The Questlove Show - Questlove Supreme: Chris Robinson Part 1

Episode Date: September 6, 2023

Chris Robinson describes being a film and Hip Hop-obsessed teen from Baltimore and making his way into the industry. He remembers getting life-changing advice from LL Cool J (instead of a battle), linking with some of Brooklyn's most hardcore MCs, and now pivoting to help tell Lebron James' story. 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. Ladies and gentlemen, guess what time it is? That's right. Your favorite podcast. The award winning, Questlove Supreme. I got it right. Finally.

And we are the award winning. Award winning. What's Love Supreme? Yeah, here with Team Supreme. It's Questlove, you know what time it is. Tigolo. What's up, brother? What up, man?

What's happening? What's happening? We're in the daytime. When's the last time we did a daytime, John? It's been a minute. It's been a good minute. I feel like I just woke up. Yeah, like he hits a little different in the daylight.

Oh, you like that? Wait, is that a good thing? I don't know. There it is. That was get back from the other night. No, no, no, no. How you looked like you had to rest. Yo, can we talk about that night?

Can we really quick? Yes, I would really like to talk about that night. Which night? So Amir had an experience. Would you like to tell everybody about your experience? No, it's random. I mean, you know, I was in L.A. You know, I'm Philly to the bone.

and I just happened to have a night off when Miss Jill Scott finally got around to after a pandemic, a false pandemic start celebrating the one year anniversary of her landmark, who is Jill Scott tour? Y'all. Did it from beginning to end.

It was just that from outside eyes, I could see how random and weird and motley that crew looked walking in. you were sitting with the crew that you walked in with. Yeah, well, you know, I'm, I'm Philly. Me and Quinta are really, really good friends, you know. Allegedly, we don't know according to this podcast because you're all your friends, well, no, your friends don't come on this podcast.

She is a good friend. Yes, yes. Oh, right. She's notoriously shy, but I'll say the random part. No, I was just, I was hanging with my crew and Quina having a role with us. And just out of nowhere and Laiia, correctly you're very correct and and um thank you for your pre-warning uh you know there's there's some people who's you know like james brown won't let you call them james or james brown

you have to call mr james brown uh we already have our own we we have miss laren hill yes so just randomly uh at the last minute my my boy uh silver who's jill's tour manager and sometimes ruts tour manager said hey you you know, I got to stick somebody in your section. I came back and basically it was Lisa Ray. Mm-hmm. Oh, wow. I had to let him know. Basically, Amir didn't know that Lisa Ray is always Lisa Ray. She's never Lisa. So when Amir said that she was going to be showing up, I said,

well, you just make sure you don't never slip and call her Lisa. Her name is Lisa Ray. Right. And so I warned everybody that we are to address her as Lisa Ray and not, hey, Lisa or whatever. And, you know, by then our tree, had already kicked in. So it was really hard explaining that to people. So I think we over did it in every three seconds. We were just like, oh shit. Hey, Lisa Ray, would you like some wine? Hey, Lisa Ray, would you like a blanket? Lisa Ray, can you see? Lisa Wright, like literally. I would also like the world to know that this was Questleff's first time sitting in the audience of the Hollywood Bowl at the

Blackest Hollywood Bowl event probably of the year, one of the blackest ones outside of June. I've never sat in the audience before at the Hollywood Bowl. I didn't know that you could bring your own food. No, it was for those that are regular Hollywood bowl attendees, like it was nothing. Like I, you know, I didn't know that you was supposed to bring your own bottle and whatever. So let's just say a lot Lai was getting a kick out of watching me. Watching you go to the stand by you a blanket, do all the things. You ain't bring your own blanket, man. You're supposed to bring you a civilian. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed being a civilian. Anyway, unpaid bill. What's up, bro? I don't know, man. I feel like my day's all fucking weird

because we're doing it in the middle of the day. And I don't know. I'm great though. I just feel like this usually ends the day. Now it's the beginning of the day. You're usually working. So you want a day drink? I know. No. Not today. Maybe. All right. Uh, uh, Sugar Steve. Hey, everybody. Do I hit differently in the daytime as well, Quest? Yes. I, we can see your face now. You, you normally have the darkest room out of all of us.

So, you know, no, we're good. Yeah. Anyway. All right. So this episode, definitely a long time coming. I will say that our guest, along with his brother Rich, is a founding member of the rock group, The Black Crows. Let me rewind. Let me rewind. No, actually, for the last 37 years, our guest today has been beloved Patriarch, Jack Hamilton, on the Bold and the Beautiful. of and also the voice of Vicks Formula 44 for the last, what, 47 years? No, no, no, no. Let me try this one more time.

How many are there? Yo, first of all, I will say on video directing credits alone, I know that we've elevated it to movies and to production or whatnot, but I will probably say that I think that our guest today, that his canon of music videos has really, in my opinion, saved and somewhat defined the best moments

of BET and MTV. I mean, literally, like, dude, I didn't even know that you directed the Do Do Do Do Brown video. Oh, yeah, I'm from Baltimore, man. Can we just start there? Can we start there? White Brothers and a dog. Wow. What's Drew Brown?

But our introduction to Elie Alicia Keys came through his lens, you know, dude, like, A. Marie, like, we can go on it. Just literally, Alicia Keys, A. Marie, uh, directed, uh, name it, wild for the night. Everything that's important. Lord, Lord, uh, all the miracles that he's done with Outcast. We can't even go there. But dude, my favorite brandy videos, full moon. I didn't know that you did that. I know what you want. How did you handle the entire flip mode squad? I would, I want to see the entire treatment. I just want to know how from one to 10, what was the headache level of Advil you had to take for that entire Buster, Mariah flip mode video experience. And by the way, that you're staring at me, I can tell that day was very heady for you. But no, literally, you've directed some of these crazy, innovative videos. Dude, so anxious also. Bad boys for life.

I'm just saying, just name it. Like from Jay, he's literally directed. If we named his entire canon, the episode would be over by now. Yeah, it was. Just the whole episode just on the new edition story, just alone. Just that. But yeah, I'm about to say, between the new edition story, between star. Shooting stars, yeah, man.

Awesome. You've done various Wu-Tang, Sag. Like, you are, I feel like. He did Yvonne Orgy's mama, I made it. Vaughn was on our show, too. Like, it's just all of the. things. And that's the episode. So thank you very much, Chris for

joining us. No, ladies and gentlemen, Chris Robinson is joining. The are Chris Robinson. Yes, sir. Our Chris Robinson. What's happening? What's going on? I got admit, there was a slight who's on

first situation when Laia, Brittany and cousin Jake brought you up. It's like, yo, Chris Robinson wants to do the show. And I was like, oh, okay. So I went to a Bruce Springsteen concert. You already know where this shit's going. I went to

Bruce Springsteen concert like a month and a half ago and I saw Black Crow's Chris Robinson and kind of had a who's on first conversation in the elevator. I was like, yeah, so I hear you're about to do the show with us and I think

he thought I was talking about the Tonight show. Right. So just cut to like just 10 minutes of going in circle before I realize yeah, I don't think he's coming on Questlove Supreme. Oh, Chris Rob. Oh, that's your. I got it. Okay. Right, right. You know, I got a story with him.

You got a story with Chris Robinson? Chris Robinson, Atlanta, Georgia, at the four seasons in the lobby, somebody's calling for Chris Robinson. I show up and he shows up. It should have been like a Dave Chappelle skit. And then he goes, he goes, do you know everybody thinks I'm a video director? And I said, do you know everybody thinks that I play rock and roll? We had a conversation. It was dope. All it takes is you got to direct a Black Crow's video and then the circle's complete.

Yeah. A supernova. Let's set that up. You know what? Yo, not knowing your everyday life is, but one of the strangest nights in rock star kind of existence I've ever had, you were a part of it.

I don't even know if you remember it. Do you remember the night that I came to Atlanta? I don't even think you took me. I think you just happened to be there. And you became like my, you know, like whoever, whoever your guide is on the first day of kindergarten or whoever your guide is on your first day in prison, it's almost the same thing equivalent.

I went to, it wasn't, what's Atlanta's most popular gentleman's? It wasn't a Magic City. It wasn't Magic City, though. It was Nicky's a gentleman's club. It was something on that level, but... I remember. I remember, yeah. I forgot where we were.

We were somewhere that was like, legitimately, if you are from Atlanta, you frequent this spot. Right. Someone told me, like, you know, to go to Magic City is almost like some tourist shit. Like, don't go to Magic City, and you're only going to go to...

What's the one that has the letter C in it? That's... On my lounge. Yeah, or the Claremont, for novelty purposes only. Right. Oh, yeah. Never heard of that one. But the actual natives and locals go to the spot that I went to. I forget the name of it.

And I've never seen, like, I thought I've, you know, like, we'll go to a spot in Vegas or something like that. I've never seen no shit like this in my life where 20 minutes into the experience, I realized that the whole purpose. of that establishment wasn't, it wasn't even the women. Like they just happened to be there dancing. It was about- Breakfast?

No, it's about to define the laws of gravity. And how much muscle power do you have to grab a stack? Throw it up in the air and keep it up in the air before the last dollar drops. And I believe that they had like a counter on the wall, like people breaking records like, who, can make it rain. They keep their dollars in the air the longest.

And I've never seen a spot with its own banking system. Wow. Like so a very much well-loved ball player that's near and dear to my hometown. I will say at that point, he was a young startup in the ATL. They were basically having a whose dick is bigger contest on whose dollars could stay up in the air more and literally like at one point said ball player threw up maybe 20,000 and this when I was my afro was out and I was rocking a that was in my what do you call it um freedom fighter uh for slaves uh not net Turner Frederick Douglas yes Frederick Douglass I was about to say Fred rerun Barry them sorry okay no and I remember $200 had landed in the

part of my afro. And naturally, I was just going to grab this shit and Chris, like, don't do that. They'll come and get it. And I was like, huh? And literally, I was about to do that. And security was like, no. Like, I couldn't you couldn't touch the money. I've never seen no shit like that in my life. Is that,

is that night just indicative of what the strip club experience is? Because we weren't even like at the tables. We were just by the bar, just chilling, watching it. You know what, brother? That is when the money goes up, you can't touch it on its way down because that's it.

Like, I've seen situations where guys have reached for the money on the floor and it ain't good. So, you know, I could not have my brother reaching for anybody. You saved my life, bro. And literally, I just wanted to take it out my hair

to give it to, like, is this someone's like, who's... But you can't do that because you ain't throw it. See, you can't act like you giving it to somebody because somebody else do it. That it was on my person. You know, there it is. It wasn't possession was nine-tenths of the law, you know, or whatever.

I don't know. Very surreal. Are you still in Atlanta right now as we speak? I am not. I'm in Los Angeles. You know what's funny? People think I'm from Atlanta, but I'm actually from Maryland. I know.

I thought you were from Atlanta. Yeah. And I live in L.A. now. So I still go back and forth in Maryland. But I think I just did so many videos. And I did ATL. think that I'm from Atlanta. I love Atlanta, shout out Atlanta, all there.

There you go. So normally, you know, we have mostly musicians on the show. But for you, what's your beginning step to becoming a linsman? Like, how does this happen? Well, like many other people, when you're young in the beginning, I just knew I was going to be in the NFL. Like, you know, then I realized when I went to college there, that I was slow and short and weak to be in the NFL.

What position did you play? Noseguard. Oh, he was nose, okay. Yeah, I played fullback. Oh, really? Oh, well, you for real. You're for real. Now, I play some nose and off in high school, too.

I loved nose, man. It was in the trenches. I loved it. I'm going to pretend I know what a newsguard is. I'm like, I know football, but I don't think I know what that is. I saw a lie of his face, and I'm like, yeah, it's safe to ask this question. Good. What do you think it is?

A noseguard? Yeah. You want a pie in the face moment this early in the day, Bill? No, I'm good. Moving on. Nose guard. Are you in the center? Is that a defensive position?

Is that an offensive position? Noz guard is offensive. It's a defensive position. So the center is the one that snaps the ball to the quarterback. That's the offensive position. The nose guard is like generally right in front of the center. Like you're right in the middle, you know what I mean, on the defense. So you're trying to penetrate the O line, get to the QB.

You know what that means like you? Yeah, you penetrate the offensive line to get to the quarterback. Come on, man. Yeah. Come on. And basically, if you just plug up the hole, which means, you know, three dudes, you know, hit you in the back and the ribs and the chest, then you did your job. Just, just clog it up. Okay.

You know what I mean? Make it so the running back and got in a little go. Clog it up. Clog it up. But so, you know, that went quick. But in that, but when I went to college, I discovered filmmaking. I went to, you know, just took film 101. And it, I was like, this is interesting.

And then I read Spike Lee's book. She's got to have it. And it was like, he wrote this specifically to me. And blew my mind. And then at that point, you know, I was off and running. So what were your, what were your first steps into that world? Like, are you, most filmmakers I know that either went to NYU or that sort of thing. Like, what was your first steps into it?

No, it was more, it was more, you know, independent, figuring it out. You know, I went to school in Cali, went back home, took all kind of odd jobs, but I used to put flyers in the record store. Need a video? Call me. What? Yeah, man. All every, now, here's the tough part because, you know, you from Philly, you know,

like, it was so much, like, club music in Baltimore versus hip-hop. Right. So it was hip hop artists were few and far between, but the hip hop artists that were there, everybody went through this one record store. And so I got a couple joints. You know, I was learning about getting $10,000 in a brown paper bag, you know, from some cats doing their video. And Frank Ski, you mentioned earlier, Dudo Brown. Which was a DJ. And then they got in touch with me. And we did two different dude, Bradford. One of the dude, his boy, Stanley Evans, he lived close to me. So he was at a rival high school back in the day. So, and you know, Frank was, he was the guy in Baltimore. Like he ran everything. So were they radio personalities?

Yes. Frank was. Yeah. Frankski ever come to Philly at all? No, Frank went to Atlanta. Remember, Frank went to Atlanta and was in Atlanta for like 20 years. and then he came back now he's in D.C. So that's probably why you're confused

because when you were visiting Atlanta, you may hear him. Okay, I know I know that voice. And like the early odds. Okay, cool. But question, because you mentioned Baltimore, that means like you came up in a time of Frankski and like Miss Tony, right? Like, can you talk about that?

Because, come on, people don't talk about Baltimore. Come on, please. So is this the beginning of what we call Baltimore House? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I mean, listen, it was always around because I know, I'll tell you,

I'm from Baltimore, but every Friday night, you turn it on the radio when it was just house. And I hated it. You know, so I would go over to Morgan State's station because they would play hip hop late at night. So being at home, doing those videos, meeting Frank, doing Deird Brown, and then there was a contest. This is going to blow your mind. There was a contest on a show called Pump It Up. Yes. Pump it up.

Deep on. Yes. So the contest was to remake LL Cool J's booming system. I got my brother, we borrowed somebody's Jeep, I got all my cousins, I got some friends, and we shot it in Back of Morgan State. And, you know, it was syndicated show, so it was national. So we sent it in the VHS tape and we won. And it was crazy.

We were like, what? excuse me we won so the prize was you get to go to New York it was when Mama said knock you out came out you got to go to New York and have dinner with LL and his grandma

and his father and all the executives at Def Jam you know what I'm saying? So it was it was dope so tell us about it because then what did any of the time of that well yes it did because

it's some of the best advice I ever got in the business. Was Paris Barclay there? Oh, no, but I met Paris Barclay later. Okay, okay, okay. Right. So I'm set well, Elle, and we are 19, 20, maybe, and so I'm going, yo, son, I'm going to rhyme against L.L. Have the camera ready.

What? I forgot to tell you, I always. also thought I was going to be a rapper. Oh, boy. Terris, see what I'm saying? These are all the young boy aspirations. Oh, boy.

Every single thing you can do in the hood. From a barber to NFL to rap, ended up in film. But so we have a beautiful dinner, man. I get to meet his mom, L, L, the whole thing. And, you know, at one point, I give my boy to camera and I go, okay, yo man, let's battle.

And he LL just kind of smiles as a slight chuckle and he goes, listen, brother, you're very talented. What you should do is get the number of every one of these people here. Because, you know, there were interns and assistants and people who had like, they, at Def Jam, who were given the job to deal with this contest and this. you know, crazy kid from Baltimore. And he said, because you need to have your industry contact. So he wouldn't rhyme against me, thank God, because then that would be somewhere out of the universe about now. But all those people I was with turned into presidents and executives of the highest level,

and I work with them my whole career. Told you. Yeah, man. Damn. See, tomorrow's intern is, is the future present. Was he always that presidential? L.L?

Yes. He, listen, man, he has always been, he's, you know, like there's a, there's a,

there's a fabric that is for the camera, and then there's something behind it. He's always been the same. From me, I've been on 125th Street, and he rolls up into Bentley and rolls down the window and goes,

hey, Chris, how you doing? And it's like, Wow. That was just, like super solid. I worked with him on a project during COVID where

we did these performances like in the in the most of story the places because it was COVID, right? And we did the troubadour with him. Oh, wow. Okay. You know, connecting with him

and having the pre-pro calls. It's straight business, but it's love. And he keeps it moving. He's a bad dude. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me,

Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard,

but celebrated. One week I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your

podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Kourke. Clifford and a TikTok podcast network on TikTok. This week on the Sports Slice podcast, it's all about the NFL draft, and we've got a special guest. The director of the NFL's East West Shrine Bowl, Eric Galco, joins the Sports Slice podcast to break down what really matters when evaluating draft prospects. From hidden traits teams look for to the biggest mistakes franchises make to the players

flying under the radar, this is the insight you won't hear anywhere else. If you want to understand the draft like an insider, you don't want to miss this episode. Listen to the Sports Slice podcast on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slice of Life 12 and 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 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 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. I'm John Green. You may know me as the author of The Fault and Our Stars. And now, I guess also is the co-host of the away end, a brand new world soccer podcast. I'm Daniel Alarcon, a writer and journalist. And John and I have known each other since we were kids.

My first World Cup was Mexico 86. I was nine years old. I watched every game and I fell in love. On our new podcast, The Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World Cup. For us, soccer, football, is a story we've shared for over 30 years

since Daniel was the star player on our high school soccer team. Very debatable. And I was their most loyal and sometimes only fan. I love this game. I love its history, it's hope, it's heartbreak,

and above all, it's beauty. Together, we'll find out why, of all the unimportant things, football, soccer, is the most important. Listen to the away end with Daniel Auer Kohn and John Green on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You know, I assume that by this time, Lionel Martin is the gatekeeper. So in your eyes, is it like, I got to get to Lionel, Lionel C. Martin level, like, I got to, he's the gatekeeper. the guy like I know that Hype Williams, Hype Williams told me that he used to sweep the florist with Lionel Martin and I know that Paul Hunter did the same thing for hype. So it's almost like a thing. Like so did you have to be an apprentice for an established video director

before you were truly allowed to run your own thing or you just came in the door as a video director? As I was going through this process, I also like worked in the promo department. at Fox 45 News in Baltimore and any movie that came through. I was a PA on Media Man. Robert Towns. Oh, wow. Yeah.

Oh, what you learned there? Yeah. This is what I learned. This might not sound good for the kid. That's okay. I was like, oh, hell no. I'm a director. Like, I'm super young, but I go,

it's, it's, I'll put it to you this day. After working there for weeks, you know, as a PA, most of the time you're not able to go on the set. You're not able to participate. You're doing the dirty work. You know, same, and I put my son through the same torture. For our listeners out there, what does that entail? It is picking up trash. It's cleaning out toilets in the Winnebago.

It's going to get coffee. it's if an artist needs medicine or medicine, you go get it. You're the runner. You're the runner. So one night, we were working overnight. So call time was 5 p.m. and we'd work until 7 a.m. We were in Baltimore, humid to 100 some degrees as the sun starts to come up. And there was a scene where all the neighbors on each side of the block threw things out the window with mediuming.

And so the AD came to us, our PA group, and said, okay, you see each square in the sidewalk, I want you to go to that square, take a photograph, and then a Polaroid, then I want you to take a box and put each thing in that box. So when we pick this up later tonight, we can place everything in the exactness. As we looked at that three block radius. And everybody said, okay, well, we're going to be here another five hours. After working for 12 hours, I was like, this shall be my last day as a P.A. And I'm going to tough it out. So that day, I left the set.

I was like, I don't even care if you pay me. I'm out. And I did. And I told Robert this story. I saw him recently. And it was the first time he knew that I worked as a PA on his thing. But I think what it did is that it really motivated me, man. Like it had me going to New York on the Amtrak with $15 in my pocket going to set in the lobby.

I just wanted anybody to have my demo tape, you know, which wasn't that good to tell you know now that I know. But I would bug I bug somebody, you know, Fred Feldman was a guy at profile, but I called him every day. So he was the only guy in the office because I met him later and he was telling me about it. He goes, yo, you used to call me every day, but nobody was in the office. We had like went bankrupt or something, but we had a, they were kind of going from the run DMC era to this new era and in these new artists. So finally he hit me up and said, yo, I got an artist thing, smooth the hustler.

And so you did smooth the hustler, the broken language? Was that? I did. Yeah. Before that, I did smooth joint. It was just him. Then his brother, him and Trigger got together. And they did broken language.

But I ended up doing like four or five joints for them. They would come to Maryland. We would have a barbecue. We would like make posters and like have our own release parties. It just was, it was never about the money because, you know, my idea of success was if I can get a pair of Tim's, I was good. You know, after doing the video, I was great. You know? They weren't black, Black Air Force ones though.

They was Butterton. I would get, if I could get Tim's, that was it. And that's how the love part, you know, of doing it begin. How did you, back then when you first started, what was your method for creating? Like, did you have to get with the artist first? Or did you just present the artist with your idea? Like, I guess what's smooth? Oh, yeah.

You know, I'd go up, meet them. You know, it's funny. As I think back, I was so naive that I just thought everybody was friends. Everybody was cool. Like, it was just somebody you would meet. And I would go up, and I'd go straight to the heart of Brooklyn, and I was meeting MOP and DR period. And I was meeting all these dudes who were still in the street,

and I'd be sitting on their stoop going, okay, guys, so here's the treatment. I would break out the treatment and just kind of, you know, there was some storyboards connected to it. And I think, you know, they were like, you know, this kid is serious. So there was a certain trust that we got. And I, you know, we would always just try to shoot everything. But back then it was like, you know, their mother would cook for us when we were in Brooklyn shooting. And we would go to Carolina Kitchen around the corner over there in Brooklyn.

And it was just, that was the start. And I think it's funny because just along with technology and how things changed, just word would spread. Then I'd get a call from this artist. Then I would get a call from Fat Joe. And then that relationship started. turned into then I get a call from Buck. Then I get a call from Jay. It was very much a smaller community and you would, it wasn't a phone call or Zoom. You went up to the office and you sat there and you had the conversation before you really did any work. So there was a certain, you know,

you had to be vetted by the person. All right. Let me, let me ask a question. As a person who, especially in the prime of their career, you know, I'm the person that would micromanage album credits, the engineering of a song, the photographer for like the art direction of our album. But I hated the process of video making. Even with the whole what they do situation, yeah.

Like I literally had no clue that we were referencing one more chance because that's how indifferent I was. Like I was napping. I was napping in the trailer. Like I only came when it was my time to do a scene. And even when we watched the credits or whatever, I don't know. I just felt like maybe it was the deprecation thing.

Like, we're so motley looking like, this ain't getting on television. So it's almost like. You weren't thinking as a director back then. And even the guy telling these many stories. It's the equivalent of like a kid with a bad report. card that waits until like six in the morning to ask their parents to sign this shit like mom dad's happens real quick or there's permission slip like when you're asleep at six in the morning that

sort of thing that's so for me what i what i learned though what i learned was i think especially when record labels um you know there's certain artists that will get an unlimited budget you know they they have a little wigger room for creativity but how do you deal with an artist that has high expectations for their video but not the video budget? You know what? I think I was so close. You know, when we were there,

it's like I was like, yeah, let's go. Like I never said no to anything. Now, my producer was, you know, having a stomach. The producer is the bad guy. You're, yeah. Oh, yeah. Who is your producer? My producer for the last 20 years has been Roseanne Cunningham.

You know, as soon as we opened robot, like we've been, we stuck together this whole time. That's those. So she was the bad cop to your good cop. Yeah. She wasn't only the bad cop to the label. She'd be the bad cop to me. You know, she'd be like, Chris, we're shutting these lights off. And, you know, back then, you know, which is a useful mistake, I'd go, well, take part of my fee.

I was always throwing my fee in for extra lights or an extra an hour. just because she was trying to make sure I didn't bankrupt our company. You know, because that's, that's, you just, you just wanted it to be. Because I always, you know, I always say like, it's funny because back then we were all fighting for like maybe a hundred slots in the country, right? There was TRL, but didn't play a lot of hip hop. There was 106 in Park. And then, you know, of course, Ralph McDaniels. But there wasn't, you know, where there's a million slots every hour now.

Because you go to YouTube, there was a certain amount. So when hip hop got serious and became a business that was generating money, you know, those big budgets were a reaction to let's win the slot. You know, how does this competition, Hype Williams is doing this. Like, how do we get there? Like how do we how do we create and there was a lot of creativity put into it and so me I would always go yes Let's let's try to achieve beyond what the number is you know so you you would aim high for a lower budget instead of like aiming for good lower you would just aim higher anyway I didn't even know what aiming good lower was I mean just to be real now I do now I know it makes sense as a filmmaker to go okay let's do this really well because we have this

this amount of money and this amount of resources and or let's change our idea like once that treatment was written and they they chose it i really kind of took it on myself to like we got to make it work you know i also came from a world where you know at geffen records they would always throw in my face hey man we shot smells like teen spirit for 90 000 like a gymnasium of course of course cameras so yeah they would always say to me like it's in the song it's in the spirit of the performance it's not you know we don't need this car or this mansion or i mean not like we wanted a car mansion but you know i at least like my thing was i would always fight for like spike jones like because i want to just do crazy off-kilter things

right and you know we were just always always under budget so i mean after duda brown What do you feel like your first video was that really established you as in like, all right, flag planning. There's a new sheriff in town. His name is Chris Robinson. I would say Peter Gunner and Lord Tarree. Oh, man. All right.

So how did you pull up that Yankees shot? This is the first time I'm telling this story. Yeah. Of course, we want to be uptown. We wanted to be in Yankee Stadium. And this is the beauty of that era in week. and music videos. My producers got all the way up to George Steinbredder.

Right. Like we were coming bringing hip hop to Yankee Stadium. And at the end of the day, he said no. And we were devastated. And then me, this may be sacrilegious for all the New York people. Don't see Mets. We went to the Mets stadium. We went to Queens.

And I was like, how do we make this look like Yankee Stadium? And we did our best. But see, you didn't know. But I'm telling you, I'm telling you said, how did you get the Yankees shot? Are you serious? So why did y'all think it was the Yankees then? How did y'all think it was the Yankees? I'm sitting here looking.

I'm like, how did you? I mean, uptown, but like, I just assumed. Okay, you just assumed. But they were also wearing like Yankees shit. How did you pull that off? Exactly. That's, that was, that's the director has to go. how do you draw the eye?

Everybody had on Yankee jackets, but then you also had everybody from the Bronx, pun, Joe. All these cats were in the audience. We did, we had like instead of them having beer and hot dogs, there was like champagne bottles that the guy would walk around with. And we got to get on the field.

We got to see the, you know, the scoreboard. And how did you, yeah, how did you look that up, though, so that... Listen, we went on, it, that's how serious it became. like we would move like a feature film. But did the Mets know what you were doing directly? I don't think so. I don't think, you know. It's very much St.

Stadium, though, man. Now that I know, that's wild. It's like that blue is so different. Yeah. Exactly. But that was a beautiful day. Wow. I also know that as a director,

second nature for you has to be Jedi mind-tricking. And I know, again, like, your producer has to be the bad guy or the shield. You know, your producer has to know if you're singing with a certain chantu's, a certain singer that there might be 300 seconds in her minute, you know. So you might have to tell people like, okay, the shoots at 4 o'clock and then they show up at 9 o'clock or whatever, which is what you wanted them to do. the first place or whatever. But like, how do you immediately know

that you're dealing with like that level of Jedi mind-tricking with your artist? You can only Jedi mind-trick so much, right? And that's in your schedule, right? But it's plan B that's the most important part, right? Like when you set your day up, be prepared to shoot all the other stuff you need, in case somebody comes six hours late and six hours late so you do your b shots first oh yeah oh yeah

is that is that general for you or is that is that video making one-on-one i think it's um i think it's a learned behavior you know what i'm saying like you know i started off like you know once you set everything up and you set the first shot and you set the lights and we were sitting there waiting setting on Apple boxes, you just learn because the artist eventually shows up. It's their money. It's their music video, but you may not get your whole creative off like you wanted it. The video might not be as dope as you want it to be. So you figure out ways just to get the video to your vision. And, you know, when you get repeat business, you know, you would learn like, oh, no, he's going to be three hours late. You know, there was a, there was a tweak

of like some people were 20 minutes late. Some people were early and you better show up and be there on time. And so once you kind of got that repeat business, you kind of understand who did what. Did you have, we talked about you reading the Spike Lee book, but like, did you have a mentor in this game? And along with that question, what other influences are a part of your work that we may not know when it comes to direction? No, no mentor. No real mentor. It was, you are the roots of directing.

No, no. There you go. You walk the door, like, okay, how do I do this? Yeah, that's kind of what it was. And because of all of the times in Baltimore, nothing scared me, right? You know, because I was already dealing with all of these guys who's, who this, how can you say it? The stakes were very high, right? You had to get this, this right?

So I was like in a playground, man. I just was like going and I was like, oh my God, they're going to let me do this. And then you take the next step, oh, we got another phone call. I think I'm going to quit my job. And, you know, it just builds from there. But yeah, no real mentor. And that scene, I was looking for that early. You know, along with, you know, doing Judith Brown and all that, like there'd be movies that came through Baltimore or TV shows.

and you nobody when you're in that zone of a PA nobody really has time for you right and most of them aren't you know aren't like your people so that's what happened in the video is I was embraced by people like me that who just happened to be the big star or the big executive Kevin Lousers from Baltimore yeah I was about to ask you

we had him on the show yeah we had him on so did you guys know each other early on when he was I knew Kevin Liles. I knew of Kevin Liles. He was like a legend because he had a song in Baltimore. And he was an artist first. So all of us in Baltimore like to, exactly, the new mucks. And we were just, yeah, he was a legend.

Then he was a death jam. And we were like, oh, my God. Every single. I can't imagine how many people from Baltimore called Kevin Liles because he was our one guy in the music business. Right. So I think everybody was. But when did he?

Oh, you was from Baltimore, though. there was a moment when when he went oh shit oh yeah i can't i can't remember i can't remember i know he he it's funny i've seen russell simmons more than i've seen kevin wow right because he was most white people also think that kevin is russell simmons also a win is a win a win i don't 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.

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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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm John Green.

You may know me as the author of The Fault and Our Stars. And now, I guess, also is the co-host of the away end, a brand new world soccer podcast. I'm Daniel Alarcon, a writer and journalist. And John and I have known each other since we were kids. My first World Cup was Mexico 86. I was nine years old. I watched every game and I fell in love. On our new podcast, The Away End,

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other. They do. So, I mean, let me ask, like, is it territorial pissing like? Like, once you're established, are you, were you phone buddies with in your beginning? Like, with a

Lionel or a hype or a Sanji or or people pretty much very competitive and just kept to themselves? Absolutely competitive. Right?

Because we were all signed to companies, right? So it's really interesting. They knew what they were doing. The companies really understood like, oh, wow, we're getting $500,000. You know, we're breaking the director off, you know, a percentage of that. But we, the more this business of hip hop grows, the more of these guys we want. So some of us ended up at the same company. And but to answer your question, competitive all day.

for me, Lano Martin was like a North Star, like his work, his creativity, his, just what he was able to bring. But then when you met all the other people who were like his line producer, his art director, like just being in New York and working on things, there was a cross pollination because all those people that are below the line, which is a whack term. But, you know, the people who the craftsmen, they're working on everybody's stuff. So they may even go, hey, man, Lano, I just work with this kid, Chris. I just work with this kid, X. And you get known.

But I think for us, hype and Lino, first it was Lino, of course. But then hype was like a super North Star. And then all of us, me, Paul, X, Benny, Dave Myers, you know, Benny, love Benny Bloom. I'm not going to know. And I think we were all in a friendly competition. We were in a friendly competition in the most beautiful way because then we'd see each other in the street, like,

oh, we're in the street to L.A. or we're at this party or we're at this thing. And then we would, that'd be our first opportunity to chop it up. First opportunity to talk. Then you found, like, oh, his brother's cool or, you know, whatever. So, and then as we've grown, we've been, like, cheering for each other. It was so hard to break into TV, right? So if I did something in TV, I'd get a call from Benny or whatever, like, yo, how did you, you know, how did you get over that hump?

And I'm trying to, you know, I remember when Benny was trying to get his first TV episode. You know, same thing with me. You know, I had to be brought in by that. So I think the same thing happened with us as we grew. I remember the first, I'll give you a little who we got who is Benny, was Hypes first AD Okay. Then Benny

The first big video he got Puffy called me or did he now So did he called me and he was like Chris I want you to do this video I think it was genuine Mario Wynens I don't want to know No I did I don't want to know that's right

I did but this was like they were on a bridge It was dope dope video And me and Puff had been working a lot by then. You know, Puff is an extremely demanding executive. So the budget was low, right? So I said, Oh, word? The budget was, I mean, we'll see, it's all perspective.

Because I think it, back then, it was like 175, which today. For the movie, young directors. Exactly. But he had been spending north of 400,000, and still being, unsatisfied if you didn't get to the thing, right? So I said, look, man, you're going to be out there yelling and screaming and mad. Why don't you just raise the budget a little bit? So he's like, I can't raise the budget.

This song ain't charting. And so I was going to do it. But he moved on. And he gave Benny the job. In that video, blew Benny up. And Puff called me after that, was like, hey, yeah, you're up on the hill at the house on the hill now. You ain't trying to grind no more. Now that's competition. So he like he like dug it in but you know. Try to rub it like yeah but that was dope because that was Benny's opportunity

and then the other part of that is that Molina was Benny's assistant. Wow. Yeah. She was Benny's assistant and then I remember there was a video for Ludacris that he didn't do that she did. and then that blew her up. So I think the thing that I appreciate about our era and our community is that all those pieces like connected in some kind of way to push us where we are. We've got to just keep going. So, okay, when you are putting flyers in the record stores, I'll do your video and you start making traction.

at what point do you realize that there's a pivot to this and that maybe you want to start doing something more like maybe the next step up is EPKs and then the next step is commercials and the next step up is episodes production company so for you what was your first pivot to hey there's something more I can do besides a music video

Yeah, I wish that I could be like, yo, and then I saw the light, you know? But I was so dug in to music videos that I didn't see anything else. Like the start was never music videos were never a dream. It was making movies, you know, after reading, she's got to have it, right? So you wanted to make movies from the gate? Gate, from the gate. I wrote a feature. Yeah.

Okay. I see. I wrote a feature. I wrote a feature script, you know, when I was 20. Of course, it's like every 20-year-old script that was a story about me, about a kid who went to college and then the old thing, right? Right. So, but then as I was trying to work within the business,

because I did all those warehouse jobs and those, you know, janitorial jobs. I was like, I got to figure out how to stay in the game. Music videos became a way to make $200. Then it just grew and the business, I just, timing was right and the business grew and I was like, I'm never going back because I had a couple dollars and I just was like, I'm never going back to how that felt. You know, being in a guard shack as a security guard with a rat running under the, you know what I mean, in Baltimore. So I just tried to get better and better and better and better and better. and I was embedded in the culture.

And, you know, when I went to a bigger company, which was Michelle Gondry's company, part of them, you know, there was an executive there who was like, man, you need to shoot commercials. And it was so funny, I had my one experience. I did Maya in Common for Coca-Cola. You shot that? Oh, wow.

I did. Yeah. I didn't know you directed that, John. I wasn't on the set, But I did the music to that. Of course you did. Exactly. So, but I, that experience, once I did it, it didn't feel good to me.

Because when you do a commercial, every time you do a take, you stop, you have to look back at the agency and the agency is huddled around the TV. And then they tell you if you can move on, even if you can move to the medium shot. And so I've had a few years now of being like the record company just having trust and going, okay, man, thanks. We're going to go to lunch while you guys do this. We'll be back later. And just having kind of that full creative power. And what I didn't realize is that, man, you should really make these relationships like LL told me back in the day.

Like advertising is a thing. You can bring your talent to this world. And because of that executive, I did a lot of stuff. I did Nike and Gatorade. I got to do a lot, but I never enjoyed it. I just wanted to get back to dealing with, you know, what I knew. I was going to use this moment to ask, was that the executive, was that Ron Fair, micromanaging you?

Ron Fair Ron Fair didn't mess with me too much He was cool He was cool He's probably the reason why I didn't want to go to a commercial suit Like he I mean at the time I was like regularly producing common So I thought okay

Really I thought Okay this is going to be my audition to start working with Maya But I didn't realize that Ron Fair Was being brought in to make sure that like Basically he just kudetat the whole thing and like Is he with the advertising company or is he what the management? Ron Fair is the guy who famously told

the black IPs, look guys, you could either be a success or you could be the roots, which one you want to be. What? When we did, when we did the episode, like Ron Fair was Jimmy Iveen's right-hand man.

This is why we got to have Will on now to know what, you know, if he made the right decision. So. But okay. So I did, you're still my buddy. But yeah. I remember Ron Fair used to come with his

for, Dora and he'd just be like he's Frank Sinatra. Right. He was going to come through. He didn't, he didn't bother me too much. Like he,

but it's just weird. You know, when you think back, like my focus was so on the work. Right. You know, and then Telva AD who, you know,

we had worked together so many times. Shout out Moni Greenlee. He was like, okay, I'd be going on to the next shot. He'd go, Chris. Okay, we've got to stop. We got to have this conversation

with these 18 people. So that pivot didn't really happen, you know, like I thought about it and did the pivot. It happened because there was an executive who recognized. This is going to sound real random, but as you're talking, it just made me think. So did the wire have any effect on you in a way as a director? No, just to, I was in. I remember I used to watch the wire in the edit facility while I was, in LA.

Wow. The only effect that it had on me was everybody going, is it really like that in Baltimore? I just thought as a director and being from Baltimore, and it made you go, like, maybe there is something else for me outside of these commercials in this video. And, you know, I didn't know if that made you feel like. Well, by the time the wire came, yeah, I was, I was pretty deep in it. So I definitely wanted to shoot the wire.

And I had one of the things that I regret. to this day is I got a call from Bob Colesbury, who was one of the creators of WIRE. And Bob Colesbury, you say, hey, man, we heard you from Baltimore. I saw your word. Would you come into an episode? Boy. Hell yeah, I'm coming. All right. So this is, this is how you, you know, this is what you learn about agents and everything, right? Okay. So, it invited me to come in direct. And when I talked later to some guys who were on there, like Idriselba, they had told the actors like,

yo, Chris Roberts is coming. They were like, yo, don't. You know, we're going to get this brother to come through. So I had done ATL and I was in post. I mean, I was almost done. I think we were like just doing the sound. And my agent was like, well, Chris, you probably shouldn't do that because maybe Warner Brothers might feel away. And, you know, I'm new.

You know, I'm new as far as like working with a, it's my first movie. And I listened to him. And that was a mistake. But then how God works, I got another call. And I was working on, what was I working on? I was working on some big opportunity. But it was the same thing. Like I was in post and they offered it to me again.

And I didn't do it. I couldn't do it. I was in the middle, you know what it was? I was in the middle of a movie that never happened, right? You know, when you do a movie, like, they don't pay you. You're on it for a year, and then if it pops, you go. So I was in the middle of this, and once again, I got that advice and didn't do it. Well, you'd be on a movie for a year and they don't pay you?

What is this? What is this movie Magic? I'm going to file right now, why are you? Yo, y'all kind of, let me tell you something. I'm telling you. Y'all better tell these people the real story. or how this shit happens because people just think the money is thrown in the beginning, they make a deal and you're rich throughout the making of it to the end and then you get stuff

on the back end. To make a movie is difficult as Quest notes. To make a mediocre movie is difficult. It is brutal to think of all these things that are in your head and how you have to work with a crew of people to make all this stuff work, the personalities, the actors. It's difficult, right? To make a great movie, that director is like a miracle worker. Genius level, right?

A miracle worker. I always look at these guys when you watch a movie and you are just thoroughly satisfied and go, what did he go through to make this thing happen? And having the experience now, it's difficult. But every movie you see, there's this last movie I did with, you know, shooting stars. I'm on that movie for three and a half years because there's there's the prep. And then there's, oh, we're going to go. Oh, actually the studio is going to push it till next year.

Like, you know, that's just the way it is. And the book, the producer got the rights to the book 13 years ago. So when you would think, oh, it's LeBron James. This is a layup. This movie's going to get made quickly. It took 13 years for that movie to be made. And I was on it for three and a half. So it's a, it has to, you have to love it.

It's got to be a labor of love. And that's just what it is. What takes so long for a movie about the biggest basketball star in the world to be made? Well, I think from the perspective of, of the studio, the studio, right? They're going, okay, does this work in our slate? Because they got all these other movies. They're making a big giant, I'm not saying,

I don't think Universal does Marvel, but whatever those big movies are, right? Then there's a lot of, they're going for awards on other movies, just whatever their slate is, where does it fit in? once it's there, when do we put that movie out? When's it most advantageous? So they're dealing with the business aspect. We're dealing with the creative aspect. How do you tell this story?

Because there's been a book, there's been a documentary. Now here's a feature film. What's the tone? How do you tell this? Why do people care? Who can play LeBron James? Let's do that for you. Yeah, I was going to say, isn't timing of the essence?

Because if you're telling the not a cradle of the grade, but a childhood to adult story, like the likelihood of your target that you're working with might get older and then be past the age of what you need him for. Like, isn't that also a problem? Well, I think if the person was in it, right? So when we finally found Mookie Cook

to play LeBron, you know, he's 17, you know? So we, once that was really the button pusher, like, can you find LeBron? Like it's a needle. in the haystack. Like, no, we didn't, nobody believe a lot of people just were like, how is this ever going to happen? You know, a lot of people had no idea Caleb McLaughlin could hoop.

You know, there needed to be, for this particular movie, there needed to be an athletic skill level, and there needed to be acting skill level. And I'd worked with Caleb on the new edition story, so I knew, and he'd been Lion King on Broadway, This kid's pretty amazing, right? So I watched him learn to dance. Spraged your things for everybody else who doesn't even know what we're talking about. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Caleb. But then when he came to the audition, he had handled.

He was bawling. I pulled him aside. I was like, hey, man, what you've been doing since I saw you three years ago? Like, he could ball for real. And that was a godsend because he's such an amazing actor. But just to answer your question, like those things, that's real time. Like, we found, we didn't do a traditional casting. We did some traditional with Kim Coleman, who's amazing.

She does all the big movies. But we actually got in a car and went up and down the East Coast, me and my boy Jerome Hips. Yeah, Jay. Yeah, Jay. Oh, Jesus. Yes, I didn't know he was that involved. Good gracious.

He ended up coming in and being one of our basketball consultants because he's so into that. And it's sun-graze ball. Yeah, Hips is the man. And we went up and down the East Coast to AAU tournaments and found Mookie and found Scoot. Wow. And here's a good way that, here's a good story about how videos connect.

We met Scoot's dad. Now, Scoot just went number three in the draft to Portland Trailblazers. What? Wait, hold on. Scoot Blake. He plays Romeo in the movie. Okay, okay. So he just draft night.

He went number three to the Portland Trailblaug. Wow, he was really good, too. It was something else in there. I was like, oh, it's more story. Okay, yes. Yeah. So we meet his dad. Now, think we're at an AAU tournament going,

excuse me, sir, we're making a movie about LeBron James. Like, it's just me or hips. There's no official or anybody else with him. And the dad's kind of, and his son's going to go. His son's already in the G league and his son's going to go pro. He was there with his other kids. He's got other kids who were in the AAU tournament. But Hips knew of his dad.

So we're talking to his dad and we do our pitch. And then, you know, after a pitch out is a little silence. At least we're just standing there and look at each other. And he goes, didn't you do one mic? And I was like, yes, I did, sir. Yes, I. That legitimized me to him to have this conversation about his son being in the movie. And that, and that dads as hip hop heads.

I wish I knew the feeling, man. That's dope. I wish I do the feeling. Chris, I want to ask you about Erica's The Honey video. You did that under an alias. What was the? Yeah. Was that your Alan Smithy?

Like, no, no, no. Or were you trying to just establish your company? Different, right. Yeah. Okay. All right. This sounds like what had happened was. Let's go.

Erica and I had work before. Now, let me start this off by saying how much I love Erica, but she is not only a wonderful, amazing artist, but she is a icon. So we worked together. And on the first one, with common love of my life. But what I did know was like Erica is very involved. like Erica wants to make the outfit. She wants to cook the lunch. He wants to look at every shot.

And we did it. Alan Smithy. I knew it. It wasn't. It's not Ellen Smith. So then we worked again on this. So like we had the connection, right? She wanted to work together again.

So we worked together again. And I had, you know, my company's robot film company. My Instagram handles Mr. Roboto director. So, now, I think this is before Instagram or anything else. But I, you know, people would call me Mr. Robot or Mr. Roboto. So we did it again. And it was the same thing. But she, this is the first time she wanted a director's credit.

Now, in the video world, there is a thing where a certain artist will want a director's credit. And I took that thing seriously. Like, I'm like, okay, if we're going to co-direct this, cool. But like, certain artists would just go, I'm the artist, just put my name on. And so me and Erica worked together. It was beautiful. It was the most beautiful. We had known each other, so we knew how to work together.

And I think we pulled out another good one because she's a genius, especially choosing all those names for the album covers and whatnot. So then I get a note. from the label later that said Erica wants her director's credit on this. And, you know, I was like, what? So, because I take it so seriously. So I was like, well, I mean, if she's going to get the director's credit, that's cool. I'm just in my artist shit.

And I go, I'm going to put Mr. Roboto, right? Because that's my alias. So I put Mr. Roboto and then we won the damn MTV Award. My MTV Award, best director, does not have my name on it. Mr. Roboto. Exactly. Life lessons. Just to be clear on this amazing podcast, Erica Baddard.

I have so much love for you. We've worked together. I've shattering different, you know, shows. And we always have talked about doing a movie together. But I just think that's, I, this, this Mr. Robito represents, I'm an artist and I'm sensitive about my shit. Understandable. Understandable.

You did really well with that explanation. That was good. Hey, QLS listeners, this is on Pape Bill. Right here is where we're going to pause this interview. Check back next week or look in your podcast. for part two. In that conversation, Chris Robinson reveals more ins and outs from making iconic music videos and its pivot to

filmmaking. Make sure you check out Chris Robinson's latest creation, shooting stars, where he tells the story of teenage LeBron James. Westlove Supreme is a production of IHeartRadio. For more podcasts from IHartRadio, visit the IHartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep. 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 Cliford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

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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 podcast. I got you.

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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, is 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 Alarcon and John Green on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.