Marsha Ambrosius

Published Mar 20, 2024, 10:00 AM

On this week's episode of The R&B Money Podcast, Tank and J Valentine welcome the unparalleled Marsha Ambrosius. The talented singer-songwriter opens up about her incredible musical journey, from her early days crushing on a McDonald's employee in London to working with legends like Michael Jackson and Dr. Dre. Marsha shares intimate details about the creative process behind some of her most iconic songs, including "Say Yes" and "Butterflies." She also discusses the challenges of being a Black woman in the music industry and the importance of maintaining artistic integrity in the face of a rapidly changing landscape. Tune in for an unforgettable conversation filled with laughter, wisdom, and a sneak peek at what Marsha has in store for her fans this summer. Marsha Ambrosius is Now on The R&B Money Podcast!

 

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Podcast: @RnbMoneyPodcast

 

R and B Money.

We are.

Thanks take valoti.

We are the authority on.

R and B.

Ladies and gentlemen, money is tank This, my friend, Come on, is the R and B Money podcast. This is the authority on all things R and B.

What the fun is your accent?

Heard on?

My friend?

Be careful, my friend, what you asked for? Because it's a flow in my spirit? Show is going to have a certain flow today.

Come on mate, you know mate, come on, bro.

Where we try to organize this thing as it flows?

Is it is?

It reaches your spirit in your inside.

It it kind of models poetry.

Yeah, yes, it does flow so well.

It flows so well, The flows so well, and you put it together and as like a fluid creek kind of thing. Ladies and gentlemen, it just got expensive. It's just the level of gift has gone.

To the stratuspheares and outer fears and galaxies that we've never seen. I'm just excited to be here to to talk to this young lady who's just one of the most talented human beings I've ever seen in my life. Than her name, Let's see her name correctly because it deserves reference.

Marcia Ambrosious, amazing amazing.

One more time to me Ambrocious Ambrosious. Okay, so some people do say Ambrosius, right, Okay, then it's Ambrosious. I don't even know how to pronounce my own name anymore. I've heard it back to me so many times wrong.

How did you were born?

When I was born, Darling, I came out of the woman and they said, this is Marcia Ambrosius.

Ambrosius, that Ambrosius ambros So when I got to America was like, what's up the Martian Ambrosious or Ambrose or Ambarrose or ambros Ambrosias.

So it's like a z I kind of like Marcia amburrows.

I was referred to us, not even Marsha Amberrose. Oh they go Marcia amber Ambarrosia Amberrows. I just left it, you know what. Being in Philadelphia that long, it was what it was.

But I love it, Ambrosious.

With your wonderfully awful British accent.

Well, are a lot of things I don't do, so I like to put all of them on display.

This is why we hear.

What's up? Guys. I feel like.

You're like you're like one of the rare artists, one of the rare entities where you've that you've been able to maintain a mystique about you, But every time your name is brought up, it's like a real thing.

Still to this day, it's lovely to hear.

I mean, you're you've, you've your your imprint, and I think it's it's it's because you're wonderfully talented. It is because you're an awesome human being, but you're very distinct in how you approach all of it, like it's very much yours.

I've been intent My intentions have always been to do just that. I think I've been such a unique individual in this very when I say urban space, in our R and B field. Unfortunately, on one side, it's been deemed as one thing, one toned, it's this box. And then you try and do that one thing that makes you outstanding, and you're seeing how long that can sustain, and you're like, Okay, how long can I get away with B and myself before I'm then forced into having to fine tune this thing that people are grasping towards. Because what R and B has been the driving force of our space for however long, And it's wild that I remember doing my first solo project with late nights and early mornings, and I had so many gems in the cut, and I'm like, oh, I can't wait to put this record out. And there's this one thing I hope she cheats on you a basketball player, which playing basketball my entire life just felt like a funny little joke, a little free STYLI did on what was it ustream we used to have at the time, freestyled it on and that's the thing that takes off, not far Away, not Sour Times, not Lose Myself, not any other record. The Ratchet one the outlandish statement, and I was like, hmm, I see R and B and hip hop doing this fusion thing where the shift is about to happen and people are going to go ratchet, and there's nothing that we can do other than hold onto the reins and still try and find yourself within it. But coming from a space of I've been able to say what the fuck I want for so long, it's I should be able to say what the fuck.

I want, absolutely absolutely know.

But you have to stand on that in R and B and some people have a way of doing it. Anyone can sing your song and there's no uniqueness to it. It's just a good song and anyone can sing it, name an artist, give it to them. But then there's me, and there are very few people that are just going to say, Okay, I'm going to sing a Marsha song because it's such a signature, it's so unique, even if it's even if it's I'm trying to touch on this little thing that I think R and B is for a joke. I hope she cheats. I hope she chooses the most ratchet thing I think I did with my space in all of its uniqueness.

I mean, is it just like or is it just the truth?

It's just real I'm saying ratchet coming from me, where people are like, oh my god, Marshia like say yes, Marsha like you know. So it's it's the.

Difference, and maybe we may look at it because we know you exactly a differently. You know, it didn't surprise me, of course. In the record, I'm like you, she feel a way about these lebrons.

I'm a little better, just a little better. I'm doing better now. And that was the song, and you know, but it was still very much R and B.

Absolutely it's called the truth.

And that's what R and B is it's just the truth. You can interpret how it should.

Should be the truth.

RB should be the truth, and that's the uniqueness that stands the test of time.

And I feel like I can stand on saying that I've done so for twenty plus years now. That's crazy to say that you sustain that. But in also praising what this platform is as well, you and I have brushed shoulders that entire time. That's insane to go into this being well not front row. I've only got like third row tickets to your concerts. I couldn't. It was sold out by the time I was getting this, so we've got freebie got in anyway. So there, I am a tank like your lungs and I'm a fan. And then coming into it, we're sharing stages together. Absolutely so not saying your age and I think you've been doing this one, but it's like to do that in our field and really claim to not only have made R and B money, still making R and B money, still have R and B money. There's a big difference in that because in our field, a lot of money is.

I just play private school tuition, so I don't really get too much R and B money.

Left this week.

The fact that you can say that you had it to give that up, I know what that is.

It hurts that I got a pond and ship you can.

It will?

I hate it. No, we're not claiming that we're actually going to stand on businesses say that we make and still and laugh about the luxury in private school because of what we've done for two plus decades now, that's insane and incredible, with more to come. I haven't written my best song yet.

Talk about loads of them.

I can write so much more like and Will. There's too much life to be had. It's too many memories to make, and just to see the reaction from people in the audience listening to these songs that we made over that course of time and it resonated in a way. It's powerful and I respect that power, which is why I've only least so much like I've actually contained because it's a responsibility. You're responsible for someone's happiness, heartache, love, life, hate, just through the songs that we make. It is a responsibility, and I do take it seriously. It's terrible, but.

It should be though.

Not My music isn't for play play like, don't play it if you don't mean it like you want to one night stand and you want to play a Marsha record, it might turn into forever.

Listen, I can think you know what, no white ship.

Have a wife?

What are we doing? How do let's go back to the beginning. When does when does someone say? And in the beginning, give me give me the birthplace of your unique self?

Having a crush on the guy that worked in McDonald's in Campbewell, London, England, South London. He was a friend of a kid that lived down the street. His name was Mark. I don't even know his friend's name. I just knew that he had the old school brown McDonald's uniform, remember, like the shitty brown with the hat and the clean pressure like that McDonald Like I have not the big Mac. So my school was within five minutes walking distance. McDonald's was like seven minutes the opposite direction. I didn't need to be over there, but would go over there and just stand outside the window salivating over well the cheeseburger, but him as well. And this song I wrote in my head at the time was called Gonna Get You, So I was out to get it like like it was called gonna get You like I was walking down the road, saw your face. It was so terrible. You looked at me, Yeah, you were away. It was like really corny, really cheesy, but the core of it of it twelve thirteen year old melody. Years go by. Now I'm in my teens, teens, teens where feelings are true feelings. And that turned into butterflies. So it was I just want to touch and kiss and I wish that I could be with you tonight. You would be butterflies. So I wrote Butterflies about him at what age I was like sixteen? I had to be sixteen seventeen because I was definitely going to that bust up to get the thirty five thirty five bus to Brixton to play for the Brixton Topcats. I was still playing ball at that time, and I would go to that McDonald's every single time get the bus.

How long did he work at that McDonald's. It was like three four years he put it in time.

I just remember the uniform going from dusty brown to you know, the white shirt. So maybe it was flipping burgers at first and then sweeping the floor like the big exactly exactly, So butterflies happens from that. So my unique perspective on seeing this very monotonous scenario come from innocent feelings like oh, one day I'm gonna get you. I'm gonna get you to I have feelings you give me butterflies, like all you're gonna do is just walk away and pass me by. I don't even acknowledge my smile when I tried to say hello to you. M Yeah, so I felt that, but really melodically and in composing certain songs like that stemmed from my obsession with Jodasy.

There's always that, yeah.

Like Jodasy has been my reason. Okay, so Prince Michael Stevie, no particular order, favorite artists of all time, and they're like the umbrellas of then everyone else because I can say all the other names, they just go in those brackets. Stevie, every performer, writer, musician, prince, complete, rock star, abstract in his own way. Michael was just a fucking star. Yeah, yeah, stars, legend star of stars, hits of hits, and I loved them all dearly. I didn't want to make music until I heard the production of Davante make music like sit there, figure.

Out anybody in your family making music? Though, or not dad, your dad.

My dad was a musician and basketball coach, hence me. So it was him playing bass or league guitar, singing in a seventies funk band called Supercharge that were actually signed to Virgin You know what I'm saying.

I like that.

When I was born one and that like Supercharger is doing it. So I had that background. And there's me watching my dad play all these instruments and don't touch that, and he you know, missing me into Okay, I'm gonna touch it. I'm play this bass real quick, and play these keys real quick, and play you know. So the love for music came from just it being around me. But listening to that Jodicy era, the New Jack Swing era, I was like, what I think doing? What is this thing? Let me figure out these chords, Let me listen to these harmonies. What do you do again? And then I'm the fifth member of joy Bocally. I can find the other harmony in anything like.

It's insane, like maybe I was the fifth member. Do you think you can be sick?

We can fight, we can fight.

He said that way too confidently. I don't know if you've met.

You gave yourself a name nice to meet you, Jayon.

Misters because I'm both mister mister, yeah, I feel you.

I don know this episode we had.

And he verified this. Yeah, I don't know we actually verified. But other than thanked you for being so craciously, I'm kind. But I will say without I don't know.

Fifty six. There's a lot of us out here.

There's no me, there's nine.

Seriously, I'm going to.

List all right, listen to any one of my songs a cappella and really hear my harmony arrangements and just know where that comes from so you can claim whatever your spot is. I just know from you. It's all in there, all of that influences in there. And my reasons why to create the way I create stemmed from really picking apart what that was, and it was from the the interludes, like the nerve of the interludes. We're just outrageous in nineties R and B and to want to carry that further and keep the integrity of what my R and B for me is what I pursued this entire time. And the longevity in that is why you can sustain that. Because people want to feel exactly that, they want to fight for their sixth or seventh position that they so claim your.

Set, don't make me called casey.

I got I'll call the family.

I'll yeah, I'll.

Call this mama.

How about that you love you love?

I gotta step I gotta step aside on that.

Okay, So yeah, I might have to bow down to That's that's that's that's fine.

I say.

The worst thing are we fighting over twenty thirty years from now?

The worst thing is don't go to an NBA game with Tank?

Why every NBA niggas, Mama are the biggest Tank fans you've ever met in your life. It's the craziest. It's the craziest thing in the world. I'm like, wait, wait, who mama is that?

Oh? You know that's that's that's just man. You know I had to go saying Hay birthday, I graduated. That's how he Trump's that all arguments.

I call the mom that's not fair.

I get their mama's tickets.

Their mama's tickets. It's true.

Yeah, there's nothing you can do about that.

Nothing Like So when you were so, when you're going through this phase right where you're you're becoming this songwriter and you're loving the music, you're also playing basketball.

How are you.

Juggling too, because what you're talking about musically is not a locker room conversation. No, that's not like you're not taking the Jogsy tapes into the basketball locker room and y'all talking about the divante harmonies in the in the in.

The piano.

That was having well the Walkman at the time, which is shaky, juggly cassette tape advancing into the CD. It was me with my headphones and all of the teammates, oh, sing that song again. Yeah, So that was my way of sharing it and then getting the you know, still very insecure in that aren and I didn't really want to be on any stages, didn't want to be seen, but my teammates through.

Your height.

That again your wife, you can sing, and I'm like.

You putting in your time.

Yeah.

So that was my.

Very intimate first experience of putting myself out there. So that was my version of Okay, maybe I'm onto something. So I wasn't juggling, not according to my dad, who was very much you're going to be about this possible life one hundred percent, or you're going to take music seriously. And I didn't take music seriously until I tore ligaments. Can we get the violins or something that moment, because it was we got devastating, devastating, it was tragic. Keep on. I heard the crunch, but in America, I wasn't. I was still overseas. I was playing a three on three pickup game at Elephant and Castle Gym, and we hadn't lost the game, and I just wanted to play one more game. We lost the last game and I was like, nah, I'm not leaving the floor until we win again. Played music again, played music. So I played that last game, and I remember receiving the ball m Remember it was like yesterday. I went to crossover and as soon as I hit that pivot crunch, It's like a bricocheted through the entire gym, and I just want to break down the crack.

Lord help me.

Yeah, it was over then, and then you can start now after that the whole world and no, there's no need to get sad.

It's so great with your extity and we've done nothing.

So that's what happened. It was a movie scene. It was like slow motion, and I hadn't seen my life without basket until that morning, heartbreaking me, crushing, like you don't picture your life without the thing that you love until you've lost it. So music hobby can listen to music all day. My mother's vinyl collection outrageous, Go in the crib Basketball. I'm up first thing in the morning. It's late nights and early mornings for basketball. For me, it was practice Monday through Friday, away game, Saturday, home game, Sunday repeat. I didn't have a day off, not with basketball. And then it's gone and I was like, Okay, what am I going to do. I'm going to write about it. And I got home, got a diary, got in front of my piano, and I wrote the song If I Was a Bird, and that was about losing basketball, which was then a part of the first Flowsry album. So If I Was a Bird stemmed from Michael Jordan's documentary at the time, Come Fly with Me. I used to watch that'll repeat every day day and it was without basketball, my life is incomplete. So it's like you have me caught up in this starry eyed well the dreams, and it's that one last shot.

All these songs are about flipping burgers and shooting baskets.

Regular I take the most regular ship and I make it your every day like most of my prolific long jevity long game. I want this music to in the space forever. A basic sayings it's what you're going to do is say yes, getting late? Why are you going to be here?

Hello?

How are you? Were you up to nothing? I hope you choose on you with a possible player. It's very matter of fact, yeah, far away and every minute you're going to missing you. So it's going to be a late night early morning when I come home.

It just feels like.

Not not that your universal calling, will you know, make the floor a little extra slippery at that time or make your shoes stick to the parquet so that your need.

Goes to that.

Not that it does that, right, but your calling has a way of showing itself and showing up to where you ultimately don't have a choice.

I agree with that, and that just comes with what is our gift. We can run from it if we want to, and it's gonna be right there going up. Excuse me. The gift that I gave you, it's time for you to give it to the world because that's what you've been blessed with and regardless of where your head's face is. That what you think this is about to be, this is actually what it is. So even when I wanted to quit, like very recently, not quit, I just feel like I've completed well. I wanted out of this space. It's like Super Mario Brothers Level eight. I jumped over the Dragon and Save the Princess. I'm out, Like it's done. I don't need to do anymore. There's nothing to prove. I wanted to sell a couple million records, work with my favorite artists, and I did all of the things that should be someone's bucket list very early on, like how a song that I wrote about the Doo Doo Brown Michael, I mean McDonald's his name might have been Michael. I don't know, Like who knows. We're just trying to figure out where are you? I really want to know where this guy is. I didn't know. Years later, Michael Jackson would hear a demo that was presented to him by John McClain, presented to him as a flower Tree album like look, I want you to hear these Girls, and a part of that demo package where the original Flowa Tree album, including two songs that were just demos. Say Yes was one of them. Say Yes was written for Rod Eisley and Me and Drey Harris did that he didn't take, but it was specifically catered to him, but he didn't take it. So he ended up doing a duet with Jill Scott for that project and didn't take Say Yes to Say Yes is just sitting there is this lonely demo shipped to bab Babyface didn't want it, so now it's just this outstanding song as well as Butterflies. So, Mike, is this butterfly song on this flow at You demo?

Like?

What's that?

Though?

Can I have that?

Mike?

You can have the entire album? You know just what kind of that's two coming to America. That's why, like between the Big Bucks and this. Okay, so I didn't know that that's how these things were going to transpire, but you dream big enough, big dreams happen, So when it starts to happen, I can't then say not I quit, but there's gonna be more in me. If that was my start, I can't start there. And then where do you go from there? Though?

Wherever?

You just keep going?

And that's exactly what I did. That was the year two thousand that that demo resurfaces, is repurposed and Andre Harris and myself go in the b room of a Touch of Jazz and I'm like, look, I have this record. Ray, I know that you are the guy you did Long Walk the Way like my favorite Jill Records. I no issue, Let's get this. We do that demo. By March of two thousand and one, we're in the studio with Michael Jackson telling him what to do and how to do it, like he's behind the glass like your mike one more time, bit pitchy one time, me with the talk back, telling Michael Jackson, I'm twenty three at that time.

You guys don't yet.

We signed our deal December, so the end of that year, so we were already at DreamWorks and then the album's done. So we're literally waiting for papers at that point to illegal aliens trying to get this record deal. So it was hey, let's get you some visas so we can put you.

Is that yeah?

So the album, our album didn't drop until October that following year. I think by the time all that was squad Away. Yeah, there's Michael Jackson like Michael mother Jackson.

And the thing too, like you said, it all comes from your demos going through the hands of John McClain, who are and at this point he's at DreamWorks. If you sign anywhere else for what Michael Jackson never hears. We just always we like to connect it, you know, we like to connect the dots. And you know when people are thinking of why I did this or why I didn't do this and all these other things, and what didn't come from something like just signing to this, you know, Boutiquet.

Supposed to be with Motown and then it's John McClain and Michael Jackson and it's might want to go that route because yeah.

I'm gonna need these butterflies.

Yes, And that's how business wise, that's how that all kind of transpired, which is crazy about Michael Jackson himself telling me, you know, if this is your beginning, imagine where you're gonna go.

Right.

So Flow Tree go on to go platinum, couple of Grimy Nuds and toured for years and then.

So here's a question before you go there, does the Michael Jackson work Just that being in that conversation and being in that room make the flow a tree that much more urgent to the building.

Did you guys become more of a priority?

Yeah, well, like you said before, it was still very much boutique. So it's on the rock side, it was what alien Ant Farm. On the urban side, it was ourselves, ron Issley, what's her name? Why am I missing that right now? I really? Oh no, what you came before? Sorry, I think, lovely girl, we've actually had conversations. No, I don't think so. It was very It was this is two thousand when we signed, but two thousand and one when all of these things started to happen. So I'm not saying there was a level of urgency now that these I think it was a talking point. So even with our papers not being done, it wasn't like we could release the album that day and Flower try the floetic album. We're talking a completely different time in industry, like our first video was up for a vm A, like we're up against cold Play like we were. We had different budgets back then, and so it was it was different. So I had a different spoiled experience of what industry was like. And I don't think even with a Michael Jackson coming into play, when the album was released, Butterflies were still very much in his the demo on the actual album, the Butterfly's demo that Marsh was saying, and this is why.

Yeah, the fact that you guys were able to use it on the album too, that was.

A dream work. It's play and they could because it was the same building and it was like the the Silent not so Silent co sign had no Michael, he's my girls.

They looked out for me. I'm looking out and that's what that was.

I think you should use it as well.

Do you think he said it just like that?

Oh you know the voice of everybody be throwing around it.

Just use this shit man, the Michael voice he gives. You're a singer. I know you have a deep, husky voice, but preservation is key. I feel like he only had that voice. He was preserving every single ounce of his vocal to just be the icon and performed that.

He was Jackson talking with the talks off.

When they talk to you, they talk about they don't, they don't, they don't project, they don't do a whole bunch.

Of cracking jokes and laughing and drinking.

I was in the studio, me and Andre Harris in the studio with Michael Jackson. It was nothing but jokes.

Did you have completely full.

Beverages you beves? No kids?

What about?

But we did have smothered turkey chops and mac and cheese and strawberry shortcake from a soul food spot in New York called Jezebels. We had that every day, every day, every day I put on.

No.

It was was lovely like Paris and Prince when they were very very young, just kids chilling in the studio like it was very family environment. It was a wild time.

So when you get this record placed, have you done getting your record deal done?

Have you done your publishing deal yet? Or did people? How did that go?

Okay? So I already had a dusty your first publishing deal, you know, one of those. So they're just very much doing me in the studio with whoever see what sticks. And then I've gone to the States on a whim to do this flowtry thing that pans out ultimately, and then it's hey, I've got you know, a placement on Michael. So we're only up the ante for me and lent to there like oh ship, We've got a writer who's got Michael Jackson Record.

Did you renegotiate absolute.

In retrospect, you kind of wish you just cashed out then and ship.

Yes at the time, but you didn't know that that money got you to.

America coming to a May game and had the means to do it.

So yeah, yeah, if you don't mind me asking, how did they give you for your before before you.

Did ten grand? Yeah?

Did you have a crazy commitment?

No, it wasn't that bad of a commitment, but there.

If it was an MDRC though, absolutely, Okay, Okay, So if you look at it, like you never had a record deal yet and you didn't know where these placements were even coming from, outrageous deal that I was.

Then stuck into four years because of the renegotiation. Now they're trying to hold onto you and you're like, well help me.

Yeah, but you got in at the time, give us before the threshold were created, so.

You were able to with that one album to.

What needs to do?

Yeah, move through a turn right, even.

Up until late nights and early mornings, which is what twenty eleven, twenty twelve, that wasn't so bad. And I've had this conversation before with record deals that were signed pre dating this streaming eerror is how are we supposed to fulfill album commitments in terms under those same contracts? Because tower records don't exist. We can't do it in store signing. There's nothing physical for me to actually give you. So what stipulates in my deal that I haven't turned that around already because the stream is not going to do it the dollar amount my contract, everyone has to go back to the table. We're like stuck on a deal. I'd be in a five album deal for one hundred and twenty seven years now.

Tape don't count until it reaches.

Two billion streams like.

Physical discount for this much of it. The digital only counts for this.

But where does it say that in your contract? And where's the clause that even automatic?

The automatic based on their negotiations.

With Right, they've been talking to the digital service platforms, which is insane. So if you write a lot of your songs and produce, so that's your hundred percent, and you might break off a producer if they came in and say, Okay, I'm going to layer up, so I'm going to take let's go with eighty twenty. So out of eighty percent of that record, that you have and you put it on iTunes or Amazon and you put it for sale, you're getting a substantial amount of your eighty percent as it pertains to a sale. What are you getting now is a stream point the fact that you said.

Point fact it starts to start that point it starts.

So imagine signing these contracts back in the day, your hype. You've got a record deal, you write, you produce, you know that your fraction of that portion of the entire composition is solely yours. Like but Flies seven zero percent, mind seventy I have that so when it was out, it's seventy, mine all of it. Now streaming it, seventy percent of Butterflies by Michael Jackson is reduced to a point something.

Yeah, depending on what platform, it could be point zero.

Appreciate that zero zero seven in my contract.

Here's also the question, though, because that's seventy still performs well in in the traditional spaces that it performed in. Right, you do this? This digital seventy is brand new, brand.

New, absolutely icing.

It's like, now we were just talking about this. It has to be negotiated, right, better.

Right, But who starts these conversations like.

Well, ultimately we have to but you. But we have to do it in a sense outside of the major corporations. We have to we have to start it from an independent sense of saying I will not give you my product like.

I don't like, I don't care.

It's the same thing is if if you're Nike and foot Locker is saying, well, we want to sell your shoes for this, this is what we want to give you, right, and you being able to say I don't want to put my shoes in foot Locker. I'm going to put them in Champs, right, And you have to you have to make that right. Yes, costs right, So, and I think we also have to get into the super fan space of literally going direct to consumer.

So think about just saying that. Imagine when iTunes was iTunes and if I go, oh shit, Tank has a new release this what was it tuesdays back then? Whenever day it was, and I'm like, I want to buy your song. It's ninety nine cents or ninety nine pen in the UK, I'm going to spend that entire for just you. Now with a subscription, you've reduced me to a monthly fee. So I, as the consumer have access to everything not to specialize in exactly what it is that I want. I just have this plethora of music to go through and scroll through and not spend or invest any time, and it's kind of what the fuck do we doing?

But what it is, though, is that it becomes it becomes a form of just radio in a sense, which isn't fair.

It's not fair. It's not fair. It's not a fair game, like.

To be fair.

It's never been fair. But we've managed to get the R and P money where we can and where we have and sustained it. Not a lot of us can still get on a stage live and do that part. It's very much okay, let me rely on what the wave is right now. Gets something that's trending, and that's my money, if that's the money. Like, I've never been in it for that. I've been in it for the art and I've made money because of it. So I feel like my intentions were different, like recently having got in the studio with Doctor Dre and Doctor Dre very unrealistically saying do whatever the fuck you want? Does that mean I can play Jesus with music? And that's exactly what we did in the studio for this project, Casablanco, like, even when you say it's just this mysterious, Yeah, it's a bit bigger than an album. And you know, everyone, marsh Wednesday, it's a bit bigger than just an album. We're talking doctor dre here. So yeah, what took us ultimately two weeks to get the grasp of what the album actually was, to implement the strings into informent having to clear what we decided to borrow and take from this time capsule of music during a time when we didn't know where the world was going, during the pandemic fucked up out here. So I'm like, if we had to take the music that we cared about and make it one thing and listen to it in one space, what would that be? So it's the audacity to take Duke Kellington and Michael Jackson and George Benson and Patrice Russian and Wu Tang and Frank Sinatra and random things that identify us as musicians as a whole and put it in one space to then be reduced to giving it away as a SoundBite or radio.

You have to you have to now be.

More what would be the word for just you have you have to take a different chance with the music and and not go into these spaces that have just always been what they are and where people are making up terms and making of new ways to do bad business, which you can say, listen, you just have to you have to take ownership and it completely. It's just my opinion, especially when if I'm fucking doctor Dre.

And I'm using as an example.

You can release it how you please, of course, but if you want to be a part of their platforms, the only way is to give it to them either at their whatever whatever their pricing is, or say, hey, let's negotiate if you want this album.

This is the negotiation to it.

This is these are the numbers that we want or not are I'm going to now vinyl is getting cracking again. I'm going to I'm gona press it up in vinyl.

You know what I'm saying.

That's that's the game we're in. That is where we consumers to absolutely get from any arts that they care about. It's just where are.

You going to find it?

But I think it's a way to do both right. There's a way to you know, feed the system, but also from a super fan aspect or from the desire of the super fan still supply the experience in a way that you want them to have by creating the space that they have to come and get it from. If you are a super fan, if you desire to really experience this the way it's supposed to be experienced out there, it's just that just they have the music.

You like, radio your boom bucks and wait for the radio stations to come on and praying that they play that record and pressing record, even with the DJ yelling all over that shit and you rewind it, crying it up until the end when it's fading out. There's no urgency with music like that anymore, or listen to in a way where we had. It's like we had a spoiled experience of the way we listen to music or the way it was presented to us. Like right now, it's may as well be friggin what's the singles? Websites, tenders sipe left of? You don't like it, you don't like it, So yeah, it was Creating orgasms through music is my thing. So we imagine having Casa Blanco as a landscape and this very unrealistic, elevated version of life from a billionaire's perspective, what are those orgasms like now? So walking to that studio and hearing I mean imagine hearing say yes for the first time. But the melodies I heard for this were the first time. I now have to create different orgasms. So without getting too kinky for me, no, this is how I operate. By walking to a studio, I'm seducing every single instrument that's implemented into the composition. We fucking. Basically, you have to fuck the music. You have to fuck that shit up, and you can't. There's no friction there. It's all smooth. So with every musician that doctor dra had in that studio, whether that was bluetooth, focus, trev them, joints, sly, all of these elements had to get fucked up to make it one thing. So when you press play and it's this symphony, all of these elements have given each other space and energy and intimacy all at the same time. So depending on where your spot is, if it's sometimes it's my neck, sometimes it's my kneecap, sometimes it's a brush of my arm, and it's seductive. That's what music is supposed to do. And I've been doing that for two decades. Plus starting from that one, I'd say that was the sexiest song to that particular timeframe that I'd done, and continue to go on and do way more, whether that was sixty nine and so Good with the interns and even late nights and early mornings with Rich Harrison. It was just all of these moments of sex through music, and you want to be that. You want to be that you do when you do your concerts. You're like, I'm your three some, I'm the threesome. You're in that room you're listening.

To I'm the tour. I'm stealing so much of your lingo. I'm down my credit.

What you say, I'll say, I ain't taking point nothing nine compositions, right, that's what we do.

There's a there's like a there's there's a hierarchy of of a sensual moments, and say Yes is right on that top tier with Untitled. That's that's like there's a high level of songs that are automatically intimate, automatically yeah, no one's talking, everyone's just trying to figure out who's gonna go first. That's it. Those top tiers like the song just don't read the.

Room right.

First, and the room ain't really trying to go with you.

They played it was a time I was earlier.

There is a time and place, but it's great to have, you know, the moment in the show where you're like, okay, you know where this is going. You play that first.

During my piano segment, I've performed oh with my shirt.

You know what You've seen that effects, so you understand the power in that.

And as you said, I become the threesome not you know, not figuratively, because I.

Want the audience to have that experience. It's such a compliment, like having been coined a lesbian for so long. Yeah, it's it's yeah the lesbian. There she is. It's not like I don't know. I've been completely comfortable with my sexuality for It's the last thing I would hide about me based on the music that I'd be like, why I don't mind that attention or that want for you to me to be it's intimate. That's perfectly fine. It's the music. I want to be your threesome. However that goes whatever your preference. It's you give your it's the power in it. You give that sex away. You can't help who's going to be turned on.

I can't.

You don't know what turns on.

I can't.

I'll be trying to tell my wife, babe, you can't manage. It's how it comes to me. You can't and don't.

Get and your wife knows. I love, don't stab him. But this is the responsibility of what it is. You're superheroes, straight, gay, whatever it is. The music is whatever it is. We give it away and it's intimate.

And you let the people interpret it, let them dance with Yeah, it's intimate.

Like one night stand. This song One night stand. When the concept of the song came to me, it was because of how the music sounded, and I was like, oh, this is the morning after we sucked. For sure, this exactly sounds like the triumphant Who the fuck is that in the covers? I don't even know? The was amazing?

Who is that in the covers?

We will never know? Look check the toes like boomerang. Oh yeah, I know who exactly who that is. And that's perfectly fine. But it was that morning after sex.

It was.

You're under those covers looking at the ceiling like we should fuck again one more time, just to make sure it was that good. And then you do You're like, oh shit, is this forever?

Then?

Are we in love? No, it was just one night.

You say that earlier. If they listened to the.

Music, your one night could be And that's okay too, and that's how we made Yeah, eighteen years from now, I shall not be responsible for any child support incurred, nor the godmother of any of you.

Are you giving us a wind though? Like like a wind, like you're really giving us. You're giving us the magical pitch, right, You're giving us all of the Do we get all the intimate details.

And the camera and I can I can tell you that's ladies and gentlemen, can I give Can I say eight days? I'm looking off camera right now, so we can say a March date. You will be getting something and the March something is coming and it's going to be a cool summer.

Yeah, come on you piano, Come on man.

You know, I just.

To speak of us being superheroes. Respect the fields. A lot of the music that we've sang and we've written and produced, and there's a lot of music that has inspired.

You to do what you do.

Mm hmmm.

So the people who watch the R and B Money podcast, they want to know what they want.

To know you.

They want to know.

I want to know top fave, your.

Top five bot top five?

You're top five are besing, are and B songs.

We want to know.

We want this slow. Just let it go and let us know your top.

Yeah five, it's really good.

Your top five R and B singers.

No particular order. Two of those spots will be placed, whether they should or shouldn't be anyone's top five, but they're the vocalists of vocalists for me, Luther Whitney, those two spots are just taken. Yes, So now I'm down to three. Michael Jackson takes like three versions of himself because I love ABC Mike, I love Off the Wall, Mike, the Dirty Diana. Mike did something else to me. So it's almost like he's three and one.

Not almost, he absolutely is.

He's him.

Can you have Casey and Jojo as one? Okay? Now? For two voices to be so different and compliment each other in such a way that made them one hasn't been matched to this day to me, because listening to the difference of a very sensitive, almost soprano jojo and its pure high tone to Casey's growl, it's almost like you'd be threatened to sing after case, but not if you're Jojo anyone else. But you know what I'm saying, like, and it's only because it's been recently, like Donny Hathaway, and it took me a couple of different people that would have been in my top five. But someday we'll all be free that song. I don't think I could not cry if I hear it, And it's the power in a vocal being able to do that to me. And five is unfair because it means I don't get to mention who currently holds spots, whether that's Jasmine Sullivan, you know what I mean, Like I'm what she can do with her vocal, Tina Marie what with her vocal? Something like this, But this is all Stevie Wonder. It's not fair the stories that he can tell with his tongue before even lyrics come into it and claims he can't see. We know that you can see.

It's fine, you're going it okay because I'm not getting in that you in tank.

I'm not getting in that.

Agree.

I didn't. I didn't agree.

I see us in the park, do you.

Man? I don't want to smoke Steve. I don't want to.

I love Steve from when I heard Stevie Fack.

I'm not gonna do this with you. Watch go do switch cap.

It's not fair. How dead there's a ribbon in the sky for our love?

Is there?

Is it up there for our lives?

I've actually never seen one in the sky.

So he did.

He has? That was a lot. I think I left handed.

Wade.

Okay, here we go, get your top five R and B songs.

Five okay, because we didn't say that because we didn't need to get Okay. I want to spend the Night by Bill Withers.

We go Bill Weathers.

I want Anthony Hamilton to cover it. And I feel like you get a Grammy. You heard that's one of my favorite songs, the breakup song by me?

Mmm, okay, come on mine as.

Well, because like, get off publishing for all your niggas out there making y'all playlist.

The breakup song was like listen to that ship that came.

From a Really that's your favorite song of yours?

No, I have way more than that. But we're talking about you said, what if I was doing with songs like you? Wrote that ship melodically did that.

That's you.

It's in there.

I can't help it. Thank you Stevie to give him that.

To Mike looking out for the bro.

Definitely looked out for the bro.

Mm hmmm.

What a joint to.

Say with this five the bad album?

Mm hmm.

Can we have that as like one entire album off the respect almost I am album ever creates thriller? Okay, fine, you're doing what you're doing still to this day to follow that ship up and have the nerve to say there's no skips on there. That's one whole thing. Remember the time is not ship Okay, forever, my lady Joy. Because they were four very young black men with Dr Martin's on and like see through the zipper Johns. So you're having my baby and it means so much to me.

That is nothing more pressure.

You know what I'm saying. It's the narrative that we were giving nineties black men to love and support the family bond.

I'll be talking in my accent after you've.

Got the rest of your.

Seen too many episodes of Ti Boy Gangs of London, that's a good one.

I've lived in America for like twenty plus years, so if I'm around you guys, I'm Philadelphia on the camera. You know what, see kind of.

One more second? Can we get it, Jack?

We need it, We get it, We need it.

I ain't saying no names. I ain't saying no names, no names. Name what you.

Five facts?

Ye m perfect time and perfect time and very special segment of the show card.

I ain't saying no names. Will you give us a story funny or fucked up? Funny and fucked up only rude to the game. You can't say no names. I mean it could be overseas, middle c under the sea, wherever you want to be. Oh, you got to do just tell the story without saying names.

Okay. There was this one time, oh yeah, on tour and there was a day off in Amsterdam, so said artists decided to partake in what you do when you're in Amsterdam, which was get high, like really high, like spark up in the hotel. The concierge lit you up high and it's you just checked in. It's noon, and that artist proceeded to smoke go to a cafe across the street. There was a menu full of delicious treats like marshmallowsmores and cookie dough and stuff like that, and it infused with more with.

More of it.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, Amsterdam. So of course they picked the marshmallow small one took that to the face and they were even more high. So on this day off, before you know it, sun up, sun goes down. What happens in Amsterdam red light district. So that artist in the band decide to go down there and see what all the fuss is about. So in doing so, you look through a couple of those glass windows. It's some sexy shit and you find yourself in there and you're high. So this artist goes in there, gets up to whatever, comes back outside, finds a sex shop, goes in the sex shop and buys a sex toy. So this artist then decides that it would be a good idea to go back to the hotel and try this thing out from Amsterdam. Might be a different feeling, I don't know. So lobby call for the departure of the tour bus to take that artist to the next city was coming up, so they decided to take all of this stuff out the room, take the sex toy, get on the bus before anyone else gets on this actual bus, and partake there. So they wouldn't pass out in the room. And you know, miss lobby call made sense to that artist at the time. So get all the stuff, get the code to the bus, put the bags, you know where they're supposed to be. Get in the bunk. Now, if you've been on tour, you know when the generator is not on, pitch black on them buses. Pitch can't see shit. But work out one bunk, two bunk, feel your way down to the bottom. You're in the middle bottom bunk knows that artist, not the one on the right, the one on the left. I told them to get in that bunk. So the artists got in the bunk that belonged to them, or so they thought. Batteries were included, and they proceed to go to town with this toy for however long.

It took.

To not only forget what actually happened, but wake up the following morning as the bus is in motion. So whatever happened in between going gazoo has just done a don't recall. What the fuck. The artist then woke up while the bus is moving. So the bus is moving, that means everybody's on the bus. Yeah, where the fuck is the fucking sex toys? This artist thinking they go to what did they say they went to lean up to go it's still in between said thighs where it previously allowed the artist to pass out, and it's still on. It switches on because the artist is now having what feels like a mold support orgasm while banging their head on the top of the other bunk, trying to pretend that nothing's happening, that they've lost something or you can't find you can hear commotion, what the fuck is going on? Finally find the switch, it's off. They look out the bunk. Everyone's kind of you know, rustling curtains to like seeing what the fuck has happened? And the sex toy packaging. It's just everywhere, like you know that plastic that you can't regard. Get kid, You're like, why the fuck did I get this ship? I don't even know how. You can't. There's no scissors for it. You're breaking ship. And I think that artist was talked about for the rest of the tour, and that's the story. I'm sticking to it. No names.

Wow, they really wanted it. Whoever was could not wait.

I just couldn't to have it.

A bunch of them. It was amazing. So they told me Amsterdam days off in Amsterdam. It's a song, Drake, I'm telling you now.

Of Asterdam.

I just wanted it's a great way to wrap it up.

First of all, thank you so much for coming. You know what I mean, you are you know we consider your family and but your time, your energy, your artistry, all of these things mean something to us, and so we value your presence and we value march.

Yeah said one night stands only that's what that's what you say. They turn into forevers and then you're welcome.

You're welcome.

Listen.

Sometimes you got to experience what the experience is going to be like in order to know if you want to continue experiencing the Thanks so, thank you, We appreciate you. This is here for you anytime, any any anytime. And and thank you.

My family, ladies and gentleman.

In his take, and this is the Army Money podcast, the authority on all things R and B and she is her my shirt roses.

Come on from the Womb.

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