Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
Yo. It's effective immediately. I'm DJ Head.
[00:00:06] Speaker B: What up, Hip Hop Nation? It's your favorite homegirl, Gina Views.
[00:00:08] Speaker A: We got a legendary conversation on deck right now. These brothers are LA natives. Gotta say it like that. Cause that's how the east coast people say we all talk. Kenyon Dixon and Terrace Martin is here.
[00:00:20] Speaker C: Yeah, man.
[00:00:21] Speaker A: Welcome to the show, brothers.
[00:00:22] Speaker D: Kenya Head, I gotta get you.
[00:00:23] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. I didn't. I didn't. I didn't say it. Kenyon Dixon.
[00:00:26] Speaker D: Yeah, man.
[00:00:27] Speaker A: There you go.
[00:00:27] Speaker B: It's like bougie a little bit.
[00:00:29] Speaker A: It's bougie a little bit.
[00:00:30] Speaker B: Kenyon.
[00:00:30] Speaker D: You know what I mean?
[00:00:32] Speaker A: But, you know, I know. I know a Kenyon, and I know a Kenyan.
[00:00:36] Speaker D: I know. YG's brother name is Kenyon.
[00:00:38] Speaker A: I know. Yeah, that's it. Thank you for Kenyon and Kenan.
[00:00:41] Speaker D: Yeah. Kenyan and Kenan.
[00:00:43] Speaker A: Yep.
Who is that?
[00:00:45] Speaker B: Keenan? I mean, YG's real name is Kenan, right?
So that's what that is.
[00:00:51] Speaker A: Okay. Got you.
[00:00:51] Speaker B: He still ain't picked it up. You picked up. When I put it down, he still lost.
[00:00:55] Speaker A: I'm. I'm so confused.
[00:00:57] Speaker D: YG's name is Kenan. His brother name is Kenyan. So she was saying, kenyan and Kenan.
[00:01:01] Speaker A: Got you. Understood. Well, welcome to the show.
[00:01:04] Speaker B: This is what I go through.
[00:01:05] Speaker A: Thank you.
[00:01:06] Speaker C: That was hilarious.
[00:01:07] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:01:08] Speaker D: I was with you, though.
[00:01:09] Speaker A: I was with you. This be real shit. This. We don't be. This ain't no fluff like we, you know. This really be us.
[00:01:16] Speaker C: Fan of the show, man.
[00:01:17] Speaker A: Thank you, bro.
[00:01:17] Speaker B: I'm a fan.
[00:01:18] Speaker C: I'm a fan of y'. All.
[00:01:18] Speaker A: I'm glad to finally get. Well. I was. I mean, we could have had y' all individually, but since you put out a collab album, you know, we might as well have both of y' all appear simultaneously.
[00:01:26] Speaker C: Yeah, man.
[00:01:27] Speaker A: Crafting the narrative, as I like to say. But, Terrace, you will. I would consider you to be one of our legends out here.
[00:01:36] Speaker B: Heard a lot of great things about you.
[00:01:38] Speaker C: Yeah, you know, I'm up and coming. I'm trying.
[00:01:41] Speaker A: Up and coming.
[00:01:41] Speaker C: I'm trying to make it happen.
[00:01:42] Speaker A: Oh, he won't. He gonna do this. Okay, you do that. Yeah, he does that. No, he'd be all the way with the.
[00:01:48] Speaker B: No, no, I flex for you.
[00:01:52] Speaker A: Yeah, flex for him.
[00:01:53] Speaker B: I flex for him. I don't mind.
[00:01:55] Speaker D: She got the page. Pull.
[00:01:56] Speaker A: It is.
And, Kenyon, I think what's been interesting about watching what you've been doing over the years is it's kind of you kind of have two. I don't wanna say two personalities, but you have your Twitter Persona, and then you have the artist and the introspective creative and whatnot.
But then you got like, well, it's probably 3N. And then you got this real nigga shit.
[00:02:21] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:02:21] Speaker A: And so I guess what I wanna know from your perspective is how do you fit that into the craft, like, as far as crafting the music? Because a lot of people who are great musically are fucking crazy. Yeah, very true.
Like, how do you manage the multiple personalities and how do you merge them into your music?
[00:02:42] Speaker D: I don't really look at them as separate. I think that they're all part of who I am. Cause I think nobody is like the same 24 hours a day. You have different feelings, different emotions. I just lean into all of them. But considering my experiences growing up in entertainment, also growing up in the projects, also growing up in church, you know what I mean? All those things.
At any point, I can tap into more of one of those sides. So I never feel like.
It never feels like code switching, in a sense, when it's me, myself, on my own platform, in my own space. I just feel like different things deserve a. A different response. Like, you know what I mean? If somebody come at you with some energy, that response is gonna be a little different than somebody who's a little more respectful, you know, I mean, you know how to tap into that. I find a lot of stuff funny. Just, you know, the full scope spectrum of who I am, I think just comes out naturally. And ironically, that's what we really leaned into for the album creatively, to tap into that full spectrum.
[00:03:40] Speaker A: And then as far as, like the collaboration effort, though, do you find that.
Are you a person that take coaching and critique?
[00:03:48] Speaker D: Well, I think I take.
[00:03:52] Speaker A: Keep it real.
[00:03:52] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think I take critique.
I give critique what it deserves, which is.
Cause you have to be careful what you take in. Cause a lot of critiques come from people who don't understand or can't do what you do. And so I think that that's something to consider.
I know who to take critique from. I know what to take from the critique as well. Even if I don't want it from the person. I could find the truth in what they're saying. But I'm also smart enough to know that the root of a lot of the stuff doesn't always stem from what it seems like. So sometimes the critique is not necessarily true or warranted. So you just.
I have pretty great discernment that allows me to know when. When I should take from something and how much of something I should listen to, or when it's not really applicable to anything I'm doing.
[00:04:44] Speaker A: Sorry, I thought you was gonna say something.
[00:04:46] Speaker B: No, I'm like in awe.
How many instruments do you play?
[00:04:56] Speaker A: When they gotta think about it, that's a flex.
[00:05:00] Speaker C: I mean, I really work on one. Really a lot. I work on the saxophone every day. That's what I work on the other instruments, you know, I mean, for different styles of music, I'm different levels, you know, I'm not the best at anything. I'm just still a student at this shit, you know what I mean?
[00:05:19] Speaker B: You know how to play a flute?
[00:05:21] Speaker C: Yeah, I do.
[00:05:22] Speaker B: I failed music in seventh grade. Ms. Shivers. Fuck you.
[00:05:27] Speaker C: Shout out to Ms. Shivers.
[00:05:29] Speaker B: I couldn't play the flute.
[00:05:30] Speaker D: Hey, wait, what school was that?
[00:05:31] Speaker B: Henry Clay.
[00:05:32] Speaker D: Okay.
[00:05:33] Speaker C: You went to him.
[00:05:33] Speaker D: That name sound familiar?
[00:05:34] Speaker C: Miss Universe.
[00:05:35] Speaker B: You went there earlier?
[00:05:36] Speaker D: No, no, I went to Horseman.
[00:05:37] Speaker B: Oh, okay. You round away. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't like her.
That flute, like, it fucked me up. Cause that was the first instrument. Well, they kicked me out the class. But that was like. The first assignment was to play the flute. And I couldn't figure out what the. 7th grade.
[00:05:55] Speaker C: 7Th grade.
[00:05:56] Speaker B: I couldn't figure out the.
The placement. Like the finger placement. And it was easy for everybody else in the class.
[00:06:03] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:06:04] Speaker B: How early did you start playing instruments and what was the first one?
[00:06:07] Speaker C: My first instrument was really a technique 1200 turntable and a mixer, as you should.
And then it went from that to my first.
My mom got me my first drum machine in third grade.
It was a SP1200.
And then after that I got an MPC. So I was having drum machines and keyboards and everything. Way before the saxophone, I got the saxophone. Cause I was trying to sample Tribe Called Quest. And my dad was like, man, you should just learn an instrument and play that shit instead of sampling. Anybody could sample. Learn how to play the instrument.
So I just said, okay, cool. So I started learning instruments because I got tired of sampling and I fell in love with it. You know what I'm saying?
[00:06:49] Speaker B: Your family is in the music business as well.
[00:06:53] Speaker C: Everybody does music in my family.
I don't know anybody that doesn't do music in my family.
[00:06:58] Speaker A: That's crazy.
[00:06:59] Speaker C: What was like dinner, like, gang banging and playing music and singing.
[00:07:05] Speaker A: That's hard.
[00:07:06] Speaker C: I mean, we, you know, we grew up like any other family. You know, a black family. But really, I feel like everybody family do music. Everybody family Sing together. Everybody family. You know, it's just. Some people may not do it professionally, but I like music is all. Is part of our culture, you know what I'm saying? So, you know, my family just was really. That's what they did was music. And, you know, they did other things to supplement them to do music, you know? Cause, you know, they making it in music or really making a living in music is a real challenge, you know, So a lot of them just end up doing different things in life, you know what I'm saying? But, yeah, music was always just part of the regular.
Regular music church.
And, you know, I mean, we grew up in South Central in the Crenshaw district, so whatever the hood had to.
[00:07:55] Speaker B: Offer, I was gonna get a joke off. When you said everybody family did music, I don't want to get dark.
[00:08:00] Speaker C: Come on, give it.
[00:08:01] Speaker B: You said everybody family do music. I said my family did drugs.
[00:08:04] Speaker C: I mean, well, you know. You know, that's part of the vibe.
[00:08:07] Speaker A: That's part of the vibe. That's part of the vibe.
[00:08:09] Speaker C: That's kind of what I'm. I'm not saying a lot of things. Hard drugs out, you know, you be supporting surprise what hard is and salt to somebody, you know what I'm saying?
[00:08:17] Speaker D: Everybody family participates in music culture.
[00:08:20] Speaker B: Right?
[00:08:20] Speaker A: Music culture.
There you go.
[00:08:23] Speaker D: You know what I mean?
[00:08:23] Speaker B: Drugs are part of music culture, unfortunately.
Damn.
[00:08:28] Speaker A: What did you start? Like, when did you get your start as far as musically?
[00:08:32] Speaker D: So same for me. I grew up in a super musical family. My pops, Cortez, singer, guitarist. My mom, she sings. I'm the youngest of six who grew up together, but seven in total. They're all musically inclined as well. So I grew up in a household. But you know what's crazy? Everybody thinks, like, oh, so I bet y' all just woke up and. We never sang together, really. I didn't sing with my ego.
[00:08:54] Speaker A: That's ego. That's a bunch of niggas.
[00:08:56] Speaker D: You went straight there.
[00:08:57] Speaker A: Yeah. I'm just saying.
[00:09:02] Speaker D: Nah, it really was.
And you know what's crazy? Like, we had drum set in the house, Hammond B3, like, all of this stuff. But we never really. We prayed together. My mother would make us pray. So I grew up in a super Christian household. Like, as Christian as humanly possible.
[00:09:20] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:09:21] Speaker D: And so we would have to pray as a family before we, like, headed out for school.
[00:09:25] Speaker A: Every day.
[00:09:26] Speaker D: Every day. My mom didn't play, bro.
[00:09:28] Speaker B: How long was the prayer, though?
[00:09:29] Speaker D: I mean, it was quick prayer.
It depends, though. Cause if somebody in trouble, Mom's gonna Go a little harder.
[00:09:34] Speaker A: You can't just hit it in. Jesus wept real quick.
[00:09:36] Speaker D: Nah. Cause, you know, parents, you know, they get real passive aggressive, so they start praying. Praying at you like y' all in the circle. Oh, yeah.
[00:09:44] Speaker C: That'S real.
[00:09:47] Speaker D: The prayer get a little longer and a little more specific. And you like that grip get tight.
[00:09:51] Speaker A: It's like a sub getting dissed.
[00:09:54] Speaker D: Yeah, man. So that's. I grew up like that, singing in. First singing in the choir in church.
Then my start, I would say. I mean, I kind of. I've been in entertainment professionally since I was 9, but I was like dancing, acting, musical theater, like, everything.
I didn't specifically want to get back into singing until I was maybe a senior in high school at Washington. That's when I.
[00:10:17] Speaker B: You went to Washington? Yeah, I went to Washington.
[00:10:19] Speaker D: Hey, okay, okay.
[00:10:21] Speaker A: All right.
[00:10:22] Speaker D: That's when I found, like, my love for music myself. And it didn't feel like the family business at this point. It was like, okay, cool. I actually like doing this. I can find my own approach.
Cuz I couldn't listen to no. Ironically, being a super R and B guy, I couldn't listen to no R and B growing up. Like, why at all? My. My. My mother is a Kojic evangelist.
[00:10:42] Speaker A: Oh, so she. She thought it was bad.
[00:10:44] Speaker D: Absolutely.
[00:10:45] Speaker A: Got you. Yeah.
[00:10:46] Speaker B: Cuz they R B was bad.
[00:10:48] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:10:48] Speaker A: It depend on which era they had R, Kelly. Oh, yeah, I can see that.
[00:10:54] Speaker D: You know what I'm saying? Yeah, man.
[00:10:57] Speaker A: It was crazy, man. Hello.
[00:11:02] Speaker D: Hey, man.
[00:11:04] Speaker A: No moving your body like a snake in the house. You know what I'm saying?
[00:11:07] Speaker D: We couldn't do it, man. We couldn't do it. But it made for good contrast for me as an artist, because when I got into it, I still had the foundation of somebody who grew up in church, and I was bringing a different approach to R and B music in a different way than, like, how church was, how 90s R&B was influenced by church. Like, I think I just kind of brought my experience, like, in life from that point and then packaged it differently and got into the music. So my perspective and choices and stuff were a lot different. So.
[00:11:41] Speaker B: So no R and B. I'm gonna assume no rap.
[00:11:43] Speaker D: No rap.
[00:11:44] Speaker B: So what was entertainment for you in high school?
[00:11:47] Speaker D: Well, high school is when I was able to get a little more.
[00:11:50] Speaker B: Just get into it.
[00:11:51] Speaker D: Yeah, because you know what I mean? You're on your own. You got a Walkman. You can do a little more, be a little more.
[00:11:55] Speaker B: You said Walkman. Yeah, I know what year you graduated.
[00:11:57] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:12:00] Speaker D: Let me say the Walkman was probably more late middle school.
[00:12:05] Speaker B: But you had a CD player.
[00:12:07] Speaker A: I'm not gonna let you get that off. I fucked your name up. You didn't let me get that. You said late middle school. It's two grades in middle school, nigga.
[00:12:12] Speaker B: It's three.
[00:12:13] Speaker D: No, it's three.
[00:12:13] Speaker A: Okay. Late means the last one.
Yeah, like so eighth grade.
[00:12:18] Speaker D: Yeah, because I said high school at first. So I'm saying right before high school, you got eighth grade.
[00:12:23] Speaker A: You said late middle school.
[00:12:24] Speaker C: Late middle school. That's eighth gr.
[00:12:26] Speaker A: That's a normal thing to say. Late middle school. Yeah, I gave you context.
Try to make me sound like I was.
[00:12:33] Speaker D: I gave you context, Keenan.
[00:12:36] Speaker A: Kenya, shut the fuck.
[00:12:39] Speaker B: Late middle school.
[00:12:40] Speaker A: Yeah, late middle school.
[00:12:41] Speaker D: Nah, man. But.
But you know, in high school you got a little more freedom. You got phones too now. So I was able to, you know, be a little more. A little more sneaky.
But yeah, I couldn't really listen. So entertainment for me again. I was still dancing, like, professionally dance. So my entertainment thing was going to classes and doing shows and different stuff like that. So it was a lot different.
[00:13:06] Speaker A: Did you crump or clown?
[00:13:07] Speaker D: I did.
I actually did.
[00:13:09] Speaker A: Was you raw?
[00:13:10] Speaker D: I was cold.
[00:13:11] Speaker B: Pause.
[00:13:13] Speaker A: Were you exceptionally good at clown dancing or.
[00:13:15] Speaker D: Yeah, it was really great dancing.
And, you know, I grew up in like the Battle Zone era.
[00:13:20] Speaker A: Cause he was from.
[00:13:21] Speaker D: Those are my friends. So I used to dance with a group called hall of Fame that like a lot of people in Rise were also a part of that group.
So, yeah, we.
That was the culture.
[00:13:34] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:13:35] Speaker D: And you know, during. When I was growing up, I'm talking about like the real clown dancing days, like Lalo and you had.
I can't think of the other group. But battlezone was happening still, like at Southwest or at the Forum. Like, that was. You know, that was the thing. So I grew up like in that era and we all were still like dancing for real.
[00:13:54] Speaker B: You could still get cracking, you know.
[00:13:56] Speaker D: I mean, my steps slowed down a little bit.
[00:13:58] Speaker B: But you practice it sometimes.
[00:14:01] Speaker A: If the right song come on, you know what, just. And we can move off this. But how did you practice?
Like, was it in a mirror?
[00:14:09] Speaker D: No, you were session up. So you would get with your friends and we would be in the garage somewhere or like outside somewhere.
[00:14:15] Speaker A: But how would you know it was good? They would tell you, like.
[00:14:17] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah, like. Cause everybody looking kind of feeding off each other. So you see something you like, you know, I mean, you go for it. Then you.
It's kind of indirect Accountability that's being created in those circles, you.
[00:14:28] Speaker A: You be using them words, boy.
[00:14:30] Speaker D: I'm a writer.
[00:14:31] Speaker B: See how I'm a writer, bro.
[00:14:33] Speaker A: No, no.
He tried to spin me.
[00:14:38] Speaker B: God damn.
[00:14:39] Speaker D: It's getting worse, bro. Oh, my God. Where are we?
[00:14:43] Speaker A: All right, well, fuck it then. We gonna talk about something else.
[00:14:46] Speaker B: Wait.
[00:14:46] Speaker A: Paused.
[00:14:47] Speaker B: Okay. You said you was cramping and stuff, so. You remember K Smooth? K, Young K. They used to be dancing on MySpace.
[00:14:56] Speaker D: I know you're not talking about with the slow dancing. The dude and the girl. J Smooth.
[00:15:00] Speaker B: J Smooth.
[00:15:01] Speaker D: Hey, shout out to my homie Faybo. Because we talk about this, like every now and then and I forget the name and I hit him like, bro, what's the nigga name that used to be on YouTube with the pretty Ricky video? Yeah, yeah, Jay Smooth.
[00:15:13] Speaker B: I wonder where he at now.
[00:15:14] Speaker D: I remember that era.
[00:15:16] Speaker B: You said you did some acting.
Where were you?
[00:15:19] Speaker D: So I did a lot of, like, musical theater. So I studied. When I got into musical theater, I was training with at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy at the time.
[00:15:26] Speaker B: Oh, wow.
[00:15:27] Speaker D: Yeah, I did a lot of her productions also. I worked with my musical teacher, Terrence Lee Jones. Rest in Peace.
Did a lot of productions with him. Just kind of like in that world of, you know, he was a big, like, Motown guy.
So we did a lot of.
A lot of projects based on, like, the lives of, like, Marvin Gaye, you know what I mean? Like, different artists from the 70s. And we did like, of course. I feel like every black theater kid who grows up in the hood ends up doing the Wiz.
I played the scarecrow in the Wiz.
So, yeah, it was just, you know, just.
Yeah, I had a pretty well rounded experience as far as what shaped me as an artist.
[00:16:10] Speaker B: Did you have Rainey? Dr. Rainey?
[00:16:11] Speaker D: I mean, Mr. Rainey from Washington. That's my homie. Yeah, yeah, Rainey came in. I did some plays with Rainey. Yep, yep, I did. I was in drama in high school as well. But I think I met Rainey when I graduated. I came back, I helped him. I like, choreographed some stuff.
[00:16:27] Speaker C: Really? Yeah.
[00:16:27] Speaker D: In some of the plays. That's like my brother, though.
[00:16:30] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:16:31] Speaker A: Now we got to get into some of your accolades too, because you try to downplay, you know, but you are multi hyphen it. I've seen you walk in the studio and just start playing an instrument. Just a random instrument shit. I don't know what it is stuff with. Is there anything from a steel drum to something with some strings on Steel drum?
I've seen you do pay dudes. I've seen you do a bunch of different things. I've seen you music direct, but what is your favorite thing to do? Because you're creative, direct. You'll music direct. You'll be a role player, you'll play an instrument. What's your favorite thing to do over your career as far as your multi talents?
[00:17:10] Speaker C: Putting the right people in the right.
[00:17:12] Speaker A: Room, getting the job done, overseeing the project.
[00:17:17] Speaker C: I like to say putting the right people in the right room. I don't like to say overseeing anything.
[00:17:23] Speaker A: Okay. So going back to the. From the Snoop days, you producing a bunch of different things like that. All the way up to Topimba Butterfly.
Do you remember? Can we tell that story now?
[00:17:33] Speaker C: Which one?
[00:17:34] Speaker A: The Tepemba Butterfly story.
[00:17:38] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:17:40] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:17:40] Speaker C: Hell yeah.
[00:17:42] Speaker A: So this has never been told before. I'm gonna tell you my perspective and then you correct.
[00:17:46] Speaker C: Okay? Okay.
[00:17:47] Speaker A: Okay. So Terrace calls me and he says, you gotta come to the house. I'm like, nigga, I'm not coming to your house. He lived way. I ain't gonna say the city, but he live and he rich. So he like, he like, come to the house. I'm like, nigga, we not coming out there. Me and Silas, my manager. And so he's like, I'm telling you, come to the house. You ain't gonna believe this. So we like. I tell Silas, like, you gotta drive. Cause I'm not driving the fuck out there. You know what I mean? We drive out to Tara's house.
We get out there. He come out to the. He come out the house smiling. He got this big stupid ass grin on his face. We go, he. We walk in the house. We go in his. He had a studio set up downstairs. We go in the studio and he said, all right, look, nigga. He said, I'm about to play you something and you can't say nothing to nobody about. You can't never repeat this. And I'm like, okay. He's like, no, I'm serious. This and this. Fuck my shit up. I'm like, all right. So he pressed play and I heard. I got a bone to pick.
I don't want you, monkey mouth motherfucker sitting in my throne again. I'm like, what the fuck is this? Right? Cause I never heard nothing like that from K Dot before. So he's like, nigga, this is the one. This is this shit. Kink this shit, nigga. We got the Mossberg. And I'm like, you did this? He was like, nigga, this shit crazy. I'M like, nigga, this shit crazy. Cause I had never heard dot rap like that on that type of song. I never heard him kind of get his bravado on like that before.
Did I tell the story correctly? And then I want some context because I don't think we ever talked about this afterwards.
[00:19:18] Speaker C: Yeah, my. My reason for calling you was because we always call you when we trying to. When we trying to hit the radio at that time. Trying to hit the radio and trying to chart. Because you was. You was a DJ and you worked at the radio. And you. You. You had. You had a good niche for people just for being like. You always had a niche to, like, talking the right amount of shit just before a gang of niggas want to fuck you up so they keep you in the spot. Like. So you always had this little niche for, like, people.
You know what I'm saying?
[00:19:47] Speaker A: Like, it's weird.
[00:19:48] Speaker B: Like.
[00:19:49] Speaker C: Like, did he offend you? But he's giving. It's like, weird. So it's like you just had a real good thing for people. And, you know, I've been knowing you since you was, you know, damn near an intern with glasses.
[00:20:04] Speaker A: You know, we probably 20 in now at this point.
[00:20:08] Speaker C: Yeah, easy, easy. Easily. So I was calling you. Cause we was always. Everybody. We was me, problem. Everybody call Head. Okay? Head. The DJ pack. Don't start it with the musical intros, the bass, drums.
Head had a whole thing. But if you listen to what he said at that time, you know, you still have to do the work of the good song. But he just knew how to get it where it could possibly be a good contender. And you start doing radio DJing. So I was like, oh, so he still got that special thing and he. On the radio, that means that's he's getting more tools. So we gonna keep calling him more, you know what I'm saying? So really, that's funny. His thing.
Cause my thing was like, nigga, I'm playing this for you. N. To just look at his response.
Cause I feel like this the one we might go with. You know what I'm saying?
But I'm just playing just to get his response. And I don't have the decision to make anything go. But at this point, I'm heavily doing the album, so I'm just like, I'm going ahead, you know, And I'm like, pull up.
Just, you know, I'm gonna play you something, but I'm not. Let me play you something for the intent of. Cause that's like, I wanna get the Real reaction. I don't wanna. Even if it hurts my feelings, whatever the case, because I'd rather him hurt my feelings and me regroup instead of me not have a shot to be able to create a composition that could create real estate for my children.
[00:21:31] Speaker A: Facts.
[00:21:31] Speaker C: I'll deal with the hurt feelings, if that's what that means. You know what I mean? So I played it. And when I seen.
I seen that nigga face go like this.
That nigga, he don't even gang bang. But that nigga was going like things going like this.
And Brian was going like this, you know, he, you know. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
He was going like this.
And I kept playing that shot. I kept playing that. And I, I. And I was just like, man, that's it.
And that. That's. Yeah. I didn't say how you feel about it. He said, man, that's it. That's it, that's it. I was like, oh, okay, cool.
[00:22:09] Speaker A: I've been waiting.
[00:22:10] Speaker C: So I probably went back knowing me and called Punch. Cause that was my called. Hey, hear, say that's it.
Like, you know, like, you know, I mean, cuz, like really, what people don't understand with, you know, just with that, yes, records are made, you know, because you feel them good and oh, this could go. But when records go, a lot of records that go really big, it's a committee of hands, facts. And it's some harsh hands. Like anybody that just love everything is ain't the one if we trying to go there.
Turn it down, turn it, turn it. You know what I'm saying? So that was my thing with that.
[00:22:52] Speaker A: You know, bro, I appreciated that because that was my first time ever getting a heads up on a Kendrick record. Like, you know, I would get it.
[00:23:01] Speaker C: It wasn't a heads up. Cause you know they'll run that narrative in this.
[00:23:04] Speaker A: Oh, it wasn't a heads up.
[00:23:05] Speaker C: I'll still get a call, right?
[00:23:07] Speaker A: It wasn't a heads up. But I'm saying that was my first time hearing it.
Like, and you were watching me as opposed to like, oh, this is what we doing. Yeah, right?
And then there was another one that another one happened. And I don't know, I don't think we ever talked about this one. But you called me one day and I want you, I want to give you, I want your perspective on this. I have mine.
[00:23:30] Speaker C: Okay?
[00:23:30] Speaker A: You call me one day and you say, hey, what's the tempo on the radio right now? Okay? And I'm like, what you mean? It's like 100 bpm you was like, 100. I said, yeah, it's 100 right now. We at 100. Everything. 100. He said, all right. Bet you just hung up, right?
And then he goes and produce yg. Twist my fingers.
[00:23:51] Speaker B: Oh, shit.
[00:23:52] Speaker C: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:23:53] Speaker A: And it's 99 BPM. And the record out of here, it's gone, right? And I'm like, son of a bitch.
Well.
[00:24:01] Speaker C: Cause you know what?
[00:24:03] Speaker A: Cause you know what?
[00:24:04] Speaker C: Originally I was. Originally, I was trying to give YG the pulse.
I think Battle Cat produced Eastsiders. I love it at 106.
I think battle Cat produced Eastside. I think that tempo.
[00:24:17] Speaker A: I love it. Yeah, I love it. Is 102 okay?
[00:24:20] Speaker C: 102. Yeah. Right? So I was on that at first, and then I was like, honestly, I left the drum machine up. YG got shot that night.
[00:24:30] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:24:32] Speaker C: I went back in after he got shot to finish the beat.
Cause I was like, so everybody's home. I mean, everybody left. Okay, I'm gonna go finish the record. Cause YG was talking like, yo, fool, I'mma be out. We gonna be in the studio. So everybody's fine.
[00:24:45] Speaker A: So you pulled up on him?
[00:24:46] Speaker C: No, I put. Well, we was working when YG got shot. We was working in a house studio.
[00:24:50] Speaker A: Oh, okay.
[00:24:51] Speaker C: I had just left.
[00:24:52] Speaker A: Got you.
[00:24:53] Speaker C: Thank God. You know what I'm saying? But I came back and that's when I called you. I didn't have much time in that studio. Cause we was moving. That's why I was rushing.
[00:25:01] Speaker A: Oh, you hung up.
[00:25:01] Speaker C: That's why I was like, hey, what's the BPMs of today? Cause I was like, right now? That was a long time ago. Yeah, let me. Let me. What's today? What they moving to? You know? And I remember I was watching God's Property 1997 Stomp. That's why I was going. Don't, don't, don't, don't, don't, don't, don't. I was flipping Stump.
[00:25:21] Speaker B: Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. We not gonna skip past it.
[00:25:26] Speaker C: It's an old concert.
1997.
[00:25:29] Speaker B: Twist My Fingers comes from the concept of Stump.
[00:25:35] Speaker C: Twist My Fingers comes from George Clinton Parliament to me through the concept of Stump. Because Stump sampled that.
[00:25:42] Speaker B: Stump, as in Kirk Franklin. Kirk Franklin.
[00:25:44] Speaker C: But when I cleared it, I had to clear. We cleared it with the George Clinton estate.
You know what I'm saying? Cause I played what they played, but they played what he played. But I didn't sample what they played. I played what they played. So I just Played what? He played.
[00:25:59] Speaker B: The fact that that's even where, like, the idea. I don't. Have you talked about this before?
Does YG even know this is not.
[00:26:07] Speaker C: Copy to the homies.
[00:26:08] Speaker B: YG don't. Does YG know that?
[00:26:09] Speaker C: Probably so.
[00:26:10] Speaker A: Maybe.
[00:26:10] Speaker C: Yeah, he probably maybe so. We told him, you know, this is how we talk.
[00:26:15] Speaker B: Because he's a fucking God.
[00:26:17] Speaker C: Like, this is how we talk.
Shout out to Kirk Franklin.
[00:26:21] Speaker B: Yeah, bro, but imagine like, twist my hands.
[00:26:26] Speaker C: Twist my fingers.
[00:26:27] Speaker B: Twist my fingers. Coming from stomp, Stomp.
[00:26:31] Speaker A: I know when you hear.
[00:26:33] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, but you know both songs of rejoice.
[00:26:37] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:26:38] Speaker C: Both songs of love. Both songs of encouragement. Both songs of includement. Like, both songs of positive. Twist my fingers.
[00:26:45] Speaker D: You gotta put them together now.
[00:26:46] Speaker A: Soon as it came out.
[00:26:47] Speaker B: I'm doing it the moment y' all leave. I've been trying to get people to rap to.
[00:26:51] Speaker D: To my dad.
[00:26:52] Speaker C: Yeah, it's the same thing.
[00:26:55] Speaker D: You gotta put that together.
[00:26:56] Speaker B: That's hard. You kind of need to do like a little mashup on TikTok or something.
[00:27:00] Speaker C: Like, so y' all do it. Do it here.
[00:27:02] Speaker B: Yeah, you do it. The dj, you gonna play it in the mix?
[00:27:05] Speaker A: Yeah, we got it.
[00:27:05] Speaker B: Put it in the mix. I've been trying to get niggas to rap to revolution for a long time.
Revolution is one of the hardest.
[00:27:12] Speaker C: That is hard.
[00:27:13] Speaker B: Like, that's hard beat.
[00:27:19] Speaker A: So I don't want to skip. I want to.
[00:27:20] Speaker C: It's all good. It's all good. We there, we there, we there.
[00:27:24] Speaker A: So then dam comes up. Yeah, and that was the one. And I don't know. Can I speak freely?
[00:27:30] Speaker C: Yeah, you can speak freely.
[00:27:31] Speaker A: Okay. So when I come to your house during the dam era, where was I living?
[00:27:36] Speaker C: In apartment Hollywood.
[00:27:37] Speaker A: You had the three story joint in the mountain.
[00:27:39] Speaker C: Oh, yeah, yeah.
That was a weird house.
[00:27:43] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, that one. Tony Stark ass nigga Mountain.
Yeah, the one that went down into the mountain.
[00:27:50] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:27:50] Speaker A: Okay.
So when I came, I like to.
[00:27:53] Speaker B: See that on Zillow.
[00:27:56] Speaker A: Tara's been rich for a long time.
[00:27:58] Speaker C: No, no.
[00:27:59] Speaker A: So when you played me some of the stuff off of there, you literally were taking. You had me talking to a voice recorder, giving you my notes, and I was just so, like, in awe. Cause you gotta think like this dude, like a Grammy nominated super producer, blah, blah. But you still like, source the homies.
[00:28:17] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:28:18] Speaker A: Where do you get that approach to your production? Like, where do you. Why do you do that? Not because. Not to me specifically. I've seen you do it with other people as well.
[00:28:26] Speaker C: I just know Since I was young, I just know all my friends are the best in the world. And I've been around the world, and I've worked with the best, and I've been around who they say is the best. I've been around who they write about as the best and who they don't write about as the baddest motherfuckers. And I happen to know all of them. A lot of them I know. You know, that's why I always try to stay humble. Cause it's some real superheroes that ain't on the Internet or ain't doing it how I'm doing it. Like that. You know what I'm saying? But that's listening. So it's like I just always believe that my friends are the best. Like, my friends are the best. Thundercat, Kamasi, you, Kendrick, J Rock, Q, Punch. I mean, Punch, the brain of Punch. Like, who else has a friend like that? Like, my friends are the best. You know what I'm saying?
[00:29:12] Speaker A: When you did. I think it was. Was it love?
No.
[00:29:17] Speaker C: On what.
[00:29:18] Speaker A: What's the Rihanna record?
[00:29:20] Speaker C: Loyalty.
[00:29:21] Speaker A: Loyalty.
You worked on loyalty. Okay. Did you know what that was gonna be?
[00:29:27] Speaker C: Yep.
[00:29:28] Speaker A: You knew it when y' all started working on it, or you knew it after the record was done?
[00:29:31] Speaker C: I knew it when I was on Instagram live with problems sitting.
I had an apartment, too. I had that house, but I was doing beats. I hadn't moved into the house yet. House was when you came. It was just done, but it was getting done. And I still have my apartment over there on Melrose and Spalding. This is right before they started killing people in Hollywood.
Hollywood went all the way left, right?
Hollywood never used to be like that, man.
Anyway, I was at this apartment, and me and Prylin was on live.
I never will forget. And I just remember, like, just having that. That sample looped.
And it's that sample. That's. That's Bruno. That's the intro to Bruno Mars.
What's the hit?
[00:30:22] Speaker D: 24 karat.
[00:30:23] Speaker C: 24 karat?
[00:30:24] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:30:24] Speaker C: Yeah, that's. That's the intro of that. But I sampled and reversed it, and I was. I was on a sample. I. And I was telling problem like this for my album. This for my album. And I kept listening to it, and I swear I looked back. I looked at the live problem. Eyes locked with my eyes. And he went. And my mouth went.
And I cut the live off. Bam. And we looked at each other. I said, oh, nigga, I gotta call him. I gotta call him. I gotta give him this. This Is not my album. I can't even afford.
I gotta give him this. Oh, my God. And I called him right in front of. I said, nigga, I got something.
I feel I got something. And he was like, bring it over. And I brought it over, and it was me, Soundwave, and Dahi there.
And he played it.
He played that loop.
Soundwave face lit up. Dahi face. Dahi went to the drum, started doing the bass. I went to the mini move, started doing the mini. And it just. It made everybody in the room instantly create without questioning. It made everybody ego go away. And the biggest ego in the room was the music. It was nothing to be said. It was. Everybody plays a part. Nobody part got in the way. And after a while, Kendrick sat back and it was his idea to get Rihanna on the record.
[00:31:50] Speaker A: Did he start rapping to it?
[00:31:52] Speaker C: Instantly, immediately, instantly, instantly. But he's the moment. He's John Coltrane. He's Miles Davis. He's the moment.
He's not second guessing nothing now.
[00:32:04] Speaker A: That's crazy. Cause I remember when you said. I remember when I talked to you after that came out. He was like, bro, I bought another house off this record.
You know what I'm saying?
[00:32:13] Speaker C: No. You know, it's funny. I called Brody. I called Brody. Cause Brody produced 24 karat, right? Go for Bruno. And I was like, man, you owe me $5 million. Ax Brody. If you see him, Axe Brody. Before the record came out, I was like, hey, I just sampled, and we had to break the bread to clear y' all and everything. So I saw your name on that paperwork. So I want my money from you directly. I was just playing with him, just laughing, and that record came out and went crazy. It went crazy.
[00:32:40] Speaker A: That's crazy, bro.
[00:32:42] Speaker C: But I ain't never felt like that with no other record, though. I'm waiting for that feeling.
Not even the musically part. Just.
I just knew it was gonna go there. I haven't felt like that since.
[00:32:51] Speaker A: Did you get the call for gnx? Did you work on that at all?
[00:32:54] Speaker C: Yeah, I did Dodger Blue.
[00:32:57] Speaker A: Okay, but I'm saying, did you. Was it like, we assembling the troops, pull up? Or was it more like, I got something and you took it?
[00:33:04] Speaker C: It was more. Nah, Hell nah, nuh.
I've never had nothing. And he took it. I don't even know what that's like.
[00:33:12] Speaker A: No, not taking it. But I'm saying we used that idea.
[00:33:14] Speaker C: Like loyalty, like, nah, nah, that's Soundwave bought the energy to the crib, and we just all got together. In my crib.
Roddy was over there. Roddy did his part in my crib, you know. But with this now, with the GNX process, that was a little different for me because we wasn't around each other, but we were talking every day. Cause that was throughout the beef.
[00:33:40] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:33:41] Speaker C: So that's when we was all.
[00:33:42] Speaker A: Everybody was in cahoots.
[00:33:43] Speaker C: Everybody was in cahoots a lot. And I was actually working on Roddy's album every day as that process was going on.
And you know, Kendrick, that energy was there too. We just. We're all one crew anyway. So, yeah, that record just happened. I didn't know it was going.
I didn't know it was going on a album and I didn't know damn near like, I swear it must have been. At least I must have pressed. Sent on the final thing on the computer about 2am and they dropped out the next day in the morning. Like, it was just a weird. Like, what is. What he is. He's outta here, you know.
[00:34:30] Speaker A: Okay, last thing. And then. Cause I wanna talk about this project real quick too.
Do you wanna tell the not like us story or. No, we ain't gotta say where we.
[00:34:41] Speaker C: Was, but now we can say we was. If that's the.
[00:34:44] Speaker B: So.
[00:34:44] Speaker A: No, I'm talking the occasion.
[00:34:46] Speaker C: Okay, let's get to it.
[00:34:47] Speaker A: Okay, go ahead.
[00:34:48] Speaker C: So we was at a function.
Head was DJing.
It was a blue to foe a function. A very private.
[00:34:58] Speaker A: A private function.
[00:34:58] Speaker C: A very private bluetooth function.
[00:35:01] Speaker B: Y' all gonna do them like that.
[00:35:04] Speaker C: Everybody had blue jean outfits on.
Blue this and blue that blue. But it was just. It was beautif. Beautiful, right? And, you know, it was already the talk of the town, was already the beef. It was already Kendrick Drake. And we was like, boy, this Kendrick is spanking that boy like this.
Like, he should fold it up, cuz. Like, what?
What is he doing?
[00:35:29] Speaker A: Like, you feel me?
[00:35:31] Speaker C: Like, so we was already like, boom. And we was just chilling.
And the party, it was moving. Everybody was talking, drinking a little. What's up, what's up, what's up, what's up? And it was a real player event, really, the level. It was very L. A, I'll say that. And, you know, you had to be the be. And it was. And I'm talking to somebody.
I think I'm talking to my wife. She there. I'm talking to her.
You know, I'm drinking. I'm probably like, what's up? Let me take you in the back. You know what I'm being. And they say Tears.
Tears. And I'm. I'm. I'm fat. I'm talking to my wife. Like, I'm trying to.
I think she. It may be, like, four women there. She's one of them. You know what I'm saying? So I'm just trying to get the vibe right. And he like, tears, Tears. And I'm like, damn.
[00:36:19] Speaker A: I'm trying to yell over the music. Cause I'm deep.
[00:36:21] Speaker C: I'm like. And I turn around.
[00:36:22] Speaker B: He say, this nigga just dropped something.
Come here.
[00:36:27] Speaker C: And he turned his computer. He turned his computer around. It was the artwork to not like us right there a second.
So I said, play it. He said, let's go upstairs. So we ran upstairs.
[00:36:38] Speaker A: We found a room.
[00:36:39] Speaker C: We ran upstairs, found an empty room like this.
We was listening.
[00:36:44] Speaker A: It was just me and him in this random room. We was listening off the phone.
[00:36:48] Speaker C: And we said, oh, man, he gonna have to fight.
Drake gonna have to fight. Chubbs, they gonna have to fight. We pull the phone up, man. We have to.
[00:37:04] Speaker A: Bro. Let me tell you something.
[00:37:06] Speaker B: What's messed up is because I know where y' all was at. And that add more to the story. But it ain't my story.
I'm like, that makes the story 10 times better.
[00:37:14] Speaker A: We gotta let him tell that story.
[00:37:16] Speaker C: Hold up. Then we came back downstairs. And then head start running that song. We talking about old ladies. We talking about, like, head start running back to back.
And then Ed walk in. Cause I forgot, I didn't walk in. Mustard.
[00:37:30] Speaker A: Mustard walks in.
[00:37:31] Speaker C: Mustard walk in with it. He like, me and Mustard. Like, we. Let me tell y' all something, man. This my boy. Before he was producing records. We all friends.
It was so emotional.
We just ran to each other and hugged.
We just hugged like. You know what I'm saying?
[00:37:50] Speaker A: Hell, yeah.
[00:37:50] Speaker B: Not like us making niggas hug.
[00:37:52] Speaker A: Crazy. Yeah.
Real shit.
[00:37:55] Speaker C: But, you know, because that record made all of us feel proud.
[00:37:57] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:37:58] Speaker C: You know, that made us all. It made us feel proud for so many levels. Like, it made it to me. I looked at what Kendrick did is so monumental. Because, man, it's like he could have went all kind of different styles, but he used the new with the traditional style of the streets of Los Angeles. He didn't go Lyrical Miracle, Jazzy Wazzy. He got mustard.
[00:38:19] Speaker A: Got right to it.
[00:38:20] Speaker C: Glasses used to always say.
Glasses Malone used to always say, when Kendrick Lamar get on a Mustard beat, it's over.
[00:38:29] Speaker A: He did say that.
[00:38:30] Speaker C: And so when he did that and when he was busting like that, where not only could the homies that love this, understand. But the homies, that's like, oh, we own one. We got that. Cause he's of that, too.
That was the emotional part, was all. He embodied Los Angeles.
[00:38:50] Speaker B: That one was for us.
[00:38:51] Speaker C: That was very monumental and very made. To me, it should have made every creative that, whether they did jazz, R and B paint, or whatever, punk rock, everybody.
That is a prime example of just stand up tall and be a true individual, and you'll conquer all that right there, bro.
[00:39:09] Speaker A: And also, too soon as when we was playing a record, as soon as we heard Mustard on the Bee Hole, me and him just lost it. He actually has a video. I got us losing our shit in his phone.
We were losing our shit in this room. And I know people was probably hearing, like, what the fuck are them niggas doing?
[00:39:23] Speaker C: I know.
[00:39:24] Speaker A: Hey. He was just yelling and screaming.
Yeah.
[00:39:30] Speaker B: I think that probably was everybody's reaction. It's like. It's so many different layers to it. Like, you said, that was the. He did it for Los Angeles. And it's like, yeah, it is a diss track. But then when you really listen to it, the artwork is crazy. The history lesson in it is crazy.
[00:39:45] Speaker C: Come on, man.
[00:39:46] Speaker B: And it's not. It's not the traditional Kendrick, but he still. The pen was still crazy.
[00:39:52] Speaker C: It's stupid.
[00:39:53] Speaker B: Yeah. And then we bop into it, and then it's Mustard who's a pillar.
[00:39:57] Speaker A: Yeah. Nah, it's. Yeah, I just wanted to get those. Cause it's like Mustard came with that energy. Yeah.
[00:40:02] Speaker B: Yeah.
I mean, and I don't know how true it is, but I heard that was the. He didn't know until that time, too.
[00:40:08] Speaker C: Yeah, true.
[00:40:09] Speaker B: That was true that he found out there when y' all found out, man.
[00:40:11] Speaker C: Mustard was sending Kendrick so many beats a day, and he stayed at Kendrick every day with beats for almost a year. Probably more than that. He load him up, load him up, load him up like he was giving Kendrick all the hot shit, you know, Just bam, bam. And it paid off. Now, look, he on the road.
[00:40:32] Speaker A: World tours.
[00:40:33] Speaker C: World tour. And now Mustard, he's always. To me, he's always been iconic and set where he set, where he's sitting. But now it's like, now the world gets to see his full amount of greatness.
[00:40:42] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:40:43] Speaker C: You know what I'm saying?
[00:40:44] Speaker A: I want to get. I want to get to this project, too, bro. Here you go. I want to get to this project, man. Of course I like Tyrese.
I mean, I think that's. That's the one that I'm probably going to play more than. More than the other ones, but I want to. Do you. Can you just call a song like that without consulting, like, the homie, like.
[00:41:04] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:41:05] Speaker A: Did y' all talk? Did you talk to him? Did you have any conversations?
[00:41:07] Speaker D: Yeah, I sent it to him. That's my brother.
[00:41:09] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. You sent it to him when it was done, or you told him the.
[00:41:11] Speaker D: Concept when it was done? Tyrese, he wouldn't have cared.
[00:41:13] Speaker A: Okay. Yeah. Okay.
[00:41:15] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah, he loved it.
[00:41:16] Speaker C: He.
[00:41:16] Speaker A: He liked the song.
[00:41:17] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah, he loved the song. And he just loved, like.
[00:41:20] Speaker A: He just love it now.
Okay. I guess what I'm trying to figure out is. Cause I'm not. I don't know how, like, y' all relationship or whatever.
[00:41:29] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah.
[00:41:30] Speaker A: But I know that certain artists do care about that type of shit. Like when you call a song this or what not. So would you mind if somebody called their song like Kenyon?
[00:41:39] Speaker D: If I like the context.
[00:41:40] Speaker A: If you didn't like it, though.
[00:41:42] Speaker D: Yeah, but it wouldn't be, like a legality thing. It would just more so be my personal opinion about. I don't think you should call it that. Cause I don't like it.
[00:41:48] Speaker A: Gotcha.
[00:41:49] Speaker D: But Tyrese, it's a great record, and it was. You know what I mean? He's a huge part of how I got into the game early on, writing a lot for him and touring with him. So. Yeah, yeah, he. You know.
[00:41:59] Speaker B: And you reference his songs? The lyrics reference Tyrese.
[00:42:03] Speaker D: Yes.
There's some other parts of the record that we.
There's, like, some extensions of the record that even drives that point, like, more that we haven't.
[00:42:14] Speaker A: What's the one you said you like?
[00:42:15] Speaker B: The one I like is track seven, I think.
[00:42:20] Speaker D: Seven.
[00:42:20] Speaker B: Is it track seven.
[00:42:22] Speaker A: It's called Come as you know seven is Tyrese.
[00:42:25] Speaker D: Okay.
[00:42:26] Speaker B: Come as you are.
[00:42:26] Speaker A: Come as you are is 12.
[00:42:27] Speaker B: The way you start verse one.
[00:42:30] Speaker D: Thank you.
[00:42:30] Speaker B: The way you just come in not looking for perfection Just want something real and even the worst of you gives me something I could feel the rhythm in your heart the rhythm in your heart look at his hating ass.
[00:42:43] Speaker A: I'm not hating.
[00:42:43] Speaker B: Look at your fucking mouth.
[00:42:45] Speaker A: I'm not an RP nigga. I don't relate. The rhythm, I don't emote.
[00:42:50] Speaker B: Look, all you gotta do is read this.
[00:42:51] Speaker D: Gotta get you in therapy, bro.
[00:42:52] Speaker B: The rhythm, the rhythm. Listen to this head. This how you gotta start talking to the bitches?
[00:42:57] Speaker A: No.
[00:42:58] Speaker B: The rhythm in your heartbeat cuts straight through my soul the rhythm in your heartbeat cuts through my soul it don't though my soul how. Cause you ain't never had that pussy. This that different type of pussy.
[00:43:11] Speaker A: No, it's not.
[00:43:12] Speaker B: Don't know you a masterpiece.
You a masterpiece. You don't know you a masterpiece, bro.
[00:43:21] Speaker A: This is that bullshit.
[00:43:22] Speaker B: Be quiet.
[00:43:23] Speaker A: Let me tell you why Y' all.
[00:43:23] Speaker B: Niggas hold your spirit wrapped in gold.
That's that shit.
[00:43:31] Speaker A: See, they like that shit, bro. They like you fluffing them and telling them all kind of wild shit.
[00:43:35] Speaker B: No, no, no. He said come as you are.
Whatever you come with.
[00:43:40] Speaker A: That's not true.
[00:43:41] Speaker B: I fuck with it.
[00:43:42] Speaker A: Niggas be judgmental on the low.
[00:43:44] Speaker B: No, you be judgmental.
[00:43:47] Speaker D: Niggas is broad. We talking specific.
The record that we wrote for the album, this is what we meant.
[00:43:54] Speaker B: Hell, he. He said you don't have to change a thing.
[00:43:58] Speaker A: I'm with you on that. I like that, too. I like him as you are. But the other shit was Cap.
That's real. It's real.
[00:44:05] Speaker B: Y' all seen this clip, how you talk to bitches?
[00:44:08] Speaker A: It ain't about that clip head.
[00:44:10] Speaker D: You scaring the hoes.
[00:44:11] Speaker B: Tell him.
[00:44:11] Speaker A: No, I just speak.
[00:44:12] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:44:12] Speaker A: I say very poignant things to women with clear cut definitions. So there's no. There's no.
[00:44:18] Speaker B: Don't make me pull that screenshot.
[00:44:19] Speaker A: There's no deciphering. There's no deciphering what I'm. What it is that I'm saying to you.
[00:44:23] Speaker C: You.
[00:44:23] Speaker A: You know what I'm saying? Like what she said is ambiguous.
[00:44:26] Speaker B: All right?
[00:44:27] Speaker A: It's. It's. What she say is ambiguous.
[00:44:29] Speaker D: All right, Whatever word.
[00:44:31] Speaker B: He testing me right now. Listen to this.
Do I have a permission?
[00:44:34] Speaker A: Hell no.
[00:44:38] Speaker C: How you say that. We can't.
[00:44:39] Speaker B: I don't got permission?
[00:44:40] Speaker A: No. What's the one. Okay, I've said things to women that are not necessarily romantic.
[00:44:45] Speaker B: I'm talking about that AI one.
[00:44:48] Speaker A: Yeah. No, I can't read that to him. No. So I've said things that I show.
[00:44:51] Speaker B: Them they can read it.
[00:44:52] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:44:58] Speaker B: That's him in the blue.
[00:45:07] Speaker A: All right, so look, let me ask you a question. All right, look, let me ask you. You, A, R and B. You like.
Like sultry? Yeah. Yeah. You know what I mean?
What's the most.
What?
[00:45:19] Speaker D: Different. Very different, man.
[00:45:21] Speaker A: That's just the way I speak.
That's you, that's me.
[00:45:24] Speaker C: That's you. I'm not finna in all settings.
[00:45:26] Speaker D: That's intense.
[00:45:27] Speaker A: It's intense.
[00:45:28] Speaker D: It's intense.
[00:45:29] Speaker C: You gotten better, bro.
[00:45:31] Speaker A: That's what I be trying to tell people.
[00:45:32] Speaker B: What the fuck was it before.
[00:45:33] Speaker A: No, this Nigga don't be 20 plus. This is me polished. You know what I'm saying?
[00:45:38] Speaker B: Anyway, you gotta put some dirt on it.
[00:45:40] Speaker D: Come as you are, bro.
[00:45:41] Speaker A: There we go. See, see, I'm good.
[00:45:44] Speaker B: He's just tired of your bullshit.
[00:45:45] Speaker A: I'm good.
When you wait.
[00:45:49] Speaker B: Before we get past that though, we gotta talk about them lyrics.
[00:45:51] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah.
[00:45:52] Speaker B: The inspiration. Can we get into muses? Can we get to environment the way your day was? How y' all start cooking that like to open up like that is crazy.
[00:46:02] Speaker D: I'm a big believer, Captain, and I'm fucking with you.
[00:46:06] Speaker B: He be dirty maggots.
[00:46:10] Speaker D: All they gonna do is DM me and be like, I really ain't like how he was talking to me.
[00:46:13] Speaker A: Yeah, I know.
[00:46:15] Speaker D: I'm like, you know what, you right.
[00:46:17] Speaker A: I didn't like him. He rude.
[00:46:20] Speaker D: Nah. But that, that record, I'm a big believer in classic R and B, a supporter of sustainable music. And I think that a huge part of having a career in music and classics, it has to be lyrics that could live.
Cause you know what I mean, that's your legacy. And so my sole inspiration lyrically and approach wise for that record really was Anita Baker. The song was Ain't no Need to Worry. Anita Baker and the Winans. And so the intentionality just behind the way she executes and phrases words, that's really what we were going for. But the other side of that song, Ain't no Need to Worry, lives in the inspirational, but also gospel, like right in that middle. And so you really could look at that song and those lyrics as gospel. If you really consider the lyrics and the perspective. It's almost like hearing from something or someone divine and you kind of getting intel and perspective on yourself.
And it's like.
Yeah, it's almost like a future. You talking to a. You now or reminding yourself like you can. It's okay. You don't gotta be perfect. You know what I mean? It's like self encouragement. But I look at that song as like some point of like divinity. That's just kind of how it feels to me. But just the essence of R and B soul.
Anita, Marvin, Teddy, the purity of how they approach music, that's really what we were going for. We wanted that record to truly feel like a classic from the lyrics to the music alike.
[00:47:54] Speaker B: Lyrically, it definitely could be added to my list of daily affirmations.
[00:47:59] Speaker D: I love that.
[00:48:00] Speaker B: But most of all, I just inducted you into my wedding playlist hall of fame.
[00:48:05] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:48:05] Speaker A: No, though. No.
[00:48:08] Speaker B: See how he just Dirty Map.
[00:48:09] Speaker A: That's not Dirty Maggots. I'm just saying women got this. They just plug and play a nigga, and they got the whole wedding mapped out. Just drag and drop a nigga here. You know what I'm saying?
[00:48:18] Speaker B: Drag and dropping niggas crazy.
[00:48:21] Speaker A: You know what I'm saying, bro?
[00:48:23] Speaker D: I don't want no problems, man. I'm a guest.
Just here to talk about the album.
[00:48:28] Speaker B: Amazing Love Song.
Amazing Love Song.
[00:48:31] Speaker D: Thank you.
[00:48:32] Speaker B: You're welcome.
[00:48:33] Speaker D: Thank you.
[00:48:34] Speaker A: My last question is, how do you decide who gets to collab with you on the project? Because, I mean, it's not feature heavy, and I want to know if that's intentionality or is it vibe based on the record. Like, Rhapsody is always amazing no matter where she appears. But how do you decide that and where?
[00:48:51] Speaker D: I mean, we can both speak to that. But I think it was definitely intentional for it not to be feature heavy. I think when you're getting something that you haven't heard before, you want to make sure that people know that you know what you're doing. Because I think it's easy to feel like, oh, Terrence and Kenyon are coming together and overlook the fact that we're making some fire music. Like, this is actually quality music. It's not just two names that just decided, oh, we're great by ourselves. And so that's why you should listen. Like, nah. We really had something.
Something to say. And so I think what led the features, honestly, is what felt right.
We just did the records, and if we felt like this one needed somebody in that moment, you know what I mean, Then it just made sense. So the records that you hear features on are records that we for sure heard the features on.
And then that put us in a place to where we can then add to the records at a later date if we want to bring in more features, remix them, do whatever. But the point still stands that we were able to execute these records fully by ourselves.
And that was like the intention with the album to come as you are. Cause we were trying to show with what we have that's enough.
We don't need all the bells and whistles and the different things that kind of distract people from listening to. When you have something quality to say, not that projects being feature heavy or bad, but sometimes that overshadows the intentionality and the quality of the work. And we didn't want to do that.
[00:50:13] Speaker A: This is a collab project. And we spoke to T about his collaboration with Kendrick and everything like that. I know you've worked With Justin Timberlake. Yeah. Yeah. And what is that like? Is that the same? Is that, like, you just play your part? Do you stay in the background? Are you opinionated?
[00:50:29] Speaker D: No, very opinionated. Because these are my records as much as they are anybody who's singing them. Because we're going into it together. So, like, with jt, like, Jay gets in, we write together.
And so we have a mutual respect for each other. And we're able to come into the space and start from scratch because we know what we have and how we collaborate. But it's kind of a.
You know, it's been different. Like, for instance, a lot of the writing I did on TGT's album or a lot of the stuff I did for, like, Tyrese were records that we wrote without them. And then we got together and then there were, like, changes made. So it really just depends on the artist and their process. You know what I mean? But with Jay, Jay likes to be involved. We have a lot in common, which I feel like co writing 10 songs on an album proves the point of having a lot in common. Cause you wouldn't just stay and keep creating with somebody that you don't have any, you know, like, mutual ground with. So, yeah, it's. But it's a different process as a writer versus as an artist and a writer. Because this our collaboration, we're the front man. You know what I mean? In that, like, with Justin or me writing for anybody, you know what I mean? It's for them to perform. So I think it's different. We both come from the live music space, so our perspective going into an album is different. Cause we're already thinking about how this is gonna sound live. And we know that at the least, bare minimum, we can execute every single record that we. That we produce. Yeah.
[00:52:04] Speaker A: And play the shit ourselves.
[00:52:06] Speaker D: Literally, if we never even recorded it, we know we have these songs that we could just go do the songs live, like, you know, so.
[00:52:12] Speaker A: Yeah, I feel that.
[00:52:13] Speaker B: Can you guys talk to us about Only Real ones Survive? Everybody not gonna understand that, but obviously I identify with it because la. But can y' all break that down?
[00:52:25] Speaker C: That's a real song. It's a real song. I mean, you know, I mean, only Real ones survive. It's basically telling you what it takes to live in Los Angeles and who survives. Only the Real Ones. You know, a lot of people come through here.
You know, they use the term Hollywood.
You know, Hollywood, Usually people that's not from here use that term. You know what I'm saying? I always say well, there's plenty of room where you're from.
[00:52:51] Speaker D: I'm sure I gotta start shooting now. You got land and everything and them.
[00:52:55] Speaker C: 50 other blankets and them snow chains are available for you.
[00:52:59] Speaker A: Snow chains?
[00:53:00] Speaker D: That is crazy.
[00:53:02] Speaker C: You know, I mean. I mean, I look at that song as a soulful diagram for South Central Los Angeles, you know what I'm saying? Kind of like it's giving you the same message as Ice cube gave you 30 something years ago with his song called how to Survive in South Central. That was on the Boyz N the Hood soundtrack. That song puts me in that place where it's like. But it's like giving you a.
A soft poison. Cause he's singing it, but he's still saying the same thing.
And he's accurate what he's saying. Cause he from here, so he know the lingo, he know what he's saying, you know what I'm saying? So I think that's a real good Los Angeles native song. You know, do out.
[00:53:39] Speaker B: The towners usually tell you, you got a LA accent.
You got to like the whole.
[00:53:46] Speaker C: That's how everybody talk where I'm from and you know what I'm saying?
[00:53:50] Speaker B: I never hear. When I go other places, they always tell me, like, you sound so la, but like, outside of like Vince Staples and yg, like, you third in line for me.
You sound so freaking. And then Franklin.
[00:54:04] Speaker C: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:54:05] Speaker B: St. Patrick. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But you, like, got it, like.
[00:54:08] Speaker C: I mean, I'm born and raised here. I'm not an import.
[00:54:12] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:54:14] Speaker A: Okay. So I think, first of all, congratulations on the project. Thank you. Thank you. Also, I want to point out that both of y' all are dope and great. You know what I'm saying, in your own right. I think that from a person who doesn't necessarily. I'm not in tune with my emotion enough to like R and B. She got a whole R and B playlist. She be fucking with the R and B stations here. Serious. Like, you know, from somebody that's not. I can appreciate it from your lens, you know what I mean? I think it's more like. I was going to say raw, but she's going to pause me.
Never mind. Fuck it.
[00:54:46] Speaker B: Just use another word.
[00:54:47] Speaker A: I don't know another word.
[00:54:48] Speaker B: You got all them other words.
[00:54:50] Speaker D: Palatable, I feel like is what you.
[00:54:51] Speaker A: What you. It's not palatable. I think it. It's.
[00:54:54] Speaker B: See, then when you try to help them out.
[00:54:58] Speaker A: Okay, I got it. It's more textured.
[00:55:00] Speaker D: Okay. I like that.
[00:55:01] Speaker A: It's Textured.
[00:55:02] Speaker D: Okay.
[00:55:03] Speaker A: You know what I mean? It's not just, oh, baby, baby, same thing as palatable. No, it's not textured. I want to say rough.
[00:55:09] Speaker B: I could pause that too, though. That texture, that's crazy.
[00:55:14] Speaker A: You just talked to this man about his texture.
All right, fuck it.
[00:55:18] Speaker D: I was just trying to help you get the words.
[00:55:21] Speaker A: Yeah, nevermind. Congratulations, Come as you are is out right now.
[00:55:26] Speaker C: It's out.
[00:55:27] Speaker A: Make sure you go stream that. Run them numbers up. Is there anything that you would like people to take away from this project? A messaging?
[00:55:35] Speaker D: Um, yeah, that. That especially as black Creatives, you don't have to limit yourself. It's okay that you're good, you're dope, and you're multifaceted. And I think that starts from.
It's deep. It's real deep. Starting from growing up in the projects, I think about how intimidated I was to let people know that I was even talented and was interested in things that didn't look like what you do in my environment. Cause if you wasn't just gang banging or playing sports, you doing music, you rapping, you know what I mean?
It took me a while to find that confidence to be like, I'm great at what I do. And it's different than what we know, you know what I mean? And I think that the project speaks to that because literally when we say come as you are, it's exactly what we mean. Like, show up like that.
We share so many incredible and different experiences from growing up in church, but also being in the streets, having that influence, working with different artists, like in a pop world, rap world, you know what I mean? All those things, it's okay. That shapes you as an artist. And you shouldn't have to lean more to one side because they've decided that artistry from Black Creatives is this monolithic thing that everybody is the same type of artist.
So, yeah, more than anything, especially to any black creatives, I think the takeaway from this album, be yourself, be dope, be confident in what you're doing. And, you know, just as long as you're going for it and you mean what you're doing, you'll land where you.
[00:57:09] Speaker A: Should be, as you should.
Go ahead.
[00:57:12] Speaker B: I'm sorry. One thing I had took away from it when I listened to don't sound like anything I've ever heard before.
And I don't know if that mean that my music, my catalog isn't extended far enough or I don't have enough different genres like classic soul and things like that in my catalog, so I didn't know if it was that or if this is just one of one, like, but. Amazing.
[00:57:38] Speaker C: Thank you.
[00:57:38] Speaker A: Thank you.
[00:57:39] Speaker C: Thank you.
[00:57:39] Speaker A: Come as you are. Terrace. Martin, Kenyon, Dixon.
[00:57:42] Speaker D: Yes, sir.
[00:57:42] Speaker A: Thank you for being here, brothers.
[00:57:44] Speaker D: I appreciate it.
[00:57:45] Speaker C: Hey, man, thank y' all for having us come.
[00:57:47] Speaker A: Yeah. As you should. You're welcome back anytime.
[00:57:49] Speaker D: Appreciate you.
[00:57:50] Speaker B: Come as you are.
[00:57:50] Speaker A: It's effective immediately.
