you know, involving Ableton Live in the set. And we have aspects now that are a little more, yeah, you know, locked in. But there's something to me that's very important with every live show

that there's room for collapse, you know, or at least the chance of collapse. But you do know what I'm talking about because living on the edge of that tension is what's so... Has it ever broken down on you in concert? Of course. I mean, you know, and again, it's a chance for a very human moment, you know. But you can play it off the way. Yeah, you know, we always can back it up if things fall out and you ask the audience, can we do it again?

And it's cool, I think, always have to keep that there somehow. Okay, so I want to know basic things about your life, musically related. What was your first concert? It was a band called Silverchair. Oh, wow. You guys know, that's amazing. Silver chair was big out here. They're not.

Well, check it out. They were like 30 now, right? That's right. That's right. No, they were 14. They were 12. They were a grunge rock band from Australia. But you probably don't know this about Silverchair, though.

After they had their big blow up with the grunge band, they started making some very wild pop music. And Van Dyke Parks himself says that he puts Daniel Johns on the same level as Brian Wilson. As a songwriter, yes, he does. Now check this out. The song we just played, Daniel Johns wrote that with me. We did that together on the piano. He plays the piano on the song on the record.

Daniel Johns from Silverchair. Wow. Really? Who'd have thought? You got to get on the later record. This actually reminds me of when I found out that dude from Spend Doctors worked with Bilal on his demo. Oh, right? Yeah.

That was kind of wild. That's crazy. And Bilal is on the last album, too. Yeah, he is. Yeah, it took Bilal like 10 minutes to really make me comprehend. I was like, wait, who produces? He's dinner, no, no, no, from Spind Doctors. I was like, no, no, no, no, no, no, who produced this?

No, no, no, no, it's been knocked. I was like, God, I'll agree, okay. Who produced it? I refused to believe it. That's amazing. So, okay, this is the second time that we've mentioned Van Dyke Parks. Like, how did your paths even cross? Because, I mean, he's the god.

Oh, he is just, he's my fairy godfather. He is the sweetest, he really is like this ethereal, magical person in my life. So Lenny, I mean, Lenny is very close with Van Dyck, and I had said what a huge fan I was of the Silverchair record called Diorama. And Van Dyke arranged the strings for the whole album. Can you imagine? This band that have become a huge, you know, success as a grunge, you know, garage rock band. And then they make a record that, I swear, these songs modulate, like,

10 times within each, you know, five minutes. And he gets Van Dyke to arrange all the strings on it. You know, he learns piano for the album. I just thought it was incredible. Okay, what's the, now, now this is the educational portion of our radio show. Diorama. Diorama. I'm right to know right now.

Yeah, yeah. So I love Van Dyck. This is exactly why I wanted this show. Yeah. Learn and nerd out. So you're saying that diorama was their, their left turn, their departure album. Yeah, that's right. Yeah, and you know, it didn't do so well in terms of it commercially, you know, but...

I have a theory. Now, as a person that really doesn't know much about silver chair, what was the album that came out before? Oh, that would have been neon ballroom. Was that song Missy or... Yeah, I mean, it was soon after. The big one was... I don't know what the big one was in America.

Frogstomp or... Oh, wow. They were 14. Wow. It was, what, like 90s or something like that? I was in high school. Or maybe 16 or something. I don't know.

So they were massively large and, you know, these cute kids playing adult music. And I have a theory about what they call departure records, which, you know, I mean, you'll see it as like, oh, a spiritual maturity and growing into the thing. And I guess, and it's not coming from a cynical place, but for every deport. part your album that there is there's always the mountain or the shadow or the eclipse of an album or an image

that they can't escape and they will do anything sometimes consciously and other times subconsciously like in the case of the Beastie Boys Paul's boutique making Paul's boutique they wanted to wash away

the braddy frat boy image that Fight for your right was in the case of there's a

ride going on by Sly you know having just conquered Woodstock in 1969

and you know had four top ten hits and finally like the dream was realized

after like three album attempts to make them Sly on the Family Stone such a

household name and then he kind of turns his back on everything thing. I mean, making an innovative funk record while doing it, but still, you know, Prince definitely, I'm reading this

manuscript, this book right now of him actually planning Purple Rain and then also planning his exit strategy. Wow. With around the world a day. Making around the world of the day, even before the Purple Rain Tour and it's just... He sawed. He had a vision. It was the clips. He knew he was going to get trapped into... Wow. So, okay, so

With that said, would you consider phrenology to be the roots, the departure record? You know what? I'm, I will probably say that now maybe I'll take 25% credit of it being self-sabotagey as in not wanting to follow things fall apart. But if I'm really truly honest. Tipping point. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Because that really felt like the departure for me. No, that was us being normal.

That was us trying to be like, ground zero normal, which I know, my point is that I think with phrenology with what was happening with Neil's soul, like I shot a Neil's soul

Coke commercial. Neil's soul, like, half the calories of regular. Like, only one of those commercials came out, but it was like, we did a five-part commercial.

It was like me, a male, Angie Stone, music Soul Child. Like, we were all playing, like, you know, scatigories, like, you know, like we did this lot. Wow, I haven't seen this. It never came out. It never came out.

Only, like, one of them came out. It was like Aries, all the Neosolites. Wow. Neal Soul Game Night with Coke. Yeah, it was like that. Basically, like, real life. Yeah. No, but I mean, it, it, there was a point where

I felt like, maybe okay because of us not knowing that we were going to win the Grammy and then Tarek wanted to shoot a movie

and I wanted to see Voodoo through the tour like we took 2000 off which should have been the cash in year you know and instead we were like okay we'll come back January 2001 and do it all over again

and then it was just like maybe we felt like our territory pissing marks were getting violated. So it's sort of like okay, well, we're going to show y'all, we're going to do everything but Neosol. But then everyone had that idea.

Because, you know, I mean, Stankonia and definitely Speakerbox had that we're going to turn our back on this thing. Like, everybody was going contrary, including DeAngelo. Like, you know, when we started Black Messiah, like, it was going to be way more radical, way more.

Wow. Wow. You know, in his mind, wanted to do like fish bones give a monkey a brain give i can't pronounce that really really long title yeah you know so i guess i don't know i mean but it it still worked for us that's the thing though it still worked so i feel like the tipping point wasn't our departure record but it was just like it was the album that i had the least and i was just like okay what do i'll i'll take instructions Sometimes I look at making albums like an itch you need to scratch, you know? And when you said something about like the eclipse or the vision that's something that's lingering

and the subconscious that you need to kind of grab for after you've had a moment with a record or, I don't know. There's something in the back of your mind that you're like, I need to get it this. I need to unveil this. Something that's there. Whether that be a highly, you know, you don't know whether that's going to resonate. Do you listen to someone and that gets you amped? like last week Common played me like

five songs from his new record Wow and I was feeling some sort of and I'm working on this record so I'm feeling some sort of way like yo I gotta come with it like I really got to come with it

so I'll say the first time in 10 years I felt like you know I mean when Dilla died then I was just like I don't want to do music no more and only like one record a year that sort of thing. So maybe between like 2006 and 2016,

I had this dark law of not really wanting to put my heart into the record process. Like, just put all that passion to one record and one record. Now I'm just like, I got to come with it. So, like, is there an artist that you hear that get your juices flowing? And I don't mean like a, I could do that. I don't mean that way, but I mean like. Oh, man, there are just, there's so many. I will say that, as we were talking about New Zealand before,

there's some very special things that come out of New Zealand, and there's two brothers, and I listen a lot too. Well, you know a non-modal orchestra, I'm sure. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. So that's Ruben Nielsen, who I've known for years, because he had a punk band when I was a kid, and I used to go to his shows and sneak in underage and be front row. They were called the Mint Chicks.

They were so raw. They were great. And the singer of the band, huh? They were punk? Yeah, super post-punk kind of, super screen. but great kind of melodic guitar lines, very angular rhythms. It was fantastic. And the lead singer of that band was Cody Nielsen, which is Ruben's brother.

Now he has his own side projects, his own records. Silicon. You know it? Oh, that album is so good. I can't stop listening to it. And, like, they just keep reinventing themselves, you know? I've seen not everyone knows their stories, but they just keep starting these projects. And to me, that's really inspiring.

And when you say, like, I've got to come with it or kind of keep on that. that new energy. I don't know. It's cool. inspires me. 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 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. 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 podcasts. This week on the Sports Sliced 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 Slicest 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, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slica Life 12 and TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. What was the first record you ever purchased? Wow. You know what? One of the very first albums I ever bought with my own money was Frank by Amy Winehouse.

Oh, wow. And we've talked about this before. And I told you what an important artist she was for me for those reasons. I listened to lots of other albums before then, but there was something very special about picking that up. I didn't know anything about her. I was like, she just looks sick on the front cover. You just did it based on the album cover?

I didn't know anything. You didn't hear anything? I listened to it in the record store, but I picked it up because, you know, I love that. I missed that. Putting the CD on, and I listened in her, and I thought this sounds great. Because she was a guitarist, too,

and she was playing these jazz and versions that I was learning. But she had beats, and that's what I always felt was. you know, I wanted to explore. I want to get tougher with my sound. I don't want to be a safe songwriter, you know, just keep it all pretty. And I wanted it to have, you know, like some balls.

And she was, man, she just took me to school, you know, and all of these singers. And it's so funny, man, how the world connects people. Isn't that crazy? Yeah, it is. So I'm just like, how do you know about beats, though? I mean, like, the average. I'm just saying, I'm trying not to be cultural, elitist,

sexes or any of these things, but normally there is an older figure trickle-down person. I'm the youngest of people in my brood, so this was handed down. What about you guys? Like, were you... I had an older sister who

was really into music. She's the one that got me into hip-hop. She's the one that pretty much put me in triple down. Yeah, triple down. Where did you fall, William? I was into jazz and I had really great teachers in high school, and then I went to Africa and when I was in college, and that sort of... I love how the white people I'm like,

I'm like, I'm like, you're in Africa? Hey, hey, you're a bit of, nah. I'm the only one in this room that's not,

that hasn't been. I mean, I've been to South Africa, but that's, you know, yeah. Oh, that's not real Africa? Apparently not.

Yeah, I mean, from what, from you talk to people from the continent, they say that that's like the most westernized, uh,

country. That's, P.C., it's, it's, you know, you know, you're thinking really hard right now.

So I don't, So I don't go to New Africa yet. I'm just saying. No, but it does bring to mind, actually, when we're talking about being young and what was inspiring. I love musical theater. And I always, this makes me sound like, I was a musical theater kid. But, you know, I was really drawn to the... I think we are one.

Well, there's such a connotation with that. Fronte, your head's down? Oh, no, I'm just listening. I'm just listening. Oh, you weren't in musical theater? Hell no. Why not be hell now? That's what I'm talking about.

That's what I mean. No, it wasn't. Wait, you say hill, like H-E-A-L. No, man. Because of the thing for me, man. I tried. I tried. I can't even show.

Okay. So we have three theater kids in here. Four? I did a couple plays. Four, I knew it. Yo, you know what? I did, matter of fact, I did hair in high school. I did hair.

I did hair. I did like musicals, but I was in the music. I forgot about that. I did hair. I did like school Christmas plays and stuff like that. Yeah, I was about to say everyone in this room need to stop lying. I know y'all was involved with music theater. I was black Santa, actually.

Really? Yeah. Did you have the beard back then? No, I was like 13 at the time. But I was Black Santa in a really white school in Indiana. In Indiana. Oh, all the places is great. I was right.

They was hanging in Indiana. Yeah, like, I'm about that. Wait, did you think about the hazy shaded criminal? I'm coming. Oh, for you. Oh, for you. Oh, wait. We're getting off the gym.

No. Well, yeah. Never. Yeah, so I think some of the melodic interest might have come from a love of that. But when you're talking about beats, I know what you mean. I'm trying to think I love Jurassic 5 when I was in high school. I listened to them a lot. You know, there were certain acts that got me thinking,

why does this make my body move like this? And you see, I started to write vocal lines that were percussive. You know, I wanted to find the bits between to sing in. So maybe that's... I'm now seeing the Jurassic 5 effect. What happened to Jurassic 5? Wait, I'm going to tell you something funny. I love them too.

They were great. So imagine it being like 1999, 98, 99. 99, right? And so, okay, I'm in my agent's office, and we got an offer. And, okay, I don't mean there's no sort of way, just understand the logistics of the situation. She's saying that, okay, you guys are going to open for Jurassic 5 and Black IPs. And we started laughing. We said, yeah, you guys are going to open. I was like, open for, now it was 99. This is before Fergie came to P's, and Jurassic 5 was like the quintessential underground group. Groups that were normally open for the roots. Right, right. Who at this time were in their platinum powers or whatever.

But, no, the thing was is that hip hop so rarely came down under to Australia and to New Zealand that whoever just went over there. You was the man. And did five days. If you did big day out, the big festival over there. Yeah, represent. Then suddenly you became, so there was like an inside joke that like, yo, Jurassic 5 can play stadiums in Australia. They probably, they're like, get the fuck out of here.

They probably did. It's like, no, whoa, wait, whoa, whoa, more, whoa, more. Black IPs have an audience of 10,000 in Australia. You're like, get out. Ben Harper can play stadiums. So all the acts that, I mean, it was the trick that the roots used to play. Like, we would go to places that no one else would go. and then conquered.

So I always wondered, I was going to ask, what was the Jurassic 5 effect on... They were like the Beatles over there, because no one else would go over there. That's right. Well, New Zealand's interesting. We're talking about the differences, but R&B and Seoul is very important in New Zealand.

More important, I'd say, and it's funny, because of course you have Hyattis Coyote and these incredible R&B acts coming out of Australia, but it's more of a rock thing, you know, with a lot of the music when you're growing up. New Zealand, the Māori people are very amazing, rhythmic music, very melodic, very soulful. They play in churches, they have the mud eyes.

So hip-hop's very big in New Zealand. Hip-hop's really big and soul artists. Yeah, I remember these artists were headlining huge venues, you know. They were big. And, you know, when you live so far away, I mean, from New York, it's probably takes me 22 hours to get home or something insane, you know. You're so curious about music from other parts of the world. It becomes a, I don't know, it becomes a little obsession, you know,

I found something on, I was around at the start of blogs and everything, obviously, and your friend starts telling you about this thing, you know, and then you take a little rabbit hole with that, and you're so far from it that it's so exotic and exciting. So have you, coming back to Australia, I mean, after your Grammy success or whatever, like, was it the, like, have you had a homecoming welcome as far as... To New Zealand, right? Yes, to New Zealand.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, you know, it's a big deal, you know, it's a big deal for a country so small when artists get recognized in America. Same for Australia, but especially for New Zealand because, yeah, like I said, there's only 4 million people there, you know. So it is a real trip when we are able to connect and on a sort of global level. Are you able to go home and still, like, be regular? Can you go to a grocery store? In Hamilton? Yeah, it's different.

Yeah, it's definitely different. I lay pretty low. Like I'm all about getting back to nature when I'm there. You know, get to the ocean. I didn't have a farm in New Zealand. I didn't grow up on a farm. I only had a farm in L.A. On the L.A.

I'll still never understand that. Steve. Steve hasn't said shit all night. I know. Just moved. He just said that one thing. Stand by. Okay, wait, wait, whoa, hang on.

What are your plans for the future? Oh, that old question I sound like Barry White So what are you playing? Well, like I said, I'm writing I'm writing more than I've ever written Which is exciting And I'm excited to start sharing some of that

So putting new music out Maybe even before the album And then I start the album Yeah, pretty soon, man I reckon next month I'm going to start Getting into production Writing, more writing, New York I'm doing a lot of improvised collaborations

The stuff you came to, Space Jam and this new improvisation collective called Exotech. Tell us about Exotech. Yeah, man. The name kind of came from an interest in, like, Exotica music and kind of Brazilian rhythms and also technology, you know, using gadgets and crazy loopers and industrial sounds, you know. It's like 14 people in the core ensemble. We perform. How do you keep people from overplaying? This is the fascinating thing about it is when everyone's tuned in and you're kind of aware.

of how many people are on stage. Of course, it's very easy for it to become lasagna, you know? It's just layers and layers. But some very special things that happen when you're conscious of that. So everyone is listening, intently to each other. So everybody just plays

something and then you take the tapes afterwards and then... Yeah, that's right. And then we evolve and develop the ideas. We perform in the rounds. Everyone in the audience is quite intimately involved. There's a bit of conducting, a bit of head nods, a bit of hand signals for things. But essentially, it's just going into the unknown, you know, and it's very liberating.

It's very liberating for someone who spends a lot of time in studio like I do and, you know, being very intentional about my recordings and production, this is a time for me to just get back in that space of pure expression, improvisation. That's great. That's a good thing. Oh, boy. How was your day today? Oh, wow.

No, those are questions. No, I'm talking to you. Careful for looking, like, oh, he ain't talking to. No. You actually bent backwards like it was... Yeah, okay, okay, my day was good. My day was good. Like it was bullets from The Matrix.

No, no, I just... There's a lot of people in this room. Yeah, so with that collective exotech, which is Sophia Bruce, who you just heard. Right. This is our kind of joint little improvisation group. And we're starting a Red Bull in artist residency, where we're developing these songs.

Yeah, for kind of... to be kind of releasable or at least just kind of developing them from the improvised context, which has always been interesting to me because live music is such a particular thing. The process from taking live jams. David Burns very interesting with this, of course, you know, because so many of the Talking Heads records were kind of developed from live. Well, so many records are. Yeah, jams.

Gosh, of course. A lot of people. Yeah, but I've just been watching his documentary that's stop making sense. And that's kind of what we're exploring for this in-artist residency at Red Bull, and I've been spending a lot of time preparing lyrics. for this and kind of getting in a zone of, yeah, taking them from the stage to the studio. See, I don't know if you know this by design

or if you're just doing this organically, but, you know, I always felt, you know, the idea of community, which is something that record labels kind of discourage. They'd rather deal with an artist one-on-one and not deal with groups or multiple families of groups and that sort of thing.

because they're harder to control. Of course. Yeah, I always felt that the best music movements and the most successful music comes from crews and people. If you look at Motown, you know, they were a crew. And yourself, man. Native tongues, yeah, they allowed a tribe. No, of course, of course.

Prince grew his own crops. Yeah, peatong. Yeah, peatown, they did it too. Yeah. Yeah. So is, I mean, is that your, is that your end game to gather a community of people and, and cultivate them and create this music? I encourage it wherever I can, you know. I think I've been very blessed to kind of magnetize the right people wherever I move. And by I mean, the right, like just the open people that are down to jam. And it always ends up being something that's a sound, you know, like something that comes to inform the music. music and I work alone, you know, I'm not a band. It's, it's, um, I make these songs on my bedroom and

then I bring in people when I hit walls, you know, and so even the band that you heard when we played Lino, like they've become very close collaborators of mine now because I kind of hit these moments where I reach the limitations of my own skills, you know, and at that point I really like to play on that as much as possible, be like, who can I draw from, who I can, um, it's like being a painter, you know, and you have this palette all around you all the time. And I'm inspired by the same people. You said that weren't a, to be like, all right, you know, where does this need to go? Who have I got that I know can help me take this even further?

But you also seem very nomadish or gypsy-ish. I mean, just constantly moving. So how do you, like, when will you leave New York once all your resources are dried? Yeah, yeah, seasons, you know. The farm time was kind of, there was a period where I was very isolated there, I didn't leave, I don't leave much, you know, I just stayed inside and did, that's right. That's, that's, that's right. Thank you, Steve.

Shoulda Steve. Sound effect, Steve. Because the kitchen was outside as well, so I cooked, like, outside, but then it was just the bedroom and the bed inside. So it was very, it was strange. No, one of these animals outside. It was weird. But then there would be these seasons where I did, like, Space Jam. I started Space Jam in L.A.

Okay, it was every Sunday night. I put it on Twitter now before. You allowed to call it Space Jam? I called it Space Jam. I thought it was fun. Like McDowell's like, nobody's the same thing. No one from Warner Bros. Like, wait a minute, child.

I didn't tell Warner Brothers. You know, I just wanted to do this for fun. I was doing a tour with Janelle Monnet in Australia and New Zealand and it got canceled because she got very sick. And I came back to America and I was just restless, you know. We were just about to do a tour. And so I thought, well, I'm here. Let's do something. And, you know, oh, ThunderCap did it most weeks.

Miguel came down and jam with me. These are big guys that, you know, don't have to do that, but they would just get up and just go into the unknown with me. It was very powerful. You were doing in New York for a while. Yeah, yeah, that's right. Bring it back? I'm kind of focused on the exotech thing for a bit now,

but I like the idea of bringing Space Jam back in cities and on the road, if we're all feeling up for it, going to a little venue nearby, and in the spirit of the people we mentioned, continuing that conversation. So there's seasons of being very engaged with community and seasons where I really withdraw. Now should you leave New York, do you have any other fantasy destinations that you would?

Would you go to Europe next? See what's up in London? Well, check this out. No, I just got back from London. I was there like a couple of weeks ago. But Japan, I've never been to Japan. Never. Even as a professional artist?

Never. Wait, you have a Grammy. Two. Now, Japan has gotten cold. I've never. I've never. She shot me down like, yeah. Beatrice and Kill Bill, like two, motherfucker.

I've never been to Japan. Oh, man. Now, Japan has been kind of tough lately. I think, like, over the past couple years. Wait, why, why is other Bill laughing at the punchline before? Because it was just like, here comes some old man wisdom about Japan. Here I go. Oh, no, man.

Get the fuck out of my way. No, Japan has been a little. No, it's been real. No, no, I was kidding, because they had the earth. Wasn't enough the earthquake. It was the tsunami. They had, like, a natural disaster. And then, you know, it was that.

And that, like, like, fuck shit up for real over there. Because we were trying to get over there for a minute. Back in, like, oh, you yet to go to? I've been once in 2004. It was not a really good experience. What? No, I didn't like it. What?

No, I didn't like it. There's a story there. What? Oh, man, it's always a story, bro. So, man, so I went to Japan. I never met. In African? American male

the PC title that didn't love Japan I went man We went okay we went over there And we went over there We was over there under some False pretences for one And Little Brother too

This is Little Brother, yeah this is LB This is 2004 So we went over there And I remember the first night We got out there we was just out walking around And we was trying to go to a strip club And so I mean And for real, I'm not really the strip club do like that because strip clubs are about pageantry.

And I think just like a lot of, you know, it's a lot of, yeah, it's a lot of that. And I'm not really into that. I'm not into seeing the tricks and all that stuff. I just. You're from North Carolina. I know, but see, but that's another story because it was a strip club we had called 14K. But I'm sure, you know, it was legendary. But I'm not going to get into that right now because that's not what we need to talk about.

We're raising families. I love you, honey. That was before I became Washington, the blood of Jesus. So now So listen So now So Japan We were trying to go to the joint

And so we walk up to the door And so as we get to the door Little dude comes out No no no no Japanese only Like Wouldn't even let us in We was like

Oh word So like that right there was just kind I was like fuck this fucking place Oh I mean First day I swear to God First day

First day So we left And I think we ended up eating like McDonald's for the rest of the fucking day. And then, versus the time, we were there.

We did get some Kobe beef, though. We went to Kobe, and we had some Kobe beef. And, like, I saw one black guy in, uh, in the train.

We hugged each other. Um, we were just so happy. I've never been so happy to see another black man in my life. You serious? I'm dead ass, man. I ain't making nothing this shit up. But, uh,

and no, we hugged you guys. It was, it was a very, a sancofa moment. The crowds are very different. So they're not really like a big, like,

making a lot of, noise, they just really watch you. Very polite. Very polite. But after the show, I mean, they're really, they love you and they give it up. Yes. But now, I haven't been since 0-4, and I'm really not in a rush back to go. But I hope you go, and I'm sure you'll kill it.

I'm actually kind of ridded out by the idea. Oh, Fonte, man. I got to make this right, man. Yeah, you do. Because, no, Amir, he's, wow. You have some. Like, Tokyo, despite the fact, no, despite the fact, man. Let's go.

Their largest shoe size is. This is size 10. And, you know, their gene size is 34. I mean, I, Tokyo is my third favorite place on Earth. Wow. Wow. What's the first two? If I had to leave the tri-state area to live somewhere else,

number one is Portland, Oregon. What? Number two is Austin, Texas. Okay. Number three is Tokyo. number four is the bay area well hopefully I can afford it I'm about to say

if I can afford it I can't afford it on my salary if you can't afford it and we can't afford it and we're got damn project number five yeah we're like camping out in your

number five is London but uh the fact that you've actually thought about that though that's very that you've plotted it out yeah

I base okay Portland has uh probably some of the, probably the best used record store shopping, the best quality of records for cheap. Like when they see me, they won't charge me $500 for a Galt McDermott record. Like if I walk into a Connecticut spot and suddenly, like, oh, it's $9,000. Yeah, yeah.

Like, they don't know the true value of, like, that stuff I really love. There's more strip clubs per capita in Portland. And I've never been to one. Every time I go, I'm in and out. Nike headquarters. Yeah, been there. Yeah, so, I mean, if you have good record shopping, great strip clubs, and that's it. Don't take much.

And the food capital, I mean, the food truck capital of the United States to me is Portland. Yeah, that's true. I know in more orchestra in Portland now. I mean, he's from New Zealand, but he works out of Portland now. Smart man. Smart man. That's smart man. Well, Kimbra, I really truly appreciate you for taking your time out.

of your busy schedule. Schedule. It's not as busy as yours. Well, no. You know. You are insane, though. No, we're not going to. We're not going to, okay.

Yeah, Amir's... I think we should have started. Go ahead. Go in. Go in. How many projects do you have going on right now? Look, I took a four-day vacation last week. Where did you go?

I just, I did nothing in Los Angeles for four days. Does I have answered my text messages? I did. Yeah, I said, except to answer my text. Yeah, I did. Okay, yeah. I stayed in bed, and it was the worst feeling ever, you know. To not do anything.

I can't do that. The only thing I did was I figured out how to get rid of 10 gigs of music. I didn't need my DJ computer. That was the only work I did. You actually should do that for me, because I cannot do that. You can't figure out which one is the kill? No, you got to. You only need one.

Don't stop to you get enough. You don't need 17. Like, I'm literally going through. I'll have to have, like, all the different edits. Not necessarily like this. No, I'll keep the individual edits. But I had like, you know, I had like four JZ, like hard not life. Okay.

Four billion of them that I didn't need. So, yeah, I mean, cleaning out my hard drives is my favorite pastime. But no, I took a four-day vacation and I hated every. I didn't hate it, but it was just. to be doing things. Do you have to sleep so much that you get tired from sleeping? Yes. Definitely. I got trapped in that cycle. That's a true

thing. And then I was like, oh, this is what depression feels like, so let me get out. When you're on vacation, you're supposed to go out. Because otherwise there, it becomes like social, isolate. Like, that's I can't. I mean, that's why I DJ so much. Like, I don't, I'm not a let's go to the bar. I'm a, I'll DJ in the bar.

And then, you know, that's being. going out. You know that kind of thing. I mean, I now record shop for other people. Like, my new shit is now taking... Wait, well, what am I doing?

I told you record shopping before. No, no, no. I'm saying, I record shop for you. Well, no, no, no, no. Like, my thing now is whenever the parents, whenever the kids are the parents... Oh, okay, I got you. Like, you know, some eight year will be like,

yo, my kid's in the pet sounds. Yeah. Then I'll be like, let's go to Miba and then I'll buy them. That's nice. Like a thousand records. Like I've started at least 30 record collections. Wow.

Because, I mean, I'm not doing it to be all noble. Quist isn't the key. No, I'm just addicted to going to a record shop in shopping. You are, yeah. I'm not going to buy like another Led Zeppelin free record. The Questlove Scholarship Foundation. For all musical years. Well, can we get out of this guys, please?

Yes. Kimber, to answer you a question, I took a four-day vacation. In the future. I'm going to take another seven days off. I'm going to get on a train and hobo. I actually want to do that because you keep talking about taking the train. It's my favorite thing on earth. Or just taking a train, like cross country or whatever?

I literally, I got a, well, the best travel is in Canada. So I'm going to. You should go to New Zealand. Take a train through New Zealand. Initially, I was going to go to India. But I can't. To travel there and then to do the four-day trek and then the comeback, I'd get fired. Yeah, that's like a week and a half.

Yeah, I would need three weeks to really recover. But, yeah, I plan on going from New York to San Fran. Then Vancouver, back to New York. Nice. Vancouver to New York, you can rent your own car, have old-timey, you know. I get to imagine what travel was like in the 40s without being discriminated. Travel like the 40s, minus that whole Jim Crow thing. Why are we trying to me?

My best laughs here is like at the expense of race. Everyone, every time. Is racism that hilarious? It is. It's wrong to keep from crying. We love to keep from crying. Don't talk, Steve. We covered so much.

Yes, we did. Okay. Okay, so with that said, Kimbra, once again, we thank you very much for gracing us with your presence and your music and your artistry and your stories and your journey.

Give it up, ladies and gentlemen, for Kimberly Lee Johnson. Yes, sir. Thank you. Kimberly. It sounds like you're saying Kimberly. Oh, it is Kimbrale. No, Kimbrale.

I know it's Kimbrough. Yeah. It sounded like you were saying Kimberley? Were your parents trying to do Kimberly? No, they weren't. I think they were trying to do Kimberly. Not, not. They went.

Okay. Essence Fest. 2018. BET. The BETEEA awards celebrates Black Music with Kimberly Johnson. It's going to be lit. It's going to be lit. This feels like that moment in Zoolander

before, wait me up before you go, where he's like, I don't think you thought that I thought you thought that I was referenced. Yes, I know it's Kimbra Lee Johnson. That's more, it's more authentic that way. Not Kimberly. But I think your parents are trying to name me Kimberly and just didn't know that.

You know, it could have been one name. All right. We like it as two, though. We like it's good. It's telling us. nice ring to it. Yes. Well, Kimbra Lee Johnson. We thank you very much.

Thank you. Of course Love Supreme is a production of Iheart Radio. This classic episode was produced by the team at Pandora. For more podcasts from Iheart Radio, visit the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

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 Fourth. You might 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 Galko, 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, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slical Life 12 and TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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 Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.