The Questlove Show - Questlove Supreme: Amerie

Episode Date: October 9, 2024

Amerie sat down twice with Questlove Supreme for this extended episode. The conversation examines the singer's upbringing and passion for reading and information. The self-proclaimed "military brat" explains how her years in Washington D.C. informed her musical taste and why she created albums with a different sound than many of her R&B contemporaries. Amerie also speaks about her breakthrough songs, label woes, and why she does not believe in charging for features. This episode is for QLS listeners who enjoy our trademark rabbit holes—with twists, turns, and laughs.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 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 IHartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 in luck. Listen to thanks, Dad, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Daniel Alarcon and this is my friend. He's much more famous than I am. I wouldn't go that far. But I'm John Green, co-hosted the podcast The Away End with my old friend Daniel. On our podcast, The Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World Cup. Together, we'll find out why, of all the unimportant things, football, soccer, is the most important. Listen to The Away End with Daniel Auerkone and John Green on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. Questlove Supreme is a production of IHeart Radio. and gentlemen, it's going to be one of those gargantuan, long quest love intros. So you got to go to the bathroom or, you know. So Questlove Supreme. That's good. If you're driving right now or however you receive this podcast, just know you probably want to skip to the eight-minute mark, which will officially start the program.

So, no, for real. Welcome to Questlove Supreme, ladies and gentlemen. I am your host, Questlove. How's it going? It's good. It's going good. The sun is out. So the sun is out.

Okay. And Steve, how's life? Good. The sun is out here. And, uh, we think, yeah, life is good. And Bill. Yeah, man.

I'm in a basement. I don't know where the sun is, but I've never been better. Bill sounds like me right about now. Yes. Okay. Great. Okay. So there's probably one artist. I mean, yes. You guys have all of your requests. the rare times that I delve into the general population of my DMs, you know, there's two types of DMs, the DMs that of people you follow, and then DMs of the other 2,900

people you deal with. But I will say that there's probably one artist to whom the QLS listeners slash fam have probably been salivating over for the last eight, nine years. Like, we could just rounded off that we've been on for a decade, you know, cat years, podcat years. And it's really not like our guest has been hiding in the shadows. I would probably even dare say, I probably have now seen her more in the context of her book club discussions than I've seen how I first got to know her and how we all first got to know her as a musician, singer, which, you know, is kind of a special thing. but this is Quest Love Supreme and there is an itch I've been dying to scratch because that could probably falsely lead you into believing

that our guest today, her musical canon, is easily bypassable. And that is a negative. I know I'm world famous for my hyperbolic intros and whatnot. So, yeah, just ride with me all. Okay, look, Disclosure, of course, we know that Mary is the Queen of Hip-Hop-Sole, hip-hop R&B. There's absolutely no disputing that fact. I feel like our guest is the god of boom-bap soul.

And my definition of boom-bap soul, boom-bap soul is like when you display your talents, your vocal talents, on top of rhythms that are so hard. And I mean hard, like the way that Dres says on the first black sheep album. card that it can easily be interchangeable with a credible rapper's voice. And based on the events of Singledo DiMio, 2004, I mean, you could be listening to this in the future and you need to reference. You know, that time in Cinco de Mayo, 2024, I believe the entire world found out the difference between a credible, let me not play sides. credible MCN and non-credible MCN. And I believe that that is a compliment in the highest order.

You love how a bullet dodged that. I got a little Kim that. Yeah, you, you little Kim. Right, exactly. Little Kim. Oh, that's what we're doing instead of Matrix Dodger with Little Kim in it. Yo, like, I'm going to use that from now on. That said, I feel like our guest has checked many a requirement list in providing us with what I say is our undeniable.

bangers. Like, more bangers than some of my favorite rappers have made bangers. And if I keep it a buck, her music probably changed my opinion of the Tom Tom. There's a time when you knew Questlove had minimum drums. And then one day you saw like, damn, he's playing real drums. He has a full setup there. I will say that our guest was probably the quiet paradigm shift in my relationship to my own craft that I've been doing since I was five. So it takes a mighty influencer to make that shit happen. Anyway, you got yell louder. Yeah, you know, for the people in the bet.

Can I make this intro any longer? Absolutely, ladies and gentlemen. I feel as though our guest has never been given a proper due. I would say that our guest is probably the metaphorical giving tree. And I'm being very careful one of my words right here. She's probably the giving tree whose every creative move has been analyzed, copied, eaten, regurgitated, refurbished, and resold back to us. And if there ever was an artist to whom, and I'm really passionate about this only because, you know, I'm not doing the whole self-deprecating thing of like, you know, that was our story too. I'm not even making this about me.

But there's ever an artist to whom I wanted to peek under the hood of creativity. I will say it's our guest, A. Marie Rogers Nicholson, once we were successfully able to Booker at the Roots Picnic, which passed already. And I'm manifesting that it was, it was great. Yes, full disclosure. Of course, ladies and gentlemen, we're doing this way before the Roots Picnic. But just pretend with me. I hope you do this song. Yes.

I will just say that, you know, we've had very few personal interactions, only because I really wanted this platform to be the first time that we had our real conversations, because I know that I tend to freak a lot of my peers out because I probably come off more like a journalist than a human being to some people. So I figured at least our first true interaction mixing can be on this platform. And then after this, we could be friends. Not to be all done, I'm also obsessed with how she's pivoted into the world of literature, a world that I just stepped into in the last half year in the world of publishing, authoring, not to mention songwriting, producing, acting.

And most importantly, what's commendable is what I believe is her decision to kind of get out of the cesspool of the old record label system that we're having, you know, got willing by the 40s and 50s, of course I'm at my day job, so you have to hear what's happening. Anyway, yeah, did I, did I even make it to eight minutes yet? God damn, 10 minutes.

Ladies and gentlemen, I always wanted to say this, please welcome our guest, finally. A. Marie, I apologize. I think that was the longest intro I've ever done. Can I just tell our listeners, if you want to, you can listen to two A. Marie songs in that time. What's what I did?

Oh, my goodness. Amy, A, Marie, A, Marie. How are you? I'm so humbled by, I'm humbled by everything that you're saying. And I really appreciate that. You know, people always think that, well, I guess, I don't know, every artist is different. But for me, I don't, you never know what people think.

You know, you never know. People tell you like, oh, this affected me in this way or not, but you're living your own skin. And so you just kind of, that all just kind of disappears. And so it's easy to feel kind of like you just create yourself and you're just creating and nobody cares. And so that's just kind of like how everyone is different that I can say that's how I am. And so it's like, oh, I appreciate that.

Thank you. Like, wow, that's. Are you saying you feel seen right now? I feel seen right now. I feel, I feel heard. Like, I'm like, oh, okay. You know, all right, all right. We've had some interactions before in the.

past, you know what I mean? Like, we've, we've had some of that. But you're right, we never, like, had a full-blown, like conversation, like, big ones. We've had little conversations here and there. But I always, before I would release anything, I would always feel kind of like some pressure because I would be like, I wonder what a mirror thinks about this. Or is he going to think about it? No, man, dude, I'm such a fan of yours, like, your demos, your demos for other artists are like part of my daily, my current DJ set. Like your work is- I find demos from other artists, Amir.

How do you, what are the demos from other artists? My name is, my, you know who I am? I'm not even doing this to flex. Like literally in this room are artifacts and I don't know. I think I've built up a cachet of which people, know that I might be interested in certain things, especially on OK player. There's a severe underground sect of us that are into how the sausage is made.

And, you know, like, for instance, still to this day, I mean, I would say loves off the chain was probably created in 2008, 2009, maybe. created in 2008 2009 no when was that created levels up first of all I wondered I was wondering like how did he get that how do you find that I'm like yeah I even have that somewhere I don't even know if I'm trying some box somewhere but no love love that's change that was um I did that when we did one thing during that time I think that was like 2003 yeah we just didn't know we didn't know what we're going to do with it yet but there were there was like a there was a there was a I think I would say one main option. I don't know if I was saying. Oh, yeah, okay. Did we talk about this before? No.

I just took a wild guess. Yeah, yeah. I only guess Janet because Janet's the only person that I don't know has like received the rich Harrison treatment. Yeah, I think I think it was. It was Janet though. That's that's who was always been in my mind. Who's intended for? But we didn't really, we didn't really know.

I was going to maybe use it or not. I wasn't sure if it felt like me. I give credit where credit is due. Shout out to Philly's own Cosmeckev, a guy to whom I would say probably I credit with my creative direction and DJ and stuff I do to this day. And when he really likes a record, he'll just stay on that intro and not care.

But for me, like, to this day, I still spend those records. Like, they'll never, and they still work. They still work. They still work. But we'll get to that. We'll get to that. How are you today? Where are you speaking to us from?

Like, where are you? I'm good. I'm in Atlanta right now. And, um, so you reside in Atlanta? In Atlanta. Yeah, and back and forth between LA and Atlanta a little bit. And, um, yeah, everything's good. I actually, on a deadline, actually, I have a lot of self-imposed deadlines for writing stuff. But then I was just doing some past pages because I have a novel coming out. We didn't announce it yet. You know, we always meant to announce it. And we didn't announce it, but I have a novel coming out next year.

Nice. For grown up, because I did a children's book and everything, but it's like, you know, a grown up novel. And then I'm just now getting into, like I just had a conversation with a producer that I won't name just yet, but we were just like, okay, we got to, let's get it and play because I'm working, I'm just now beginning working on the next album. It's really, this next album, I mean, I always have a lot of ideas and projects. That's one thing I like about not being like in the traditional record label system because it didn't really work for me because so like I would by the time I would finish recording for a project.

It's like for me it was never like now I'm done. It was more like I'm just recording and just making stuff creating playing and then we just have a cutoff point. But by the time we would get to that cutoff point, I would almost start getting into a different vibe. So if I kept going, it would just be a different project that doesn't go with the last one. So even by the time we started doing like visuals and all that stuff for the the album, I was kind of like over it already because I was already like now I'm doing this, this sound and this vibe. And I don't want to do that other sound.

And that would frustrate me a lot. Like I would be frustrated with myself as an artist because I'd be like, why don't you, this is the visual vibe, the visual section. And why don't you just dig into that? but I'd be like, but I'm feeling a different mood now. Now I'm in this sound and this feel and these colors. And they want to drag me back into the thing. I already did it.

Like, I already got it off my chest. I'm done. I'm moving on. But you lived with it. We haven't lived with it yet. Right. No one else lived with it. And plus I was doing stuff that, you know, I know a lot of people like the visuals.

Frankly, Perel and I talked about this once, like, about how we see music and, like, Even like, it's just like colors. Sinesthesia, right? But not to the, not to the degree where it's like a clinical thing. But like it's the point where like if I'm recording myself, the pro tools colors will mess me up. Because the hook should not be orange. It's blue and it should be here. So then I place the tracks all in these places that makes my engineer crazy.

But doing visuals, I didn't like, I don't really like doing visuals to music. I do it, but once the visual happens, the thing that's in my head changes. And I think that's why I was kind of resistant to it as well. It's just why I don't always have a million visuals. If it was up to me, I would have no visual. I would just have, like, here's some colors, here's some texture. And that's it. Are you a fan of the UK collective known as Salt?

Have you heard of them? I'm not familiar with them. No, I'm not familiar with them. S-A-U-L-T. I guarantee they will. change your life. Like Salt basically, okay, so they kind of started off with this daft punk mission where they didn't want to be known. All their album covers are black. They've since then, they've since then, like, adapted to, you know, red and, you know,

but there's really no visuals, but initially they were mystery, but of course, we know that inflow Cleo's soul kid's sister there might be a few other people contributing but yeah that's a group who has used kind of

mystery to the hilt where you're interesting and that's the thing like you for instance I wanted to do that my first album had almost had no pictures when we sent out the first yes

when we sent out when I first came out when they first Honey wasn't having a sampler. Yeah, look, I've been saying this for years, but even from the first album. I've been trying to be like, you know what? And then I liked, like one of the albums I did, I like those visuals. But I like those visuals because we did those visuals on our own. And I was like, okay, I like this because I look like myself.

I look like me. I look like me when I look in the mirror. Like, it just still looks like me. But in the very beginning, you probably have this sampler. I'd be surprised if you didn't because you have everything pretty much. I have everything. It was the first sampler. And it was long, we fall in love.

I think I just died is on it. And like something else that I'm like holding on to a branch or something. I was like, I like that. And I love the way the shoot came out. But I was like, can we just have my name with no pictures? They're like, what? And it's a rope. And I was like, oh, is it a rope?

Okay. It's a rope. Okay. I knew it was something and I was like I just want my name on it I was like this no one knows who I am is the first impression I really just wanted to be the music

and that's it like no preconceived notions no ideas of what it should sound like because when I would meet people at that time and I would tell them like I think it came it would come up I never would just tell people that they always kind of had this idea of what I would sound like and they would always say Alia I love Alia

but they were just talking to me they would just kind of, I think I need to just be introduced to everyone with nothing but just the music and that's it. No visuals. And that's it. And they didn't want to do that. They didn't want to do that. I kept bringing that up in later projects, even though people knew it was me. I was still like, I don't know.

I thought about changing my name. I consider doing an album without letting anyone know who I was at all. And I was like, I think they'll still know that it's me though. I actually created a SoundCloud with a not a real name. I still haven't told anybody what it is. Because I was like, I think I'm going to just do this. And this is a lot of release music like under this. So wait.

And I've been touring with that idea for so years and years. There's a SoundCloud page right now that has your music that we don't know is you? No, no, there's no music on it right now. I think I think I almost put something on there. And I was like, oh, I don't think so. Because then I heard this Beatles story and they were like, they tried to do that, like where they were performing that, people would know it was them. Then I was like, what if I only do songs that are definitely,

probably not what people would think about it being me. It might be easier. People who really know me will be like, those harmonies and those, that production sounds very familiar. Your harmonies and your voice slidings give you away instantly. So you would have to sing super dry.

Saturday, no inflexes, no, like none of your slides and none of that shit. Right. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep. That's me, Cliver Taylor the fourth.

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 hip-hift. 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. What's up, everyone? I'm Ego Wodom. My next guest, you know from Step Brothers Anchorman, Saturday Night Live, and the Big Money Players Network, it's Will Farrell. Woo, woo, woo, 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 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. Mm-hmm. 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 Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. 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 someone's, 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 Ameriopa 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. Amyree, what is your first musical memory in life? My first musical memory. I have a few.

Okay, so they're kind of like mixed up, but they're all in the same time, period. Okay. One of the ones that really sticks out is like my birthday party and my dad was like playing Stevie Wonder. I was digging it, but I was also like, Daddy, one, this is something else. And I think I was like, I don't know, eight, nine. And it was like, you can name it all over. You can name it all over me. He was like dancing.

And all the kids are like, okay. I don't know what we wanted at that time, but it was something for the kids. And so I was like, all right, thanks, daddy. And so I remember that by Stevie Wonder was it was an influence. Okay, a big, big memory was also the Greece soundtrack. I really liked that soundtrack. One, right? Greece one.

Yes. I would swing on the swing set and sing the whole thing. Before that, because I got to go back in time. Let me interrupt you. Bill. What? Wait, because she mentioned that and then Laii mentioned that. You know, we're going to talk about Greece two because that's a terrible film.

Oh, well, Greece, too, was like, I was, I was like, I was, Like Michelle Piper, though. Like, who's that? Who's that boy? Where did he come from? Like, yeah, that was, I was like, I want to be that cool. So wait, last Roots picnic, there's a movie theater in Philadelphia, and my hotel was across the street.

They were having like a midnight showing of Greece 2. And I'm like, wait, Greece 2. And I thought in my mind, like, oh, this is a flop movie. I know Michelle Pfeiffer's in it, but they're fans of this. It's the way of life, man. But I went to this thing and do the entire audience. It was almost like their version of a, or Rocky Horror. Like, where the audience sings with them.

I didn't realize that Greece 2 was that big of a. Just because Michelle Pfeiffer was cool within Olivia. Because she was with, yes, because Michelle Fyter was cool. It's cool, right, or no, cool, right? Cool. That was my shit. The jam is the first one. I did a dance.

I wanted the jacket. And the only was a thing back then too. So, like, you know, you could have it look alike. My girlfriend has told me that she prefers Grease to. And we broke up for like two weeks. I'm meeting these people. And then got back together. I'm meeting Greece two people.

Like, Ryder died, grease tours. And I don't understand. No, no. Oh, you're sorry, I've been to her birthday. Anyway, you're eight at your birthday party. Dad played Stevie one. There was 88, 89. So you probably.

you wanted to hear it. Yeah, maybe Beastie Boys or something like that. Okay, now I'm going back, so I'm going earlier. Okay, so if I say this, maybe it'll trigger something earlier. But I think this may be like my first strong. Because I remember like a version playing in the car and we were singing along. And later I thought about like my mom, you know, my mom's Korean. She speaks English.

But at that time, too, it's just like, she's not paying attention to the radio and the English is happening on there. I was like, they didn't think that was kind of inappropriate for us to be singing that in the back. but this is back in the day, no car seats, no booster seat. You're just back there. And so we were singing that, but the thriller video. I remember when the thriller video came out.

I remember we watched it in the living room. I was scared. He was so handsome. As a kid, there might be effects, but your mind, you don't see the effects. You see the real thing. So to me, it was really, really scary. The zombies were really, really scary. but also I was dancing and I liked it, but I was also scared.

That is every kid that watched. It was nightmares and I wanted the jacket and I wanted to be her. I called her. The thing is as a kid, you just, everything is real and you don't, you know, so to me, even though it was a different song, I see her in the video with him, she's Billie Jean. I'm like, I want to be Billy Jean. I want that outfit. I like, I want to be Billy Jean.

I thought she was Billy Jean. Same way, same girl, Billy Jean is. No, no, no, no. She just thought that Oloray was Billy Jean. Okay. Because everything's real. Right. Everything's real.

So Michael Jackson, that's Michael Jackson. And this is, is he a really a good thing? Is he a really thing? Maybe that's really him. He's like a really a werewolf. Oh, that's Billy Jean. That's his girlfriend. Right.

And she's so, like, beautiful. And they're real. They're not like playing a character on screen. They are real people. that are really together and she's really scared and she's really in this zombie thing and she's really gorgeous. And it's like the epitome of like who you want to be as a girl, right? That's true.

Yeah. Right. But I also wanted to be Michael Jackson too. Because he was doing the cool dancing. Cool. Yeah. And the knife fighting. Like I was, I was into that.

That was beat it. It all blends together. Oh, yeah. Okay. I was thinking bad. But yeah, he bought a couple times. Right. Yes.

So it all blends together. So that's probably my, my earliest. earliest, you know, I have that and my dad playing the Marvin Gay. So I list is to listen to Marvin Gay on my own, like religiously. He had the whole Marvin Gay collection. And I just listened to it. That's why I would say that Michael Jackson, Marvin Gay and Mary Jay Blige are my top three influence. Okay.

And Phil Specter probably. Curious choice. Okay. That was an interesting fourth choice. I did see that coming. The Wall of Sound. Oh, okay. The production.

The production, because the production, but what I hear is the instruments, but the one thing with Rich and I, we would always, like he understood, I was like, I hear those instruments, but the voice is an instrument. And so when we would create songs, it'd be like, we need this part like, I'll sing this vocal part, but it's like a trumpet. So I'm singing it, but not like, it's a trumpet. Okay, I have to interrupt and skip. You're forcing me to skip ahead. Sorry, sorry, I'm sorry. No, no, no, no, because I got to know. I got to know.

Your background trademarks are so unusual because I'd never. Okay, so as an engineer, if I'm dealing with background vocals, I would tend to think that the soprano voice, the highest one, would be sort of the ringleader. And then I'll figure out a way to tuck the tenor alto and bass, like the other harmonies, like under them. them, really not put them on top of the, because, you know, I would think that the cherry on top, like the melody on top is what drives the vehicle. But your tenor is always the loudest. Your tenor is louder than your top voice. Your tenor is louder than your out of voice. Like literally, I was like, wow, that's really curious that when she does like three, four part harmony, that she brings out the one voice. voicing that I, as an engineer, would have tucked under.

And it's loud and up front. Almost, you mentioned Marvin Gay, and I was going to ask, because especially on your first record, you do this kind of, well, Marvin Gay does it. Of course, Marvin Gay pioneered and Slick Rick also did it where, you know, sometimes the narrator, the lead person sings, but often the background vocal has just. as much agency as the singer has. What is your method of song? Because then I'm wondering, like, are you writing this on paper? Like, okay, well, I'll sing this and then the background I'll sing that and da-da-da-da, in parentheses. No, we do it all.

We do it all. It's just like, okay, well, the backgrounds, it would be a lot of work because the backgrounds, and I did one project while I was like, you know what? I'm just trying to not do any of those backgrounds. I'm just like, I just notice people will just only do top line. So I'm going to just do some top line. Wow, this is way faster getting through a song. because the backgrounds are always like really really important and so really it's just a matter of not writing anything down or anything but just like listening and then saying okay something a lot of times the what you what how you would like bed the lower vocals like the lower tone those would be more of the feature those will have more movement so like I like to do like the high one those will be sustained more like and now but then underneath that

Like that. And then it's like, okay, then we have that in between. And it's like, okay, what can go in the middle of that? Maybe a little something. Right. And something like, so then things are like kind of moving. And this is why I say I, for me, the music is like visual, but in a different way. It's like, it's movement like color and kind of like, you know, like,

it's hard for me to articulate it exactly because it is. is something that's very visual, but not in a picture, not in a real human being. I see what you're saying. If you look at the universe and the galaxy, you're like seeing like swirling. I know it sounds like silly, but we're not as silly, but I'm not trying to be woo-woo about it.

It's just that that is literally how I'm creating. And Rich is similar in when we would do our vocals. We like collaborate really well because we think very similarly when it comes to especially those kinds of background notes. Well, then my one question is, how tedious is it if you're doing this live? Like, how hard are you on either if you have background singers, like, how hard on you? I don't. Do not sing.

I don't. I try that. And I was like, no, no, no, no. But play it. No, you can't sing it. There are no background singers. When I didn't know you, there was a moment. Ah, damn.

Okay, it's actually one of my favorite albums of yours is the one that you didn't release to the United States. Because I love it. Because I love it. And the intro, and the intro. And the thing was, okay, the first song, I would say, this is probably how she's going to come out on stage. So this is going to be the intro song that, you know, because it's not a full. song. It's like a two minute thing. So I was like, yeah, she's this. But then when I heard the backgrounds, I say, yo, this is, this is really intricate. And then I said to myself, I wonder how

hard she is on her background vocals. Like, so hard they don't exist. She, no, but then I think I actually put in my head, she must be a hard, difficult person to work for because, like, I, I don't know, I don't know one singer that won't stop the world. No, I'm not kidding. I'm kind of kidding. I'll tell you the story. No, but that's the thing. I actually said, I said, I bet you she's a hard person to work for because, like, I can't

see someone nailing this to perfection to the place where she wants it to be. So I bet you, like, she just either just assist, like, pro tool all my background vocals. We'll trust that. But I was like, there's no way that someone is doing this live and nail. nailing it because you were just, you're tag teaming with yourself in ways, it's like a cat and mouse thing. And I was like, I don't think this can be recreated on stage. So that's it really, no, it cannot be because everyone's voice is different. And I was joking when I said, oh, they're probably no, no, and I don't mean that to say, no, no, I can sing it like me. It's not that.

It's not a person to sound like yourself. It's just that one, it's not going to sound the same because it is someone else singing it. But because, again, the backgrounds are not backgrounds. Backgrounds are like a lead. They are like the co-stars of the songs. And I say that in an objective way and that I'm not saying, well, that's me and that's my voice. No, I mean, just how they're crafted is that they are very important. They're as important as the lead.

They are, in a sense, their own lead, which, and since I'm not in a group, you can't sing that part because you won't sound like me because you're not, you don't have my voice. You have your own gift, your own voice, and it's different. And I did try to have background singers before, and it wasn't that they weren't getting the parts, although they always had to be laid in there anyway, tucked because it would be hard to follow otherwise. But also, it doesn't sound like me to me. And so when I'm singing, because the song is supposed to sound like this, if it's another voice, it was throwing me off and the textures just weren't coming out correctly to me. And I will say, I'm a person. I don't enjoy generally speaking, not all the time. I don't enjoy watching performances when I'm listening to somebody singing their record

and there's other people's voices that are there that wasn't there on the record. Personally, I don't. Wait, so then how do you do a live show in that way, right? So you can pro to it. The vocals are all mine. Pro tool. We had, we got to the point where we would have background singers miming. They were

They were malving But don't you dare They can come out your throat No I love A win is a win A win A win I don't care what you're saying

Yep, that's me Cliver 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. 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 ground. 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 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 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 much. 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 Lesbian and Michael Nanchini. 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. Right now, I feel like K-pop is good. going through their nostalgia 90s R&B period right now. Like, have you been an approach to compose songs for any of those groups or? I know there was some talk about something like that maybe several years ago. I did collaborate with a couple of artists a lot of years ago,

like over a decade ago. And then a couple artists, it was been about that long. In a K-pop world. Yeah, and then I performed with them. and we did things together over there. And then there was talk about possibly doing some kind of like writing, that kind of thing. But I...

You haven't delved into it? It could be cool, but there's so much that I want to do creatively. And you realize your time is limited. That I would just do my own thing and put it out, which to me always made more sense than to go ahead and do what I'm going to create. And then songs that I don't end up using, that kind of thing, seeing, you know, then shopping those like that, but not actually going in and,

although I consider that too, like going in and working with someone or some people like to specifically craft something for them, especially because as an artist, I feel like I can go in and really respect them as an artist and what they want to do and what they don't want to do or sing about, you know, and just knowing from my own experiences. That's why I really work with like different producers, but I have like the ones that I really worked well with. And the thing is that sometimes even to my own like chagrin, I have to write my own records really. The only person who could really write records for me would be rich and we can collaborate. We can write them or like one or two other people. That's it because no one else is

going to actually write a song that's what I want, what I would actually say. Because you know, I've been in sessions where they'd be like, okay, da-da-da-da-da. And I don't want to do this sessions because someone at the label wanted me to go. No offense to the people who were there, but that wasn't, you know, if I'm going to work with someone, that's why I never really want made people pay me. I think maybe probably people paid me a couple of times for, uh, what is it, a feature. But I was always like, I'll do a feature. You don't, you don't have to pay me. Because to me, they might be in a minority. I feel like there's something a little offensive about asking someone to pay me for a feature because I feel like, if I'm an artist and I appreciate you and you're like

appreciating me. Let's just, let's create together. Let's play together. Right. It's, you know, most of the time you pay somebody is going to that label and this and someone wants fees, but I don't know. I just felt a little weird about that. Amory, you don't want publishing. You just want to say. Well, that's different. Publishing. No, you get publishing, but I'm talking about,

will you do this song with me? I'll pay you this money to do the song with you. And then if you're going to be in the video, I'll pay you more money to do the video. And I kind of feel like if you agree to do the song, the inherent in that is the acceptance of doing the video if there is one, right? You don't have to pay me, but something about it feels a little like two transactional versus two artists coming together to create some magic. This is I know we're the same person.

Real quick, because we mentioned, I want to go back to the K-pop question that Amira asked you. Yeah, oh, yeah. Curious, do they understand and accept you also as one of them in that way? And do they see you as an asset because you are a part of them as well? How does that work? When I did collab, you know, back at that time, they were really like appreciative. And my mom was with me too. But it was also interesting to see how the system works.

It works really differently. Like, you know, artists in the state, they go show up to a thing, perform. The people that are in the doing the background stuff, the show that you go show up for to perform, all that. The producers, all that. They producers of the show. they can tend to be more deferential to the artist. It's not saying that you want that, but that's just like,

they're just like, okay, you're here to do the song, we appreciate you, we're going to do some TV blocking, et cetera, but they're very differential. It's kind of the opposite way,

what I was witnessing. Now, for me, it was different. They treated me very well with respect the people on TV show because I'm also an American. I'm coming in, so I'm a guest in more ways than one,

you know, when I visited. But I noticed that for the artists who are, and maybe it's different now. This is back in, you know, I forgot what year, but at least 10 years plus, right? I noticed that the artists were deferential to the TV producers. They were the ones doing the extra bow and the extra, you know.

And so that was interesting. You know, that was curious to me. But it's because it's the way that, and the way I figured it was that their entertainment system, because we created our entertainment system decades and decades and decades and decades we have so much longer there was a change out of the old studio system our old Hollywood studio system where the actors and stuff probably were very differential to the producers back in the Maryland row

pre-Marylandode Lauren McCall days right but it's grown and artists have learned their power and it's become a different ecosystem and so I was like where they are now is where golden age Hollywood was before And as it progresses around the world, the entertainment system progresses, artists will become more knowledgeable of their power and recognize their power. And then those around them who work for them, when the TV shows, the TV producers will understand that around the artist, the artist is the sun.

And everything else is revolving around them. Once the artists realize that, the system will change. So it's just that they're just behind, they're just, it's like the, you know, advance of humanity, right, like any kind of system. That's where they are and they're going to be in a different place. And soon it's going to be totally different. It blows my mind because I don't think really people understand the concept that like, I asked somebody Korean one day, I was like, what was before K-pop?

Like, what is the original Korean music? And it doesn't. You know, that is, it's an interesting thing and it's cool, but it also, there's a certain sadness to it. I was sitting at an award show and it was an Asian theme. It was like one of the gala. And so it's all celebrating everything. everything Asian. And you see the actors and the art, the movies and the films that are being

introduced and a lot of it is very Korean, but also Korean American and Asian American, an Asian American because it grew out of just being a Korean American thing to an Asian American thing. But once the music section came in, and this is something I always knew. I always, I always recognized from, again, decades ago that before it was even called K-pop, I don't know, I don't what it was called when I was growing up. It wasn't called K-pop though, but you would see them emulating the braids and all that. It wasn't called K-pop, but it was just pop, right?

Korean pop music, popular music. You know, we would watch, my dad would comment. Those are black dances. I was like, yeah. And I'm, you know, I'm 11, I'm 12 at the time. And he's like, that's just Korean people doing black music. And I was like, pretty much what, that's what I'm seeing. But see, the artists were very, very,

where they gave credit where credit is due with the music. Okay, so the music that I was seeing, I was like, wow, this is so interesting because I'm watching all this stuff and I'm, you know, Korean as well. But once it comes to the music, this is black music. The only thing that's Korean about it really is there's a certain politeness, there's certain movements, the cute parts and stuff. I was like, you know, but that's also modern, but I was like, this is black music. And I was like, interesting. There's almost like this gap where there's no Korean, because traditional Korean music is more like, if you, my mom would play it sometimes. And so you just have the drums

And I wanted to do that too Actually, I think I'm still going to do that I want to have a whole thing in my mind I won't say what it is But it's a very it's like a very big Do it VMA type thing But I wanted to do something really cool culturally right So the music would be like

Dung doong dun And you just that's not I'm not saying any word but the So that kind of vocalization that's one of the traditional aspects. But that's like what people would call like, you know, old, old, old, old, old, old, old, old people made traditional. But see, Korean people have a lot of soul too.

So you have those side drums, those drums in there on the front. So you just hear the tim, boom, tru, that vocalization again that I was doing. But I sat there at the gala thinking, where is the bridge from that? And what I remember hearing as a kid when my mom will play that sometime to the traditional young, like, where it is, because we can say this is with pop music and R&B and we're getting the roots into blues and going way, way back. But those are bridges. I was like, where is the bridge? There's no bridge. There's no bridge.

I thought I was crazy. Okay. The Coca-Cola. Yep. From that to a complete cultural import. And so I was like, man, I don't know. I was like, I mean, I'm Korean, but I'm also black. So I view it like, okay.

But if I weren't black at all, I'd probably be thinking like, yeah, we need to be having our own. Like, what is our thing? I want to see them that's going from this, like this. I want that too. I mean, honestly, I am black and Korean, but I am black and Korean, but I still feel like I want to see that, frankly. Can we go back in the time machine so we can actually get to. your story? Right.

Oh, shoot. Like, we're just talking. I know we're just talking, but I got to, I know you're a military brat, but where do you consider home? Like, where are you born and raised?

Please say D.C. Because we claim you. I wasn't born and raised. Well, I wasn't born and raised in any one place. So to me, I consider myself like a citizen of the world. Like home is where I am.

I will say this about D.C. D.C. is where I really came into my self as an artist. Like DC, that's where suddenly I knew how to dance. I couldn't really dance really well before. I'm not going to say I'm the most dopest dancer in the world now.

And where did you learn to dance in the club in DC or? In the club. Yes, in the club. So DC was really important because it is where I like really, really grew like exponentially as an artist, like where I came into my own. because of who I met, because of where I was going, because of the vibe, the feel like, D.C. is really, like, when I chose to go to college in D.C., it was because it was close to New York, and I knew it was culturally rich. It was a black city. I had, you know, I grew up as a military brat,

so I didn't really get to just be around a whole lot of black people only. It was always very mixed, which I loved as well. But I was like, I really want to, like, I really want to be in the city where there's a lot of black people, you know what I mean? And then I got to be close to New York because I'm going to try to get a record deal. It was like, go down on the weekend, figure something out, try to get some meetings or whatever people do. I'm coming out of Alaska. I don't know. It's just like, hi, I want to sing. You came from Alaska to D.C.?

Yeah, I went to high school in Alaska, but only for three and a half years. Because before that, I was in high school and middle school in Texas. I was in Anchorage, in Anchorage, Alaska. And then I went to, and I cried when I was fine with moving around my whole life. When we were going there, I was like, wait, there's no people there. It's like a moose. There's a TV show with a moose. But it wasn't like that.

It wasn't like that. But then I went to D.C. And I was like, like for that freshman year, I would go to the club every Wednesday and then the weekend too. But also on Wednesday because they had like this dance hall thing. I think it was D.C. Live. Which club was? D.C. Live. Okay.

And then it was Republic Garden. And then this was before a dream even existed. And they became club love, right? Are you? Are you feeling with D.C.? I'm born and raised. I went to high school right across from Howard. Yoh.

Oh, okay. Okay, so yeah, you know, shut up. That's why I really. Shut up. Let me tell it my truth. See, Amir's is just about to tell you that. When I graduated from college, I moved to Philly and it became my home and I loved that place too. But I'm born and raised.

My dad's from Philly. You claim the world, Chile. It's okay. It's okay, but I have a soft spot in my heart. My dad's from North Philly. Oh, I have a soft spot. I have a soft spot for Philly. Last D.C. question I got for you.

Tell me about, did you have you ever had the Go-Go experience? because, I mean, I hear it in the music, but I was curious if anyone would go to the club. So I would go every weekend. I never went out really much. And after that freshman year, I was like, well, got out my sister. And I never, never really went out again after that. But during freshman year, I was out on the weekend. And then every Wednesday at least, we would go out.

And literally, I would go to dance. I know that sounds like such a, I just want to go out and dance. But I did. I wanted to go to dance and have a good time. And then it would be like reggae night and this night and that night. Then they have like a go-go night. And again, it's instrumentation. Sometimes for me, I would like a song before there's any vocals on something.

You know what I mean? So I could just appreciate that. And that's why I say like DC, I really kind of like got my seasoning and kind of came into myself as an artist. I met Rich there and we like just created some. It was a lot of like kind of like, what do you bring in this? This is what I got. Okay.

What do you have? I have this. Oh, that's what I've been looking for. Oh, why don't we do this and combine it? It's very, very magical. And so I think that's why sometimes people will ask, like, if I'm from D.C. And I'm like, I'm not from there because I was, I'm in the military, but that is where I really, I have my influences, but the seedening, the finishing, the cooking, the bake. It was all happening in D.C.

And Amir, that's how I feel about Philadelphia. That is how I feel about Philly. Okay. Okay. Like you and Amory have commonality. Okay. Amory, do you have perfect pitch? Because we're talking about like synesthesia and the way your harmonies work.

My guess is that you do. Okay. Now, I'm not always singing in perfect pitch, but I know when I'm not, when I can hear myself. Sometimes you get those performances, be like, what the thing is what are they going? But it's like, because I can't, half the time, I can't hear myself. Something always happens, especially when you do like one off. If it's a tour and it's my tour, it's all my people and we have it locked in. But when I'm going somewhere and it's a new person, a new sound person,

a new someone else is going on before you and your things were touched, you can't hear yourself, then yes, if you hear me sounding bad ever, and I don't say this to like brag or anything. Not possible. I might be under the weather. I could be under the weather like right now. But it's guarantee that I can't hear myself because I'm one of those people who can hear anything. If it's not absolutely perfect, I can hear it.

I'm like, that's a little off, that's a little flat, that's a little sharp. If I walk into a room and the table is slightly crooked, I can see that it's crooked and I have to fix everything so it's just perfect because I can hear when anything is off and I can see when anything is off. And an engineer told me one time like, how can you hear that? Because I can hear like, okay, any lay the vocals back. And you engineer, so you probably know what I mean. Like lay it back, not like 0.10, not 1.15.

Lay it back 0.02. Layback 0.01. Go back.01. Go back back. That's like super, super, super, super, super minimal. A lot of people can't tell. But I can tell. That was a long way of saying, yes, I can hear perfect pitch. I do have perfect pitch because I know when I'm not on it. That means I probably can't hear myself in a moment. Yeah.

I got you. You've been a nerd all your life, A. Marie. I have been a nerd on my life. I've been a nerd before I've been anything else. I love it. 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 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. What's up, everyone? I'm Ego Vodam. My next guest, you know from Stepbrothers, 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 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 Podcast, 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. 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 someone's, 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 Alesbian, Michael Maranini. 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. I'm sorry, listeners, this episode is like momento on shuffle.

Like, we're just going all over the timeline. But, I mean, pretty much, I would assume that. You're in a rare case where, like, your first thing out the box is, why don't we fall in love? But wait, before we get to that, let me at least complete the story. Please tell us how you met Rich Harrison. So I met Rich Harrison. You know, again, I chose D.C. because it's a great school. I wanted to go to Georgetown.

It's like, okay, I work, you know, academically, I worked hard for this. But it's also close to New York so I can work on getting a demo because I do know what I want to do. When I finish school, this gives me. time to get to that point. And D.C. is very, you know, rich culturally. So great. When I'm there, I'm actively trying to make connections, figure things out. Well, I was in a group for a second. I'm not a group person. The group never worked out anyway. It's just, I'm just, I'm just not a clicky person. We didn't really ever have anything. And names kept changing because we never actually, that no one ever stayed in the group long enough for us to actually be a group. So what I should say

is I was trying to put together a group. That's what it is. And people that I was working with We were trying to put together a group, but it never worked. And I was like, see, this is a sign. I'm not a group person. But one of the girls who was in, not in a group, but was kind of like feeling her out, she also would put on fashion shows and she was from D.C. So, you know, in the name of, like,

getting to know each other a little bit more, not just only in studio stuff. I just, like, tagged along with her one night while she was looking for some space for her fashion show. And so we went to, I guess it was D.C. live at the time. But Rhonda Berry was the manager at the time. So I'm just sitting there literally taking my legs while I'm sitting there and waiting for her to have these conversations about the space. And then so she's doing her thing, looking around.

And then he's just, he and I just get to talking and I'm like, oh, yeah, then I go to Georgetown, blah, blah, and I sing. He's like, oh, great, okay. After that, that's kind of it. Every time I would go to the club on these nights I was telling you about like every Wednesday or whatever it was, but the weekend, I would see him. And he always remembered because he would always say, you're the girl that sings. Like, right, you're the girl that sings. one of these days, you know, much later, he was like, hey, I have a friend who's looking to work with an artist. He's a producer. Yeah, my, I heard lots of things before. One of my things that policies was like, I've never going to go out with a guy to see, you know, what's going on. I was never, one thing I was always very clear on with myself was I know what I want to do and I'm not going to sacrifice any of my integrity to get there. I'm just not going to do it. That's just not my personality. So if people were like, oh, this, you know, you meet a lot of this guy.

help people want to help you they don't they want to help you so badly you never even heard me sing a note so like what are you really trying to um so i was like okay he's like he's a producer da da da and it's coming from him and that the guy trying to pick me up so i'm like okay well he's like can i get your number and then you know maybe put you guys in touch okay okay sure so give him the number later on he calls and rich and i talk on the phone or we agree to me up so i can hear his music and then And you can hear some of my stuff. But people think sometimes do we meet at a McDonald's parking lot happen to meet. No, that wasn't that.

It happened just like what I told you. The McDonald's parking lot. The McDonald's at Howard? Yes, the McDonald's. Georgia Avenue. That happened. The world famous McDonald's. Okay.

So it was late after school, it was nighttime. I chose, I chose McDonald's because, again, I'm not going to someone's house. They say they're a producer, quote unquote. I don't know him from a can of paint. So I'm like, well, let's meet at McDonald's. Let's just really see. what it is. You know, so I was in my car.

Then he showed up. I'm like, okay, you know, again, you never really know. But then we just chatted for a second. He just went right into like, okay, so I'm looking to work with an artist and da-da-da-da. I brought some music. Great. Let's hear it.

And I'm like, okay, he's serious. You know what I mean? He's serious. So he's playing me tracks, one of which ended up being the song, Float. But right now they're all instrumentals. But I heard what I was looking for, what I'd been looking for and that was I was missing. Because what I wanted was so specific. And what I wanted was I need, obviously it's going to be tracks.

I can sing to R&B tracks. But I don't want them to just be R&B tracks. They have to be hip-hop R&B tracks. They have to have a great balance. They have to be hard. Like they have to be, a rapper would want to, you know, like they could do something over it. That's really, really hard to find. Not so much now, but now music sounds a little different.

But at the time, that was really, that was really difficult to find out. Oh, it's hard to find now. Trust me. Okay. So, you know, it wasn't easy. So when he was playing this for me, I was like, yes. And there was something special in his production and the percussion. It was just so much of it, I was like, I felt like that was like what I'd been looking for,

what I was missing. Like, it was like the missing instrument. Because, again, I didn't look at my voice as being like, I did love to sing to sing, but I didn't, it sounds funny, but I didn't love to sing that much. I love to create music and to create sound. So that's why I would get asked to do so many, like, national anthems, a birthday song. And I was like, I don't like to sing national anthems. I don't like to think, because then you're just singing because you want to sing it.

I don't actually, I'm not that interested in just singing actually. It sounds weird. But that's why Rich understood what I meant. He was like, all right, so. what are you into? And I didn't have my songs that I'd like, sang on because for some reason, also, side note, whenever I would get in this group with someone, I ended up tend to be like a duet. Somehow, I never had any vocal on the song.

I'm like, I guess I'm the mastermind, but also not on any records. So I would, I would, my vocals, because I was working with other people too. And for some reason, I could never get any parts. Can I get a, can I get a vocal. Can I get a no, no, no, no, in the back. Okay, I got some, uh, no, I got some of that. Right. That was kind of it. So there was no use in playing him that. And so I was like just singing him, things that I'd written and just songs that I love. Like I think he asked me like what artists I really like. And then I'm sure I mentioned Mary. So I'm probably saying Mary, I probably

saying some of BV probably but I think when he was hearing me sing Mary and I was like that she is one of my biggest influences he was like okay because that's what he was looking for what he was looking for what was your go-to Mary song amoree I think you might have been oh not to Mary's joint I just want to make it right Mary's Joey I knew it yeah yeah yeah yeah um so that's probably one of them yeah and it's on your mom hey see that can that can be able to stop dang i missed that voice amoree and another baby admitted what mine or marries well you get yours yours okay well you're going to be getting we'll be getting more of that because i i i if i were not me if i were not myself

i would probably and someone like well if you're not you well i guess that that That is me. I would be like a mix of Mary, Marvin Gay, and Michael Jackson. But I think that actually is me because they are so pivotal to me as an artist and prints. But yeah, so I sang him that. And he heard what he was looking for because he love, love, love, love, love, love, Mary Jay Blige. I think that was like one of his favorite artists. Like he loved, love her.

And he actually had just worked with her before too, but she didn't know who he was. He was still like a huge fan. And so what he was looking for was someone who could have that like grit that he wanted and that R&B hip hop that could lend itself to that voice could lend itself to that. But then also, you know, why, why did I even tell your line? Like something false, you know what I mean? Something soft too. And so he was looking for something very specific.

So when we met, it was literally like we were the missing puzzle pieces like artistically. and we could play in the false. Like even I just died, I just died was a song that wasn't even supposed to be a song or false. What were there? Staring? Yeah, I was like, Rich, that song is too low. I remember saying that.

He was like, well, what do you mean? Because he would sing some of the songs, right? And I was like, listen to where the track is. It's like, staring in the mirror's eye, started to carefully, I'm like, I can't even, I can get there like this, but it can get anywhere. else. And I was like, all right, well, standing in the mirror is I. And I was like, I don't know, can I get all of that? And then I was like, oh, yeah, I can. Am I falls? And then standing in the middle of mine. And then the song even gets higher. So we had so much room to play with. And I was like, I've been looking for this. It was literally like the perfect fit. We had this. I said, this track, this track right there that was going to be float. I said, don't give it. Don't give it away. That's ours.

So we already knew from the meeting and sitting in that car that we had something. And we met right after that, like next week. And we started laying out, we started doing the demo right then and there. Those songs, some of those songs ended up being on the demo. And then actually some of those songs ended up being on the album, which we recorded sitting on the back of a sofa with the washing machine over there. And those ended up being the vocals because when we tried to go to the quote unquote real studio to do it for real this time, We had already done it and created the magic, so it wasn't the same.

So you had demonelitis? But it wasn't the same. Like, those vocals weren't the same. They really weren't the same. It wasn't, it just wasn't the same. Okay. Do you ever have, did you have, that's what I needed to see? I'm going to be surprised if you didn't have that.

I don't have that. I just wanted to see. I'm a hop of. No. Okay. That's one that was one of the first ones we did and we love. And I think that might have been the first one we did. And some of it, it reminded me of Aaliyah actually a little bit.

And I was like, wow, we really have something. But we were like at the same time. But this is not it. This is not it. We're getting there. But we got there like that next week. I mean, song after song after song, song of the song, song of the song. Because we understood, like, when I would say that that vocal was like,

that's a trumpet. I'm going to sing it. I'm going to sing it. I'm going to do it. It's a trumpet. And he was like, yeah. That's this. Or this is like a string.

So I will do a vocal a certain way. And so we just understood we have the same language because we're looking for the same thing. Like what time is this period? And then how do you guys wind up at the offices of Columbia? Four months, maybe, maybe four or five months. So this is happening in like lightning quick? This is happening. Lightning speed.

We meet. We start recording. he already had a connect. See, Jeff Burroughs and Darrell Williams, Darrell Williams and Jeff Burroughs were working together. Jeff Burroughs had worked at Bad Boy, and he was at Columbia. So he had a situation there,

Rise Entertainment, and they were already watching Rich for a few years, at least a couple of years. And so they were always just kind of like, send some stuff along, you know, but Rich had found an artist he wanted to like lock in with like that. So he did have someone who was ready in the wings when it was time.

So once we created a demo, that's what he let them know. And then it was like, so things were kind of there in place. When you have something, let us know, that kind of thing. So once we had it,

we did have an end. You told me about like, this is what your dream was. Like, even though you're going to college, you want to be a singer. How supportive is your family to the idea of you not doing academia and getting into the music industry?

Yeah, Because we didn't even, that's, oh, right. What were you supposed to be doing? English major. Okay. So I was, I was an English major because I always love books, but that's why it's natural. For some people, they're like, oh, you went into books, are you pivoted? I was like, oh, no, I've always been, I've been writing books since I started journaling when I was seven.

And I've been writing books since I was that age, stapling little books and making little newsletters. So that, that's just me anyway. All your book reports looking perfect for school. Oh, I was the, oh, I know we have this history assignment. where we have to write these essays. Can I write like a short, like story? You're extra credit smurf? No.

Not extra credit. I don't want to write an essay. I want to, yeah. Can we lose some credit, please? She didn't need the extra credit, Amir. She just wanted to do it. Yeah, I didn't need it. Actually.

But, you know, I was always right now. I was like, let me just write this Civil War saga where the girl has two members or family fighting on opposite side instead of the essay. So, you know, It was actually kind of good, actually. I was looking for it for years. So that was normal for me.

But I wanted to sing. And my last year of high school, I was like, you know, I think I want to go for this professional. I think I want to do this. And that was another reason for choosing Georgetown, right? So I'm there. And then while I'm, you know, we have a couple of slight bites maybe kind of sort of meetings, doors might be opening. And so sophomore year, I was like, mommy, daddy, if it looks like maybe a deal could be coming. if I can get a deal, what do you think about me pausing university just to like pursue it?

See, my mom was like, no, no, no. My dad was like, well, I don't know, those kind of opportunities don't always come. And I could see that both are opinions. But, you know, I was like, okay, I had to think it over. But it didn't matter because I didn't even get the opportunity anyway until my senior year. Because Rich and I, I think Ron and I talked in December sometime or maybe it was January. Rich and I spoke. We met up and started doing the demo in February, which is my last semester of senior year.

And so thank God it just kind of happened why we didn't have to try to make a choice, which honestly, I think in retrospect, it's not a good idea to leave school to do that. Some people will be like, oh, take this chance. I'm a believer. All you'll do is, one, everything happens if it's supposed to happen. So if it's supposed to happen for you, you know, a lot of people. will it. It'll happen. Don't you worry about it. But also, you will become a better artist anyway. You can always hone. You can always become better. But you already put in all this work. I mean, literally,

when you graduate from college, you're still like 21. Like, you know, it felt old at the time. But you're 21. Like, all you can do is just get better. Grow as an artist. Improve on your craft. Get that under your belt. So you have that. And but at the time when I went, I didn't even have, I don't know. I was like career fest, resume. I don't even know what. I didn't do any of that. I was like, because this is going to work. About to graduate in like four months, I don't know what's going to happen, but somehow I just knew. I mean, I just had a feeling. I was like, it's going to happen.

So I didn't have to make that decision. But they were very supportive. Although my mom was disappointed. I think she cried, actually. No. Because she wanted me to be a professor or a lawyer. Got to live your dreams, not your parents' dreams. And Angela, who wanted to be an ice cream lady, turned out to be the lawyer.

So that's good. Wait, that's what Anne's wanted to do. to be? Yeah, she wanted to be an ice cream lady. I mean, that last time we asked her was when she was like eight. But that was the last answer she gave us, the ice cream lady. Okay. See, in my mind, you like said, okay, I'm going to be a big star and you're going to be my lawyer. No, Angela was going to, she wanted to be a lawyer. You know, we had the conversation because there was a hot second where she was going to be maybe be my stylist. And my parents are like, yeah, I think we know a stylist. Angela has our own.

path and she's going to do her own path. And if it comes back around, then she can do that. But in the meantime, she's going to do her own thing, which is good. Because then I would have been like feeling too much pressure. I know your sister's tired of me because I will always run up to her and reintroduce myself. She'll be like, it's Angela. Amory's sister. Oh, okay, sorry. It happened even at the Grammy's last. Like I'm always meeting your sister and everyone else for the first time. See, See, Bill, you're not alone. It's a funny little not so secret secret, but that happens to me as well for a lot of people that I know. It actually just happened to me the other day when I was at a party. Someone that I'm supposed to know pretty well, not pretty well, but we are passed across enough times where it's like, hey, hey, and I'm like, ah.

And then I was like, no, I didn't know him from somewhere. It's like, yeah, you saw him two weeks ago, remember? It happened last time. You were like, oh, yeah, yeah. But I was like, oh, it didn't click because we were in a different environment. I'm going to ask you the most loaded, broad question of all time. Oh, gosh. I'm scared.

Preface. No, it's just, I'm going to let you, because you answer in paragraphs, I decide not to just go bit by bit. He's met his match, Amy Marie. Yeah, right? This feels like a battle of two world, like the same person. I was like, you know, talking to two versions of the same person. We would have been BFFs in a whole other lifetime.

We're literally the same person. It's like talking to a mirror, right? What's your sign? I'm like Capricorn, sun sign, Aquarius, Rising, and Pisces Moon. Wait, damn, well, wait. When were you born, girl? January 12. January 20th.

January 20th. We did 20th. Oh, you're January 20th? Both of us are. Wow. So you're Capricorn, too. Well, no, no. I claim the other side.

For you, I'll say I'm a Capricorn. The Capricorn keeps us. straight. Okay. Your birthday is close as well. You're, you're, we're the same day. We're both January 20th. Oh, wow. Okay. But she was born 20 years after me. Oh. No. Anyway. We all look very, very young. This Saturday morning cartoons, that point. Anyway, so

good lighting. As broad as I can ask this question. Hey, Marie. And this is what we all want to know. Okay. Can you give us your assessment of your experience recording for Columbia Records? Oh, God, the frown that just keeps recording. No, I didn't brown. Don't say that. I'm just thinking, I never felt like I was recording for them because I came in,

and I say we, we came in because of me and Rich. with our own music and our own sound, and they really did just leave us alone. They really did just leave us alone. Now, later, they did try to play around with some things. I remember getting some different versions of hooks of one thing. And I was like, what? I was now, okay.

They were trying to augment it or something? Oh, no, it was like, that hook is too linear, quote, unquote. I was like, I don't really know how to process that. I'm just feeling it out and it feels right to me. It feels good. But okay, so then there was this other wording hook. I just want to change the hook.

Oh, no, they had someone sing it and everything. Then I was doubly offended. One thing I do get, I can get offended when people try to change the thing, unless it's solicited. But, you know, sometimes the labels will jump in with unsolicited thought. How about this? Yeah, and I didn't like that. But generally, they did just leave me alone with it. You know what I mean?

Or maybe I just kind of just didn't really care because I just felt like I came in to do my own thing anyway. Like I was like, at my funeral, they're going to play Frank Sinatra's my way. That's what's going to be playing. I mean, probably not really. It's a little bit somber and weird to play at a funeral. Good question. I don't like that. What song is going to play at my funeral?

Guess what? And I've etched this in stone with my lawyers. I'm not having a funeral. Okay. However, my plan is I will organize a bunch of dinners. We'll just cut to the chase. We'll go to the repast. I will organize a bunch of dinners.

Oh, it's going to be good. Like your birthdays. Ooh, yeah. I'm sorry. I'm not excited. I will organize a bunch of dinners for all my loved ones to just sit and have a meal. And that's remembering a mirror. We're not.

I'm sorry. been to, especially in the last three years, post-COVID, I'm done with funerals. Like, I'm done with eye on the sparrow. I'm done with eye on the sparrow. I'm done with that. Nothing mirror. You got no song we can play? Not really.

I mean, I would force you all to play the most goofy song on Earth. It would be a theme song. Never mind. Yeah, exactly. Like, you know, the Elmo, Elmo's world, something. Oh, my gosh. Yeah, I'm so unserious about that. So when I'm asking you, your experience at Columbia and Sony, was it hard just finding your space in your lane where you can just...

You know, okay, well, one, it's funny that you say that about the R&B part because when I was creating, actually I had listened to some R&B and I was really looking to music and that jacket and before that, yeah. But I had gone through a long period. I actually didn't really like R&B. Didn't listen to it. I only, but even when I was in college, when I was in college and a little bit after that, I only listened to hip hop. No R&B. I can tell. Or what I called boring R&B.

That's what I call it. It's boring. And so that's what I liked about Rich too, because, and there were great R&BRs, I'm sure, but it's just, there was just, just in general, like for me, the genre. It's boring. It's boring to me. So that's why I need that hip hop element in there, because. for myself, you know what I mean? So I just didn't list to any of it.

And then I fell back in love with it again. But I always needed, like, my favorite era of R&B was hip hop and R&B got married. So that's probably, we align on that. As far as like what was tough about Columbia. See, this is a thing. Like, artistically, they really did leave me alone, like I said. What was tough was you had a lot of artists there who were like really big before I got there. So it wasn't hard to get traction.

or the building behind you in the sense that like a creative vibe, it's just there's a marketing department and their job is to do that. And this is their publicity department and their job is to do this. And I can tell that as much as they're kind and, you know, they're kind and all of that, but their priority is not me. I am not the priority. I can tell that this is just, there's no priority.

But they never saw a thing where it's like everybody can be on top. I mean, honestly, you should be able to do that. But wouldn't serve... You should be able to do that. That's what smaller labels understood. Smaller labels led by, you know, black producers who had have a crew. Motown did it. This are my artists.

Everyone was on town. That's true. Motown. And you look at Young Money for a while. It was like, we have this, this, this, this. And the more successful we are, the more successful we all are. And we spread it. That's how it should be, but that's not actually, you know, it's more.

corporate it's Sony so it's a much a more more much more corporate culture and a corporate way of thinking is not like a crew way of thinking or like and they would try to do that like they try to do Sony urban music on different things but it's still very top down you know so they just they didn't get that and then what I then there was a little I think a little bit of tension as well because there's some inner things that were happening with the people who I don't want to say too specifically because it's not my story to tell but the people that I was working with various people that I was working with and the tensions between them and amongst themselves and the label and

all the stuff that didn't have to do with me but specifically with them and so that kind of made it pretty difficult I think as far as like it was going all the way to the top so it was very difficult to kind of get things to move because of that then on top of that I was never in those conversations but I definitely got wind of people trying to maybe like take a song, take my song and stuff. But I was like, well, you can't do that because I also co-wrote the song. So you literally legally can't do that, which I'm sure they found frustrating. So the thing with, oh, I don't think I actually told you this part. Or maybe I did.

No, we didn't talk about this. So one thing actually only came out, we did talk. I mean, I know that, but I'm building the drama here. We never talked about this, though. Drama. Did she freeze? Did she freeze? That's what you get for putting in so much drama of the world.

Did you freeze? Come freeze, Amy Marie, please. I swear to God, I thought she was praying that last one. Please, I'm freeze. Come on. That's Lonnie. He liked this thing over. Ladies and gentlemen, we don't necessarily want to gaslight you visually.

So what had happened was about, what, five weeks ago back in June? Oh, two months ago, eight weeks ago, we had a Wi-Fi discrepancy. And then it became the most hilarious game of Kick the Can Down the Road. We'll do the episode tomorrow. All right, well, next week's cool. Ah, damn, I'm out of town the week after. Well, damn, I'm going on tour after that. So now here we are some two months later, janky as possible.

We're not even going to try to. But this is good to show, Amir, because you know what? You know why I'm excited while we're two months later? Because I can talk to y'all about the picnic. I can talk to y'all about Amy Marie performing with the go-go bank. Like, hi. So I'm excited. So I'm no shade.

But things happen the way they should. We did, weird enough, stop at the entry point. We did. It's crazy that we spent an hour of 40 minutes in social foreplay. I'm talking about life and our philosophies. And we started with a recording career, one hour and 40 minutes into the conversation. All right. So, and I'm glad we have this time because then there's a lot of nokes and crannies that we didn't pick up.

For starters, fall in love is one of the shortest sing. I almost consider it an interlude more than I consider it a full-flit song. Was that truly the goal like? It was technically the intro. Technically. It wasn't made to be the intro, but we were. were like this where the sequencing goes this is this is the intro and it is the intro to the album is the intro to me i felt like that was a perfect song to introduce me i was like if i could encapsulate

who i am as an artist right now i feel like this is probably the best introduction that i have right now and i felt like it works perfectly so it was an intro and it wasn't going to be the first single talking talking to me was the first single technically that the record label had chosen and then i'm i was fine with that. It was a little slow for me to be honestly, to be the first single. I was like, I don't know, it's a little slow to be the first single and maybe something a little bit more aggressive is what I wanted. But I was like, you know, I don't know. So I was like, that's fine. We shut the video and everything. First thing I was like, wow, this is something that we were rhyme to. And, you know, there's been marks in history to where non-emCs were picking music that

was almost MC ready. Like I remember... You would have rhymed to talking to me? That's what I was thinking. To talking to me? To fall in love. We fall in love. We came this person.

Okay, got it. Because I remember, I mean, the day, the day that Marys my life came out. Matter of fact, didn't you give us that cassette, like you? I remember you being in the... We were like doing D.C. heavy. Like, we were in the DMV doing Howard and our usual promo thing.

You were in the van with us, and I remember. remember, like, we just got in a promo of Mary's My Life. And suddenly, I had the same issues with the music as my parents had with hip-hop. Because it was like, wait a minute. Derivative. Why is she singing over a loop? What?

Oh, gosh. This is just for rappers and rappers only. Like, when my life came on, I was crying foul. Like, no. She used a Roy Ayers. That's yes. Take Roy Ayers song and just. I remember.

on top of it and she can't sing over it. Like, she's just singing over hip hop beats. I remember that was the big complaint. Right. And then one, someone said, well, oh, so it's cool for brand new being to rhyme over it, but it's not cool for Mary to do it. And I was like, yeah, but R&B people are supposed to create the music that we want to take, but they can't.

Wow. What in line in front of us. That's how I was thinking in 94. What a time. And even though, like, since that point, people have done it. When Fall in Love came out, that was like, wow, finally, there's a producer that musically kind of thinks like I do. Like, I felt that that was the closest to a non-commercial. Like, it just sounded too real to me.

And I was just like, whoa, who's this? There's no samples in Fall in Love, right? I'm trying to think. Yeah, there is. What's the sample in love? Oh, way, I'm thinking about the One Fall in Love Remix, which is crazy. Oh, Gene Cor. What?

Gene Carn. Yeah, man. It's the artist with me. What's the sample in the While I Fall in Love Rememates? We always felt like that should have got Was it a reethful? It's at the beginning of a song.

It's the beginning of something, huh? The Japanese. It's Philadelphia International. Okay. Ooh, a mere shame. I know. I felt my city. I felt my city.

I'm sorry. I felt. Yeah, but for me, at no point that anyone at the label say, yo, make this join into a full-fledged song if we're going to shoot a video to it. Some people did ask, like, oh, it's kind of short. Do you want to make it longer? But I think we agreed. Everyone pretty much agreed from the jump that better to have people want to repeat it than have it go on too long.

See, you're ahead of the time. See, now we live in that age where most songs are under two minutes, you know. Really? Are they that short? There's an artist now who's complete album, like the average song is like under two minutes and 15 seconds. Like that's... Wow. Socially and politically, not only are we emulating the 50s, but even creatively, you know, which tells me that, okay, the rebirth of the album era might come back.

Maybe in the 2030s. Yeah, in the 2030. Yeah, I agree. You know what? That's a good point because, you know, we always want whatever's going on now, then the pendulum swings. And it's, you know, I think you mentioned the 50s. And then I think about even like, just throughout human history, like thousands of years. We have a way of thinking that whatever's happening now is the first time that this has happened or that we're on a progression. It's the end of it. Right. It's the end of it. Right. But everything's just cyclical. Like there's nothing that's, they say there's nothing new.

the sun or I think that's actually in the Bible, but everything that's happened has already happened, whether people are thinking like, this is a super progressive idea. It's like throughout human history, there have been times where things have been way over here and way over there. We just repeat because we're still the same beings. The only thing is newest technology, it feels like. The only thing is newest technology, I wonder what kind of sounds like if someone's playing like an ood or whatever, like back in the day and they're like, oh, this is kind of, I like that beat. It's kind of like fast and then things are all slow again. I don't know.

No, you're right. I mean, because look, when the summer of love happened with Woodstock, you would have thought, oh, this is a rival with something new. No, Woodstock was the end of that period, civil rights period, the summer of love. When Saturday Night Fever came out, you would have thought that was the arrival of the disco era in 1977. Here it is. Nope. The backlash happened immediately. And sad to say, when Thriller happened, you would have thought.

Hey, this is the arrival of Michael Jackson, where now we could sort of kind of say thriller was the ending of Michael, the undoing of Michael Jackson. What is bad? Michael Jackson, you know what? No, he's my idol. No, it's not shade or whatever. It's also making me scared about where bad comes in the conversation, but that's just well, because the thing, see, the thing that at least he was genius about was that

in his mind, like, I've always been historically afraid of kids are so damn honest. Like they don't know how to be cynical or they don't know how to be, they don't know how to bullshit you. So if a kid immediately likes the song, then that song's forever, no matter what. And George Clinton said the same thing. But I think where Michael sort of discounted was Thriller had nothing to do with the music or the talent or any of those things. Thriller had with timing. MTV was a year old.

And I mean, just like Drake took advantage of virulness and Instagram and, you know, like Michael took advantage of MTV. Thus, that is why he sold 100 million units because he was the, he was the one that mastered the ideal virulness. But also, unfortunately, Thriller, what's most talked about is never the quality. It's always the quantity. How many awards didn't win? How much money did he make?

How many units did he sell? And thus, that caused a flooding that never stopped, which is why money became more important to us, how much we sold. You ain't shit because you didn't sell this units. Like, Thriller was one of the greatest moments, but I also see Thriller as a burden that no one has, including Michael, has been able to cross. So I consider thriller, at best I can say thriller is a penultimate to the ending of Michael Jackson as opposed to the rival. But that's with everything. With Obama, we were all happy days are here again. Nope.

I feel like Obama's era was the last time that we had the wool over our eyes like, yep, nothing to see here. Everything's okay. Until. And once the unarmed shootings happened and everything. So I feel like now... Sycical, a cyclical. It sounds like you always feel like the pinnacle is the beginning of the end. But you know what?

That is the climax. That's in any story or in a movie or story, right? The climax actually is the end. After that, you just have the denim wall. You just have, you have the, everything's cooling down after that. But the climax is at the end of the story or near the end of the story. And after that, you do just have a denim wall into the, and then the beginning of the next story. Which is why I feel with no hesitation or doubt whatsoever, no matter how much they try to move the goalpost or whatever.

Politically, this is why I feel the Harris-Waltz administration will truly be the beginning that I think we want to. Go ahead. Oh, my goodness. We're not going to talk about policy. Who me? Yeah. Hey, we're going to talk about politics. We ain't gonna talk about that to get either.

Oh, I'm intrigued though, Amy Marie. On some other platform, I would love to know what's in your head in this moment. It's too long. Okay, ooh, but I know it's good and I know it's something to think about. Everyone just got a whole bunch of hood or shoulda wouldas. A whole bunch of coulda shoulda wood. I put it this way. Yes.

Unless you are standing firm against genocide, I just can't. I'm just not. And I've heard people throw out the H-W, the H-W, the H-W. name towards all these other candidates, one in particular. But I'm like, all right. But did he help kill 200,000 people? I'm just, that's what I'm saying. You say, you could say all these other things.

And maybe someone, the next response is, well, he would have, he would have done worse. And I'm like, maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe not. Maybe yes, maybe no. But I can't go on. Maybe I just know what I see. I know we have to go in actions. You're right.

I know we have to go on actions as opposed to words. All right. And also it's kind of like, I don't know, if we were, we were, This is a, it's not a direct parallel to that. But if we were, like, living in the Confederacy right now, I don't really know if I would have been really arguing that hard on which Confederate president we're going to get and how much it would have made a difference, like, necessarily to me, if I was enslaved. I'm sure there were been some things, some minor things maybe, but generally, you know.

If we were living in the Confederacy moment, though, that's a huge if. But what I mean is that sometimes, you know, people will try to do the lesser evil thing. Yeah, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, well, that's why I said this is a long, this is a whole other thing. I mean, I've heard, yes, I've heard that too. I mean, right now I'm doing whatever possible to stop 45 from what's happening. And giving their women rights back for their bodies, I don't know, that's important too. So it's a whole list of importance of things.

And yeah. That's a whole other topic as well. I'm a popular opinion on that as well. Oh, but I'm intrigued. Hey, Marie, what is the podcast for real? My friends have, I have friends who are just like some of, some, a couple of them maybe who are like vote blue no matter who. Some who are like, no, I think that this is actually good to go, you know. I have some people who are like, I'm definitely going to do third party support that, build the framework while everybody else is doing all the other stuff because it's just build a third party framework, which is, it has to be done.

If we want to have to have like four or five parties, we're going to have, someone's going to have to do it. So while everyone's in the frame. Until Jill come back. Wait until you know. No, it's always going to be a boogeyman. It's always going to be a boogeyman. It's never the best time. So someone just has to do in the meantime because it's a 5, 10 year, 20 year.

You got to think like China, 30 years down the road. You know what I'm saying? You can't just think about right now. So it's like someone has to do that while everyone else is doing the other thing. That's true. I also know people who are super pro-black, like Pan-African. They said that kids are private-ass schools. They voted Trump last time and they'd be born for him again.

That's crazy. So things are very nuanced. I hope they kids don't get pregnant. But, Well, I don't know. If they're black, I would hope that we have more babies. I'll just say that. Oh.

I'm tired of, I'm just saying we've been sitting at 13%. Okay, as long as somebody's going to pay for these babies, A. Marie, as long as somebody can feed the babies. There's that. There is that. But the majority of the world is more impoverished than we are. And they don't tie their family to money. They have kids.

But some people will be like, you know, because I was reading this one book. I had a book club book. and they were like, one of the moments in the book, I was like, interesting. I never thought about it like that. The woman was a housekeeper from South America, and she was cleaning the house for the lady, and the lady lives in a big house, a white lady, and they had one son. And she said, you're pregnant again? And of course, she was like, why do you people keep having children that you can't pay for?

And she was like, you don't think about like how you can provide? And she said, no, signora. And I was like, interesting, because when the lady got pregnant, I was like, oh, man, y'all are living in this shared space. You got two kids. It's hard. Now you're pregnant again. I don't know.

Girl, what's going on? And she's the grown woman. But when she said that to the lady, I thought, interesting. We have so much on this side. And there are people who are struggling. But I'm just saying there's different, it's relative, a different level. I'm struggling. She's sitting in this wealthy woman's house.

She's not even that wealthy. She's probably upper middle class. White lady, big huge, 3,000 square foot house, maybe 4,000 square foot house. Just her and her. husband and one child and they were they were like this is all we can do to provide what we want to provide for our son which is fair um but then you have another woman who's like the amount of children i have is not determined by our finances it's about family and growing a family and many people in the world think like that and i never really thought about it that way until i read the book we're

capitalists as fuck i mean yeah it's america so it's like well when you when you're like yeah when you throw in all the women is the workplace and just everyone's feeling like they don't have enough to survive and everything inflation um you can be like man you got to pay for this And I agree, but also I can see the other side and say, well, people make do with a lot less and still have five, six kids. And so there's no real answer in there. It's just more of a question and a perspective, something to think about. But I just know me, myself, I'm not on the page of like, when it comes to like those women's rights, da-da-da-da-da-da. I have mixed feelings because I know that when it came to the black population anyway, it wasn't because they were like,

you need some rights. It was like, it's too many of y'all, and we don't want that. So we're going to put this here and here and here. Now, what y'all do with it is what you do with it, but I'm just saying, I'm not going to be waving the banner and say this is a black and white thing. It's individual. Which is nice to have the choice. It's just nice to have the choice.

I'm not happy. I'm not happy that the majority of children, the potentialized, whatever you want to say. It doesn't make me happy that the majority of them or like, it's not 13%. it's like a 25, 30% or half or that doesn't make me feel good. You know what I'm saying? So I don't know what the answer is, but I know that doesn't make me happy. But on the other side of that argument, there's also like health issues. We have to think about.

Yeah. There's, yeah, I know a lot of people just for health issues reasons have to terminate a pregnancy in. Yes. That stuff is real. I mean, that's what I'm saying is complicated. But I'm not just like, yeah, we need this. I'm like, no, the thing is, I think people are just fighting for their choice to make their choice for themselves. So just like, don't tell me what to do.

Just let me, like my man said last night, too many people in the hospital room with me. Let me make my choice. I'm a firm believer in body sovereignty and you need that. Yeah. But across the board. So now they're talking about M-Pox. I'm a believer in, I am a free speech. Vaccinations too, huh?

I see you, A. Marie. I am a, my body. It's my body. It's my choice. It's my family's choice. It's like this is. And I'm a free speech absolutist. I'm not for that. Censorship either. My friend was like, you're a little of a Panned Africanist as well. Amory? Are you a little bit of a pan-Africanist as well? I think so, but I'd have to look and see like what technically that is. But I fall into that as well. I was like, my friend was like, I don't know. They were trying to figure it out because, you know, I got Republican friends, people who don't, were independent, just across the board. They're like, well, what are you? And I was like, I've always said I'm just independent, but I I was like, they were like, I know what you are. Someone just texting me out the blue. They're like, you're a libertarian. And I was like, you know, there was a point where I thought maybe I was. Because I'm just like, everybody just do what they want to do.

But I was like, not quite. Then I was like, maybe not. I think what it is is I just don't really have any kind of, I can't fall into any niche because I agree with this and I don't agree with that. I agree with this, but I don't agree with that. I agree with this, but I don't agree with that. Meaning this, this group, this group, this group. So I think I'm more of

American Because you have the right to be that way, right? Also, you can't, you know what I mean? Listen, when those people were tearing down those COVID masks and they were being belligerent in the targets and knocking on them racks and everyone was like, they're being stupid and I was like, I mean, it's really out of control.

But they're also the first line of our civil defense actually so let them just be doing their thing. They don't really necessarily care about my civil rights necessarily, but it's okay. You just need people to act sometimes, and it's just like whether there's political parties, whether it's certain groups or why certain groups can come together, and they may be completely on opposite sides of the political spectrum, but on one issue they agree, people have to be able to find common ground,

and you have to understand, like, when the chess pieces are moving. Like, for instance, all right, they're going to use this, Democratic president to do these things while they're trying to do that. And now when it's another time and it's like a Republican president, that's going to be the time to usher in these other things. But see, what ended up happening? You're like, what happened? It's like, actually, it's from the president that was sent when the Democratic president was in. Or like, what's happening now? Well, that kind of got kind of slid in when the Republican was a president. It's like two hands to the same body. Yeah.

which is why we need more political parties. So what was your second single? This is why I should write you. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver 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 podcast. I'm a good at you. What's up, everyone? I'm Ego Wodom. 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, 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 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 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. 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 much, 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, a lesbian, 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 IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Now, in terms of the first album, first of all, who were the higher-ups at Sony Columbia? Was it Donnie and Tommy still?

At that time, Donnie was still there. I'm always, I'm like the worst at remembering things, honestly. But yes, I remember. Donnie was still there. I don't know if Tommy was there I never met him I don't think he was there how I got into Sony

at Columbia was because I think we talked about that I met Rich but Rich already was being someone was already kind of just like watching out for him to see what was developing for the last couple of years previously when we met before we met and that was Jeff Burroughs and Darrell

Williams they had a rise entertainment and Jeff had really come from Bad Boy and then he had a situation he was trying to get going with Columbia. He just didn't have an artist that he wanted yet. And so he was just kind of watching with Rich. So we kind of created that and they brought us in to the system.

So at that time, like who was your A&R at the label? I remember his face. I don't remember his name, but it's because we didn't have A&Ring at that time. We did our project. It was like a thing that we did and we delivered it and that was done. It was really just like finishing touches. It wasn't like feedback. And hey, I like the, no, no, no, no, try, go back and do this again.

No. The feedback, it was pretty much like, this is great. And that was it. Because also there was Rich and I. And then we had Jeff and Darrell. They were partners. And then we had Columbia. So by that time, we had kind of already vetted it.

And Jeff had already vetted it, felt good about it. And they trusted him with it. So someone hearing something, yes, they did try to get certain things finished. Like just the label was really instrumental in the close. out the project, mixing and all that stuff like that. But the A&R for the first album, that really was just us. And not even on the development. That's unusual.

That is because I was like, what about the vision where they had their hand in the vision? They didn't even have their hand in the vision. No, but I remember Donnie got really mad at my cover shoot. I heard in the meeting he was so upset about my picture. Not the is the shoot. So in the back of the album, the back of the album, the back of the album, has the song titles on it and it's just me on a chaise lounge or whatever and it's just like wearing like black shorts are pretty listen it's quite it was to me it was kind of tame then but it's super tame

compared to what's happening now but it was like my leg's out he said what why is it all like and he was really upset most people who have their labels like trying to make them naked but he was just he just thought that was just too much he was upset i mean he told me that but that's the feedback they're Like, he really didn't like that. I was like, this. Just sitting down. You can't even, it's not even frontwards. It's from the side.

It's just legs, really, that's it. And he's just like, he thought it was too much. You're laying on an easy, well, whatever you call that thing. Yeah, lying down, lying on the shades. And then it's just a complete side view. So it's just like leg. But again, super tame. People would look at an app and like, what?

That album? I don't call that, but, okay. He is the back, is the back of the album. It's the back of the album where the song titles are. saying like you probably not even thinking about it that way because it's super tame but I remember when I went to the Soul Train Awards

too I remember they were the label's nervous they were like dresses the dresses they weren't about to be a short really well it was it was kind of risque it was kind of risky it was like basically like a David Downer but Patricia feels they made that dress and it was like a dress that was like

a body suit like a bathing suit body suit, but we added more because I didn't want cheeks to come out. And then it was just like the train of it all was a black like chiffon or something. It was black just see through. So it was, it was quite revealing, but you couldn't see any cheeks. It's just shocking because you would think all labels want all of their female singers to be like, shoo, shoo, you know, pow, pow, pow, ow. So.

Yeah, but I think it depends on what they want to do, right? Because if they're just like we don't want, we want to a little bit more wholesome maybe or something, That's what came across. I thought you were the girl next door. I didn't. I felt like it was, I didn't think it was too much. But, you know, it's funny because my thing was like, I was like, listen, I like short shorts because they were also kind of like shorts in the video, kind of short and they were fine.

They were like, okay, okay, you know, but I was like, listen, I love short shorts. And here's the thing about me. I was like, you know, whether I show a lot of skin or whether I show no skin, my whole thing about who I am is I'm going to do what I want to do. because I will be in control of my own image and I will be in control of my sexuality. No one is going to be in control of that. So if I want to be like, I have the legs out on the shades

or I want to wear short shorts in the video, but it's still tame. But then if I do a men's magazine thing, I don't want a bikini. I don't want, I want pants and I want this, you know. My whole thing was like, you know, I have to, it's my, it's me. It's my body. It's myself.

And I want to be in charge of myself. You know what I'm saying? So for the three years that transpired between all I have in touch, was there active conversations on how to build upon the momentum? Because the thing was, when one thing came, nobody saw that shit coming. It just literally landed out of nowhere, like a boulder out of the sky. Like, oh, shit, what? And then it just landed on us in such a hard way. Like, I distinctively remember, like, when I first heard, I just got my license.

That was, like, one of the first songs that, like, my whole... Just get your license. Wait. Uh, yeah. Listen, let's get into it. No, let's not get into it. No, right. I graduated, listen, I graduated high school and immediately, like, setting the motion, like, a big part of the

root stories that we had to move to Europe, you know, like two years after re-graduating high school and us making it. We moved to Europe and lived in London for like the longest. But even at that, like, we were touring 200 days out of the year. So like, I mean, I just brought my first real, real, real house. Like my first, hey, let me take my money and do something nice for me thing. Like, I did that in maybe three years ago. Because the day that things fall apart came out, Tariq got his license.

Okay. Uh-huh. So what was you saying? No, no. Okay. Yeah, exactly. We were in the gallery doing the in-store. And it was like, where's Tariq at?

Oh, he went to go get his license and buy his car. I'm like, we make money enough to buy a license in a car. No, but one thing was one of the first things I remember blasting. And I was just like, I can't believe that the hardest hip-hop. song of all time is not by an MC. And so hip hop mixed with go-go. Hip-hop mixed with go-go. Don't

get it. All right. Look, there's one conga. And that's the thing I want to despot. I know there's go-go leanings into it. But something is not a go-go song. I'm sorry. A. Marie. There's a lot of, yes, there's a lot of musicians in the video.

I think that would be disrespectful to, if I was like, yeah, that's a go-go record. Like, Gogo Pura would be like, oh, go-go people get mad. Of course. Let not get out of control. It's got a little flavor. It's got the tinge of it. But that's a whole different vibe, different flow.

Yeah. No, it's, I mean, because of the drum rolling and all that stuff, yes, it feels, it feels like it feels updated. I love it. So did the label see that coming at all? Like one thing? Are you talking about the second album? You're talking about the creation? Well, one thing, which I hope led to, hey, you have more of this?

And then we could put. No, it was the opposite. It was the opposite. feel like you you made it against their I mean we did it right we were creating the album it was kind of really difficult to create that second album honestly

because Rich was like doing I don't know what was going on he was kind of like in a different space and it was like almost like chasing him down and he works in a very specific way which is basically like in isolation where he has to he has to get a lot of his ideas but he has to be like in complete isolation

so the label was also meanwhile trying to create that for him like you know putting him up here or there. Also, he had different people who wanted to work with him, so there was that. But he still needed to have his isolation. And he doesn't work fast. He doesn't work fast.

He takes his time, and it can take a long time while he's putting things together, where he's getting his thoughts together, right? So that was also happening. And meanwhile, it's like, okay, time to do the second album. Once we got into the flow of it, though, it was pretty good. Then I almost did, like, this part of the album separately. Like we did it together, but then separately because of that timing because it was taking so long.

So like the record I did with Carl Thomas and stuff like that, that was just something that, you know, we were putting together because at the time, you know, Lenny was also putting that project together. Right. It was really difficult. But we eventually got it. And then we ended up doing one thing. How do you normally work with Rich? Like, does he go off on his own and comes back and says, this is what I prepared in the mountain cabins? Yes.

He normally just goes off on his own. and then I can finish the thought depending on like you know what's what it is but he needs to have his space to finish his own thought first but he's got to complete his thought musically and then I can see you know because a lot of times I did the bridges a lot because he just doesn't really do a lot of bridges you know what I mean like he'll get all the other things there

but that's normally how it would work we'd have to see for the future you know shall all we'll see what happens but How we worked in the past was he has to finish his thought. He has to finish the thought. I just remember it being painstaking that second album. It was just difficult to finish. But once we got it, though, then we had it.

You know what I mean? So we had one thing. We had talking about. We felt like it was special. We felt like talking about was also really amazing. Actually, I feel like I actually like talking about it even better than one thing. L.A.R.R.D. told me that before. That was his favorite.

And I was like, yeah, you know, that's the one I never, I don't get tired of performing either one, but that one, just something about it is like, I think it like is in my essence. Like, that's very me. But we did one thing and we felt like, okay, this is something really dope. But we couldn't say like, because it's kind of like this and that one was big. So this one, it wasn't, it was just, it didn't sound like anything. So we just knew how we felt about it. So it was kind of like deflating. when the label just completely didn't get it at all.

That's actually how they were like, uh, no, you played it and they said, I didn't play it. I wasn't there, but I know, you know,

it was played for them. And the reaction was pretty much like, hmm, not, is this it? This is, this is, this is that you came up with?

This is one thing? Yeah, it was just like, this is an it. And at the time, if everything was almost like culminating, it's interesting because you talk, about like endings of like things that can be like the biggest thing but it's also like the

endings shifting to something else because with the way that it was so painstaking to put the album together taking a long time you know that time the label starts wondering what's going on because meanwhile with the rich they've got him somewhere but it's kind of like taking a long time still and i'm creating what i'm creating and it's like it's all kind of been a painstaking process and it's very drawn out right really really drawn out and normally i get in a vibe i'm just like boom boom boom boom I'm quick. So that was kind of hard for me too because I'm also working, you know, like, partner it up. You know what I mean?

And he is his process is different. So it was a little antsy for me. But that taking a long time, the label not really know what's going on. I think spent a lot of money just trying to like figure out how to just create that artistic oasis for rich. I feel I don't like to speak for him because he knows his experience, you know. but just from what I was seeing and what I knew of, what I was privy to. Then it's taking a long time. And then after all that, like, ooh, this is, it's been like, I don't know, a year or a year and a half of just trying to get the scenario going.

And then they come with this. What is even, what is even this? What is this even? And so I think at that point, and there were some other political things I don't even know about, honestly. to this day, I don't really know, but somehow there were some issues with the head of the label and with maybe Jeff, you know, for a rise, I think. And then there were also issues maybe with the label and rich. So there was all these little splinterings that were happening in the meantime. And then, of course, then we come with this. So at that time, I think it was really like,

okay, I'm probably going to just like lose my deal or, you know, just, it's just it. That's kind of like the vibes I've been getting and pretty much what we're feeling like is that that I'm just about to just not be with them anymore. They're about to drop me from the label. And I was like, I mean, the thing about it is, I was like, I don't even care about any of that stuff. I just really care about the music. And I was like, this is great. And somebody's going to hear it. So if they're not going to put it out, I guess I just will.

I'll just give it to everybody for free then. And that's really, that's how it got out. It was really Thank you, Jesus. Getting a DJ, we work with Charles Dixon and Charles Dixon. I remember DJ Charles Dixon. Charles Dixon had like this,

this is that back in the day when people would have these massive DJ lists all over the world. And DJs had a lot more, I feel like, maybe it's like that again. Autonomy. Yeah, autonomy. And they could just do what they want. They could actually break records.

Yeah, record pools too. So that helped too, right? And record pools. Yes. So we basically did that. We did it to Sundays of the Record Purs. send it to the list, and so all the DJs, like, around the world got it. And I think the UK might have gotten it first, like a day before everyone else,

or maybe half a day, you know, because just the way the list was sent out or the record was sent out to the list. And they just started playing it, like, immediately. Like, a lot of DJ started playing it right away. And that was kind of my parting thing. That was, to me, that was my, you know, and it wasn't just my decision because Lendy is our thing. That was the parting thing.

That was like, well, you know. I'm going to get you up. So let's prepare for part two. Okay. Wow, that's crazy. Yeah. Then we put it out. And it took off over Christmas break. So this is Christmas. No one can do anything. So there was actually a good time too because everyone was like on their vacations. So there wasn't like these crazy calls and all these things happening. And I was like, great, we'll just do this end of the year. And this is my parting gift, I guess. And I just want people to hear the record. That's all. So I guess I'm done. And we'll figure out what to do after that. And that was it. And come New Year's, it was just building so. fast and the label then had to play catch up like okay we need to do the video we can do this because answer this thing though was there any sort of moment of redemption like hey we were wrong about this yeah apologies no delivery or were they mad at you for ruining their plans

you know the thing that's still weird is no it wasn't that and I can't say something specifically because I wasn't in the meetings, but there was the feeling that they were, that would be weird though. So I never knew if that was the case. What I was going to say was they were like actively trying to tamp down the record because there were other records at the label that they wanted to pop. And so they were trying to shift. They wanted to shift the attention.

Yeah. Other records. So they were trying to shift people away from that. And so really one thing did what. it did in spite of the label, not because of it. And I don't mean that to disparage any particular person, because I actually had a really great relationship with people who are there. So some people are just doing your jobs.

You know what I mean? It's more like, I think when you go like on the higher up, the higher, higher, higher higher part of it. Because people who are really individually working, they're great. You literally just said, I mean, I think when you work for or when you work with the system, that's kind of more or less prioritizing their job safety as opposed to creativity. You'll often find a lot of cutting off the nose despite the face. Because my whole thing is that, well, if you win, then they all win.

And then other people can win. But there's this whole thing where it's just like one entity can only share the spotlight. And I never understood that. I didn't understand that. And we said that at the time because I was like, listen. And I think when people started looking at like smaller rap labels, they understood that the strength and numbers. Because I was like, listen, they're thinking too corporate.

They're thinking in a very old state corporate way, which is, this is the Vanguard one, this is the this and this is the that. And I'm like, you want everyone to win because that everyone can help each other. And everyone, even just by the nature of being successful, it helps give you leverage for this and that. I'm like, why am I the only one who's seeing this over here? I mean, my team was seeing it. I was like, you want more artists to be super, super successful.

Do you only want one or two to keep your lights on? Because that's not a good, that's a precarious position for you to be in as a label. Why would you want that? It's not a lady model. Like, when you go back and you talk to even some of these female singers and legends of the days, it's like one Diana, one Aretha, they can't even talk to each other. They don't, not impose it like. Like, it's a thing.

Even when we look at female emcees, There is one who does this and one who does that. It is. It's, yeah. There's an artist. Is that tokenism? I don't, I don't like that either. There's a really awesome book that I read like five years back.

Well, he's a comedy writer now. His name is Jason Karp. Back then, I believe his MC name was Hot Carl. And Hot Carl was he made his mark in the early aughts. Whatever the Hot 97 is of L.A., they used to have this free. style Fridays thing where, you know, they would have different people call them freestyle battle and whatnot. And this guy was at one point just had the world in the palm of his hands. And so he signs to a particular label. And his memoir is called Kanye West owes me $300 and other

true stories. And basically, Jensen goes through his whole from being a battle MC to being signed to Interscope records. And he reveals something. So right now, the story that you're telling me is, I believe, the same story that Bubba Sparks went through at Interscope. So the way that Jason painted the story was that they were so invested in a particular money-making emcee on that label that their plan was to sign everyone that was kind of like under his umbrella. and freeze them so that they don't stand in the way of their star producer. And I was like, wow, I've never heard of that. Like, if you were to tell this story without me reading that book, then I would have just been like, okay, she's a little bit of a girl.

But once I read Jensen's book and then started asking around to other ex-label execs, and they were like, dude, that is part for the course. That happens all the time. That's kind of weird. They said they just signed. I mean, I feel like that's actually extra. Like where they went out of their way to sign people that were similar to him? We just had, um, Senyatta Metrea.

That was kind of his exit at the label because his debut was so magnetic and sold so much that it was problematic for Sony's biggest artist, who was the biggest selling artist of all time. that was a problem for him and he kind of rang the alarm a little bit like, yo this can't happen and in their way they kind of let the air out which is kind of weird

his take on it when he did Questlove Supreme he was very bitter about it for about 20 years and then he realized that his life was saved because he He's still alive. And he realized like, wow, that person unknowingly saved my life because, but, you know, I personally believe that you can manifest a successful future without like this whole idea that if you become the biggest thing in the world, then suddenly you're going to die or meet the fate of what Whitney met or Prince met or Michael met or, you know, this whole idea that only the biggest. artists fall off the hardest, I believe that we can control that as well.

You're doing it now, right? If you think about it, it's like, also, you don't have to go to the same five white men to get a record deal to make you change your life anymore. And so that's the thing, too. These kids understand now that you don't have to do that. You don't need the label. And the label doesn't do as much as it used to do for, you know, for people, which was, you know, a long time ago. This is before I, you know, came into the music business, they actually would develop the talent, help make you who you became. They really helped develop those artists. That was kind of gone when I came in.

And then now it's really like they just want, I don't know, they might as well just be distribution because they really just want the artists already to be there, have the music, and have the audience already via social media. So, you know, but people can, so many more artists can make a living and they can do really well and be successful without that now. So that's a really wonderful thing. But regarding the story that you're telling about him, you know, only he knows himself, though.

So if he says that, it's probably because he recognized what kind of like issues or what kind of demons could be awakened. The things that were just like lurking beneath the surface, you know how someone could say like, okay, maybe if I went down this path, I would have done really well with the success. And other people can say, actually, if I went down that path, I think I would have turned it to a really arrogant jerk because I already could sense that it would have been happening.

Like, for instance, like that. So he probably sensed me. No, not me. I'm just saying any more. I was like, okay. Not me. Okay. Just anybody.

Just anybody like I could say, these are the things that I think could be my potential pitfalls and issues. Because I do believe everything happens for a reason. Yes. Yes. Yeah. So even if you think, if you are a believer in that, then you really believe that there are no missed opportunities,

that no one ever took anything from you because what God has for you is for you. and no one can take what is for you if God has that for you. So it's really just you finding your path and feeling out what that is. Because if you believe that God's got you, then really even when like your worst enemy tries to make you fall, they're only still doing their part in God's plan. You know what I mean? And that is the fight. And that is the fight to continue to try to keep your mind like that.

Yeah. Yeah. Remember that. A win is a win. A win. I don't care where I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver 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. 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.

What's up, everyone? I'm Ego Vodom. My next guest, you know from Stepbrothers, 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 him 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. Mm. 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 Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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, 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 someone's, 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.

So even though for me, one thing is your monster single, my favorite album of yours is actually because I love it, which... That is so interesting. Well, because it also happened to Calice. Like, Calice's second album never came out in the United States. I had to go overseas to find Caledescope album. And that's the same because I love it was all over Europe, but not in America. Like, what happened with it because I love a project in general that it didn't get any light whatsoever in the states? What label was that?

What was it because of love? Was that Columbia as well? Columbia, yeah. Okay, that's probably the last one. That's what I was really thinking of leaving the label. Because it's just like, even when I wanted this single, it was like so hard to move and like to do anything. And then we were going to release it. And it was like, yeah, it's going to come out in the States.

And I was like, well, why are they coming out of different times? We live in the Internet era. It should be one date. I don't believe in this, different dates for this and that. I have fans that are going to be like, hey, I didn't get the album. So what is the good reason for having them? come out at different times. Oh, we'll just do that. And I was like, I don't know. I'm feeling

like that is just leaving it possible that it doesn't even have a U.S. release. I wasn't really confident in them at this point regarding them following through. So I really, that was just completely out of my hands regarding why. And that album, I'm really proud of that album. It's not perfect. I can definitely be critical of it.

I loved it. Like the shit you did with the Bacanans, like, the old make-me-believe thing. The Bacchanas are so great. I just, I was just asking after them, actually. I got to go back to that. Matter of fact, we still, when I heard that, we, to this day, do that flip whenever the roots do the seed. Like, I played the shit out of that song when it first came out,

like DJing and whatnot. Shit, you also work with them from formerly of the youngsters. Karan, goodman. Karan, oh, wow. Yeah, Karan did, he did some like it, I believe. He did a little bit. You know, it's weird. I thought, initially I thought.

It was most, actually, that was mostly me and Lenny did that one. Yeah, I was going to say you and Lenny came, like, also with hate to love you, which I thought was outstanding. Thank you. I love you to love you, too. Who did that? That was, um. You did. But one up also.

There also, no, not the class. One up, yeah. One up. Yeah, one up. And Lynn also. I love to create tracks while we're creating the song. Like, that way we can, you know what I mean? Like, it's really like musicianship that way. It's not just like writing to a track. It's just something that's living and breathing. By this point, where are you rich creatively? Like, are you guys not working? Was there attention there? What? No, there's no tension, but I'll have to see what he's.

doing and we haven't spoken in a long time as up today as of today we haven't spoken because i could have this war heard you say something like it is a potential for something in the future with the two of you always there always is i just have to literally be like hey what's going on because for a second he wasn't doing any music for a second is he actively still working i don't know if he is now but before he wasn't and then he was again so i'm i'm thinking that he still is but just some just cooking What state does he live in? He's such a mystery. What state does Rich Harris live?

I'm not going to say, because I don't know if he wants to anyone to know. I didn't say city. I just, is he in, okay, is he in this country? Okay. I'm assuming he's still in the country, unless he's just visiting somewhere. But yeah, he lives in. I hope he's a steward, DMV, but I hope. But, yeah, so what is the division of labor between you two, like working in the studio?

Do you work from soup to nuts together in terms of? That would have been the idea for this next time. If we do something together again, we'll be doing it like that. Like, because my fate, I don't know if that's like his zone though, but he's a musician. So I know he can. I just don't know if he's comfortable doing that. The favorite way I like to work is I'm at the mic and I got the musicians here.

I did this session where I went in with a producer and it was like, let's just play. Let's just see what happens. Just let's just feel it out. Got these vibes. And he was like, okay, well, you know what? I'm going to bring some, like I'm going to a guitarist in. I'm going to bring in a couple pianists. Let's just do it.

I'm like, okay, it was going to just be really a meeting. And it's just like, let's just, but I always like to reserve room to play just because you never know if what happens. And we were just like in there and I just stand up the mic and then it's like give me a, you know, something like this. Something deeper. Okay, add something in like some piano now or something. Then I'll just give those general directions, right? Sometimes I'm specific. I'm literally like, do this.

I'll be very specific, but sometimes not. And then so the producer was also like getting them together while I was like, yeah, this feels like this. Give me a little something like that. And I turn off all the lights. So it's very dark. So kind of it's hard for people to work for a second. They only have the lights of the board and the stuff around them because it has to be like

boom dark for me. So then I'm just like, I'll just start singing stuff. And I like do the lyrics as I'm just filling out the melody and I'll just start saying stuff. But I'll just be like laying it out. and then it's like oh now we're adding in building and we built some songs like that we have like 15 dope records just from that one evening that's my favorite way to work and then we can figure out what to take further you know what I mean and what musically what's going on but we've got the feel of it the sound of it that's my favorite way to work I don't like to get a track and be like write something to the track write something I don't know it's not I don't really like that because I feel already boxed in already you know And that's not the melody that's in my head. It's in a whole different key and it's not that vibe. So, okay, I'm only laughing because I prefer to work the way that Rich does.

Like, I need silence and I need isolate. Because if I'm in front of somebody, I'll be less. Steve's, uh, my, has been my engineer since you got your driver's license. Yeah. Yeah. Since before I got my driver's license. Like, Steve is. engineered all the common stuff.

He was there for all of the DeAngelo stuff, like all that stuff. So, you know, I don't feel stupid or silly when I'm trying to experiment that may or may not work. You know, but oftentimes I'll feel like if people are in the room, it's too much pressure. Yeah, you feel too afraid to mess up. Well, yeah, but then also like, I'll be in a situation. where one particular artist wants to be there from the soup to nuts thing instead of like,

here's what I prepared for you. And oftentimes I'll have to, I did this once to a client where I already had the song down, but I literally spent five hours acting like, oh my gosh. I did it. I did yourself in these situations. Amir, you do this to your, you know what? You're still not for confrontational. We need to talk about that.

I just learned the word no, like five years ago. So, no. I'm new now. But yeah, I put on a whole horse and pony show and accidentally wound up into the idea that. I can't believe you did that. But from what you told me last time I spoke, I can. I can believe that you spent five hours pretending that you were coming up with something because you're so sweet and non-conference you and you were non-confrontational.

No, that was old me. This was back in like 2014. No, now I'm, I am new in my communications. You set up, like, yeah, all right. You're working on it. You are in progress. He's in progress. I can understand you needing that time because, see, even if I'm there, we're doing this

thing, I have closed sessions. I don't, like, you know, people are in there. They don't have to be in there because then it gets, like, uncomfortable and all. So you want to be able to feel free to make mistakes. But also, if I was writing a record, if I was writing a record at heart. What? Oh, he just rebakes Erica. He just read, yes, you're sensitive about your shit.

I got you. No, I understand that you would want to finish your thought and be like, let me finish my thought, like, in peace. Because if I'm writing a song or something like that for someone else, or just even if I was just writing something for me, but the music was done, if there are other writers in the room, and usually there aren't, Because I find it hard to work with other writers. No, because they never say what I would say.

So you don't aim at writing camps or any of those things. No, because they never say it. That's when you, I'm sorry, but that's when you come out with something like, no other chicks like this, the chicks like me, see you walking in the room. And I'm like, that's not even me. I would never say that. And I would never feel like all these other girls are trash, but I'm so great. You body roll again.

Yes. When I'm walking in, let it get your man out like that. You get stuff like that. Meanwhile, Emery, it's funny, as you say, that I'm curious what's moving you these days. I would never ask you the elementary question. I'm like, what are you listening to? Books.

But what? Well, let me say first. Let me finish the other thing. I'm sorry. Because there are other people I've worked with that did not. Because they might be like, well, we were together.

I was giving you stuff like that. So that's not, I was being facetious. That's not all that comes out of it. But I have to be particular with the writers I work with because they do have to know me and what I would say and how I would say. I'm also a writer, like a fiction,

you know what I mean? Like words are important. What I say and how I say. is really important. So, yeah. But I've worked with really talented writers. And when we gel, we gel. And then I know, like, they'll, you know,

that's what's great about Rich, too. Was Rich a lyric person or just the music person? He could be able to the lyrics, too. But his stuff would, I think it's melody and feel and like the rhythm. Okay. Got it. Okay. And then you were asking me something about what I'm into now?

No, I said, musically, what is? moving you these days. Here's a thing about me. I'm kind of weird. And I sometimes feel uncomfortable, honestly, having music-related interviews. I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to lie.

I'm trying to get the books. No, no. I usually don't. I'm just saying because I feel like people will be like, dang, well, she's not listening to anything. No, no, no. Her habits are weird.

And so I feel like, I don't, I don't really want to talk about it. You're an artist. You're not supposed to care, too. You're not supposed to care. I listen. free. Say what you feel. Okay.

I usually will go through pockets of time where I listen to no music. It might be half a year where I don't listen to anything. Or it might just be instrumentals. Or if I'm listening to music, because I do that, because I don't listen to music so much, I listen to music that came out years ago as if it just came out. So it's new to me. But the interesting thing is I do get a feel for what can last and not feel old, right? Although I'm like, well, I don't really know what's the new things, like, whatever.

But so I'll be listening to something right now and playing it out. Like, but it's like, then I'll look. Then I'll look. And I'm like, oh, dang, he, you know, this is 14 years old. This album is no, but like, I'll be like this album is really dope. I like this. Oh, wait. Oh, he came out with this in 2015.

Oh, well, well, great job. You know what I mean? It's like late. So I'm listening. Right now, I've been listening to a lot of Chris Brown. But he put out something every month. I'm not as late on Chris Brown stuff. But still, some of the songs I am a little late on, and they're new to me.

This is precisely the reason why I have you on the subscription list. I know. You said, okay, so you do know that you're sending it to me. Honestly, I'm just like, I always feel like you're sending it to me, but like you're not even realize, I'm just a number. I'm just a notch in your belt. You are one of 438 people. Wow. But no, no, no.

I don't do it. I literally, I sit. Do you have a lot of friends? Do you have a lot of friends? So is that special for you? Is that a small? Is that curious? There's, all right, this is what I do.

I do it for two reasons. Okay. Primarily, I know that people, my age and adjacent to my age. I'm 24. What are you talking about? But okay, keep it. Exactly. Exactly.

So I know that oftentimes we'll get comfortable in our comfort zone. And our comfort zone is the 75 songs we know. You know, the Stevie Wonder song, that da-da-da-da-a-song. And we'll tend to our gym list, our walking list, our Sunday afternoon cleaning a house mix. Oh, my God, that's all my playlist. I love it. Okay, go ahead. So we tend to get trapped in that.

So number one, I do it because, you know, it started with one person. Is that what it is? It started with one person and then it wound up being 10 people. And then one of those 10 people told the world. And then they were like, well, where's my list? And then it wound up being 430-something people. You're one of those people. The millions that are listening because they're not the 400.

You put these are the playlist conversations you're talking about, your Spotify situations. Yeah, Amir will actually text I get the text from his phone And you know, but because it's like I don't mess text. I individually go through all 438 names twice a month And send them Really? Oh, do you have special now?

I thought you would say it to everybody. The shit takes 19 hours to do. Meanwhile, Amy, I feel less special. I don't want you to know I'm not in that four. So I'm just going to sit here and ask you to send me those later. Finally, you will be 439 people. No, but when I got the 300, I was like, I can't do it no more.

My hands are hurting. And then if people tell me, yo, how come I ain't on the list? Then I do it. See, you just said, how come I ain't on the list? So I did it. But the second reason why I do it is because it forces me to constantly search for music. Because at this age, I, too. can get stubborn and just stuck in.

All right, I'm just going to listen to Prince for the next eight months and stay in that cycle and miss all that behind me. So in this process, I go through about realistically 300 songs a week. And of those 300 songs, maybe 11 are cool. And so I'll just stack up. Yeah, so that's why I do it. So I feel special. and I think that it totally makes it.

Everything that you said totally makes sense. The thing about it is that if, like I'm always thinking all the time, right? So I usually am like, the kind of, the way that I like take in information is like, this is what I'm in and I'm in this for like, I'm entrenched for this amount of time. It could be months and months. It could be a year. And that's all I'm doing. If I'm not eating and take care of my family, I am just doing that.

and then I'm super in this and that. So I feel like I can have a lot of in-depth knowledge on different things because I have spent time entrenched in it. The issue with music and listening to music, because someone was recently asked me like this summer, when you told me you didn't listen to music like that, I was like, what? I was kind of sad.

And I was like, what, really? And they were like, I used it for everything I do. And I was like, yeah, but I can't do that because here's a thing. If I listen to music, I won't ever stop. If I listen to music, I started thinking about what project I want to do. I want to do this, did it. Then I'm thinking about this and that. and the colors of that and what I want to create and what did they do and how that's really interesting and now I'm going down a rabbit hole I will do nothing else but only that and so I get in my moments where I'm like I'm into some history thing grabs me I'm pouring the internet I'm pouring books to learn about this particular thing or like right now I'm very like into geopolitics so I'm all about like the economy geopolitics that's all my videos if I'm exercising it's geopolitics if I'm you know I had to you know go to the doctor

and get a shot or whatever it is. My distraction thing is the geopolitical thing on the economy and what happened to the middle class. Like, I am in that. And that's all I can do because I process my information at night. I talk to myself. So at nighttime, usually, whether I'm in the shower or whatever, people will hear me, well, I don't think that this is it.

Because first of all, the reason why you do that, and people might come in and be like, well, you're talking to. I'm talking to me. Talk to yourself. I'm talking to me. And so I'm like, just, you know, here it's a lot. Someone was like, dang, amory, sometimes you can be a lot like being around. I'm like, good about how I feel.

I have to live with me and I can't escape myself. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what 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,

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. What's up, everyone? I'm Ego Wode. My next guest, you know from Step Brothers Anchorman, Saturday Night Live, and the Big Money Players Network. It's Will Ferrell. Woo, woo, 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 Podcast, 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 IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, for 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 story. This began a years-long court battle to prove the truth. You doctored this particular test twice in so much, 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. Gregalespian 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. You're taking a lot of podcasts, a lot of books, a lot of, so usually when a person takes in a lot of information, it usually to gather and sort the information so that they can do something with it. Do something with it. What is your end game?

That's what I'm trying to figure out. And that's because I'm revisiting that question before I had a lot of information. I remember thinking, I got all this information. I need to put this in like a book. And I was thinking of doing that. And I'd done some of that. But then I was thinking, okay, you're doing all these things. And then, yes, there are a couple people who are like, you need to do like a podcast.

You need to do that. And I'm like, okay, do I though. Like, okay, one, in one universe, I do do that. And people love me and they also hate my guts. Yeah. So there's one of the information. No, Amy Marie. Love the information.

But they love the information, you know. But so I'm saying that there's that. And I think it would do really well, actually. But then the question is, because they were like, would you know all this stuff? And I was like, but then the question is, is everything always to be commodified? Do you know a lot of things? Does it mean, like, I need to try to get famous in this lane with it? I mean, can you just have information to have information to inform how you live and what you do?

Or is it like worthless unless you get big off of it? And that's a question. I don't know. It's like the heady is of the heady right there. Yeah, that's a, it's valid. You know what I'm saying? Very valid, very valid. Well, I just sent you your own mix of what I'm listening to now.

Okay. Which isn't music. It's literally tones because, yes, I know what it is for your brain to constantly be in thinking mode. I sent it a, I sent me some 528, I just, 432. I just, yes. What is this? 538, 432? I've been listening to it.

I listen to those. So basically, Laia, it's where Fonte always clown me. You know, like when Spotify, it snitches on you and says, you've been listening to, you know, it gives you like your top five what you've been listening to. And people look at my thing as like, boy, there's no music on here. So all I do, Laia, it's tones of hurts where I'll send it to you, like, it's a chord that, you. It's just, it's a chord that you know what you listen to when you go to the spa. You hear the, like the eight.

Wait a minute. Time out. It's a different frequency. Remember I told you about my project Cymatica? Remember I told you? That's the whole Cymatica, the trilogy. That's my long, I'm going to put it together. I have three songs I want to keep from it.

Because I wanted to record it actually in, I was going to record it in either four. Now am I doing it in 432? But like the frequencies, we talk about this. frequency. James Rogers, I hardly knew you. She's a hell of nerd. Blurred, blur, power. These, like, reset your like, was it Vargas nerves?

What is it? Peres and pathetic? Yeah, you're a nervous system. Look at her. I tell you, when I get into something, I get into it. It's me. Dude, I feel like I'm on a Nard War episode right now. Amy Marie, what does A. Marie mean?

Is that what we're missing? Is that what we're missing? Did your parents know all along? What does A. My mom made it. My main. My mom made it up. Oh, me too.

Okay. Yeah, I'm glad you said it to me because I was listening to it because I was like, you need to like heal. You need some like healing vibes. But this is the rabbit holiest of all Questlove's Supreme Rabbit Hole. Similar to the Bowles. Y'all making it sound like the Bowls. Y'all know that, right? Like it's sounding.

We're going to do another episode where we just talk about your world of books. I literally thought when we did this episode, we were going to talk about you as an author, you was a book club person. Because you really got me in the game. Oh, yes, my ninth book coming out soon. Jesus, a kid book. I wrote my first kid. Yes, yes, exactly.

Beautiful. I won't be supporting. No, but for real, like, she got me into the rabbit hole, but we obviously, this can go on for 12 hours. But we do have to wrap up. Listen. Can we do a retreat with Amy Marie? I feel like it's an event. Like, you need a retreat.

We need to do some sound baths. We need to, you know, commute. No, we would do sound bass, get the singing bowls. We would have some political conversation exchange from books. some books, has some debates. A political exchange. A Marie's about to be the next member of Questlove Supreme. Guessholes.

Come on, guesshows. Come on, guesshows. That would be dope. Especially on a book. Whatever you would like or whatever you would invite me to, I'm there. Okay. Wow. As long as not a party.

No, I'm kidding. Awesome. No, you're not. No, you're not. And also, if ever, you know, you're in your creative mood. Yeah, I would like to collaborate as well. Oh, I love to do that. I just texted.

I don't know. After this, I'm like, nah, music's not your calling. This is truly, this is truly where your passion lies. Well, what is this? What do you call this? Because I'm trying to figure out, what is this? You say, this is more passionate. What's this?

I think this is called life pivoting. I think both you and I are discovering. We can't, we can't put a title on it until maybe 2028. The truth. Now you're gathering information. I know I'm always seeking the truth. I'm seeking the truth about everything, always. But I don't know what to call it.

And that's when you were asking me what I would want to do with it. My friend was like, you do the podcast. I'm like, I don't know. I'm trying to, right now, I'm just trying to be still and let God. Because I know I'm doing the things that I'm doing. Like I'm about to start working on the new project, finishing up doing the novel that I'm working on. But then I'm also like there's another thing that's happening and I'm just trying to be still for it so God can like be like, okay, here.

Because I also don't know what it is. You're finding out what it is. You're not allowing out right now. But this is why being still and silent also helps. And take it from the guy that had 19 jobs and was always the second I did this, the answer comes to you. I promise you. I promise you. The answer comes, Steve.

Thank you. I'm going to, I need to text you. Sorry. I'll just, you know, we got to just talk. We got to just talk off time as well. Yes, absolutely. Now that we're allowed because you were like, we did an interview now. Yes, we're allowed.

He couldn't have no real conversation until we did the podcast because he didn't want to spoil it. Exactly. Exactly. Now we're friends. All right. Well, Amy Maria, I thank you. On behalf of Sugar, Steve. and Laia

and I'm being Bill and the family. Thank you for doing for love Supreme. I appreciate you. And I will see you on the next school round, y'all. All right.

This is Sugar Steve. Thank you for listening to Questlove Supreme. This podcast is hosted by Amir Questlove Thompson, Laia St. Clair, Sugar Steve Vandelle, and Unpaid Bill Sherman.

The executive producers are Amir Questlove Thompson, Sean G, and Brian Calhoun. Produced by Brittany Benjamin, Jake Payne, and Laia St. Clair. Edited by Alex Conroy. Produced for IHeart by No Brown. What's Love Supreme is a production of IHeart Radio.

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 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 Gowke. 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 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. Everyone, I'm Ego Woodham. 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. I'm Daniel Alarcon, and this is my friend. This is much more famous than I am. I wouldn't go that far, but I'm John Green.

Co-host of the podcast The Away End with my old friend Daniel. On our podcast, The Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World Cup. Together, we'll find out why, of all the unimportant things, football, soccer, is the most important. Listen to the Away End with Daniel Alarcon. and John Green on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast, guaranteed human.