Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:04] Speaker B: Yo. It's effective immediately. I'm DJ Head. We got a special guest in the building with us, man. A legend in his own right. A man that I've been meaning to sit down with for many, many moons. We finally, this is damn near a year in the making, but over a decade in the making in real life.
A legend out here in these streets.
Somebody who I think we all. That's played a role in all of our upcoming. Our coming up here in the streets of Los Angeles. Tommy the Clown.
[00:00:31] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:00:31] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:00:32] Speaker A: Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
[00:00:33] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:00:34] Speaker A: Dj. Hey, what's up, man?
[00:00:35] Speaker B: Hey, you got it.
[00:00:38] Speaker A: Woo.
[00:00:39] Speaker B: You got it, bro.
[00:00:40] Speaker A: I'm here, man.
[00:00:41] Speaker B: Sorry. Avery, thank you for being here, bro. And also, congratulations, bro. Just on a legendary, like, career. Like, you wanted him, you wanted them people who. I think you were like, the first.
[00:00:56] Speaker B: I don't want to speak for the person I'm speaking that I'm referencing, but you're like one of the first clowns that somebody wasn't afraid of because I. One of the. One of my friends has a. Has a clown phobia.
[00:01:08] Speaker A: Oh, wow.
[00:01:09] Speaker B: And this person was like, I. With Tommy. And I'm like, that's what's up.
[00:01:14] Speaker B: Man.
[00:01:14] Speaker A: It's crazy, you know, and I'm glad, I'm glad if it is what it is, because it has been scared, scary situations for people. And to hear grown folks having that phobia stuff, it trips me out. But I've been wanting to try to, you know, when it comes to people and kids and grown folks really having it, I try to ease my way to make like it's okay.
[00:01:34] Speaker B: Yeah.
Hey, bro, so I want to go. I know we got to talk about Battle Zone and Battle Zone, you know, coming back and you got a big event, but we gonna get to that. We gotta go back.
[00:01:45] Speaker A: Let's go, man.
[00:01:46] Speaker B: Because when did you first fall in love with.
Let's start with music before we get to the dance part. When did you first, like, become like, music is something that I love to this degree that you wanted to turn.
[00:01:59] Speaker A: It into something young age, born in Detroit, Michigan. And I think watching, I wanna say Michael Jackson operate and the music back then, it's like mimicking moves and mimicking. You know, back in the days of Detroit, we had nothing to do talent shows and little stuff like that. So I just, I just, you know, it's just something that I just started getting into. You know, I listened to the music. You know, everybody bob their head with some good, nice music. You know, back in the days, the ll Cool js, all the just. Just stuff way back, man, I can't think of everything, but it's like music is something that's always been something that make people just vibe.
[00:02:41] Speaker B: Yeah. Do you now, as far as the dance part of it? When did that kick in?
[00:02:46] Speaker A: Well, I have. I ain't. Okay. I have to say, I want to say that I ain't never been this professional choreographed dancer, you know, my thing has been this one, man, that started something and I used dance. I used. Even when I first started, a kid was like, clown, you know, how to butterfly, you know, he showed me and then I took it and just went crazy with it, you know, being a youngster and just flipping off cars, using my acrobatic. My little skills I had, you know, and. And it just. I went from there freestyle, you know, just was showing up with this character, dude, you know, people thought I was crazy and, and. And, you know, bobbing my head with a green 5.0 Mustang, you know.
[00:03:29] Speaker B: Green 5.0 Mustang.
[00:03:31] Speaker A: 5.0 Mustang. I just like. It's like I like. I had a. Cars back in the day, you know, when you get into that wildlife, that drug gang, you know, that stuff where you're selling drugs, you want a high sign on Crenshaw. So, you know, I had these nice cars in there. I just said, man, let me put that clown image in that nice car.
[00:03:49] Speaker B: When did you first come to la?
[00:03:51] Speaker A: Oo, I can't. Oh, man, I was about the age of. I can't remember, in the year I had to do all type of math.
[00:03:58] Speaker B: Right, right.
[00:03:58] Speaker A: But at the age of say.
[00:04:02] Speaker A: 11, 12, a good 10, you know, mama, we was in a poor neighborhood and you know, mama, you know, grandma, that's all we had. Daddy wasn't around. And it's like Mama said she. I guess she met somebody in la.
And then we eventually, you know, flew out there, me and my sister, My brother flew out there on the plane, first time on the plane, came to LA and moved right in the neighborhood of a. Of an infested drug situation. And that's where it all began.
[00:04:34] Speaker B: So how were you able to maneuver through the streets, like, especially during that time, and stay out the way? Or did you get in the way and then got out the way?
[00:04:41] Speaker A: I definitely. I got in the way. Yeah.
[00:04:45] Speaker A: I got all the way in the way.
[00:04:47] Speaker B: You got in the way.
[00:04:48] Speaker A: My cousin used to come to me and buy me burgers, give me money, and I was like, man, I ain't used to that in Detroit, Michigan. So it became. I Intriguing. And I was like, man, what's happening? My mama from the beginning said, you don't want to go out there. And I went out, finally came outside and watching the guys move. And when you hang around that surrounding, you become it. And, man, did I become it. I became one of the top notches there. Hustling, ain't used to nothing. And, man, and just running up to the cars and just going crazy. So it was like, what was the.
[00:05:20] Speaker B: Turning point for you to get out of that time?
[00:05:23] Speaker A: Getting in trouble, getting caught.
Didn't go to school, supposed to. Been going to Dorsey Jefferson. Didn't. Didn't hang in there and got caught with Judge Dorn. He said, judge Dorn.
[00:05:37] Speaker B: That's how you know it's real. When you remember.
When you remember the judge and you see him like, yeah, I know what that is.
[00:05:43] Speaker A: Inglewood, Judge. Inglewood, Judge Dorn to this day. He sent me to nine month minimum Camp Gonzalez. And I did my time there, got out, you know, and, you know, still was messing up. You know, you're hanging around, you still trying to hustle. You don't learn on the first round, you know. So thank God they allowed me to go to, you know, Ventura, do some. Do some time and get lost in LA county.
[00:06:11] Speaker A: And that was my turn. But when I did about four or five years in the system, locked up just in the system, I finally got out and I said, man, I gotta make a change. And, you know, I started going to work. You know, I was always a good typist, clerk back in, I think, middle school. And so I started working for the LA county.
And then they fired me because they found out I was locked up. And then. But it was wrong for termination. Then I went to Transamerica, and that's where, you know, Tommy Clown was born. His girl was there, and I went on from there.
[00:06:43] Speaker B: So. So Tommy the Clown was born. At that moment, were you yourself dancing or. Cause I don't remember. And again, I'm not.
I'm gonna keep it real with you. I never went to a battle zone when I was growing up, and I always heard about it because I was scared.
[00:07:00] Speaker A: Ooh, wow.
[00:07:02] Speaker B: I was scared. Well, okay, two things. That's not true.
First part. Okay, it is partly true.
[00:07:07] Speaker A: Scared of clowns, did you.
[00:07:08] Speaker B: No, no, no, not scared of clowns. I was scared because I was scary growing up.
I wasn't outside like that until I got older and I had to go to Compton to spend summers in Compton with my cousin Ian.
So we was in. I was in the south side of Compton, spending the summers with Ian. And that's where I kind of got rid of being scary to go outside and hang out and stuff like that. But growing up, I never went to Battle Zone. We couldn't afford it. Like, it was. You know, it was just whatever it was. Even though it was like 20 bucks, 15 bucks, I still couldn't afford it. And we had to get a ride over there. Wow. And even though y' all did a lot of things to make it accessible for the youth like y' all did, y' all did giveaways, y' all did shuttles, like, it was a lot that y' all did to make it accessible for us. I just couldn't get over there.
[00:07:51] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:07:51] Speaker B: So always when people would come back to school talking about it, I'd be hot, like.
You know what I'm saying? Like, I wanna go, but I just. I never could get over there. So I guess when you started this thing that became, like, all of our youth, did you already know what it was going to be when you first came up with it or who came up with the idea of it?
[00:08:16] Speaker A: Your boy right here.
[00:08:18] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:08:18] Speaker A: Just. Actually, these girls at my church was doing fun clown things.
And they tell me, like, yes, Tommy, we go to a party, we blow the horn, Honker, honke, honker.
And pass out balloons and stuff. And it was at my church, you know, and I was like, oh, really? And they say, tommy, you'll be a good clown. And my guys, when I was in the gang, you know, in the drug area, they say, you know, act funny. I always crack jokes and stuff. So I tried and I said, I'm gonna bring my Mustang, and I'm gonna put. And I'm gonna get inside the Mustang. I'm just gonna bring my skills and music.
Y' all used to honka, honka horns, but.
And I put music. I put the bumping sounds. You know, I had a car with loud music, the green 5.0 Mustang. And that's. You know, I did that first party and I controlled the whole environment. The parents, the kids. I put up with loud music on the block. Everybody came out the house, and I was by myself. I was just flipping acting crazy. And there it was right there.
[00:09:16] Speaker B: Okay, so that's one part of it. The second part of it would be street dancing. You got crumping, you got clowning, you got turfing. Like, you got all these different.
I guess I would be remiss if I didn't ask this question. And you can answer it however you want to. Who Started crumping.
[00:09:34] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:09:35] Speaker B: Because there's this whole, like, I don't want to get into it, but there's this whole, like, think piece about it. Gotcha. Okay. I want to know from your perspective, okay?
[00:09:44] Speaker A: So I'm going to put it like this. Who started crumpling? Crumping came from me creating clown dancing.
Me creating this whole vibe, this whole wavelength, this whole situation of creativity of this one man band creating, putting music.
[00:10:04] Speaker A: With colorful clown outfit, with cars, with loud music, and captivating people on the street, literally, by pulling up, jumping out, dancing freestyle. Now, as I built, now I'm doing this around for about a year straight. I used to go to work, get off at work, 3:45 and travel the neighborhood and just pull up on people, jump out dancing. And it became a high to me, you know, this was something, man, this is a high. So now the energy was cold and I started building people. I got this clown, that clown, this clown. And now we called it clowning. I created battle zone. I created Academy. I created this whole atmosphere to just bring people into one place and let the energy transform into whatever it transformed to. So we saw it was clowning, clowning, dancing, you know, people shaking tails and popping cakes, you know, and all type of stuff. And then as we continue to move on, as we get older, we start getting intense with it. Battles don't make you like, man, I destroy you on the dance floor. You ain't nothing to me. And I'll do all type of moves, all type of things. And then we, you know, we had one place in academy going crazy before David LaChapelle came in and saw everything. It's like we started saying, man, ooh, he getting crump. You know, I heard me not. Don't know all the.
The terminology of the world. Like, I heard crunk was already out with south. Yeah, you know, crunk. So we just said, man, he get crump. It's like. And then. And then. So that it evolved. It's not like no one sit there and say, hey, I'm finna come up with crump and da da, da, and you gotta do this. No.
[00:11:44] Speaker A: It took an atmosphere to be built, to be born. It evolved clown dancing, which we call the clown dancing, because that's what we doing. If it's stripper dance, if it's this dance, if it's whatever, we. All I did was say, feel the music. Let yourself go freestyle. Freestyle. It's all freestyle. People, they do. And then we take up all styles and put it together and bring it to the Battle Zone and use different type of music. And so now we in one place and we say, man, ooh, he getting crump. So I got all these guys and then now we all together and we got this. But now when people. When I had to, we took splits and people left and I had to fire people and stuff. It's like now everybody want to think, you know, because they've been top notch. They've been one time and they've been doing they thing. So now they want to try to coin. Like, I created Crump.
[00:12:29] Speaker B: Right, right, right, right. So understood. Okay, so. And so that gives me good perspective. So it started with the clown dance, and then Crump evolved from that. Okay, and then when did you start to, like, create? I don't want to say like, create like a business out of it, but that's what it became. It became a real business where it's like the thing in LA was to have Tommy come to your birthday party.
[00:12:54] Speaker A: Amazing, man. That's crazy. That's a blessing.
[00:12:58] Speaker B: And outside of the Battle Zone, outside.
[00:13:00] Speaker A: What's funny is I never knew. I always just. I told the kids that roll with me, you know, they listened to me. And then people say, you know, parents say, man, my kid, it's like I was controlling, you know, so me being a positive person, like, so they was. It was. It was tripping me out on how they listen to me. We go to parties and they gotta show up. Y' all gotta do good in school.
You gotta obey your parents. Don't be. If your parents come to me, we gotta talk about it. We gotta. So it became. It's like, I ain't never had no business. Went to school, college, and got this business mind. I was excited, man, what's happening? We kids, we clowning, we dancing, we flipping, you know, and there it is.
They started booking me for parties. I remember I was going by myself. I had a little girl at first, charging 67 doll.
And then I started building and, you know, and just throughout life, it's just like, man, let me. And it's funny because going through the ups and downs, people look at the outside, you know, you gotta get inside the book and read what really went on. Because the struggle was real. And it continued to, you know, to have its ups and downs. And then it's like. But I hung in there. I was like, you know, kept praying, kept staying strong. And it's like I kept adding, now, man, book, Tommy Clown. Now I got a building now. I got. I had academy.
In a losing academy, it's just like, and I. And it's a hustle. I've been a hustler. I used to sell drugs back in the days. Hustling. I was a hustler, man. And I take my money. Mama said, you got to stop doing that. I said, mom, I'm paying your rent. Like, you know, so it's like. So it was like, it was crazy. So now. Now I'm building a business. I'm learning as I go. Okay, we got to.
I could put jumpers and party. I could. I could, you know, and there it is there, man.
[00:14:48] Speaker B: So after that, how long.
How long after.
I guess the business is booming. Battle zones is going crazy. Did you get approached to do Rise.
[00:15:01] Speaker A: Got Academy and, you know, so now clowns is. The movement is just doing what it do. Clowns is in it. And then people from artists, Christina Aguilera, artists, Missy Elliott artists was just calling for these. These clowns. This. This energy. This. What's happening. I need that. So Christine Aguilera, some of my guys went. Went over there and. And David saw and found and asked questions where all this. Where is that? Where this energy at? Him and Macy Gray came to the Academy and saw the energy Battle night. We mixing music, you know, got the music. We speed it up a little bit. Scratching it up in. And so he saw that energy. We battling. I'm going to whistle. We going at it. They jumping off bars. And he said, man, I gotta document this, man. And that's when he came. He said, we met and then, boom, he came. And that's when he came. And I introduced him to everybody. Even though we had a split, I still introduced him to some of my top notches, you know?
And so.
And that's when he said he was gonna name it Clowns in the Hood at first. And then he said, or a crump. And then that's when he came up with Rise, you know, so that's how it happened.
[00:16:13] Speaker B: Wow. I never knew that story.
Okay. And then you did mention Missy, and I wanted to. Some of the music videos that you and your dancers have been featured in is, like, legendary as well.
[00:16:26] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:16:27] Speaker B: Like Missy. I still think to this day, Missy Elliott don't get the credit she deserves for being. Cause everybody goes Lil Kim, everybody. But everybody miss.
They don't think about Missy. But Missy was a pioneer. Amazing when it came to, like, incorporating dance and theatrics into her videos. But other videos that y' all were in, did you always, like. Did you see that for yourself?
[00:16:51] Speaker A: Never seen that. And I always tell the crew the Sky's the limit, you know, there's no limit. And we got to be, you know, we got to be positive. You know, I make sure y' all can't be active gang members, man.
[00:17:03] Speaker B: Fact, we can't.
[00:17:04] Speaker A: Cause we gotta be able to go to anywhere, everywhere at all times. So that's what I wanted for my brand and for the artists to call us, you know, and, you know.
[00:17:15] Speaker A: And for these. For them to feature our stuff in the music video was. It became amazing, it became exciting. And I think it even just made, you know, kids want to be a part of this, want to do this. Cause, man, how can I get into video? How could, you know?
And it is. It's amazing. It was off the chain.
[00:17:33] Speaker B: Do you think that artists starting to not mimic, but incorporate our style.
[00:17:39] Speaker B: Into their stuff? Like, our culture helps us, or you think it takes away? Because people look at somebody like Chris Brown, for instance, who really had a lot of our influence when it came to the way he started to dance in his videos and the way he moved on stage, people started to give him credit for certain styles and moves and stuff like that. And I remember that being a topic back in the day. Do you think that that's beneficial or it works against us or both?
[00:18:05] Speaker A: I think.
[00:18:07] Speaker A: It'S beneficial.
Reason I say, you know, I don't look. Cause first of all, dancing, it's all over the place. Music is all over the place. And you got to take greatness and uniqueness and put it on a platform that you want to be great and unique. So I think I look at it, like, for the exposure, because we're people that's actually in the neighborhood that's going from door to door, party to party, for many, many years. And for now, for artists to even see this and want this.
[00:18:47] Speaker A: In their mixture of their own show because they can get the regular choreographed dancers that still exists, but to just get this freestyle, and I think it's just. It just stirred a crump. It became like a. And a clown atmosphere, became like an energy that you could put in your unique world and be the best at it that you can be. You know, if people want to take it and say they started this and did this, ah, I don't got time. And this is just me talking. I don't have, you know, people. A lot of people want to be. Want to try to be the king of something and want to be, you know, like, they did this, all that. I don't me, I'm a humble person.
They can have that. Like, okay, first of all they artists, they artists, they got music. And we using their music to get off. You know, we do the mixture of music. So that's what got us. It's just that we just unique to music. So now they want to take the dance and do, you know, so I don't get caught up in that.
[00:19:42] Speaker B: Okay, for sure.
Let's fast forward to the pop out.
[00:19:48] Speaker B: Because I'll give you my perspective. But I want to know, when did you get the call? How did it go? And then what was your. Where were you at mentally? Like real framing. Did you know what the Popeye was gonna end up being culturally or like. I wanna know. Walk me through that.
[00:20:03] Speaker A: Wow.
DJ Hill, I gotta say, man.
[00:20:09] Speaker A: As I continue to get older, you know, and having a team of older clowns and youngsters around, you know, it's like I'm not savvy of.
[00:20:22] Speaker A: You know, I think I don't put my energy into the atmosphere of what's going on when it comes to like battles and beef and stuff like that. But just, you know, that not like us, you know, we was listening to the song, man, that's a nice song that I'm hearing, you know, the beef and situation, man. Really what's going, you know, and I'm not, you know, be being, you know, in church all the time. So I don't really get into all the songs music.
It takes my crew to keep me up on standards. So to get a call like that and for, you know, and it was for the video. The call was for the video and for Kendra to come in and come to my academy and practice and train. And I met him, you know, and he said how I used to come to his school and you know, people, it's like it tripped me out. And, you know, I don't.
I know songs, you know, be humble, sit down. And I didn't know person, like, ooh, okay, ooh. You know, Kendrick, you know, and then my staff taught me, that's him, that's Dave Free. You know, I'm like, wow. So we talking. He telling me how I used to be at his party and they used to run to the gate and stuff. I'm like, man, this is crazy.
And so he want us to video. We came and we did the video and.
[00:21:45] Speaker A: And you know, Sean called us, let us know who Kendrick want us.
And it was like, man, we got it, man. We there, man. What's happening? And so we did it. And then I got a phone call from, you know, and for the pop out situation. And I'm like, you know, like, is that at the form we doing our own piece? Like so it all chilled me out. I told my crew, I said, man, we finna do.
We gotta come with it, man. We, you know, we gotta. Man, I don't know what's happening. But man, and it was amazing and seeing you and how you introduce us like you. I said, man, I'm like. And I'm like, man, it all blew me away.
[00:22:25] Speaker B: That's what's up, bro. I appreciate that.
[00:22:27] Speaker A: I ain't gonna even lie.
[00:22:28] Speaker B: And I just wanted. Because when a not like us video drop, we see you before we see him.
I just want to point that out, you know what I'm saying?
[00:22:38] Speaker A: So wow.
[00:22:39] Speaker B: Like you a part of history in a different way, you know what I mean? On multiple levels. Not only just the Popeye. When they told me that you were going to be a part of my set, I was like, hell yeah, I'm honored. Let's.
[00:22:48] Speaker A: Oh my goodness.
[00:22:49] Speaker B: You know what I'm saying? Let's do that. And then seeing that video, because I didn't know. Nobody knew. Everything was on the hush. You know what I'm saying? I didn't know you was in the video or nothing. Nobody said nothing. Everybody was backstage, like, I don't know what's going. Everybody didn't know what was going on. But.
But yeah, speaking of which, man, I do wanna talk about Tommy the Clown presents West Coast Showdown. Battlezone is back.
[00:23:15] Speaker B: December 13th, Saturday, December 13th.
[00:23:18] Speaker A: Yes, yes.
[00:23:18] Speaker B: Talk about it, man.
[00:23:19] Speaker A: It's gonna be our west coast showdown. It's about to go down. We bring in three different areas. It's about to throw down Vegas, Palmdale and la. And you know, it's funny, we got now it trips me out. Cause clowns is. They all. Man, it' over the world. People is. It's like it's still. People are still trying to have their kids to be a part. And that's what I did from the beginning, man. Y' all come with y' all crew. So we got out of Vegas. We got. Now that's clown that's representing Vegas. And Palmdale is Helen's squad. And then. And then we gonna rep to la. My squad, T squad. So we just got going down at Centennial High School. It's gonna be just about us three way situation. It's a west coast throwdown. We having judges.
[00:24:06] Speaker A: And we just gonna come bring the energy like we always do. We didn't do it. I think it's been about a year or so. And we just want to keep These kids into something. You know, you always say you want teenagers and kids to change, you gotta give them something to do. So, by me, continue to put on these little platforms, these little zones, these little. It gives them something to do.
[00:24:27] Speaker B: Yeah, that's what's up.
Can we get some tickets to give away?
[00:24:31] Speaker A: Yes, I would, man. I would love to give some tickets for y' all to give away, man. And, and, and, man, can I get like.
[00:24:37] Speaker B: Can I get like, me like 10 tick, like five sets? Can I get like five, man?
[00:24:40] Speaker A: Let's do it, man. You, you. Let's do it.
[00:24:42] Speaker B: Yeah, we're gonna. We're gonna give it away on our YouTube page. We're gonna come up with a creative way for people to win these tickets. If you want. If you are in the LA area or in Southern California, or you're gonna be in the southern California area December 13th. That's a Saturday.
Centennial High School in the city of Compton. If you want to go to Battle Zone, the West coast showdown, we're gonna have information for that on the next episode.
And I'm gonna come up with a dope, creative way to get these tickets away so you can go see Tommy and T Squad tear things down on the west coast showdown, man. And you know what, bro? Like, for real, though, like, thank you, bro, for your contributions.
I remember seeing you cry and rise and I was like, oh, he. This is mean a lot to him. Like, you know, and I being. I'm on the chairman of the board for the Boys and Girls Club, for the Media Advisory Council for the entire metro LA district. And I know what it means when somebody trusts you with their kids.
[00:25:35] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:25:35] Speaker B: And I take that very serious. You know what I mean? Like, when somebody leave they kids with you, that's like the highest honor that I could think of. And you've been doing this shit for decades, so, you know, thank you. You are so welcome, you know, for not being a weirdo and a creep.
[00:25:49] Speaker A: Come on, come on.
[00:25:50] Speaker B: Thank you. You, bro. Not that you need to be thanked for that, but it's scary, it's spooky.
[00:25:54] Speaker A: It is.
They exist.
[00:25:56] Speaker B: Yeah. But thank you, bro. Tommy the Clown is here, man. The west coast showdown, we're going to give away some tickets shortly. It's effective immediately.
