The Questlove Show - Questlove Supreme: Da Beatminerz

Episode Date: April 17, 2024

QLS gets in the weeds with Mr. Walt and Evil Dee of Da Beatminerz. This free-flowing discussion traces the origins of a very gritty sound and frequency of 1990s Rap production. The two brothers are not above clowning one another as they recall working on Black Moon's classic debut Enta Da Stage, going crate-digging with Q-Tip, and helping to make D&D Studios a true enclave of hardcore Hip Hop. True to Da Beatminerz' name and sound, this episode digs deep.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. When a group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist, they take matters into their own hands. I bowed. 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. 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 Podcasts on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slice of Life 12

and TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. 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-hosted the podcast via Way 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. On a recent episode of the podcast, Money and Wealth with John Hobriant, I sit down with Tiffany the budgetista Aliche to talk about what it really takes to take control of your money. What would that look like in our families if everyone was able to pass on wealth to the people when they're no longer here?

We break down budgeting, financial discipline, and how to build real wealth, starting with the mindset shifts. Too many of us were never, ever taught. If you've ever felt you didn't get the memo on money, this conversation is for you to hear more. Listen to Money and Wealth with John Hope Bryant from the Black Effect Network on the I'd Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get. It's your podcast. Quest Love Supreme is a production of IHeart Radio. I'm just so happy that everybody showed up for this goddamn, uh, interview. So I'm happy.

You got that, you got Mr. Coleman here? I'm fucking excited. Oh, man. What do you think of me, or you want to do this? What? Let's start. I can already tell that this episode of Quest Love Supreme is going to be a special one. What can I say?

I've known and worked with these gentlemen when I have, first got into the game. Oftentimes we talk about sort of pioneering shift change of where hip hop went in the early 90s, what we call the Renaissance period of hip hop, and often you hear the names, you know, P. Rock, Premier, the Uma, and, you know, Diamond D. Not to mention, I mean, it's not strictly New York. There was DJ Quinkle on the West Coast. Of course, Dr. Dre was doing stuff. Got to give a shout to Prince Paul and also Extra P. Lash Professor.

Organized noise down south. Like there was a whole Jay Swift on the West Coast. There's a whole slew of producers that basically built upon what Marley Maugh and the bomb squad.

I know there's a lot of legends that I'm missing when doing this introduction, but for me these two gentlemen are a part of a movement that often doesn't get enough credit for their level of hip hop production, their grimy level of hip hop production. And, you know, they put numbers on the boards and we just don't say it because it's so effortless. But yet and still, you know, if you watch, you can tell the sign of a good producer based on all these freestyle videos you see from the 90s or whatnot.

What's the music backdrop they choose? And I guarantee you these gentlemen definitely have numbers on the boards as far as just really bringing a sound to New York, defining the sound of New York. Even the roots work with him back in 95. But more than that, I just love to also state the fact that despite what they like to let on to the public, these are the two nicest nerds I've ever met in my life. My habit of speaking Elizabethan and proper Gilded Age era English really comes from these two. To this day, I'd say, sir, ma'am, I learned from these two. No way, no way. No.

No. Super way. And don't deny it. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Evil T and his brother, Mr. Walt, known as the beat minors on Questlove Supreme. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah, thank you. Mama, I made it.

Mama, I made it. You kind of made it. You kind of made it. Right. Kind of made it. Well, can't let you be great, man. What was doing for the past two weeks, Yo, E, Quest Love Supreme, yo,

like Walt is going crazy. Man, this is just, we just having a normal count. Like, we just have a normal count. going to bust it up like we normally do. We don't do it enough. And I'm so glad because it's been a hot minute. I'll just start with my first question. How are you guys? How's it going? We're good. We're good. We're living. We're living. That's what we're doing. I'm having fun. I don't know about walk. I'm having fun. That's all you can do. That is all you can do. We're you guys right now as we speak. What part of the world are you guys in right now?

We are in Bushwick, Brooklyn, the same house that we... Same crib. Listen, the same crib that my mother bring this bum-ass dude home. That's me. That's me. That house, right. This is the house that we made all our records in and stuff like that. Wait, I have a question to ask because oftentimes I have a theory that whenever

someone channels them magic, especially with music. And specifically, I'm thinking about Prince, and I'm thinking about the Rizza as well. They'll come with a calvacade, just an entire slew of, you know, what I call Mana from Heaven that they particularly create in a certain spot. In Prince's case, his bedroom turned

studio, in the Riz's case, and the Riz's case, Stapleton, you know, at, in his project basement, making those classic Woutain records. And then what happens is, you know, they hit payday and then they upgrade.

And then it's not quite the same anymore. Is there, is there a specific reason why that you're still in the same, like is there a formula for you guys that, that you feel will jinx you if you were to move elsewhere besides the basement? This is the family house

So we just chose to stay I mean I moved out for like five years When my son was born I had moved to Flatbush But I kept like my records here I have moved my equipment But I kept like my records and all my stuff here So I kept coming back

Plus E had like the main Part of the studio here So I had to come back It's um what it is is Like when you know when Walt left Of course I stole his record collection Of course I was not going to talk about that

But isn't it kind of like both of y'all's? Yeah, yeah, it is. If we try to be nice, it's, you know, it's both for ours, you know. 50-50 for some reason. For some reason. 60-40. But being here, this is where, this is like it. Like, it's no way to explain it.

Like, this is, I feel like this is where we belong. You know what I'm saying? Like, everything started here. Like, and there's actual. kitchen is where, you know, me buck and five did our stuff like this kitchen and the next room, which used to be Walt's bedroom, now it's the studio. This is where everything started. And it's like, well, you know, like, yo, this is it. That's all I can say. This is it. What's the age difference between you two? Three years. Yeah, three years. I'm the older. I'm the older

brother. I was the brother that wasn't supposed to make it. You know. what? You ain't shit. You know, that's what you... Oh, that big. Okay, I got scared for me. I was like, what are you talking about? And he was the baby.

Like, you go to eat everything, nigga. Oh, my God. He was... When I was young, because I was the first DJed of family, and of course I was the first one to do production. But my mother kept co-signing for E. You know, little brother always wanted to have.

hand with big brother. So every time my mother would be like, you're going to let him DJ. I said, no, no, Ma, I can't. He said, no, take your brother with you. No. This guy used to, he used to mix off beat and everything was all over the place. And my mother was his biggest cheerleader. That's my baby. Ma, stop it. But you know what it is, though? I got into, you know what it? Walt got into DJing because he wanted to like that was his thing right and I got into it because I was jealous of walk and it was like he's DJing and getting on this attention and it's all cool and I was like I'm cool too you mean I ain't cool I'm better than him I was trash so well what was your first musical memory in life my father bringing home a bunch of records.

Like he used to bring records home all the time because he used to work on construction sites and stuff like that. And he had bring home like a pile of records. And I just went towards this one record. And I still have that record to this day. Diana Ross presents Jackson Fogg. Oh, wow. And I just, that made me fall in love.

We're just collecting records. And the first song I ever fell in love with, like this song stayed in my head, was Living for the City, Stevie Wonder. That was the first song I fell in love with. Okay. When you're saying he brought the record, you mean dumpster diving or just your father would go record shopping?

No, he would bring, someone would give him a pile of records, and you would just bring the records home. So he was doing the original beat mining before me and my brother. Yeah. What's the family unit? Is it just you two as siblings, or do you have other siblings? Well, we have an older half-sister who lives in Harlem from my father.

And then we had a younger sister that passed away in 2010. Yeah. Okay. Were they musically inclined as well, or was it just you two? Just me and E. Here's a secret for everybody, and I'm about to embarrass my brother. We love the Jackson Five so much. we made our own singing group.

And I was Michael. I was Michael and Jackson. Mackie. He was Jermaine. My mother used to have two foster kids. They were Marlon and, and Randy or whatever. And I was Jackie because I was the oldest

and I was Michael because I was the lead singer. Tito's not getting respect. And he was Marlon and they were Marlon and Tito. Yo, I'm going to tell you something. You have to be a certain age to know that for a good four to five year run, the Jackson's were like the black super friends. Right. And I guarantee you like anyone that had any sign of any musicality, whatever,

we would just say, yo, let's play Jackson 5. And seriously, we just act like we were the Jackson 5. Right. I know Lae is like I was born in the 80s. I'm sorry, the 90s. No, no, no. We had no addition. I got you. I'm just, I'm using it as a metaphor. Like, oh, with new edition. Oh, yeah, right, right. Because Jackson 5 was way before your time. But look, everybody knows the Jackson 5.

Everybody. Oh, hell yeah. Yeah, everybody knows what the Jackson 5 put down. Everybody wasn't making choreography to it on a playground, though. That's a certain error. Right, right, right, right. Ah, man, they were the first black super friends. Right, right.

You know, I was too slow. I got stuck with Tito all the time. You know, I was amp when they had their own cartoon. Like, I was in. Hell, no, yes, yes. Wait, where year were you born, Walt? I was born in 68. Okay, so you...

Yeah, Walt's my old, son. Oh, God. My old. Oh, you old, son? Yo, you three years younger, son? What are you doing? No, no, I'm young. No, three is younger, though.

Three, three. Three. Three. At what age did DeWart, like, finally get your respect, Walt, as far as, like, production is concerned. Not production, but DJing, or

were you the don't touch my equipment type or were you the wait don't touch my equipment type to e yes hell yeah he's my little his hands been too greasy he always had greasy ass ass ass ass and then he won't touch the record what kind of shit is this yeah we tell you what i used to do the wall right so walk would go hang out with his friends

or go to work or whatever, you know, whatever. And as soon as he would leave, I would walk into his room and turn everything on, practice what I've seen him do, add my touch to it to make it my style, and turn everything off

and put everything back the way it was supposed to be. So one day I caught his ass. And then I got beat up. All right, so you had a Tito Joe Jackson moment. Right. Was it at least like, let me see what you can do first and then I beat jazz or like, what was it? Because he's a little brother. I don't care what little brother had to do.

I'm big brother. You know, uh-uh. I'll tell you, that moment I had with my mom and him, that was the moment. I was like, all right, let's see what he can do. And I was horrible. That man could have came in and did every mix that Jazzy Jeff every day in his life and I still wouldn't be impressed. Like, ah, it was whack, ma. Come on.

I would never give him his prop. You know what was good about that was. Being that it was the big brother, little brother type thing, it made me go, you know what? I'm going to beat Walt at this, you know what I'm saying? Like, I'm going to show him. I'm going to battle him. I'm going to be better than him. And it made me really, like, get into DJing.

Like, I was on some, I was, it was something else. You know what I'm saying? Like, I thought I was the DMC champion the way I was training to battle war. You know what I'm saying? So you two, you two were enemies first before you decided to. Of course. Yeah, of course. But you know, you know.

That makes sense. There's a legendary, uh, sibling DJ team that I know in Philly. Same situation. Brother was like five years younger. But the younger brother's level of antagonizing was if his older brother made him mad, like don't touch my equipment and beat him up, whatever. the younger brother would actually take, like, one of the prize records and put it in the bathtub and just shit on the records. Nah, nah, we not.

Uh-uh. Nah, nah. Records are too valuable. Whoa. Whoa. That's a death sentence. Wow, man. That's hatred right there.

Like, yo, whoa. He was also, like, eight years old. So, you know, I mean, you do anything to antagonize. Now, I know most Harlem uptown Bronx stories had the blackout. 77 to think for equipment acquiring, but like how did you build

your how did you build your system, Walt, in terms of being a DJ? We did what we had to do. My mother, first of all, we did the regular Mickey Mouse turntable with the homemade mixer.

We did that track of train. I asked my mother to buy me a turntable. Now, my mother is an old, West Indian woman from Belize. So she's like, she don't know, A to Z. Oh, boy. What does she buy you?

She came home with a BSR belt turntable. Belt drive. Wow. Belt drive. I looked at her and I said, thanks, mom. And that's when I said, you, I got to get my own thing. I can't, I can't deal with this woman. I got to get my own stuff.

So that's, I started like, we're going into like 85. So I started working in a record store around here. And then I'm in 87, I started working at a music tractor in Jamaica, Queens. And that's when I was like, yo, I got to get my own equipment and saved up enough money. I mean, you know, and got my equipment from there. You mentioned earlier your father, he did construction. What did your mother do? He was a nurse at, we used to have a hospital out here called Williamsburg Hospital, and she used to work over there.

And then she just started to take care of foster kids. Oh, wow. Okay. Yeah. How many foster kids? Oh, there's a lot of foster kids. A lot of foster kids in and out of your house. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. And when you say Williamsburg, not the Williamsburg that I know. Well, no, no. No, it's different. Bushrick is not the Bush rig that we know. Like, the Bushrick growing up now is a totally different. and butchery than what it was.

Artisan mayonnaise mayonnaise shapple of a corner like, right, racters and moustaches. Right. People looking at you

like you don't belong here. Right. Which means also y'all have a nice piece of real estate right now and congratulations to that. Well, I mean, we will always say

this is our mama's house. Yeah. I tell people that's there. I live in my mother's basement. Oh, that's beautiful. Because I just love the reaction of their face like, how old are you?

You still with your mother. And y'all like I have a full, it's a full brownstone and everything, right? Like, large. It's actually a townhouse. Okay. It looks like a brownstone. So we let people go with that. But it's actually a 1930s townhouse.

Wow. What were your earliest gigs like, Walt? Neighborhood stuff. That's in the neighborhood. Like, you know, we didn't really leave Bushwick, you know, and stuff like that. So a lot of stuff was mostly. It started doing the dust and butchering stuff, and then we started doing more stuff out of Brooklyn,

and, you know, it eventually grew after that. Back in the days, you had to, like, like, you blew up in your neighborhood. And after you blew up in your neighborhood, you started going to other neighborhoods, and then you started going to other boroughs. And then you was all city. It's kind of like a graffiti, all city. On with your own, you're talking about, like, black parties and whatnot,

or just, like, house parties. Right. For me, like, because my parents were record collectors, all those records that wound up getting sampled later, like I already had but never knew because I just looked at my parents' record collection as, like, old people records. Right. Because I'm assuming that when you're doing this in the early 80s, like collecting records and whatnot, that you're just basically getting hip-hop records and records to rock the party.

like I'm assuming that you're not thinking, yo, I need this Bob James record or, you know, whatever for sampling purposes. But at what point did you realize that, like, were you an open format DJ or were you just strictly hip hop at the time? Like, what were you playing? It starts with hip hop and then it becomes open format. Yeah.

So you would buy, like say the Bob James record, you would buy the Bob James record because everybody, you had a crew, you had the guys who, the M.C. The DJ, the crewed, so the emcees need something to rhyme on. So you would get Nautilus, you would get take me to the Montegra, and you would just buy two copies of those. So you were on that early? Yeah, yeah, I was on that early. Like, pre-Lewis Flores, Rip Beat Lou.

Right, right, right. We used to call them Uptown because you had to go uptown to get them. Even though I worked in Jamaica, I didn't start working in Jamaica until 87, but like in 81 and 80, you would have to go uptown to, like, music tractor on 42nd Street to go get these break beats. And the break beats around that time, they were already putting them on the bootleg 12 inches. You know what I'm saying? The buzzer-mico stuff.

The bozo-O-Miko stuff and-Eat meat to the beat record is all that. They were already putting them on that. Eat meat to the beat. You know what that is, right? Big beat on one side and cool not on the other side. Yeah. Wait, that was back in the 80s. I thought that was coming out in the mid-90s.

Nah, that was back. That was before Ultimate Breaks and Beats. Bozo Miko was even out in the 80s? Bozomico came out in 81. Yeah. Yeah. Bozomico came out. All right, Flash to the Beat on the other side.

Yeah, I was going to say, so when I heard Blast to the beat being played at, like, roller skating rinks, they were playing the same Bozomico Boole. They were playing the green Bozomico record. Ah, man. That was the only way you got it. Yeah, that's the only way you got it. All right. Let me explain, Dar. Oh, good.

Okay. Yeah, let me give a tutorial. All right, so basically, of course, you know that during the first generation of beat digging, you talk about Bambata and Flash and Mean Gene and Grandma was a theater. Like, yeah, so the first generation, of course, like, everyone would try to get their Shazam on and see what they're playing. And, of course, if you're smart enough, you don't want nobody biting you, you would wipe the label off with water. so no one can see what you were playing. You know what I mean?

Right. Before Breakbeat Lou, Lewis Flores, would you say that Paul Wynley was the first Super Disco Breaks? Yeah. Super Disco brakes came out before the Ultimate Breakson. Well, the ultimate Brinks and Beasts was the Octopus record. Yeah. Right.

Right. So, but Paul Winley came out first. So suddenly in the 80s, in the early 80s, and this was especially for the advantage of DJs, i.e. if Melly Mel wants to rhyme over Billy Squire's big beat or funky drummer

or whatever as a breakbeat, someone came up with the idea like, yo, since I know what all these brakes are, I'll just go to the studio, sweeten the mix up a little bit, and put these compilations out. And then suddenly DJs were using the compilations called Super Disco brakes,

Bozo Miko. And of course, by 86, I will say the Wikipedia, or the Cliff Notes, if you're older, of breakbeat collections was called Ultimate Breaks and Beats. I used to thought it was, I thought it was ultimate beats and breaks, but maybe last week I realized

I was saying it wrong the whole time for the last 40 years. Very good. Very good explanation. Very good. Yeah, so the reason why a lot of, once you get to like kind of pass the Rick Rubin, Larry Smith, Marley Maher period of hip-hop,

as soon as you get to like, the policy period, the Vicky Down Productions criminal minded period, the early paid and full period, suddenly you notice like everyone's using the same thing, like, oh, okay, they're using that, basically, it's a 25-volume breakbeat set with six to seven songs on them each as a DJ, you can go back and forward and rock a party,

and later, as a producer, you can sample those things. So actually, full circle, what makes the beat minor, and the aforementioned Renaissance period that I mentioned earlier, you know, large professor, Q-tip, tribe,

whatever, there came a point, especially after the Oven TV Raps, where everybody was eating from the same restaurant. And suddenly, you know,

starting with premiere, starting with Jazzy Jeff, starting with these guys, starting with large professors, suddenly they were like, it's the hip-hop version of what I refer to as a Dalcoma-95,

which is like a filmmaking technique in which you put these challenges on yourself. So suddenly, instead of getting shit from ultimately beats of breaks, you're going to your library to those records that no one wants to touch. You're going to your parents' jazz collection that nobody wants to touch. You're doing your own digging for records outside of the cheat sheet. Which made that whole idea of those compilations obsolete? It was like no more. No, I mean, they're still around. Matter of fact, they're on Spotify, which is kind of weird.

Wow. What's weird for Spotify is like, I'm used to the texture of like some of these breaks being like, second generation. Like there's a certain griminess to it when you sample like, give it up or turn loose by James Brown from that compilation that it's almost too clean when you take it from a clear digital master version. But what I'm amazed at is that I thought,

thought, now my dumb ass didn't know about break beats. Shout out to a Damon Bennett, who's a Philadelphia musician, plays with, like, flowetry and, and, uh, uh, Joe Scott. He's the one to put me on a breakbeat. I thought like Bozo Miko and all that stuff came out in like 89, because I didn't discover sampling until, you know, that Stevie Wonder jamming on the one thing, but. All right, whatever.

I guarantee you 90% of it, of, of, Hip-Up-Deneration didn't know about Sample until the Cosby Show, but... The demo button. I'm mind-blown that you guys are revealing to me that all those compilations came out in the early 80s. Wow. Yeah. They made it easier for the DJs to go get all these records. Instead of searching for them, they put them on one compilation so you don't have to break your neck.

Like, rocking in the pocket. The original rocking in the pocket. And they put it on 45 for you. And they put it on 45 for you. Right. Right, right. Yeah. So, yeah.

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, 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 Wode. My next guest, you know from Stepbrothers, Anchorman, Saturday Night Live and the Big Money Players Network, it's Will Ferrell.

Woo, 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 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 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. 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, its hope, its 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. At what point did you realize that there's a world out of it? Because I feel like this is what defines you guys, because Ronnie Laws is not on ultimate beats and breaks. I'm going to tell you what made, I feel, what made everybody change the whole thing.

I mean, it's mostly the whole native tongue to J.B. Tribe De La movement. Whenever you pick up a breakbeat to use or whatever, I always feel like Diamond D is looking over your shoulder saying, hey, what are you doing? What are you doing? Don't sample that. You know what I'm saying? So you're really trying to impress all the guys that came before you. Yeah. So what you're doing is instead of looping every James Brown record or every James Brown record or every job.

George Clinton record, you want to go left and go, yo, I got this. Then they go, like, when you're the guy who puts the world up on the drumbeat or on a groove, it's like, oh, wait a minute, we ought to watch these guys. Like when y'all came out with the clones meet with that surprise joint? Surprise joint, yeah. Come on, man, you guys opened up a whole door. Y'all know that that trickled down all the way down to, like, the folks who listen to the young kids who now are redigging into their parents' crates.

making their own compilations. I'm saying this, as I remember doing this for my little boyfriend, and challenging him with our little slow jam, you know, mixes that we make because I got my daddy's records, and I understand this George Benson record better now. Oh, you make mixes for your book? I did. I did.

The cassette and everything. Pause. Pause. I don't want that one. Yes. She said, my little boyfriend. My little boy. He was shot out to Gabon.

He was sure. Oh, he was short. All right. So what is the interesting? introduction to production with you two? Like, where, where's the Genesis? I was just dibble and dabbling in production, but I never really took it serious. I had an emcee from around here. His name was Rock J. He passed away in 90, I think he passed away. And we were just dibble and dabbling in music. So I never really took it serious. So like I said, I worked,

this is when I was working in a music factory. So I was cool with a lot of the artists. So one day, the light from Stetsisonic came in and he gave me a black cassette tape. He said, yo, what? You got to listen to his cassette tape. This was 1988. I said, what's on this cassette? He said, yo, trust me, I'm not going to tell you this on this cassette,

but you got to hear this. It's incredible. I popped the cassette in. Remember, it's an all black cassette. It takes a nation of millions to hold us back. And I heard that album. Wow. From front to when.

This was before the album got. released. When I heard that album, that whole album changed my life. And when I heard that, I said, yo, this is it. This is what I want to do. I want to be a producer. I want to make beats. And that was the beginning of the beat monitor. That right there. Yep. And, you know, little brother follows Big Brother. Right. So when Walt got into production, I was like, I'm better than him. So I got into production. What equipment were y'all using at that time? What did you just start on? Pause button tapes.

And then SK1s. And then SK-1. Yeah, SK-100. It's funny. We had a SK-1. And then there was a Yamaha joint that looked like an S-K-1. That was longer. It was cleaner.

And it was cleaner. Yes. Right, right, right, right, right. I have that Yama. It's like seven seconds and way cleaners. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Then we got, well, we got the SK-8. Then we got SK 100. They kept upgrading. Yeah, because whatever the sampler of the moment was, we will go out and get it. Yeah, and we got it. And then we finally got Walt came home one day with the Casio-R-Z-1 drum machine,

which is the high hat, the nicest move high-hat that they use in every record is from that machine. Wait, what drum machine is this? The Casio-R-Z-1. Because the thing is, is that I'm under the impression that Cassio SK-1s are just like toy machines. Now I'm finding out like, Pazas now tell me like 30% of three feet high and rising. I believe that. Yeah.

Was made on a Cassio SK1. Yeah. Talking about like literally the Cassio, like the key. So I'm taking it back to the Cosby show. I'm telling me when we saw that jamming on the one video, the jamming on the one commercial or whatever the jamming on the one Stevie. Oh, God, I'm sorry. Back in the day, people, there's an episode of the Cosby show where Theo and Denise, Malcolm Jamal Warner and Lisa Kohnay.

I'm sorry, go ahead. Please go. In the car accident. And, of course, the limo is Stevie wonders. They crash into Stevie. Yes, they crash into Stevie to get out of a lawsuit. Stevie invites them to a studio session. No litigious action.

and at the studio Stevie Wonder samples the entire Huxable household and that to me opened up just a portal that none of us knew existed. Were you of age at the time Fonte when that episode came on?

Do you remember it? Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Well Sinclair yeah. Jamming on the one. I mean we're of the same generation but you I would be the older brother of your like that shit came on when I was 14. So, no, no, I remember, yeah, just seeing the sampling and like the sink clavier because there was a music store in the mall at that time. And I would go and mess around with it. Around the DX7, it was around that same kind of era.

The Yama'i DX7 came out. And so, yeah, I was on all that shit, bro. Yeah, so at the time in 86, the Cassio SK1 was an affordable, cheap toy keyboard that had three seconds of sampling. Like, did you ever have an SK1, Bill? Yeah, I have one right over here. No, when you was a kid, man. No way. You told me you really had one right now?

Yeah, I think so. No way. Look at all them, dad going to get up. Look at all that. Yeah, I'm about to say, there's a studio back there. I don't. I forgot. I don't.

I used to. It was the thing that we first all played on. Yeah. I mean, but back then I just put like curse words in it. Shit. Oh, yeah. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.

You could do your boss and over shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. Right, exactly. And then suddenly we realized that it can sample records. And then, wait, where was the, where was the microphone on this thing that you could sample into? Was it an external or internal? There was an internal microphone. Like, sometimes you will put your headphones on top of the mic.

Like, the purpose, again, was for you to just say one word. Oh, Bill. I got this one. It's the same thing. Oh, that's the Yamaha join. That's the Yamaha join. That's how I know. You grew up with money, Bill.

Yeah. That's how you know I grew up with, buddy. I would ask my parents for the Yamaha join, which is like $100 more. And they were like, no, the price mark off Cassio SK1. And I think the Yamaha had an input jack too. A new version of the SK1 had an import jack. Oh, God. I can hear our ratings going down like.

Are they going to stay on this for an hour? Sorry. I'm about to take this out. We're going to do a whole tutorial and unboxing. Here we go. Nerd talk, people. Nerd talk. Do you still have a collection of like your first ever beat?

No. Maybe E, but I know. You're lying. I don't. I have the cassette of Black Moon's first demos. Okay. No. I think that's as far as it go.

I might have a beat cassette in one of my boxes over there. When was the moment when he got some respect on his name for you? Well, he started DJ in the neighborhood and a lot of people was gravitating towards him and stuff like that. And he was making the name. So he just kept going. He really was going hard with it.

When I was working in Queens, he was building his name up around the way. Because he even worked in a record store around here with Tony Touch. Tony Touch actually came after. Oh, okay. He stole my job. So he came out, like, he started building his name up while, you know, I was out in Queens working. I would always hear shoutouts to you guys on various rap songs.

Right. Were you guys the tastemakers? Like, I go to the record store, and then I go to you and be like, all right, what do I need? And then... Yeah, that's the way we were. Yeah. And then some people would bring their... Like, Biz used to bring his records in to test it in the record store.

Biz and L.L. used to bring their stuff to the music factory to test this record before it came out. Why, you guys had a better system or? Because music factory was where everybody used to be at. So every time Biz would do something, he would bring it. Yo, this is this. This is this. Like, he bring, when he came down, he played Vapors. But Vapors wasn't vapor. Vapers was, this is something for.

the radio. Wow. The beat, oh, this is something for the radio. Right, the beat, right. And Vapers was the beat, you know, it was, this is something for the radio. Picking Buggers had Ashley's Roach clip beat behind it, but he changed it because everybody in Rakim.

Oh, wow. Everybody will come and bring their stuff that L.L would come. When L.L. was working on Mama said knock you out. He'd bring Eat him up L. missed a controversy, which never came out. Okay. And it was another song, I part of the other song.

But they will come and test their records at the store. And just look for a reaction of people there shopping? Right, right, right, right. Can you give me your top five preview moments of that level? Like when someone brought some shit in, you're like, holy shit, what is this? The biz, biz used to bring a lot of stuff to the store. I remember large professor

bringing the first main source 12 inch not looking at watch Roger Roger do his thing yeah watch Roger do his thing oh man

super love of seed bringing do to James audio two bringing top billing everybody would just come and bring their stuff wait time out I have a question though

yes everyone pretty much knows or at least those that or in the know know that top Billen was just like a B-side and they were really trying to push I like cherries. Were they trying to push I like cherries first?

No, Top Billen had, was making somewhat of a buzz so they was pushing Top Billen. Okay. Like Top Billet made a noise in the clubs and on radio like, you know, so when they was actually, because they would sell their records on consignment,

meaning, hey, we'll give you a box of records. Um, we won't pay you until, we won't pay them until we sell the whole box of records. Those records were going out of the store. Uh-huh. So you're the person I would go to to to strike a deal. Right. Right. Right.

I, he selling out the trunk. Right. Yeah. Right. Can you tell me those stories? Like what legendary other albums of that level? Oh, man. Um, it was really that.

That was it. Like, Maine sauce didn't get their deal with the wow pitch yet. but they were just coming to, they bring rock rock roger do his thing, and it was creating somewhat of a buzz and something like that. But Duda James was big out of our store. Like, you know, records like that, we didn't, we wasn't really, because you have to understand, too, if they were doing it in Queens, they were doing it in Bronx,

they were doing it in Manhattan, they was doing it in Brooklyn. So they, it wasn't only us. They were going to other stores, too. We had the whiz, like, right around the corner and the whiz. Oh, wow. doing the same thing. Yeah, but was the Wiz a, like, was that a crazy eddie commercial store, i.e. like a Best Buy, or was that like a neighborhood store?

I would assume that. It was a changed store, but it was, it was big on Jamaica Avenue. It was big. It was big. Like, you know, whenever we would get new releases, new releases will come out on Tuesday. Right. But some people, we would get our packages Friday evening. So we could at least put it out Monday night.

But we were cheat and put it out Friday. So I remember when Tougher Than Lather came out, we put it out, and the WIRs put it out, and the WERS were selling it lower than us. So we called Profile, like, yo, the WIRD, they're selling it for like, you snitches, get stitches, son. I'm going to sell Tumper the Lover, went out to the Wills and not give it to us. So what Profile did was they cut,

they're shipping to the Wiz, and kept sending it to us, so we had it. Oh, wow. They just get stitches, son. Wow. Ain't nobody from the Wiz looking for my ass today. Don't nobody know what the Wiz is today. Right.

Like it never existed. Nobody beats the Wiz. Yo. Y'all didn't have the Wiz in Philly? Y'all ain't have the Wiz. We had it in D.C. Yeah. Oh, okay.

It had it in D.C. Yep. Yeah. It wasn't in North Carolina? No, no. We haven't done it. We had it in D.C. Nah, we had crazy.

We had Crazy Eddie. Like, right. I mean, besides your traditional record store, Crazy Eddie is like, probably somewhere in between our local, like our,

our local join was Sound of Market. Yeah. One, two, and three. Y'all had Mom and Pops. Dope mom and pops. Right, right, right. Sound of Market was dope. Yeah.

Definitely. I got to ask you, Walt, Nation of Millions had the same effect on me. Right. And it was my dream. to like even to this day like I still have not gotten my

bomb squad nut off you know what I mean like especially for the type of music I'm associated with but for you was that level of kamikaze sampling like something that you wanted to do you know bomb squad was like next level man

like bomb squad to me back then was the closest thing you could get to J.B. and the, you know what I'm saying, and Fred Wesley and them. Jake, the way the bomb squad did they thing, and then you found out that they used, like, all 48 tracks and the samples, sometimes the samples are offbeat.

Like, every story you hear, it amazes you. You know what I'm saying? So everything that they would do, I would buy. I don't care if it was Jody Watley. I don't care if it was Belved DeVoe. I don't care what it was. Young black teenagers, son of berserk. Y'all in a Bessert, young black teenagers.

anything I would buy. Vanessa Williams. Yeah, if they had bomb squad on it, I would find it. Because I was such a fan of it. But in terms of you trying to figure out what your style was. I mean, we all did it, though. We all tried to be like them, but eventually it was like, nah, this is not us.

You got to make their own name. It's like, you know, it's like with the bomb squad, we tried, but we knew that wasn't us. That wasn't us. You know, so what how it's like, it's like, you know, how I tell people with DJ. You see somebody do a scratch. You go home and practice that scratch.

Then you take that scratch and start developing it into your own type of scratch. You change it around so it becomes yours. You know what I'm saying? Like that was like the bomb squad thing. We seen how they layered samples and we seen how they was doing their thing. We tried to do it and we developed our own style doing that. One thing we did take from them though and I still do to this day is layer B. Oh, yeah.

So fight the power is like, what, you like it too and maybe funky drummer put together and stuff like that. We did that on who got the props, we did that on Buckham Down, we did that, like we would lay the drum, every record, they can have a swing to it. Yeah. And we got that from the bomb squad. The introduction that the world knows you guys by, of course, is who got the props. Right.

That to me was like, that was a mind. blowing revolution to hear that back in 93 because you got to understand like your average mainstream rap stuff was like UMCs fast you know think of like the intro to playground by by another bad creation like that chaotic that heavy day dancing sort of thing yeah how did you guys manage to avoid that because for me like who got the plops was was slowed down you you're using, you know, like 70s jazz, which was just unheard of. It was still uptempo, though. It was like 98 to 100 BPMs.

So it was still up tempo, but it was smooth. But, you know, on the B side, our B side was fucking up. And that was like 114 BPMs and stuff like that. And the beat monitor's intro to the world wasn't even who got the props. The B-Mobile's intro to the world was Poplarge remix. Yeah. What you want? The base, the East Coast remix.

That was the B minor remix. Yeah. That was y'all? But it was, listen, it was, it was beat miners, but it wasn't me and evil. It was, we had a, beat miners was a crew back in the day. And one of the guys in the crew was on his way. His name was Eichley. Now, Ikely was responsible for C.C. Penison and some Mantronics work.

And, you know, he was on his way to do other production. and that ultramagnetic remix landed in his lap. And he was a part of beat miners. And he said, listen, I'm about to do this remix. And I'm going to put it under the beat miners name. And that's what started the beat miners ride. Was that. So me and he took the reins.

I made up beat miners. But I was the first one to put it up to put us on. Yeah. So how did you guys form? This is a bunch of friends that we, like, it was me, him, me, him, E, baby Paul, and Eight Lee. We all met in Music Factory. Music Factory is like the meeting ground for all of this.

I didn't meet at Music Factory. I met Walt at the House. Well, anyway, music practice was the meeting, the melting part for everything. And the only thing we had in common was everybody just like record shopping. Yeah. and production. So we just made up a crew. The name of the crew,

the original name of the crew was Black Moon Producting. Yep. Right. Yeah, can you explain this moonlighting connection with that, please? Please. All right. I was trying to make up a name for the crew, right? And I was doodling some things on the paper,

and I just wrote down Black Moon. I was like, hmm, I like this, Black Moon Productions. I'm going to use this as the name for our name our production company, and I was rolling for that for a minute. E&M, his crew name was High Tech. That was the original name for Black Moon was high tech. I had a friend named Everett that worked with us. He said, yo, you guys are always finding records.

I'm going to call you guys Beat Miners. And he was an MC2, and he made a song called Beat Miners. And I was like, yo, I really like that name. Can I have that name? He said, sure. He gives me the name for Beat Miners. I was like, yo, okay, I'm not using the Black Monors. moon name no more. Ego, yo, let me get that name for my crew. And I said, okay, sure. That's how the Black

Moon name started. All right, but can you explain this alleged moonlighting connection to it? What you mean? What was a big fan of moonlighting? Please don't have to explain moonlighting. Lord. Hold on all, first of all, we're not giving no props to Simple Shepherd and Bruce Willis. What? Nothing to do with Black moon. Okay. I ain't hear that. I heard otherwise.

Really? No. So you weren't a fan of the show, Walt. You would not a fan. I love the show. I love the show. I heard that Sybil and Bruce, their agency was the Blue Moon agency.

Oh, I forgot. Good one of me. I forgot. I said that before. I said that before. I swear to God, I didn't even think about that until you just said that. I said that before.

I thought that was the job. genesis of how Black Moon got their name. I was like, you dweeb-ass nerds. Yes, I get it now. Boom, bum, bum, mine. Come on, man, one of the best theme songs all times. Yeah, that is.

For sure. Wow. Wait, so, hold on, you seriously thought? I said, no, well, because I said that before, that's why. I, yo, I didn't, I forgot it was the Blue Moon agency. me. I forgot about that. I was under the assumption because you watched, yo, every week.

Tuesday, Tuesday at 10th, that was moonlighting. So as soon as, you know, I'm hearing blue moon, blue moon all of a sudden, he's like, yo, the name of the crew is Black Moon. Moonlighting. But y'all didn't have a conversation, no. We didn't have the conversation. They don't have to have a conversation.

Yeah. I'm the one that put that out there. Yo. You're an asshole. What? Come on, man. Just own it. Own it. Come on,

for years. Wait, for years, you telling people, I got the idea from... Jake just said it's like he said it at the Red Bull Music Academy and 20... What a year was a gym? Yeah, I thought that was why you picked blue, I'm, you know, black, man. That wasn't the reason why?

Yeah. Well, it is now. No, I'm playing. Oh, my God. This is funny. This is funny. Oh, God. We love you, Bruce Willis.

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All right. So you formed this crew. Right. And it's five of you? I got through the math. It was four. It was four. Me, E, Paul, and Ike. Okay.

Yeah. Now, when did it trickle down to the beat miners that I know? Like, what's the journey that leads to what I assume is into the stage? Paul was always with us, but Paul wasn't in the forefront. I went off to do three boys from Newark and he went to do, like I said, C.C. C.C. Penison. Wait, three boys from New York, what did they morph into? That was, they were, Lauren Hills.

people. It was Vincent. Oh, Vincent Herbert. Yeah, Vincent Herbert. Yeah, Vincent Herbert. He was in a group? They were a production team. Vincent Herbert, Kiama Griffin, and I cannot remember the third brother's name. Vincent Herbert, as in Lady Gaga. Okay. I have a 12-inch that has Lauren Hill singing on it.

They're rhyming over Cool and the Gangs Too Hot, but she's singing Michael Jackson's one more, the Jackson Five is one more chance. But it's a group, something from Newark, but I didn't know if, They were a rap group or whatever, but I have like a white label of Lauren Hill singing on a rap joint, like right, right before the score came out. But I didn't know if that was a rap group or not. Was that them or do you recall? I don't think so. I don't think so.

I think, but Ike was already gone because then after he left three boys from Newark, him and Bryce Wilson started something. Oh, wow. And then I just, I just stopped doing music. I mean, he still comes in and out, but he stopped doing music. But it was a lot of records that I, that you love, that I really did the production on but never got to be. Name him. Oh, get at me, dog. Wow.

He did that at me, dog. He did, he did, uh. He would sweeten them up or like mix it or like. He would give the demo tape to somebody. I mean, let's put it out there. He would give it to Irv, Irv and Irv gave it to whoever and somehow Dave Grease. And listen, this is from what I heard. Greece got it. He either looped up the same record or whatever, and Ike is the one who

originally did that. I forgot, what's the other son that I did too, E? Um, wow. I know he did the Mantronics King of the Beat. Yeah. He did the Manchrom. Yeah, he did the Antron. And when he did it, he did a studio 440. Have you ever met Mantronics? Curtis Mantronics? Never matter. No, never matter. All right. I just recently found him in Germany that like, yeah, my dream interview. you because his his era of hip hop and i would say the latin rascals like with what they do with editing yeah i need to know how they did that shit because oh the editing thing is i'll still listen to the first mantronix record and cole getting dumb right and just that level of editing and sampling like you you don't even hear it now like when matronix went to capital when he got the

deal on capital right that's when i got into the yeah the first one i got into the yeah the Here's some nerd stuff for you, by the way. The same dude did the editing on the Mantronic stuff that was on sleeping bag. Yes. The same guy that did the editing for ultimate breaks and beats. Gara, yeah, Chep Nunes. Cheap Nunes. So when we're listening to like Long Red or I know you got soul when they have to edit those things, that's him doing that?

Yeah. Right. Do you know if they did that by tape edit? Yeah. I'm sorry. I'm speaking inside baseball again. I'm speaking baseball. All right.

So, of course, some of those breaks were really dope, but they would just be two seconds. Right. I know you got soul that we know, like you might have to do some trickery to make it seem like it's a six bar intro. Really, it's just a quickie one bar intro. So they would take some of these records

and re-edit them to extend it. So that way you're not going crazy, going back and forth on the turntables. especially with Long Red I wanted to know like how that shit was done because the original version of Mountains Long Red

from the Woodstock Festival like the drum break goes by in seconds whereas the compilation version is super extended so who did those edits Checked Ah

okay And it was all back then it was all tape So he had to splice and Right Right All analog, all analog stuff. Y'all. Actually, you know, to keep it really 100,

I mean, this is how, like, of course, you know, we're saying hip hop is like we're rap music and looping and all that stuff. You guys would be astounded at the amount of cutting and pasting that I've discovered sort of trolling through a lot of these master tapes of acts like essentially it's the same thing like bands were going

Super Freak is a great example people think that Super Freak is soup to nuts four minutes song that was played by the no they were fucking around the studio and literally in the last

seven seconds it came da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da and the tape cuts off So the way you know it's a loop When you listen to the saxophone at the end Bro, Danny

That's a loop. Like so the entire Super Freak is just a four-bar loop That that unfortunate assistant engineer had to spend all night cutting tape making copy And which is why When I asked about the breakdown Yeah

Ha ha ha ha ha! Like, it's not even in rhythm, but there's so many slide masters I went through. Same thing. Loose booty. Loose booty on small talk. Same thing. Shit is chopped and paste. Like, all the bitches brew, same thing.

So it's almost like they would have jam sessions, which was they're digging in the crate shit. And then the engineer and the artist would sit and listen to what they did. I like those four bars. And then the assistant engineer would have to make a copy. they go away for a day or two and he would have to make copies. And so, wow. Yeah,

like, so our level of making music where you listen to some shit and you loop it, like that's been going on since. Yeah. Which I'm just mind-blown about. Wow, that's crazy. Especially when you consider,

like, me not really being in this game to be a beatmaker, but as a drummer. Mm-hmm. Like, some shit, like, slides loose booty. I'm like,

God damn, Andy Newmark is tight as shit. Like he doesn't bludge or nothing on the beat. No, they just took a four bar loop and just looped them across. But my mind is thinking, I got to play that meticulous the way that Andy Newmark did it for five minutes, but only to find out it was looped. You know quiet as kept.

Do you know what other profession does that and don't get any respect on their name for? What? Radio DJs. Radio DJs make their own instrumental sometimes off of just like, I used to do it. Yeah, like I like this part of the song and the rest of it is some bullshit. So I'm just go into Odyssey and cut it up and make my own instrumental. Yo, you know who was nice on editing?

Who? Angie Martinez. Yeah. Nice. Yo, Angie Martinez, I went to Hot 97 to do some Black Moon promo stuff. And I've seen Angie edit the phone calls. Yeah. And believe it or not, that's what I'm going to be.

Or not, that's how I learned how to edit on tape. Yeah. Wow. That's a radio DJ thing, y'all. I watch Angie Martinez edit radio. Like, you know, she was nice with it. Bam, bomb, bum, bum, bum, mom. Her tape?

Yep. Yeah, cuts, flies, all that. Back in the days, what they would do when you record a radio station, they record the calls to tape. Right. And then they were edited. And by time, it's time to play that call that edit has to be done. And shorten.

And not as long as that. the deal. And I've seen Angie, I watched Angie when we was up at hot, edit phone calls. And I was like, yo. And when I went back to D&D, I went into the editing room and taught myself how to edit. You know what, Laya? I got to give you credit. Because I had to edit you all the time when you were called a radio station. No. You, matter of fact, well, one, you were the only deal. DJ on a commercial radio station that would let me in the building. Wow. That's for starters. Two, I forgot the first time I ever seen a playback machine was you and I watched

you edit some. I saw you do that with the wheel and everything. Right. When Keel and I drove home, he was like, yeah, that's a playback machine. And I was like, yo, like, why don't we do that? And he was like, dog, you late. Like everybody uses a playback machine on. stage. That's why people can jump around

without the record skipping because they use a playback machine. I forgot. You know, who started the playback machine, right? Watching Lai'ea do that at the station and I looked at what she was doing it on, I was like, oh shit, we got to get one of those. You know who started hip hop cats using the playback

machine, right? Who? Macyo. Dela? Maceo was the first DJ ever to use the playback machine. That would make him do that. He was at a radio station and He's saying, he's like, yo, I want to use that because that way I don't have to bring all these records. But when you think about it's crazy that like Donnie Simpson, Tom Joyner, all these people, like this is, they have to be able to do this.

Like they've done this with tape. Tom Joyner and then with tape. Yeah. Never knew that. For me, the trademark of your productions is, of course, filtering. Right. Which, what's the second song on, um, enter the stage? They get so shit as a second song.

Yes. Filter in the baseline or whatnot. How are you guys knowing which equipment to use? Like, assuming that you graduated from the SK1, like, what's the first piece of equipment that you got, a real piece of equipment for what you made your stuff on? Like, what do you use? That's when Acacio Ozzy 1 comes into play. And then Walt comes home with this sampler called the Akai 612.

Right. The Akai 612 is like the parent of the 900. the S-900-950 series. The only thing with the 612, instead of being able to sample eight different things, it only sampled one thing. And on the front of the 612

is knobs. One of the knobs is a filter knob. And me messing around with the sampler, I turned the filter knob and seeing that it filtered the sample. Now, I'm thinking I'm the first one to ever do this. but Marley already did it already.

I just didn't know. Well, on vapors? Molly did it on, wasn't fake. Yeah, I think vapors. And it was something else he did that it was filtered. And, you know, Pete and Tipping and was starting to experiment with filters too. You know, in my house, I'm like, yo, I just discovered something new.

Like when we heard Sally got on one track mine, that was, that was, that opened everything. Like we patterned our sound after that. The reason why our filters sound different because we were using a Kai 612. Yeah. So what we would do is we didn't have like big equipment. So what we would do is whatever we would take our filter, filter it down and put it on a cassette tape

and then take it to the studio. Yeah. And tell the engineer. Oh, y'all are pre-sample at home. Oh, right, right, right. Loop that up, loop this up. Right. But check this out.

We didn't get equipment until we did Deschanan. Well, we didn't get official equipment. Yeah, we didn't get official equipment until we did the shannon. Because we had the 612 and we had the arm, RZ1. When we got the money from into the stage, we took that money and went to go buy equipment to do the shana. So buck him down and all six, 12. And I got the props and I got you open. It's no program and it's all loops.

Right. It's all loops. Yeah, everything on there. There's no programming on that. It's just all loops. So when you're home, you're bringing the ingredients to the studio and telling the engineer, this is what I want, this is what I want, this is what I want. What we did was we made the beat first at home.

Put it on cassette. Put the different parts on cassette, the baseline, the drum loop one, drum loop two, noise, main loop. Right. And then we would go to the studio and be like, yo, swift, loop number one, that's the one. loop number one loop this up okay stop right there okay here's the second part loop this up stop right there put that on top of that on beat and loop number three okay here we go put that on top of it and right there like exactly like we was directing everything wow we might have to soundtrack it to it just based on the sonic quality of it in my mind I'm thinking like yo

man, they're using special needles on it. Like the way that we would try to analyze and figure out why those drums sound so dirty. Like the amount of times I've had to go to Bob Power and play like the come live with me drum break. Yeah, you laughing your ass off. Thanks. No much hours I wasted at Battery Studios. Shut up, man. Why you ain't just calling me?

I didn't know them until silent treatment time. Oh, okay. Oh. But again, I'm just thinking, like, I'm thinking you guys would take your records and just throw them in the dirt. No. No. Nah. We didn't do that.

We would sample on cassette, take what we want, and just take it to D&D, and they would take it from the sample from the cassette back on, like, to two-inch. Wow. This is why I purchased those. Yeah, and we ruined a lot of records messing around in the dirt. Damn, that's crazy. Is that still a two-inch an electric lady? Is that still two-inch of machines in there? Yeah, it's there.

It's there. Okay. Well, Brooklyn's actually more than that, like, I now, like, the good thing about the nerdy post-Dat King set is now like, that entire crew has mastered in ways. Like I go to Letcher Garden now. Shout out to Ben at Electric Garden. And also, what's my other spot in Brooklyn, Steve?

Diamond Mine. Yeah, Diamond Mine especially. Like now I could just go in and because they were raised on all of your music, they literally know the exact frequency that I can be out there in a half hour. Whereas like back in the day, that shit would. take me months, just one, one frequency at a time. Another frequency. And I didn't realize that you guys were pre-sampling at home on cassette.

On cassette. Cassette is the key. Yeah. Damn, man, I might just scrap this entire record and just start all over again and just do everything on cassette. That's the good idea. There you know. Let's do that. Really good idea.

At the end of the day, it's like, all of us producer cats, we're all mad scientists. And we all have our way of doing things. You know, once we learned how to operate, once we learned how to operate the SP and the 950, we was doing stuff here. But the way we was doing it was running it through the Mackeyboard, and you run it through the mixer before then and you pre-EQ the drums before you sample it. So that's still added a grit to it, too. I didn't learn the SP until we were getting ready for the shiny. Q-Tip taught me to SB. Wow.

Wow. I didn't, and you know, Q-Tip is the one who named me Mr. Wall. Really? What's Music Factory without Mr. Walt? Mr. Walt, right, phrase called Tor. I didn't, I didn't realize that you did not have a moniker. I was going with Walter Dugard. I was like, you know what?

If Eric Sermit could do it, I could do it. I'm going to be Walter Dugard. But. Walter Dukard. That was my name. No, I have some Keith Murray shit. Right, exactly. But Q-Tips, he called me Mr. Wall, and I

just took it and remand with 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

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You guys were in what I call the Running with the Bulls era of beat making. You know, can you tell me, like, how deep and involved were you guys with, like, the record conventions? Or you're all there, like, four in the morning waiting? Tip will come pick us up. Q-Tip will come pick us up. Four o'clock in the morning. We were going to the Roosevelt Hotel, thinking that we had the jump on everybody. We're like, yeah, we're going to get there first.

Yo, once we walk in there, we're thinking we're there, we're number one, we're here. We turn to our left. Kid Capri and Pete Rock rented a room the night before. I was like, what kind of bullshit in this? Yeah, these dudes was renting rooms and they was like as soon as the first dude brings his case in, they're down there. Yep, they're there. Pete Rock is there already. What you do to top of, Amir?

What'd you do? I wasn't in, I was in the generation. after. So the slim picking for gold mining is between 89 and like 92. Like if you find shit during that period, then your life is gold. I came after the fact. And, you know, I would just hear stories. I'd hear stories of like Pete be rating dealers for like, he would buy like the entire catalog of an artist just so that you know if there's eight copies of a particular record they would buy them all

to make sure that no one else took it you can't stop that from happening at your petty is well okay so I'll ask a question even though this is like super late in the game I know that you guys were the first to use actually the second

because no one ever credits OC for using it on um uh on the on uh a little on world life. Oh, boy blues. Boom, boom, boom, yeah. O.C. was the first.

Let's take it to who got the props? Because the thing is, is that y'all did it first, and of course. Usher and everybody comes behind it. Like, are you in the feel-some sort of way about not getting the shine off at first or hip-hop is just open sport and, you know, it's like a reggae rhythm. Anybody can rhyme over it. Like, what is your attitude in terms of at the time, How did you feel as opposed to now?

What was the Usher record, y'all? What was the Usher? The first thing means my mind. Think of you. It was on the first album. I didn't feel no type of way about the Usher thing. Yeah, it was cool. It was cool.

You know when I spelt away, and this is the first time I've ever said this in an interview, I felt away when the trackmasters used Sound Boy Burial for Mary Amory character. Yeah. We had just put Sam Boy Barrio out. They went behind us. looped up our record, gave it to marry first, and I guess it didn't work, or they gave it to somebody first,

it didn't work, and then they even gave it to Mariah or Mary or Mary after that. That's when I was like, come on, dude. Like, we just put this record out, dude. Like, let the record breathe a little bit. You went and went right behind us and jacked our beat. So I felt some type of way about that. And I kind of felt the way I like that about intro,

when intro used Quincey Johnson. Yeah, and I really, I was like, yo, like... Which intro record was that? Which one? Funny how time? Oh, found out time. Yeah, yeah.

Funny how times. Your first single off their second album. My whole thing is this. Like, I don't want... I'm not even checking for money. Just be like, yeah, we got it from there. That's all. You know what I'm saying?

Like, that was my thing with that. And I was kind of tight behind that, you know? But, yo, man, you know, Homeboy passed. So I was like, I'm not going to say nothing about it. Because then I'm going to look like a hater. In terms of production, are you guys involved at all in terms of also structure of the song, horses, rock and rock like y'all could do that better, da-da-da-da-da. Like, are you guys also micromanaging as far as vocal sessions or is it just like, here's the beat?

All right, good luck. In the beginning, we wasn't really like that. Like, I would say stuff. Like, I told, after Buck did how many MCs, he did how many MCs in one take, right? I said to him, you sure you want to keep your vocals that way? You don't want to change it? He said, trust me, Walt, I'm going to keep this the way it is. And I said, okay, you know what I'm saying?

But usually we just let them go. But as we got older and started doing more records, we became more vocal about, Yo, do your vocals this way. Do this, do that, do that, you know. I was going to ask, who's the one that suggested, especially for I Got You Open, for Buckshot to use his layback mellow flow instead of his hype who got the props flow.

Oh, that was Buck. That was Buck. Buck came in and was like, yo, like, when we was doing, not even I got you open, we was doing the Buckham Down remix. Buck him down. I got you going down. I got you open with her.

I got you open. No, Mom's sake, I got you up and was first. Okay. Yeah. But Buckham Down remix dropped. The Buckmanan was dropped after or before? After. Okay, okay.

My bad. It's mad long ago. I'm old. But like when Buck came into the studio, it's like he just, it was a different flow. Because being that, we was on the thing where we're going to remix everything we, every 12 ones we put out, Buck was like, yo,

if they're going to change the beat, I'm going to change the flow. You know? And how did y'all feel when y'all heard it? Like, because it's so night and day from what he was known. Like, his, the original verse was super hype. It's almost like, you know, listen to parents just don't understand versus summertime. Like, what the hell is this? Right, right, right.

I was, I think he just did whatever fit the moment. So who got the props was like a more up tempo? Bob so he he hit it that way but then when we started slowing the record down and smoothing the records out that's when he started becoming he came with the layback style the very white situation was all him that was yeah he was like i want to rhyme off of that and yeah i was too busy trying to impress lodge and pete and premier and cutip so i'm trying to find the obscure most obscure record buck and tech and steel they wasn't thinking about that there was a like, yo, we want to rhyme off with this, this, and this.

And I was like, nah, we're not going to rhyme off of that. So Buck was like, you, I want to rhyme off the Barry White stuff. And then one thing about Buck, he talks to you like he's a car salesman. So you don't feel like you're buying a goddamn car from this dude. He says to me, hey, man, because Barry White was a gangster, man. He was a gangster. And we need to keep the gangster vibe going. And I'm looking at him like, motherfucker, you don't get the fuck away from me.

It's shit. Yo, but at the end of the day, it was like, yo, we did it. And that was bananas. That's crazy because as a, like a, I want to say a female hip hop fan in a way, but it's just crazy that that was his motivation. Meanwhile, I'm sure that some of us girls was listening like, oh shit, this nigga can slow it down. This shit is dope. Like, you wouldn't even think about it from a Barry White being a gangster.

It was more like what Barry White's, you know, public perception is. So trust me, that wasn't, trust me, that wasn't his attention. He was like, he just tried, was trying to fit the moment. Yeah. Of what we was trying to do. Production wise, like, what did you learn making the shining that you didn't know? Like, as far as production techniques and whatnot? Like, how did you get wiser?

Oh, progression steps. Because we recorded into the stage from 12 midnight to 6 in the morning. So at D&D? At D&D, 12 midnight. What is it about D&D? Like, why would you choose D&D? They have never flushed that toilet like in 20 years. Yo, hold on, hold on.

Before we said I remember when I brought you to D&D, you were like, yo, this place is crazy. Yeah, man, because I was a tourist from. Yo, you know, I've told the story before, but my favorite. Describe it, Amir. Come on. Well, I mean, D&D was just a grimy-ass spot. It was, premier bringers there, though.

Premier bringers there. I don't even want to say it's like the projects of studios, but it was like you come in. No, it was just super grimy. It's like blunt ashes from yesterday year still on the floor. Bathrooms barely worked. The day that you guys worked on silent treatment. Right.

When, you know, the pool table is in the hallway. Right, right, right. dog for like 45 minutes straight I only heard this bell ringing after 45 minutes of that I snuck to the other room to see where that that bell was doing and it was Premier and Karras won starting the genesis of what we would know is MCs act like they don't know like they were literally working on that while you guys were in the B room

working on the silent treatment remit But actually, it was backwards. We're in the A room and premiering them in the B room. The B room is Prings Room. Yeah, the A room was beat monitors and the B room was premiere. But you know what? Lai was right, man. D&D was the project of the studio.

It was. Here's the thing with D&D, right? I'm going to break down D&D. I'm going to break down the whole thing with D&D, right? D&D, first of all, we started at Calliope. Right. Calliope had no outboard game. gear whatsoever.

The outboard gear consisted of a tape deck, a dat deck, I mean a dat recorder. It was a, yo, they had no outboard gear in Calliope. But Bob Power worked there in Three Fionne Riz. But that's why Bob Powers is a genius. Because he had nothing to work with? Exactly. Right. Right.

Calliope, what happened was we got kicked out of Calliope. How'd you get kicked out of collage? Why? Would you let me tell a story? Tell the story. So we're recording, I forgot, we were recording maybe slave or something, and Havoc came to visit us in the studio. He said Havoc. Habic.

Mive. I'm on deep. Yep. Because Havoc is on you the man. So he came to the studio to visit us. And the guy who owned Klaipi, his name was Chris. He lived in Jersey. He left the studio to go home.

Because again, we recorded 12 midnight at 6 a.m. Havoc somehow tripped the alarm, right? Chris had to come back from his house all the way back to Manhattan to 30th Street. And he was mad. So he was like, you guys tripped the alarm. You guys were doing something he wasn't supposed to do. You guys are banned from my studio. Get out.

Blah, blah, blah. So, he's the boisterous brother. Fuck you. I don't want to come back here anytime. that way. And that we left. Yeah, I took all my two-inch tapes and left. Like, don't we out of here.

Damn. Come on, what? The funny thing is, so that morning, I'm walking, I'm, like, I have the two-inch tapes. I'm taking them to nervous records. You know what I'm saying? Because I'm not taking them home. Right.

So I'm taking them to nervous records. Nervous records was in Times Square at the time. Nervous Records was on Broadway between 43rd and 44th right across from MTV. So I'm walking to Nervous Records. I turned the corner of Broadway. Who do I bump into?

Premier. And I'm like, yo, so Premier's like, yo, you know, what's up with that album? How's it going? And I'm like, yo, man, we just got kicked out of Calliope, blah, blah, blah. And Premier says to me, look, I'm at this studio. I'm the only hip-hop dude there.

come by and yo check it out you might like it you can record there would be the only hip hop dudes there working yeah and i was like bet so premier this is exactly what he says to me my session starts at 12 i'll be there around three four so come around come come come through and i was like all right and i went and checked out d and d pommia showed me his room which was studio b and i was like yo, this is dope. And then Dave from D&D takes me to Studio A. And when I walked into Studio A, I was like, yo, this is it. Like Studio A just had, it sounded like my basement. And I turned around, I looked at the outboard gear. I seen it had mad out. It had enough outboard gear in there. You know, and I was like, yo, this is it. And what was the first session we did? Well,

Maybe I got you open Yeah, I got you open I think I got you open Yeah, it was the first session we did there And once we did the session there, we never left. Wow. Wow.

We never left. And it was like, and the thing about D&D is D&D had the sound. Like that MCI board, they had an MCI tape machine. That was an MCI? Yeah.

Oh, okay. And it sounded nice and, warm in there like you know we went to battery battery was nice but it was too clean for what we was too pristine yeah yeah and it's like d and d fit us right now now let me explain the bathroom thing the bathroom you went to was not the real bathroom oh the real bathroom was in the office that was clean that bathroom you went to was the bullshit bathroom you know what I'm saying Yeah, at the end of the day, we went to D&D and we just fell in love. And I'm the nerd geek nerd when it comes to like recording and, you know, I'm the dude that, yo, use the pull tech, used it.

Like, that's me. Walt is just the, yo, I know these, Walt's knowledge of records. Like, you know, and I tell people this all the time, Walt's knowledge of records, you're not going to find nobody that has that knows more about records than Walt. I agree If you go to Walt And say y'all I need a record with a drum That sounds like this

Walt nine of the ten We'll pick out three records and go Yo check these out Wow Hmm He is the nerd of beat miners And I'm the record guy That's why my camera ain't fucking working

Because I Because he's a nerd Like and even with D&D Like the thing with D&D Was I learned how to engineer At D&D Okay

Like I learned the patch bay I learned what mic to use. I learned like D&D is what taught me. The way I record today is what I learned the D&D. And, you know, because during those sessions, I was watching everything. And as a matter of fact, who got the props was recorded at such a sound studio. With slow-mo son-of-field was the engineer. What happened was me and slow-mo got into a big,

argument because I was telling him how I want the record to sound and slow-mo goes oh you think you know everything you mix the record the mix you hear on that record is the mix that I did uh-huh he wanted to clean it up now he yeah he wanted to clean up and he wanted to sound like a like he was like you got make the you got to make the drums sound like this ah that drum loop oh you need a drum machine and I'm like no you don't I know what I'm doing here and it you know it you know And that session was so bananas. It got to the point I think Walt came and something was said, Walt was like,

you, I'm out before I kill somebody. Like, that session was so bananas. Like, I mixed that and I mixed, um, the B side,

fuck it up. Because it was like, yo, I knew what sound we was looking for, you know, and I, yo, like after that,

I was like, you know what, we need to go, we, you know, when we went to colliopee, we went to colliope, because collierp was cheap

and colliope was the studio they had like a special package for midnight to 6 a.m. I think we was getting the room for what, 25 an hour walk? Yeah. What was it peak hours? It was like what, 60, 80, maybe 100?

And you're saying that D&D was quote the non-hip-hop spot. What were they doing before you guys turned it into hip-hop's home? Freestyle music and yeah, dance to freestyle. And they did like, they did, the fat boys actually was like, I think the first dudes that recorded there, the hip hop dudes.

They recorded one or two records there. But they, they did a lot of freestyle stuff. They did like a couple reggae records. But they was known for like dance. Stevie B and Latin Rascals' touches. One time we was in the studio and Noel was there. Silent morning, Noel? Yeah, I'm looking at him like, what are you doing here?

Nice. But yeah, that's what they was doing dance music. One thing about D&D, you will meet anybody in D&D. Like, people you would even think that would be there. Every Saturday, if we would record on a Saturday, Tashina Arnold will be in there doing her demo. Wow. Wow.

A win is a win. 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, 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 2, 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 Step Brothers Anchorman, Saturday Night Live, and the Big Money Players Network. It's Will Ferrell.

Woo, woo, woo, 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. 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 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. For more, follow Timbo Slice of Life 12 and TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. I'm John Green.

You may know me as the author of The Fault and Our Stars. And now, I guess also as 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 Auerkone and John Green on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Yo, can you talk about working with Sean Price and like Ruck and Rock from Helter Skelter? Yo, that dude was a different guy. You know, one day, we started working on maybe the Shahn Inn, I'm not sure, but past the news I came to see me in the studio. I bring them up, says I want to introduce him to rock and rock. So I bring POS in. First person we see is Sean. So I say, yo, Sean, yo, yo, rock.

This is my man, Mersh, Paz. Paz, this is Ruck. You know what he says to Paz? Yo, son, I'm nice, son. I'm nice, son. I could buggy on this mic, son. I'm nice. I'm nice.

I bust anybody ass, son. What? What? I said, please excuse. him. He pops his face like, yo, yo,

he's in posse his face. Like, yeah, what the fuck's going on? I'm like, please excuse him. This is just how he is. This is,

this is him. But that's how he was. He was a prank, like a jokster. Yeah, I've seen many sides of him. Like, right. Right.

He could have been a comedian. Yeah, he could have been a comedian. Yeah. He was a great guy, man. He was a great guy. Yeah. I just,

got to tell you the day that um we first heard onslaught on the uh i remember you told me i remember if you watch us and buster rhymes on s andl we snuck eight bars of that in on it like we heard it that day yeah and we were backstage having a meeting like yo man i want to rhyme with that shit and we were like yo we we didn't clear the song with s and we're supposed to do you just like I don't give a fuck. Matter of fact, thought it's going to spit four bars too. And literally,

like, for us, we thought we was like committing a crime. Like, yo, we didn't tell him and tell you nothing. But the last 16 bars,

that shit, we're doing that black moon shit. And literally, you know, that's like one of my favorite shit. Yo. That's all evil D. That's all evil D.

That's my favorite black moon record of all time. Yo, that record is me playing a mini-mook. What? Based on, it's me playing a mini move. Oh, also, dog, on two turntables and Mike, why, what was on your mind when you did that kick pattern? To this day, like I've never heard someone not John Jabbo-Starks from the JVs do 16s on the kick drum. Who programmed that?

He did all that. What it was was, was I was following a pattern of heartbeat. Right, but that's the thing. You could have chose the other part where they're just playing the shit normal, i.e. buddy. You chose the hardest part to loop. Yeah, but that's just me. Like, you're using the same record, but you're trying to be different.

You try to be different. You don't want it to sound like it's the same. We didn't want to sound like De La. You know what I'm saying? So we wanted to be a different swing thing. Yeah. Like two turntables and a mic was basically a segue. We used to do that on the like the first time we mean you met which was at a show in Philly We did two turn tables in the mic that was a segue we used

You know we got back home. We was like go we need to make that into a record Not a whole thing happened with nervous where you know we left nervous records or blah blah blah And we still like when we you know When we got for me and Buck sat down to do war zone Buck was like that heartbeat thing we need to do that you know but it's like we you know like I said it was us

but it was just so risky to put 16 bar patterns on the kick drum where it was that's just unheard of I'm a nerd for me it was like

I spent more times like why would they do that but what will eventually happen is I now do that to this day and I can't stop doing it but you ever be so obsessed with something that you either don't understand or you hate and then you wind up turning to that shit?

Yeah. Yeah. Like right now, I'm like that pattern probably, I'm still obsessed over why you did it because it's kind of wrong but still right. Like, dare to be different, man. Dare to be different. Two turn tables on my mic was supposed to be in House Party, too. Yeah. It was made for the House Party two soundtrack. Okay. Yeah. Oh.

Oh, we recorded that record twice. Right. We recorded it once, and when we record the first time, that's when we did it regular. We looped up the regular part and anything. And when we did that, it was like, yo, this is going to be dope. And then the whole nervous thing happened. So after that, it was like, whatever. And then when Buck was like, let's do that heartbeat thing, it was like, you know what?

We're going to do it, but we're going to do it a little. different. You know, we're going to try to make it sound a little different than everybody else's version of heartbeat. Okay. You know. You know, I do also want to get to the fact that you guys were super early. Like, of course, post-pandemic, everybody was DJing online and whatnot, and you guys were like super early on that. What was the genesis of you guys starting your own internet radio station in 1996 my home boy's mark and randy they had an internet show that is it 1996 they had an internet show called 88 hip hop yes i'm mark and randy ran 88 hip hop they came to me and was like yo can you help us produce this show and i was like yo why not

let's do it and when i went to them they was like yo why don't you do your own thing also. And when they said that to me, you know, the first thing I did was like, yo, walk, ta-da-da-da-da-da. And, you know, we sat down and that's how beat minus radio was born. Like 88 hip-hop is the first hip-hop station. Second, beat minus. Okay. When we started doing it online, Macyo is the one that said, yo, you guys need to bring it over here. That's something we were doing it on U-stream. Yeah, but that's down, like down the line. Like, we, you know, Beat Minors Radio, we was doing that in the 90s. Then the 2000 thing with the dot-com thing happened.

Sudo, which was our parent company, died. So that was the end of it for a minute. But we did it. Like, we had Beat Miner's Radio offline on our 105.9 WNWK. For a second, we had it there. And then what happened was we kind of started again with another internet radio station. But that radio station, they wasn't maintaining their equipment. So, you know, one day we went there and the equipment was messed up, so we decided to disleave.

Macyo was on Ustream, and Macyo hits us up. Yo, y'all need to come on Ustream. And I logged on, Macyo's rocking. He's like, yo, E, set up an account. Make your own, yo, do, yo, you need to be on here. And that's what we started Beatroners Radio again. What year was that walk night? 2008, 2008.

2008, it was. And we restarted Beat Monters Radio online, 2008. But before that, we had, you know, we was doing Beat Monters radio like podcast and Beat Monters Radio offline. So we kept it alive. But 2008 was when we restarted again, and we were streaming live from right here in the house.

Okay. we've been doing it from 2008 till now. So with hip hop blooming as it has since you first started 30 years ago, it's going through a whole giant metamorphosis, how have you guys been able to navigate in terms of, like, do you still get a thrill of making beats? Are you challenging yourself to try different ideas out or whatnot? Or is it like, look, this is our formula, this is our recipe,

we're sticking to it. Do you still get a thrill of digging for records and the whole process of unearthing some gems that the world hasn't heard before? Like, is it still a thrill for you to make and create stuff? Yeah, that's never, that's never going to die. Like, that's our thing. Like, we still follow the blueprint that we lay down, but we listen to what's around us and we listen to everybody. And we try to add little pieces here and there. But, We mainly keep our same sound, you know, and the same technique that we've been using. And as far as where the digging goes, we still go digging, like, all the time. Yeah.

All the time. It's not going to stop. Yeah, that's never going to stop. I always tell people this. It's new equipment, but it's the same people. Right. Like, you know, instead of using the SP and the 950, now we use NPC Renaissance, NPCX, Ableton, and plugins. Did it take you long to adjust to that?

Or was it like, were you kicking and screaming to adjust to change? Me wise, I'm the technology dude. Yep. So I'm always looking in and trying to figure things out. Law Finesse OG, DJ OG and King of Chill taught me Ableton. Okay. You know, and, you know. King of Chill is now premieres.

Creepy clown. Yeah. Yeah, premieres. a full-time engineer. He used to be MC Lights, the DJ. Like, those are the dudes that taught me Ableton. And it's like,

once I learned Ableton, I was like, what? We could do this. And, you know, and the same thing with the Renaissance. Like, you know, at the end of the day, like, it made my job easier.

What's your weapon of choice now? MPC Renaissance and Ableton. And the whole bunch of records. Have you ever pulled out the old tools to try it again? I still haven't plugged up. Like what I do is every once in a blue, I will sneak back to the SP because here's the thing. Everybody wants to emulate that sound. I don't have to emulate it.

And I have one. Everybody wants that 950 sound. I don't have to emulate. I just go sampling a 950 and then dumping it to Ableton. Because the 950 is the one device that I feel like all the gods have used in swan. whereby that I have not, first of all, I can't find, I think once I used the 950, like, during Do you want more like Bob had one, but he operated it. I didn't. What is it about the 950 that holds holy for every god of, of hip hop production? It's a warm sound. Yeah.

It's a nice warm sound to it. It's like the 950 has a, like back then, when they made equipment, it had different, the equipment had different sounds. It's like for instance, I tell everybody, the best sound in MPC is the MPC 3,000. To me, that's the best sound in MPC. That's the best sound in one. The 950 also had a sound. And when you did filters in the 950, I don't know what it was, but it just sounded crunchier and heavier and better. And it had that sound at all those old.

records had. Right. Like, if you listen to a filter on a, on a, on a black moon record, it's not just the baseline. It's the, ooh. The undercurrents. The 950 brings that out. Yeah.

Right. And it's like the 950 at the, you know, at the same time was like the SP-200950 was partners. You couldn't break up that partnership. Now, keep in mind, I use a totally different equipment. Like, what do you use? I'm using an X and NPC1. Yeah, I got to go back before.

So, you know, I used that. But before that, I was on a 3,000 for like 20 years. I was on a 3,000. Couldn't let it go. Yeah, can't do it. What's the dude that, now here's the thing. Walt's usually the dude that, yo, like, I got to be like, your war, your walk, come on, Walt, your war.

Walt Like the NPCX We was in Not guitar center We was at Manis maybe No not Manny

Sam Ash We got Sam Ash And Walter's goes Let me get the MPCX And I'm looking at him like Really? This is what you're going to buy? I'm buying a keyboard

Walt's like Let me get the NBCX And Walt opens Like Walt gets into the house and you didn't see Walt for weeks. And he's right upstairs, but I didn't see him for weeks. But that's how we bump far with stuff like, yo, when I learned how to use the Renaissance,

Walt looks at, King of Chilling goes, you're not going to see E for another few months because you're going to be in the house. Watch. I see. Have any of you tried the new 1,200? Nah. The, um, wait, the, um, Stuart Elliott, what up, Stroh.

Oh, Stro's hearing all your nerd talk. Yo, strong out here. Talk about it, y'all. Ain't it, ain't it the truth? Yes, he is. That's my guy right there. Man, that dude is dangerous. Yes, he is.

I learned from the best, sir. Thank you, sir. Thank you. You're talking about the pioneer joints? Yes. You know, because I'm hitting Tiger, which is the old, you know, static is partners now with them.

Okay. They just bought those turntapes. I was the first DJ to use them. I hit and target is Saturday. Yo, I fell in love with those turns. Yo, I'm really like, I'm like, yo, we're going to have to do, we're going to have to do some illegal business because I need a pair of those turntables.

Those turntables are incredible. I fell in love with them turntables. Like, I was like, you know what, these turns, this, I got to get a pair. I got to get a pair. All right. Last thing. I know that you guys are, you're working with.

Chris, right? Are you doing the whole album or just a single with KRS one? No, that single was from our album. Okay. I was the impression that you're doing an entire... Let me tell you, listen, we were supposed to. We have so many songs with Chris. We were supposed to, but it's communication broke down. Like, I just, you know... Well, actually, no, I'm sorry. Raps will.

That will destroy you. That's the first single for my album. coming out in May, June, stifle creativity. That was the first single. The next single is a song. We have a song called My Year that's featuring De La,

Rachees Chappelle, Farramanche, and Corey Glover from Living Color. We give us more records. What else is on there? Because I feel like you. We got, of course, a Black Moon song. We got Steele and Fame from MOP on a song. We got Rusty,

We got A-Z. We got Al Scratch. Out Scratch. We got... We got two songs from Raskats. Yes. Bishop Lamont. Mm-hmm.

I'm trying to remember. We got Monifa on the album. Mm-hmm. Wow. I always forget. Oh, we got Keith Murray on the album. We got apathy. Apathy.

So we got some things coming. Summertime should be fun. Well, at the end of the day, that's what it is. Yo, man, I thank you, too, for doing this episode with us. Thank you, man. Thanks for the music. Thank you. You're the nicest gentleman in music.

Thank you so much, sir. Y'all just as a longtime fan of y'all's and just, you know, being, LB first came out, y'all were one of the first, you know, one of the OGs to really show us love, you know what I'm saying? I remember, like, Eva D. You come into our album release party and stuff. and the work we did on the rakes and everything. I remember when we met when we met up at Fat Beats.

Yes, indeed. I told you all to meet me at Fat Bees that we had Fat Beats hanging out. Yes, indeed. You got to understand. It's like I'm a fan of y'all, you know what I'm saying? Like, just like people are a fan of mine. Like, you know, like I'm that type person where it doesn't hurt me to give credit what credit is due. You know what I'm saying?

Like, yo, if you made something dope, trust me, I'm like this. and like y'all inspired me to work you know what I'm saying same thing with with Quest because it's like he'll like when they did a um who's a joint where y'all loop Saturday night oh that's um without a doubt without a doubt without a doubt yeah I was like yo this is kind of hot but his drunk playing like come on it's been plenty of times where I stole a kick and stole a snare you know that's what's there for man I'm feeding the masses Can I just say something real quick, y'all, before y'all go? Because me and Jake were just talking about this. The evolution of the backpacker and where it has gone and all the derivatives is just a beautiful thing. And I know sometimes it used to be a bad word because when people call me a backpacker, I'd be offended. But now it is a because when they were stable, they were shiny suits to call me a backpacker.

But now I'm just saying the evolution. That was Kev calling you a backpacker. Yeah, who the hell is calling you a backpacker? Back in the day when I was going to see y'all, when I was going to see Boot Camp Click at the Ibex and everybody else was going. to the go-go we's wearing our backpacks at the club like yeah we was backpacked yeah yes at the end of the day man I'm just like this this this is definitely dope man I want to thank you all man won't put me on to the podcast because Walt was like you want you need to listen to this yo this is my favorite podcast like I love this podcast I love this podcast I have my road call

ready to go. Oh, shit. We're going to do it. Walt came in here on some, yo, guess what podcast we're doing? And I'm looking at him like, what's wrong with you? You did that like the cartoon cheer

and you did that like brown hornet's about to come on like. All right. So normally I do my sign off. Shout out to the family of QLS. But this one time, sir, Evil D is on the mix.

Come on kick it. Thank you very much. We will see you next week. All right, y'all. Yeah, my day is great. My day is great. All right. Love y'all, you.

Thank you all so much, man. Thank you for listening to Questlove Supreme. This podcast is hosted by Amir Questlove Thompson, Big Bossman. Lai'e, St. Clair, so blackety-black. Myself, Fon Ticelo, Fonte Coleman. Sugar Steve Mandel.

and unpaid Bill Sherman. The executive producers are Amir Questlove Thompson, Sean G, and the unbothered Brian Calhoun. Produced by Brittany Benjamin, my dog, cousin Jay Payne, my motherfucking man, and Laia St. Clair,

my work wife. Edited by Alex Conroy, produced for iHeart by Noah Brown. Thank you for tuning in. Check us out next week. Questlove Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeart Radio, visit the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media.

Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to turn. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's 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 bowed. 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 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. 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 Slice of Life 12 and TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. I'm Daniel Alarcon, and this is my friend. It's much more famous than I am. I wouldn't go that far, but I'm John Green,

co-host at 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.

On a recent episode of the podcast, Money and Wealth with John Hobriant, I sit down with Tiffany the budgetista Aliche to talk about what it really takes to take control of your money. What would that look like in our families if everyone was able to pass on wealth to the people when they're no longer here? We break down budgeting, financial discipline, and how to build real wealth, starting with the mindset shifts. Too many of us were never, ever taught. If you've ever felt you didn't get the memo on money, this conversation is for you to hear more. Listen to Money and Wealth with John Hope Bryant from the Black Effect Network on the I'd Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get. Get your podcast.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.