Kay Gee of Naughty By Nature Opens Up: Hip-Hop History, Ownership & Legacy

0:00
Real quick before we dive in, if you’re a regular here, consider pulling up the seat to the Patreon.
The seat, the table, the kitchen. 3 tiers starting at just 5 bucks a month built for the people who don’t just listen, they feel it. patreon.com/TMHF podcast show link is always in the show notes.
0:16
Alright, when you pulled when you pulled the the the the flip for OPP, how hard you think it was going to get cleared?
How do you think that?
How hard did you think it was going to be for that to get cleared?
I didn’t think about it.
I didn’t think about it being hard to clear.
0:33
I just did the work.
That was it.
And then once we crossed that bridge, we crossed it.
I do remember though, I do remember though, our attorney, Stu Levy calling me saying, Kay, so here’s the clearance on, on OPPI think that’s too much.
0:58
What do you want to do?
I’m like, man, I don’t care.
And I’ll tell you what, it what it was they they took basically 90% of the song or something crazy like that.
Yeah.
And Joe bet, Joe bet music, they took basically almost all of the song.
1:16
And I told Stu, I said, I don’t care, Stu.
That’s going to make our career.
That song is going to make our career.
It was 100%, 100.
Percent, I’ll, I’ll take 10% of everything, then 100% of nothing.
So it’s going to make our career.
1:34
And to this day, he still says that to me.
He’s like, hey, I remember, you know, way back you told me that someone’s going to make our career and you didn’t.
And it’s OK about the joke.
I was like, hey, man, I mean, it ended up working, right?
And he’s like, yeah, it definitely worked.
I still remember that you said it’s going to you didn’t care about like as much as they were going to take from you guys because it’ll make your career.
1:57
And yeah.
And it worked.
The, the hitting the stage together though it was, it’s, it was always a joy, always great times, man, the energy man like, and we all three of us, we, we, we gave it our all man, like every time we went out there.
2:14
And if it did, if a show, if a show wasn’t 100% right, we didn’t, we didn’t, we, we were mad like we did, we didn’t, you know what I mean?
Obviously we took it and we were just like, OK, that was, you know, but when we when you, if you were there with us, when we got in the dressing room and a lot of people would be looking at us like, what are they talking about?
2:34
What are they, What’s wrong?
Like that was dope.
Like sometimes like if, if something the smallest thing went wrong, we would point it out and we would, we would go, we would go to work to perfect it.
So we, we perfectionist.
So, yeah, great times, man.
And we, you know, one day we’ll get back to doing it again that.
2:55
Was my next question.
That was my very next question.
Because you, I mean, you got to look.
You got to look at there’s a resurgence of real happening right now.
And it and if it would slaughter, it would slaughter.
If if Naughty did something right now and like it would, it would completely fuck the whole algorithm up because you, it’s an undeniable there’s something, there is something to be said for that combination.
3:23
I I can’t put my fingers on it.
You may not know what it is.
The shit just works, and it works in a way that’s galvanized.
Everybody, because everybody plays their part.
You know, Trench is our league guy.
He’s out front.
Vin is the backup guy.
And I’m, I’m, I’m the backup of the backup, you know, and I’m in, I’m the DJ and I’m the music supplier.
3:40
So everybody knows their parts.
So when we come together, it’s flawless.
And we’re working on it.
And we’ll, we’ll see.
We’ll see.
Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome to another episode of the taste music here full podcast show.
4:01
I am your host and for the this is the place for full music and culture and how they all connect.
Dude, I’m going to watch it now.
I think it’s, I don’t.
Welcome, welcome, welcome.
4:18
Welcome to another episode of the Taste Music Here food podcast show.
I am your host Ed Porter, and this is the destination for food, music and culture and how they all connect.
My guest today is a part of and a founding member of one of the most recognizable groups on the planet, period.
4:42
And might I say to me, top five dopest logos period.
I was having this debate last week about the Best Hip Hop logos.
And but I, I can just tell you as a kid from New York, if you had anything with this logo on it, you was you was killing the game and you, you might get a snatch from you though.
5:05
But anyway, outside that before we, I jump right in, man, I’m a I’m a pay this man, his his flowers with his intro right here.
So here we go.
Today on TMHF, we’re sitting down with someone whose worked helped to find an error.
An architect of records that became anthems.
5:22
A creator whose fingerprints can be found on block parties, cookouts, radio stations, stadiums, family reunions, and countless moments where music stopped being something people simply listened to and became something they lived.
This is someone who helped shape sound that balance St. credibility with mainstream success before that was considered formula.
5:43
Someone who understands that great music isn’t just heard, it becomes part of a community’s language.
Over the course of a remarkable career, our guest has helped create records that cross generations, built bridges between hip hop and R&B, developed artists, launched careers, and contributed to a catalog that remains woven into the fabric of American culture.
6:05
But today isn’t about nostalgia.
It’s about creativity.
It’s about longevity.
It’s about ownership.
It’s about what happens when a kid with a vision turns sound into legacy.
On this show, we talk about food as everything we consume and music as the vibration of life.
6:23
So today we’re exploring the ingredients of timeless art, the recipe behind cultural impact, the hunger required to stay relevant, and what it means to feed generations through creativity.
If you’ve ever shouted along to a song that instantly brought strangers together.
6:39
If you’ve ever experienced the power of a beat to transform A room, if you’ve ever wondered how certain records became permanent chapters in our collective memory, then you’re in the right place.
Today, we’re honored to welcome the legendary producer, DJ, entrepreneur, and founding member of Naughty By Nature.
6:58
Please welcome to the Taste Music Here food podcast show KG What’s?
Going on, Ed, what’s?
Going on bro, what’s going on man?
Thank you for being here man.
No problem man.
It’s so, so, so dope to talk to you and I, I, I had to realize that like you, I’ve seen you’ve done a lot of interviews, but not a lot about, about you.
7:22
Like you, you know, they’re like, there’s a lot about the, the, the group and the music, but I like to, to get into the psyche of the, you know, the creatives in a manner in which you know what and how, how it all came about and, and who you are as an individual.
So let’s, let’s just jump right in, man Young KG, let’s take me back before there was, you know, before the studio, before the equipment.
7:46
What was you consuming musically, culturally and spiritually that shaped you into the be the individual that you are today?
Well, it started off as a youngster, like just playing basketball, to be honest.
If you want to talk about the beginning, like I just, I’ve always, you know, watched my older brother, you know, kill it on the court and, you know, be a, a a basketball, you know, superstar around the way, like everybody, you know, watching him and marveling by how great he, you know, how great he was.
8:21
And that was, you know, something, you know, that that fueled me because I was just like, wow, that’s pretty cool.
You know, he’s, he’s doing his thing, but at the same time it, it kind of I, I continued to play basketball, but it pushed me away in a sense because I knew I couldn’t feel their shoes.
8:44
Got to a point where I felt like I couldn’t feel their shoes.
So I started, you know, getting into other things.
I was into art, always been into art as a little kid.
So I was drawing and just into different things like that.
And if you know about, you know, with everything you like with it all it, it all kind of collides like the culture of hip hop.
9:06
It’s, you know, it’s break dancing, it’s it’s music, it’s, it’s MCN, it’s graffiti, which is the art form, you know, and all of that stuff, you know, came into play with me at a young age, but also to learning and understanding the sounds and the different, you know, artists and the different sounds of music through my parents.
9:29
You know, like I, I, I was born in New Jersey and my parents are from South Carolina.
Both of them actually born in South Carolina.
They both grew up in Jamaica, Queens, though.
So my family roots and really I mean deeply, deeply from South Carolina, but my family family that I grew up with is Jamaica, Queens.
9:56
So taking those trips back down South every summer, like my father would play all of the deep soul records, just everything.
So from the Marvin Gaye’s to the Sam Cooke’s to the, to the any and everything under the sun, to be honest, James Brown, like any and everything Aretha Franklin, anything like the signature sounds of of those deep soul artists.
10:27
And that’s what made me fall in love with music as a whole.
And I kind of, you know, not even kind of as I started to get into music, that’s what really connected me with that because I was able to pull back from that and just recall all of those trips and say, oh, I’m familiar with that.
10:45
Oh, I’m familiar with that.
And then there was, and as I started, you know, getting into a record digging, I started to discover a lot more artists as I went along the way.
But that was the beginning of me really like learning.
My father gave me my first initial lessons of of music through those trips.
11:06
What?
What was the 1st the first record that you went dig?
What’s the first record that you got you purchased on your own?
That OK, I’m a I’m a see what magic I can make with this When you when you went digging it for for those who don’t know, digging is this what it used to be?
11:23
It’s not this way anymore.
People still do it, but not like it was.
We’ll go to a record.
Store yeah, they do more.
They do more digital digging.
I do it.
I do it as well now, you know, So I don’t really, you know, go into record stores or running because I mean, to be honest, I used to like when we were on in the 90s when we first came out, like we would be on tour in every city.
11:44
I would run into everywhere I went, I would run into a record store or look into that local town and try to, you know, try to see, you know, if, especially if it’s time we get in a day before or we get in something early, I would try to Jesus, I would try out, that’s the dog trying to get out the room.
12:08
So I would, you know, I would, I would try to get into the city early and then I would try to, I’ll look into the phone book at the time and see what’s, what’s around.
We didn’t have the Internet early then.
So I’ll look in the phone book in the hotel and say hey, and look and look around and see what record stores are closed.
12:29
And then I would take a trip over there, catch a cab and run over to the to the local record stores and try to dig through, you know, through the dusty crates and see what they got in there and see if I can find any gems.
Absolutely, absolutely that I remember.
So not on your level, but I remember I, I used to do the same thing.
12:45
One time I went, I went to Japan and so one time I was at Fat Beats and I bumped into, to, to Q-tip.
He was in there just in the back, in the back and he had like 6 people with him carrying him out six crates out.
You know, he all the good shit he had.
13:02
And so I would remember that I saw something and he had this, this Japanese funk record.
And I’m like, if I ever make it out to Japan, I’m going to go spend every dime I can on, on vinyl.
And, and I did, I came up with some joints and then I realized going through them, OK, there’s some joints that sort of been made with some of these records.
13:22
I’m like, oh, this is where they came from.
Oh, this is where because you know, cats will cover.
Their labs.
You wouldn’t know.
Where it came from?
Yeah, man.
I so.
So so.
But yeah, and then like, yeah, so like like I said, like like I used to like you mentioned Japan a great place to go because I mean there’s a obscure records in Japan and stuff that never make it from out of Japan over here.
13:46
So it’s, you know, you can find some stuff and everybody’s doing it.
You know, like you said, seeing Q-tip over there, all of the producers, you know, everybody that went on the road, they, they were doing the same thing like I’m talking about.
So just imagine that, like even the guy, the guys that came out and the producers that came out, you know, before me in the 90s, they were doing it before me in the 90s, doing that same thing.
14:06
And then there’s some people, you know, that did come out.
They were actually still doing that before me.
They were digging.
So, you know, I used to I used to ask everybody that I ran across and meet, you know, I used to, I used to ask my wife at the time, you know, my girlfriend at the time right now, but I used to ask.
14:23
So hey, you know, actually they got any records they want to get rid of, but I used to just try to get records from anywhere, you know, just going around.
So yeah, like that digging thing is it’s it’s it’s, it’s real in a series, you know, for sure, for sure.
I so so take.
Me back to how how Naughty became a group.
14:43
How did you guys formulate?
Was it an official thing or was this something that y’all were boys and it was cool because, and you already said this already, but basketball has been a complete through line through Naughty’s existence.
There’s always basketball references, just about anything you guys do, and I see why now.
15:01
But.
Yeah, this, this, this sports has always been a thing.
And plus, you know, you made them anthem.
So that way it plays well in in arenas, purposely so.
Yeah, yeah.
All right.
So Naughty By Nature.
Like we formed in East Orange.
We’re all three from all three of us are from East Orange, NJ And East Orange is 4 square miles.
15:23
And we met in high school.
But when you go to school in elementary or in in middle school, it’s separated.
So we, me and Vin are from the teen streets down the hill and we both went to like Kentop and Stockman School.
15:43
So I’ve known then like from a young, young kid because I’m from 18th St.
Vince from 15th St. and we all basically all grew up together down there.
Everybody from, you know, 131415161718 19th St. all the way over to the Oval Park.
16:00
So trenches from another side.
He went to Elmwood, so he went to middle school and, and, and elementary over on the other side of East Orange.
So we didn’t meet Treach until high school.
But once you get to high school, it’s only 1 high.
It was, it was 2 high schools.
16:16
But yeah, everybody’s pulled like pulled together in high school.
So once we got the high school, that’s when Treach came into the fold as far as me and then so, but Treach is already doing his thing.
I’m a grade.
I’m a grade and a year older than Treach and then so Trench and Ven were in the same grade.
16:36
I was like I said, I’m a grade higher.
So Trench and Ven was were in the were in the same health class together and that’s where he met Trench.
So when I wanted to do the the talent show, I was DJ and I used to DJ.
16:52
I used to DJ, like I said, I like Ven lived from on 15th Street, but Ven used to live break dance with a guy.
My man ski.
My man ski lived straight across the street from me on 18th St.
So then would break dance with him and Luke and the guys out there and I would be on the in my sun porch DJ ING basically for them while they were break dancing.
17:14
So I’ll be practicing, they’ll be break dancing to my practice.
So one day I called Ben because Ben beatboxed as well.
He did.
He was break.
He was a break dancer, but he also did the beatbox.
So I called Ben over one day and I was just like, yo, I’m going to do a talent show at school.
17:30
Why don’t you beatbox with me and I’ll DJ and do some stuff and we can put together a routine.
So we started doing that and then them was like, hey, I know this guy Tiny, this guy named Tiny that’s in my health class.
17:46
That’s a rapper.
Maybe we can have a rapper come along with us, you know, and I said, all right, cool, so have them come over or we’ll we’ll do whatever.
So we had to, obviously it’s Tretch, but at the time, his name, Tretch’s name was Tiny.
18:03
He started off name, his name was Tiny at first, then it became Tiny T and then Tiny T was the two TS.
So it became double T, double T and the double T was Double T treachery.
And then that’s where Tretch comes from.
He just shortened the the treachery down to Tretch.
18:22
So yeah.
So that’s how we formed.
I mean, and once we did the talent show, we did the first talent show.
What I think my junior year, I did the junior talent show, we did the first one and then we also did it again as a as seniors and the senior talent show.
18:40
So no, no, actually I did the junior talent show by myself and then we did, me and Ben and Tretch did the senior talent show together and that’s when we formulated a group called New Style.
OK.
So we didn’t even have a name at the time.
18:55
We just went out there.
Yeah, we just went out there and we just oh, the see here is senior Kier gifts or whatever, you know, performing a set along with, you know, Anthony, Chris and Vincent Brown or whatever, you know, and I just scratched in It’s the IT in the beginning of our routine was like such and such.
19:16
And then I scratched in the Beastie Boys.
It’s the new.
Style.
Yeah, and we did our routine.
It went over well.
Everybody liked it.
So people just start calling us The New Style because I scratched in the Beastie Boys, the New Style.
19:31
So we just ran with the name.
We just started, you know, working under the name The New Style and just started doing talent shows, man.
And we were killing the city under the name The New Style and doing all of the local talent shows, beating the other groups out.
19:47
And at the time the talent shows, they were judged by the fans and by the by the audience, put it like that.
So people started calling foul.
They started saying, well, New Style come with their own audience.
They got a whole bunch.
20:03
The crowd is basically all their people because we were deep.
So.
Yeah, Yeah.
So.
We just, you know, we created a nice fan based on a nice following.
Our people were supporting us and we were, we were winning.
So they started, they changed the, the format and they started bringing judges in.
20:20
And that’s when we first came across people like Apache from the flavor unit, Queen Latifah.
And the biggest one at the time we came across was Cool V and he can’t.
And Cool V came through one time with Biz Marquis.
OK, so that’s why we got so much love for Biz.
20:37
Speaking of that, I got this thing right back here behind you.
I’m pulling into the shop real quick.
Yeah, Biz for.
My man Biz Marquis too.
Biz Oh, that’s that’s that’s fire.
Yeah, that’s fire.
Yeah.
20:53
So I got made a biz.
Yup.
I had a Gotham overseas.
Make that for me, Yeah.
That’s fine.
That’s fine.
So yeah, so they started bringing in other judges and other stuff and we still, we still continue to win.
21:09
So we just was like, oh man, we may have something here.
And from there we started going into the studio and that that’s when I started putting the whole thing of the record.
When we talked about record digging and all that stuff, that’s when I had to, you know, I started putting that into play, you know, buying break beats and really focusing on break beats, understanding of break beats and doing a bunch of different stuff.
21:35
I, I knew about them from DJN, but I really started digging and really getting into it and also going further with it.
And then I figured at that point too, like as I started going into the studio, I didn’t have my, my own equipment at the time far as making beats.
So I would just take records and ideas that I would listen to at home, them and going to the studio and then just loop them down.
21:56
And that’s where if you think about OPP, when Trek said Dave drop a load on them, that’s Dave Bolochio.
He was the engineer.
That’s the studio that we first did our whole first album.
And that was in Marion recording out here in Fairlawn, New Jersey.
22:13
So Dave was there.
So I would go in with with my ideas and just say, hey, Dave loop this, this is what I want to do.
And that was the beginning of me starting to learn how to produce.
And then once we got, you know, did our demo and got a deal, that’s when I forgot my first MPC, which is sitting back there.
22:31
Still got the first one, huh?
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, it’s sitting right.
I’m going to actually pull it and shove it real quick.
Thing is huge.
Man, yeah, I know, I know, I know.
Yeah.
That you don’t make them like that.
No.
More Yes Sir.
So this is my original first MPC 60.
22:49
Yeah, damn.
That’s my original 1, nice and dusty now.
No, I’m going to, I’m going to, I’m going to put it in the Hip Hop Hall of Fame though.
I mean the Hip Hop Museum, the Hip Hop Museum.
23:07
So they’re building and working on the Hip Hop Museum now.
I’m going to, I’m going to put put that in there and I will showcase, I’ll put my first, the MPC in there.
But that’s my first drum machine I got and then I really, really, really got into making beats from at that point just to go back real quick to to record digging my friend that lived 2 houses down from me that I actually started DJ ING with.
23:32
Shout out to my guy Melvin Dinkins AKA Mufi.
So me and Mufi, you know, shared the passion of music and we started off DJ and together before any of this, we came into play and then eventually I went back and we started work.
23:50
We did some records together, 1 record being like Queen Latifah.
You and Rty.
Yeah me and Mufi did that record together for Queen Latifah.
So like I said, shout out to my guy Mufi, Melvin Dinkins, my childhood friend.
Like I grew up, like I said, I grew up with him.
24:07
He lived 2 doors from me and I once I got that that that MPC 60 Mufi told me about this record store out in in New York.
24:25
So he told me about the record store and he took me to the record store.
I don’t know how he found out about it, but he took me to it and it was, it was record heaven, really, to be honest.
Like they had everything in here, from jazz to rock to 40 fives to all kinds of soul records.
24:44
Any and everything under the under Latin or anything under the sun.
What record store was so huh?
What record?
Store was it?
Oh, I forgot what it was even.
Was it in a village?
25:01
No, it was in, I think, not Roosevelt, not Roosevelt Island, something like that.
One of those spots in New York, one of those islands over there where they where they do the seafood and all that.
I forgot the place, but City Island.
City Island.
It was in City Island.
Yeah, that’s next door to.
Me.
25:17
So yeah, that’s about.
Yeah.
City Island, yeah, so yeah, yeah.
So right off the off by the Bronx and all that, yeah.
So City Island, Yeah, so City I it was on City Island and Mufi, I guess he might have been there out there with the rest at the restaurant or something.
25:32
But anyway, he found the spot.
He told me about it.
I went there with him maybe twice and then once let me like the like the third time I went in there.
So I asked the owner guy and I said, hey man, give me a price on every record in here.
25:54
So Long story short, I bought basically all the records out the store.
I pulled up with AU haul truck, wiped the store out and then come to find out, I get a call from the guys from the Bronx.
Like the whole digging in the crates crew buck wild and and all of the yeah, and all the guys and they like, yo, what did you do?
26:16
I was like, what are you talking about?
They’re like, yo, that was our record spot.
You rated it.
I was like, oh man, I didn’t know that man.
Like, hey man, I’m just, I’m, you know, I’m just trying to get my library up.
So, you know, the guy gave me a price and I can’t I, I he’s like, you know what, I ain’t mad at you.
26:32
I hear y’all that did the same.
That’s that’s all good, you know.
But yeah, so I said once, once I got going, man, and and got enough money, I rated that spot man.
I bought, I bought every basically everything in there man.
And I just, throughout the years just went through just crates of records.
26:52
I had them just stored away to the side and every, you know, now and then I’ll just go grab a stack out, go through it and just start making records, man.
And that’s dope.
That’s dope.
And yeah, me and my guy, actually my man OG, me and OG from digging in the crates was talking about that the other day.
27:09
I don’t know if the game, the guy name was Roger.
I think it might have been Roger, something like that.
But anyway, he was like, yeah, man, yeah, yeah.
And and OG told me he was like, yeah, you took a lot of it, but it was it was some still a lot of gems you you left in there.
27:24
I was like, I know it’s a lot of stuff.
I didn’t totally wipe them out, but I did.
I pulled up with EU Haul truck man.
And I, I, I just, I, I had, I had Moo feed my man Wendell with me.
There’s like three of us and we just stacked that joint up with records, man.
27:42
That’s crazy.
All right, so let me ask you this did, did in your opinion, did hip hop lose something when everybody started chasing virality instead of building catalogs?
Because the one thing that you you have amassed, my brother, is you have a you have a deep catalog.
27:58
And prior to you, there’s only been a few like in your in that in in the 90s there was it was Teddy Riley at the time only one to go from that had both hip hop cred and R&B cred.
There’s not a many.
There wasn’t many cats doing doing both on a on a high level that wasn’t looked at as not.
28:19
Well, not early 90s eventually, yeah.
You had a lot of.
Yeah, you had a lot of guys that did it, you know, not early, but not early 90s on the door.
I mean, yeah, because.
And I mean, like, like I said, like it is this all coming because there’s so many dope producers, man, and, and all that, like, and I’m not going to, you know, even try to put myself on their level, you know, of, of them because I’m fans of them as well, you know, But yeah, like, I think that what you’re saying is, is because like, think about it, I came out, I started off in 91 with OPP with Naughty, but then my first group outside of Naughty was John A, which was R&B.
28:58
So that’s what you’re getting at.
So it’s basically like, not only was I doing early doing hip hop, but I also came out the box with, you know, early doing R&B.
So yeah, like there wasn’t it’s a lot that eventually got into it.
Yeah.
But you know, early, like that was my whole thing because I was like I said, I grew up listening to R&B and it wasn’t to me about being stuck or just doing one thing.
29:24
It was about just doing what was good and what sounded good to me and what and and coming across the right talent.
And I think that’s what’s missing now in in the music game.
It’s just, it’s just about them just looking for songs instead of artists that have talent and building careers.
29:42
And my thing is I could have easily just said, Hey, I’m, I’m from Naughty By Nature.
We, we are hip hop group.
I need to find me the right hip hop guy or hip hop group to do.
And, and I was like, no, I’m just going to find what hits me the, the hardest and what’s the best thing I’ll come across 1st.
30:01
And the best thing I came across first was Johnny.
Yeah, yeah, dope.
And again classics made.
Yeah.
When you let’s just talk about, yeah, just philosophy about how you construct.
When, when you build a track, do you do you think of it like a recipe?
Because you know, you know my background.
30:18
You know how I get down South B drums and seasoning.
Bass is the foundation and the hook is the sauce.
So how do you, how do you you know, how do you know what ingredient that a record needs?
Because there’s something about like you could put on the track that you made.
30:34
There’s something you know, indistinctively whether you know it, it just feels away from coffee brown through all the next stuff, through even the naughty stuff.
It’s a thread.
Yeah.
I mean, like you said and like you mentioned, those are the elements.
30:49
So all those elements, not only do you have to mesh right, and have to taste good together, they have to, they, they, there’s a feeling, all of them have to have its own feeling on its own so that when it does come together, it’s the ultimate, you know, and I think like you mentioned, like even with foods the same, you know, I guess the same approach.
31:16
So yeah, those, they’re, they’re all ingredients.
They’re all secret ingredients.
They’re all different ingredients that equal 1.
Great meal.
Yeah.
No, that’s real.
That’s real.
Forever Hip hop has been has always been a local language that made global.
31:34
So did you realize when you were doing your thing that you know, in real time, you were helping shape how New Jersey sounded to the world?
Now there was there was New Jersey outers out there, but you was a part of the one of the big, especially when you got down with the flavor unit, when it when you got with Latifah in them, that was that was the movement.
31:54
And so you helped shaped what specifically on the New Jersey New Jersey drive soundtrack.
So there was when New Jersey drive came out and the world had New Jersey had eyes on it for the world, not just the tri-state area, everybody from the tri-state knew, but the world on a global scale, you know, you guys, you know, had New Jersey on your backs like it was a stamp.
32:16
There was a crew from Jersey and then there was Redman after the fact.
But there was y’all, it’s the thing, you know, I had that movement.
So you you helped put a fingerprint and a stamp on the sound of what New Jersey was.
Yeah, like I guess in a sense, yeah.
32:31
I mean, especially from commercializing, I guess if, if we’ll, and I mean when you say commercial, like a lot of people seem to think like commercial is a bad thing.
It’s not because that all it means is just that it just broadened it.
So you know, before us, you know, you have flavour on it.
32:47
You had flavour on it.
You had Mark the 45 King Apache in those skies and they were building the foundation of hip hop throughout New Jersey and for for Jersey and, and primarily, you know, our area because they were from the the Newark and the Irvington area.
33:05
So not necessarily East Orange, but they were from the area.
And I mean, we had local guys like Super 6 lovers that was in East Orange child to the Super 6.
And even in Jersey City, you know, you know, they have I’ll be out now, but his father King, I’ll be out like those guys.
33:25
Like there was so much that was going on from from the hip hop inception that, you know, it helps shape not only us as a whole, but me.
And even if you think about Sugar Hill Gang, Sugar Hill Gang, it’s really it’s Jersey.
33:44
For sure.
Yeah, it’s Jersey.
Yeah, yeah, they’re, they’re like most of the most of the most of the members are actually, I think all of them might be from Jersey.
I know two of them are indefinitely, but I know.
And then and then it was formulated Sugar Hill Records was out of Underwood.
Yeah, Inglewood, Sylvia and them out of Englewood, NJ So there’s a lot that Jersey has contributed to Hip hop early.
34:08
You know, we had King’s son out of Paterson.
So you know, we have, we have a lot.
And like you mentioned, we came out in the in the 90s.
So we came out early in the 90s.
So we came out 91 and then Redman came right after us, you know, and Redman continues, Redman continues to put it down big time for Jersey.
34:30
And we, you know, like as far as shaping the sound, I guess, I mean, I guess I do, you know, that’s that’s what it’s about like people doing their own thing.
I just did my own thing.
That’s really it’s not like I was trying to create a sound.
I was just doing my own thing, you know, and it’s to each his own, whether you like it or you don’t, you know, it’s fine, you know, but I just do, you know, do my own thing and and and continue to do my own thing.
34:57
And I mean, I feel like it it worked and a lot of people like, I guess they when they hear it, they they totally associated to only work with naughty.
And that may be true, you know, because that is, you know, who and primarily what I produced far as hip hop, I produced for naughty.
35:19
So when I was doing stuff, I was doing stuff always with naughty in mind.
So now that’s always been my approach.
And like I said, I mean, if people feel like it shaped a certain sound, probably because I mean, I was doing certain things primarily just for nobody.
35:36
Right, Well, it, it seems that and I again, I’m not in your head, but just being a, a, a fan and a student of music.
There’s a formula that that that you had that said there was a, there was a certain, you know, certain vibration.
35:52
It didn’t matter whether it was R&B or not.
There’s a certain vibration that you made sure those records hit.
So like to this day, you put on anyone records is a is a is a is a vibration that they have and and it’s undeniable.
36:08
Yeah, I think, I think that, you know, it’s it’s always been one of the the main things to me.
Like it’s always been groove orientated.
Like like I have to feel it like some the backbone of it has to be some kind of groove.
And then at the same time I liked it.
36:24
I didn’t like the stuff to be super dark.
Even if it came across it’s slightly dark.
I always put pianos and different things in it to give it some melody.
I liked a lot of melodic things running through it.
And I think that’s when you say shaping the sound.
I think that’s what people associate.
36:41
It’s the melodic stuff.
Because even if you think about, like I said, John A or the RMB stuff, it’s just always some kind of melodic thing that goes through it that, you know, I guess would associate, you know, and I’ll and I would that is one of the things I’ve always liked is to have melodic stuff.
36:58
So if if it doesn’t make you, if you Can’t Sing along musically, then you can hum along musically.
Right, right, all right, let’s let’s tap into some for those who don’t know for them might be somebody that has been lived under a rock or just was born not too long ago.
37:15
Let’s get into and and this highlight some of the things that you’re going through.
So Grammy Award winner with Naughty By Nature for poverty’s paradise multi Grammy nominations founder and force behind ill town and divine mill helped discover developed the shape acts including Jean nee next, Jahim coffee brown, the rhyme, the rain, sorry and others and and next being you know, we filming in in Minneapolis next being hometown hometown heroes here for sure.
37:44
All of that is being said and I was around for a lot now that’s the crazy thing because you know, timelines are meshed.
So I was a so being from New York, I was from the Bronx when naughty hit.
I was obviously, you know, I was a Shorty, but then Fast forward to 98, I come to here, I come to the Twin Cities and one, one of my managers, I was doing music was attached to Telo.
38:08
And so next thing used to come through through the studio and all the stuff when 8, when 8, when all that butter love and and all that.
I’m like here, I’m like, oh, oh, shit, OK.
And automatically I’m like this thing.
This feels for me.
I’m like, Oh yeah, KG got his hands all in this.
And then yeah, this, this was the thing, man.
38:25
So when, when you hear those, those, those accolades, bro, what does it feel like to make records that outlive the era that they were created in?
Because that to me is this, that is the, the testament to, to, to great work.
38:41
And I, and I always wonder like do I’m sure Michelangelo then like I’m on, I’m painting this 16th shadow this, you know, 200 years from now, this is, this is going to be revered, you know, but but he was just doing him, you know, and, and, and here’s the crazy thing at the time, that was the graffiti of the time that nobody wanted that.
39:01
Right, right, yeah, man, like far as making it like you have no idea man, You just having fun, you just creating what’s good and you know, if it feels good and sometime I well, not even sometime.
39:19
Obviously some records feel better than others to you, but you’re still at the end of the day, you never know what the audience is going to take to and how they going to feel about it.
That’s why when people talk about a lot of records, they’d be like, oh, that was a sleeper record.
And that’s because personally, you know, and I guess from the, you know, why they’re creating it, it wasn’t a standout to them personally, but you got to give it out to the audience and let them pick it and let them, you know, decide what what it is that they fall in love with.
39:50
But yeah, when you make a record, there is certain records that you do be like, this is it.
This is like, I can’t see how this one won’t work or this, this feels so great.
And I mean like.
It is the greatest joy, man, like right now to be able to do something that you love to do and make money from it and get paid for it.
40:12
Because you know, there’s a lot of people that’s out here that have to go to work every day and don’t and they hate their jobs, but they have to do it.
And, you know, like respect to them as well, you know, So for us to, you know, to be blessed and have an opportunity to do this.
40:31
And I’m not saying this ain’t work because it’s a lot of hard work that goes into what it is that we do.
So I am no way saying that like that we got it easy because it’s not like there are so many musicians that that hasn’t seen the light of day.
They won’t ever see the light of day.
40:46
There’s so many artists that hasn’t seen the light of day.
They won’t ever see the light of day.
So that tells you that it’s not easy.
So yeah, man like to have the opportunity, man, to have multiple records that people take to and stand the test of time and then continue to go on like even from the records that I have now, you know, that go that I created in the 90s and here we are like one specific is OPP.
41:15
So I’ll say that because that was my first record.
I mean here we are 35 years later and that record is still going.
Like what Especially like what?
What more can we ask your?
First one your friend listen that’s crazy your.
Friend.
Exactly my first one.
Yeah, it’s like it’s, it’s basically, it’s equivalent to to getting up the bat and hitting the home run.
41:34
Yeah, very perfect back.
Yeah.
Like, and it’s rare.
It’s rare.
So, you know, a lot of luck goes into play.
It’s a lot of hard work as well.
So I’m not going to sit here and tell you that.
And I’m not going to let nobody tell me that I didn’t put a lot of hard work in as well because I sacrificed a lot, not only early, but even once the record came out far as my family, my relationship and all of that stuff, my kids growing up throughout the years and me touring and all that, I sacrificed a lot.
42:05
So I’m not going to let nobody tell me that what I did, you know, ain’t worth it.
Yeah, for sure as as a producer, you know it in my and you can correct me if I’m wrong, but a producer has to hear what an artist can become before the world does.
42:23
What are you listening for when you’re discovering talent?
Because you you had a, you have an ear for talent.
As a matter of fact, I was just talking to.
I was talking to to devious last.
Week.
I was like, he was like, get with KG.
42:38
KG got some joint in the vault.
He got some joints in the vault that we did together.
He’s like.
Yeah, I do.
I actually do.
I came across like I came actually, I came across.
I got his dad too.
I came across it like a couple of months ago too.
I still have it.
That’s great.
42:54
And even that so I go way back with with with Dave.
So like the the the the the timelines have been blended for for a minute here, but so.
And even full circle with Dave too.
I ran back into him and reconnected to him and he end up doing the capsule for us.
Yeah, I’ve seen that with the whole.
43:10
Yeah, the whole capsule.
He did a capsule for us and we gave it away to a lucky fan.
So shout out to Dave, shout out to devious.
Man that, that was broke.
Man that.
Was that was the joint.
So I went with him.
I was with him when he did the installment at the the satellite for the Hip Hop Museum.
43:27
And because I was, yeah, that was, it was crazy, man.
So when, what are you looking for?
When just when you’re when you are discovering talent, what is the telltale signs, if any, to know that you got something well?
First of all, it’s the overall talent.
43:44
It’s the overall talent #1 you know, so you got to look and see if they’re a singer.
They have to be very talented like you.
You don’t want, you know, somebody that just don’t understand everything from A to B, like.
And when I say that, I’m talking about understanding the notes, understanding harmonies, understanding everything.
44:07
Because you could put them against anybody when they can, when they understand all of that, you know, and that way, you know, when I throw you on stage, you going to sound exactly like the records.
If somebody put call you out a Capella, you know what to do.
If somebody say, Hey, St. harmony, I mean, you know, harmonize with me, you’re going to know what to do.
44:25
So that being number one, to have the talent and understand what it is you’re doing.
And then from there, it’s the the work ethic too, Like that’s very important.
Like if you lazy, you can have a bunch of talent.
44:40
If you lazy and and I beat you to the studio everyday and I got to drag you in there.
I got to argue with you about why you should be here.
I I’m good.
I don’t care how dope you are.
Yeah, man, I ain’t got time for that.
And then, you know, I guess another one would be, you know, just the mark ability of, yeah, from a marketing aspect, like what makes you different?
45:08
What makes you stand out to be slightly different?
And I mean, if you have the other two marketing, we could figure it out.
But some sometimes, you know, if you have all three of them, it’s a lot easier obviously.
And then, you know, if you don’t, then you got to figure everything out.
45:23
And I’ve had a mixture of all of them within everybody that I worked with, like some of them did, some of them had all three, some of them may have, may have only had two.
And we figured the third out, you know, But yeah, that’s what it is.
But number one with me is the talent, though.
45:39
You got to have the talent.
And then like I said #2 is, is the work ethic like, like if, if, if you don’t have that man, like, like, it stops right there, too.
I’m done.
No, I’ll feel you.
I’ll feel you with that.
So explain to me right now because you are you, like you said, you’re an artsy guy.
45:59
You obviously in the hoop and just the creative all around.
How are you flexing your creative muscles these days?
Right now, I took a step back from music for a minute.
I’m starting to get back into it because I’ll never leave it alone.
46:15
I love it too much.
It’s just that the game changed.
So I had to step back and just give it a break for a second.
And the only reason I was able to do that is because I went back to my first love and it kind of soaked me up.
46:30
So I was able to be doing something that allowed me to step away from it, and that’s going back to working with kids with basketball and different thing.
And that’s through our new foundation.
So me and Vin reformulated this foundation called balling by nature.
So it’s a we, we what we do is is we go we, we, we started it in our hometown of East Orange.
46:54
So East Orange was so gracious and, and and fly and dope enough to renovate our childhood park.
Oval Park.
When I mentioned earlier about the the area we come from, there’s a park, there’s a main park down there.
47:09
There’s multiple parks, but our specific main park is Oval Park and we grew up in that park from lunches.
My first job as a whole period was a summer job and that was in Oval Park and the winter, the winter side of Oval Park and the inside park in the winter that we go in is called the Civic Center.
47:29
The Civic Center is in the in in the front of Oval Park.
So in the winter we’re inside the Civic Center, that’s our recreation hub.
And in the back in the summertime, we’re out in Oval Park, which is right behind Civic Center.
So that’s where we grew up, like literally grew up after school in there every day playing basketball, playing ping pong, learn how to play, learn how to play pool in there.
47:52
Some of us that that was lifting weights, lifting weights in there.
I did arts and crafts in there.
I was, I did Boy Scouts in there.
Like I’m talking about from a youngster kid, like growing up, we all grew up in a Civic Center in the old slash Oval park.
So as we got older and successful as Naughty By Nature, our mayor, shout out to our mayor Ted Green Mayor Ted Green renovated the Oval Park and they dedicated the basketball courts to us to Naughty By Nature.
48:23
So the fact that they dedicated the basketball courts, we created balling by Nature and now we run a basketball league on our Naughty By Nature courts down there.
And yeah, we get back to the kids, man.
So we work with the kids down there and we do a basketball league with them out there every summer.
48:41
During the winter, we do a breast cancer awareness thing that we do to raise money for breast cancer, you know, and we donate that money.
And our goal at the as a whole is, is to, to help the stress of not only East Dorset recreation, but all of the inner city recreations or anything that’s, you know, sports related or youth related for the kids.
49:07
If, if, if they’re running shorts on short on funds, we come in and we lift it up and we, we, we round it out.
So we find different ways.
Like we did this other thing now that we have even in the school during the school year, like during March Madness, when March Madness is playing, we did a thing called middle school madness.
49:26
So all in the middle schools within the city, they play each other during March Madness.
Yeah, so it’s called middle school madness.
So we, we, we backed that and we fund that.
We had an All Star game with them.
We bought them all new, new the All Star, the team, the guys that made the All Star teams.
49:45
And that’s, it’s a blend of boys and girls.
So there’s girls in there and there’s boys in there if you can make, if you’re on the teams.
And they, we had the All Star game.
We bought them sneakers, brand new uniforms, everything.
We made them feel like it was dope, man.
And then the coaches, we shout out to all of the teachers and the principals of all the multiple schools in the city.
50:04
You know, they were coaching the kids.
They would show up, the teachers would show up with cookies and, and, and everything for their teams.
Like it was really dope, man.
So now we we’re starting to spread out.
Like I said, we started with basketball, but we we’re not, we’re now moving into flag football with the girls.
50:22
Yeah, yeah, we’re moving into flag football.
It’s going to all the schools now.
That’s that’s.
Yeah, yeah.
We’re moving into flag football.
So we’re we’re backing and supporting our flag football teams around here now.
So we’re moving into that.
We’ll be moving into into baseball soon for the kids as well as soccer and so as well as soccer for the kids.
50:47
So we’re doing a lot of different things, man.
And that that like I said that that like being able to do that along with playing basketball myself.
You know, I play basketball like two or three days a week.
So along with that, along with doing playing basketball myself and down there with the kids and, and, and then working with them and running stuff with them also like along with me.
51:09
And then we have our guy Marcus Tonio, who he’s a basketball legend himself.
He’s a East Orange product as well.
He went to Seton Hall University, he went to Seton Hall Prep, so he played professional basketball overseas.
51:25
So we have him along with our guy Brandon Smith, who’s also East Orange product went to East Orange High School and Brandon went to Caldwell College and he played division.
I think that’s division two or three.
But anyway, he played college basketball as well.
51:41
And those two guys along with me and Ben, we formulate baller by nature, man, and that’s so dumb.
Everything like, yeah, it’s all sports.
Brandon also works, you know, part time as in inside of E Orange Recreation.
So we’re going to start branching out, but we starting at home with E stars, but we want to branch out to any community.
52:02
We’re going to eventually branch out to every community in New Jersey.
We’re going to stop, but we start at home and we’re just helping out.
Like I said, all these stress communities, man, in any, in all of the different sports that are underserved and you know how it is, man, like a lot of things like this, there’s so many teams that you know, or, or, or, or these different associations, man, and these different little groups, man.
52:29
They try to, you know, do these, these, these fundraisers, they try to do these different things, man.
And if, if, if we can, you know, help out here.
Our mottos, everybody does a little, nobody does a lot.
We got that from Dougie Fresh.
Shot the Dougie.
Yeah, we shot.
52:45
We got that from Dougie Fresh.
We got that from Doug.
Fresh.
So that’s our model.
We took that from Doug fresh and we carry an add on in our city man.
So we just trying to join well and we doing stuff with with the autistic kids out here as well.
So shout out to Nissan, I mean Nadine at Nissan’s place.
53:04
So we’re doing some stuff with them.
So we’re going to be doing a lot of different things, man.
And it’s all, you know, like I said, we started off in sports and it’s all most primarily sports related.
But yeah, it’s, listen, it’s it’s.
Working, it’s, it’s working with the kids and the youth through sports is, is, is huge.
53:22
Like you said, of course, with your background growing up in the park, it’s, it only makes sense.
I mean, I, I was a kid.
That was, you know, when I was kids go outside or come inside.
So we was so we was outside.
You go outside until the lights come on, then you come back and unfortunately and unfortunately.
53:39
Late lately the kids have been inside playing video games and doing all this stuff.
So now it’s back to the parks.
That’s our thing.
That’s East Orange’s thing now.
So that’s what the mayor and them they have a slogan is back to the parks, back to the parks.
So they want to get the kids back to the parks.
So they’ve renovated a lot of the parks, the multiple, there’s multiple parks in East Orange.
53:59
And I think they’ve done like the four of them so far.
So it’s great.
So they, they hold their models back to the parks.
So our thing is that we’re going to get them in the parks.
We got to have things for them to do in the parks.
So we got things for them to do in the park.
So that’s our thing.
54:14
Get these kids back out into the park, man, Make sure it’s safe for them and make sure they have good things to do out there and have fun.
Yeah, that’s, that’s dope.
That’s dope.
When I’m sure you have a a a plethora of stories and crossing with the likes of all the the the a lot of great, specifically in the 90s, man, like the the 90s to me when I when I try to explain it to to those who didn’t grow up in that era, there was a plethora of artists, right, But everybody had their own thing.
54:46
Like everybody had their own thing.
Like Lords of the underground didn’t sound like noise.
You know, Ray Man didn’t sound like that.
Nobody had everybody had their own distinct, you know, spice that brought to the gumbo.
So which made it so dope.
Like right now, unfortunately, and it’s no knock on anybody, but you can play about 10-11 artists from today and you’d be hard pressed to distinguish who was who from from, and that’s to me.
55:13
And that’s because they fell into the the, the, the whatever’s popular or whatever’s working, just keep doing that.
Like that’s not yeah, yeah, I always say.
That man, I just feel like, you know, and I say like, and I and I like a lot of today’s music and but I do say doesn’t that that they they that there should be a lot more diversity going on because, you know, if you think about, like you mentioned, you know, shout out to Lords and underground too, straight out of the jersey and shout out to Dupree.
55:42
Do it all from Lords.
Dupree Kelly, Councilman, Councilman, Councilman.
That’s right.
Yeah.
Councilman Dupree Kelly Yup, Yup.
And that’s what it is, man.
It’s about growth.
And, and when you think about Slick Rick, Public Enemy, Harris, 1 Lords of the Underground, like you said, Redman, us, Busta Rhymes, you know, these are the new school daylight.
56:10
So I mean, we could go on and on and on.
It’s just all different.
Everybody’s different, you know, and, and, and everybody basically dress different.
And I think that that’s all like when especially me personally, when I hear it and when I say it, it’s like I just need to see and, and hear more diversity in today’s music.
56:31
Because like you said, sometimes you can play all of those records back-to-back to back and not be sure who changed to who, who’s what.
But if you did that with all those artists I sent that I just named you, it will you, it will be distinctive like, oh, that totally different.
56:47
Oh, that’s switched.
Oh, that’s switched.
Oh, that’s switch.
You know, because everybody did their own thing.
Yeah, no, for sure.
And specifically.
When you got down, there was another thing that they don’t have today.
There was Cruz.
So you had native tongues, you had flavor.
You know, you had, you had death death squad.
57:07
You had there was, there was.
Yeah, the death row crew now.
I even mentioned in the go to the West Coast to like to N.W.A, you know, or, or even death row, you know, like, like all of that different stuff.
So it’s just like it’s it’s so diverse, man.
I mean, you could go on to E40, you can go on to Too short, you could go on to Ghetto Boys.
57:28
I mean, you can go on and on and on.
You know, everything is just so different.
Yeah, that was.
That was just that was.
The spice, the spice of it all that, that you had all these different Sonic landscapes to pick and choose from and to to pick up on.
57:45
And then you go down South and then then became an outcast right now, now, now we got this shit is crazy.
Then JD, what JD was doing out there.
And it’s, it’s, it’s crazy.
So yeah, that’s, that’s what I say.
And I agree with you.
Diversity needs to be more of a of a thing.
58:03
And it’s some, there’s some, there’s some some artists out there, they’re not super duper mainstream yet, but there’s some artists out there that are carrying that torch and, and, and have a unique sound and staying true to themselves for sure.
Yeah, it definitely is.
It definitely is I.
Mean and that’s not to take away from none of them.
58:19
I’m just saying that we just need more.
That’s it, you know, we just need more.
But it’s absolutely that’s why I said I like a lot of of what’s going on today because there is some that is there is a there is some of them doing totally different things from anybody else and and it’s dope.
Yeah, for sure, for sure.
All right.
58:34
Before I let you get out of here, man, we going to play a little game I call the Lightning Round.
I’m going to ask you some some questions and the first thing that pops into your head, man, just you just spit it out, man.
You know it’s only going to live on the Internet forever.
So.
All right, so all right.
58:51
One song you wish.
You wrote one song I wish I wrote.
Anything from off the wall but fax.
That’s mailbox.
Money.
Hey, listen.
59:07
So here’s.
The thing so my.
My youngest daughter is 11, right 4.
Generations.
My parents, us and my kids, and then it’s my that we all are.
Michael Jackson is is one of them.
59:25
Once though, like so I, I happened.
I was blessed.
Yeah, yeah, I was blessed.
I saw a.
Bad I saw the I saw a bad twice at the garden.
I got to see the concert twice and there’s only there’s only it’s a handful of people that has that power, that type of magnetism to captivate.
59:45
Fuck that.
I was at I was in Vegas.
I went to see the this is the the the the show, the Cirque show.
They brought the they had the hologram on.
I broke down in tears, bro, at a hologram, fucking hologram that had me weeping.
That movie.
1:00:01
That movie’s amazing, man.
Like.
It was a big celebration.
It was like it was a party, man.
Like the music in there was booming, You know, the speakers were so loud in there.
It was, it was rocking, man.
It’s crazy.
It’s crazy, all right?
Next question, one food.
That.
1:00:16
Instantly takes you back to childhood.
Back to child, I would say.
I don’t have to be a hot dog.
OK, I hear you.
1:00:36
Yeah, good old ask.
Him I don’t have to say a hot dog.
I don’t eat them no more anymore but but childhood yes I would say hot dog because it was super inexpensive and you can just get an hot dog from basically anywhere.
Hey shit, thinking about inexpensive.
1:00:53
Do you remember Beanie?
Weenies.
Yeah, I was going to at first.
I was going to say.
Man witch at first, you know, man, that’s the fuck with a man.
Yeah, that’s the first one.
That’s.
The first one I was.
Going to say man witch at. 1st but a hot dog, man, that is The Ultimate Warrior.
1:01:12
I got you all right, New Jersey.
Mount Rushmore You only get 4 names.
Who’s on it but when?
You say Mount, Mount Rushmore.
Like, are you saying like music artists?
You said music.
Period.
Like not.
Just rappers, you just said.
1:01:28
Music, period.
Music.
Period.
Oh good, it’s.
Broad, but yeah.
Music period.
Well, number. 1 Whitney Houston Straight up Whitney Houston.
I got to say Queen Latifah, Yeah.
1:02:05
Oh, no, I don’t know if it fully qualifies because she’s from originally from the Harlem, but the legacy is built in New Jersey, I want to say.
And I’m talking about Sylvia Robinson.
1:02:22
Yeah, yeah.
No, she that checks because.
The legacy was built for sure, for sure in, in.
Yeah.
So I’m going to say Sylvia Robinson.
Because of what she’s done, you know, as an artist, but more primarily and more importantly for for hip hop with Sugar Hill Records for sure.
OK, so I’m going.
1:02:38
To say, I’m going to say.
Sylvia Robinson and New Jersey, NJ.
I got to put a wrapper up there.
1:02:58
It’s going to be trashed that checks.
That checks for sure.
OK, one I got to put my own, my own.
Artist up there.
Hey listen.
And nobody would.
Nobody would dispute it.
I mean, they will.
They will, There will be.
Some people that will dispute it and that’s fine and that’s fine.
1:03:16
I mean, this is my list.
It’s not, it’s my list.
It’s not their list.
They get their own list exactly they they get.
Their own list and I won’t.
Argue with them one one artist you would love to.
Produce today I would definitely have to say Tyler.
1:03:32
The creator and the reason I say that is because he shows me so much love for us as a producer and forest for John A for my work that I did you know on John A he loves that project.
He loves that work.
So I will, you know, I would, I would definitely, you know, I would, I wouldn’t mind sitting down with him just to discuss the different things and just, you know, even if we didn’t work, just discuss it.
1:04:00
But I will work.
I would definitely work with Tyler, The Creator and I, and I dig his music too as well.
And I like a lot of the music that he do.
So Tyler, The Creator, yeah.
Tyler’s dope.
Tyler’s dope.
I hardest thing to teach Rhythm.
Taste or vision?
Rhythm.
Yeah.
Facts.
1:04:18
Yeah.
Rhythm.
Rhythm and The thing is to be like the, the, I’ve never been a dancer, so I’m not the best, best dancer.
I feel like I do have rhythm though.
But I mean, there’s something that’s just weird between dancing and having rhythm.
1:04:33
And then even too I, I like to pride myself in being great in timing.
So I feel like I have great timing, but I just can’t put two to two together to be a great dancer, though.
But rhythm.
Yeah.
Rhythm.
But that’s like, yo, like you like, it’s it’s amazing to see some of these young kids that just their time and their rhythm and everything and how how great they are as dancers.
1:04:54
This is ridiculous.
As a young kid used to be like, wow, they could dig a dance.
Yeah, for sure.
OK.
One R&B voice that gives you chills.
Oh, Luther.
1:05:10
OK, yeah, that, but mine is Donny Hathaway.
There’s this, there’s a song for you to this day bring me fucking tears.
Like there’s no any time that that comes on that that moves me, that moves me matter of fact.
And what was that role bounce when Pops was playing in the house?
1:05:27
Because when his wife.
Yeah, that’s.
Yeah, that’s one of them ones, man.
That’s one of them ones.
Sam Cook is.
One of them too though.
But oh.
Yeah, Sam.
Yeah, Sam Cook is one of them, too.
Yes, Sir.
Yes, Sir.
All right.
Imagine it’s 100 years from now.
1:05:43
Nobody can hear your records, nobody can watch your videos.
Nobody knows what charts you topped or what awards you won.
The only thing future generations know about KG is 1 sentence.
What do you want that sentence to be?
I just want them to say that a regular guy KG was a regular guy.
1:06:06
You can catch him walking through the supermarket, walking in the park, playing basketball in the park, or just driving around or just showing up to support the kids or showing up to do whatever it is, you know, and by himself, you know.
1:06:21
So just a regular guy.
But that’s what I look at it as.
I’m just a regular guy, man.
Just happen to have done.
Some extraordinary things just happen to have done things, you know?
But I’m just that regular guy, no different from you, man, Just to happen to do some other stuff, man, and be lucky enough to afford to work, man.
1:06:41
But just that regular guy.
That’s it.
Yeah.
Yeah, That’s that’s.
That’s right.
So everybody that’s that’s under the sound of our voices and, and can see you where they can follow you, what you got going on all the things.
So they can they can tap in and talk to A, to A to a, to a regular guy that that passes the Glizzies in in the store now.
1:07:03
Yeah, yeah.
Not messing with glizzies.
Not at all, but yeah, I’m at kg KAYGEENBN like KG Naughty By Nature.
So it’s KG NBN that’s on Instagram and then you can follow us to at Baldwin by Nature, EO So and that’s all of the basketball stuff that we got going on.
1:07:28
So we building that up right now.
So you could check us out.
And I mean, if you’re in a jersey area, come down to Opal Park, man, and check us out, man.
Our summer league is about to start up and we be out there.
We got a games 3 three days a week out there with the kids.
It’s great basketball.
1:07:45
It’s great to see the youth back outside having fun, and I just enjoy watching the youth outside having fun.
I enjoy watching good basketball games out there and that’s that’s where you could catch me at, man, being that regular guy back in the Ogle Park where it all started.
1:08:03
Absolutely, absolutely, and and before.
Before we we completely sign off you, we, we got some stuff in the works.
We got something in the works that’s cooking that absolutely is going, is going to be is going to be fire.
It’s going to be fine.
When, when, when it does hit, we’re not going to say too much about it.
1:08:20
Stuff in the works.
And I, I got to to be up and close with you, man, and, and, and, and tell you how the things that you’ve done has influenced me and the effects of it all.
You, you a real 1 you, you a good dude, solid individual and you are one that is revered man.
1:08:41
If nobody’s told you, I’m telling you and we appreciate you bro, and I appreciate you for doing this.
Thanks, Ed.
Yes, absolutely.
So again, if you appreciate and like content like this, please follow, subscribe, comment, tag my guy right here and he can give you some some old school recipes on the glizzies.
1:09:02
You know, like, hey, in Jersey they call them You the chef.
You the chef, you give them a new recipe on the glizzies, man.
So maybe if you can, a noodle recipe, maybe it’ll pull me back right now and I’m not messing with the Glizzy, OK?
1:09:18
It’s up to you.
It’s up to you, chef.
All right, bro, I got you back.
Listen.
Until next time, this has been the Taste Music Here food podcast show.
I’m Ed Porter.
Peace.