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Emanny Talks Working With #JoeBudden, #RickRoss Jadakiss His New EP, The Opps & The Evolution of R&B
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Jan 13, 2025
In this exclusive interview with AllHipHop, R&B artist Emanny takes us through his inspiring career journey, from working alongside legends like Joe Budden, Rick Ross and Jadakiss to overcoming personal challenges in the pursuit of his artistic dreams. Emanny introduces his latest EP, Before Her, featuring three tracks that symbolize key stages of his forthcoming project. He shares insights on balancing life and music, finding renewed creative inspiration, and navigating the ever-changing R&B landscape. Emanny also discusses the impact of technology on the music industry and his passion for mentoring the next generation of artists. Don't miss this candid conversation with one of R&B's most soulful voices, as he reflects on his past, celebrates his present, and looks forward to a bright future in music. Subscribe to AllHipHop on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/allhiphoptv?sub_confirmation=1 Check out more of AHH here on social media: https://allhiphop.com https://twitter.com/allhiphopcom https://facebook.com/allhiphopcom https://instagram.com/allhiphopcom Executive Producers: “Grouchy” Greg Watkins and Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur AllHipHop.com, a powerhouse in the Hip-Hop world, was established and brought to life in 1998 by the visionary CEOs "Grouchy" Greg Watkins and Chuck "Jigsaw" Creekmur. Over the years, AllHipHop has solidified its position as an invaluable hub for all things Hip-Hop on the web. With its daily dose of news, exclusive interviews, in-depth reviews, multimedia content, a newly-minted expanding community, and a treasure trove of other engaging material, it has garnered immense praise and a dedicated following. Renowned publications consistently turn to AllHipHop for their news and feature references, attesting to the site's unparalleled accuracy and trustworthiness. Additionally, AllHipHop has fostered strong partnerships with numerous offline print magazines, newspapers, television networks, and radio stations, further cementing its influence and reach in the world of #HipHop.
View Video Transcript
0:06
[Music] yo what's going on this is your boyman and I want to send nothing but love to all hip hop my boy Chuck W World Studios
0:15
it's amazing to be here salute this is allhiphop.com your man Chuck creeker you
0:20
know what I'm saying AKA JS are here at one world Studios with imanie now yep
0:26
you got a song with Joe budy I was trying to how do I start this interview off but you used to have me singing to
0:32
the top of my lungs I gave you my own I like that's not enough
0:40
so oh yo you know what's crazy I think that's the song that kind of really started my I don't want to say my career
0:47
but that was my first introduction to Industry right like being actually
0:53
received as yo you're an actual act like that was the first song I remember being really posted r like oh we heard you on
1:01
that that was like the start for me I think so yeah I was going through so much life we've we've been talking
1:07
offline about life relationships and things that we go through as people and
1:13
relationships with men women me mean what women well period just life but life and that was one of my anthems at
1:20
that point I was going through it it's still it's still one of my it's funny I
1:25
I I don't I wasn't even going through that at that moment the fact that now it resonate so much today it's like all I
1:31
damn near predicted the future with that yeah right right yeah um now you have a
1:37
a new project yes how how is it pronounced her before her before her
1:42
before her okay before her but it's like a three in there well well because I did my first real project that I released
1:48
was called songs about her and that was one and then I released another one 2014 songs about her too and uh before I
1:55
dropped three I was just adding the three in there just so people know like the Three is coming way
2:00
threey okay okay um let's let's start off with this project and this you know
2:06
this EP three songs three songs but um but very very good record sonically um
2:13
you saying a little something on each one talk talk to us about that um each record I picked three just to also
2:20
symbolize the three like just everything just kind of felt right um each of those songs kind of represent a chapter in the
2:28
project and I wanted to I think the first project I did was so uh revered or considered cult you know ctly loved uh
2:36
because it did give you a storyline okay and I was always big on like a lot of my
2:41
favorite hip-hop albums played out like that and don't get me wrong I'm an R&B dude by by trade and but I've just
2:49
always been a hip-hop head so I wanted to try to transfer that energy into R&B project so I chose those three songs
2:57
because they mainly represented the different stages that we were going to uh visit within the next project and you
3:03
know BD is me in my player mode and yeah me running out here chasing and trying to grab what I can grab and uh ATL is
3:11
like you know trying to find a resolve to being caught right and then you know don't give up is all right it's a little
3:18
short storye baby baby please don't leave right right yeah definitely I love
3:24
The Vibes though because uh it does Express the range that we that we go through as uh you know men particularly
3:31
in the music industry right you're always well at least I think most of us are balanced you know trying to contend
3:39
with everything in in there yeah I I I struggled um me my search in trying to
3:46
be this artist that I believed I was supposed to be or people told me I was supposed to be um it didn't help my
3:53
personal development I do feel like the the the better I became as an artist the
3:59
less develop I became as a man wow which is why uh you know I haven't put out a
4:04
project since 2017 like honestly today is the first time I've done any level of press since 2014 really yeah like I why
4:12
is that I there was a confidence that was missing for quite some time there was
4:19
also a um a lack of of really just being
4:25
comfortable with exposing and being vulnerable with what I was really going through at the moment like the music
4:30
might have felt confident but you know I was dealing with a lot just mentally and just how do I how do I get on the stage
4:37
and and exude this confidence and everything and when I get off I'm just like oh God I don't know what I'm doing this just and I've always you know I I I
4:45
won't say that I've been absent minded in business but I didn't really make a lot of good business decisions as an
4:51
artist so once I realized that it was like I I need to step back I need to reassess all of this but not just that I
4:57
need to just get myself together as a person as man let me re-evaluate why am I even trying to be successful in this
5:03
business am I really prepared for the success that comes with this cuz I do think I think if I received early
5:09
success the way that most people would have liked it to been I don't think I'd be around yeah I don't think so I think
5:16
the industry would have ate me up I I would have been one of them one of them stories yeah MH you you kind of kind of
5:23
for us at least came in the game along with Joe Buton you know you guys are attached in that way MH um did seeing
5:33
what he went through perfect yeah perfect I I him and him and jiss I
5:38
always attribute to being like the the the people that opened the door for me to be able to walk and be heard and the
5:45
great thing about them it was just two totally different perspectives of what industry looked like yeah one side was
5:51
Joe who immensely talented M um maybe made some some decisions in business at
5:57
a point or whatever just in rubbing people way where people just kind of like we love your talent but like like
6:05
right but still push through and was still confident what he was doing and and still made a lane for himself and in
6:10
his jiss which is like can't say a bad word about the man
6:15
yeah like he's he's done thing honestly I've never really had a chance to really tell him like like he's done things in
6:21
my career that even it was a smallest I was like yo bro I don't think you understand how much that meant to me and
6:28
Joe of course still to this day does things that I'm like bro thank you so much but um just two totally different
6:34
worlds and two totally different roads that I was like damn this this is this road and then it's this road and then
6:41
there's me trying to figure out how do I fit into this game yeah um and maybe maybe the fact that they
6:48
were so so hipop and I was so R&B I needed to see what that looked like cuz I didn't the the industry told me R&B
6:55
was supposed to be glamorous and supposed to have the Allure and and them [ __ ] we was gritty we was in the
7:01
Suburban going from City to city and with kiss we was in a nice little swag joint yeah so it was it was great it was
7:09
a great contrast do you do you feel like uh your proximity to hip-hop did it
7:16
hinder in any way your aspirations as an R&B
7:21
singer a little bit a little bit I do think that I got too comfortable uh relying on hip-hop to be
7:29
my uh my voice mhm most of the time when I was getting spoken about or even pressed
7:37
or anything it was through hip-hop forms yeah it it was I I to me I still appre I
7:42
think that's really honestly the only reason why I'm around today like hip-hop
7:47
kept me alive even as an R&B artist you know when when Royce hits me to go do a
7:53
hook or when you know Styles or or crooked eye or like DJ Premier or like
8:00
I'm on records with Legends yeah definitely like and it's never been a matter of me having to be like yo can I
8:06
get on it's always been yo E I gotta like
8:11
just couple of weeks ago well not even a couple of weeks ago I did a record with with DJ Premiere years years ago years
8:18
ago then we were like yo he hit me was like yo we need to revisit this record and we need to drop it yeah and I'm on
8:24
the phone like yo that's dope I'm like yeah for sure and then I hung up and I was like bro DJ Premier just called you
8:31
and said we need that's like Quincy like for me that's that's the equivalent and I'll
8:38
never take like that for granted but I would have loved to been able to have that balance as well of a Timberland or
8:44
you know Rodney jerkings but I just didn't really focus on them because it just didn't feel like they were there
8:50
they didn't feel like they were at reach fair enough yeah and they and they kind of aren't you know what I'm saying a lot
8:56
of the a lot of the uh R&B people feel unap Ro or even unreachable I a really like R&B [ __ ]
9:03
back then I'm be honest with you I I didn't I didn't like being around them yeah and then for the ones that I was
9:08
competing with I definitely didn't want to be around them um so I just I just got and then as a kid from the Bronx you
9:15
you I I just felt a little more at heart a little more gritty than maybe some of the music I was trying to make just in
9:21
personality so it was easier to sit in them rooms and even if I wasn't partaking in the lifestyle I could
9:28
understand it and uh connect with more than I could wearing a Lea pants
9:35
and I couldn't get it that's funny how were you how were you coming up in the Bronx like you know I know that uh most
9:41
of most where my come up we were like yeah I can't even be a singer cuz that's not
9:48
what's happening right now people have no clue I used to rap before actually
9:53
trying to to become a singer me and my cousin we used to rap and we rap like we were Bone Thugs and Harmony
10:00
you look a little bit everybody say that too I say those were like those those
10:06
guys were for me and me and him we had that
10:11
down pack yeah where we were like we gonna be rappers and we gonna rap like boom and we going to get on boom boom
10:18
and of course they were very uh Harmony based so we would have to infuse the singing and it got to a point was like
10:23
all right you might just and you just you're a better singer than a rapper let's leave alone let's go over so um
10:30
that's that's the start for me that was the introduction it's just even just when I was around in the Bronx and
10:35
hanging out people doing ciphers like I can't come in there doing a note I want to be a part but I can't do
10:42
that so it is what it is yeah now the state of R&B has been you know a lot A
10:48
lot has been talked about uh that uh and and for a while now you know what I mean
10:54
in fact I I kind of proposed here in our studio debates you know it did did
11:00
hip-hop ruin it did hip-hop ruin uh R&B uh as a as a genre um now it feels like
11:06
it's coming back uh thank you know shout out to Usher coko Jones there's a
11:12
there's a lot of artists we just had Simone in here she's dope um and yourself um but you kind of came out
11:20
earlier than that Renaissance yes so what would you say to that now that you
11:26
know your the state of R&B and your place in it there's a frustration because when I first came out a lot of
11:31
my own music was sounding like the things everyone's trying to do today and I remember the industry tell you we not
11:37
on that like we trying to do this and I was like you know what yeah maybe they right I wish I wish in that case because
11:44
my foresight is is pretty good I wasn't in that moment I wasn't good yeah I should have said you know what like I
11:51
know what's coming like this ain't this ain't the way we supposed to jump on this is going to come back around um I
11:57
do there's a lot of artists today I love that I think are really true to the to what I love as R&B uh the alternative
12:04
stuff the the the new wave stuff I'm all for like I think it's all dope it's all
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creative I just I always push a balance that we need a balance um anytime you lose the source of something you you
12:17
kind of taint the original product yeah and I can't really respect it to the highest degree like don't get me wrong I
12:24
love what everyone I love the drill stuff I love all that but if I don't have no good boom B if I don't have no
12:30
good like Griselda to me when they came it was like thank God we finally got some balance yeah um anybody at that
12:37
moment wasping me so yeah like the Coco Joneses uh Luke James is like I think
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thank you God thank you for for artists like him her um just anybody I I I heard Miguel
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just put like I need that I need those people Mario I I need all those people to still be able to come out Usher today
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as the icon is to still be able to put out albums tour the way he's touring receive a Grammy nomination for album it
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it's that's what I need that's what I love so we need that balance if we don't have that I'm gonna always complain yeah
13:12
yeah I think it's a good time I was telling Simone I think I might try to go
13:18
a year without listening to hip-hop maybe maybe like professionally I might do it cuz I work in the field but like
13:26
as an enjoyable art I I just want to hear what everything else has going on
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like I you mentioned like Luke James like I don't know the last time I've
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either gotten him through my algorithms like the algorithm does not send me no her Luke James like some of the other
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ones because I don't know what brings them to me but it's tough sometimes I
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was I was kind of late to some of these people like even like uh like with lucky day and Leon Thomas I was late to the
13:57
game with how dope those guys are right and it's because the algorithm just wasn't pushing it towards me so I'm not
14:03
going to lie I kind of feel like I did that not purposely but it just started happening I was like you know what I got
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into the house I didn't play music like I got to a point where when I get home I wasn't putting on no music I didn't want to hear music I just needed it to
14:16
organically happen and in certain ways it just started to so I'm not against
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that idea um I wouldn't say block out hip-hop totally cuz there's a lot of
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dope hip-hop never but um finding a bance and that's
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that's to me life right now just in all spectrums when it come to music just life kids relationships balance yeah
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yeah definitely so you know as far as your uh career I mentioned um you know
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talked about Joe now what would you say uh you guys are
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like now I know you're part of the button podcast yeah yeah um the network
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yeah um that came out of nowhere mhm wasn't expected at all I'm first off I was a
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fan of the Pod when it first started I remember going to the Pod and just seeing them start from very simple no
15:14
money no nothing renting out the studio trying to figure out what this
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even looks like and then also uh I had started my own podcast like in
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2013 and um early yeah and it was it was like oh shoot like this this is a lot
15:32
yeah did some episodes and everything and it was like all right we closing up shop just so when he picked up on it and
15:39
started doing I was like all right this is dope this is dope came around and I moved to LA and then that's
15:45
when the podcast is shot I was like oh they did it yeah fire yeah so when I
15:51
moved back to New York I would just go up and just chill like these are the friends these are homies yeah so you
15:56
know naturally you know Joe has always been somebody who's wanted to include
16:01
people into the fry I feel like he's been podcasting ever since he's been a rapper right by the Joe Buton TV show so
16:07
I think he's just naturally been able to feed in a in a positive genuine way with
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his friends so now when I'm up there and I know a little bit more about him than you know some of the other people or
16:19
whatever it's just easy to be like e come on sit down let's yeah let's chop it so when he even just was like yo come
16:25
and be on the Pod I was like all right dope cuz yeah first off I like to talk
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yeah and I I love to you know debate and I love to do all that so to be and it
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came at a time where I needed the distraction and I needed to see what else was out there besides you know
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having to rely on music to be a sole source of income or just even a sole
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source of creativity so that was amazing and at the end of the day I get to go sit and work and talk with my friends
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two days a week and and not have to worry about where the next check or anything is coming from that's it's a
17:01
blessing you're uh you know we've talked you know offline about the difficulty in
17:06
making it in this industry this this game is tough I don't think people
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understand I I try mentoring people
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and uh it's almost like either you got it or you don't and I don't even mean talent I mean like the ability to
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withstand the rigors of the game
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I was talking to somebody actually on the Pod uh and they had asked me a
17:37
question and it made me say something about myself that I wish I could now go and take back I was like you know what
17:43
man I just wasn't consistent and I just you know I just didn't have the the push in me the this and this and this and
17:48
that and then I got home and I was like you know what that was wrong um the fact that I'm started 2009
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maybe didn't do everything the right way but and still able to be here still have the achievements I've never really had
18:04
no secure management situation label situation I move by myself I don't um
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and I'm still in the game the way that I'm I am I think it speaks to my consistency it speaks to the level of
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push that I've had and I've tried no matter what to figure out not even try I figured out how to somehow stay in this
18:22
business without having to do the other things that maybe I didn't want to do um but it's hard yeah your own money
18:30
goes into it that you don't have um having to trust in people that you don't really want to trust in um to push your
18:36
career to a certain level um the true Independence that comes with this thing is a pressure that I don't think many
18:42
people can deal with and then still be consistent so it's hard and I Pat I I I
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Pat anyone's back in this industry whether I like your product or not that can do this yeah and do it at a
18:55
consistent level and actually make something out of it cuz if people really knew how hard was to stay in this game
19:00
and not lose a bit of yourself it lose a bit of yourself that's
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actually so super clutch because I think a lot of people in fact in fact I
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brought people in this game or people who aspired and I brought them in and
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then I watched them change and I watched them become something completely different than what I knew them to be
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and I was like yo and then I've watched people get ate up spit out and sent back
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home I I watched I watched that um the greatest the greatest thing
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that most people can have is having some insight and having some actual real moments with themselves because I saw
19:43
that happening with me like I noticed it like I looked in the mirror I was like oh this game is changing you your your
19:50
attitude is changing a little bit your approach to it is changing your love for it is changing you're getting a little
19:55
lazy you're getting a little entitled like it's time to back and yeah let's get back to why we were really doing
20:01
this [ __ ] but people don't possess that right um I watch you like i' I've watched you
20:11
manage through this industry and I've never felt like you as a person changing any bit no matter how you spoke no
20:17
matter how you dressed no matter how you look whatever you did it was consistent yo that is Chuck yeah and we can always
20:23
expect Chuck to be Chuck whether he got zero in the pocket or 30 million I app
20:29
like I had that conversation about 50 I love 50 and his approach to the game because no matter what I saw about his
20:34
growth he always just seemed like he was 50 yeah yeah and and a a dollar amount
20:39
wasn't going to change that so that's a fact in fact I saw 50 uh whereever the
20:45
last power part he was m and like I hadn't seen him in a long time and soon as he saw me eyes kind of kind of lit up
20:53
and he handed me some champagne and I walked right past security I was like I hate the people that do that [ __ ] game
20:58
the people that knew you from then and then things change might go you remember me like stop like you seen me enough you
21:06
ain't got to act like yo who are you again shut up like like I'm a part of the the the the the the story going up
21:13
and if you really appreciate the story going up you don't forget yeah any of that [ __ ] yeah so that's I watch out for
21:19
people like that yeah no that's a fact um yo fun fact well never mind forget
21:25
that fun fact it was it was a Joe Buton fun fact and I'm like that matter to you right now but fun fact I I co-authored
21:34
uh a movie about your but really I don't know if I should say that but yeah back
21:39
in it back quite a while ago Hil hilarious he knows this oh yeah he knows
21:44
this what happened to it yeah we it was scrapped just it just got scrapped I
21:49
don't know what happened I should go readdress that [ __ ] today right we should definitely the the book and the
21:54
the movie about that [ __ ] boy yo crazy it was crazy but but um but anyway um move
22:00
moving forward the the state of the U artist is kind of crazy right now um
22:07
specifically around technology and its relationship to music right you know so
22:16
not to smash on Spotify because it's a great resource of Music Discovery by the
22:22
same token you like a perfect example would be like you have to get to a th000
22:27
streams before before you get paid, 1500 1,500 yeah for me that's like it's crazy
22:35
really foul it's crazy I I consider that nasty work and I and I have to say it
22:41
because for your forget about just the fragment of a penny you get off a stream
22:48
then to up it to, 1500 for almost any
22:54
upstart it's almost like a kill shot before you even get started so
23:00
imagine how the the the artists and the the generations before us felt about
23:06
about their situation like their deals were horrible to them in that time it's
23:11
the same thing to us today yeah I say that to say imagine how how much worse it's going to be in the next 10 like
23:18
what's what's going to be the the reason for even doing this [ __ ] you can't really make no money which is why the director consumer thinks is the most
23:25
important thing today if you can find a way to do that then you're gold um the business is never not going to be
23:32
predatory unless we find a way to at least create some level of Union and and
23:37
have a standard for how we are treated within a business there is no business without the art right we have to make
23:44
that clear I get it everyone's yeah but there's no business without the labels who push with the money cool that to me
23:49
that's secondary yeah you have nothing to push if you don't have actual art first so let's protect that first and
23:56
then we we'll figure out the business and I mean we ain't greedy right like we we just want a fair shake and a fair
24:02
hand at the table so um I think people should really be concerned about the
24:07
music business I mean should be concerned about it now but if you think it's bad now just imagine how much worse
24:13
it's going to be in the next 10 when the technology gets even better with them and the situations are even more dire
24:20
and you're realizing that labels now are cutting whole departments and you know I
24:25
had I had a a homeboy who's really talented and he had a deal and great music they put it out and it was like
24:32
cool now he dropped and now you back to yeah you know nothing and you didn't get really no real money out of the
24:38
situation and you don't own the records anymore and it's just it's a predatory industry predatory situation period and
24:45
it's going to get even worse if we don't have some level of understanding yo we have to work together to get this better
24:51
unionized uh have a standard gatekeeping in this situation might be the best thing because we start
24:57
letting people in who don't give enough care about the art that they'll just take any deal yeah some for some people
25:04
a a penny of something is cool enough yeah and it's like no because you set
25:10
the standard for how everyone else is going to get treated and if they feel like we can keep putting [ __ ] in the microwave then we don't never need to
25:17
work the oven yeah no it's a fact I actually have a a theory it's an attack
25:23
on Excellence um particularly black Excellence right so you got
25:29
situations or circumstances where we don't see any more versions of Michael Jackson
25:38
for example prince in fact they were under attack at one point um and not to
25:43
get into legal situations but uh certain Moguls are now tremendously under attack
25:49
or well let's just say there are circumstances that seem to lend to an
25:55
attack cuz you never see a broke dude getting these charges never I like mad broke dudes out here doing everything
26:02
never um and so my theory is that on um almost every level we we want to make
26:08
sure we can keep the artists marginalized not have leverage the way
26:15
um a prince or Michael or a Jay-Z for that matter or an usher or a
26:23
Beyonce so that we can control you we can pay you what you just said little
26:28
pennies M and then we have the all the control all the leverage we we need we
26:34
need um cuz we have some really great Mogul uh on the on the business end we
26:41
really need we need more Jermaine dupr right we need and when I say that I say people that really are focused on um
26:48
building and crafting new talent and and extending that like Quincy Quincy has
26:56
generations of building artists yes not just on like R&B like Frank like
27:02
he he dates Jack to before Frank right like he's he's went through the G and
27:08
even if he didn't do it as an exec he did it on the on the creative side to where he extended himself to where I
27:14
don't want to just be great I need for other people to become great because it only extends my legacy right um Barry
27:21
Gordy did it you know what I'm saying it's just we need more of that we need people who are really focused on yo you know what I can't be
27:29
the last of the great I have to figure out a to pass this greatness on to others so when I people like who to me
27:35
is not talked about enough as far as just one of the to me
27:40
icon sh to him we need more of that people who are really focused on yo I
27:45
want to break new talent and I want to give them the voice and the opportunities that I had and further
27:52
because that's that's the only way we keep you know what's going to happen when Stevie's not here what's going to happen when even talk like that he's in
27:59
bubble WAP somewhere thank Lord willing like what's going to happen yo bro like
28:04
with losing Quincy it it it told me like yo we are we're down to our last yeah
28:10
we're down to our last to where we can say yo we don't know who out yeah man
28:15
yeah man rest in peace Quincy Jones I'm reading his biography his autobiography now and I mean from the very first
28:24
chapter it's like oh you different yeah I I automatically get it but I'm you
28:32
know obviously reading into it the Curiosity based on that first chapter is is crazy his his story of how first off
28:40
where he came from how he learned to make music then not being able to you
28:45
know having his brain aneurism now not even being able to play so you know what
28:51
I'm not going to stop here I'mma go ahead I'mma figure it out okay cool I'm going to extend myself past just the
28:57
music industry I'mma score movies I'm score and by the way he's the one for
29:03
the violins in the beginning to Michel want to take it out Michael
29:09
right sit down sit down I got this i got this and we G we we go we gonna we're going to make you You're great yeah but
29:16
we're going to make you greater than what you even know you can be yeah rest in peace to him M yeah so so um you know
29:24
enough Doom and Gloom man tell us something positive POS about what's going on with you now you know you have
29:30
the EP what what what's good in your life um I am I'm inspired again okay
29:37
that to me is the greatest thing um I'm inspired and I'm inspired by many things not just you know um new music inspired
29:45
by my my my love for just creating um Great Moments outside of Music kids with
29:53
friends just everything I'm just inspired I'm inspired I've not to go back to do but I've dealt with enough
29:59
Doom and Gloom yeah to where to come out at the other end of it thinking like you might not come out of this and then to
30:05
come out of it on like oh there's some sunshine here all right cool let's get to it like and you know you you afforded
30:12
as much time as time allows you to have I'm going to do everything I can do to enjoy it and and
30:18
make make this ride as important as special for me and for everybody else around me as I can yeah so I'm just
30:24
inspired man yeah now you came out of the Harlem Boys yes Cho yes uh first of
30:30
all we do definitely need more sing sangers coming out of choir environments
30:35
cuz yo the choir will kick you out you know that right you know that's why R&B started lacking right exactly people
30:41
stopped going to the stopped going to church stop going to choir stop learning some of that musical theory that diction
30:48
that you know technique that's lost a lot a lot of a lot of yall should go sit
30:54
go to your local church even if whether you believe in God or you don't I'm not here to tell you that but go sit and
30:59
talk to some of them people yeah yeah learn learn learn yeah Harlem board uh board Harlem like I'm I'm so sad that
31:07
it's not around now so you know it could kind of help but that that was every if
31:13
I didn't go there honestly I MH how to harmonize how to structure records um
31:20
everything first was classical music learning there so that to me was the basis of how I even formed music today
31:26
yeah um it was and then the competition of when I was in street I was always singing
31:32
lead and I was always the guy that oh yo come here sing and then to get to that school I'm like all right going the
31:39
back yeah sing that part we don't need you I was like oh wait a minute I ain't
31:44
it right so it was it was amazing um you know Dr turble who was the
31:53
founder he was strict Stern guy but he show he showed
31:59
you that he wanted the best for us and he wanted to extend his legacy further than just um his own name he was giving
32:08
us a gift that as young black boys we would have have gotten no nowhere else yeah yeah um what's your favorite collab
32:17
you've done you've mentioned some heavy I mean you know just thinking about J but
32:24
and you know y I've wored I remember my brother playing Co G Rap
32:32
and I remember when my boy uh 38 spe hit me was like yo I got a I got a joint I'm
32:37
doing with Co G Rap I want you to do the hook like what you just said what like
32:44
yo come to the stool and this is back in DND D like literally like whoa D and D yo come through and I remember that
32:50
night I was out and I was already Twisted all right come through we here now all right bet y I walk in
32:59
you to me you the orig you're the original gangster rapper like I'm doing a record with you that was fire
33:05
um the record with Royce was dope anything I did with slaughter house was like just sat around and just in a maze
33:12
like all right um everything me and Joe did yeah fire
33:17
the record with with the last feature I did which was with uh J kiss and Rick Ross like just seeing that happen was
33:24
because me and my boy uh Ronnie we would first moved out to LA was kind of one of
33:29
the first batch of Records I did and I was like yo I know I'mma send this to kiss I know I'mma send it to him but y I
33:37
ain't G to lie I think Ross Sound fire on it we said it yeah sent it out got
33:44
placed this is just kiss on it boom boom and then I get a call yo we put in we need you to structure different CU we
33:50
gonna put Ross on like oh man we couldn't have play that and then you know I sent it off like y'all can do
33:55
whatever with reg y'all might take me off and put Neo or some yeah we keep you on the record oh
34:01
yeah we need you to fly in to do the video it's like wow yeah like it stuff like that so I think that was a great
34:06
moment um I don't have a favorite I don't have a favorite they all were important why
34:12
didn't you sign to some of these guys what what were people I was scared scared I was scared of the commitment
34:18
um contrary to belief I was never signed legally to kiss I was never signed to
34:23
Joe uh it was really just working and working maybe at possi maybe we'll get there at
34:30
some point but you know the fact that they were even comfortable with working with me in that realm you know my my
34:36
most popular record um to date record called I messed up beaches Joe right and
34:45
the video just happened to be at his house chilling boom boom he's like I got a camera you want you want to shoot a
34:50
vid for this joint and I'm like all right cool yeah he could have been like no we shooting something for my joint
34:56
literally shot the video put it out and um I look at moments like that like you know that's that's trying to help me
35:03
kiss same thing like yo I got records we GNA do record hold you down yo make sure
35:10
you good I'm GNA get the styleus things that they didn't have to do go so um yeah man them dudes was like godsend
35:18
in a moment where I needed somebody to like put a a light on me you you are the
35:24
secur what what wait wait wait wait wait wait go ahe yeah wait let's get to it cuz I'm the only one in here right now
35:30
too so so secretary of defense for the lightskinn delegation did I get that
35:37
right that's right right that's right now I'm standing on it right you light
35:42
you lightskinn that be so mad when light brighten you you acting lightskinned yeah so what right I don't care what you
35:49
want me to do run from it I ain't ask for the complexion I got handed to me right so yeah I live in that yeah every
35:55
stereotype that come with it yeah that's me no problem that's hilarious now my first
36:02
thought I was I I started laughing so hard earlier because I mean unfortunately y'all took a ma massive L
36:09
uh with well well it depends on how you look at it with Drake the Drake Kendrick situation has has put a stain on the
36:16
lightskin delegation this year nah we listen that's that's Canada lightskin we
36:22
that don't that ain't the same as us N N I mean you know what the funny thing is when when people mention um his l m and
36:31
maybe in the the sense of the the the battle l i don't look at it as a l for
36:36
him because he was still competitive right um he's not going to lose his fan base right he's still going to be who he
36:43
is um I think he probably just needs to process it in a different view because
36:49
in that moment yeah I'm I'm I'm tight right I'm seeing the world turn against me I'm seeing people that once love me
36:55
now say ah get this I understand that proc but to still be a to go through that and he went through it back to back
37:01
CU you lost to push too but to go through it still have your fan base still have people that love you that's not a l yeah it's you know now if he was
37:09
in competitive then then it's it's like yeah go home right it was strategy too
37:14
so you know and you went against Kenny is Kenny's it bro Kenny's he's him isn't
37:20
that what they say he is him Kenny moved up he moved up very high in my uh hip-hop artist ranking for me very
37:27
quickly which is to me was impressive cuz I don't I'm I am hip-hop A hip-hop head I
37:33
don't give how much singing you heard me do I'm studying this so he moved he moved pretty high for me yeah yeah
37:40
definitely I he actually you know I think was that his
37:45
first was that Kendrick's first battle Yeah but he been asking for it for quite he been asking for it nobody accepted
37:53
Drake is pretty much the only person that accepted the battle yeah I remember mhm I I remember and he and he been
38:00
talking for quite some time and whether it be interviews he's been telling people I want to be if not one of the
38:07
best go down as the best and that confidence is amazing so I remember a time whenever you said that you had
38:12
people at your door like no no no slow down we still got him over here over there
38:18
so that that that dude is just different his musical brain is different he's he's
38:24
wired a little differently from most people and yeah I love that about him fun fact I wrote an open letter to Drake
38:31
when he wouldn't battle Joe Buon really yeah I was like Drake you need this battle for hip-hop this is your time you
38:38
know you know how many more records Joe had how many I'm I'm not g to I'm not
38:43
going to say cuz at some point I'm pretty sure that should be something that he like but we were we were
38:50
literally at he would go and sleep at the stew wow like yo we he I think he
38:55
released what like four he released a few yeah there's there's more more than
39:01
five I won't I won't give him but he was ready yeah he was ready and I'm not
39:06
saying Drake I think if Joe at that moment as a rapper had more notoriety
39:13
yeah Drake would have respond he would he he would but at that point I think if he did he would have been putting a highlight on someone that he didn't want
39:20
to have that highlight yeah facts facts y was ready yeah okay okay and and we also know your hip-hop based on the 40
39:27
belows you got I ain't going to lie I should I shouldn't be having them like this I naturally you should let to let
39:34
them ride yeah but it yeah he got the 40 belows on uh people like myself I got
39:40
the uh beef and broccoli myself uh I always I I I kind of refuse to pay the
39:46
resale the resellers what they want I mean God bless them but I try to get
39:52
them at the regular price for things that I couldn't get back in the days I'll pay for whatever the price is I'll
39:58
pay for it cuz I remember as a kid I wanted those and Mom and po was like
40:04
listen you 40 below your ass to bed today right yeah I'm I'm I'mma pay
40:10
for certain things and I'm not materialistic like that like I'm not not into cars and all that other thing like
40:16
as long as I got nice things that's nice to me I'm cool but things that I Desir as a kid like I remember I was a vinyl
40:22
head there's certain vinyls that I wanted as a kid that once I got to an age where I can afford it I purchased
40:29
immediately even if I didn't play it like I those are the things that were important I got Michael Jackson Thriller
40:35
on vinyl actually I have that in my vinyl right now really my vinyl player right now literally crazy crazy who your
40:41
top five dead or Al um of singers singers it's sad cuz I'm a singer and my
40:48
quick thought was hip-hop no I want that too though um top five um Michael
40:54
Jackson is going to I I don't even put Michael Jackson and R&B so I'm I'm going to exclude
41:00
Michael and Prince okay I'm excluding them Stevie is number
41:06
one Marvin two Donnie ha theway three
41:13
um all this is when it starts to get a little heavy weights
41:19
uh Ara mhu
41:28
James Brown is in there even though it's I I won't he's not harm beat him it's Soul it's just but if I'm going to
41:36
extend it I'm going James got he gotta he's yeah so that yeah that's that's my five okay what about what about uh
41:43
rappers ofon hip hop big as first he he I'm biased I know if I'm
41:51
being unbiased he shouldn't technically be first because his run was cut short
41:56
but uh biggest first um I got to go hold mhm
42:04
Nas um personal personal favorite of mine is ghost ghost faceh face yeah um
42:12
and five I struggle between kiss and styles
42:18
man oh man throw them both in there because they I think styles styles for
42:24
me styles for me is like cool g rap on just steroids like as far as like that
42:31
Street gangster gentleman [ __ ] and then kiss is Just ball for ball like I I
42:36
haven't heard him spit no who's better back to back ghost face and Ray or
42:44
Styles kiss I got records with kissing Styles
42:50
so I'm going with kissing Styles but that's a tough one Wu Tang was my introduction to hip-hop when people say
42:57
yo how would you introduce my sister my older sister is the person that really said yo hey sit down like I know you
43:03
listening to all that Michael and all that Bobby Brown and all that [ __ ] but come sit and listen to this yeah and
43:10
ghost ghost and Ray like just the tone of their voices alone was just like that's different yeah especially
43:19
then I don't think [ __ ] now I just heard I just heard ghost just Dro an album sometime this year I'm like sharp still
43:26
sound sharp definitely yeah so but I got to go kissing Styles kissing styles are
43:31
are are have a different kind of closeness um proximity wise so it never
43:37
feels like they aren't together they feel like it feels like they're all I know they're not always together but it
43:43
feels like and I think that was most evident in the versus Battle you know you could tell kiss kissing Styles just
43:49
that whole crew up there d block period being going up there working at DB block
43:56
Studios and just seeing how they with each other don't don't let nobody tell you like I'm pretty sure they've had
44:01
issue or in just their movement or how they move as brothers and as a team it it's inspiring
44:08
because I that's naturally how I want to move with people period and especially in this business that's hard to find you
44:14
know we don't know too many people that have that level of legacy and and tenure
44:20
without the public ever having a question whether this group is going to survive or not yeah yeah yeah the locks
44:26
are going to be I me the locks are going to be around no matter what we ain't seeing a breakup we ain't seeing them
44:31
fall out even if there were ever to be a point where they might have it it we won't know and I I respect that to the
44:37
highest degree yeah facts so what's what's what's next for you more music
44:43
more more podcasting okay um just more creating like I said I'm inspired again
44:50
I'm inspired in ways that I didn't think I could be inspired yeah um I want to pass some of some of these gifts and
44:57
some of this knowledge down to others yeah I definitely don't want to be the person that keeps any of this to myself
45:03
um there things that I wasn't able to achieve that I'm not Longing To I don't have a desire to compete with yeah Chris
45:11
or you know lucky or I don't have that desire it's it's but I would love to be the person to help the next person who
45:18
wants to do that yeah I have no problem with playing you know I can drive the car but I have no problem getting a
45:24
passenger seat and allowing that next person to come through and kill the game that's funny I was going to ask you who
45:30
your who are your Ops who you know you know cuz you got the ushers and the um
45:35
uh I I I I I bow I tip my hat like I
45:40
said what they have done I went to Usher show and in Vegas and I sat there I remember I remember uh the people I
45:46
worked with at a at a certain point in life man you going to beat Usher you going to kill you have he can't sh like
45:54
yeah and I'm like yo you know what man it's it's amazing to have that confidence but what he's done in this
46:01
game is is different yeah and I don't I don't know if a lot of people understand
46:07
like you might not really be prepared for that level of success yeah he's
46:12
different just the the Showmanship the way he just controls the it's don't don't get me wrong I do know for sure I
46:19
can get on the stage and command a crowd and do all that but he's been doing this since 13 14 years old on a high level
46:27
and been consistent and been through ups and downs and not falling off a bit he
46:33
still sounds amazing he still dance he said Can roller skate I like really I
46:39
don't want no roller skate lucky day to me is another cut off of that that
46:44
lineage of like vocals on point creative uh ability is on point I would love to
46:50
see him grow Leon Thomas I'm now just becoming a new fan of him bro push the
46:56
envelope yeah I don't want I don't want to look at any of them as Ops if anything they just inspiring me to get
47:01
better that's dope have you ever considered signing someone and you know helping steer someone's career I I would
47:08
want to do that when I could actually help and provide them with the opportunities that they need I'm I'm
47:14
still growing and learning in the space the idea of signing someone to something
47:19
and holding them into something that I can't really that's what always kept me from not want to do it cuz I always felt
47:25
the people trying to get me to sign they really couldn't do for me the way they they really should have so I would want
47:30
to help and if I get to a position where I can now provide that opportunity for you then yeah let's talk but even if
47:37
you're not stuck with me in it let me just help you get to the next level and I only hope that when you do get there you shout me out give me a pat on the
47:44
back or something n son I know it don't happen I don't do that these [ __ ]
47:52
forget that it don't work like we we going to do something else I don't know what it going to be but it's going to be
47:57
something else something something a little one sheet yes sir yeah a little one sheet little percentage little
48:03
something something yeah something cuz hey what's meant for me is what's me listen fact and it's not about look I
48:09
have turned down every single op uh opportunity that presented itself as management or signing and I would put
48:16
stuff out there like yo um and then some when somebody replied to it I was like oh no no I'm no and it would be
48:23
established artist it wouldn't be like just people off the people off the street have asked me manage them forever
48:28
but then an established person will say yeah no put me put me down for that I be like uh no yeah cuz I don't want that
48:35
responsibility I I'm at I'm just I'm at a point where I want to my way of helping the next artist is
48:43
helping them avoid the things that I went through yeah that's how I look at it and some of that was the predatory
48:49
nature of the contract and this and that the last thing I want to do is preach one thing and then start aligning myself
48:56
to do those business practices um I I'm going to put my morals I know people say
49:01
this [ __ ] all the time I think that might be a not might but be a big part of why maybe I didn't reach a certain
49:07
I've just always had this level of um yeah Quincy Jones said the illst thing
49:13
when you once you take God out of the room all this [ __ ] is irrelevant yeah so for me I want to keep that in the room
49:18
as long as we start from there we in here for the right reasons that's what I want to live off of today yeah I I'll
49:24
receive my blessing I'm supposed to receive and by the way 38 spe his philosophy to music and collaboration is
49:30
really dope it has no paperwork involved but it's really very much rooted in what
49:36
you just said and that's I'm going help you you're going to help me and we grow together and that's a dope spee I lived
49:42
in rockchester for quite some time so I was really aware of 38 like up there it was like specials already that dude yeah
49:49
so when I lived up there um I was like yo that' be somebody I want to work one day and we reached out um it's like yo
49:57
bro what you need to do to Joint what you I was like bro I'm good I'mma cover the studio at least all right cool cool
50:03
and he kept doing it kept doing it just I'm like yo spe this is a honor like this is a pleasure to work with you bro
50:09
don't ever send me let make this be your last time you feel like pay for like we are doing this together in collaboration
50:15
it's an honor to work with you you you put me in connection with Benny you put me in connection with COI like the
50:21
things that you've done for me has helped extended my name so this ain't a matter of exchanging that when we get to
50:26
a big bag then you we nickel and D no and you that dude and I've seen you I've
50:32
seen you go from what you've started as to where you revered as one of those dudes yeah so I I like to honor people
50:40
like that so salute to 38 salute to that whole movement Upstate is yeah yeah yeah
50:46
yeah we got to well I hate saying that we got to bring it back but no we don't
50:52
we we we here it's here it's here it's here and the people that recognize it recognize it and they keep pushing it
50:57
forward and I think the the the nature of the business would tell you that you
51:03
have to be the the most popping artist in society to be deemed success and
51:08
that's not the case these guys are successful they built up core fan bases they're able to tour they're able to sell merch they're able to really extend
51:15
their career pass just you know nickel and diamond yeah so 38 speci is a
51:21
success to me grisela is a success to me rock Mariano is a success to me you know those guys even down to the Eric Ro uh
51:28
uh uh Robert gaspers or you know these guys that you might not be talking about
51:34
dayto day and these guys have created fan bases that when Robert go to the Blue Note It's Pat bro it sells out
51:42
before I get my ticket yeah so I I love seeing that and that director consumer
51:48
idea to me is where we're leaning and I want to model that before I try to run to a label begging for a loan yeah yo I
51:55
just want to say man congrat congratulations man you made it you know what I mean you made it to here and now
52:01
that's that's amazing testimony um don't make your last time here at all hip hop
52:06
you know what I mean we going to have you again when the new album comes out and you know whatever else you have in
52:12
store you've been supporting me since 2009 yeah I took my I took 10 about almost 10 years off yeah
52:21
of of being the artist that people knew me to be and the support is still there so I appre appreciate you I appreciate
52:27
the platform absolutely absolutely respect all right
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