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- [00:00]
A
After 13 years, we are making a bold move. We've been hosting thousands of marketers in San Diego, California since 2013 for social media Marketing World, and it has been epic. Here's the news. We're making a bold move to Anaheim, California in 2026. The decision came down to three very compelling factors. First of all, the location advantages are incredible. Orange County's central location means easier access for our growing international audience. There are five different airports that service the area, including the Los Angeles Airport, which means it's a lot more economical for you to get here. Second, the weather. April in Anaheim is absolutely perfect. 75 degrees, sunny skies, less chance of the random rainstorms that sometimes surprise us in San Diego. And third, this is really the big one. And Disneyland. It's only a 20 minute walk away from our venue. Imagine being able to experience Disneyland with your new friends that you make at the conference, literally after the event. I did this with one of my brand new employees. It was an incredible experience. Talk about developing lifelong relationships. This is the way to do it. This is the year to finally come and experience the magic that is Social media Marketing world. Grab your tickets right now because we have a really big sale going on. Visit social mediamarketingworld.info I can't wait to see you there. Welcome to the AI Explored podcast, helping.
- [01:35]
B
You put AI to work.
- [01:38]
A
And now, here's your host, Michael Stelzner. Hello, hello, hello. Thank you so much for joining me for the AI Explored podcast brought to you by Social Media Examiner. I'm your host, Michael Stelzner, and this is the podcast for marketers, creators and business owners who want to know how to put AI to work. Today I've got a really exciting topic. I'm going to be talking to a creator who created a music video, original music with AI and video that was seen and went crazy viral by tens, possibly even hundreds of millions of people. And he created this incredible thing called BBL Drizzy, which you might have heard and you're going to hear more about it today. But he is a scriptwriter who desired to want to really get into AI and got into music and got into video and his stuff has taken off. So if you are a creative and you want to get inspired about creating music and or video, that really could be something that could make a big impact on culture or even on your industry, than today's guest, King Wallonius is going to be someone who you're not going to want to miss. By the way, if you are new to this podcast, Be sure to follow this show so you do not miss any of our future content. Let's now transition over to today's interview with King Wallonius, helping you simplify your AI journey. Here is this week's expert guide. Today I'm very excited to be joined by King Wallonius. If you don't know who King Wallonius is, he's a standup comedian and AI storyteller who specializes in the intersection of tech, technology and culture. One of his biggest creations is an AI viral diss hit song called BBL Drizzy. King Wallonius, welcome to the show. How you doing today?
- [03:27]
B
Hey, how's it going? It's pretty good. I'm excited to be here today.
- [03:30]
A
Super excited to have you. Today King Wallonius and I are going to explore how to embrace AI to creatively produce music and videos. And before we get into that, I'd love to hear a little bit about how you got into AI and music and video, share a little bit of your story.
- [03:44]
B
Yeah, man, it's funny enough, just my whole AI journey started on Clubhouse and was in a bunch of Clubhouse rooms just learning about AI. This is around December 2022.
- [03:57]
A
Okay.
- [03:57]
B
So I was just on the rooms every day just like, you know, listening in. ChatGPT had just dropped, I believe the month prior. So just learning like all the different tools at the same time. I was, I was doing a TV writing fellowship, so, so I had like one foot in writing. I was aspiring CV writer and then one foot in these new immersive AI tools. And I was really excited to just learn how to use these tools, you know, because this is the first time something in this nature dropped that it was just like, just felt so transformative. Then the writer strike happened and the writer strike really is what got me into AI like all the way because that strike happened and I just, I didn't have anything to do. Like I, you know, I was still trying to write scripts, but it was just like, it just felt like it wasn't going anywhere. I mean, nothing could happen, you know, so you can write, but you couldn't meet with any manager. You couldn't do certain things. So at the same time AI was just, everything was happening. So it was just like, you know, it was kind of like a no brainer at the time to just kind of dive into these tools and explore what I could potentially do with these large language models.
- [05:00]
A
So Clubhouse, man, such great memories from using Clubhouse back in the day. I'm curious so you this writer strike happens and you are essentially kind of like, stuck. And how does that lead to you ultimately creating? Tell us a little bit more of the story about how you created this hit that went crazy viral.
- [05:18]
B
Yeah, well, bbl Drizzy man, it was really just. I always kind of start, I guess, like, at Burning man, because I. It was. This was like, around August 2023. I remember leaving Burning man, and I left Burning man and went to an AI conference. This is, like, probably the first AI conference that I actually spoke at. It was the Voice and AI Conference in dc. Like, prior to that, I was just like, man, I'm just gonna go really hard this year as far as, like, AI. Like, I'm. I'm just gonna be, like, super focused, head down, and just create as much as I can. And I told myself, I was like, no matter if I get one view or a thousand or whatever, I'm just gonna keep creating this year, you know? And part of the reason was My birthday is August 24th, which is Mama Day, you know, for a lot of people that follow basketball. So I was just like, I'm gonna have a mama mentality this year, you know? And, you know, Kobe Bryant's number is like, 824. So I was just like, I'm just gonna be. I'm just gonna just stay super focused and be process oriented and. And just create as much as possible. So in doing that, I was making videos every week. I was attending every AI event possible. And if there was an event that I could fly to or in person, like, anything in person, AI related, especially all the big ones I was at, I didn't miss a beat. So. And then I was entering every AI film festival. So when BVO Drizzy happened that weekend, it was the Pika Labs 48 Hour Film Festival. And I entered it, and I was like, all right. It was a site. I was probably like, on hour four, 40 or so, I was like, all right, let me take a break real quick. And I took a break, went on Twitter or X, and BBO Drizzy was trending at the time because Drake and Rick Ross were going back and forth. And Rick Ross said that Drake had fake abs, so he started calling him BVO Drizzy. And I was like, oh, this is. This is funny. So I was like, let me just make a song about it. At the time, Udo had just dropped. People were talking about how this new AI music tool is amazing. So I was like, let me test it out. You know, just something to kind of like, clear my palate, like, refresh it in a sense. So let me just make this song. Threw it up, didn't think anything of it. And the view just kept going up, you know. But at the same time I was like, I got to finish this film festival. So end up finishing that like three o' clock in the morning, like right as the deadline was approaching, and then got it out.
- [07:39]
A
Just so we're clear, did you submit this also to the film festival or are these two different things you're talking.
- [07:43]
B
About these two different things. The BBL drizzy was just a side thing that I just did because I was just mentally. I've been staring at a screen for 40 plus hours, you know, editing this film, which funny enough, didn't place at all. But I made BBR jersey. So I got, I got the real prize that I wanted. But 3 o' clock in the morning, had a flight at 6. Because I was going to Vegas for this curious refuge prompt battle that I signed up for again, trying to do every. Everything AI related that I could. Got to the airport, got on a plane, my flight was at 6. Still looking at the views, I'm like, wow, it's going up like, it's at like 30, 40,000 views.
- [08:20]
A
Where did you publish this, by the way?
- [08:22]
B
Twitter.
- [08:22]
A
Okay.
- [08:22]
B
Initially Twitter, yeah. And I think I might have reposted it on Instagram too. But I just remember my. I got on the plane, my phone goes dead as soon as I get on the plane, so I can't even look at the views anymore. And then obviously I hadn't been to sleep, so I pass out, wake up, land in Vegas, wake up, charge my phone, it's at a million views and I'm just like, whoa, what's happening right now? You know? But still didn't really have a time to like really take it in because I was just like one. I barely slept. And then, you know, it was during the nab, so. So I'm like kind of walking around doing that. Then I had this like prom battle that night, which was like a first of its kind. So I'm kind of, you know, like a little nervous. I'm like, I don't know what's going on. And you know, you know, this is the first time meeting a lot of these big AI people, you know, that I've seen on Twitter in, in real life, you know, So I was just kind of like, oh my gosh. You know, and it's funny because, like, you see these people so much, especially ones that make YouTube videos. They're celebrities in my mind. I'm like, oh my gosh. Like, you're. I watch you every day and you know, so. So I still wasn't. I. I was aware that this video was kind of doing what it was doing, but I was trying to be as present as possible, so I wasn't really thinking about it. And then did. Did the competition. And then when I left, I remember my homeboy called me up and he was like, bro, Van Lathan just posted your video or your song on his podcast. He's talking about it. And I was like, what? So when that happened, then I was like, oh, wow, this song might be doing something. Like, it's really making rounds, you know. And then it just. It kind of just did its rounds. It went viral for like a day or two. You know, people were talking about it and then it was. That was it. You know, that's how the normal life cycle for things that go viral. It's like a day or two. And then two weeks later, during, I flew out to LA again, trying to do all the things, you know, I went out there for the Netflix as a joke festival. Wasn't part of the festival at all. I just was like, I don't know what else to do, man. I just need to be in the place. I gotta FaceTime. Like, you know, I didn't have a manager, so it was just like. It was just trying to do everything that I felt like I could do to. I don't know what I was trying to achieve. I was just. Just doing things. And then during the midst of that, the Netflix is a joke. That's when BDL Drizzy went viral again. But this time it went mega viral. You know, metro booming took it. Cause he was dissing Drake as well. The whole Kendrick and Drake beef was like really heating up at that time. And then he took it, invited every rapper in the world to rap on the beat. He made it to the instrumental. And then it just went. It went mega viral, man. And I'm talking about everywhere nuns were making videos to it and duolingos making videos. Like everybody was like in on it now. And now it was just like, wow, this thing is mega viral. Funny enough, they played it at the Netflix is a joke festival. Some of the. Some of the artists. This artist, Masego, he actually did like a. A saxophone rendition of it on stage. And then at the end of the festival, they were all playing it. I. I went. I got to go to the Kevin Hart party. The DJ Trauma, he played it. He did a remix of it and this and that. So I was like, yo, this is crazy. I don't even have a ticket to the Netflix is a joke, but like my song, you know, so. So that's. It was just. It felt so surreal because it was just like. And even the last day that they played it, like, I'm watching everybody walk around me singing it and laughing and like, nobody knows that I made it. So it was like, I don't know, I was just like, wow, I really made something that has impacted the world.
- [11:54]
A
How many people do you think watch those videos across all the variations of it? You have any sense of it?
- [11:59]
B
Nah, not at all, man.
- [12:01]
A
Can you guess a range? I mean, like, tens of millions? More than that?
- [12:04]
B
Yeah. Yeah, it's probably in the hundreds of. I don't know if people. But numbers wise, definitely in a hundred, if not billion, because it. It was. It was global, you know, like, it really. It impacted the whole beef. So, you know, everybody that follow that beef knows about bvo, Drizzy, you know, and then for the most part, everybody within music that's really following music or following AI music, they know about it because it was the first viral AI song. And then so two weeks after it went mega viral, then it went, another thing happened. So I was like, yo, this bbl, Drizz. This is the BBL that just won't go away. So Drake took the song and sampled it and used it on the song, one of his songs. So it became the first AI sample song in music history. And so I have a writing credit with Drake. And I'm just sitting there like, okay, how is this? Why is this? You know, and during all while this is happening, though, I wasn't paying attention to Twitter, wasn't paying attention to TikTok. I was just. I just kept making songs. And Because I told myself early in the year, you know, when I decided to do this heads down work, I had a video that went viral. It got like a million views. And I remember spending most of the day, like, just watching the comments and just refreshing to the point where I was just like, I spent. I didn't create anything that day. And I told myself, I was like, look, if I go viral again this year, I will not do what I did today. I'm just going to keep creating and. And just stay with, you know, it's like going to the gym. Like, you just, you know, you might. Some people go to the gym and after two days, they just spend the rest of the time looking at themselves in the mirror just like, yeah, like, we did it two days in the gym, look at the pecs, you know, but you realize like, nah, man, it's. You just gotta, you gotta go back to the gym the next day and then you go the next day.
- [13:52]
A
You gotta get your reps in, right?
- [13:53]
B
Yeah, you gotta get your reps in. So, you know, and anytime I talk to people now, it's just like, yo, consistency is key, you know, whether you spike up and you have a moment where you hit a peak, it doesn't really matter, you know, the best thing is you just got to keep showing up and doing the work and everything else, you know, is just a byproduct of that, you know, like now I'm getting to speak on stages and celebrity and all these different things. But like all these things, they're great. But at the end of the day, the reason that I can even do these things is because of the work. So I can't get caught up in all that and then stop doing the work and then that'll fade away and then plus I'm kind of like at this point now, I really don't care about those type of things. I think if I was 25 or early 20s or something like that, like it will mean something to me. But like now the only thing that really matters is just the work, you know, and the impact that you can potentially have on people. You know, the work serves me because it feels very purposeful and it feels like I'm doing my God given talent and contributing. I'm not, I'm not wasting my gifts.
- [15:00]
A
I love that. I love that. I want to ask you a couple of questions here. First of all, love your story, love your work ethic, love that. What you're saying here is, look, you know, I made a commitment at the beginning of the year before all this happened that I was just going to keep doing the work and I was going to do whatever it took to get the learning curve up here and to get some exposure. And then all of a sudden, boom, it pops.
- [15:20]
B
So.
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A
But I want to back up the train a little bit because there's plenty of creative people listening to this. Maybe they're not songwriter, maybe they're not script writers like you are, but maybe they are interested in AI music and they're interested in video. Or maybe they're just like into AI and the different side of the equation. Let's just address this. Why should creatives use AI, generally speaking, when it comes to any of their craft, like when it's done well, what can it do for them? Because there's a Lot of creatives that are listening right now that might feel a little squeamish about using AI. They might feel like, might feel like it doesn't fit with the craft. So what do you want to say to them?
- [15:52]
B
Yeah, I mean, I think that obviously everybody's journey is a little bit different and the tools that they'll use are like a lot different. Same way if I'm a just a traditional filmmaker, I may choose to use Final Cut over Adobe or some people are like, hey, I want to, I want to use Cap cut or, or I want to use Imovie. You know, who's to say how you should edit your film? The reason that I encourage people to use AI, or at least explore it, is because it's, it's done wonders for me, right. Like I was able to as a comedian, a stand up comedian with really no ties to the music industry, was able to affect the music industry in a major way. Right? So on top of that, these AI, they're master tools. Like if I was a, in construction, right, and I just had a hammer and then somebody comes with, you know, some type of electrical. Yeah. Like you know, a leisure camera or something like that. You can just be much more efficient and productive in your work by having excellent tools the same way, you know, or somebody that might make beats with just the drums and. But then now they have a dog, you know, now they have logic, now they have Ableton. Like you can just, you can do a little bit more, you can be a little bit more creative, like not taking anything away from the traditional way that you, you go about your process. But now you have expert tools that just allow you to, just to work better, you know, in some respects. So I encourage people, just try to tell people to just at the very least just explore what's out there, know what, what it's capable of. And then you can make a decision whether or not like, okay, it's probably best that I, I do this versus that. But using AI, you're talking about, you have master level tools, you know, that can help you do a lot. So just on the, the way I use it, on the music and film storytelling side, there's almost, there's pretty much no story I can't tell. As soon as I imagine it, I can ideate on it, you know, and I can create something that's pretty dynamic. You know, I had a video that went viral two weeks ago. It was a McDonald's video. And Popeyes hired these AI filmmakers to make a video dissing McDonald's so they made a rap song dissing McDonald's. The. The song was. AI generated the visuals AI generated. And my friend, he worked on the music on it. So when I saw it, I was like, wait a second, this is my link. I could do this too. So my first thought was just like, oh, I'm going to respond back as McDonald's. And, you know, I. I wasn't try to. Only thing I want to do is just like, you guys did something really dope and I want to do something like, let's play now, you know? So within eight hours, I had a video up. I made the song, did the visuals, and it just kind of took off. My style was a lot different than theirs. Like, I went artistically, I went for Ronald McDonald almost kind of being like the Joker. And that's the kind of visual style I went for. But, you know, if I would have did that through traditional means, it might have came out today. You know, it would have took so long. You had to, you know, go through a whole process, casting and getting approvals from people from McDonald's. Like, it just would have took forever. You would have completely missed that moment. And also, I knew that a lot of people within AI were going to start jumping on. So since that happened, there was a Wendy's video, There was a Five Guys video. Somebody else did a McDonald's video. I did a Chick Fil a video because I messaged McDonald's and they didn't message me back. So I was like, well, I'm a dish you as chick fil A. So I dis them.
- [19:31]
A
Chick fil A, that's hilarious.
- [19:34]
B
But that's the power. And the Chick Fil a was like a 3D animated video, you know, and that was really dope because, like, you know, making a whole 3D animated, what, two and a half minutes short, that would have took forever. You know, if you even using the traditional tools now, where, like using a blender or Unreal Engine or Unity, still would have took a long time. So, like, now I can do things super fast. And. And it's fun too, where, you know, if you decide, like, hey, if a brand doesn't want to work with me, then I can just literally be like, well, I'll. I'll diss you too. I'll diss everybody, you know, so just.
- [20:05]
A
Don'T diss me, please.
- [20:07]
B
I won't dis you. Yeah. So, hey, but it's, you know, it's just, it's. It's just super fun, man. And I mean, I think if you're a creative. This is probably one of the best times in your life to be alive because you have the tools to just. Just have fun and just create, you know, pretty much be a child again and just. Just make things, you know?
- [20:26]
A
I love it. So talk to me a little bit about the mindset that you had to adopt in order to really be able to output the kind of stuff that you were doing. I like talking about mindset because sometimes people just need to change their frame a little bit, you know, when they're thinking about this stuff. Talk to me about, like, what. What would you say to someone who maybe wants to get into creating either AI video or AI audio as far as changing their mindset?
- [20:47]
B
Yeah, I think the biggest mindset is just like, again, I. I kind of adopted a little bit of the mama mentality. But, you know, you have to be obsessive when it comes to AI because it's. It's literally changing every single day. A new tool comes out every single day. So you have to just be obsessed about learning. It really starts with learning and then applying and then constantly wanting to have, like, a growth mindset but wanting to always get better. So for me, like, I just want to just be the best version of me that I can be, you know, so creatively, like, you know, just my human potential, spiritual, all these different things. But as it pertains to AI, like, I don't want to get, like, left behind. I want to make sure that, you know, because I was like, in Times magazine and all this stuff, like, I know the tools of anybody. You know, when I first started out, when I would go to these events, like, I knew, you know, what to do kind of creatively, but I'd be in rooms with a lot of technical AI folks, and I was just like, I didn't want to feel like I wasn't supposed to be there. So I was like, okay, I got to learn and say I got to be up on my stuff. So. But having the mindset that you can do anything, you know, so if you adopt that mindset and then you just don't see barriers, right? They're just challenges that you can overcome. That's why I love the word challenges versus problems. Like, it's just like a challenge. You can always overcome a challenge. If you decide that I'm going to do this, but. But that's all it is. It's just a choice. Like, once you just make a decision and a choice that I'm going to do this, then it's like the way reveals itself. You know, lately, like, my mindset has just been. Is to do the hard things, right? Because I think a lot of times it's kind of like the. Was it Robert Frost? The road less traveled. That's really been my career.
- [22:38]
A
M. Scott Pack. Was the road less traveled? I think.
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B
Okay, okay, okay.
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A
I love that.
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B
That guy doesn't know anything. Yeah, I got his.
- [22:45]
A
But you got, you got the book, right? It was a great book.
- [22:48]
B
Yeah, he's like, Chad, gbt that. But. But yeah, you know, choosing to do the hard things right. Like, sometimes you end up benefiting a lot more because you learn. Right? But just always have that mindset of like, continually learning, like constantly, Constantly learning and implementing. You have to be. I've been saying this lately, is like, you have to be a curious doer. That's, that's what I call myself now, a curious doer. It's just like get very curious about things and then do stuff. So going from a human being to a human doing. Because a lot of times I think when it comes to AI people, they'll hesitate. It was like, well, can I do this or should I do that? And I was like, I don't know, man. Like, just do the thing and ask for forgiveness later. But I love that we, we sometimes put like governors on ourselves and we restrict ourselves just because, like, we overthink or we hesitate. So, you know, the best thing that you can do for yourself right now in this AI revolution that we're having is speed. Speed and learning and speed and implementation. And I mean, that's how I've been able to go viral and I've benefited so much, is because I just keep putting things out. If they give views, that's great. If they don't, it doesn't matter. Because it's not about that. It's about the process.
- [24:01]
A
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- [25:48]
B
I think storytelling is the basis of, of just life, right? I don't know. I mean, it just makes everything richer. Whether or not you're telling traditional TV stories or film or brand stories, or are you just sitting by a campfire, you know, sharing stories with your friends or, you know, you're hearing stories from, you know, your loved ones. Like, you know, that's it's the spice of life. But in using like these tools, I always start with just like ideas. So I'm always just thinking of, of ideas and thinking of stories. And you know, I hear, I'm in New York and I hear somebody walking down the street and they might say a couple words and I catch it and immediately makes my mind start, you know, creating webs and start thinking of different stories, but being very curious and just like human and the human experience, I think is a great part, a great way to start telling stories. And then from there you can add different genres on top of it. But if you're using AI, you know, I would utilize a large language model to kind of help you out, a chat GPT. And you can help, you know, you might have an idea and then you can help turn that, that crap, that into a story. Even like a thing like mid journey. A lot of times if I don't have like an immediate idea, I'll just start generating images in mid journey. And then you might see a really dynamic imaging like, ooh, I want to turn that into some type of story. Because I just love the way this still looks. It looks like a scene or it looks like something that. That I can, you know, convert into some type of story.
- [27:16]
A
Just from a craft perspective, do you think naturally in stories, have you always been a natural storyteller or have you had to kind of learn, like, the elements of story?
- [27:25]
B
Oh, man. So that's a good question, because I've. I've been going back and forth with that. I think learning the craft of any discipline is great. Right. But I think that there are benefits to just being natural with it and not not having a specific process and just being like, I just make my own way. Right. You see that a lot of times, and people that you're like, they. You know, whether it be, like, a jazz musician or. Or any type of crowdfusions, like, they didn't have traditional training, but they just figured out how to do that and that, and they become, like, the standard almost.
- [28:05]
A
Right? They set a new tone.
- [28:06]
B
Yeah, right. Because they're breaking every mold. You're like, you don't even. But I went to school for 20. And you're like. But they just. But it's because they're just following the intuition, right? So there is that. Even if you learn all the traditional ways of doing something, I think at some point you get to a creative point where you're like, I gotta break the mold. I gotta try to break or do everything that I learned, and let's try to do it differently, and let's figure. Let's find a new way to create from there. So, you know, it's like when you watch children play, like, I feel like they're almost like the epitome of creativity. There's no real rules or rhyme or reason to the way they create. They just see things in their mind and they just make things. They draw pictures and they just. So, yeah, I go back and forth with that, man. Cause I remember when I. I went to. When I lived in New York the first time I took classes at ucb, and, you know, you have a screenwriting sketch writing class and. And all these different things. And I remember sitting in a class and, like, learning their method, and I was like, I write better sketches than them. You know, no, no disrespect to them, but I was just like, I like the way I write my sketches. And I know that there is, especially when it comes to comedy. Like, it's almost like an equation. Like, I look at comedy more, so it's like math than anything. Like if you take a premise plus an attitude, it'll equal, you know, some type of funny situation, a conflict. Two characters in conflict will equal a scene or whatnot. You know, you can, you can draw from that and it's a good starting point. So mathematically you can manufacture comedy, you can manufacture a story that way. But if you really want all the emotions and to really touch people, that part is just kind of intuitive, right? That's where the art comes in. So yeah, so I don't know, I just go back and forth with that man. Because there are tremendous benefits from learning a special way of doing things. But then when you just see those individuals that are just free flowing and like they had no training, you know, maybe their training is just life. They're just taking from whatever life is given and they figured out their own method through that. That's also super special as well.
- [30:22]
A
That's cool.
- [30:22]
B
I think the best way is if you can find that balance right where you're like, I'm taking a little bit of both and figuring out a new method. I think that's, that's the ideal way.
- [30:31]
A
So let, let's talk about Mid Journey. You mentioned Mid Journey earlier, and I know that you told me when we were prepping for this, that I believe you use Mid Journey to help you kind of figure out the visual look and feel for this McDonald's thing. Just help people understand how. And we've had a couple people on the show talking about how Mid Journey creates these beautiful images, but just kind of help people understand a little bit of like you get an idea like you're going to do this McDonald's response to Popeyes. Right. So what are you doing inside of Mid Journey and how is that helping you kind of begin to create the video? Just talk that through a little bit.
- [31:04]
B
Yeah. When I start off Mid Journey, man, I'm just, I'm just prompting. So I'm just. I start out, I always start out. And even whether I'm doing music or images or even do it like text to video, I always start with very minimal prompts. So like no more than three prompts to kind of like start out. You know, it can be a little bit different when you're doing text to video because, you know, you might describe a scene, you know, a man inside a car smoking a cigarette and with his hand on his head, I don't know. But for the most part, if I'm doing midjourney, I always try to keep it very, very minimal and then start adding More details. You know, once I kind of get that base down, I kind of see where I'm going. You know, the main thing is just to really, you know, you want to prompt. That's why I always tell people that you got to get, like, unlimited credits, because you'll run through a lot of prompts, you know, but through that process, you know, the more you do it, then it's a lot easier for you to get to, you know, point A, to point B. It might not take you, you know, maybe start out. It might take you 100 prompts just to get. Figure out what you're trying to do, make, you know, as you do it more. It might only take you 20 or 10, you know, you know exactly where you need to go. But as far as, like, trying to figure out, like, the style and the aesthetic and the tone and all that, like, you know, Mid Journey is one of the best, if not the best.
- [32:21]
A
So, yeah, tell us a little bit about what you did with the Popeyes thing and just try to describe it in words so people can imagine the visuals.
- [32:26]
B
Oh, yeah. So for Popeyes, you know, my first thought was, okay, I like the song. I got to make a response as Popeyes. So then I started thinking about, like, okay, let me think about Popeyes and all the negative things people say about them. And then so I started using that to kind of craft the lyrics for it. And so. So creating the lyrics was the starting point. I needed the song as a basis because that kind of dictate what the actual video would be like. So I made the song, and this was like, figuring out, you know, a lot of disses that I can potentially talk about Popeyes. And did you use AI to get.
- [33:05]
A
Some research done for you, or did you just kind of already know it?
- [33:07]
B
Yeah. Yes, I'll go in there. A lot of times, it's really just like going to Twitter. The Twitter is like my or ex now. I like that because you get a real response of, like, how people think and they feel. You know, like, the best Twitter accounts are the accounts with, like, less than a thousand followers. Less than 300 is actually ideal. If you find somebody that's constantly tweeting and they only have about 200 followers, that's a. That's a golden account because they're unfiltered. They're really kind of talking to themselves. For the most part. They just say it like it is.
- [33:44]
A
You're finding little. Little clips or whatever of what they're saying that you figure you can put into the. Into in the script.
- [33:50]
B
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, I mean, I'm like a ninja when it comes to, like, searching for stuff. But, you know, you. You just get an idea of, like, you know, you see, like, okay, you can type in Popeyes, you can type in McDonald's, you can type in some of the negative things you've seen. And obviously, you know, these brands around, so you hear what people say. But that's the starting point of just figuring out, like, what is it that I actually want to say? They dis McDonald's. So the. The rebuttal has to be even better, you know, and it has. The beat has to be great. The lyrics have to be sharp and all that. And then visual wise, theirs was like a big party. A lot of moving images, a lot of fast cuts. I knew that I didn't have as much time as them to do that because I was traveling the next day. So I was like, I gotta come with, like, a style that looks good. Each shot stays on camera for, like, two or three seconds. So I was like, okay, let me make this more of, like, an ad, maybe. Almost like in my mind, I was thinking like a magazine ad. Like if, like Gucci or Vogue or something like that was like doing the ad and then again, going to Mid Journey, you just start generating images initially off of that thought, and then you kind of. You might generate an image that'll take you on a whole nother path. You're like, oh, I kind of. I like what this aesthetic is going to. I think this is the one. So then. But that only comes from, you know, you go and you just generate because it's like, you have this, like, excellent mood board that you can just sift through all the pictures and whatnot. So once I figured out, like, the style, then I was like, okay, this is going to be a joker. Yeah. The idea just kept in my head, just kept being like, Ronald McDonald's Joker. Ronald McDonald's Joker. So I was like, once I kind of figured that out, then it was just like, okay, let's this kind of make the rest of this video. And then. So just generate the images. That didn't take too long. I can do that pretty fast. And then once I. Once I figure out, like, the style and I'm. I'm able to, like, animate them the way I want.
- [35:45]
A
Yeah, explain how you animate those just for people that don't understand how that works.
- [35:49]
B
Yeah, so I use, like, V3 a lot. I use Mid Journey. Mini Journey has a really great video tool now.
- [35:55]
A
So you just Take the, you take the mid journey image you've already created as like the base image in either Google v03 or in mid journey. And then you just tell it to basically create a motion out of it or something like that, like action out of it. Do you just have to tell it, create movement or do you have to get a little bit more specific?
- [36:12]
B
Yeah, you can just press a button and it'll generate itself, but if you want a specific movement in there that you tell it what you wanted to do, you know. So you mean like, you know, character walks towards camera, character turns around or they lift their right hand up.
- [36:26]
A
How many versions do you feel like you have to go through before you get something that works for you? Is that, is that burn credits?
- [36:32]
B
I have unlimited credits for all of them. So I just always just tell people until, you know, it's just like until it's done.
- [36:38]
A
How long does it take to render the animations though? Is that a little time consuming?
- [36:42]
B
Maybe like 30 seconds if that. Some of them generate a little bit quicker, but I'm no more, no more than a minute.
- [36:48]
A
Okay, so far what we've got is we've got a script that you've written, right? And you're using the script to determine the visuals and you're going to midjourney, presumably in the beginning to find all the visuals and then you're somehow organizing those visuals. Do you have a tool that helps you kind of organize them all or you just kind of like grabbing them? Is there no tool that really helps with that?
- [37:10]
B
I wish I was a little more organized in that respect. They just all exist in my downloads folder.
- [37:14]
A
Okay, so you're. They're kind of all unorganized in your folder, so but then you grab them one at a time and you animate them with these various tools. Where's the music layer into all this?
- [37:24]
B
I'll drop the music. I'm working in like Adobe Premiere. So I'm dropping everything on the timeline in Adobe Premiere.
- [37:30]
A
But where are you making the music after you've got the visuals? Before you've got the visuals?
- [37:34]
B
No, no, I do the music. I always do the music first because the music helps me decide what the tone of the video will be like.
- [37:41]
A
Give us some tips on what you use for music and how that's been for you.
- [37:45]
B
Yeah, it's been great, man. Like using like Udo. That's why I made BBL Drizzy with. You just prompted. You prompted the same way you would prompt, you know, image. You put in your particular style by.
- [37:56]
A
The way it's Udi. Oh, for people that are.
- [37:58]
B
Yeah, yeah. Particular style or you know, elements that you want in the song. So it can be instruments, it could be the mood, it can be, you know, all these different things. If you want to like a film score, you know, you can add these things into the type of singers it Male, female.
- [38:17]
A
What's the rights on the creative stuff? Do you have rights once you make that music? How does that work?
- [38:22]
B
If you make the song, then you own the rights to it, but you have to have a paid plan.
- [38:26]
A
Okay, that's good to know.
- [38:27]
B
If you don't have a paid plan, then they can, they can still own it.
- [38:32]
A
Have you tried out Suno vs Udio? And I think it's called Suno. Any thoughts on each one of them?
- [38:37]
B
Yeah, yeah. Suno's great too. Suno's really good as well.
- [38:40]
A
So any tips on like, is the music creation just as complicated as creating the audio and the video? Like what's your thoughts on that?
- [38:47]
B
The music is probably a little bit easier.
- [38:49]
A
Okay.
- [38:49]
B
Just because like you can just type in a random prompt and type in some lyrics or you have an auto generate lyrics and it'll to spit out something really fast when. When making the. I mean it help if you have some music knowledge, you can probably, you know, craft better lyrics or structure your songs a little bit differently. But for the most part it's fairly simple. A five year old can do it for the most part as long as they know how to read. They might not even know how to read to make it. But the film stuff is just a lot more. A lot more steps. So you have to generate the images, you got to generate the videos. Then you have to put it together on a timeline so that it actually makes sense, you know, and it's coherent. So it's a lot more details that go into just making AI films than AI music.
- [39:34]
A
I think when we were prepping for this, you told me that sometimes you make multiple versions and you don't know which one is going to stick. Like, tell us a little bit about publishing multiple variations and did that end up happening with BBL Drizzy?
- [39:46]
B
Yeah, I did. I did about 100 versions of BBL Jersey. I put a lot of them out and it was like each one was kind of like a different genre.
- [39:52]
A
Was this before or after they went viral? Like how many were out there?
- [39:55]
B
I just kept putting them out because remember before the BBL jersey that went viral is actually the second BBR jersey I put out. First one didn't I mean, the first one got like a million hits, but it didn't go viral. Like, the second one, the second ones is one that, like, took off.
- [40:10]
A
So talk to me about the craft, because most people that are creatives don't like the idea of putting multiple variations out there. Like, why is that so important? And, like, what's been your experience with that?
- [40:19]
B
You know, I normally don't do it either. I just, for whatever reason, I just decided to because so many of them sounded so good. So it was just like, yeah, I'm just keep putting it out.
- [40:27]
A
Was it the video that was different or the audio or both? That was different audio, yeah.
- [40:31]
B
Okay. But, you know, like, a lot of times with that, I think that the future creators, maybe not even all the future creators, but, like, being able to have the discernment of knowing, like, which version is the one to put out, that's going to be probably, like, the creative challenge for a lot of us, because you want to get so many versions that sound amazing, and then it's just like, well, which one do you pick? So it's a great problem to have. But, yeah, I think that's going to be like, a challenge. Or maybe you put a little mouth. I don't know.
- [41:01]
A
So back to the script writing thing. So have you given up on script writing or are you kind of still doing script writing now? Or kind of. Where is the connection between, like, bring us back. Does AI somehow play a role in the script stuff now?
- [41:13]
B
Absolutely, man. I'm working on BBI Drizzy, the musical right now, so that's a full script that I wrote. I still love the process of writing and screenwriting because it just. It's really fun and I've been doing it for a long time. I just do way more AI stuff now, so I don't have as much time to, like, sit down and really think deeply about a script the way I want to. But that'll never leave, like, the storytelling and the mediums just change. But that's kind of part of my core.
- [41:41]
A
So as someone who has had a massive viral hit, what has it done for your personal brand outside of getting invited to be on lots of stages and stuff? And more importantly, what has it done for your business? Because what I'm trying to get at is just getting lots of views of anything, or is it actually potentially a business opportunity? I want to know what your thoughts are on this.
- [42:05]
B
Yeah, obviously it's definitely a business opportunity because, I mean, it. It generates so much attention to you that, you know, potentially Any product or thing that you can sell, you know, sell for what it's done. For me though, man, I think it just, it exposed me to a lot of people. It made people take me a lot more serious, you know, because they're like, wow, you know, he, he's cracked the code, you know, and not a lot of people have done that. But then I think just personally, it just, it really just confirmed what I've always believed and about myself, and it just allowed the world to see me the way I've always saw myself. Sometimes I think when just being in entertainment, if you don't look a certain part or you don't have certain connections or like you're not really loud and boastful, you can kind of get overlooked. Like, I'm just, I'm Fairly tall, I'm like 6 1, 6 2, but I'm not really the type to just be all like, me, me, me and all up in the face and doing all the different things. So I know sometimes people do. And I'm a fairly, you know, kind person. So, like, people might overlook me. A lot of times it's super mistake on their part, huge mistake. But it happens, you know, Like, I mean, it happened my whole time when I was trying to break through in Hollywood. Like, I would email agents or managers and like, show them a long list of things that I've done and sometimes just never get an email back or never, you know, for whatever reason. But like, I mean, I, I just don't think these people are that intelligent, in my opinion. I'm just being completely honest.
- [43:39]
A
I love it when your work speaks for itself. I mean, that they're coming to you now, aren't they?
- [43:43]
B
Yeah, they're coming to me now, but it shouldn't. Well, I mean, I guess my journey is my journey. But like, if I was an agent or a manager and I saw me in the things that I was doing, I'd be all over me, you know what I'm saying? What I did wasn't a, a fluke. Like, it just, it, it's what I've always done, you know, Like, I've been going viral since I was in my early 20s, but now with these tools, individuals like myself that tend to get overlooked, we, we won't get overlooked much longer, right? It's like, okay, we have to take this person serious because not only are they creative, but they're, you know, they have the work ethic and the mindset to like, just, you know, be a, be a major player, you know, and this is without any big backing of a big agency or any, you know, I'm just able to just. I don't even know if you really need that anymore to a certain extent, because, like, you can find. I mean, they. These institutions still exist and they. There are still a lot of benefit to them, but you can just create without limits now and then all you need is just to find your audience. Once you find your audience, you can have your thousand true fans and just make the things that you want to make for them. And then you don't have to think about. Oh, man. When I was screenwriting, I used to hate having to think about somebody that's going to potentially read this script.
- [45:04]
A
My daughter is a scriptwriter, and she was an intern, you know, and she hated reading scripts because, you know, it's like, it's not a fun process.
- [45:11]
B
Yeah, it's not a fun process, but it's also. It's not, you know, you might not understand the nuances of that story to, you know, and it's not a story for you. So, you know, I used to just hate. I'm like, I would submit my scripts to, you know, these screenwriting competitions or getting feedback from editing. You're like, one, I don't even know who's reading this. And then two, I want to write the stories that I want to write, you know, and so obviously, I mean, again, I've been doing this stuff for so long, and I know intuitively, like, what touches the people I'm trying to reach. Now, it may not be the quote, unquote standard or the proper way to do it to maybe certain people in Hollywood, but I just want the people that I want to laugh. To laugh. And that's same with you. You do a AI Explorer podcast. You know, people that love fishing may not be as intrigued.
- [46:04]
A
I would imagine not. Yeah, 100%.
- [46:06]
B
You know, if you love fishing podcasts, you might not be as intrigued with the AI podcast and vice versa. But that doesn't mean that you don't have an amazing podcast. It's just like, you're not my demographic, so love it. I just, I. I'm really excited for creators in this time period. Cause I just think that, you know, a lot of the underappreciated and overlooked, they will get their day in the sun, you know, and then the individuals that are just, you know, maybe they've been executives and they just been burned out from doing this, like, man, I really just want to tell my stories. They get their day. Like, everybody essentially gets their day in the sun. Now which we all want to be in the sun.
- [46:44]
A
I love it. It reminds me of when the Internet first came out. I called it the great equalizer because it allowed a lot of small businesses to compete with big businesses. And now AI is the next great equalizer because it now allows small creatives who didn't have the budget to go out there and hire musicians or hire video editors or whatever to create incredible content. And I know King Willonius, you're just one of many people that are going to be following in your footsteps. If people and many are getting inspired by your story. If people want to check you out on the socials, which platform is the best way for them to watch your stuff? And if they potentially want to work with you, where do you want to send them?
- [47:19]
B
Yeah, YouTube and IG, they just search.
- [47:21]
A
For King Wallonius on there and they'll find you.
- [47:23]
B
Yeah, King Maloney is. And then my website, kingwalonius.com. that's the best way to, like, reach out to me to make sure I. I get it. Ig. Sometimes people message me on ig, but I just, I get so many messages, messages that, you know, it's. It's hard to get back to everybody. I mean, I'm super backed up now. I gotta build a bot. I have a bot to go through all my messages. But, you know, that, that part is just like. Yeah, just IG and YouTube and then send me a message on kimwan.com in my contact.
- [47:50]
A
Thank you so much for sharing your insights with us today.
- [47:52]
B
Thank you.
- [47:53]
A
Hey, if you missed anything, we took all the notes for you over@social mediaexaminer.com a69. And be sure to follow the show on whatever app you're listening to us on. And if you've been a listener for a little while, I would love a review on whatever platform you're listening on. And share this with your friends. And do check out our other shows, the Social Media Marketing Podcast and the Social Media Marketing Talk show. This brings us to the end of the AI Explored podcast. I'm your host, Michael Stelzner. I'll be back with you next week. I hope you make the best out of your day and may AI help you become more successful. The AI Explored Podcast is a production of Social Media Examiner. This is the year to finally come to Social Media Marketing World 2026. Grab your tickets right now by visiting socialmediamarketingworld info.