R&B MoneyJoin us for Episode 148 of the R&B Money Podcast where Tank and J. Valentine sit down with renowned songwriter Dewain Whitmore Jr. Known for crafting hits for artists like Rascal Flatts and the Jonas Brothers, as well as collaborations with global stars such as Chris Brown and Davido, Dewain shares insights from his journey through the music industry. Dive into the stories behind his chart-topping songs, explore his approach to creating memorable melodies, and get an insider's view on professional songwriting.
Speaks to the planet.
I go by the name of Charlamagne of God and guess what, I can't wait to see y'all at the third annual Black Effect Podcast Festival. That's right, We're coming back to Atlanta, Georgia, Saturday, April twenty six at Poeman Yards and it's hosted by none other than Decisions, Decisions, Mandy B and Weezy. Okay, we got the R and B Money Podcast with taking Jay Valentine. You got the Woman of All podcasts with Sarah Jake Roberts. We got Good Mom's Bad Choices. Carrie Champion will be there with her next sports podcast and the Trap Nerds podcast with more to be announced. And of course it's bigger than podcasts. We're bringing the Black Effect marketplace with black owned businesses plus the food truck court to keep you fed while you visit us. All right, listen, you don't want to miss this. Tap in and grab your tickets now at Black Effect dot Com Flash Podcast Festival.
R and B Money, we.
Second take balance out. We are the authority on R and B ladies and gentlemen. Money is Tank. I'm Valentine and this is the R and B Money Podcast. It's the authority on all things R and b H. Sometimes you know you're writing it's so motherfucking good, talk about it. I don't know what genre you in, It doesn't matter, doesn't matter where I write. When you get that phone call, you go write them here. Can I pull up on you in Nashville and give you his hit? Can I pull up on you in Los Angeles and give you his hit?
Oh Ria?
Can I pull.
Up on you and Corea?
You know how Jesus said when they came back, Nigga just came't bay in Coree?
Can you deliver on the mad?
Yeah? Yeah, put this off. That's what you do. He's sitting right here. Yeah, full the way he's him d wing with more.
Junior Jause, that's a senior.
The senior nicer than you.
Listen, is nice. You can do some things JR.
Can't do.
I'm trying to tell you. Yeah, I appreciate you'all having me.
Man, come on, man, yeah, long time coming with the greatest they ever do it.
I want to I want to start off with beef. I want to start there first because I think I think I think that's how we kicked this off. Okay, you've written some very very incredible, incredible records. Incredible, Jay, how long have we know doing I don't.
I don't know.
I don't even know, at least at least at least I diedst Have you ever gotten up, Dwayne Pack? Have you ever gotten hey, nigga, pull up? I got some. He's been so busy at the top of the charts with the Okay, listen, fine be minus god.
Shut out.
I'm just listen.
I just got to say I was honored to be on the t g T, the first t g T album between the lines.
Between the lines, you said, the first, only one t g T album.
Oh well, then listen, they never got too You say the first we got the demos. Hey, well that's even more than the one and only t g T album. Absolutely between the lines, what the honor it was.
About?
That's why we didn't get the album to This is.
Neither the Hey, somebody said that the comments, I was looking at them. He ain't that good. He's just saying with his chest out it was on.
Somebody else thinks that I got tagged.
I said, oh they glad ray.
Hey, listen, when I say the women attacked him, that that nigga that said that same with his chest and that's fine.
Ain't that good?
Whatever you're here to see? Hey, listen, huh, I got I got, I gotta off listen. I don't. I don't have the talented moment where I'm like, please respect my un No. If you want to tip me, tip me, I'm with.
It, welcome all nothing.
I don't care why you there, Just get the ticket. I take care of the rest.
That's crazy. Oh my god, listen, listen. You already know, man, that's what. That's a phone call away anything you need.
I am issue. That's what I'm here pulling out an amber alert right now.
Certain certain people, certain people.
It's not even an ass.
Actually, it's actually a certain person a certain persons.
Only Chris gets your records. Everybody else has to wait. He thought I was about to say some other ship.
Nigga, here's all right for the world. Oh my god, you.
Know what it's. It's like that within itself is like is a blessing, a very high level blessing that you're that your frequency connects in a way to what he does, like you guys, connection musically, It's just it just makes fucking sense.
He was the first artist to give me a shot. First one, he didn't care about what did he do?
What? What is he written? What's this guy?
It was never knowning that, and I can say that he's been It's not even just with me. I've heard that with others.
But everybody.
That's how if you got records facts Chris Brown, which means it's about the music, give an opportunity.
It's about the music, about the music, because he's a rare artist that believes that I got the sa I just need. I just need the saucy people I don't. I don't need the name facts. I need where's the sauce set facts? It's a nigga sitting at first Baptist, been a constal. Just got bottles of the sauce, bottles of it, bottles of it. No, nobody knows nothing about nothing.
Absolutely right. And you don't find a lot of people that dude that where it's just about the music.
Yeah, you know what I'm saying. They checking to see, well, who's he working.
At the highest level, especially the highest Absolutely. But since we since we're talking about sauce, let's take it.
Back sauce that's specific race, you know.
What I mean, Let's take it back because you know, off camera we was arguing about it. He was arguing about it. You know it like the base, like the bat, like thea. You from a place that got plenty of sauce.
About Kansas City, Missouri, like the Missouri And then listen, because I know it's two sides of Kansas, and I rock with both sides.
But I know that you're from the Missouri side.
I'm definitely know what I mean.
But but there are some good Kansas side people, you know what I'm saying, really good, really, I'm cool with a lot of them.
I'm saying it like.
Now y'all liked it, but for me, y'all like the.
Don't do that.
You mean, surprising amount of people that don't know the difference.
I mean, Yo, So you're from Kansas, right, No, I'm from Kansas City, Missouri.
All right?
So like were Dorothy, sir, Sir, we didn't pay in any of them guarro geography, none of the geography.
But it is ultimately like if San Francisco and Oakland two different states, right, right?
Facts, fact, very much.
That's tough, right fact, because it's literally just a bridge that separate.
That's true. Right, If you go to the base of Bridge.
But when you get to talking about bro but when you get to talk about Dorothy and all that listening, that's hours away from where I But everybody didn't know that.
I understand, I understand, but I'm not where from where Dorothy is from. I'm from the Home of the barbecue.
You know that? Did you say? Y'all call it the home of the barber? Like y'all the home of the barbecue? Like, ain't nowhere else making fire barbecue fire? You said Gates right.
Fire subjective? Gates is definitely there's another one put on to Jackstack. And you haven't had Jack Stack get that in your life, Jack Stacks.
From the Home of the Barber. Absolutely, ain't no other states. There was a state in the Yeah.
There are some representatives for sure.
Saint Louis is still Missouri's. So that's just that's under the it's under the act.
They got barbecue, Wow, they might.
I don't. I don't have no barbee.
I know they got soul food with a certain rip.
That's a sweetie by Okay, you out.
Here taking It's what I'm saying. Memphis don't got Memphis.
Yeahs y'all Memphis got barbecue because you got to get you attacked in the I.
Think you're going it's us, if it's Texas, might Texas, no, no fact texts.
If we're talking about the best, are we talking about the best? Are we talking about good Barbara?
I think I think if we're talking about good like good Barbara, I don't I don't think. I don't think a chain can compete with with that.
Okay, with that.
Elder, with that elder gentleman standing in front of that that that that old barrels every good. Listen, my great grandfather used to be dipping and stuff and making the barbecue and talking and spinning at the same time.
People love that's good, like big.
Mother.
Because now it's as a grown man, I understand. But you are right when it's loving it though, like and.
What you're doing.
You know what I'm saying.
It's different because a lot of people take pride in it, especially from like from your memphisis and your Texas and in case he like, they take pride for.
Sure, you know what I'm saying. I think when life is like connected to something too, and it's like when it's like when it's that, when it's that guy and his family and and every you know, Friday, Saturday, Sunday day out there and the kids is out there with him, and we need this. So I ain't got no I don't have no choice but to make sure this is rocking off the chap every time time you pull up.
Absolutely, So that's real.
Okay, So speaking of cooking, okay, okay, when did you start? I want to get it toeg got you do you start getting your cooking on with people? Was like, hey, that you get that young man an apron and.
It is great. Tell me when g Win five years old?
Love that young age.
And Casey like most people from the church Christ Temple Pentecostal Bath is crazy. Christ Temple Pentecostal Church.
But that like because you you messed up.
It was almost like, well they changed the name across the color lines in the gang.
You know, I'll be asking, church is wild. They did change the name.
Now it's just praise practices.
It's praise practices. Boom.
So how you celebrate okay, all right, how you sell the lame in terms the lame?
How Christ Sample Phenecostal Church and we're part of the p A W denomination And.
Yeah, that's raising worship. Oh listen, that's who A W is.
That's Braiser.
Dang, that's crazy p A W.
I'm just asking you know what, I don't know. I need to check the history on the name of p A W. It might leave be learning you something that's great.
It was.
I got your church niggas.
Oh no, no, no, also assemblies. Okay, is amazing.
Dame, come on, Jay, that's the church. I'm gonna stark.
No, I don't want to suck.
It might be some of that going on in some of them, for sure, But yeah, Pen the Coast of Man moms director of the choir, and she used to make me get up there and sing man and.
I no, I hated it. I used to have stage right when I was little.
Somehow I learned how to tap out and just I don't know how, Like anytime I would get up and sing, like, I'll be able to tap out, but the nerves is one thing, I'll just be like, oh my god. And so that's why I take my hat off to I'm leave it on right now, but I take my hat off to.
Artists that like it's nothing like you can get like y'all just get up and just like it's nothing like no nerves, no unless.
You know, like me and just able to just it's a light switch, you can just turn it off. But that was how it was, man. I just I would be able to turn it off. And then my dad he played the organ. It's funny because he'll call me now I've been getting ready go on sessions.
He'd be like, who you work with today?
I work with such such they play the organ, Dad, not in every session. You know, they're not playing organs in the sessions, but uh, you know, depending on what the vibe is for today. You know what I'm saying. He looks for the organ. But he played the organ, and he used to try to get me to play the organ. I would sit up there. I got a twin brother, both of us. He tried to get us up.
I had me sit right next to him on the organ, and I just would be like, dog, I'd rather be doing with everybody else doing right now. And then I took Suzuki piano training.
What is that, bruh.
One of the most intense piano trainings. Uh, not necessarily just piano. I believe violin like there's different forms of it, but it's a Japanese style of piano, and I absolutely hated it. I used to have to practice every single day. I say, I grew up in the house where you couldn't watch TV through the week. It was like, oh, you want to watch Martin tape it? You watch it Saturday.
You know what I mean?
It was I had no TV all week, but I did have it.
I didn't have a TV in my room.
Pentecosta, That's what that is.
You want to know what though, Wait, what's crazy?
I don't even know that anything to do with church for my dad.
If it was my mom, probably if it was my dad, it was probably like, no, nigga, you need to practice and that's all.
That's all it is. Do your homework.
He he was big on studies, big on on on practicing. And so it was an hour of that and I have people come over, friends, come over, cousins come over, no matter what the day is, You do your hour. Not yet, all right, go do your hour? And I sit due to the hour, and they playing my Nintendo.
They doing you about done yet You're done with your lessend?
No?
Not yet? Man, So they having all the fun, bro.
But I hated it. I absolutely hate it. But hindsight is twenty twenty. I wish I would have stuck with it though, you know what I mean, if I knew I was gonna be doing music when I got older.
But yeah, it was just super intense.
Was he Do you feel like he was preparing you for this?
Not for this?
No, because I don't even know. I think it had more.
To do with discipline.
Well, he's big.
On discipline, you know what I mean. He was big on that and and and you know, if you're gonna do something, do it all the way. Yeah, you know what I mean.
He was like, I'll tell you what because he knew he hated, Like when you turned fifteen, if you still don't like it, you can stop.
It might have been twelve. What are we talking about? But they I turned it then I was like, yeah, I'm done. I'm done. I'm so.
Is your brother Sauzuki out to never at the time? Oh yeah, yeah, both of bro both of us. I do an hour, then.
He do an hour.
Yeah you're done, all right.
Your turn.
But see then he but he grew up because his mom played, so he grew up under the same principles say his mom just it wasn't no Suzuki like that his mom played in the church and she was blind and an amazing piano player. But he he grew up under the same under that same principle and the same principles and practices, and so.
Yeah, he just you know, paid it forward, you know what I mean to us?
But my brother and I both and I yeah, like I absolutely hated it, But again today I wish I.
Would have stuck with it.
You know, you don't really find sessions where you like unless you're a session musician, you.
Know what I mean, if you're a producer, you're not reading music like that.
You know what I mean?
You played by ear, and now I wish I would have like learned how to play by ear. That you know that I think goes a long way in what we do. You know, whether it's piano, guitar, whatever it is.
Wait, did you do did you or were you self.
Taught or did you tried? You know what I'm saying, that's they put me in the middle. C But cool, you had to, but you had to I had to early.
So what made you want to do it?
Though? You know what I'm saying, Like, what made you say? Boom? I'm about to learn it sounds.
I heard something that as a key I couldn't I couldn't shake like I heard. I heard the chords and and notes together and and it would it would do something to my soul as a kid, as a five year old kid. And I gotta learn it so that I can feel that feeling all the time.
That's amazing.
And that was that was that was my chase.
Wow.
The music was like porn for you. You today, you're cooking the day. I just asked, watch his niggas explain that it's getting hot, it's getting warm over here. It was like it was like a feeling. And you know, I always tell people when I heard Charlie Brown's Christmas, it was, it was. I will never forget it to this day. I will watch it Charlie Brown's Christmas to day when they play christ Charlie Brown Christ on the radio.
Turn up.
That's crazy.
I need it. Wow, just different wow. And I and I chased it until until it sounded like what I heard. Wow, added many fingers I could add. And I just sit at my grandma on my grandmother's piano.
Just yeah.
I wish I had all day, all night.
I wish I had that I wonder if I didn't have it because I was forced to board with you.
Know what, force is tougher, you know what I mean?
Because I but do you feel like because I come from the forest, right, but do you feel like it was the same?
You know what I'm saying, Like I don't want to do it?
No, It's so funny.
I think that's why he and I have such good chemistry because we come from two different sides of music of coming into music, you know what I mean. Like, ultimately, my dad, even though he was a street guy, he was so engulfed in loving music that he was like, my kids have to do music. Wow, this is the way out. This is all of these things. So even you know, we go back and forth and we laugh a lot about I'm like, bro, you're a music nerd, right, And it's funny because I've almost ran away from being a music nerd because he'd.
Be like, well, nigga, you know that you gifted and you know that.
I'm like, no, I don't, No, I don't know.
Just one day I could see.
But it's because, like you're saying, being forced to practice, dude, this instead of discovering it, like his is pure discovery.
Discovery, you know, his is pure discovery. So it's only the joy of it.
I'm looking at the whole block outside and my family can't go outside, and all he's doing is doing this step.
Side over outside outside with my kids.
Don't we want to go outside? Like outside?
Wait?
I couldn't wait.
I would right or go outside?
Absolutely, I couldn't wait.
Man.
But that was My bikes never caught flat because my tires were being used.
They said all weekend, we can borrow Jay's bike.
Yeah.
You any bikes in my house got flats right down, bro, because the kids won't get on.
Them and go.
Come on, bro, not just spend me my kids fifteen? You're like, I'm cool off this.
I was done with it.
I was done.
But were you done with anything pertaining to music at this point? Were you writing at that time? Were you're doing so?
I so I was in a I was in a group.
Come on, group, but come on, girls, the name of the group, you know, come on, bro, you got you have to You can't just say I'm on. It's part of the Army Money podcast.
It was a church group. It was a gospel group.
A to J A the number two Jay addicted to Jesus, crazy.
Addicted to Jesus.
Listen, that was the name of the group. See then what they introduced you a to j coming up? It sounded like cool, we got addicted Jesus.
Next, I am from the man that right there? Did they say? Addicted? What Jesus doing?
Hey, I tell you what Jesus? Tell you?
What?
Nice? Though? Listen? Oh my god, how many guys in the group? Five?
Me? Five got me, my twin brother, my cousin Titus. Yes, yes, I did not know that. All right, this we'll get into this, get into this. Titus is how I got started writing writing, John.
This is great, Okay, all these years I've known you and known him, I didn't an idea.
Titus is how I got into writing songs at fourteen.
So we're in this group. We're in a dick. Oh you forgot you. Get shout the other guys. You got shout all.
Your I'm tripping, shout all you guys.
It was me, my brother, my twin brother, Jermaine, my cousin Titus, my cousin Caleb, and my cousin Deonte. So five guys, okay, so all family too though, All family, and start there was a there was another guy in there justin when we when we started then he he was a little older than us, and then he went.
Off to school.
I love that you or your brother got the twin names too. Ye he's going on for your.
Same middle name too, Ray Same. But that was that was what it was.
So growing up, we're singing, and I mean I think we might have been eleven when we started, ten eleven somewhere around there, and so we're singing a lot of like of course, uh like you know, we were singing Minis standard of course. Yeah, him was our goal to so we were singing some Minis Standard commission of course. But around fourteen, I find out that my cousin Titus with some of the other songs that we were singing. I find it and I'm thinking at the time that these are just songs that are out, and then I find out these songs that he wrote. Yeah, I'm like, like what like? And then he showed me that we had either thirteen or fourteen. He showed me like how to write songs, and that was how that was how it started. And then we just I stuck with him those next couple of years, like we would go through the middle school, high school, and then.
Writing songs for the group. And that was how we got into I'm telling you nice though, like nice, real nice.
So where y'all performing? I just going from church to church.
The whole city.
Yeah, like any like churches, festivals around the city, like they were calling us to come sing at all of those. But even before the group though, like as a kid, so my dad played as I mentioned, and he.
Were liked his little father son dudo.
Man, we ended up I'd be singing that stuff throughout the city, like different functions. They'd be having different fundraisers. It'd be him on the keys, me singing, and.
Yeah, that was that was really where like that wasn't taking Jermaine with.
Your Jermaine wasn't that none of the latest performances at all. No, he was wherever he was. Yeah, he didn't have no part of that.
I'm cool Jermaine. Jermaine wanted to.
I think as we got older, Jermaine got the bug for music. But yeah, it never uh it never stuck with him, you know what I mean. He was also like more in like the finding. He ended up going to getting his degree in like financing economics and that and that kind of thing whatever.
But he's Jermaine Sings. It's still to this day singing a church every Sunday, praising wordship to this day right now, next Sunday he's up on the stage guaranteed.
So it would be my dad and I going around seeing all these I don't even know how he's booking these these gigs like all around the city, and I would, yeah, we would go out there and show up and sing a couple, a couple of number numbers and and do our things.
But I was again like I never growing up.
I never was like.
Comfortable, like just like like super comfortable, like singing in front of people like that. But for some reason I was able to always flip it off and do what I need to do, and that actually carried over into getting into the industry. I would be able to turn off whatever the nervous switch is.
And not and not making the moment bigger than.
Than what I was there to do, you know what I mean, Like I somehow I was able to always do that, so it carried over all the way through.
But I've never just been like you know, like I love like me.
Jump out and you know what I'm saying, which I feel like to be an artist and to be a successful artist, I think you have to enjoy what you do because there's so much other stuff that comes along with being an artist that at the end of the day, it has you have to love what you do. It's got to come back down to the love. I love what you know what. I hate this, that, that, and that, But I love getting up and singing and performing and doing what I do. I think it all comes back.
That's why I only sing sometimes, bro, But because for me, I don't get the same I don't get the same joy out of it.
That tanked up.
Yeah, I understand.
I see it up close with him because you know, we've we've taken this ride together to where we'll be dealing with all the foolishness to business, all this stuff. And I can see him and I'm like, all right, it's weighing on him a little. And then as soon as he's walking towards the stage, he don't care about nothing.
That we with, the switches flip and I'm still like, I want killing and you want me to come.
Out and say you want me to trying to tie.
Wait, let me ask you, do you feel like, that's something you're born with.
Though, what's that?
That what he was just saying about you? The ability, like the I don't know if it's the love for it or whatever. I think you're born with it. I don't think it's something you can teach. I don't think it's something you can learn. I think it's something that's innately in you.
I think you're born with it. It just depends on how you how that space is defined for you, Like for me, that space is untouchable for anything, for anybody. That is my space.
Was it always that way?
Did you always look at it that way?
No? I was always happy in it. Yeah, but I didn't know how to define it or what it was, or even how to protect it. For that matter, I get it. And so for me, once I learned that, man, when I'm up here, nothing else matters and learned I learned it from a crazy place, from being on stage, being extremely happy, being extremely fulfilled, and being extremely broke. Huh broke, uh divorced, all of that and none of that mattering that moment. Okay, and this is when you're singing background, are are you? This is when I'm doing just you know, a little random shows, keep the lights on. I mean, I'm Tank. Okay, Okay, I'm Tank. You know what I'm saying. I got maybe I deserve, I got one man out and yeah, and I'm trying to I'm trying to figure out where the happy is that I can all where I can always get there. And I realized that in music on stage in that studio, nothing nothing else fuck matter. Wow, Like okay, wow, okay, Because because I had allowed the stress, the stresses of life to weigh me down so crazy to where it affected everything. And then one day consciously I said, I'll never do that again. I'll never let anything disrupt the gift, disrupt the space that the gift lives in. And so it wasn't always like that.
Wow.
I had to adopt that that's amazing.
Yeah, that's amazing.
And I was through the fire and know what I'm saying. So I was like, it's all we got to go through all this ship just to get on the stage. It's crazy when that mother fucking music come on. When we get them push up here and we pumped that chest because you know they want to see it, put them in ears in and were taking that walk. It's a different thing.
It's a whole different different beings.
No, I I listen, but that's not something you wanted. No, Nah, I didn't.
I didn't and and I didn't notice like writing song professionally like was even a thing, you know what I mean, Like we were doing that just out of shure, like sheer we I love, like this is dope.
Like so you were because being from a place like Kansas City where so rich in music, you guys had so many talented people come out of Kansas City, come out of Kansas and Kansas and miss both sides, Missouri and Kansas.
And even even though someone like.
Olivia Harris a Damon Thomas who were a generation before you were you guys watching that.
I never knew anything about any of that.
Now, never did. And it might be just because I was so like in like the church, Lane, So it might be because of that. Now I say in the church like, but I did, like one of the things was like like I grew up in the church. But I also it wasn't like I could I could also listen.
To the secular secular music on weekends.
Yeah, Saturday, go ahead.
Striking it. Nobody said none of us.
Entertainment, the timing was intable. I'll tell you that much. I could listen to the song.
Now he's having to remember, like the song, like the song.
I can't watch the TV, but I can listen.
I can listen to I can listen to the songs. But it wasn't it wasn't of course, nothing like with No cousin or nothing like that.
But R and B for sure.
Okay, for sure, my mom, I only knew the ready versions to n w A and I would wrap them at school and they would laugh at me. The radio A young I can't wait to have.
You to rap along with it, Oh my god on the podcast and wrap with te like I'll wrap with war G.
That's crazy. The radio version is crazy. But I could. I could.
My mom she was, she was the gospel listener.
But my dad and so my dad, that's really where I got like it was such a diverse listening palette.
So it was all the R and B.
But then my dad also I would listen to be Michael McDonald and and Bobby called Well and like Steely Dan and then to be a whole which I mean, that's a whole other thing. But because they learned from yeah, yeah, so you know what I'm saying, but that was where I learned all that, and and I never associated a skin type with any of that music. And so for me, I always thought, like growing up, I thought Mike McDonald's black, Bobby Carwell.
Was black listening to those voices, and then as you get it's like, m h wait what but I like, I.
Just I just started reading Michael McDonald's biography and he talks about like his whole influence it was was brothers, buh, like the whole his and he's not, you know, ashamed.
About it, like he's like, oh yeah, like I.
Was listening to this day and so so yeah, so for my dad that was where like everything it would be like Chris Cross, like that was where I got onto Christ like everything.
He listened to it all and so a lot of that early on was just.
Kind of like poured into me essentially creatively as well, and I didn't probably recognize it then, but yeah, singing literally that was something from five I would perform with him through the city until I was probably thirteen, fourteen fifteen somewhere around there when I quit this zookie piano.
But yeah, that was where it all started.
Are you getting some of the money y'all making.
I know you know what, No, I don't think. So now I need to have a talk with Dwayne Senior.
Yeah, I think.
Hey, let me all let you that.
I listen. You had a place to live a barbecue. Yeah, ye, lights right?
Ain't sweet because he's like, yeah, I don't know how he was getting booked.
I know, I didn't want to say I can tell you how.
I can tell you how you getting booked?
We're talking about that's crazy, that's funny.
Yeah, so yeah, we want make me and little Dwayne, we're gonna come down. We're gonna do a couple of numbers.
That's your spot handle the bit.
I know everybody else got these they got these grown up groups. I got a little Dwayne.
Yeah, you're gonna love him. You gonna don't love him. Juice, it's all you need, apple apple juice. You're gonna cut up, make it, make the envelope.
Making it.
With more seen.
Ye, his name Dwayne?
Who just right?
Dwayne?
When moore a nation's bank? Hey, no, I get what the man wasn't.
It the game? Game like that?
Don't say my name Dwayne like that?
That's today.
I see they called jal.
He got a organ.
Gott hey, god, oh my, he got organ crazy talking like that.
He ain't got no walking.
Talking talking like that, he ain't got no order. Really, yeah, that's crazy.
You starting stopped, all right? All right?
Oh, I just wanted my guy to recognize he had been done.
Like me, when you were talking earlier, I could have told you he was. I can have told you was booking this, Bro.
That's crazy, point all on past cross crazy.
It's crazy.
That was literally that was it, bro, That was that was where where it all started.
And then we then we kind of kept that going until everybody went off to college and did there did the thing. But I was still like writing and again like I didn't know anything about like writing for people and that thing.
Like we was writing for us, still writing just J for a to J, still writing for a to J. You know what I'm saying. So that was what it was.
And when does the light bulb go off? Is there is there somebody who from an actual music business standpoint that takes some notice or you end up in a room somewhere and people hear some things and like hey you know that, No.
That was that was a ways down the line. Honestly, so Titus. It actually Test moved Titus.
And Brian moved out here around Uh. They moved out here not.
Too long after after high school, like right after high school moved out. But Titus moved out and I went off to college. I think Titus went to college for a year, but he he uh, he came out here and uh he had an older brother that was already out here who was at a gospel group at the time too, And so Titus had moved out here.
First, I was in college.
I actually was playing football and so I was a safety and so I played. Actually, my focus was.
On football when I graduated, My focus was on football. We would I mean we would still do we would do music like when I would come home for like breaks or something like that.
But but I was.
Focused on football.
I I went to Juco Junior College, played there, and then I transferred to UAP b for for for a couple of years and finished out my time there, but played ball there and then from there.
I was drafted.
So the NFL.
Your NFL had a European league at the time, So I was drafted to NFL Europe to the Berlin Thunder.
So I played I was. I was over there for a second.
Are you really played football?
I did for for for you, locked in, locked in. I was locked in on on football. But you know what's crazy, this lady somebody told me one.
Time, and this is when I was like heavy football for me, it was actually my my dreams were NFL. So I was like, that's my that's what I'm doing. Bo I'm so I'm doing.
I'm having tryouts Chiefs and Raiders and Colds, different people before I got sent to NFL Europe. And then this lady I come home, somebody told me one time she said, actually I think it was Mike I mother to tell me that.
I'm not sure, but she was like you. She came up to me, she approached me. She was real nervous and she was like.
She was like yeah.
She was like, the Lord put it on in my spirit to tell you that. And I just been kind of going back and forth with it, well I should tell you or not? And she said, but he told me to tell you that music is what you're supposed to be doing and not football. And I was like, okay, thank you, Like thanks for that word. I got bladed.
Appreciate you. Ex is that how you cuss people? God, bless you, God, bless.
You God, let you appreciate you crazy. That was definitely what it was.
You fully focused.
I wouldn't hear none of that. Yeah, I wouldn't hear any of that. I was headed to the NFL Europe and so I was doing trial to get try. I never made a team though, I never made an actual team, so I didn't make the chief.
What was your forty four four one was moving four for.
One, So I got when I got driveted to the NFL Europe, I got moved from safety to running back because I was like two thirty five too, that was a big safety.
Yeah, so they were like, yeah, we're gonna go ahead and running back. So I got moved to running back. But so what's where I felt Where I felt the pool, where I felt the cause Again. This whole time, I'm still writing and so I'm still were still doing music and I'm writing songs. This was like two thousand and eight, I think, somewhere around there. And so this was where when I started.
See the two thousand and eight Yeah, I'd be like, okay, Titus was out here. And then I started like realizing and learning about like writing for other people that you could write for other people. Yeah, and this is why I'm in training camp. And while I'm like trying out still. So when I was supposed to be studying my playbook, man, I'm writing songs.
So I'll never forget.
I was in training camp in Tampa, in my roommate doing training camp, he studying his playbook.
He hear me write, and so I'm saying, man, what you uh? What's that was just some songs, right, like you writing songs. It's like yeah, He's like it sings.
Some more that sounds crazy, like let me hear some one. So uh, I'm doing that. I'm doing that the whole time. And then I would go back to like studying my playlis. But I could feel the music pulling me harder at that Around this time, I started feeling the music pulling me harder than football was, which was crazy because it had always been football.
That was it, that was the only that was that was my only focus. But I started really.
Feeling it pulling me.
And and I remember because some guys man like when you when you've done that, whether it's football, basketball, anything, if you've done something your whole life from a kid or from middle.
School, and then all of a sudden, one day is cut off and you can no longer.
So it's like some of the people play in the NBA or NFL, It's like, all right, you done, Like you all of a sudden can't get picked up by a team, So now what do you do with the rest of your life?
You've done this one thing for so long. Now it's like, what else are you gonna do? So I've had I know.
People that like struggled with it and had to like actually get help to like to deal with the mental the mental aspect of that, like, Okay, how do I how do I just all of a sudden forget about what I've been doing and find something else to do with my life? Thankfully, thank God, like I did not go through that, because again, like I felt the music starting to pull me a little tugging on me a little bit harder than the football.
And so.
When I got cut the last time, when I got cut from the team, I remember saying to.
Myself, I'm done.
I'm done with I'm not, I'm not, I won't do any more trials, no, nothing like, and then they try to I got a call to the Frankfurt Galaxy of the NFL European League.
They wanted me to come come out like mid.
Season, and I was like, and how old are you at this point?
Oh twenty.
Two?
Yeah, twenty two, I think something like that.
Yeah, so so.
But I but I knew because again at this point, Titus was sending me tracks, like because we weren't in the same city, he was just sending me the tracks, and I write to the tracks, and and I'm trying to think if Brian was sending me tracks at this time. I might have been getting tracks from Brian around this time.
But I remember being like, yeah, I'm done, Like, let me figure out how to do this music thing, like, let me just figure this out. So I ended up moving back to k C. I moved back to k C for a five minute, and I was because I was still unsure, I like about the whole music thing, like as far as like, how do you do music?
You know what I mean?
So what I was gonna do because my dad was a dentist as well. I ain't seen he was a dentist. He said, wait, nigga, what he was a dentist?
Yes, sir, I love it.
I love it. He was a dentist.
And so I came back home and then I went to finish school, finished college. So I was like, maybe I'll go maybe I'll go be a dentist. So I started taking courses. Bro, I'll never forget I took. This is what actually made me be like, you know what, No, it's not the dentist thing for me. Man.
I took finite mathematics and calculus, and Bro, finite mathematics and calculus, and I passed with a C. And you could not have told me it wasn't an A. I was like, niggas that as hard as this class, I got a C.
And I was like, yeah, I probably don't need to do the rest of this, uh prerequisites, We're gonna go ahead. The people don't want to see Dennis. They probably want to.
Want to do they don't want to they don't want to see Dennis. They gonna want that a Dennis, you know what I mean?
So I, uh yeah, after that, Bro, all the signs you're getting, all the sign a least you didn't fail.
Though you didn't fail, I.
Didn't feel but Bro, that's he felt like as hard as I study for it, I was like, yeah, that took a lot. We're gonna we're gonna go ahead, stop stop the buzz right here.
You can let me out right here.
So it's it's tight as playing the records for people. Do you even know if that's happening.
That A little bit after that, A little bit after that around that had to be like maybe nine nine, I think it was when it was, because that's when I was like, all right, I'm not doing domble school. Let me like really figure out this music.
So yeah, Titus and Brian because I was writing to Brian's tracks at this time too.
Because Titus and.
Brian when you're in a band together, you remember, they had a band, the live stuff, and they started but they started that in KC. So they would like play it all the like all the spots around k C. And then I would come out and like singing some of the joints around the city or whatever. But they were like, you know, I was like, oh yeah, my dad was like they out there doing they doing anything, doing their music. But I didn't as far as I knew, I thought they were out here like gigging, like like just playing for.
Oh you didn't know that they I thought it was like placing records.
I thought it was like playing for people.
I didn't know what placing records was, and I quickly learned because because Brian like landed something, I think I gonna see Era and then and then it was Disturbia.
Forever for Chris Brown, and then like it was like off.
And so, yeah, we were doing songs. I was just I was sending them joints back and forth. And then I visited out here for the first time. What's that the first Yeah, it was the first time. My other cousin and I we visited out here, and then we were just like doing records, doing songs in the studio out here. So my first time ever in like an actual like studio studio, which was dope.
I still remember.
It was off of uh, off of this is the Lancashim or Violent. It was like a little almost like a hole in the wall type joint too, though, like right by that you remember that, like it used to be like a KFC and a Blockbuster, like right everywhere and what.
It's like a weird little where violin intersect intersect.
It was right over the studios, right over there, and I remember walking in that studio because it was more like a little like apartment turned studio. And I remember like, oh, so this is a studio. This don't look like the This don't look like the studios. It don't look like the pictures.
Like that might have gave me the wrong pamphlet.
At the right place, y'all might get wrong amphlet.
But we broly locked in and then I went back to KC for a second and then uh, and then we ended up doing a deal with Brian and that's what that's what made the like move official. Actually, it was crazy. I moved out here without knowing that I actually was moving out here full time like that. I'm just just like I came out and never went back.
That's kind of how it goes.
Yeah really, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah.
I still remember my pop's telling me what this was like. Later, my pop's telling.
Me, I didn't even know you had moved, Like I thought you just but I didn't even know you had moved. I was like, yeah, me either.
I didn't tell nobody I was moving. Really, I came to l A and I just didn't go back. Wow, damn, that's exactly you know what I'm going to figure it out. That's exactly how I was on this floor. Yeah, I'm gonna stay at the studio. It's just my mindset at that time, being a young guy that just yeah, was looking to fulfill my dream. It was never like oh yeah yeah. And then we got the moving yeah yeah, yeah. I didn't have no friendis shure, he no moving drug.
It was me in my clothes. Dang.
So you so when you say you did a deal, so you.
Signed publishing deal, you tried to publishing deal with Brian, with.
Brian Uh, Titus, Caleb, Uh, my cousin Caleb, who was also in a to J.
All three of us, we all ended up. We all signed a deal with Brian at the time, a publishing deal at the time. And that's what like made the whole move like official, official official. But yeah again, like I came out here just thinking we're about these songs.
But then like it was like, oh now he would talk you up so crazy, Brian, what man, man, oh you got your dayne Browne bro got here doing like he just constantly.
I still remember the first track that the first song we did together, like I wouldn't I hadn't even thought about moving out here. He was out here because this was I think after his Sea era, but it was I think it was before forever and disturbing.
I still remember that.
It was the.
The level of production compared to like other people I would work with, like in Casey or like.
It was just different.
Bros. He talks about that all the time. As far as just having local ears.
Me, it's a thing, sure, having local, It's absolutely a thing.
It's a thing.
Man. You don't realize.
You don't even realize, not even your fault and so what.
But before I jumped ahead a little bit before, actually before Caleb.
And I moved out here, we were doing so we were writing it. When we were writing some was in KC. We were writing him in a bathroom that we turned into a studio.
He had a townhouse and we converted the bathroom. We had like a little styrofoam little joints had it up the bathroom and that was.
And that was the move.
That was the booth.
We slided slid the microphone in there and then and then taught ourselves how to engineer, how to cut the vocals, to do all that.
It was crazy, like he gotta you start figuring out your whatever. However, whatever he sets up for you is your way is to push record.
I want to say.
We started in like fruity loops or something like that though, which was crazy, and then and then and then started he was really like becoming the engineer, you know what I mean, for real, for real.
And then he was just like it got to.
A point where he was just like cut me, cut my vocals. And then I would yeah, like the ha them.
That's where all that's where all that started.
But it was, yeah, I remember when when we when Brian's track started really like coming through like that.
It would be like, why do you joint sound like they're on the radio, like you know what I mean, just just different.
But that was a blessing in itself though, big time to have big time someone who already had number one records just sending joints back.
To k C big time, that big time.
I always always really loved that about your whole crew even and I say crew meaning that just the guys that come from Kansas City. Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, not y'all work together. But yeah, there is this there's a pipeline. There's a there's a pipeline to the music business real for the talented guys in Kansas City. The way, you know, like I meet obviously it starts with with with Vio and Damon. But then from meeting Vio and Damon, I meet Little Ronnie. From Little Ronnie, I meet Brian, Brian Kennedy, I meet you and Titus, And you know what I'm saying, you know what's crazy?
I never which again, like I told you and I it might have been just because I because of the Thurst Day, I never knew the history of who came out.
Of a cy you know what I'm saying, like the group Talent and Marlin Bro. I never which is I found that outlet?
Yes, yes, and so as far as I knew, like at that time, it was like I just knew Brian was like out of KC.
But yeah, like you said, Damon, it's a whole.
It's a man of really really talented guys, especially in the R and B space.
I just as of like we did.
I spoke on a on a panel back in Kansas City like about a year and a half ago, two years ago, and just met.
Jay White.
Yeah, also from there, mad cool like Mad Cole and I'm just like, you don't even know each other about bro No, no, m hm.
That's crazy.
Yeah, not at all, man, but but so we yeah, it's crazy, like so we were doing that. We would we would send stuff back and forth. During the period though before when Titus was still in KC.
We were working out of this studio we working out of this guy had built a studio and he was tired with this was at the time like where you had to save everything on the Titus having to save everything on the computer.
It was a trit and I think he would have to save everything on there, all the track on there or something like that. And I remember, like this guy when we were using the studio, and I remember Titus would come in and be like.
Why am I tracks being erased? How come I we just did this last night.
Now it's not on here.
Like I think Buddy was erasing his like the tracks because.
I think they're like he wanted to do music as well, from what I understand, like the guy wanted to do music as well. But then Titus just kind of like was kind of like really making some leeway and he.
Was purposely a racist track.
That's kind of what what we kind of felt like might have been.
I thought you was gonna say, well, he just didn't really know, I remember we talked about it.
Titus would be like, hey man, this is happening way too much, like I don't understand what.
And then and then the ice of the cake. Prophet Todd Hall, you know, Prophet to Hall.
He came to Kansas City one time to our church and he prophesied, he said, and he told, he told the guy, he said, that studio that you built, that's not for you.
That's for Titus. That's for him. He didn't know Tic his name, but he was like, that's for him. So then the guys come then that might have put a little bit more.
Studio you built.
You thought it was for you, but that's for him. So the guy's like, well, I guess I need to give you a te key, Titus, you know what I mean.
But but for some reason, Titus was like we would show up the next day after we were work. We would write the stuff and show up and like the track is gone.
That was going on.
So yeah, it was, it was.
It was crazy.
Then right after that time, it was like, you know what, I'm about to just go ahead and get abouy there, take it back right back to La. So then he moved right back out here. And that from that point right after that little after that we saw.
With Brian, your name, your name is is in really high standard.
I'll tell you this.
I it really is like I've never met anybody.
It's like I think it Dawayne.
You hear that about a lot of people, the majority of this ship.
When you really look at it, your name is really all.
That's all, and it's it's it's almost like a credit since either got good credit or you got bad credit.
If people hear your name and they like.
But another part of that too, right, like you can be you can be very very gifted and and not check the facts the character box.
But true, very true.
It's it's a it's such a limited run when they finally find reason to not let you die because they don't really want you in that ring again they're tolerating dang, you know what I mean. So the fact that you have the combination of gifting character is like, wow, why you all? You all? You're always going to get the call man man, man, man, wow and and delivered like like there's that there's there's there's an art to being a joy to be around. Yeah, yeah, right right, there's an art to that. Man, there's an art to walking into a room and being appreciative that you're there, working like it and acting like it and delivering like it.
I think also too, like everybody's not a good collaborator. Ye, so well, I mean, which is I guess it's really what you was es sense of what you were saying. But everybody's not a good collaborator.
So being a.
Co writer writing with if you're not just doing one hundred percenters, you ain't printing this thing out here, you're right with other people, you have to know.
You have to also know the personalities that you're working with. Some personalities you have to be able. You you might be an A type personality.
But.
You have to know.
Like, there's certain people that I work with where I know I need to let them get out whatever it is that's up there.
I know for me, I'm not gonna lose I'm not gonna lose it.
That's there.
I know what I'm tapping into what I need having to.
There's certain people you work with where it's like if you don't let them just get it out, they lose it and.
Then you no longer have them in the room. They're no longer there. But they're no longer there, you know what I mean. So to bring the best out of who you work, you have to know the personalities that you're working with and what brings the best out of that person, you know what I mean. Like, I think a lot of that, A lot of that goes into.
That's a skill in itself, man, that's a skill in itself. You have to listen, you have to watch, You have to then you have to you have to know absolutely and then like he said, and still be able to keep your thought.
Your thoughts exactly, you know what I mean, Because people get lost in theirs too, like, oh damn, what was I And then if you can identify that that's that type of personality and that's the person you're like, like you said, let them flush theirs.
Out, yeah, one one thousand per man.
And then you know who you can and can't work with. But and then, as we're speaking specifically to Chris Brown, you got to put your track shoes on. The boy is different, man, he's onto the other song sho He's different. Fast.
Yeah, he's different. Because how how old was he when y'all like matter or when y'all worked with it?
Fourteen?
He was fourteen, Yeah, which is also too Like this is I think people don't, you know, they don't take into account like fourteen years old being thrown into a music industry where you're like, I remember him telling me early on. I think he might have been like fifteen something, but when he was just like send him to Atlanta and he's working with I forget who all he was working with it.
You get that record deal and they trying to find it, bruh.
But he's telling me like where they taking him to and some of the stuff. He's extracurriculous, as you know. And I'm like, as a fifteen year old or fourteen, fifteen year old, like, how do you how do you how do you deal with the fact that, like you're going from cause his story is crazy, like like it was almost overnight for him, like from playing.
Basketball on his school team to no, no, no, no, you you about to you about to go do this? You know what I'm saying. But y'all saw it early on with him, and I feel like he's just he's different. Man. Most people would have been most people you probably wouldn't even know, you wouldn't hear from him anymore. You're like, what in the world, like if they had gone.
Through and started that early and then really going through a lot of the stuff that that bro's going through. I think it the nasty and the determination and the resiliency like to keep keep doing you, and not only keep doing you, but there's something to whether you're a Chris Brown or you a Tank or Dwayne or Jay whoever, there's there's something to also knowing how to separate. Okay, am I trying to please? No, I'm not trying to please. Let me just I mean, let me work for it and do who I know rocks with me, and just like That's one thing with Chris is I'm like Chris knows who his he knows who his fans or Chris ain't trying to win over new fans.
What I'm not trying to win over new fans. I know what that I know what that's about. I know who's there.
I know.
Let me put one hundred percent into that.
Do you take that same mindset as a writer.
Absolutely, I don't need to win anybody ever.
Absolutely, you just trying to write the best song you can.
That's it.
If you like it, you like it, I love it great. But I'm not trying to win anybody over. If I can show up and be the best of me, if I can be better than I was yesterday. Missus, you're still write every day, absolutely every day, and maybe not Saturdays and Sundays.
Maybe oh so now you okay, maybe not Saturday. The entertainment now is during the week.
Because on the weekend, in terms of TV, the TV, you don't write. No, no, no no, he writes during the week. He's still the during the week and then on the weekend entertainment, entertainment. Bro.
I just I love what we do.
I love.
I have a love for it. I absolutely love.
It's something we're not. We're not doctors, we're not you know asked, we're not anything like that. But the amount of of your brain that you have to use every day to get up and come in and do what we do and come up with something. You have to make something every single day that doesn't exist yet.
Yeah, it's not out there yet.
It's car magic, it's magic.
You have to literally go.
You have to wake up every single day and invent something that does not exist.
We have a friend, we have a friend, very accomplished, very successful doctor. Doctor, Come call yourself doctor, Superman.
Come on, doctor Superman.
He he told me one time, he said, I retired a long time ago. He said, I just I just work with you guys. I was like, what do you mean, You just work with us?
You know what I mean?
Because I met him through Boys to Men, Oh shoot right, And he was like, I just work with I just work with entertainers and musicians because the world needs you guys. Wow, And we need you guys to live as long as possible.
Dang.
And I never thought about that any.
Like bro Necessary. We were out in Florida, Bro Me and him riding around.
And we're just talking about music and about life and about you know, the things that he's done in his business. And he says, you guys are the only people I want to work with. I'm trying to keep y'all alive as long as possible because of what you guys do.
For the world.
For the world, you know, because we always say that like what we do ain't brain surgery, we don't, but the enjoyment that music gives the world relief. I'm really in the relief relief. I really had never truly thought about that until a doctor said that to you.
So truth, so true.
He was like, I need y'all to live.
It's so true.
Dang wow, what do we have without musicians and entertainers?
And I was like, damn, that's kind.
Of so true.
Bro.
Wow wow on a grand scale, on a grand scale, on a grand scale, that's amazing. Doctor, super doctor, super doctor, superman. Doctor shout out to doctor, come, our God, our God. But I love that real it's just a real thing. And and for you to say I love this, I absolutely love what I do. I absolutely love.
It, and I love like.
We and y'all both y'all are both you know, no matter what genre it is, you know, like being sing and all of the like. Bro, Like when you look at it, like it all.
Comes back like that's when I was telling when I was little and I thought that I'm listening to like Michael mc donald and I'm listening, it all comes.
Back to R and B dog.
It all routed back. It's rooted. It's rooted, and you know, you put a different voice on it, and you.
Know what I mean, call it whatever you want, you know what I mean, but.
It's that's where the root is. That's exactly where the root is. And we're amazing at what we do.
Do you have a favorite song song yeah, that you've written that I've written m or proudest moment song wise.
Dang, you know what, probably residuals with Chris Brown.
Because it's because.
Chris is the first one like to see him having such a moment and like with him being like the first, the very first you know to ever give me to be like, man, I don't care that you got zero placements, like I don't care nothing like and for him to always give.
Me the call like probably that one.
Explain this, give us that, explain that mothers. That's a different type of session. Meteor sho.
Nigga, congrats on another Grammy for y'all to appreciate you appreciate you man.
That that one, that one also means a lot, man, because it's with my brother's black tuxedo Domendarius, who y'all you know what I mean, have always taken under y'all's Wayne you know what I mean. I was telling uh, I was telling Eric Dawkins this the other day. Especially with them, Man, I say, I say Chris, it means a lot of Chris, but it also means it holds the same amount of weight because I did it with Domendarius too, And they've been grinding just as long as I have and have never changed and have always been consistent always, And I think that goes so far so I so I love that. But we we actually wrote that song in twenty nineteen, a long time ago, like twenty.
Twenty nineteen. He wrote that song.
Never thought, man, maybe tank, maybe I wasn't fair. I wasn't fair.
Well you know what you getting in the over underby that?
You know?
You know what I said, Nigga, I keep hey, domid Darius, they got your numbers? Oh whoa.
Did?
Oh my god?
I think he backed the bus up too after he's a mongering.
Did your brothers right? Let me raise the right?
Oh my god.
Them niggas never played that ship for you. You know you mean you know this niggas like no time may be at your house? Right, that's race, bro, it's great back the Oh hey, they're still out there. We got him? Did we get him?
They didn't move it? They still didn't move.
That's cold.
I can't bro no them my brother's man. Twenty nineteen.
We did that.
We did that back in twenty nineteen, and then.
Did anybody else have a chance to sing it, because if it's a record that's been sitting for that long.
No, we gave it to Chris right away.
Okay, okay, Chris had it right away. But Chris sat on it though, so that was supposed to be on the Breezy album. Okay, Chris had recorded it and then he sat on it, and of course he did his thing to it and brought it all the way to life like that. That boy knows how to tap into whatever it's necessary. Aliency, it's different.
And well, Dom and Dom we did it.
We wrote it and then dom Dom sent it to ther legendary Eric Hudson, yes, to.
To really bring that production of life, which he did. You get that guitar right away, just like, oh boy, this is where we're going. So yeah, Chris had cut it and then he he he didn't put it on Breezy and then yeah, he ended up.
He didn't have it on eleven eleven.
You're right, dang, you're right. It wasn't on there.
You want to know when I heard it when sitting at my house. Oh, shoot, as they always are, we did this crazy joining on Breezy. Man, he's not even he's not even putting it on the album, and I was like, I was like, I was in the mirror. They played Residuals. Said Jesus right, I hit c B immediately, ship shoot Residuals. Nigga, bro, now what's going on? It's going, looks it's going. It's I said, are you kidding me? Residuals.
That's crazy.
I wish I knew you had done that, because I think that's kind of how you did me on my way.
You put me on another Walmart uh deluxe.
You said, we talked, we start, we talked about Chris right now, you know exactly what Yo, that's crazy works, it works.
But I wanted him on the album. I was like, where do I put this song? We got a targets that's it, target Target. You love targets Target. So you hit Chris immediately when you hit the record immediately. I wish I knew that, Wow, immediately. I wish I knew that because I want to say, because because I hit him, because I wanted to make sure he needed it. He needed You don't because if you don't, I wait, dude.
I wish I knew that you had done that. Because Black TuS ended up giving people publishing on that record that I have nothing to do with that record.
Huh. And and and because from what I was told, the play was run another way. But I wish I knew that because I'm like, keep your publishing, you know what I'm saying. No, I believe you one thousand percent.
No, I'm just saying. I was like, what is going on?
That's crazy, that's absolutely crazy.
And listen, you know that's amazing.
What a song. Thank you, Thank you so much.
You know what, what else is fucking song?
From what I was told, they also played it for Usher and Usher passed on it. From what I was talking. From what they told me, Usher passed on it because Chris has sat on it for so long, sat on the record for a while.
And it's twenty twenty five. I know, that's crazy. Yeah, came out in twenty twenty four. Yeah, in a while, Yeah, five years, long time time.
Yeah.
Listen, Yeah, thank you, listen. Thank I heard it in twenty twenty three. That had to be Yeah, that had to be said.
That's going on.
This isn't This is one of the most incredible records I've heard.
Man, listen this challenge that you listen. Oh my gosh, I have ever seen nothing like that.
I haven't seen nothing like that. And I do challenges, I have not seen nothing like this because this song, Wow, listen, I call the soldiers, you know, I call the soldiers in can't and and and they show up and get the shooting right. But this is different. The power of Chris Brown, the power of this song right has brought everybody out, man. Yeah, in a way like I've never seen. And and normally, you know, a challenge goes and it and it just it will just die off in about three or four days. They won't stop. I'm still posting two more. Yeople literally text me theres I'm like, I have nothing to do, brother, not you. I'm going to start texting back, can't. Yeah, that's what you definitely posted. Know how much static post? Want much static postcars? You want to get on the feed.
And I'm not gonna even I'm not gonna offer tanks feed off in minds, I like to be on my page.
You know what, you'd have to cash out right away too. They said, I promise you you won't get on right bands. Hey, I promise you two days, bro.
You know what.
Domind Darius went on the roll that for like because the day before we did residuals, they did go girl friend. I think I think that's what they told me that they did that. Like and Mike Jay, who's another man.
Yeah, Mike is one another one of our brother Mike is.
One that I want to like, really win so bad. I don't know, nobody likes the man.
Yeah, it's time for that part of it. Bro.
Yeah, he's he's he's insane, absolutely insane man.
But but yeah, they they just they're in their bag.
Are you excited for for the first performance check to come? Were you at as I would be a podcast? Are you are you anticipating? You know what an influx? I welcome its capital. I welcome that with open arms. Do you have your mind anything particular? You would like to buy?
Real estate? More real estate, more real estate?
Yeah, thing like a this is man.
If only Junior could have passed, we wouldn't.
Get these great get the real estate. I like what you're saying, but I learned from y'all. Feel like there's something else you would buy. I feel like you're gonna do the real estate. You can do the responsible thing, but give me, give me the irresponsible thing that you have to get off.
I'm really responsible. No, no, I don't.
So you didn't when you got when you got your first when you got your first check, you.
Didn't do that.
You haven't done anything. You know what I did with my very first, like decent size check. I got a car so I didn't have to walk to record place so I didn't have to like have my lady drop me off a record play. And there's that, and and that was the first thing, A nice one. What did I get from my first? Now it was just at that time a and B car.
Yeah, it was.
I think it was just like a Volkswagen at that time.
At least put some rims on.
Never, we're not gonna do anything disrespectful to it. No tin the windows they came with it.
I'm trying to. I'm trying to find the.
Somebody else own to be for you got it? You got that part, can't it? Cars don't come to I know I possible, Guy Wild and I went to the ship club. You know what they got to know how you went to buy it?
What the strip club?
I went to the strip club and showed them that I can afford it to be there, not to buy it, bought the strip, not that nobody. We're talking about something else. No, No, I ain't buy none of that stuff.
Some new girls.
That's nicely Yo, A tipping there like I'm doing a little something. Just what's thinking? Give me a hug.
Oh my gosh, bro, oh my lord.
All that to say, bro better than me? If I had a residual Jack on the way, you know what, you know what and what I tell you listening like watching his mic, cons need I need two sections and live. I need to one for me and one for my wife.
Live like I need to if I'm doing not you.
Because he got the residuals that are actuals.
If I had brother the residuals man, his his his performance of.
That man incredible, untouched, unmatched, and.
I look like the whole steadic of it. Like the mic came like.
And show I said, I said, I don't even think he knows the special that moment is because it got it got matched out of the universe.
Man.
It wasn't like oh, Chris saying to himself or the team saying, Okay, this is the moment that's gonna go viral, then it's gonna snowball. It was just special, and the universe said what the fuck is? And I said to myself a long time ago, even even have a conversations with him. I was like, Bro, if you ever just stop, I said, you can whook your ass off, nigga. You're the dancingest nigga I've ever seen in my life. Now, most acrobatic, most nigga. I said, but if you ever just stopped and just singing, they are going to fall the fuck out.
Yeah, because you gotta ad a p with the w right, you gotta ad with it and the wiggle right because we.
Got the now Chris got the.
Now that's the that's singing or something like that. Come o my standing there with that microphone giving them time to just man, just watch and observe, appreciate. Yeah, I was. I was in concert like this man, nice Dan. Now now it's now, it's every level. Now he's mastered every level.
I would have loved for him to sing that at the one more time that the grammy I would have I would have I think we need that, was we needed?
It would have been insane.
R and B represent is R and B representative, R and B representative. He needed that?
Was it?
Absolutely? Absolutely? I?
Yeah, I love it. I love it.
I love it for him and and me and and Black tex As well again like those are those are my brothers?
Yeah? And I congratulations real quick. I'm just I just want to talk to you about you, sir. You as an artist, you as a singer. What does that look like for you? Man?
Are you?
Are you? Are you going to? I mean it's you know what, accidentally right, But I'm saying, do you capitalize on that? Because you bro, you have insane musical moments as a creative and and your voice and your your your sonic and your signature. It's it's already vibrating at a level to where you can just jump right in.
I have been thinking about like what that looks like, you know what I mean?
And I like the dance. The dance, you know that's my area.
But you know what that that that is all that all that like acts dental and it's just like but it's been it's been amazing, especially the asscat check change, you know what I mean. But get tapping into the We did a record last year for this artist's named Zarl Larson on She's she's a British artist.
Uh really big British artists out there.
But we did.
We did a top top fifteen, top ten. I think it was record for her call on on My Love with David Ghetto last year and creating writing the record, it was. It was one of the dopest things that I saw from somebody like Getta. We're writing song. He brought in the music that he wanted for the track for and he's like, Okay, this is what I'm looking for, so write the song. But then we attacked the verse like from a pop angle, well, you know, a dance angle.
He comes in and he's like, no, no, no, no, no, this is what I want.
And he plays the most soul I don't even know if something from the like seventies, like a mother.
Voice, like oh, like super strong, like you.
Know what I mean.
And then that was the approach I took on the verse for it for Zara. And then he comes in. He's like, yes, yes, it was a.
Super R and B.
It was an R and B verse all the way through and through. He's like, yes, this is it, and then she cuts it and then it doesn't. It's what we were saying earlier. It doesn't come off so R and B for her to wear her audience is like it's too R and B, but it's an.
R and B.
The prop wrote the whole thing like approach wise, we wrote the whole verse as an R and B soul record.
You know what I mean?
So I think it's what again again. It all comes back to It comes back to that. There's a group, and I'm talking that's on the dance front. Then on the country front. There's a group called They that I did a lot with on their last couple albums. But we did an album in twenty twenty one called the Amanda Tape. If you haven't heard it, go listen. It's an amazing project. But we do the Amanda Tape and then the amazing, amazingly talented Casey Musgraves in Nashville.
Here's the project.
And then she reaches out and she's like, Hey, love this Amanda tape. Would y'all be down to do a week with me in Nashville? Go out and do a week with her in Nashville, And then we end up we end up being the only not only outside writers black, Drew Love, Dante and myself the only black people on that whole country album and one number one number one country album. But we were the only black people that she brought in on. She does everything with just her team. But she did that and then she she was like, Yo, are you okay if I just leave your backgrounds on the record.
I was like absolutely.
So it's like if the song starts off with me and then and then her, and I'm like absolutely, And she jumps on the record with them with the group day and she features on there that So it's just, you know, it all comes back to R and B.
It always is gonna come back to R and B when you look at like the Beavers and and.
You know, and seeing all that, like R and B y'all were probably writing R and B songs when y'all were doing that stuff.
You know what I mean?
For sure, the approach on it, you know what I mean for sure? I mean it's just mm hmm. Whoever sing, Yeah, and you put a different son.
Absolutely absolutely tinker with being an art that you're gonna we're gonna.
Figure out what that listens. It looks like, yeah, we're gonna see what that looks like. Yeah, yeah, I think so.
I mean listen because it's I always say, even I tell Domdjaris, I said, listen, it's something to being in the crowd and sing your song, perform and a way that's life changing in that room. Yeah, and then there's something to you actually being on the stage that song that is changing the lives of everybody in that room.
Wow.
So it's like like, Okay, I'm sorry because I don't know like how far you're this guy goes back, but it was maybe I deserve your first like hit, Yes, okay, you know you talk about how music can take you back, like maybe I deserve I remember that in I think eighth grade like that, like boom, that's a that's a core memory, you know what I'm saying like that, maybe I deserve slowly, Oh my gosh, bro honestly. And I think it comes back to again what I said about.
You have to love what it is you do.
That's a long jevity when you really look at when you really look at it, how many people do you know that started when you were starting that are still doing still doing this and not out of you know what I mean, like because they can't.
It's not a lot.
I can guarantee you, and I don't even know if, but I can guarantee you it's not a lot.
I love all of this shit.
Yeah, yeah, you you.
What happens is and what I've noticed is that the one thing that can happen is you can get burnt out with the process man, man of creating and coming up with new and rebranding, and long studio hours and photo shoots, video shoots, all of these things can get They can get tiring old. Wow. Even though you love the music, the idea of it, the you know, the initial reason why you fell in love with it, but everything surrounding it drains you. It can take from you. I can only speak for them. I do not speak for me.
Come on now, I love that.
That's amazing, man.
But it shows, and I keep up with all of it. It shows, whether it be production, whether it be whether it be dripped, whether that's staging, whether it be lighting. I'm in tune with all of it.
But that's also a common thread that I find amongst a lot of the greats is you don't feel like you're done learning, Like you stay learning. I feel like the ones who are great and absolutely able to keep doing, they stay learning. I feel like, whether that's surrounding yourself with people I don't even want to say younger, but just like that, do something that you don't that you don't necessarily do.
Is it a younger thing or somebody who's active.
Active, Yeah yeah, yeah yeah, facts.
Facts, And then that's the beauty in it, to be able to look at somebody that does something totally different than the approach on it is different than your approach, but then you're able to take that and say, like, look, bro, I remember the first time I worked with King with Babyface and I'm like, we're writing a song and I'm like, he's like, yeah that and I'm I'm like you sure, and he's like yeah.
I'm like nah, I like what you said. He's like, no, that's it. I'm like all right.
So then we finished writing there and I'm thinking he's about to go in the booth and sing the song.
He's like, okay, going in the boot to it.
I said, excuse me, I said, you're not bruh. I was like, oh shoot, I'm.
Just I'm expecting him to go and he's inspired. He's like right.
It was the most insane, absolutely in saying. But that's why I feel like he's has been able to do it for so long too, you.
Know, brother, Dwayne, Yes, sir, your Top five R and B.
Singers, singers, singers. Okay, I tried to remember this.
Good to get to wait m hm.
Okay, all right, hold on yeah quick, okay. One I know off the top of my head. Brandy mm hmm. Okay see Brandy.
Mm hmm.
Charlie Wilson, Yeah, the Crispy Man, Yeah, Stevie Wonder Yeah, yeah yeah, Stokely for.
You better get out of my bag. Let's leave my bag alone.
That man, that man, I don't know if he gets enough love you.
They don't get it, you know.
That was actually my first like concert. I wasn't high school junior high school with tights.
We got we got it.
I think it was Nissan Stewart that was on tour with him in genuine. This was like probably ninety seventh somewhere around there. But yeah, we high school and he was the first one.
I was just like he was on the drum.
He did a double drum. He had a double drum set M and Chris Day. Yeah he's a monster, okay. And then number five.
He's technically not RV, but he like put me onto all just anyway.
J Moss.
J Moss just like.
There was there was there was when I was growing up. Kimbrell was the thing that like showed me a whole new way of singing, the whole new world.
And then.
I remember at this at this p a W convention one time they had the talent show It's nothing but Adults, and it was for a cast price, and I got up and saying try me again, and one of one of the talent show for for the pad or whatever, and and she was just the first first thing like show me in the way. And then there was Jams and I just had never I was just like, what in the world.
It's harmony, I'm gonna bless your soul. Oh shoot, hold on, it's just okay, just remember okay, I'm gonna bless you.
Okay, okay, okay.
Top five R and B songs.
That one was tougher. Okay, hey, oh that's tough. When you touched me by Brandy?
Why not yeah? Yeah, yeah yeah, why not?
Shout out of Daniels and right there was right okay yeah.
To this day, special Brandy was the Brandy was the like like close this thing to a church vocal, but but R and B.
She made she put it in perspective, you put it in perspective one thousand put it into that song yea were it was like, oh you can get this all off absolutely in a way that it is.
It is classic is it is mind boggling, but it's also classics.
Oh my gosh, yeah, Brandy, when you touched me? The whole album was fire okay, h always and forever heat wave?
Why not? Why not?
Shout tempt Yeah, come back to me. Janet Jackson, Jimmy, Jame, Terry and I love that song, something about that.
It's everything about.
Everything of everything about that. I've got to meet them one day, Like I've never met them, but they.
The nicest guys. Yes, oh you can, you can.
They You can look at them and tell that, right.
They're so unaffected by the mega everything that they've done in their career, like they're not.
Yeah, them and them and Kenny and l A like top of the top, top of the top for me, Like, okay, how many is that?
Two?
Three? Oh?
Okay, listen, we're moving.
Whenever, wherever, whatever. Mactually, yeah, what a song? Yeah, what a song?
Wow song?
What a song? And then number five shoot oh man, mm hmmm, dang god five is crazy?
What just one more? One more?
Man, all right, it's tough. Okay, I'm going to say.
Get here Alita Adams, get Here by Alita Adams. Yeah, some about that, Some about that song, Yeah, some about that song.
Definitely a songwriter, man, listen, you're clear.
Song five is tough. Five is tough.
Man.
It was a great fucking tunes.
Thank you, brother, thank you, because.
The residuous in there. If you feel like you don't have all right, be shy about it.
Let's from from from one of the golds himself.
I take I promise you you do take that. Let that about the fucking ride that all right? Just make a voltron your super R and B artists, Right, and so with your super R and B artists we got you have to decide which vocal from an artist you're gonna put their performance style, styling the passion of the artists. And then who're gonna write for this motherfucker? Right? One vocal to make your super R and B artist Just one?
Who's vocal?
Joe? Yeah, great vocal, Joe, great vocal.
He's another one I feel like doesn't get a lot of praise for some reason.
But Joe on Army Money Podcast, Let's Go, Let's go, he's revered. Let's go as a hymn. Yeah, I love that performance style stage Chris Brown, Chris easy light work, styling like drep on stage. Yeah, performance drip.
Okay, I'm gonna have to go Chris again, double mine as well, like he just gets flying, yes, flying.
Sure, double breezy okay. Uh. The passion of the artist.
What if I said Luther for the crazy the sequest Luther Man with the Jerry Cirl Listen, Yeah, we're going breezy tho, all right?
What's the the passion of the artists? Who means it? The heart of the artist.
Marvin Gay? Why not Marvin Gay?
Yeah? Ship that man, real passion, every word.
Real passion. Here was he here, my dear, here, my dear?
Yeah yeah, Well didn't he write that was it for his wife?
Well he had he had to give it. Yeah, that's what take this Get off my back.
That's crazy.
Who's right, who's writing for this?
Jimmy James Taylors.
Why not? Easy? Why not? That's easy money, easy money, that's easy money. Generational smashes. Five is hard man, Generational smashes. Let's go. We have the very impoorant part of the show.
Okay, can you tell us a story funnyer fucked up a funny and fucked up the only rude to the game.
You can't say no name, not a one, no names, no names.
Okay, So.
Can it be about me.
Whatever?
You don't say no names, you can't say nobody else.
Name, Okay, okay, okay. So there was there was an artist I was working with.
This was early on.
This was I might have been out here, maybe a year out here, I think.
Mega artists though huge like international internationally, like I had been working with him for uh maybe.
We worked a few times and so we were we were around the same age, I think.
But I was living in North Hollywood at the time, off of Magnolia and Denny.
You know what that raupse is.
You know what that was like?
Okay, right off Mannollian Denny. So that I would take the North Hollywood train station. I did public transport my whole like first year out here, So I would take that.
I would take that. We were working at Hinton Jim Hinton Studios off on Leabrea. So I took the took the train this one day to.
From North Hollywood to Hollywood and Highlands. So from Hollywood and Island to the station to Henson Studios is maybe a twenty minute walk.
I think, walk something like that.
So I walk it.
I get to the studio. We're working, and.
We're working.
We're working now, I know what time the trains and the bus stop running. So so we're working and it gets to be around like eleven o'clock. And again, I've worked with this person for a handful of times at this point, but the pride in me, I guess it was, would not ever let me even think about asking this person for a ride home.
So I'm kind of watching the clock and I'm like, emn like, train gonna stop here in the bit. I need to wrap this up. So we wrap up around eleven thirty.
I'm like, all right, cool, say my goodbyes, and I'm just like yeah, yeah, you're boom and put my backpack on and I called myself like leaving out of the studio like like that, okay, I'm gonna get out here before they do. I get out and as I start walking and I'm getting close to the gate, I like hear him come out and I'm like, oh, he got up.
That quick, okay, So so I like duck off. To the side so he can't see me walking. I'm like, okay, I can't let them see me walking, just the perception, like like he gotta he gotta think I'm I drove up here, and so I'm like duck off. And as he draws by, I'm just gonnam.
And he drives out of the gate.
I'm like cool boom. So I'm like booking it, booking it, sweating to the to the to the Hollywood Highland station and as I pull up, they let the gate down. They done running to the train for night.
I live off of Magnolia and Dindy in North Hollywood. I didn't have enough money for a cab. There was there wasn't uber wasn't even running then. I didn't have no money for cab.
I'm like what, I guess. We walked in New Hollywood.
Then I'm walking alongside the one old one at midnight off the Kawanga passed and I'm just like, bro, God, just don't let me get hit.
Don't let me get hit. Right now, Bro, I get to bar him. I get to like, I get to bar him. I'm like, I was like, okay, I made it. There's a sidewalk I made it to a sidewalk.
Get to bar him.
I'm like checking my change and I think we got enough to all right, we got enough to get to to Magnolia.
So I catch a cab.
We get to Langashim and Magnolia, No almost to make Lang Magnolia, and I'm I'm watching the meat boy my ball in that joint, so I'm starting to sweat. I'm kind of like this, don't look like this twelve dollars is gonna get me all the way to So I'm watching the joint and we stop at the stop line.
I'm like, okay, hopefully the meter stopped.
The meter is still running. I'm like.
He starts driving, and I'm like two cents away from what I got in my pocket.
I'm like, yeah, yeah, okay, all right right here, right here, right here, right here, let me out right here, let me right here.
He's like, you sure.
I was like, I'm sure.
If you want this much, if you want this money, you want to get paid, If you want.
To get paid, I think you're sure too, so you might be all right there, bro.
I walked and rested away to my apartment, and so, funny enough, I'm working with the same artists. A few months back, and I tell him the story. I'm like, bro, do you know when we were working we were first working, like and I told him the story, and his dad was out with us, out at dinner with us.
And his dad.
His dad was a big manager. To his dad said, why didn't you.
Just ask for a ride? I had an office in hensn Why didn't you just have a ride? I said, I wouldn't.
About to ask y'all for no rides, or I said, I said, and honestly, you know what, if I do it all over.
Again, I probably still wouldn't ask for a ride because because I just the perception for me was I was bigger than than than my pride, you know what I mean.
So I was just like or the same way, the same as my pride, I guess.
But I was like, yeah, I said, I said, if I do it all again, I probably still wouldn't ask for a ride because I wanted to.
I wanted you to just look at me as I'm you know, I'm here for this, and you know what I mean.
You didn't need to know that I.
Walked here from from you know.
And the crazy thing is he lived into Luca Lake. It was right around the corner. He definitely would have bro.
He lived in Luca, like literally right by Brian's oh condo right off Legs. Bro lived right there. But I it's it's so funny. So that goes back to you remember when you said what'd you first get with your money that you forget.
I got a car so I wouldn't have to drop so I wouldn't have to walk or worry about knocking on the taxi.
Jump out on the taxi.
Bro I pulled up one time at at Atlantic when they were off of uh the at the Diane Warren's building.
And saying, this is around the same time.
I'm taking public transport and I'm like sweating by the time I get to the session, like my manager. I was with Tom a Faye at the time. So Tom hits me like, de where you at? Like they they asking me where you are. I'm like, I'm almost there. And so I walk in and I'm drinch sweat shirt, just drinch sweat and so uh but nobody said nothing to me. So so I get to working. So then Tom heard be later he said I said yeah, I said, I said, uh, everything went good.
He was like okay. He was like yeah, they were. They were.
They were pressing me, wondering where you were. But then they said you walked in sweating and smelling like outside. And they didn't say nothing. They just like, oh, he's he's straight. He got to hear him get here. He went through a lot to get here, you know what I mean.
But that that was.
Bro, It's how bad.
It's how bad I wanted it, man, And again like I wouldn't have done it any other way, you know what I'm saying, the exact same way.
But there's one other one. This was short. What you do, it's a it's a This is a producer that.
We all know.
That I had just left the studio, so I was I didn't I didn't see this happening, but I was told about it like this that there's a There was a there was another This producer kind of set up shop at this studio, like when I say shop, like low key living there, like.
Like kind of like we're sleeping here too. And so this producer I know was working late one night.
And then the other producer I'm talking about, I guess thought nobody else was there at the studio, like it's just him.
So he had a little beat, a little beat down in the joint. So finished doing what he was doing, and uh, he walked.
Out of one room.
The other producer who was still working there to eat the nose that he walks out of the room and the producer walks out butt naked with church socks on black church another producers. They look at look at each other. You look back, look at you, he said, church elections going on.
That's great and we all we know who is great, Stacy Adam's holsery. Is that what we're doing? Crazy?
Bro?
I was like, I was like, I'm glad I missed that one that He was like, yeah, it's crazy, Bro.
You've done some I mean, you've done some amazing work out here. You you continue to do amazing work. My brother. We hear you, we see you, and I'm glad that we're able to magnify and amplify that man. And it's more importantly like put a put a real face to the name. Yeah, man, you you deserve to be walking in the airport and walking through the mall and people like that's that guy that did X, Y and Z, and you you deserve that, man, because your your your presence is of value. And and that's why we have you here. Man.
You so appreciate you.
Please please keep doing that ship.
Yes sir, Yes, sir, I definitely will. And I'm going to talk to Black Text and we're gonna get you that next record.
I'm saying, I'm around. I'm around. Absolutely hate me for a long time. Ladies and gentlemen, I have mistake. I'm nobody. This is the Harmy Buddy podcast, the authority on all things R and B. It's been Pentecostal up in here. Yeah, on the weekend. To appreciate y'all.
Man, appreciate y'all much love,
