Leela James

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Speaker 1: R and B Money.

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Speaker 2: We are.

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Speaker 3: Than we are the authority on all things R and B.

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Speaker 1: Lady, you tell my name is Tank Time.

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Speaker 3: Oh and this is the rmy Money podcast, the authority on all things R and B.

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Speaker 4: So soul ful, really saying that ship, Alren, where.

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Speaker 1: Are you singing from?

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Speaker 3: You felt to be seen from the dark of your motherfucking soul.

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Speaker 1: And we got one in the building and.

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Speaker 3: I see her doing for thirty nights early makes the noise.

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Speaker 1: Seek her do it? Hello, you got that ship on the day. Thank you, you got that ship on the day I saw you get out of the concert. That's what That's what we're doing.

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Speaker 2: Well, I have to come see y'all all lives.

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Speaker 3: When we see you, a star is in the building.

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Speaker 5: That's Rick James and be like, yeah, yeah.

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Speaker 3: Approved, I'm good, How y'all We're good good.

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Speaker 2: I'm happy to be here, I really am.

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Speaker 6: I have been watching y'all and I'm so proud of what y'all have created.

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Speaker 2: So I'm glad to be here. Thank y'all for having me.

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Speaker 3: Of course, first of all, let's just let's just get excited for this, you know, for the Southern you know, the Southern excellence. That you bring into the park. You know, it sounds so good, don't you agree?

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Speaker 4: Which is crazy because I just found out. I'm thinking she from the South the whole time.

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Speaker 5: Leila is from LA and raised.

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Speaker 6: Yeah, put the South in the south central for shots.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, born and raised, Yes, indeed.

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Speaker 1: So well, so how did you do that?

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Speaker 2: How do what? But see, I don't I don't know what I'll do.

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Speaker 3: But I don't know.

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Speaker 2: I say that I was telling him earlier.

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Speaker 6: My family is originally from the South, so I was the first of that that generation to be born here. Everybody else from the South. So my parents came here and they had me, that's all. And I was raised out here, born and raised. But my family they Texans.

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Speaker 3: So so so in terms of their dialect, and now they are they still I think has its own thing.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, you know what, it's definitely like.

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Speaker 6: Well, it depends on where you are, and we're parts of LA because a lot of people always try to I feel like group l A like as one thing and it's not a native of Native LA folk know that, like there was little.

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Speaker 3: I've never heard this. I've never heard anyone from l A talk like.

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Speaker 2: You really, No, I have who my family.

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Speaker 3: It is right your family because I think, like I'll call myself an outsider of LA for now, you know what I'm saying. I've been here twenty four years. But my when I thought about LA, I thought everybody talked.

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Speaker 1: Like ice cube. You know what I'm saying. I think that was that was my understanding of it.

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Speaker 6: Well, you know how like when you're in New York, right and you go to certain boroughs, like if you're in Brooklyn and you're around a h.

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Speaker 2: A West Indian family, like.

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Speaker 3: You still have the accent there you go.

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Speaker 6: So it's a little bit of that because I know people that are from here that like, yeah, they.

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Speaker 2: In the country.

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Speaker 1: I understand exactly what you're saying, Yeah.

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Speaker 6: From Alabama, but they you know, they live here with that Alabama ain't left.

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Speaker 3: Them because their household.

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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Speaker 3: Because when I'm to I moved to Maryland from Milwaukee. Maryland has Maryland d C has a certain dialect that it's just like I was like, I was like, what are y'all talking about? But I I and I I was able to assimilate to it. But I never wanted to own the dialect, you know what I'm saying, Because I was like, I don't. I don't want people to know, like where I'm from just as soon as I talk. And they got their own thy Shaddy and Slim and Joe and they got all that. And I'm like this, I'm gonna use the words when I'm here. I mean, I'm not gonna use the words.

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Speaker 6: That's interesting for me is that I didn't think that there was anything different to my dialect until I left LA and I went to the East Coast and they was like you saund country, And I was like, what, Yeah, I don't like everybody talk like everybody got poetries to no, wait where y'all palm trees like every place.

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Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying.

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Speaker 6: You when you grow up in a certain environment, you think everything is like that. But I didn't think that that I sound different. I still don't think that. I mean, I just but I do hear it from time to time, and it gets worse, especially now, you know, when you around certain people and you in the South, and but I mean, and that's just even like like here, you know, you definitely hear the the l a and some of my folks that's here, you hear the little slight things.

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Speaker 2: So but yeah, it's still there, all the twangs, it's twins.

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Speaker 7: Well.

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Speaker 3: I was gonna say, let's go back down south, but apparently we don't have to. We don't have to go down south. Take us back to the beginning, Lela, like, where does where does this start? As a as a child? Where where does the pouring in begin? Where does the inspiration and the desire to do.

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Speaker 2: This back to? I would say my parents.

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Speaker 6: You know, my dad sang, my mama sang, And that's kind of how in some ways they met. You know, they both like quartet singing, and they was both raised in the church, but they waste yeah, like so, and then you know, I came up in church and it was a lot of a capella singing around the household.

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Speaker 2: So you your ear, you was forced to learn harmonies and melodies.

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Speaker 6: And stuff like that because it was just raw singing, mighty clouds of joy and Shirley sees that type of just singing.

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Speaker 2: And so it was just my environment.

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Speaker 6: And my dad always played our green and that was just something that I love. I was like, dang that dude, you know who is that? And we always heard that around my household, that blues and funk. You know what I mean, that was just really the soundtrack. And for me in my childhood, I just remember blues funk, gospel, blues funk gospel, and just cigarettes and alcohol.

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Speaker 1: Oh yeah, liquors were.

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Speaker 2: With my dad.

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Speaker 6: And so I attribute a lot of that to my influence and in my upbringing in terms of who I became as an artist and my taste of music and all of that stuff.

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Speaker 2: It's just it's just.

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Speaker 6: Kind of like in me, I don't it ain't nothing that's forced. So we're trying to I'm trying to. I thought everybody listened to that, Like I really, you just really do you think, like when you think of music, you like who don't know Al Green, who don't know the like classic Jordans, sound Cook Like you just think everybody listens to that certain kind of music.

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Speaker 3: Again, you think everybody's harmonizing it.

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Speaker 2: Then you leave like, no, everybody ain't doing that.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, you know, since you're I think we always or our parents always want to make better versions of themselves. Did you ever feel like at one point your parents were looking at you like, oh, we we got something.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, this is this is special.

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Speaker 2: I think yeah a few years ago.

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Speaker 6: Yeah, just recently a few years ago, because you know, again my parents and my family, when you have people everybody that sing and stuff, it kind of keep me humble.

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Speaker 3: And because everybody can do it, yeah.

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Speaker 2: They ain't impressed by much.

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Speaker 6: You know what I'm saying, Like you expected to kind of well, yeah, that's the against the norm. But my dad recently he brought me to tears. He started learning how to text good and stuff and just want to text me this long ago, I'm.

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Speaker 2: So proud of you.

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Speaker 3: I was listening to your elbow.

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Speaker 6: And I'm like, man, I flicked that out a lot of the time ago you just not listening to it. And so it just was so sweet though to have him acknowledge me like that, and my mother too to tell me that they were proud.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, you know. So, so we're talking about, you know, down home church or tech. Was was that the mission at first, to like to like, hey, I want to be a famous gospel singer. I want to be you know? Was that the goal in the beginning?

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Speaker 6: No, I didn't, you know why, And because I never wanted to be felt like I had that pressure of being put in a box. Because I love all kinds of music and I just didn't want to that that responsibility of having to carry that cross and then somebody past judgment when I step out and.

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Speaker 2: Do something that they feel like, you know.

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Speaker 6: Saying, well, not even just that, it's just that I love you know, I really love blues and in blues and gospel, but it's influenced by gospel. So it's like, if I'm just doing gospel music, then I can't sing the blues and that's send me too.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. So, but I you know, when you.

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Speaker 6: When you are are in the church and when you are rooting in what you believe, that don't lean you just because you singing a certain type of music. Like my faith a never wavered and changed if anything is strengthened. You know, when I started doing this because I needed to lean on it. Even more so because this business is something is some up ship most of the time. So you gotta be able to, you know, lean on something and know that there's something greater.

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Speaker 2: Than all of this.

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Speaker 3: You got to have a foundation.

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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Speaker 6: So I it's I don't necessarily make that my my career and make it strictly doing gospel, but I am of the gospel.

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Speaker 1: You are of the gospel.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, Yeah, so do you when you're when you're I guess growing in this space in terms of like the blues is what I do. Do you have an outlet for that at a young age, because you know most of your family is doing the gospel and they probably have some people that they know and you know, some contacts and things of that nature. But now when you say no, I'm on this blues, this is what I'm doing.

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Speaker 6: Well again, Yeah, I do have an outlet because we listen to gospel, but in my household we also listen to our Green and Parliament and Funkadelics, and then in Prince and you talk about ice Cube, like, I heard everything. So it wasn't just one genre of music for me.

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Speaker 2: I heard a lot of music.

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Speaker 6: And that's what I'm grateful for because it allowed me to not be you know, boxtand into one thing, you know, and limit what it is that I like. Because I could be a believer and still love rock and roll too. I ain't got it. I don't wish of no devils or nothing. So I'm good like, yeah, you know, I believe. I believe in my Lord and say to Jesus Christ, I absolutely.

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Speaker 1: Do talk about it.

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Speaker 2: I do but I love the blues.

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Speaker 3: And I love.

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Speaker 2: And I feel like you.

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Speaker 6: Sam Cook was alive, he would say the same. If Aretha Franklin was alive, she would say the same thing. All the souls singers, they came out of the church.

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Speaker 2: You know what I mean.

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Speaker 1: And you can hear the difference though, you can.

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Speaker 3: You can hear the difference said saying the other days that we're just not We're just not in the church no more, because all of us the truth, all of our heroes. That's where it started, because there's a different maybe there's a different level of gift, but there's a different level of conviction and there's a different level of preparation when it comes to the church. I agree, like them rehearsals, them, rehearsals with Anti Betty, God Bless your soul, them rehearsals was different with Antie Betty in junior choir.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it was different.

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Speaker 3: It wasn't a game in junior choir.

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Speaker 6: I think that's why we as quote unquote secular artists, we can still be moved and like when you hear the Clark sisters, your face like you know what I'm.

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Speaker 2: Saying, because it's just it's just different. It's different.

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Speaker 6: I remember listening to Tina Turner and you know, she was singing in church as a kid, and as you know, when she her career blossom, she ended up doing more, you know, towards the rock soul, rock and roll soul, or whatever you want to call it. And it's like you could still hear the grit though. The grit is just there that don't leave you. So again, I feel like a lot of artists, that's just what it is, you know, the greats, and.

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Speaker 2: It's the norm.

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Speaker 1: We'd like to call it oil.

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Speaker 3: It's they got.

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Speaker 2: That all all.

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Speaker 1: I'm going nowhere?

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Speaker 3: When do you When do you get an opportunity that's different, Like something that says, oh I can, I'm gonna be a pro. I'm gonna be a professional at this. Ain't no more just singing in the house and doing things that are normal. Now it's getting ready to be abnormal. I am going to be a pro at this thing right here.

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Speaker 6: That happens when your English teacher in high school tells you to come to the studio because you can. He has a professional recording studio and you can record a song.

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Speaker 2: Since you want to keep disrupting.

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Speaker 6: The class, stay at the class, and I'm thinking I'm in trouble. I'm like, lord, nah, I'm gonna take here in the studio. Let me show you how this thing really works. And I recorded a song and I was my first time hearing it in a professional way. And then it was like, you know, you can make money doing this. I'm like, okay, where I signed up, like you know what I'm saying. And that's when the light of like, wait a minute.

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Speaker 5: So you're disrupting the class by singing, yeah.

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Speaker 6: Singing, rapping, just being a you know, knucklehead class clown.

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Speaker 2: You know we just you boxing?

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Speaker 6: Yeah, like English? Whatever are you supposed to be working on this? Like we finished with that long time ago? But you know, so we was back here, you know, stiphering. I mean, just all right, you stay at the class. I'm like okay. And so that's how it kind of so the.

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Speaker 5: Teacher just happened to know someone with a studio.

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Speaker 2: He was a producer. The teacher was the producer.

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Speaker 6: The teacher was an English English teacher, but teach English, bro, Yeah.

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Speaker 7: I know.

00:15:50
Speaker 5: In four doctor Derell, doctor man, here's that doctor b.

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Speaker 3: These kids think it's sweet. I think kids always thought it was sweet. No, I thought it was sweet. I definitely thought it was sweet.

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Speaker 2: I was, yeah, come on dog. They're a little different though.

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Speaker 4: But it's because, in my opinion, it's not as many teachers that can reach them.

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Speaker 2: I got I got you there, right. I agree with that, because are now rappers niggas don't They definitely don't have the patience.

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Speaker 5: Niggas that should be teachers or rappers.

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Speaker 3: Now it's like, bro, you just go teach, bro, because we as you say that. I know the in my phase where I was, you know, I was uncontrollable. Yeah, there were teachers that I wouldn't put.

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Speaker 4: I got a teacher that it's crazy enough. He was at my middle school with me, but then end up at my high school, Ron Clark, my guy, yeah you know what I mean, And he would tell me like, yeah, I know, I know, I know, I know, you don't want to be here. You know what I mean, I know you and got some cool shit going on, but don't disrupt the class. And we need that, absolutely need that for you to have a teacher that just that cares.

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Speaker 3: He cares one.

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Speaker 4: But then he also was able to identify yeah, because he was a producer and He was like, you.

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Speaker 2: Know what, yeah, I can help her, Yeah.

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Speaker 5: More than anybody else could have helped you in any.

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Speaker 3: Of this in school.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, because up to that point I really enjoyed singing.

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Speaker 6: I was doing all the showcases and the talent shows and stuff like that, but I didn't really think that I could do something. Yeah, So it was just like, nah, like you should, you should really consider this. And that also for me, I was like focused. I'm like, well, I want to go to college, and you know, I don't want to just be focusing on music because I want to go to school too. I want to be the first to actually get my degree, and you know, I want to do all those things. So you kind of think you can't do all of the above. You feel like you can only do one, which is not true. But at that time that was my mindset, you know. And so that was the first time of me realizing that, yeah, you can actually make money, have a career as well as you know, pursue your education.

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Speaker 5: Did you end up going to college? Come on, yeah, you know what did you finish?

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Speaker 2: I did?

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Speaker 3: I didn't go. He didn't finish, you know. He just.

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Speaker 5: Celebrate people though. First of all, you didn't finish, first of all, on tour.

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Speaker 3: No, no, no, What I did was I went into the field that I was studying in, and.

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Speaker 1: So I completely skating.

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Speaker 3: I completed the studies in the field, which earned me, which earned which earned me.

00:19:00
Speaker 1: I doctor it.

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Speaker 2: In music, Jesus the doctor.

00:19:07
Speaker 1: That's the doctor, doctor bad.

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Speaker 3: I called him doctor. You see, I did call him doctor earlier.

00:19:11
Speaker 4: You go use the motherfucking at some point, then, if you're gonna have it.

00:19:18
Speaker 1: Go use it. So are you?

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Speaker 3: Are you? Once you hear yourself in the studio and in its own and of course you have education, all these things on your mind. Do you get to a place before you go to college that that now you start actually making some money?

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Speaker 6: Well, no, I was brokens I don't know what, but I was definitely still on the mission to make the money.

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Speaker 2: So that's when I really started.

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Speaker 6: Okay, Well, I got to get a demo together, I got to shot that, I got to you know, get discovered. So let me go perform at this club, let me go perform in this showcase. Let me go try to be at this place where this executive.

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Speaker 2: Is going to be.

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Speaker 6: And this is all during college, This is all doing college. So it was classes in the morning, studios in the evening, and after the studio, it was whatever was coming with that up, you know, in these clubs, the Roxy gig, whatever you.

00:20:10
Speaker 2: Can get in and just you know, let me sang for somebody.

00:20:13
Speaker 3: Yeah, you're hitting all the open mics, all the open mics. Yeah.

00:20:18
Speaker 2: This was a mid late nineties, early two thousands.

00:20:24
Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah.

00:20:25
Speaker 4: Do you do you feel like when you look back on, you know, this whole process of you going to open mics and doing all these things, do you feel like it was the right thing for you to do for your career at that time?

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Speaker 2: At that time, I feel like it was the only thing for me to do.

00:20:41
Speaker 4: Yes, not the right thing, but the only thing. Yeah, because you didn't you didn't have any other ends.

00:20:46
Speaker 2: No, like there's no script to this sin.

00:20:50
Speaker 6: I mean, you can buy books all day how to make it in the music business late, Yeah, like.

00:20:56
Speaker 2: It you know, it was you just learning as.

00:20:59
Speaker 6: You go, and you know, it wasn't like I had no one, no mentors in my family, nobody that had made it as an artist or anything like that to say, yeah, go, I know this person, let me make this call for you, Like, not even.

00:21:15
Speaker 4: Coming from la like nobody that knew somebody that was at a label.

00:21:18
Speaker 2: Nothing, No, like.

00:21:19
Speaker 6: You know people, but everybody always been on that like gate keeping type vibe, you.

00:21:25
Speaker 2: Know what I mean. It's always it's always been that bullshit like that.

00:21:28
Speaker 6: Ain't nothing new like so it's kind of like, yeah, I'm gonna call you. I'm gonna tell so and so to call you know, so it's like, no, you you getting where you fit in the best way you can.

00:21:41
Speaker 2: Yeah.

00:21:41
Speaker 6: So I remember, you know, taking my demo and going up to certain labels and sneaking in and putting it under their door, sliding my demo under they door, just hoping they listen to it, just on something like you know what I mean, and calling up and saying, hey, there's gonna be a show tonight, you should come see, pretending.

00:22:00
Speaker 2: To be my own PR person. Yeah, come see this.

00:22:03
Speaker 1: Artist way before Insta.

00:22:06
Speaker 2: Because you have to be on like that.

00:22:08
Speaker 6: Who else you had, Like we was literally and I would print out, you know, take a picture, you know what I mean. We take our own little pictures, go photocopy it thet Kinko's and then fold it up and put it in a little fake city thing.

00:22:21
Speaker 2: And that's your cover.

00:22:23
Speaker 6: I was not I was doing a little crazy, you know what I mean, whatever, and any of the quality.

00:22:28
Speaker 2: Was terrible, but that's I was just on my hustle.

00:22:32
Speaker 3: My mama. Yeah yeah.

00:22:43
Speaker 1: And when does one of those demost materialize?

00:22:46
Speaker 6: So it materialized, I would say nineteen ninety nine Rough Nation Records, Chris Schwartz, he had that it was formerly rough.

00:22:56
Speaker 2: House and they had just come off.

00:22:58
Speaker 6: Of like the whole Foujie success and Lauryn Hill, and so, you know, he had started a rough Nation with Warner Brothers and somebody told him about this this girl me whatever, yeah, and then I and I can So I got went out to Philly and met up with him, and then they did a deal off top. Yeah, and it was like you know me, I'm like, yeah, I'm about to blow up, like it was about to happen, you know what I mean. These people just made Lauryn Hill big, and the fogie is like, this is right, don't can't?

00:23:36
Speaker 2: Yeah thought no, I mean, but that's the that's the you know, that's how.

00:23:42
Speaker 6: It is the industry that you never know how it's not always what you might think you're gonna be, but it's gonna be what it's gonna be, and you just gotta it's the start, and you make you just you know the old saying, if you got lemons, you just make lemonade.

00:23:58
Speaker 2: And so did you move to I didn't move.

00:24:01
Speaker 6: To Philly, but I did move to the East Coast, Okay, And I was out there for a minute.

00:24:05
Speaker 5: And you did your first project on the East Coast?

00:24:07
Speaker 6: Yes, I worked on my first project that came out on Warner Brothers. Now we this was like, like I said, nineteen ninety nine, two thousand, but the album didn't drop into two thousand and five because it was like on the shelf.

00:24:21
Speaker 5: It was on a shelf for five or six years.

00:24:23
Speaker 2: Yeah.

00:24:24
Speaker 3: Yeah, same music.

00:24:25
Speaker 2: Though, same music.

00:24:27
Speaker 6: So when that record, my first single I think it was music, actually came out that Yeah, it was like we was owned to something else. It was old by that time to me. But yeah, it didn't come out till like two thousand and five.

00:24:42
Speaker 3: But were you still signed to the same label.

00:24:44
Speaker 2: I was on Warner Brothers at the same time. Yeah. I was just kind of floating around. Yeah, one of these days y'all can put my record out.

00:24:49
Speaker 4: So what are you doing this? Because people don't understand that process. Not all people, you know what I mean, especially people who really want to get into this thing, because just like you said, you know you can you know, people read books, people different things, And now we feel like we are a.

00:25:03
Speaker 3: Visual book with our podcast.

00:25:06
Speaker 4: It's it's, you know, in an audiobook for people who listen to it, and we want to give that information and we want to give those experiences. Can you give us a little insight of being signed to a label for five years and it not coming out yet?

00:25:23
Speaker 2: That was hard?

00:25:24
Speaker 5: Like what do you do during that time?

00:25:26
Speaker 6: Live as best as you can and try to maintain sanity and don't give up on your dream and continue to believe in yourself and keep pursuing it.

00:25:36
Speaker 2: I kept doing shows.

00:25:38
Speaker 3: I was about to say, what are you doing for money?

00:25:40
Speaker 2: I was still on the road and I was working.

00:25:44
Speaker 3: A job.

00:25:44
Speaker 2: I got a job.

00:25:45
Speaker 3: Yeah.

00:25:47
Speaker 2: I was selling real estate. Yeah.

00:25:55
Speaker 3: And I think that's the part that you said a lot, like what are you going to do to support the dream until the dream can support you? Yeah?

00:26:07
Speaker 5: People think people think a record deal is hitting a lottery, and it's not.

00:26:11
Speaker 3: It's not the hit record, the hit record.

00:26:15
Speaker 4: It's hitting the lottery because then you can go and perform that thing and make you some money off of it doing something. But if just having a record deal and one label believing in it will not change everything.

00:26:26
Speaker 5: You need that record.

00:26:29
Speaker 4: So you're on the label, you're selling real estate, and you're doing shows and like you said, you're trying to keep your sanity going.

00:26:40
Speaker 3: The album finally comes out, finally.

00:26:42
Speaker 4: Five six years later, dude, for your process at that point, is it immediately to the road or like where you're now performing, where you're getting booked as Leader James the recording artist that sign with a single out.

00:26:58
Speaker 6: Yeah, I started doing a I was on the road because I actually was privy to go out on the road even before it came out. I was able to open for other artists and so that was like a good you know start for me too, And so by the time the actual single came out, it was an easy way for me to you know, be connected to other artists again and be booked with them. So I went overseas and that was great because the reception to artists at that time, particularly soul singers and soul artists was just like out of this world, like you know what I mean, and when you coming out out the gating going over there and they're literally throwing out feeling like.

00:27:46
Speaker 2: The red carpet.

00:27:47
Speaker 6: You're like, God, Lee, this is amazing because you know it would light that in the States, so that can spoil you too, But I got so I got spoiled, and I really enjoy being out on the road because that was like, you know, that was school, that was school.

00:28:08
Speaker 2: That was real for me.

00:28:10
Speaker 6: Seeing the people's reaction and just just really experiencing tour life.

00:28:17
Speaker 2: That was fun.

00:28:18
Speaker 6: And then that's when you really decide if you want to continue to do it real, you know what I mean. And then so when I'm back here in the States, it's like, yeah, I can do this, but it's worth yeah.

00:28:29
Speaker 2: Yeah. Because also for me, I.

00:28:33
Speaker 6: It moved from being about me to being about the people. And when I started seeing people's reaction and how they were responding to what it is that I do, I was like, this is bigger than me, and maybe this is my calling, this is why I've gone through what I've gone through, And you know, you know, God might just be using me in this manner because I just had this person come up to me after the show said that they were gonna kill themselves before they came to my show, but they decided that they want to live because of a song I sang in my show.

00:29:12
Speaker 2: You know what I mean.

00:29:12
Speaker 6: And that kind of stuff is like deep, you mean telling me you was about to commit suicide tonight and this was the last concert you wanted to attend, and now you feel like you can continue on. Like that's heavy, and it makes you feel like, yeah, let me do this for the people.

00:29:29
Speaker 2: It ain't even about the money no more.

00:29:30
Speaker 6: It's like and I love doing it then, but I love doing it because it makes y'all feel good.

00:29:37
Speaker 2: And so going back to my church room.

00:29:39
Speaker 6: It's like, if I could help one body, then my job is done.

00:29:44
Speaker 2: It ain't in vain.

00:29:45
Speaker 6: And that was always what I used to pray when I was younger, like Lord, I just don't want my life to be in vain, Like I just don' want to like before I go, like, I just want to help somebody. I don't want it to be in vain. So you know, that's when I started to realize. I said, well, shoot, maybe this is how mm hmm.

00:30:05
Speaker 2: And I'm still you know, still a journey, but you know that was it never stops.

00:30:09
Speaker 6: But that was when I started to realize that I could keep going because the business will, you know, discourage you at times. You know, when you have those moments where it's quiet, ain't nothing happening, and you're like, let me go do something else. But when you see people you know and their energy, it makes you. It puts the battery in your back.

00:30:34
Speaker 3: This first album that drops, yeah, does it go crazy for you or does it just establish you? It establishes me in this in this new place.

00:30:48
Speaker 6: Yeah, I don't think it went crazy because like, yeah, no, it did. It did what it was going to do at that time for me, and it introduced me to the guys, to the industry.

00:31:01
Speaker 2: It casted some attention.

00:31:03
Speaker 6: I had some great producers on it at the time, Raphaelsa, de wy Cleft, Kanye West talk about it, Chucky Thompson.

00:31:13
Speaker 2: And I had some you know, James Poyser, I had some.

00:31:16
Speaker 6: Really great producers, touch of jazz, and so in the beginning, it was it was definitely like this.

00:31:24
Speaker 3: Is dope, but like you said, it was school for you.

00:31:26
Speaker 6: It was school, yeah, yeah, but it's also the other side of the gang to the music business.

00:31:33
Speaker 2: In the business, you know, got to be in business.

00:31:35
Speaker 6: Yeah, and it wasn't always good business, but always in your favor.

00:31:40
Speaker 2: There you go.

00:31:41
Speaker 3: I think a lot of times it's like you know, those those first albums or those moments where it's like it may not feel like it's it's it's the success we want, but it kind of unravels in a in a weird way to be a different kind of blessed opportunity, because what happens is that now you're in. Now you're actually in the game, and it gives you opportunity to get to your bread and butter, which is getting on that stage. And by you, by you having an album out, by you having a single on the radio, you're able to get on shows and be aligned with people of that caliber of your level, and you're able to, you know, sometimes kick some ass, kick some ass. You know, people are like this that gets you. Yeah, you didn't kick one too many assing.

00:33:00
Speaker 1: Doing this to me.

00:33:02
Speaker 3: Because he's like, that's because for us, Like you know, I used to I used to tell my ag all the time, I said, listen, all of this that we're going through business wise, I get it. I just need to get to the stage. You get me to the stage, I'll take care of the rest. Just get me on that motherfucking stage. You get different, It'll get a promise you will all all is right with the world.

00:33:32
Speaker 2: I've seen it with my own eyes.

00:33:33
Speaker 6: I was that was one of the best funniest tours. Oh my gosh, every night, every night, not like listen no shain't no lie. I was a tank fan prior, but after the tour I became a fan fan for the person because I was like.

00:33:59
Speaker 2: He he's a good dude. That's rare too, when you're in this game.

00:34:05
Speaker 6: Sometimes when you tour other artists like you could be offended, and after you do a show or run with him, you're.

00:34:10
Speaker 3: Like, oh.

00:34:13
Speaker 6: Ya, like it's disappointing, sad, it can be disappointing.

00:34:21
Speaker 2: It was not that. It was not that with you.

00:34:24
Speaker 6: And we were holding our breath because everybody was like, my.

00:34:28
Speaker 2: Gosh, I love and we were like, you want to just keep it like that. And it was one night you.

00:34:35
Speaker 6: Came to the dressing room and I was just like, please, don't be on that star ship, don't be on that side. And he was so down earth, so real, you were so such a gentleman and so and like after that, I was like, no, I'm a fan like he could put out whatever, I'm always going to support and like.

00:34:52
Speaker 2: And that's what.

00:34:53
Speaker 6: It's been like, period like period, because there's so many talented people in this industry. But sometimes when let me be yeah, I say that.

00:35:05
Speaker 2: You just don't you.

00:35:08
Speaker 1: You are free here.

00:35:09
Speaker 6: Because every like it's just it's so dope to be nice. Well it's like it's like it's dope to be dope, but it's doper to be a.

00:35:18
Speaker 2: Good nice person.

00:35:20
Speaker 6: Like may Angelo said, people will remember how you made them feel. I remember how you made us. You made us feel comfortable, made us feel like you know what I mean, like.

00:35:32
Speaker 3: We're good, Like you were out there together.

00:35:36
Speaker 2: There you go, and I never got that.

00:35:38
Speaker 3: So I needed you too. I needed you to feel really good about being You do your motherfucking thing.

00:35:49
Speaker 2: But do you understand everybody don't do.

00:35:52
Speaker 3: That because everybody, I won't say everybody, but some people some people. For some people, it's just about them and anything taking away from that is intimidating in a sense, right, And us saying we should go, we should take her, us saying that was was for us getting back to the people because we want the best show, right Yeah, And that's how that came. We want the best show. She gonna go crazy, We need her to Yeah, go get them.

00:36:29
Speaker 2: It was a time.

00:36:30
Speaker 6: It was a time, and the chemistry was amazing, all the artists backstage, on stage, and that's important. And again that's what I remember. I remember the comfort, and that goes a long way because it's not as common as people would like to think. So when you come across that camaraderie with other artists, it's just such a blessing in it, and it's like, damn, that's dope, because some people are just not that they jerked, you know, they rude.

00:37:01
Speaker 3: This industry kind of breads it, though. The industry kind of makes, kind of creates this idea that in order to be in it, you have to be a certain way.

00:37:10
Speaker 2: And I don't understand that.

00:37:12
Speaker 6: I can't relate to that, none of that, Like what you see is what you're.

00:37:16
Speaker 2: Going to need.

00:37:17
Speaker 4: But the only way we the only way we change it is to change it and to approach it differently. Then then it's always been you know what I mean, instead of just subscribing to that like, oh well that's just the way it is, don't You.

00:37:30
Speaker 2: Don't have to be that way.

00:37:32
Speaker 6: And I think if wenlearned nothing else, we should be learning in these days and times that you can be humbled very easily in this life, very fast, and you can't take none.

00:37:41
Speaker 2: Of this wishes. So be nice to people.

00:37:44
Speaker 6: Do the right thing, be good, be kind, you know what I mean, Be honest, stand on your word, and that's it. Like just be of integrity, like you ain't got you ain't got to like everything and everybody. But you also don't got to be disrespectful. You don't gotta be nasty and rude.

00:37:59
Speaker 2: It's just just you know, just live.

00:38:04
Speaker 6: And for me, I think that's where you know, the grounding with my family comes in, because they like that ain't like nothing is like impressive in it that like you know that this is just temporary, so you can't get caught up in all of this, like it's cute and it's cool, but don't think more of yourself than what this is, because it's something even greater and bigger than all of this.

00:38:30
Speaker 2: So just be just be kind, be humble, be humble, be cool. It's room for everybody.

00:38:36
Speaker 6: We live in space, Like there's so much space we live in space, Like it's the room for everybody.

00:38:46
Speaker 5: And if they continue to be disrespectful.

00:38:48
Speaker 4: There's space and opportunity outside.

00:38:55
Speaker 6: But I mean it's like we look the metaphor when you look into this skuy on a great night, clear night, it's multiple stars.

00:39:04
Speaker 3: They all shiny.

00:39:07
Speaker 6: What you're tripping off of you ain't gonna ever dim no other stars like you dim your own light trying to dim a light another style. You see what I'm saying. So I just feel like, just just be easy and be cool, be kind, because you never know when something gonna come back around.

00:39:25
Speaker 1: You never know.

00:39:27
Speaker 4: Hopefully we're hopefully we're giving some insight into that yes on this show, and that people that are watching the show can take from that, because I'm sure there are artists that are coming up that watch us and watch the guests that we have on here and watchhoud Little James tell you you don't have to dim someone else's life. So when they get their opportunity, I hope that they remember you.

00:39:52
Speaker 2: Said that I love everybody? How about that?

00:39:55
Speaker 3: Why not?

00:39:55
Speaker 2: Why not?

00:39:57
Speaker 3: Why not? That's more fun that way, It's more fun to have fun. I don't like I don't like for no weird energy, you know, I don't like it afford to be nowhere. I'll break the ice myself. I cracked the byt who need a beverage? Like, I'm let's get to it. How y'all doing over there?

00:40:14
Speaker 1: Man?

00:40:14
Speaker 3: Where y'all from?

00:40:15
Speaker 1: Shit? Me too? Like them?

00:40:18
Speaker 2: Listen and he ain't lying.

00:40:19
Speaker 6: I've seen him my own eyes ain't lying. That's how I'm telling you. Everybody ain't on that.

00:40:25
Speaker 2: So, yes, it's true. It's true.

00:40:27
Speaker 3: Leland take us from first album took five years to come out. You're not happy about that?

00:40:38
Speaker 8: Is? Is?

00:40:40
Speaker 1: Are you?

00:40:41
Speaker 3: Are you discouraged at any point because you don't feel like.

00:40:45
Speaker 1: You got you you got.

00:40:47
Speaker 3: Your just do in terms of your setup and your timing and the things that you felt like you deserved with the type of project that you made, with the type of people and ammunition you had on there, I mean the Human Cardinals.

00:41:00
Speaker 2: Absolutely, I was discouraged.

00:41:01
Speaker 6: Yeah, but I didn't let that discouragement stop. Yeah, it motivated me. It made me even more hungry. It's like that I had attire came out even more. It was I went into more of a beast mode in that like I, like you said, I you know when I'm on that stage, do I? So it just was more of that because you feel like, you know, oh you don't believe I'm finna. I'm finna make you believe. Oh yeah, no, I'm finna make you know you thought you knew.

00:41:37
Speaker 2: You You know what I'm saying.

00:41:39
Speaker 6: That's what it was for me at that time, Like I wasn't going to my mother said a change is gonna come. That's why we named the album A Change is Gonna Come. Because I called her one night. I was like, ma, like they just don't want to put the record out, like I don't know what's happening.

00:41:56
Speaker 2: And she was like, you you know, a change gonna come. Go listen to.

00:42:02
Speaker 6: You know, change gonna come, Things gonna everything. And so if you listen to my first album, that's the theme. Like I had to believe that a change would come. And so that was also my mother's one of her favorite songs. So I re recorded that song Paie imised to him, named the album change Gonna Come, and got myself through that period too. So that's what I held on too, that a change would come.

00:42:28
Speaker 1: Minister to yourself. Sometimes you gotta do it.

00:42:31
Speaker 2: Sometimes you gotta do it. That's what it was.

00:42:34
Speaker 1: And what was the move after that?

00:42:35
Speaker 6: So to move after that, again, I was on the road, and then I actually ended up getting signed by another label and I did another project. I went to Stax Records, and that was like a fun time for a second, and then I eventually I've been independent since.

00:43:03
Speaker 1: Oh you've been independent since?

00:43:05
Speaker 2: Yeah, since since twenty twelve, twenty eleven.

00:43:10
Speaker 1: Oh you been doing this?

00:43:11
Speaker 2: Yeah, so the last few records been independent.

00:43:15
Speaker 5: So you catch your first hit record independently.

00:43:18
Speaker 2: Fall for You, Far for You?

00:43:20
Speaker 9: Yeah?

00:43:20
Speaker 2: Wow, Yeah you call.

00:43:22
Speaker 5: That record as an indie record though, Yeah, that's great.

00:43:25
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know what.

00:43:31
Speaker 1: What's called.

00:43:33
Speaker 3: Head Records?

00:43:35
Speaker 2: Looky god?

00:43:50
Speaker 3: Yeah, what you got over there? It's Leela James. You've come to a very special segment in our show. I tell you what it is with the people. They want some information from you.

00:44:25
Speaker 7: M h.

00:44:28
Speaker 3: And all the songs you sang and heard, they're not.

00:44:33
Speaker 1: Gonna let you get by.

00:44:36
Speaker 3: Mm hmmm.

00:44:38
Speaker 1: Without letting them know.

00:44:39
Speaker 2: You're where.

00:44:45
Speaker 7: Five your top five, time five, your top five?

00:45:00
Speaker 8: Easy?

00:45:00
Speaker 3: Now? What else a song we got to know? Did you go?

00:45:11
Speaker 2: Okay?

00:45:11
Speaker 3: You got that sould and we will go.

00:45:19
Speaker 10: Yeah, okay, okay, I have myself fat.

00:45:41
Speaker 2: So I gotta love it.

00:45:49
Speaker 1: Oh to Fat R and B singers.

00:45:53
Speaker 2: Okay five, So for me, R and B is rhythmic.

00:46:03
Speaker 3: And nobody, come on you start.

00:46:05
Speaker 2: I'm gonna I'm gonna start with yes, Marvin Gaye, Steven Wonder, Yeah, Mica Jackson.

00:46:17
Speaker 3: No, no, no Againca Jackson.

00:46:22
Speaker 2: That's not Michael No, that's my that's my R and B sayers. I'm gonna give it to Whinny now because I know they always say she did pop but the voice boys, and I can't leave out Patty.

00:46:42
Speaker 3: Yes, Hey, listen, when Patty was saying that somewhere over the rainbow, you talk about my grandmama cutting up, cutting up. When Patty saying that, yeah, I'm gonna be losing her mind. And then go to church and do all the moons, all the Patty moons. Yes. Top five R and B.

00:47:05
Speaker 6: Songs, R and B songs. What's going on? Uh, there's this lady in my life. I love that song, Luther, you did have that great if only for one night.

00:47:26
Speaker 2: Prince has a song called She's Always in My Head.

00:47:31
Speaker 6: It ain't an R and B, but I love it and I love if I was your girlfriend?

00:47:36
Speaker 2: By Prince? How many is that?

00:47:41
Speaker 3: I keep going, keep going, that's fire.

00:47:43
Speaker 1: But for Prince. But let's make a voltron.

00:47:47
Speaker 3: You're a super R and B artist, a vulture on a super you're putting together a super R and B artist. I want to know where you're going to get the vocal from the performance style, the styling of the artists, and the passion of the artists. If you had one vocal to use for your super R and B artist, what vocal are you using?

00:48:08
Speaker 1: Oh?

00:48:12
Speaker 6: Can I go back to nobody I mentioned absolutely Michael mm hmmm, Michael mm hmm.

00:48:27
Speaker 2: Anything especially early.

00:48:29
Speaker 3: Sing anything, yes, sing anything well way before the tune. Yeah, yeah, performance style.

00:48:42
Speaker 1: On stage.

00:48:44
Speaker 2: James Brown.

00:48:47
Speaker 3: Originator, So Michael got it from James was a monster on stage. He's a super monster. You're talking about sweating, Yeah, for real, styling, the trip of the artist. Prince, which which which Prince whole, Prince.

00:49:15
Speaker 2: Just so prope Prince Prince. Yeah he was, he was his confident bowl.

00:49:25
Speaker 3: Ruffles, ruffles, ruffles everywhere, boots.

00:49:27
Speaker 2: Yeah, like he could he still.

00:49:32
Speaker 3: He could do seven backflips in them hills. Yeah, roundhouse, kick, well, dunk all that in them hills. I'm thinking is done, but I'm not gonna put it past Prince Doncy. I heard he was hope, but Prince dunked in them hills. Somebody gonna have to tell me different. I'm sure of it. And then and then when he cooked everybody pancakes, I know it happened. My gosh, I know it happened. Murphy and the passion of the artists, the heart of the artists who make you feel it.

00:50:08
Speaker 2: Tina Tyner, you're.

00:50:14
Speaker 3: Gonna feel that when she start off that rolling, yeah, writing anything, it's about.

00:50:27
Speaker 1: To about to get physical, little Cassie.

00:50:38
Speaker 3: They do the trick, they do the trick.

00:50:42
Speaker 1: I ain't saying no names. I ain't saying no names. I ain't saying no names. Ain't saying no names. He was what you need, don't say she I ain't saying no names.

00:51:07
Speaker 4: So here we are very important part of this show. Will you tell us a story? Funny and fucked up? Are funny and fucked up? The only rule to the game is you can't say no names.

00:51:25
Speaker 6: I was in the studio working with a very very on my first project with a very very famous producer now artists, and we were just I'm very goofy. He's a funny cat too, but at that time he was really silly and he just kept passing gas. He just kept passing gas in the studio and the room was about this sass, and I was like, what what's happening? And he was acting like it wasn't happening, and.

00:52:06
Speaker 5: I'm like, it was just y'all two in the room.

00:52:08
Speaker 6: An engineer, an engineer sitting there trying to hold a straight face because he's like trying to like not to because it's bad.

00:52:18
Speaker 2: And so I'm just like, yo, what is why? Why are you go to the bathroom right? And he just he just kept on.

00:52:30
Speaker 3: Is this producing your ass out of pocket?

00:52:36
Speaker 6: Man?

00:52:37
Speaker 8: And I just didn't understand this is so bad. I didn't I didn't understand why he was just torturing it was bad.

00:52:49
Speaker 2: I was like, who died like something? Go to the doctor, like that's bad. And then he just it was funny, like he just to just continue.

00:53:02
Speaker 6: And that was just one of them times when I realized, I said, this guy has such a personality outside of just being an amazing producer artist. I was like, he's really like a knucklehead, like just you know, he has a sense of humor, but he think you think like you think, And so that was funny to me.

00:53:30
Speaker 3: And yeah, he probably was lactose and sometimes if you overdo it on the milk, it it a burn.

00:53:41
Speaker 6: But it was like you know how, No, no, this was just like okay, I grew up with some of my boy cousins. They used to put us in a head lot and then just fart on your head like this.

00:53:50
Speaker 2: They put it like this and go front like he it was that. It was that and it's like why are.

00:53:56
Speaker 6: You yeah, and it just the whole the whole thing. And then he was just looking like smiling like he knew it, and it was the silent ones be daily.

00:54:10
Speaker 2: And he just kept doing no lies, y'all, don't lie.

00:54:15
Speaker 3: I respect you know, listen, I respect everyone's airspace, but you're not gonna make me mess up my intestine. Hold go to the bathroom. I'm not holding the poot.

00:54:26
Speaker 1: I might not make it.

00:54:28
Speaker 2: Y'all should edit that out, y'all should not.

00:54:31
Speaker 6: Don't even let that one go because if he the person even watch it, they don't know exactly On tome.

00:54:35
Speaker 9: Back, he thought it was funny. It's funny again, funny, fellow pooters.

00:54:49
Speaker 4: It's not funny, fellow pooters.

00:54:53
Speaker 2: We haven't like like y'all tell ya, somefing really funny.

00:54:57
Speaker 1: That's funny I put it.

00:54:59
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's out here. He's out of the white. Yeah, that's what I said. Dude is out of pocket.

00:55:06
Speaker 2: There's that Oh my god, that went out too.

00:55:19
Speaker 6: That had no funny stories like like this story, just like.

00:55:28
Speaker 3: Like sessions man Leada James Uh. First of all, first of all, we appreciate you. That's what's start there. Thank you first coming all this way and hanging out with us. We are we are, we are honored, and we are absolutely static to give you the flowers and the conversation that you so rightfully deserve to receive and that you deserve to tell people need to know who and what you are.

00:56:05
Speaker 1: Period.

00:56:06
Speaker 2: Oh, thank you.

00:56:08
Speaker 3: That is that is that is why we that's why we built this so that we can so that we can talk to the people who who mean something to us and too. This that's it, and you know it's it's it's our rules, the creatives, the people that really love this, the people who have been through hell and high water to get here.

00:56:34
Speaker 1: This is ours.

00:56:36
Speaker 3: And we will continue to be a safe space, a promotional tool, whatever you need us to be, we will continue to be there for you.

00:56:46
Speaker 6: Well, I love y'all, and I'm so grateful or at the time that we have had. This has been so much fun. It's like hanging with my brothers, my cousins, and it's just such a beautiful platform that you guys have created. And I'm proud of y'all. Thank you, you know, for being you, and thank you all for doing this. This is dope. We definitely need this in our culture. So keep on, keep on, just waiting.

00:57:13
Speaker 3: On my on the blues record for me to sing on. What's what's the time of waiting on the food? What's the food? What's the side of the record.

00:57:24
Speaker 2: Did you say we're gonna go? Where where you go? What you're saying?

00:57:27
Speaker 1: If you go, I'm going right, if you go, I'm.

00:57:30
Speaker 3: Going yeah, Yeah, I'm going with you.

00:57:35
Speaker 1: I'm going with you.

00:57:37
Speaker 3: I'm going with you.

00:57:39
Speaker 1: That's a good one.

00:57:40
Speaker 2: Good one. Don't forget, don't ed.

00:57:47
Speaker 3: Thank the gentle money in the thing, Valentine. And this is the R and B Money podcast.

00:57:52
Speaker 1: Here Thorty on all things R and B. This has been our good.

00:57:58
Speaker 3: System, woman, Huh, thank you. R and B Money.

00:58:11
Speaker 4: R and B Money is a production of the Black Effect Podcast Network. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Don't forget to subscribe to and rate our show, and you can connect with us on social media at Jay Valentine and at the Real Tank. For the extended episode, subscribe to YouTube dot com, Forward, slash r, and b Money