Stevie Mackey

Published Sep 15, 2022, 6:50 PM

On this week's episode of R&B Money, Tank and J Valentine are joined by singer/artist/celebrity vocal coach Stevie Mackie. Stevie talks about discovering his vocal gift early in life, his unique journey in the music business as a session / background singer, and his dream of being Mickey Mouse. Over the past decade, Stevie Mackey has inspired musical creativity in the lives of many aspiring and established artists such as Jennifer Lopez, Selena Gomez, Fergie, Lenny Kravitz, Kanye West, and Kelly Rowland, to name a few. Stevie has been working with NBC’s The Voice for over 8 seasons, and still finds time to vocal coach some of the biggest names in music. Listen and Enjoy ! 

Follow the hosts Tank: @therealtank and J Valentine: @JValentine

And well we are the authority on all things and ladies and gentlemen, I am Tank and this is the R and B Money Podcast, the authority on all things R and B. All things, not some things, all things, because, as we say, all things, it's not just the glitz and glamour. It's not what you see, m It's not just what you see. It's also yeah, yes, people you don't see you know what I'm saying. You here, what's just what you do? Close your eyes, close your eyes close, Yeah, yeah, this is we have an educational moment along with I mean one of the calls of voices I've ever heard, I mean period. And I always tell him when I see him, I said, manut, if you don't put out a record and stop playing with the universe gave you this gift. Lets without further ado, we have on Army Money Podcast. Give it up to Stevie Nkin. First of all, congratulations on the two piece. Let's start there, st he already started, he already started, hooked me up with you need to drip. Um. I just want to first I want to say thank you, um, first for being here and um and just a little little history, UM, I met you and we'll we'll we'll dive all the way back right because you know, we like, we like to go to the beginning. But I met you with Jennifer Lopez, Yes, and it was crazy because she was doing a residency at Planet Hollywood and I go to this show me and my wife was like, yeah, yeah, I was gonna say, j be fine, she could perform. She does her think and j Lo got on that stage and sang sing sing, sing sing and didn't miss I say, who's this j Loo? She'd been doing some work. She killing. And then I met you and we set at the piano in the in the in the sweet of all the sweet of all sweet, and and then I began to understand the magic is Stevie Mackie. Um, I just wanted to give you all a little bit of that. Okay, it starts, and we got a whole story to go telling, but I'm coming. We're gonna let him do the rest of the storytelling. Brother. We like to go all the way back to the beginning. And So when did you know or when did somebody say you have a gift, you're special? When did that happen for you? I remember being about five and my parents were playing Darryl Coley at home, and I whispered to one of my relatives, I said I can do that. I was little nothing. I was a little nothing, and I said I can do that. And I was a quiet kid. My parents are very social. I'm a little introvert. And so I said to somebody whoever would listen, I said, I can do that. Singing came like the A. B C's to me. It was very natural, and I would I would just mimic everything, and my parents play some good music. They would play the Clark Sisters, they played Commission, they played the Wine in BBC. That's a very important know parents playing. Yes, not even just the right music. But she's playing good music, right, because right is relative, right, but good music is not right. You're right. Good music is good music? Is good music. Play some good music for your kids. Yes, it's what you're playing. When you don't think they're listening, they are. I was a little thing, and I would turn over the record to hear Jesus a love song, and like, you know these records these and we would my dad would play the records. My parents would play them and try to pick out the chords on the piano. They were they're musicians too, and so I listen. I said, I can do that, and I'd go around mimicking everything I heard from cartoon voices and Sesame Street Voices two two singers that they loved. So I was I was mimicking, but I was still too shy to sing in front of people. But you know, as I got older, I started doing it. When was the first When was the breakout moment? I mean it was church. It was church. I remember gett in front of the church. I went to pretty conservative. I'm from Pasadena, Orn David got some legends man, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I've worked with John I love John Man. Pastaden is hidding gym in l A. And it's kind of old l A. And it's it's it focuses a lot. The city focuses on art, and it pushes art. It all. Now I realized why he said relatives earlier too, But go ahead, relative, I'm not California, so you know, it's just certain little things. So your relatives, yep, growing up at pianos all of the house, growing up in l A. You know, I would I would go to church. We go to church. We went to church on Saturday's raised Seventh Day Adventist, grew up going to church on Saturday. A lot of Adventist people grow up with harmony around them, less instruments, more acapella harmonies. So I grew up listening and listening to the acapella choirs and harmonies, and I would get in church. I remember singing one time and hearing the audience, like the church ladies and audience going m hm oh. You hear the little gasps from the audience when you hit it, like I had vibrato or something. They're judging, you know. It turns they're like when they when they start going, oh you hear that noise, Like, oh, maybe I'm supposed to do this thing. So whenever you year, people say whoa, oh man, you could do that. That's a sign to go in that direction. Whatever it is, go in that direction. So I I was like I never felt that before. I was like, oh, I'm gifted in something, you know. I thought I was going to be an artist in draw and maybe make cartoons for Disney, and I love doing that because I could do it alone. But when I started getting reactions from people at at twelve thirteen, when I was singing. I knew I had a special voice, and I love to do it. I love to I mimic everybody. I turned to a lot of Adam cc widen's, Fred Hammond, all of them. I was. I was. I was trying to become these people that I looked up to so much. So, you know, teenage years were everything. My first time singing in church, Um it didn't go to saying it didn't it didn't go as well. UM tell us was that I was. I was. I was a kid, you know, just trying to figure out my run life, you know what I mean. And and it was the State Baptist Convention. My grandmother was the dean of the State Baptist Convention. And we have been rehearsing Jesus is the Answer all week and they have been letting me practice the lead for the world one of the leads. And it was me and like a couple of the guys singing the lead. So Friday comes and it's time to do it, and and the choir director he comes over to me and says, listen, we're gonna let the other guys do lead today. You know what I'm saying. You're gonna We're gonna We're gonna just have you singing singing the choir, and I threw a fit. I wasn't like, not like a loud fit, but I was just like, and I go to my grandmother and she like, what's wrong? Or and my grandmother's aggressive, that's wrong song. I was like, had me rehearsing all week to do the lead, and then he gonna come to me and say, I ain't singing the lead, you know, no, no, you're singing the lead. Let's go. And we turned down to the choir, thing the whole choire. My brother game, what's you got? My grandson rehearsal I we even have seen the league, and he was like this, well I just want to know he's singing the league. He's singing the League. And I'm like, yeah, you know MS with Mary Jane James, MR with Dean him Blood. So I'm all excited to sing this this this Jesus the Answer lead. And so song starts and I start singing my lead and I'm you know, I'm all you know what I'm saying as I'm singing. It's just, you know, there's no real reactions, just kind of, you know, fairly quiet and I hear this lady from my churches to take your time, Torell, and I was like, okay, yeah, I'm gonna take my time. Take your time is never really good. Take your time means I love you, but you can do a lot better than this. Come on, take it to So as we're continuing to sing the song, I'm noticing that the other guys, who also singing lead a lot older than me, was slowly but surely boxing me out of the microphone. So by the end of the song, I was singing to their shoulders. So I don't think nothing. But they were saving you. They were saving in church. Come on, I talked, n see what you're doing. I'm so he started to um. So after the after the you know, after the big service, we walked into the car and Auntie Betty, who was the choir director for our junior choir, you know, so it's a sing with you know. I go to Aunti bettycause Aunty Betty gonna get the truth. And I'm like, Auntie Betty, how I do She said, you was off, baby, you was real off. And I was like, okay, all right, well back to the drum board. And that made me go really study and lock in and so like you, I used to mimic everybody. You know what I'm saying. I wasn't totally allowed to listen to R and B music, but I would mimic Stevie, you know what I'm saying. But there was the Mississippi mass Quarter. It was Kimberly McFarland and that's the land. And then and then, and then came along my my studying of the Whinings, and then that made me say to a great singer, and it pushed me into the space to where I started learning from all of those people. And the fact that at that point I was trying to run. Running was everything to me. So I started digging in the archives of who was running. Sounds like by the time you debuted, you had it kind of figured out. I I listened for a long time before I tried to sing. I did, but also I was my parents played the singers that did runs, because running We're from similar generations. I was born in eighty one, I'm forty now. Running has become a popular thing in pop music, but back then you got just a few runs. Whitney was doing a little, Luther was doing a little, Anita straightforward. It was. I think you know when you talk about runs and like Sam Cook and people who brought runs into popular music, I mean you know, uh mother mother wream talk about James about to says cold gets overlooked because he was such an amazing dancer, the sacond way that Michael Jackson gets overlooked because singing gets overlooked because they were so powerful and they were so great at at being performers that their vocals are secondary for some odd reason. Rick James cold blooded, cold blooded, Prince powerhouse. Yes, yes, I don't think Prince gets overlook He does too, though not not as much as to me. James Brown is James Brown. James Brown's just people when they named amazing vocalist, He's never like it's like he's not there with Donnie Hathaway and Marvin Gaye. Wasn't because it wasn't smooth. It wasn't James Brown was a monster vocalist. Yeah, monster, I mean he was doing them high. Mariah Carey, Yeah, he was. He was like a preacher and a singer all in one because he was half talking. Because what notice, like you've noticed that's not get it changed. I still haven't heard anybody remake it's a man's world. Very tough, very tough, very tough record to re sing. They'll they'll try all the rest of you, but that you're right with that stuff all came from the church, and a lot of it came from Detroit. And you have a lot of groups out of Detroit that we're doing these runs. Like you said, the Whinings, when you got into the Whinings and Commission, you have to give. We have to give the Whinings and Commission a lot of points. Fred Hammon Stevie Wonder and Steven when of got you know a lot that Detroit sound is very important to what we do today in R and B. Yeah, Mitchell, Mitchell, uh, you know all Keith, all the guys up there, you know, um Keith stating who who who kind of invented the sound? Yes? He and mar like and then and then John p Key under around and turn and turned it into something else that was like it had electricity too. I know that that whole Detroit thing needs to be studied and taught and tried to. It needs to be analyzed. No one's paying attention that sound. I need a baker, you know, she has that too, that Detroit sound, the migration of blacks to the north and how the freedom they felt there, that it got away from the blues in the South but got more popular and and like gritty in the north, it has a whole different sound. So that sound transferred as people as blacks migrated west, you know, Oklahoma, Los Angeles, we got a lot of that out here from listening to that, so we got the California so which more Darryl Coley, the Hawkins and j Crouch, that kind of gospel and so those kind of runs. Growing up, I would listen to the cords and the runs and and try to mimic all of that. And it was it was coming into popular music in the eighties with you know, to bars and some of the R and B groups, and you'd hear it. You you'd hear more funds and runs got faster, and I was like, who's doing it? And then you know, I'd hear all kind of runs. I gotta copy this stuff. Karen Clark, Vanessa Bell, Armstrong doing stuff that. Vanessa Bell was one of the cleanest runners of the time. So this is outside of secular music. This is this was you know, this is these are singers. A lot of people don't know. Vanessa did the song to the Amen show and she was so she's still she's still amazing. But Darryl her, you know that kind of music, the people who could do it, we're doing it. And I was trying to do that because it was tricky and fun. And your discovery is around twelve thirteen point for that. Yeah, I was. I was carried away by I was scared to play. I didn't start playing until later, like sixteen seventeen. No, I played out of just necessity. I just wanted to play for myself. But no, we had pianos in my home, but I didn't take playing seriously play. I would have thought you started playing at five. Oh man, I wish, I wish i'd be allowed. You can play anything. I can hear anything, but you know, you literally like you're like a jukebox. Like if we're all sitting around a piano, you can dial up. Yeah, I'd become that. Yeah. I made myself when I coach, I made myself play for everybody I work with, so that it gives me a lesson while I'm teaching a lesson. Still, coach, we're gonna get to that it's really I've posting myself on the piano over here during these teenage years for you. Are you thinking in your mind I want to become an artist or I just want to sing in the church and just play in church. My biggest dream was to be a background singer. Your dream? Biggest dream? I could possibly either be Mickey Mouse in Disneyland in the costumes. Okay, let's go, or all disney Land. Here we go. Take So are you kidding me? So? You would? You would? You would study Mickey Mouse. I love Mickey I wanted to be Mickey Mouse. I thought that was one of the highest jobs in the world, being Mickey Mouse in the costume walking around you know. So I love that, But the second best would be being a background singer. I still want to skip over that. That was a great Yeah, that was great. I think he could still be making if you want to. I would stop everything today. I wouldn't stop everything. I wouldn't see nobody. I would go be Mickey Mouse and YA wouldn't see me again. I'd got be Mickey Mouse somewhere and sit him home and record Mickey Mouse all day. Have you have you thought about I just just just sidebar. Have you thought about auditioning for Mickey Mouse? Yeah? And what have you done? I they auditioned a new Mickey around the same time I was graduating high school and this guy I coveted in and I was like, who got his voice? And I should have auditioned back then whenever, twenty years ago, but I didn't. So I want to do it. So if if anybody's listening out there, I would love to be Mickey Mouse. I'd be the first Mickey with Saul who can sing, and I will be Mickey. I would happily. I'd be Mickey so and he would have a tan, and he'd be he have a little little good hair, like it'd be a whole thing like Mickey. I'm rolling with all right, okay, where okay? But in my life they're not making I love background singers because they got to travel the world without the stress of you gotta sing this or that. I didn't feel comfortable singing a lot of secular music because I wasn't raised on it. I didn't I didn't see myself out there doing this thing alone. I like to sing with people, so I like background singing. You get to travel the world, see the best places, get treated well without the pressure of being number one, and you get to sing with your friends. That's what I really really like. If it was my last ding on Earth, I'd like to be singing with my friends. That's what I love the most. So that was the highest calling as a teenager, become a background singer. And I have a uh, you know, my mom's good friend who who's a family friend of ours, Lisa, who's a background singer. She's sang for Shaka for for twenty years. She's she brought me to rehearsals when I was a teenager. She would bring me to Earth when and fire Ska Khan and see different rehearsals and say to just sit there and be quiet. She said, bring me this inter stage and she would just say just sit there and be quiet and just watch. So that was eye opening for me that people got paid to sing rather than singing for free in church like I was doing. But I didn't know people got paid to sing and have fun like that and harmonized. So that was the highest thing I've ever seen. I was there was everything and was that was that like an intro to you getting an opportunity to do that as you what when? What was that first like, what was your intro into into that dream? I mean I I would follow the music. I follow singers around, and I'd show up at places where the singers would go. I'd show up at shows, and I remember showing up at shows with no ticket and no money, just showing up, sitting in my car and just sitting the parking lot. Um. I remember doing this at Leyla Hathaway show and Layla. Leyla gave me a chance earlier sang background for her early on when I first got out out of college and I was sitting in the back of Yohi's in I think Oakland. I was living with my parents. I was not in a good time. I've been probably fire from my job or something. I was just you know, trying to make it. So I was like sitting in the back of this part no ticket, and I knew somebody in the band or something. I would just sit there and wait for them to come out halftime in the show and then talk to him. I said, Stevie, I'm a singer. I'm I'm a little Stevie. I could sing. I could sing whatever you want. I see all the parts, and I would and I called myself, yeah, I'll sing it all. So I was like whatever I was singing. And then seriously, Layla was like coming here, coming to my hotel. And then her friends were like, she was like to sing something, and I was so ready. I think, I say, you know, hey, pretty baby with the high hills. Huh. I sang some Michael or something. She said, do you want to work? I said, yeah, I want to work. I thought it was gonna be just carrying a bag or something. She said, you want to sing. I have a show coming up and you could be my singer. And I was so excited that Layla was one of the best singers. This is like my first gig. And I was sucking with my parents who had moved San Jose and I didn't want to live with them. Of them, but I didn't want to live with him. So I'm trying to get back to l A, where I grew up and where I had gone to college, and I was in Alabama and I was like, Okay, let me get back around to l A where the singers are. So I get a shot to sing background here with her. Then I get another call to sing background for for Whitney Houston for her Christmas album. Mervin Warren had called me to sing background on that and I could sit read you go from Layla half the way to Whitney, Houston. These are your first first another session with Kanye West, singing with Kanye and dilated people's I can't Live my life this way, so certain calls. I remember they were my first, and I moved back to l singing on the choir on the I Can't Love this work. Yeah, I helped arrange some of that. Yeah, I was doing a choir. We were this way, this way, this were Google and some others were on that. But that kind of stuff like back then was huge because I got paid. I got two hundred dollars for doing this stuff, like I'd never been paid to sing, and I was living free here in l A with my grandparents. At that time, I was I'm moved to l am and be a singer, backup singer. I was so excited, man, and so that was what I wanted to do. And then eventually, you know, they kept evolving, but touring, so you were doing more session work. Yes, I stayed here and did session work. A lot of my friends would go and tour, but I would stay here. I would go to this spot called Cozys that would do open mic stuff and you know out here in the valley, not far from here, and I would go to different spots that help open mics and I would sing. I sing Maxwell seeing you know, everybing A, all my favorite singers, and you know, I'd see all these guys that I would I could sing high, and I could, I would, I would learn. I would watch them as like a game. I'd see what everybody else was doing, and I learned the good Mike. I learned what what Mike was good and what everyone else had already done. Then I come in and sing something different and make everyone listen because they talk. And they put me on last because I didn't I didn't know nobody yet, so they put me on the last of these spots. So I remember just like people would be drunk by that time, talking and stuff. But I remember singing and making everybody be quiet. If I can get them to be quiet, I want. Yeah. Yeah, So I knew that was the thing to just kind of quiet in the in the in the beginning, I didn't know what that was. It took big j excuse me to tell me what that was. Because in my mind, silence can scare you. You can scare you. Because I was on the road with Genuine where they just lose their mind. Show you don't have curls. I don't have I don't curls out here whatever, So anyway, so I'm just I'm just like, if they're not screaming, it's not happening. You're not doing your thing, You're not doing your things. And so that's what I was programmed to believe until until one day because I would like in those in those moments where there was a lull in the in the screen, I would I would not panic, but I would just like try to do something to get the scream and get them to We've watched so many artists do that and lose. There's no reason for the pelvic threast. You don't have to Why did you hump the speaker? And I'm gonna go back to Jinuine because Jue One wanted to was so used to the screams that we're singing. She's out of my life and he's like too things for two years and he goes she was he you don't do that there, that's not where that goes. But that's what she was shout out to my brother genuine about two years ago. That's good. So so when there was a lull in the in the crowd activity, it would throw me off a little bit, and Jason came to me, He's like, listen, bro, you don't have to overdo it. In those moments they're listening to you. Shout out to Bigeah there there. They're quiet because they want to hear what you're doing. They want to connect with you. Don't be scared of that silence. I was like, Wow, I didn't. I never I never knew that in church thin screaming the show, you better do it like it's always And that was a customed to and in the beginning of my career took me a second to adjust to the silence of people having a moment with you, you know what I'm saying, and being able to set an atmosphere. But you have to be a different type of vocalists for that. You do. That isn't made for everyone because that silence is deadly on the flip side. But if you're not that type of vocalists, and that's not what your performance is about. If you're not a flat foot stand at the mic singer, it can get tricky for you if you're more of a performance based and you're jumping around or you it's your clothes or whatever it is. It's the sparkles is the ship going off the screens and nobody's saying anything. That's when the sweb begins the cold. It's so quick side. I just didn't know. But it takes years to learn what not to sing, and I think with any good singer takes years to learn what not to sing. And you find peace in that silence and people are listening. You're like, Okay, this is cool. How do I do this. I'm not a performer like that. I ain't gonna dance for real. I dance like Carlton Banks or something like. I'm just gonna do that and give you a snazzy outfit or something. But I'm not going to perform like that. But I'm gonna give your vocals. I'm gonna just make you sit still and try to put you in a trance and connect so deep you're just like, for sure, I want to bring it almost a tear or something. I'm trying to get to that point. That was my that was my party trick. I've seen you do it. I've seen that. I knew I could do that, so I was all right, that's my things. So I'd watched singers and I come in at that moment and try to make an impact. How did you get from the session background saying I mean, you're you're living the dream, You're you're making money doing exactly what you want to do, to being now the premier vocal coach. Two people who can really sing like you're like like like like for example, Joe, Joe, Yeah, who can sing. But we'll sit at the piano with you and you'll make adjustments all these things. How did you get how did you transition from there to there or to hear? I mean, just in short, my mom's a school teacher. I come from a lot of school teachers and pastors. Mom's school teacher. My dad has been a physical therapist for many years growing up. That's what he did. I understood the muscles and how they could recover. So I understood the muscles. Some of the first stuff I knew muscles and how they recovered and teaching. So little do we know. We take a lot from our parents and the people around were little without trying to a knowing it, I was that was an automatic thing for me. I knew how to teach and break things down because I learned how everything worked. I love history. I love learning how everything works. I knew if I could get someone to listen a certain way and become a character, they could their voice would change. So I taught people how to be characters. And I love that. So I was asked around, you know, after singing background for some years, I was I was being asked to put to help groups harmonize and Dannity Kane at that time was a group and I was asked to work with them, and then it was it was another group, another group, and you know groups. There was just a lot of different guys and girls groups and I knew that like the back of my hand, harmony. So I would have them become different characters. And then singers would ask me to help prolonged their voice, and I knew how that would take place too. And I minored in vocal performance and opera in school, and I'm majored in graphic design at Oakwood University. So I had a lot of experienced singing opera, but I didn't want to sing it. Wait wait, wait, wait, wait wait this this this oak Wood place. Oh, it's magical because that's where went oh wow, yeah and Brian McKnight and Little Richard and take six okay, and I think Prince like it's like that weird it's a it's a little gym and this this is an Alabama hunts Kill Alabama singer and you go there today, Like singing is like basketball. It's like a sport. There's so many choirs and singers and everybody's just it's we're like running like if you were if you can run, it takes off at Oakwood. Oakwood loves or run. It's like you too. So it's like it's like how you know those us when we have a thing as people like it's gonna be Oh it's a sing off. It's like you buy a ticket to go into the auditions of the single. It's like that for real. So you're gonna you're gonna do it or you're not. So I wouldn't know I was singing. I was I wasn't perfect pitch or nothing. When I started Oakwood. I was just trying and I was fearless, and I would saying I was saying, so Oka got got a lot of gave me a whole lot of you know push and so this place is incredible. They have the best choir, the Aolians dynamic praise like these choirs are incredible. So coming out of Oakwood, I still didn't have you know, you're trying to make it work. And and I knew that if I could teach people how to sing, I could last a long time in this industry without having to compromise anything. I believe, not trying to be you know this or that, just I could make everyone happy, including myself. I could teach people how to sing and last forever because the people behind the scenes lasted the longest time in this business. I knew that because I would see people rise and fall. So it's like if I become a coach, i'd be young. But if I, if I do it differently, I can make it work. So I started throwing little parties at my house. And I would throw parties on Tuesdays with tacos and I little skill it and I would make tacos and my as a recital. Because recitals were boring. I didn't want that. I wanted to have a party, So we'd have taco Tuesdays at my house where all my voice students would sing and we come together and just make some tacos and sing together. And then at the same time, you have Instagram, and I have to get a lot of credit to social media. At that time, Instagram uh debuting video formats, so a ten second video or fifteen second video was a new thing, and you can show videos of what was happening there. So videos took off from that to show people how I talked, and I would stop people in the middle performance, say do it like this, and I'd go back and forth with them and strengthen them in front of everyone, to make teaching less scary, to make it more of a group thing. We all sat around and learned together. We harmonized together, and we're supportive together. So I go back and forth and all right, do it again, let's start over, let's get it right. And so it just kind of like set a different tone for what a recital was or a voice lesson and the session was um. Then it always did it at my house, so I would invite people over, and then it was those those tacos to taco Tuesdays are very famous. It's a life that's out now, it's been some You've had some power houses. It has come through Taco Tuesdays every Wilson. Yeah, so the best singers in the world. Goodness, I mean, yeah, that's insane. That's insane y'all singing together. It was insane. That just it's not fair. I told Abe, I was kind of He was like, I can't wait, I can't wait. You know, this is like but this, this has never talked about, like what you're doing right now. I have to just give it up for you, guys. This is behind the scenes talking. I never thought i'd be talking about this with you. This is amazing. But I think people are interested in hearing about the behind the scene to what we do because it's it's it's the foundational things that are missing, right because there is no more an R ring. There is no more there's very little to none artists development and so not less as people want to be R and B singers, right, we have to get back to the basics of learning, just learning how to sing. And R and B needs to be polished. Yes, R and B is a is a genre of music that needs to be polished. It can't just be thrown out there. And I think to us too to a certain degree. At times it has been just thrown out there because of economics. When rap came along, rap, really you could do it for the low best the best term that I can come away. You can do rap for the low. You can do it in your basement, you can do it at the park. You can like R and B rehearsal vocal coaches the outfit, you know what I mean, Like I tell I tell people all the time, Like in my opinion, Jay Z was the first normal superstar, meaning he could wear exactly what he wore to the interview, to the stage and then to the party. And it may not even be an outfit change at any point, maybe he changes from a blue Yankee to But but he was so gifted and he's so talented at what he does. Um, he still became a superstar. But he didn't. He didn't he there was no character. And R and B is always like, think of the names that we started this podcast off with today. These were all characters. These were all characters that they built. You know, Rick James wasn't the same guy in the beginning. When he first got out the arm he had to find that Prince wasn't the same guy in the beginning. You go back and see where he was. All of these you know, staple superstar artists, especially from R and B. Since all had a character, they all you know, and that and that's what are That's why R and B. And that came from the jazz days when they would nickname themselves. They all had nicknames, you know, they had They didn't choose their regular they got to choose their name. And that started in the early jazz days. Um, you know, some of the earliest jazz jazz legends made up their own names. They have nicknames, and that's from that's a lot of black history. We just oh, that's a money making running right there. And they'd call each other different things, and that that has led into what we do now with you know, John Legend. Though we can you know Bruno Mars like, this is the thing that we can. We can name ourselves whatever, whatever we can be, whatever we recreate ourselves and that helps us get a stage, give a stage presence in a personal life. It helps delineate that I think, and like when you think about R and B itself, like think Jerry Wexler was a person I think who coined the term R and B um. Then he worked with a wreath. I think he discovered a wreath of Franklin in that sense, as much as you can discover her. But he It was called race music before that, and it was colored music, race music, and then that word was getting kind of old, and it's called rhythm and blues R and B. That changed things, and it has split. It's like a tree that's split into different ways, with neo soul and new sold all kinds of ways. But the roots of R and B, like you said, are the same. These are the rules. You've gotta be able to perform, you gotta be able to sing, you gotta have a character, right, you got to have a character. You gotta So it's more expensive, it's more expensive, and and then they just kind of watered some of it down by adding all the derivatives, by adding it's, oh it's neo soul. Oh it's trapped. So yeah, you know, it's not really are And then when the artists fall into that, that's the part that hurt me. I don't give a fuck what the outsiders name it, what the people you know, they put on it. When the artists started buying into that though, and being like, I'm not an R and B artist, Yeah, yes you are. They don't know me, but you know what it was. It wasn't even that they didn't know. I just think they didn't want to be put into a box, which I respect. I respect that because they you know, you see, why do you think that is? Because you see your your money shorter, your money shorter when they put you in a box. You know what I mean? Like you know it's it's that's why. That's why you know. I've had the conversation with people when when people mentioned, well, Michael Jackson called itself the king of pop. He did that for a reason. He did that to ship on them. That wasn't no I think I'm this No no, no, no, no, I am the most popular motherfucker on the planet. So I am the king of pop, not the king of white music, are dance music or no, no, no, I'm still R and B. But I'm the king of any filler that I have the most popular person population with the population. But it got it became this thing within our culture and when it within music that it was like if you were an R and B artist, uh, you know, the the executive shall remained nameless, but he called our ship bathtub music, called our bathtub music, and this is a very powerful motherfucker. But they were trying to put things on it so that it wouldn't seem as big as it truly is. Because everything it's R and B m hm. And that's a big reason why we have this podcast and a big reason why we have artists and executives and athletes and whoever the funk we choose to have on here, because R and B touches everybody in one way or another. Rap right now is very melodic, yep, in our business. You know what I'm saying is they want to sing. Everybody wants. Everybody wants to say everything. And that's what it comes down to say that all the time. Everybody wants to sing, from the President to everybody, everybody would love to sing. Yes, Andy, And I'm not to believe that everybody should be singing everybody everybody, because I can say I'm glad you mentioned that, because as the amazing vocal coach that you are, I knew I was gonna get this question. Go can you help my sisters? They're they're gonna fight me. My sisters can't sing. They can't sing um and and they think I can. And I'll actually pay for the lesson with her, and you're gonna jump. These are my two sisters and very successful in their careers because this music. She just still want to sing a little bit. You know what. At every at every event, they're kicking off the happy birthday loud and two different. But you I hate a bad happy birthday. And I just can't wait to tell me, y'all, y'all was off. Man got to stop. But we you know, we think we have a special gift, is black people especially saying we think we have we have say so in singing, you know, because we've been through a lot to sound this's good. That's what. It's what. It's the truth. We have been through a lot. When everything's taken away from you, what do you have left? You have? So can you get with you? So can you get blood out of the turn up? You know? Let's do this, Let's do this, Let's do this. Let's be very I want to be very specific. You want no, not yes, yes in a sense, but on a bad way, none of that way. I just I just want to talk process right because of what you do right and and and and j Lo when she came on this right right right not not not revered as the greatest singer. Right, you don't understand, I'm saying, very much a performance driven artist. You got her to a place to where her vocal matter was that process, Um, just so they can understand how you went from yeah, you gotta you gotta make a song meet you, and you gotta meet a song. There's just those two sides. A song has to be adjusted to you. You have to adjust to the song specifically give me. Yeah. So a lot of her early songs that she's known for, we're not really in her key. They're not in her key. So she they were right. They were great records and she knows it his song and so she's like, I need that song. So she had to sing it like like that and that, and she she didn't realize at the time, you can how to really make the song yours. And so by the time I met her, she says, baby, I want to focus on my voice. I want to focus on singing. And the amount of respect I have for her at that moment, I was it just went through the roof. I was like, I got you, I understand, and she's willing to put in the work because her early music, as catchy as it is, it doesn't it just didn't make her voice shine like it should have. Because she's a singer. I will tell you right now, she's a singer, and she's a very musical person. She knows notes and she knows key. She knows if the chord is wrong. She's she's that involved in her music. And so that process was really saying, Okay, where is the where is the golden part of her voice, the part that just literally sounds good? Where is that? And so you I find that point. And she's already a storyteller. She's already interesting. I don't have to teach that. You can't teach that. I could teach you how to be you know, fixed notes and stuff, but I can't teach you how to be interesting. So she had all those other elements, but the singing part. What part of your voice sounds good? When do you need to go to falsett up? When do you need to pull back? When do you need to change the shape of your mouth to get a different tone? Uh? And use air so you get a balance of some air and some tone. You know how to use the things we can do with our voice, with your volume, pitch, vibrato, and air. There's four things you can essentially do as a singer. So those things we have to with those, we have to create a masterpiece. How are we going to create this masterpiece with those elements? So I'm shaping the voice like a designer in that sense and saying that sounded good. Let's do more of that. That didn't sound good, don't try to do that too much. This was great right here? What did you do? Just now? What did you do? Let's do it again? So you rehearse and re hear and make habits of the good things. Muscle memory, just training, the right things. And so for someone who works hard, it could work for you. And she's a she's probably the hardest, working, hardest, working hard. She'll work, She'll be rehearsal after everybody. Let's go one more time, baby, I'm like, yeah, yeah, So you can't help China on change? He cannot you know who they're gonnahop your ass too? Oh see, kick his ass too. I'm going down to the ship. We together. One question I've always asked you, Um, you know what before we get there, Before we get there, I want to tell the Maxwell story. Mm hmm. As we're singing as we as we're at the j Low party. Yeah, I wasn't at the jew party. Yeah yeah, I wasn't. Engratulations on your your your new nuptials. Congratulations. So so we're at j Low's perfect and you're one of my favorite voices. She tells me that you're gonna be there, and I'm tripping out. I'm tripping out because I knew you were coming in Maxwell's kind So I didn't know Maxwell was coming. You told me, No, he told you. Ye, Benny told me that Maxwell was coming to sing Happy Birthday. And I said, what the Maxwell? Maxwell? Maxwell? Yeah, I said, I said, oh my god, don't you do this? Um, So it gets on my nerves. So Maxwell walks in and I'm like, I've never met Maxwell in person. I've never That was the first time, mean Max, that was my first time meeting Maxwell. I mean, I'm going for the story two of my influences. So I'm sitting I'm sitting there and Maxwell is singing Happy Birthday, and I'm filming it and I don't really totally know how to work my social media's and as I'm feeling it as I'm filming it. It's done filming, and then it starts replaying real out and Jay looks me. I'm like that they tell you to lock your phone, my phone in place. So this guy, it's like losing my mind. I'm losing my mind on the floor, just falling out, relaxing on his shoulders. Just relax. You're gonna be fine. Max, I'm gonna you gotta, I don't know how crazy right. So the birthday, you know, the song is over, the moment is over, and so I'm not sure where Stevie was, but I'm walking over. I just I just want to, you know, just shake Maxwell's hand. Man. I just want to having a family. And I walked with the Maxwell and he was like, I love your music. And I'm like, don't do this, yea, not here, not crying. This is he's like the consulating your vocals the way you're talking. And I'm saying the same thing, man, like but you but you man, yeam, so listen to listen. Just my first time meeting Maxwell. So as I'm walking away from having this moment with Maxwell, Stevie comes up and he said, you have to introduce you to Maxwell. I said, oh, Okay, come on, let's go, I said, I said, Maxwell, this is Stevie, one of the coldest vocalists I've ever heard. Stevie just says, can I give you a hug? He was, he was listen, can we That was your first time? That was the first I would listen to Maxwell, my second genesis. I played out over every night. I would play that out. But it's just whenever, wherever I would listen, and the whole thing. It was just like he had a high voice like mine. He was just dreamy falsetto. And I was like, so I never thought I'd need him. So here's the bar. Okay, that was the moment, right they met. I mean, great moment. J Low is like, let's sing. Let's kick it off board out, let's go there. So you know, everybody's doing their singing thing, right. Stevie looks at me. It's like he comes over. It's like, do you do you think it's cool if I do a Maxwell song? And I said, absolutely, go crazy. He didn't realize you as a full hype man battery and listen water not that far off bridge. He started singing. Stevie got on that piano and started singing this woman's work, and it was so intense, it was so crazy. Then Maxwell had to start singing with him, and it is Stevie, Mackie and Maxwell singing this woman's work together where all it is? And you didn't know how to work your goddamn camera at that time. I couldn't even get to my I couldn't even get to my camera. But I don't even know if anybody has this on tape. Everybody in the room was just like, I have it, you have it. I have it. It's stored in my phone under favorites. I have it. He was giving Maxwell everything he needs by all and Maxwell said, I will not stand for this. I'm gonna give you something back, and I'm ready for someone to sing it back at me. And I thought that that was just I thought that that was an amazing moment and it was a testament to how amazing you are. Excuse me, which leads me into my next question where I've always every time I see you, I pulled you to the side and say, why are you going to put out a record? Or why won't you put out a record? You have to answer that right here on the R and B Money Podcasts. We need to know were the gifted with the talented need to know is there a reason? Is there because I pay attention to ship? He said it earlier about not being in the front of it. He said that really early, you discovered that for yourself, really early, that that wasn't what you wanted then, and you were just like, since there's no pressure, I can stay back here. Yeah, I kind of you know, I I can. I can have a good time doing what I'm doing. I don't have to be the guy they're waking up at six am to do radio, right, I mean, you're exactly right. There's I never felt like I was ready until now to actually put out my own music. I released a Christmas album and I loved it, and that actually opened the door for me to actually say I want to do more. But it's tricky though, like what what do I want to do with that? I do I want it to just live? And do I want to go on a tour? Do I want to where do I want to sing? What do I really want to do? And with this? So I have to think who am I singing too? And in my head I like themes, I like things like Christmas. I would do a Disney R and B album of just me singing my favorite Disney songs that I love so much at the piano. Then I do I would do? Would I would do a soul Disney album Somebody Get by? Oh? I would also do album of Negro spirituals that I love things but nobody but no one does Negro spirits. I know everybody like, what's the funny? Why is this so funny? It's not funny like I like because I'm a cartoon. I like, I like things I like. But you are we are we getting to the space to where you're just why. The hardest part is to say, if if I had to do one project, what would be on it. That's the toughest question in my life if I had to do one because in my mind I want to do different ones, be a lot of different things. Put them all out. They can live wherever they were want to live. But it's hard for me to say if I had to do one project, what would be on that. It's tough. It is tough, but just the process you just haven't it would be all over the place, It'd be all over the place. Why couldn't it be? I think now it can The timing is perfect to do broadway you want to do. Now you may not. And this is this is, this is the reality into all of this ship. You may not get the results that you want if there are certain results that you want by doing that and by maybe it not being as cohesive in you know, one project and top to bottom and it this is what it is. And instead of it just being like ensemble and I just want to do everything and I'm just gonna give y'all all of my gift, that ship might actually click right, Like we're in a different business now they've ever been in to where you can do whatever you want. There's nothing in front of that. And I completely understand where you come from because I am also someone who people bother about making an album because I've just I've kind of always done what i want, even in the even when the industry that wasn't promoted to do what you want. It was like no, no, no, you the new usher. I'm not means two different people. Are you the new such and such? Are you? You know what I mean? Like you're gonna you're gonna do this type of music or you know, I'm like funk if I am, I'll let you, nigga, you know what I'm so, it's but the industry that we're in now, UM shout out to the Bay Area. I feel like we created the new music business by making it accessible with the whole you know, with with social media, with with you know, with streaming, with digital that that come from the Bay Area. We changed with the music business was about, and we pushed a lot of the bullshit out, which is crazy because that's the Bay Areas also where independent music has flourished for generations. We go back to MC hammer and in Too Short and E forty and RBL Posse and all these you know, hip hop artists and even Tony Tony Tony and you know what I mean, like people that were that were doing it. We had a thing out there called out the Trunk, But now out the Trunk is digital. All you gotta do is upload this ship. Now it's our the Bear Room. It's no excuse. So someone like yourself, with the gift that you have, there's no reason to just do what you want. I'm gonna I'm gonna say it right here first, I'm about to do this and it's and it's going to be whatever it's gonna be. All over the place. There's gonna be a song for for this group, that group, that group, and in this TikTok generation where people can consume whatever they want to consume, go at it, go at it, and you're you're exactly right, And so that it means a lot. And it backs up what what I was like, kind of doubting and but feeling at the same time. So it means a lot. So yeah, I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna go for it. Yeah, that's the thing, especially when you have a gift. Yeah, you have too much a gift for any of it to be wrong because we've got too many of the um the non talented, Yeah, just doing whatever they want and putting out as much as they want. We need the talented people to do the same thing to come back that right, because it's free. Listen, it's it's free for you to be able to do whatever you want. All of us. Some of you Niguas ain't talented. Yeah, it's not everybody. Come on, man, The age thing is changing. There's not like an age to it anymore. This is being young and pop and all that. It's just great content. It's the music business is Peter Pan. It's the music business. Like true, you go go to an old school rap concert, they're going to be dressed exactly like that word was the most popular dangerous. You know what I'm saying. But it's it's Peter Pan. We can be who we want to be in this business. You can be Mickey Mouse for sure, For damn sure. I'm about to trademark. It's going to be the interludes in the album. I'm a trademark Nick Mouse and make That's the funniest thing I've heard. So Nick Mouse and Nicky So Micky, So I am selling tea shirts. What does Mickey sal do? Like? What is he flirting with the bow? Are you looking good? Oh gosh, no, that was happening up in here. H Mickey with cheese at Minie. Yeah, many cheese Hungary. Man, those are gonna be lose. You said that gonna be the Oh my gosh, I'm crazy. I can't believe I was trying to keep it together today. Yeah, you are a friends coming as coming. He just told us, he just announced it on the Army Money podcast that the project is coming. You will have nothing but love and support from you already know that from us period, point blank. U building man. We like to build things on this show, and we want you, from your personal opinion, to build a voltron the R and B singer. We want to know where you would get the vocals from, where you would get the styling from, or let me say who who you would get the vocals, who you would get the styling from, who you would get the performance from, and who you would get the emotion from. So let's start with the vocal. If you're building your your R and B voltron, who what one person would you grab the vocal from? You can say yourself too if you want to. I mean, man, Michael Jackson, Marvin Gay, Jesus, Chris, I'm just missing one other elements like you and they're like that would be my third, Like I need someone who can so you see, that's where that's why I chose him, because what they did laid the groundwork for so many. I'm a piece of Marvin for sure. Yeah I feel that. All right, All who are you getting styling from? What do you want your artists to look like? Because I'm short and light skinned? About to say prince mm hmm, yeah, you know he's he's he cares about style. He's a stylist. You know, guys are always at the hair in place and all that. He was just always you know. I mean, yeah, yeah, you have explain like that. Yeah, like that um performance performance style. We already talked about James Brown. But I want to take it away from solo. But like when I think of R and B, like R and B performer, I don't want to be all like school, this is this gotta give it to like he. I mean, the king is James Brown a performance. The king is James Brown. He had the elements that produced what became popular music and R and B. So he's going to perform like James. He's just gonna have every little foot studies going better. Dad, you know, have all the movies. Yeah yeah, yeah, band you know yeah yeah, Okay. Who you get the emotion? Baby Face? Who? Baby Face knows his gift and he knows how to pull emotion out more than I think any other R and B writer that has ever lived. He is an R and B writer, the architect of so much of what we know as R and B. I really give it a lot of credit to baby Face. He's gifted and he knows emotion. He knows silence, and he knows how to use his voice and to pull back. I love and appreciate baby Face a lot for that's a great. Um, he's a great less it's more kind of yes, yep, he's able to do small to this day, he'll he'll get up in that. Okay, we're not done. Top five R and B artists, no order. There's the nineties R and B that I grew up. I know, I know, I know. But there's there's like, okay, okay, just because okay, okay, there's the you Maxwell, Joe like D'Angelo like I have to give that that that important pivot in R and B A name just that's that's honorable mention for who I'm about to name. You know what, But I gotta say, you Joe, aren't uh D'Angelo max um Um. There's more in there. I can't I can't think of it right now. Tevin Campbell, you know so. But but but the the O g s. We would not have this if it were not for Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gay Prince and I'll say, Michael, you gotta say it. You gotta say it. That's a very that's a contextual digest. Absolutely absolutely, that's where they had. They had a lot of kids. You know what I'm saying, Dad, But now I'm about to trip you up, all right, trip me up. I love mentioning any women. And we didn't say, Man, no, you didn't. You didn't, you didn't, And don't catch me on this camera, don't catch me this because that's that's a whole different thing. Another five for that. Yeah, and you gotta pick your five. That's why five is five? Is your five? All? Here we go, we go, We're gonna continue it. Top five R and B songs, Rupe or solo, al Green stayed together. When I think of R and B, Let's get it on. Come on, Marvin take time. Yeah, yeah yeah. Stevie wonder um which one muld choose some Steve is like trying to pick your favorite child? Uh, superwoman? Where were you where I needed to? Right now? Marian wants to beausic that that's the song is just R and B. The chords and everything is just beautiful. Where were you I needed to? Uh? Ain't no mount high enough written by you know the late grades. I mean that's like that's like, um, I would say Diana's version is beautiful. Marvin's R and B. But I would say what what Ashford and Simpson redid with Diana's version is just beautiful. It brings out the a high point in R and B music. That was just what I'm like, the orchestra and the classiness of it, the elegance of it, um and sweet love. Anita Baker who wound co. Anita Baker is just She's She's R and B. She's She's on my top five. I don't care if I can't count Anita Baker's on the top five R and B singers. Baker is R and B. She's R and B. She's what I know as R and B music. She's with. My father used to always Anita the chord. My house grew up on Anita Baker. Anita Baker. Anita Baker in her band too, like those guys in the back and the Paris Sisters that saying with the band too, there was another group that saying from Bakersfield, Parre Sisters saying they saying back up for Anita there in that group too, they were like right there. So, but Anita Baker is very special being from that scene that that Detroit scene with her dad having a club like she grew up in it. That's all she knows. She does it to every little lick she does, it's it's just perfect arm and record she chooses is you know, giving me the best that I got. You know, that's just perfect army with you being on the show what's the name? I've seen it a couple of times. But the documentary about background singers, uh, I think something like that. But that's it's an amazing documentary that needs a part two that needs to executive produce. That you should executive produce. That you absolutely should because it's a very instrumental part of our business. Yes, yes, that people just don't talk about because there are nights where the main person doesn't have it and those background singers are saving people. Yep, background singers saved saving people. Then the audience may not even know at times they can usually do what the artist does. And more and more and more you think about, you think about some of the Luther Vandross was the background singer. Yep, Tank was the background singer. Yourself loved and loved every minute of it. If I could afford to do it all the time and make a living do it. I would still do. I love I say background of the Voice for many years and that's where I got a lot of experience at the Voice, but also learning behind the scenes. The same people that worked at The Voice worked at the Grammys, worked at the Academy Awards. To this day, the am mays, they're working behind the scenes and you see them and your life is easier when you see them, like, oh, I'm good, you're directing, All right, good, we got you here, we got the cameraman, I know all y'all. This is the crew that does it everything the best, and you feel like you're in a in a family like at home. These are the same people that've been working this for years. The stars have come and gone, but the same something that we've never done on this show. And it could probably get tough for you, but I need you to do this because we need to put that spotlight. Can you shout out some of the dope background singers? Absolutely? Absolutely, absolutely with Sharif for Paine, who's amazing to me and she's always been amazing to me. That's one of my favorite of all time. But I'm there's a family, there's a there's a family that people may not know about. That that's pretty core in this business. And the session singers for all the movies and everything. You talk about Dorian Holly, who did backup from Michael Jackson who's still in the game, and he sings with me and we do cole play together. And his daughter in Ayanna, you have co play the same with co play and they're amazing. I love co play, So that's that's I mean. You have my my girl that I sang with for many years of the Voice, Kara White, girl alto, craziest alto in the world. She's amazing. Love her, shout her out. Um, Denise, Denise, Denise, She's one of the baddest sopranos ever. My boy Nelson, who I grew up with, also went to Oakland. Elson took over for me at the Voice. Um you have you know, and like even every same background for a while too. I call your name. Avery's starting his own right, But you have like like those you know, Uh, Jason Jason who does directs the gospel choir, Jason White, and he used to call me for gigs years ago. He used to be minister of music at West Angelis. He was raised bringing in the singers you know he did. He created the samples Kanye Choir. A lot of my friends who singing the samples have been in this business a long time doing session work. Then you have like Eadie Bodiker who puts the lot of the choir sessions together. You have Jasper, you have Bobby Page. You have just a few vocal contractors that put together Sally Stevens, who's still alive, the people who put together the stuff for the movies, and they sang in the old movies like the Peter Pan and the old stuff. They could you could put a sheet of music in front of them and they don't have to even know the song. They just go. And so these singers never get the credit. And there's a whole room of them and they're they're beautiful, professional, kind, friendly and they can sing anything. And I love working with him, I love, I love it so much because they're the core of what we hear in Hollywood. There. I call it like the choir room of Hollywood. When we're together at Center stage and one of these places where you're rehearsing s I R. And you see your family in there, and those those are the people that you're like, Okay, I know we're good now, I know this is going to be good. So there's there's a lot more. But those people, those people I the ones I mentioned to Nash, I've mentioned her, the people I mentioned I've worked with for many years. But the session singers are magical. Those are the ones that keep everything going. You don't even noticing. Man, you gotta have a shout out, man, that's right. And our brother Lani Barell, Lonie Barrel, Lonni Man. Recently, after years years, I saw that DJ Cassidy's birthday party. Luke Jan Luke Luke Coach Luke Coach Luke Luke came to my house with this song called I Want You. He's like, I gotta sing this song. I put him in opera soprano lessons like we were that really crazy high song. He came over and we started working on that. That that was years was one of them for both of us. He's one of the baddest singers singers, and he did a lot of shows and he was little. Yeah, that would be a dangerous room. You Loop Avery. I used to bring Loop to the front of my stage and just let him go crazy, go crazy. You cannot stand back there and just do that. You gotta put the light on these guys. And he stopped bringing my brother to the front of the stage because he would take brother brother. Brother wouldn't wait, Your brother didn't wait. He just there's a time where my shirt comes off. It's choreographed. I know when there's a time and Bob, and Bob anticipated to snap. He he took his shirt off, no. Four bars before me four yards and I look and the girls are the girls are screaming. I'm like, I look back, but he's doing this. Didn't shut up. I'm like, try taking my shirt off. I don't even feel good. Streams are all streamed out, so I have to let Bob go. You can't do that. I just know, Bob, But how often do you work out? How do you keep this up? Sorry to turn the tables, but I don't know. I'm just like, I work out as as often as I can. If I can work out six seven days a week, I'll work six seven days a week. Yeah. I mean, because like, it didn't scare me that women were screaming take your shirt off. Like I was like, okay, cool. Some of them came for the teas. Some of them came for the music. I'm going to take care of them all. It's your job to make everybody. I'm going to take care of them all. You never know why people fall in love with you, you know what I mean? And so I just listen and pay attention and and being in shape and being an athlete. That's just second nature for me. And it's also part of your job and responsibility. And so they game part of my job and responsibility. And his name is Tank. His name is you gotta show up with show up with the bird chesse. Yeah, I'm not show up, Hank. You ain't hang you have? Isn't you know? You have to bring it? M hm. I'm forty six years old. And my wife is like, when are you gonna stop taking your shirt off? I'm gonna say when. I can't you understand? Yeah, when it stopped? Any artist that has any art, has any artist done that until forty six two years taking their shirt off? I don't take a shot off anymore. I don't think. I don't know, but he's a tired at that part. I think you out ran No, you've you've outran everyone's my idol, and you're not close to finishing Like this is still no, no, no, no, no, no, I'm still no. I'm still going to another level. You have a whole another level to get too. I'm probably gonna next year. Wants to compete in fitness competitions. Crazy. I didn't know that crazy, because I'll see you soon. I think we're gonna promote it. Like were you after part? Were you always genetically like blessed like that to have so? Did you always have? Yes? I was always skinny, and I'm just I just think some people are born with muscles tested an R and B. Some people might be going with some help no good genetics, you have good. I'd always going singing, like I have a little blessing of singing. But but some people are born. Oh I go to gym once a week and it's like no, no, no, no. I mean I was naturally cut, Okay, naturally you know, athletic and all these things. But when it came time to put on you know, some real muscle. You know what I'm saying. The word my first stop was g NC. You know what I'm saying. I'm in g n C and like what you do, just it's creatine. There's a loading phase, alright, alright, alright, all right, okay, that says anabolic what I'm saying, and so I would just I was just trying and safely figure out the concoction to help me, you know, pushing it to that next level. But back to you, my brother, we're not done with you. Um. We got very very important segment of the show, very important, most important. Next one. Some people say it's called I ain't saying no names. Mhmm. Will you tell us a story. Let's either funnier, fun up or both. The only rule you can't say the names. Who come on? Come on, I know we know you guys. I know you've got a lot of stories. Yeah, a lot of things. But it's a rooms. Well, I just don't say no name. No no, no, no, no no no. That's about to be our new intoke to it. No no, no, no, no no. We gotta sample back here. No no no, no, no no no no. You gotta clean. Yeah, they're gonna call for a royalty. Hey guys, um you don't remember, all right, I got a story. Here we go. Story I can't say no name. Very well known person in the industry, um that I was around for a while. At one point I I can't say that he's a rapper. And so I never knew this rapper love love singing so much and so oh it's gonna be dangerous. Um, you're almost this is there's a point where I learned that rappers, I really love to sing. Yeah, they grew up listening to singers a lot of times as much as they did other rappers. Like, so they really want to sing. And so with the advancement of technology and auto tune, they can. They can now hearing notes, and so I did. I was like, you know, I'm not. I'm not. I don't say I'm a rapper listener. I'm not. I listened to singers. So I was singing. I was doing what I do, jam, jam jam. This rapper gets on the piano. Stop the music, stop the DJ, just stop stop everything. One more song, please, Stevie. One more song, and and and uh, let me know if I could sing it. Let me let me know if I could do the lead. I get one Mike's when Mikes so who goes. I knew it was gonna go downhill a little bit, and I just remember playing the chords really loud. It might have been like, can you stay in the rain or something that we all love, you know, and I'm playing damn the drowned altums about happening, and I turned the reaver on all the way on his mic all the way turn and trying to tweak it, turned mine up his down. Dad. I was like, you know, boom, it's supposed to be on a perfect day. I don't know what I thought I was gonna hear, but I had. I hadn't been around non singers in a long time. But it went, it went south right there, and all all my, all, my, if people even knew, if people even knew, like how how if this moment was ever filmed and out, it would just be a catastrophe, a catastrophe. It went down that fast, and I remember having kind of stop and swerve that song back into its but just out of respect for the song, I had to swerve it back into the lane and I was I was like, okay, because I need some by I remember just doing that and like like yanking that Mike. I took that X SOLR and I kind of yanked it out at the bottom there, remember yanking it out, and he was like, what happened? I remember something happened. I took my hand. I just yanked it out and I can't be associated with anything if this ever gets out, I can't be the one on the piano. I will not be seeing around around bad vocals like this. I can't. I have a reputation of hoole, I cannot be I won't be singing around. So you're a vocal snob if there ever was one. I have to say that I've become I become friendlier, friendlier, but I am definitely a vocus. I don't enjoy concerts like everybody else. Vocal coaches are like that. It's me looked like wise, don't it sound like this? Sound men are my worst enemies, you know. I'm like, why isn't this and so I am? I am that guy I am, And I sept that that's where my snobbery lives. It's the only place it lives a rapper. So there's that. But I understand it was a stretch yesh. Yeah, just I don't see why rappers don't rap in the space just after the singing. There's a point where I would just play the piano you freestyle like they did. And when I was growing up in the eighties and nineties. You just put a cool rapping there and we're all like, that's amazing, that'd be great. But no, they want to be the singer too, and so it's a whole different game now. And when they're on the mic that has the auto tune, it's a different mic. That's studio mic. This is live performance Mike. Oh, we guys, a little rever been here. You've got to be able to hold it. If that. So that's that's my story. You can take a million guests of who it is. But anyway, I ain't saying no name, no name. I ain't saying no name. Um. Bro. First of all, you told us you're putting out a project on the Army Money podcast. We got exclusive, We got the exclusive, we got no no, no, no, no, okay to sample. Take it go along with I ain't saying no names, um, and just more flowers. Man you are you are one of the coldest man and um, your gift keeps us on the level. Mm hm. So keep doing more of that, you know what I'm saying. Continue to be excellent, Continue to have those spaces and forums where people can come and perfect their excellence. Yes, you know what I'm saying. Is absolutely necessary and needed. We're gonna be sending people to you. We're gonna come see you to come on and God continue the legacy of just of just what you are man and what you do. Man, you're really really dope. Do you take eb Yeah? Whatever you can your man. I know you need something up. I know you need something up. Baby. Let me st I'm Jay Valentine And this has been the R and B Money Podcast, the authority on all things R and B. And we have been blessed to have Stevien Mackie. Thank you, thank you. I appreciate you. Appreciate you. Thank thank you, Jay and and crew. Like that's what we're talking about. People who are in the background and we don't see right now, that are always working. This is this is you know, kind of dedicated to you, this episode, This is for all people that work in this energy. Takes a lot of people to make a star. And so yep, I really appreciate I love being here. It was like sitting down with my family getting grilled. I love it. This is everything everything. Keep working or if you're a singer, put the work in, but the work in. If you don't feel like you should sing, don't sing. There's a lot of people in line to be singers. We don't need you, we don't need more singers like that. If you feel like there's something men you go sing, Go figure out how to do it. And listen. Listen. You're born listen. You're not born singing, you're not born talking. You're born listening first, listening. So that's your gift. Listen, and then take that and try to do what you can with it. So say that speech, I don't know, man,

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R&B Money

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