R&B MoneyR&B Money

Chris Brown

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Published Apr 24, 2024, 10:00 AM

On the monumental 100th episode of The R&B Money Podcast, Tank and J Valentine are joined by a true luminary and visionary in the world of entertainment - the legendary singer, songwriter, performer, actor, businessman, and director Chris Brown. As a special guest and beloved member of the R&B Money family, Chris brings his unparalleled talent, creativity, and insights to this landmark celebration.

In this triumphant and heartfelt conversation, Chris opens up about his incredible journey, sharing stories from his early days as a young prodigy to becoming one of the most influential artists of his generation. Tank and J Valentine dive deep into Chris's artistry, exploring the passion, dedication, and innovation that have made him a global icon.

From his chart-topping hits to his electrifying performances, Chris Brown has consistently pushed the boundaries of R&B and pop music. In this episode, he reflects on the challenges he's faced, the lessons he's learned, and the unwavering support of his fans, who have been with him every step of the way.

So Right Now, Join Tank, J Valentine, and the inimitable Chris Brown for an unforgettable 100th episode of The R&B Money Podcast. Get ready to be inspired, entertained, and moved by the story of a true icon who continues to shape the future of music with his boundless talent and unwavering dedication to his art.

 

Extended Episodes on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/RnBMoneyPodcast

Follow The Podcast:

Tank: @therealtank  

J Valentine: @JValentine

Podcast: @RnbMoneyPodcast

 

R and B money.

We are.

Thanks, take out the child. We are the authority on.

R and D.

Ladies and gentlemen. My name is Tank and this tell him what it is. Ship.

Yeah, hold on, hold on, yeah, motherfuckers, Oh, motherfucking yeah.

I'm not gonna do long intro. Do you know why? Why? Because the people have been asking, not asking for two interview, demanding interviews, two interviews. One was Jesus and the other one christ Yeah. Yeah, yeah, ship ship, I'm gonna round right now, y'all can't funk with us? Go ahead. I remember, I remember I remember walking into the studio on your second album and you're saying, big brot, I want you to get on. I'm like, okay, cool, you know, come up there. You know, probably gonna help you, right, help you, help you really put the ship together. You know what I'm saying, because that's what I do, help you put your ship together. You know what I'm saying. I'm on a high level. You know, I'm a high level producer, writing and singer. You know you probably need me. I'm on the way and I get in there and you play this song called take My Time, and you said, yeah, big brother, got I got I kind of modeled it off after Sexual Pain and it's already good. You just you just sing your verse, right, this is your verse. And I was like, so he doesn't need it, and bro, it was like the craziest I'd never seen a learning curve that small to where first album it was like people were giving you things, yeah, to learn that was like school. And by your second album you had already figured it out and it was scary to see. I was like, where's he gonna be on his third album? Where's he gonna be? And now too many years later, now it's just records being broken. Now you're just breaking your own records, trying to set againness world records and it's not even it's not even close, you know what I'm saying. We like to start to begin. I just had to start there because I just I just when I felt like I wasn't needed anymore musically, I just kind of myself.

But I called him I was like being broken on the record. So it was like I didn't feel the record at that time. It would be like me stealing a record from you. Like what I'm saying that I didn't involve you in the record because I'm like I was inspired by your song to do the song. So I was like, let me now get on the record with me, bro Like, and I can talk. I can talk a little bit more adult now on the song because I'm older, you know.

Before I had to learn and be like, oh, I can't say that, I can't say this.

And then by the time, like even working with you from Kerry Hillson A Donnis, you know, like working with all these different writers, Dre and Medal all them, like back in the day, I was fifteen fourteen doing that album for my first album.

Man, that's that was like learning.

So like I said, I was in school, like, Okay, this is how you do it. This is how you make a song. There's a verse a pre course and I didn't know none of that.

So you learned that over a summer, bro. Man, that's what it felt like. That's what it felt like. I felt like that, and it took me to the place of being where I was the teacher. It took me to a place of being reverting back to a student. Damn. Like watching him work like that, I was like, okay, he different. No, we literally and I.

Don't know if we've ever told you this, but We've literally worked with you, got in a car and then implement it some of the ship you do.

Bro, You may look at us like the big brother.

No, Nigga, we've literally worked with you and been like, nigga, did you watch out?

He and then he did his vocal this way. Oh yeah, like no, we're paying attention.

Yeah, that's sporadic. How how we record? Like I learned remember how everybody used to have to record like we have to punch.

No, it was really no punching.

You had to sing that whole work, right, So once technology got faster, I was like, we can still do the same amount of effort as far as you remember. How how how do my stack? So how's it's it's faster to me because it's like in section and I can just put them all together and then it looks like a painting.

So that's what I was kind of learning.

So if y'all, if y'all implemented certain ship, I'm like, damn, y'all was looking at what I was doing.

I'm stealing. I used to word, it's a great word. You know what I'm saying, Thank you stealing. I'm at the house like Jesus Christ. How we get that. How do we get that? I ain't gonna do the dance move to go over and slow it down a little bit. I ain't make it do that.

He's here now, Chris is here, So Chris Brown, that's Nigga Brown. Just so you know, that's Nigga Brown over there. And he always mentions you when he mentions his dance move for some.

Odd reason, because you have to understand, I'm the older version of Chris Brown. Since this genuine won't do the dances. You know what I'm saying, I tell the nigga. The nigga first of all, come on, do to the fucking pony dance. He won't do the fucking pony dance. So it ubsess me. So now I got to pick up the mantle. I gotta go back to my freaky days. You know what I'm saying. Video I'm doing summersaults. You know what I'm saying. I'm blowing up fucking buildings. You know what I'm saying, Like, I got to go back to those days just to show people I'm really that. Yeah, So what are you telling you is he was yusie for you? No, I'm not saying that. What I'm saying is don't don't think I ain't got feet. Y'all got I got feet. They don't all work the same. No, Brown, the two left feet, it's the left them. Let's talk to the beginning then of when when did somebody identify that you had something special?

Or when did you I mean, as you know, like I think I was like probably about nine when I was like, Okay, I actually can sing. I was in the choir and I was like oo, they gave me the leads and I was like, I'm seeing people like yeah baby when I sing church Yeah, And I'm like, yeah, oh, I really sound good to these people because you know, your family members always hate man, shut up, you don't sound like So I really took a series like nine to ten, and then my mom was we were in Tapper handing, and I was like, look I met these people. We just got to drive like an hour and a half away, Like you met the people, Yeah, I met him. I met the people through through through like one guy. I met him through like three different people. So I maintained a close relationship with a guy that was around my age and we and we always did music, but he would he would always dance, so he'll take me to like the radio shows, like, look, let's go up to the radio station while they doing like they knew artist stuff. Let's let's see if we can slide in there and we just play our stuff and we just dance.

So I hung with him, and then he got.

Noticed by like Troy Taylor's people and a group of different different uh like guys that they knew around the Virginia area. So from there we started working and then I met the people I met in New York and so now that was like all in like a three to four year process. But it was like as soon as I said, Mom, want to do this, it was like basketball practice. Okay, drive, I don't know what You're in the studio till six in the morning, Drive back nine.

To eight and what age? And shit ten eleven? Oh man, yeah, ten yeah, Mama. Mama.

Mama was son the vision and she and she made sure I still went took my ass to school. But at the same time, she was like, all right, if you want to do this, you're gonna have to have the same discipline and you can't be slacking off on certain shit.

So I got too.

Much energy as it is, so I was like shit, I'm not feeling I'm finna do this.

Sorry. People writing songs for y'all, like producing songs. Yeah, a group, like what's going on? Uh?

Well, I was never I was never in a group. The only group I was in was with my boy TJ. Shout out to TJ.

Free him.

Uh but for him, yeah, yeah, yeah he yeah, he'd be out in the buy the some time. But back in the day, he was the rapper, you know what I'm saying. And I would get on the songs with him and just be on the courses like you know, do hooks and stuff, and we would write little stuff and it really won't like good at the time when we was young, but it was for our age.

It was like exceptional, Like okay.

Y'all got your potention. Remember he was man my fans, my my rap name.

So he was TJ nice and see sizzle, so you was you was a sizzle man. It was I was playing basketball, so sizzle was a word you can say.

Back then, I wouldn't be Hurricane and these.

He niggas would have never made it the hell out. We wouldn't have made it get him out of here.

I would have been the punk ass executive, y'all come sing like, man, if you don't get sizzled and hurricane.

The funk out of here. Man again, bro, look at R and B. Look what R and B is down for y'all too? Man, what was the next level up? When it was like when was it like, Okay, this ship is getting serious or we found a record or we found a moment where so when I started, pros are starting now.

So I had my first I think it got serious to me when I booked my and this had nothing to do with music at the time, but because we showcased our musical talent, we booked the job. It was for a g unit campaign, right, and so like I was like, you know what, fifty.

C Hes gonna be able to see this. He gonna be at the folk at the shoot.

We can give my demo, we can sing, you know, the typical like y'all want to get signs ship. So we actually did that audition. They was like, man, you kids are phenomenal, and they booked us. Boom, we got there. We were backstage with all of them, like, but I never really hung with Fifty at that time. He just was always respectful, like what's up y'all boom. But we was around Lloyd Banks a couple of different guys. But we were bad little kids, like you know what I'm saying. We already had weed and ship like, so we was like we're trying to smoke our weed on the side.

They're like, man, what y'all doing? And so like nah, we wrapped and we see.

So we started performing with them and then they was like, you know what, man, y'all niggas is dope.

And then I remember.

One niggas like man, but we don't know how to fuck markt No, damn kids, we some gangsters. So I was like, so I was like, damn, Like I understood it. But it was just like, Okay, this ship is about to be real for us because other artists actually looking and that not saying the typical art that's cool, you know what I'm saying.

So like real real artists and people.

Was looking up.

There was the hottest group at the time, you know what I'm saying.

So like for us, that was like seeing seeing gods, like okay, cool, we get to see all our all our idols in one and they like our stuff. And then from there our demo tapes started going out like we had a but I was only how I I discovered I had a solo song that I did.

It's called Who's Girl Is that? You can go look at her YouTube.

I was like, I think I was twelve or thirteen when I shot it, So this was yeah, so so, but it was like back then, you know, that was that. It was like the bootleg videos, you know how man, it's got to be two thousand and what three two?

Might it might have been on DVD? I thought I thought it might have been on VHS.

No, no, no, we had we had it on the debut.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

If it was VHS, I would be like, oh you heard that the popping up for.

The video stuff. Yeah.

But when we did we did the video like it wasn't It wasn't really expensive, but you know, because it was independent, we was like, okay, cool, we're gonna we're gonna shoot it like this and the demo tape. Actually the video didn't even go out because we didn't have no platform to put it on.

We would just ship ship it or shop it with our demos.

So the demo I was number seven out of a song of maybe like twenty eight, but with seven different or seven or eight different artists.

It was like a damn mixtape mixed up.

Yeah.

So but basically they were shopping it out to other labels to see and I remember Tina Davis to this day shout out to Teena Davis. She she listened to the songs like who's this kid? And then I want to meet this kid? And that's when I went to death Jam and she had to meeting with us, and then from there they wanted to sign us, and then you know, a merger happened. She left and I was like, hold on, but Tina, you listened to me first, so could you you want to manage me? I don't got no manage You're like, She's like cool, but you want to stay here?

Or I can get you some other deals? I said you, So does the company get the deal and you're part of that deal.

So what it was was the company did a deal with me when I ended up signing with with job at the time, the company, we we just paid them out for the work that they already did, and then we gave them points on the album and they would away. Yeah, so they always get credited, so that that that classic album. They're always going to eat from it, you know what I'm saying. So the way I looked at it was it was cool because they didn't hold me into a nah, you gotta.

Be like this, we get we taking your publishing, they need all this.

They didn't. They didn't strong arm at all because and they believed in the dream. You get what I'm saying to this day.

TJ's father was the guy who who really put it together. So me and TJ are brothers, even with his kids with everything. So it's like, how how I looked at it was like.

Damn, they gave me a shot and they let me. They let me do what I needed to do.

Because there have been labels that have held artists and you never get a chance to see if an artist is going to become a star because they're just trying to do what they consider to be business instead of actually caring about the artists.

Yeah. Yeah.

And then Mark Pitts how they did it with us. With Mark Pitts, uh, the actual production company I was working with. They they brought me right to Mark Pits with Tina. So when we went to a job, they was like, you know what, we don't want to let y'all leave the building, like and I built a bigger rapport with Mark out of any other A and R that I would meet, Like, you know, Kevin Lowles was cool as hell, but like Mark Pitts was like more young. He was energetic, like he was like, hey man, let's and you know job had everybody too. They had Britney Spears, Aaron Carter at the time, recipes, uh r, Kelly, they had everybody.

You know what I'm saying.

So I'm looking like who who's going to be the best for the genre that I'm doing.

Who's going to be the best R and B genre? You're already thinking about that fourteen?

Yeah, because I needed.

I needed.

I always always wanted to execute a plan and know that it comes with a lot of shit, Like you know what I'm saying, Like I'm not okay, I'm not gonna just do this right now to get some girls and then go back home. Anything I could do to not go back home, like you know what I'm saying, to elevate my life, I think I planned. I'm very imaginative, so my.

My, what is it called?

My manifestations were already like years in advance.

Like I want to do this, so you know, so you said, Tina Davis shout out to Tena Davis shout out to the area. Yeah, yeah, what's your when you get with Tina Davis? What is what is? First of all, you spoke on it just like a little bit in terms of you saying like something was something about her made sense for you, in terms of saying, you know, I want to roll with you. Yeah, what was that thing that you just connected with that just made you like because that's a different type of because you already in a building. Yeah, I feel like, well she did.

She really kind of like showed me the first the first ten minutes of me being in the office because we came in there, Me and TJ came in there red rags on beads like.

I had to get it.

We came we came on some gangs, trying to look tough. She's like, take that ship off, take all that off.

Boom boom.

And when we when I started performing, she would be like, stop do this when you perform, act like that.

This person the only person.

So she gave me direction that i've that I've never experienced, and I was like, this is the sharpening that I need in order.

To be big. You gee what I'm saying.

So once once she did that, I was like, damn, she believed in me and gave me a chance with somebody could have they could have just let me go out how I thought it was gonna be.

And then it was like, we don't want this.

You know what I'm saying.

We don't want this kid.

She shaped it.

So I was like, you know what, I don't want to I don't want to traverse through this whole kind of thing and not know where the fuck.

I'm going that right there.

I want to see if she wants to manage me or be a part of it, because she she kind of like open the spark up in my in my creative brain or seeing what I really needed to be.

And I think I'm the reason I was asking you that is because as as like just as new artists emerged, I think, you know, we see we see new artists with this we definitely a great level of confidence. But I want artists to make sure they' putting themselves in a position with people that challenge them. Yeah, challenge them to be better.

What is it called what we conditioning? Not conditioning like when we were younger, you have to go through artists, developments development.

That's what it was.

So so as far as what we have to do is like you got to go through media training.

You gotta go.

You got to know how to answer a question, like you got to know how to think about lost art.

You got to lead the interview. Yeah, like there they have a goal. But I have a fucking call, right, fact, I got ship that I'm selling. Yeah exactly, Okay, what question you asked me? We don't get back to this fucking I promise you. That takes preparation, though. That takes preparation. And I remember my first time meeting you in New York.

I think he was like fourteen, maybe about to be fifteen, at Ethiopia's office when she was in publishing at the time at the Universal Music Publishing Company. And I was there on the writing trip and I never forget he walked in there. She said, it's a kid you got to meet. She's like, you have to meet him. She's like, he only in here for minute, but you got to meet him. And she brought you to that room, and I literally, like you said, within five ten minutes, I was like, oh, he about to be the biggest on the road.

He was in the writing room. I was in the little writing room. I was in the little writing room.

I was like, Yo, whoever the fuck that is that nigga?

Everybody in trouble. She's like, you know how that is because she was signing you from a publishing seat.

She was working with you on that, so you know, of course it's it's kind of one of those and you know the stage where everybody everywhere you're going before you crack off, your auditioning everywhere pretty much just in your personality whatever it is.

So when I tell her, she's like, yeah, I think you start. I'm like, yo, he got it.

It's like he has it, And I hadn't seen anything like that because to me, you were already even at fourteen fifteen, in my opinion, you were already in the space of, oh, he's going to be able to transition into an adult artist too, even though you hadn't put out none of your kid record. I saw it with you and just from your personality back, you know, but what they used to call call it managed nigga, he was managed.

Yeah.

I was looking at everything.

With a skirt.

Who that what's the name? I'm like, that's the country. It starts early in the country. Yeah, you grow fast and fastest, so.

You're making when you get with you now you start making rounds. Yeah right, because you you made you made heavy rounds very early that most most new artists don't get to make. You know what I'm saying. And you made a stop at the underdogs. Oh yeah, facts, oh yeah, And I'm looking at this little nigga, I'm like, okay, I was.

I was nervous to though, I ain't a lot going in there with y'all because you gotta think I'm still learning singing, like it's still I had a natural talent, but like to be in there and and here y'all running scales all that.

I'm in there sweating.

But I'm not going to let you. You were scared you was going back with us though, he was like devil at him. I'm like, can you dance? He said, yeah, nigga. I was like you then. I think it was a DVD or tape of something, and I said.

That showed you the whole I say, that's when we did the little school runs and I was showing you like the performance, said, oh you you can.

Yeah. I'm just I'm just trying to find a win. I'm like, can you hoop niggas? Yeah, niggas, I can hoop. Yeah, let's And it was like at every turn it was like this nigga is different. This nigga do everything we sing, he danced, he hoop, he managed. I love this nigga and not to speed forward. But there was a point where I was like, Okay, first you get a here record, let's start there. Out the gate, out the gate. There was no sputter for you at all. I was. I was just surprised though I was.

I was like, I didn't even realize how big the record was gonna be, Like not to kill it now. But I hated the record because I was doing R and B R and B songs, so like Scott Stories, I was like, man, I don't know what a hit is, so I'm not gonna tell him that this is.

Not a hit, right, And he got a gang of hits. Yeah. So I sat in there like, man, I don't really like this song me in Miami.

I'm trying to tell teen and all them, like, I don't think this is fun me this song ain't. We got so many other songs like the your song.

The your song. I'm like, so.

I'm thinking all of that type because I wanted to be more, more vulnerable or not, but I also wanted to kick ass on the dance and I wanted to show off that. So they was like, nah, trust me, this is it put it out and I didn't. When it blew up, I said, what the It's like, I'm still in like, what is it called imposter syndrome?

To this day, I.

Still know the feeling of how I felt when that shit went crazy.

So when you do your difference, we went by that because I always asked this question, and at this point you're like fourteen fifty fifteen, when first you get to do did they let you touch the money?

So how I did it? See a lot of people don't know. I didn't get signed for like you know how people get signed for. Oh I got signed for me and eight men.

Back then it.

Won't So I got signed for like one hundred and fifty kay, right and so and then from there, because I was under age, my mom was in control of it.

But most of it would be like in.

A trust yeah yeah, the Coogan account, yeah, cooglandcount so I wouldn't be able to touch it. So obviously we could she could go and withdraw stuff if I wanted to make purchases or I wanted to do stuff. But nah, I still was every bit of a teenager that they made me.

So as a teenager's the what's the first thing you buy?

Oh?

Do you escalate? Bro? Off? The deal that what you got?

No, you know what it was?

Was it an escalator? And it was like an, I don't know if it's not. It might have been escalator or for Ford something. I remember it's a big truck.

It's been a while.

I had the Lamborghina doors on it, and like I put the doors that come up, like your first car, your first car.

Had Lamborghina doors. This is getting I was about to get.

I swear I was about to get a Honda Civic.

Bro, I was about to get a Putt that was gonna be my first car.

But it was like it's definitely your uncle God, you definitely gotta be real related.

So sure, because I was gonna do with the suicide man the butterfly doors.

Yeah, bro, Like I'm from I'm from partial South, like Virginia is the South.

But you know what I'm saying, So you don't just listen to what DC Maryland, Like what d C and Maryland? They mirror the South, Yeah, period, like we mirror everything South, like we went through East Coast phase with Big Ee, but we mirror the fast money.

Was it Tappahannock?

Definitely just cash money? Was you you?

Yeah?

Everybody?

You know, your purchase is the best one that we've had. What nigga, that's sixteen you bought?

But I had the amps in the back too. I had like I ain't gonna lie. I took out the whole back seat. It's like it was like six six sixteen.

And knocking locking, He's full nigga.

I was in Virginia thinking, I was, you know, you.

Pull up on that skating ring with that Oh god, it it's lik first hit record. What changes for you in your mind? Now? I mean now it's not now. Now it's not guesswork. Now things are like this is what I do. Now, things are automatic. Now, things are like it's more so what I need I can get.

It kind of was like you know, when the kid, when I could just go to the movies with my homeboys walking.

Because I did everything as a as a regular kid.

You know what I'm saying.

Even being in Harlem, to be in Virginia like I did, like regular shit, So I was used to being around people and being in an environment. As soon as that song went crazy, I couldn't go nowhere. I couldn't go to the mall. Like if I walked outside of the neighborhood that I was in, it would be people running down the street like, so I.

Was still in Virginia. No.

Well, and but Jay took me out of Virginia as soon as as soon as I shot the deal, like I think my record came on. I was in tenth grade when my song came out when I got my record deal, so and I didn't leave school until after my song had already hit the radio. So they's like, we got to pull them, we gotta, we gotta get them out of there. So then from there, I went from Virginia to Jersey, so so I could be closer to uh, New York. But I couldn't even walk down the street there like I was. We would literally have to drive in the garage every time we come home and shut the door. So nobody knows what's.

The what's the mindset of that for you?

As this sixteen year old fifteen sixteen year old kid, like, how does it? Because that's the one thing it's bro, And I know, I know he can attest to this because we are all so close and we've all known each other for so long.

We have so many conversations that come to.

Us about you, right, and my things always been. I can't tell him. I can only tell him so much because I haven't had that experience. And that's a very real thing that I think people have never truly taken into account that, Bro, this has been your life since fifteen years old, Like, just tell me if you can remember that as being like a fifteen year old, Like, yo, they're pulling me out of school. I can't go outside, I can't go to the movies.

You know, a lot of kid no more because of my challenging spirit. I like challenges.

It was amazing thing because could I be real?

Because guess what if? Well, now I'm gonna look at the bright side. I ain't got to be in school. I ain't got to be I could do my I got a two do.

I don't got to be there. I could do.

I can go out.

Did you finish? I'm going yeah I did, if you did.

But I ain't gonna lie. I took the first two years off.

Of high school though college.

Yeah, so I was originally supposed to be the seven. I'm kind of yeah, so.

So technically your two years younger to Yeah, I'll take it ship.

But yeah, man, it was so for you you adjusted to it. Yeah, it wasn't and it would be fun. I would still do regular ship. I would just make sure I have my niggas around, like my homeboys, some of them be in school.

I'd go to their school.

So my cousin just on a Friday, Hey, y'all.

Come outside, the girls out saw the window screaming.

Then after that they come back to school on Monday.

They the man in school, you know.

So I used to go to the mall ship bow Bo did this ship too, like shout out to bow But we used to go to the mall, and I did it by myself, just to see what it was. I used to go to the mall and just go to one store it's popping in Virginia and like, hey that's and then take off running and wait.

You would run before it even gets started take off. We did this all the time, man, and it worked. I'm talking about they would chase you was running out of Men's Land. I was run out. I was at I think Virginia Center. Comments. That's what it was we.

Used to go to. And then I used to be at I used to go with what it was it up against the wall. It was another dt L A detailer. Yeah, said, I'll be right there. They had to ship there, man, what all the girls being there? So and then I go in there and start with my homeboys to come with me, and then I sing just so they notice who I am, like just on some young ship. Then they'll be like, hold on that, there's some R and V ship, R n V ship.

Nigga can't just bust out rapping. Yeah, you look around and facts it worked, absolutely worked. Okay here here, here's what I want from you. Right when did you meet him? When it was the Scream tour that first album, that first album, right, I think it was. It had to be. It had to be like first album and the first album fatigues, yes, first album, yep. Okay, So so I'm watching I used to watch you in the Marion Battle. Yeah, and I used to I used to watch oh get you. Yeah, you would you would be like fuck, you would be angry. Nigga was nigga all right, and I'll be back.

But I always say this to his day at that time, his discipline and what he learned and how he gets that niggas was.

Not fucking with that boy. He's a monster.

I don't know about now because I get off now, but at that time, that boy was a monster.

He was a monster. But I want to go to the Scream tour. I was using that to set up set up the Scream tour, and my cousin, my cousin and my people wanted to go to the tour, so we can't. We came to see you, and we came backstage and everything, and I'm watching you on stage and I had I hadn't seen you perform since the album was out, since everything was going crazy, I hadn't seen you perform yet, and you know, all had the records and he was, you know, of course he was headlined. But I watched you come out in those black fatigues and I watched I can't do the move. I watched like you was the crumping up and you were like paulse you was. Your arms were out this wide you was, you was. It was the like the whole fucking stage was in between y'all, and I'm looking. I'm like, he's getting ready to pass the guy. He's getting ready to pass him because I didn't see a kid on stage. I saw a grown ass man on stage at the screen tour. He's getting ready and I'm looking at my little cousin. She's like, oh my god, you all right? You know, we go to church on Sunday, you know, we have today's fri listen, and we go backstage to to take her to meet him and she sees, she sees this nigga Chris in the flesh and she goes, mm hmm, see you are little? Did you ask that you are little? That night I saw you, there was for me the beginning of the separation of you going to another place because I felt like you were I felt like you were angrier, you were more aggressive, and you had something in your mind that you were aiming. You know what it was?

Though, even being on that tour, like what I learned, and I learned from Bio a lot.

You know, he's like one of the greatest showmen as far as so the lack of discipline that I had.

I had a great amount of training, meaning like Okay, Sam's you know, everybody, they gonna they're gonna get us right with the moves, were gonna have fun. And I was able to be also creative too. They didn't just say we're gonna do this. They let me come up with some things. But the thing that I felt that I lacked was the experienced one and and just the discipline that everybody else had, you know, we it was B two K bow uh.

It was so many other artists all polished here. Yeah, so when you.

Would see their shows, you would see the glitz and the glamour. Like me, I had a DJ booth, just a little DJ booth that I was slide from under with the dancers with the little smoke, and then I had a graffiti background, you know what I'm saying. And they maybe maybe gave me like twelve minutes. I probably had like not even that, it might have been eight minutes. So I had to, you know, figure it out. But seeing these other performers, it kind of like grew my hunger for what I needed to be doing in order to in order to be the person headlining, in order to be the person that I think I can be, you know what I'm saying. So a lot of them, a lot of those guys and seeing their performers, seeing their their quality and how out long they're dancing and then they're just getting off and all the screens like it was really the Scream Tour, Like you, it was no other There's no other experience that I can tell you. At that time, was like forget all the festivals and stuff that they.

Got going on right now.

Back then your ears were literally you would really go.

Definitely shout out to Michael Martin. I saw him during the Grammy week. I never met him before, and I just told him, I'm like, listen, man, what you did just what I mean obviously what you've.

Done in the business, pier, but that Scream Tour, Jesus.

With giving that type of spotlight to young artists and putting him on that type of platform. I don't know anyone that's done that.

I don't, I don't. I don't think it can be done right now. It's not like with you, I think that's sounds I can't even recreate. Like I was just happy to be a part.

Of it, Like I was like, that's a legendary to recreate with these phones. Man, that's the other part. Yeah, yeah, because because because like that stay was like still in that moment, it still was a place where you still felt like this is the only place I'm gonna get to see that.

Yeah, I'm only gonna see this type of shit here.

It was still that we hadn't gotten to the phone yet to where you could get used to seeing that type of shit all the time. It just runs all day. That's them scream to it. It was really screams, yeah, facts like motherfuckers. When you came on stage, it was they was glued from from from from top to bottom.

And I was nervous because that's like, you know, we would performed before, Like I've performed at different places I had to perform what is it playing in Hollywood?

Different different places?

But there's a little venues when you I'm in an arena now, and it's even though are going first. The parents back then they trying to get their kids into the building early. So now if the show starts at let's say nine, some people might not leave their house to eight thirty, you know what I'm saying. So, but back then, everybody's in there, sitting there waiting. So whoever the first artist is, they either standing up or booing ship.

Did you like, speaking of booing, did you ever experience a fucked up show early on?

Like early on?

No, No, I'm gonna be real, like I've never got like a Boo, like a bad boot.

I don't want to jinx myself, but but I've never got like.

He's not your nigga, but I've never I never got Boo on a thousand hit records.

But you're not getting don't worry about that. I almost you said, you almost got Boo. It started off with this money. That's my fault.

His playlist was song wasn't working yeah radio so and he still wanted to sing.

Yeah, which we're working. It was was spent seven thousand. I started singing the songs little girls in the front row looking at her friends.

And.

Oh god, I still got two minutes and it's a tape, so that you you just gotta.

Live that motherfucking out you started. That's when you start thinking the most.

That's when I started sweating. That's when you get caught the mouth man.

Now I sucked up myself on stage, like did the back flip slipped? But I play it off or like you know what I'm saying. Then stepped off the stage before and fell in the crowd.

But yeah, they still feel bad for because you're just being great.

Yeah they still screamed.

Okay, oh my god, Okay, So off the first off, the first album, you start to you start to see what this thing is like. You start to see, you know, what fame is like, and how how you're gonna adjust.

Did you ever have like the can I do it again? Because you know, people talk about the sophomore sophomore.

I had that in my in the back of my head probably every day, you know what I'm saying. So like, for me, it was because the first album was like a learning experience.

I wrote with writers.

I didn't really write, you know, it was really how they kind of shaped what I what my ideas would be. The second album was like, okay, cool, well you've been You've been right at the song selections. You're picking the choices, you know what you're doing. So but I feel like it's like the challenge thing again. I was like, you know what, I'm gonna try to prove them wrong.

You fought for that.

Yeah, like I said, I proved myself wrong with the with the first album. So it's like now now I'm gonna prove them wrong. I could do this ship.

So I was.

I had that sophomore JINX in the back of my head.

What's the first first record from the second.

The second album Damn Let Me You Make Me Go? You know, I got a lot of Damn albums, man, I.

Know. I think that's the album.

Records from the first from the first album?

Was it kids, Kiss? Yeah?

It was was that it had to it had to Oh no Wall to Wall?

Oh yeah, well I think it was Wall. It was absolutely absolutely Wall then Kiss Kiss. I imagine you're putting together your show set.

You know, look for tour now.

Bro, It's crazy.

Because I'm trying to because you know, people are still in love with the older songs, so it's.

Like, I have no problem doing that.

But the only difference is when people come to my shows, I want them to see something like evolution.

Like you know what I'm saying.

They're not seeing the last tour that they saw then I seen the one before that. Every tour is completely different and it gives them, you know, the same nostalgia. But also with this with the new music. So it's so hard for us right now. I even I even put on my Instagram and Twitter, like, look what songs y'all want me to perform? There was like all of them bitches. I said, we're gonna be there for three days.

I'm not got to think you got to think of it like this though, right, I always equated back to like Frankie Beverly and May. Yeah, Frankie Beverly and the same show in arenas for twenty years.

With all due respect, they don't have a hundred.

No, no, no, let me get into. What I'm getting to is the variations of those songs that make it old to you. Don't get don't get old to them. Don't get old to them. But at least how you how how they will see it? Yeah, they remember that. They're telling that friends watch when he do this, he do this thing when he sings, Watch when they're you're waiting.

You got a point too, that's the point. But I always want to how I look. I'll be like, you know what. I want to always give them more.

It's not like.

Because you can see Chris Brown on YouTube, but you can go see it and be like all right, and then they're like, man, even fell off.

I never want to hear that ship until I'm ready to be like, look.

I'm tired, I think because new material. I'm not.

You're not gonna be tired. But that was just hypothetic.

You have like eight thousand songs and the what's the longest show you've done? Ship?

The last one we just did. We just came from towards overseas. You came to it like two hours and fifteen minutes.

Hold on, let's just why was it, Nigga, that's let's go Let's go there. That's let's go there movie, that's let's go overs ship. I was like, babe, we're going over seas to Chris Brown. What the fuck are you talking about? We're going to Paris. Pack your ship. We're going to see Chris Brown. Told you now, so made me tell you again.

Nigga, act like you have enough room in his bag to bring me back a hoodie or nothing.

No, no, Merchy don't like to travel like that? First, Why you should can't? Okay, okay, march here now, merchant here, march here. We were in Paris and we put up to the venue I'm hitting and we're here. He's like, all right, come to the back. And as we're at the venue, it's quiet outside of the venue. So the show. The show starts in like maybe like an hour. It's quiet, there's no traffic, there's there's there's nothing. And I'm like, this is weird. This is Chris Brown show.

This is this is supposed to be It's supposed.

To be off the chain, house side, motherfucker is supposed to be bootlegging shit, all of shit. Right, we walk into that Building's twenty thousand people already in there, probably two hours. They are in their seats like this.

Ready but everything Risponni's coming out Soon's just stating when Crispan It's going to be so good and and you know, we're so used to seeing shows, you know, in the States and how people react in the States, but I wanted to go to Paris because I wanted to see people with a different mindset.

I wanted to see people completely free of what this the state stigma is. You gotta be cool when people supposed to ask how the dudes, I mean, I fuck with the know what I'm saying, I rock with It wasn't none of that. I'm watching grown men go ape shoes these themselves in the music. When these songs come on, I got a videotape of the entire arena jumping up and die. I'm like Jesus, Rice and we had talked about it before before you got the overseas tour, and I said, Bro, I said, look, bro, the world is getting ready to open up to you in such a way that I don't even think you could you even understand it. And you was like, he was like, bro, I hear you, but I'm I'm I'm not gonna believe it until I see it. Yeah, facts, I remember I told you that. Yeah, And we and we were sitting in your dress room backstage. I said, do you see this? I said it, And I watched you for two nights in a row. I don't know how the fuck you did it for two and a half hours dance and sing NonStop.

Because I haven't been over there in a minute too, so by me having a tour out there, I was like, damn, this is I haven't toured over there in twelve years in certain places twelve like like London, certain places it has been twelve years. So I'm like, damn. So that they got a whole chunk of history that they ain't even sing. So I'm like, I can't be lazy and go on stage and do sixty minutes ninety minutes and be like, all right, cool, we just give me out of new shit and getting out of the.

Sixty ninety minutes is the that's the regular show. And he's like, I.

Can't be that because of the chunk of yeah, because beause, because think about it, it's it's people that's my age bringing their kids to the show, you know what I'm saying.

So they're like, now this is the person I like.

So it's almost like teaching a class again, like okay, cool, the kid.

Might not know this song, but they mama know the song and they gonna pray, you know.

So.

But in that in that space, it's like it's like a different appreciation. Remember I was like, it's like not the discredit, you know, the US, But at the end of the day when you go.

Over there, it's like different.

You're really appreciated for the music.

All the time. Either like you said, they miss you, they miss you. But R and B is still a thing. Listen and I and I gotta say it like we're not we're not slighting in the US, but the US is spoiled. They see us walking down the street they see. It's very to see. It's in Miami moving already, they see us and so overseas like even just just even outside of the presence, their their thirst and desire for real music is just it's just different. It's still old school over there. It's it's it's they know the words her songs and don't speak English. That's gotta be graazy.

That's that's that's phenom. I never I could never understand that. It still makes me. I think I get more excited when I when I when I see that because I'm like, you know what, that that type of energy. They don't know what the fuck I'm saying, or they might now, but it's for them to like something that that bad and you know what I'm saying, that takes dedication.

Yeah, but you know the States give me my love too, because I can't. I can't lie.

Fuck the media aspect we talk about, like we talk.

About when I when I, when we geah them asses in them seats, you know what I'm saying, and so and they real fans like my fan base. I can say, you know, you got Nikki's fan base, Beyonce these fan base.

Yeah, but the.

Fans I feel like everybody there in their family, they got they always you know, I always a comment. I'll get on somebody, ask if they go crazy in the comments, but I always listen and kind of like let them dictate certain aspects of Okay, y'all want to hear this. Y'all like this, like I like to be engaged with them so they so they know that this ain't just like oh all right, shut up and listen, and then I'm gonna make y'all follow me this way.

You know what I'm saying.

I feel like as a family and the people that support me there, I love this person. You know, it'd be people's mama's kids younger, they be like, you know where I let that boy like so, and I can I can feel that energy. So when I get into an arena, you know, the fans is the really one to keep me in.

Bro, you change the meet and greet.

Oh yeah, you got some flat all that too, Like nigga, you literally change the.

Meet and Greek. I'm gonna I want to say this, okay, all right, they got on his ass like I'm not doing okay, I might have to do something, Yeah you got you gotta at least I might have to do something, you know what I'm saying. But the Chris Brown meet and Greek, it's out of control. You might need to press that.

Ship fun like I bet it's.

Because look where else in the time, Like everybody usually like you get your pictures back in the day.

All the artists like, yeah, you like.

Like and I don't do I'm not doing like one hundred and fifty people a night, like you know what I'm saying. So might be a small intimate group of people that actually spent that money that they might not even have to come and meet me. So I'm not gonna make their moment, you know, I don't want to make their moment, just something, Hey, what's up?

Let me sign this?

Get the fuck out.

Like that's weak to me because I feel like these are the same people, no matter how big of that group or smaller that group, I feel like they're the same people. That's a part of the family aspect. So so and some of these girls, I mean that's the bucket list. Some of them they like, Look, all I want to do is just be able to be on him.

Cool.

As long as you ain't got COVID.

We're good. I should tell my wife she should loosen up and let me. Yeah. Yeah, but you.

Can't do no motherfucking pictures with your shirt off because then you can't.

You can't. You can't gauge the person. You lick your stomach and something you're gonna be like hold.

On you that you get off now, But you do got you also, in my opinion, bro, like I've met a lot of people, I'm friends with a lot of people.

We've been in this industry a long time, and I really believe that you are the most.

How can I say you're.

The your cares bro cook absolutely care, but the most accessible.

Yeah, superstar I've ever seen literally, bro.

Yeah, Like I feel like I feel like Jill probably humbled me on that one.

That Yeah, there's that.

But being able to like go through shit and not have to be, you know, walk a thin line because a lot of artists have to walk in thin line unless you're independent. If you're like the mainstream, you can't do this. You can't be associated with somebody, You can't do a song because of how it looks. Once that shit, like once I was able to still do music and they was and I got to be my regular nigga, Like I got to be myself. Man, funk all this extra shit. I can look if somebody come up to me, what's up you like with music?

All right?

What?

I appreciate it?

Cool?

Can I get a picture if I'm in a go Sorry not right now, but I appreciate you boom.

If I'm not, it's miss a million pictures.

Whether I'm drunk, whatever it is, I'm gonna take a picture with somebody like because I've been able, I've been humbled through whatever my experiences are. Like, so I done went through bullshit. I and went through you know, normal nigga shit. So it's like, you know what, let me uh, let me not take this ship for granted and be appreciative every single second, every single time I get to get a chance to like do anything or be around somebody.

This is a flowers pod, right, and so this is for you, your flowers. Take a second to to to speak on team Breezy and and staying down with you through thick and thin. What is that feeling like to you?

It's the it's the imposter syndrome again, like you know, because it's it's it's unbelievable. Like sometimes I wake up I'm like, damn people go by, like whether I'm promoting, I don't care if it's some shoes I'm promoting, or there's a there's a following of people.

A big following of people who who support me, you.

Know what I'm saying.

So that also makes me, uh like cherish where I'm at, bro a team breezy, Like even to have a name for people.

To follow you is kind of crazy, you know what I'm saying.

So I feel like I'm appreciative, like my fans know how much, and I try to let them in on stuff I talked to them, like I remember because somebody dates for the tours will come.

I say, look, y'all, get on my damn nerves.

If y'all ain't got the damn you sit, ain't only got this, shut up the puck up and.

Go to the next city.

So so so like but but I'm able to I wouldn't even be in this chair right now, like but y'all my brother, so I probably would be in the chair. But any success or anything that that's further that these songs that I'm putting out like that, ain't that ain't us paying somebody off and trying to like please, like you know, what I'm saying, that's that's really the fans, you know what I'm saying, and they and they kept me here twenty almost twenty years now, so it's like for me to have that connection with them, it's probably the biggest thing ever, you know. So so I'm maybe that's why I'm always thirsty and still doing me is why he's still doing this? Why it because of y'all?

Like that's the reason real talk shout out to team Yeah, I talked the Team Breezy oft. I talked the Team Breezy, you know, as as as as as a Team Breezer. You know what I'm saying. Whatever with you shout out what's your favorite album?

Uh?

Out of mind? Damn it's you know what it is?

Can I have two?

You can all? I got Eleven of the Motherfuckers?

Uh?

My two will be my first one because of the experience that what we talked about earlier, like how it felt everything was was was amazing. So I think the first one and then my fame album. Yeah, I got the Grammy Grammy album. And the reason why I say that is because of the ship I had to go through around that time and still make music and people still listening to me despite maybe not for tking with me.

For real, I'm not.

Liking New York, you know what I'm saying. The first canceled Nigga, So you know, so those two albums kind of like were milestones in my career, Like the first one has shown me that I'm I'm able to do it, and then.

That album like, Okay, you can do it. Yeah, I can do it again. I'm gonna go. The first album, first album as a classic exclusive is special to me. What's your favorite Chris song? In the goal is what's your favorite Chris song? Okay, I know mine off the top of my head.

It changes, he just plays I still got my favorite, though you don't have your favorite.

It changes every time he plays me.

Something he just to this day, yeah, to this day. The Nigga played it for me a record plan, and I said, Nigga director tomorrow.

The record the record that the record that haunts me, like a record that when I hear it, it takes me to where I was, like, it takes me back to Paris and watching on stage. It's indigo. Yeah, It's something about the feeling, It's something about the conversation. It's something about Indigo, Bro, that is so special to me. I don't know what it is. It's the melodies, it's the trust, the production, it's the words, it's like my life. I'm like, it's special to me, super special. And Heat. And the reason Heat just got so embedded was because everybody thinks I'm singing on it. Everybody thinks I'm singing on Heat, and I never said I wasn't singing on Heat. You know what I'm saying. I don't think he knows what songs he's on one of yours, since Chris I think I'm singing backgrounds. I was just I was just in a sensation on the other day and I was like, I was like, why does he sound like me on the end of this song? Why is his ad libs? I said, funk, I did the ad libs? Got it? Got it? Because Chris will be like, get the boof and just sing something this ship.

Yeah be because I just need his voice and backgrounds and he knows where to put the pockets at. So I'd be like, it'd been damn it, eight to nine songs already.

He never remembers though, we'd be doing so much of it, and for me, it's just like in your space, I just try to make myself available for whatever it is you need. You know what I'm saying, whether it be whether it be musical conversation. Another question I wanted to ask you is probably a deeper question in and now in your stages of being a father. We we have so many loves, right, and love changes in terms of what it means as we grow. What does love mean to you? Now, that's a deep question. What does love mean to me? Uh?

Love is scary to me, but at the same time, like it's too I'm full of it, you know what I'm saying, I'm full of love.

Like so I feel like.

My kids kind of like made me appreciate what that word mean, what the word meant like to love something outside of yourself, outside of anything.

That's like, that's that's great segue. Are they are? Are they making you more free to love, more open to love? Yes?

And no, they're they're making me more open to loving them. Then like I'm just.

I'm pouring all my love into them, but you're also very protective. Yeah, but you yeah, not let more people in.

Uh yeah, But at the same time, like it's making me learn patience and making me learn just life skills that I that I made. It might have been too too antsy for too busy for So I think love for me now is like it's expanding. It's like me, you saying you have to have a favorite color, right, No, I really don't.

I can actually find beauty in every all of the colors.

So my, uh, my thought process on love isn't as controlled as I thought it should be. It should be like this, It should be like no, like love is an abundance to me. So I feel like it's like, all right, cool, I don't got Yeah I could, I could do this.

Out. Yeah, I can smile a lot more. Yeah yeah.

Now look look that's that's what you're for, what you've been through and what you've accomplished.

Yeah, you should smile more. Yeah, you know what I mean.

You should continue to have a good time because this this isn't given to everyone. Yeah, you know what I mean. It's especially your life.

And what you know.

And but the thing that would make me angry when it came to you was that people didn't realize this was your life, you know what I mean. Everybody had an opinion or has an opinion of how you should live your life. And for me, as your brother, I've never had an opinion about how you should live your life. And you know we've had many a talk to you in many cities and many long nights, and I've never said you should do No, you should do what you want to do and live how you want to live and experience the things you want to because it's what makes you who you are.

You know what I mean.

And you've been able to, like you said, average mofucker can't go sit down and go and be in a whole tank and go to jail.

That's your experience.

So whatever that put you there, you were able to man up. Except that even though you did lose me a championship in the NBA E League, Yeah, because we was.

Undefeated and then you went you had to do too much to see you had.

Yeah, I was like and then by the time I got out, I was not about to play no.

Basketball and over the.

Bad see you and you was like, going in two weeks, you have to have a froe and the stomach.

You said, it's gonna be gone. It's gonna be going in two weeks. Two weeks, and then two weeks and I said, Okay, he's back.

Yeah, I was, because they call me in them pictures. I think we went to like now I went to I went to South to France or something.

Bro.

They took the pictures and I was just seeing that that jelly roll. I said, what hell no, and then from there just dancing, dancing, dancing.

I was even big on when I got out of jail for.

The for the BT Awards, when I had to when I when we came, I did loyal and I had to. Uh, this was when everybody's wearing for real hats. Yeah, like you know, the smoky the beer hat. But I remember having this outfit. I had to put the outfit on and it was like too small. The pants wouldn't fit. Like I was, I'm like a thirty four, thirty six.

I was like a few thirty thirty.

Yeah, for sure, I was like a forty or some fordy I'm talking about big boy big. I said, hold on, you know what, I can't do this no more.

But I was. I was.

I had to go through a lot of boot camp, dancing and everything else to get back.

But Nigga ship back though, yeah, because you was all right.

It was terrible I'm telling you that's depressing time of my life.

Bro. I Chris Brown, it was a Brown Brown. When did you really get into the business, like start owning the business of all of that, because that's what people really don't know about you. I think.

I did that first.

And I would be like I was seventeen when I started trying to invest in certain things just because I knew, like, you know, unless you torn, unless you like, you don't know how how long you're gonna be successful.

And it's not like every artist can make it look.

Like they getting money, getting money, getting my If you're not a touring act, if you're not doing stuff, you're not gonna you need an exit strategy. So I would have, like, you know, the business people around me at the time, I can't say they were good at the time, but you know, my investments were like into burger kings and stuff like that, just so I could have a portfolio of and you know, constant income.

You know.

So that was my first step. But when I really started getting into like the music side, like the executive side, it was like I was twenty five, and what happened was, uh, Loyal and all these other records had already been been blowing up, so and I was out of my almost out of my contract, so I was able to negotiate.

I was like, well, cool, well.

Now that I have leverage as an actual not an artist, I don't want to be an artist.

I want to be fifty to fifty profits shared with you guys.

I want to have the same deal birdman.

I got universal, like you know, you know, I asked around trying to figure it out so I don't have to be getting you know, cents on the.

Dollar, right, you know, just living off advances. You get what I'm saying.

So from there that was my first step boom, and then I think they were like oh and then they kind of like, you know what, fuck it, we'll do it. I'm like, shit, damn, I'm like the youngest nigga with this, with this deal right here. I don't think nobody knows, you know. So that was my first step. Then after that was me trying to own my masters. So I think when I was like twenty seven or twenty eight, like by that time, it was a renegotiation time, and I was like, hey, cool, I still want this, but let me get my masters from here. From from I think from my fame albuming up, I said, let me get the Masters from there, and then I'm able to come back and negotiate, you know, in six years for the first album and all of my shit. So being able to have that type of structure deal like shout out the Mark Pits again, you know what I'm saying, Peter Edge, everybody that was you know, everybody that really kind of like looked and say, you know, we'll give them this deal.

And Barry Rice, Barry Rice.

Is like he put the shit down, like he really he the one that kind of allowed me to be like, you know what, here a fucking kid, take it.

You got it?

I mean, you had made them so much. Yeah, but let's let's also speak on it. Let's not let's not just breeze over that the fact that.

You understood though, I got to prove myself first, because now we have these we have these new artists who come into the game thinking they can own the Masters, Like why would I let you have the Masters or why would you deserve your masters? In the beginning, if someone is actually making the initial investment and they're not worthing. So somebody walking into the door saying why I owe my masters. Okay, well what are you going to do with it? Do you know how to license it? Is there any distribution for it? And is it worth anything in the beginning? Right, so you were able to say, hey, listen, now I want from fame ongoing, and now I'll put myself in a position because I'll continue to be successful to come back again, renegotiate and get those initial albums as well.

That's just smart business. And I think embedding on yourself.

But I think people want to skip the steps and say, oh well this labeled like listen, labors are going to be what they are.

Labors are going to be in their banks and that's what they do.

But they also have infrastructure to put you in a place that's unimaginable.

Yeah.

Yeah, absolutely, I don't disagree with that at all, you.

Know what I mean.

And so I think you should be, for lack of a better term, a poster boy of like listen, just be successful, Just be great, You be great. You get everything you're supposed.

To out of this ship.

Yeah, and get the right lawyers. Make sure your lawyers is looking over your country. Yeah, and so you got to make sure everybody you know, when I was young, I was. I was fortunate enough to be saved on certain things, but I was my deals weren't always great. So once I was able to be able to be more independence, like, look, I got a little bit more leverage now, and they then, you know, they made all this money and all that.

So I'm more like, you know, I'm.

Able to now see real money or see something from what I've created because I know I created it. So now you know I can go and do this. Now I can create some more. Wait till you'll see what I'm about to create. So now I get to own all of that, you know. And and it's like like you said, I'm like a testament to that to hey, not saying put your head down, just be the best you right.

I feel like the way I go to the gym is the way you go to the studio.

Yeah, It's like that's what I said. Your me and green you should bench pressed. It's like, is there no no way limit though?

Something?

Get a good fifty off now.

But even in my my meet and gree pictures, like there's some some joints and like sometimes you know what come on?

Yeah, because you know.

It's like we can't do.

Certain things try something else, I ain't get the same back. I got the picture.

Listen already waiting for what these pictures are gonna look like. Man, you know shit is gonna be insane.

Oh shit, here's a last question, bro, How do you do like eight thousand songs in one night? Bro? Like you, how is that even possible that you I come to your house and there are I just left your house two days ago and I come back and there are twenty new songs. How?

I just feel like a lot of the times, you know, how I used to be in the studio back in the day. Even I'm like, yo, come.

To the studio, Like, I just think you what did you call you? Master?

Something that you spend more than one hundred hours on or something? So I think I've just tried to overly, overly, overly overly master it. So me being in the studio, like I might have an idea in my head, or I might just hear some songs like, man, I need to get on my game.

I need to steal.

It's like shooting jump shots, like you know, you gotta make sure if you don't, if you don't shop at the tube, it ain't gonna work. So I feel like me being in the studio is where I kind of live. I got two studios, you see the house. I got two studios in the house, so so I can change scene, real change, like you know, mental states when I'm in different studios.

I've never seen that you're making the amount of songs that the underdogs, all of us in different rooms, used to make. It was it was six of us, and he's still making more than just wanting. We were making money at night.

We weren't writing twenty songs at night.

You got it. You gotta how many times you have? I said before like fifteen thousands.

But then but then I think I miscalculated, you know, So it's it's a world champlainship.

Yeah, that was that was I think I was thinking of it.

I'm like, okay, I got this, yeah a lot of so I'm gonna be realistic and it's it's in the eight thousands to nine thousands, though it's a lot, like like.

It's finished or just pieces.

I can say pieces, it won't it won't be.

It might be first verse, cause you know how I used to send demos out to be first verse or chorse and then no second verse. So it'll be stuff like that, So it's like, yeah, collectively, is that a.

Lot of that's insane? Bro mm hmmm, what you got for him Champion?

H m hm.

Come on, comfy Tea, say what you got? You see you see his fitty comfy shout out exclusive game. Come on, comfy Tea, turn these towels into an outfit. It's the Superman music. No, it's not. We don't want to be to the remix team Breezy want to know what they want to know what we want to know. You've listened to a lot of music in your days, young man. Yeah, some of this music you've made your favorite. The world wants to know.

Your top five, your top five, top five.

Your top five? RB saying what else you already song? We allna know you gotta show. I'm dancing to go. I'm really want to know your heyes, top.

You top five?

Yeah, y'all gonna put me on the spot.

Yah, it's so damn all to pick five, but look, I'll give you now. My ship might change in a couple of days. Come on, Top five R and B singers.

Right right now. Today you're saying today, No, No, I'm saying how you feel today? Your world. So this is not biased because my brother in the room. You know, I say it all the time.

Tank Usher, Yes, Brandy Yeah, Tevin Campbell ye, Sam Cook Ship.

So that's my top five I.

Can think of right now.

Okay, alright, Vin was really cold. Listen tomorrow, whatever better?

Are you better than me? He was? He was killing grown men. Prodigy, he's a prodigy, his rangers, he was gifted chess boys. Oh my god, nigga, how do you still sing that high? I'll get my nerves he'd be giving me. So I was like, bro, you can sing this one.

I don't know.

I think it's it's just like the adrenaline when you get on stage. It's like but talking voices not My talking voice is raspy, like I gotta, I gotta. But you're clear on records. Yeah, So I don't know.

I'm just always I guess we sing from different parts when we When I talk, I don't think I'm talking from the same diaphragm is when I'm singing, So I'm pushing the air differently.

Yeah.

So I feel like that's why I'm able to still sound young and still sound like the old met but not the super young me, not the fifteen. But at least I said, my voice hasn't like changed dramatics.

Like Nigga You and Ralph treast Man. Yeah, I do not sound figured it out now. I listened to the Young Thing. I was like this, who is this? Was this singing three five song? Crazy? They like sing that old song. I will not breezy your top five R and B songs.

Oh, this is gonna be difficult, brother, Break My Hair by Mario Ship, Heirl, Lily Girl, Lily, Somebody Sleeping.

Yeah, the remix them so so differently.

Okay, Damn Oh, Sex Love and Pain that's you know, yes, the beginning, the intro, the intro from Yes that.

He never does live, He's do it live. You don't give don't give him the ship though, Bro.

I listened to that, but when I was on tour, any any tour I was on, I would listen to that as my warm up songs.

But seeing you, I need you right now. I need you right now, my brother. I need you on my team to tell him to do the damn sound even the song. I need him to do the Sex Love and Pain album one Night Only.

Yeah, you got at least you gotta give him that because that's my favorite album.

One Night Only, don't be scared.

Let's do that. Let's do that, one of those, one of them type of inn you fact a right, One night Only.

I'm trying to think that's three songs. I gotta think it two more now, this is all this subject to change now, sup?

Is it?

Superstar US Superstar right?

And and Candy Rain so.

For yeah, so yeah, shout out to Soul for real. God, you know, I'm like, we need so for real.

But it's so difficult for me to come up with those five songs. And I had like ten other songs.

Like a combo of so many are like four thousands, eight thousands. Yeah, and I didn't want to add my songs in it. I wanted to get everybody to do that. You know, how do you have a favorite Chris Brown song?

SHP No, I have errors, I have, I have I have times of when I when I like songs.

Man, this niggas is poor in Champagne.

You got some Champagne, I told you, yeah, breaking Eras niggas breaking his own rest.

I think Eras is like certain songs that I what I was going through at certain times, like damn, like like how you like no bullshit.

For example, that era of no Bullshit and and Deuces those songs.

When we did those songs, that was like when I was at my lowest, Like I was like with the back back against the wall, like no no support from the label, no support from radio.

They was like, you know what, we ain't fucking with you, mixtape, You're canceled.

Yeah, so these songs are mixtape songs that out ten months before we put them on on that album.

You know what I'm saying. So and I'm I'm shot the video for like twenty five hundred.

Each video Deduces video and no bullshit.

But it was it was like being an independent artist and grinding your motherfucker yourself being like, you know what, I'm gonna prove them wrong. So I could say those songs would be an error, and then then it could be the next songs that I'm doing. So it switches all the time. Yeah, you know, I feel like I can always go back to different songs and then relive those moments in my head and be like damn that happened, and also remind myself like damn, I do remember that, you know.

So it's spilled your voltron you're super R and B artists, we want to know who you're going to get the vocal from, the performance style, the styling, from the heart of the artist, the passion of the artists. And since you know, since you're a songwriter, who's gonna write for that artist, Let's start with the vocal. Who you're getting the vocal from for your super R and B artists? The vocal.

Damn, I'm gonna go with Tavin Campbell.

I'm gonna just put as far as the as far as the vocal, yeah, like the range or what you Yeah, I'm going with Tevan.

Your voice his voice is different. His voice was just cold. Wasn't supposed to be like that? No, So I'm gonna go I'm gonna go with the voice wise. Yeah, yeah, between him and Mike, because Mike, just pick one or you can mix it.

Yes, it's gonna be like a hybrid. It's gonna be Mike and Tevan Jackson.

Okay, uh, performing style on stage Michael Jackson. I could have guessed down. Yeah, that was easy. Yeah, Okay, styling, who's gonna put this ship?

Damn Uh, It's gonna be a hybrid, another hybrid. It's gonna be like a trifecta hybrid Michael me and and usher mm hmm. As far as styling, and I gotta say in this in this category because like and through his erarors, from the my Ways to the you know, everything he'd done has has been visually like stamped in your head to where.

It's picnic iconic, you know what I'm saying.

He made niggas wear coofies and ship like you remember, So it's like certain things will always be embedded in style and fragments to me. So it's like Michael was the definition of that, Like he could wear wrestling looking yeah, like being his own icon.

I think when we talk about styling, not even to stop you here, but I think you're the first person, the first artist that I've ever walked into the room to the dressing room and they were like the racks. There were racks on racks on racks of clothes and you had no idea what you were going to put on like that night. You don't you don't have a uniform where you're like, Okay, this is the tour fit and these are the combinations of the tour fit. That's just where this I was like, what are you gonna wear. He's like, oh no, I'm about to look through it right now, like he getting dressed in school, like like he getting dressed in markets. Let me just grab somebody. I've never seen anything like that in my life.

So what I've done the last couple of tours and this tour is gonna be a little different.

So we have a set to where because I don't want to give too much, I want you to come and see it, but I'm going to have changes in the outfice. But the outfits is going to be more customized, like a lot of like designers are making specific stuff for me, so it'll be more So it goes along with the with the actual show of what I'm trying to show, like the Broadway style of what I'm trying to show, but before like the last toy you were at and.

The different ones.

The stage that I built is you can change your outfit every night.

You could be something different because the stage doesn't it doesn't have a certain Yeah, it has a freedom about it. So we just have a rack of clothes and long as long as I can dance in them and it's not not too tight or the shirts is like you know, I'm putting on something different every night.

I always think of behind the things. I'll be thinking about the nigga that has.

To put all that out and put off, and he be trying to figure out a way to steal some ship.

Of course I'm ahead that fits. Yeah, always comes back with something.

Because this is not afraid to ask, because look that's you.

Like, look, little bro, you already want to you can take you can take it. I'm like shot a hole that jacket. Like ship, the passion of the artist, passionate.

The artist, prince I would say prince cold passion because you can play every instrument right and mean it?

Man, what mean it? They come, get this hit? Get this hit? Who who says that?

Like I would have been like that, I'm keeping this record. You don't want this record? No, he he he he s is the ship threasion.

You start doing that. You got a gang here, regulars telling niggas that get this song. Who's gonna write for that artist? Damn, there's so many damn good writers.

Who's gonna write?

I would I couldn't say Phil Collins because it wouldn't be cool because Phil Collins is one of my like, he's one of the dope writers out.

Of all time. Why can't Phield Collins write the records? Yeah? I think Phil could do it, but I would say Quincy Jones.

I mean, there's no argument. Yeah, I was just I'm gonna thay curveball though. Yeah, who's gonna do the choreography?

Damn?

Come on, man, use a stepper, Use a real deal stepper. You know what it would have to be. It would have to be a collective because in that dancing ships, so.

Many Come on, come on, so many people who made you know, I'm talking about fly fly styles, SAMs, Josh Smith.

We got Lavel?

Uh?

Is it label Franklin who he taught me a thriller? His name is Lavel, but he takes that. Yeah, world music wars when I was young. Sorry I'm forgetting his last name. But you got super Damn you got man. I'm trying to think.

I don't did this on purpose to give me. I'm not even trying to get you. This is what our podcast is about. Podcast is about Jamaica. I'm thinking to him still, It's about celebrating.

It's about celebrating people that aren't always celebrated publicly.

Absolutely absolutely, who means so much to what we do and has have meant so much to what you do because they go they shaped and that ship.

Yeah, one hundred percent. So I mean there's so many different people that that I'm leaving out too. So I know they're like, man, he didn't say my name.

My bad.

You know.

At the same time, it would be with that damn ship. It would have to be a collective group. It still makes It's a village that make.

It, you know, take a village to crazy. Yeah. So yeah, yeah, we've come to the point. I ain't saying no names. Hey, I ain't saying no names. Thanks saying no names. I ain't saying no niggs. Weird know what you did? Don't say she ain't saying no name, no name?

All right?

Cool? Hold hold on, I got to listen to like, okay, this sounds like I got to say some funny she to give you.

Exactly right now, you are at a very important part of the show. Yeah, it's called I ain't saying no names. Will you tell us a story funny or funked up? Are funny?

And fuck? The only rule to the game. The rules is you can't say no names. All right?

Cool? Well, I ain't saying no names.

Yeah, come on, come on.

But yeah, So there was this artist, and this artist wanted to go out to the club with us, so, you know, huge artists. So I'm like, all right, cool, me, me and my crib, We're gonna go to the club. It's it's nigga night, it's turn up night. You know it's gonna be another artist in their performing. And that artist song was the number one song in the country. I'm talking about going crazy.

We get in the club, I make sure we got the whole section full of women. So the person in there looking around.

The song.

Come on, the other artist is on stage, start singing a song. The whole building erupts. I'm talking about it, erupts, like everybody. Girls in our section, Girl, they going crazy.

I look over to this person. He ain't feeling it.

I'm talking about, not a smirk, not a head nod, nothing. I turned back to look at the artists. But the next time I turned back to look at the person in my section, they gone, I don't see him.

I'm like, what that? What is nigga? Went?

I look up.

The nigga is on the DJ booth right next to the artist that's doing the song, and he just like this.

The nigga.

When the song goes off, the nigga takes the mic, takes the mic. So I'm thinking this artist is about to do some songs. I'm like, okay, he got he got the itch like man, you know, you know some artists can't take it.

You know, they self centered though they you know, they gotta syndrome. Like I'm not one of those. I know how to be like, oh this is lit here, but I can read it all over this person's face. Get the mic.

I'm thinking he about to do it songs or do something. I'm like, oh, this is crazy about to go crazy here.

Yeah, the nigga goes on a forty five minute rent I'm talking about talking. I'm talking about saying all of everything that about nothing.

It's like it's it's so just like disappointing.

Like when I was in there, I started looking around and then from the club being a yeah, everybody turning up, maybe hollers some girls, what's up, it went from that to looking like the waiting room in Hell.

That's what I felt like.

It was like, yeah, like everybody turned into psychopath people.

And he was not saying you know what I'm saying the topic of what his rent was about was was like, what the fuck put the music back on? Like that's you know, that's how I feel. So in that club, there's a there's a secret area that's like a resting area. You can go down at the club, so I said, I told one of the hummies, I can't. I don't want to sit up here and hear this shit all night. So I'm going downstairs. I'ma cheer. I'm gonna smoke this blunt downstairs. Whatever we doing, boom boom, and by this nigga gonna stop talking too later, so you know, I'm gonna go back up there afterwards. I'm down that motherfucker for about twenty to thirty minutes and are you still here?

No?

Right right right right right over the over the this last hit, it took over the club. This is how it ended for me, anyway. So I get up back into the section. Half of the girls is gone, most of most of the most of the fine girl.

They yeah, I'm like, man, what the fuck is going on?

The last thing I hear such and such ain't stick.

They figure in my booty. I don't even play that.

Way, I said, Yeah, I'm out this motherfucker. Look and I look to our mutual friend that was there, was there. I said, you gotta be a nigga and stop letting this niggas be like this. Your ays need to be able to tell your friends. Stop being a yes man. You need to be like, look, nigga, this ain't it. You don't say this type of shit. And I left the club.

I ain't even.

Answer no phone calls. I ain't going home.

I ain't gonna say no names.

Yeah uk whoever was in that club though they like I was there.

I was there in the come, I was there.

The finger No no, not each other.

Love brother, Chris brown Man. When I say we you even it's another thank you. I got to give you one for always keeping your word. Something you've always done from the day I've met you. If you say you're gonna do something.

You're gonna do it. Yeah. You might be late, yeah a little late, but you know, oh shit happens.

But you always do what you say you're gonna do. And I want to thank you for. At the time, I was managing the artist named Love Rants and there was this record that we had and I had this crazy idea to turn this rap record into an R and B song. You heard it and you was like, Nigga, I'm coming to do it tomorrow. Yeah, and you put up in your fast car, you knock the shit out, and this record has lived on to this day. I cannot go to a club. It's still I'm going to hear the R and B version of up to this day. Nigga sending me videos from France, sending me video on Japan, anywhere in the world, and the fact that you obviously you did that for me because we're brothers, but the fact that you were able to help me make this record that came from the bed area and my young boys had had this song and it was blown up and you.

Helped them take the record worldwide. Yeah, I just want to say thank you, No, thank you. I appreciate you for that.

No, I appreciate you.

See I'm bad with thank you. Like when people think me become like bro ship you help me all the same in the same token. I look at it like like if you would have called and if it was a Wax.

Song, we would be like, let's try a different record.

But it's like, you know what what a song gonna do, And then at the same time, it's even easier when it's when it's like family. When you got people that's around you that are musically gifted and they do the same thing you do. It's not a conversation like nah, I can't really do it, or no, I'm here whatever you need.

You know, So I appreciate y'all. Bro. I am upset that this song was was on fire, super flames, right, and this nigga wouldn't go nowhere.

And performance, or I was becoming your manager. I don't that ship he was. He was he was behind the scenes and it was promoters offering him the best.

We had some other ship we had to do though. Man, I don't know. Look at us now, Look at us now? You got records now?

Yeah, yeah, they be lonely? What the fuck is we doing? I under saying, y'all know me and this nigga got a record again.

It's all right, it's so way. Let y'all know that we got a record. Thank you again. Listen, brother to say we love you would be an understatement. You already know what that means. My brothers. We don't play no games about Breezy. You know what I'm saying. And that's in real life. That's not that's not music, that's not entertainment. That's that's real life, in real life. And so I think people have known by you know, all the times I've jumped in the in the comments to make sure fuck you niggas up you fuck around with the fuck around yeah alone. But my congratulations to you man for continuing to work hard, bro. And I think that that's the separation between you and everybody that you've probably seen from the last twenty something years come and go. You just won't stop working. And and that is commendable with the success that you've had, that you are still aspiring and still pushing to do more and to be greater. Like if if if I'm telling my son to chase anything saying you watch Chris Brown, you watch that journey and you watch him work, and that's how you work, and that's how you find it. We appreciate you man. Listen, man, my name is Tank Man and this is the R and Money podcast. Yeah them on all Things R and B. One of the greatest to ever do it, Yeah, R and B Money.

R and B Money is a production of the Black Effect Podcast Network. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Don't forget to subscribe to and rate our show, and you can connect with us on social media at Jyvalentine and at the Real Tank. For the extended episode, subscribe to YouTube dot com, Forward, slash r, and b Money

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R&B Money

R&B Money Podcast is hosted by the Legendary Grammy Award winning R&B singer/songwriter/producer TAN… 
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