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Digital Social Hour
AI is Taking Over Hollywood: Inside The Digital Takeover | Chris Massey DSH #970
01:04:50
🎬 AI is revolutionizing Hollywood and the entertainment industry like never before! Join us for an eye-opening discussion about how artificial intelligence is reshaping the future of movies, TV, and digital content creation.
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- [00:01]
Chris Massey
Country is one of those things. It's like another thing. It's kind of universal as well. A lot of people will say they don't listen to country, but then you put some shit on and they're singing that shit right along with you.
- [00:10]
Unknown Host
Lil Nas X was my gateway in the country. Remember that song?
- [00:13]
Chris Massey
Of course.
- [00:14]
Unknown Host
Oh, my gosh.
- [00:15]
Chris Massey
Who doesn't? Say you don't know that song.
- [00:17]
Unknown Host
You're lying.
- [00:18]
Chris Massey
Like, you're lying.
- [00:23]
Unknown Host
All right, guys, got Chris Massey here today. Thanks for coming on, man.
- [00:25]
Chris Massey
Yeah, man. Had to pull up.
- [00:28]
Unknown Host
Yes, sir. How you liking Vegas?
- [00:30]
Chris Massey
I love Vegas, man.
- [00:31]
Unknown Host
Yeah?
- [00:31]
Chris Massey
I always love Vegas.
- [00:32]
Unknown Host
You a big gambler, huh?
- [00:35]
Chris Massey
I'm not a big gambler, but, like, when I come to Vegas, I like to gamble.
- [00:38]
Unknown Host
Yeah.
- [00:39]
Chris Massey
Because the way I see it is, like, Vegas is expensive as hell. If you want to go get a cheeseburger, it's like 25.
- [00:45]
Unknown Host
For real.
- [00:45]
Chris Massey
So I'm like, I might as well put that 25 on the craps table, you know? That's how I look at it.
- [00:50]
Unknown Host
Perhaps it's the most fun.
- [00:51]
Chris Massey
Yeah, it's fun.
- [00:52]
Unknown Host
You get on a good crab streak. It's. It's invigorating.
- [00:54]
Chris Massey
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Trying to learn baccarat, though.
- [00:58]
Unknown Host
That's the best odds.
- [00:59]
Chris Massey
Yeah, that's the one I'm trying to. Yeah, I'm trying to like all the.
- [01:02]
Unknown Host
Math nerds and Asian people. You'll see.
- [01:04]
Chris Massey
Oh, yeah. Oh, no. I see it all the time. And I'm always kind of like. I'm always scared because, I don't know, I gotta know. It really. Like, craps is really easy for me. It's like, pick a number and you know you're there.
- [01:13]
Unknown Host
Yeah, craps is easy, but it's. It's pretty bad odds compared to baccarat, especially if you're betting, like, nine and, like, all the. All the numbers and stuff. But, yeah, baccarat's the game, man.
- [01:23]
Chris Massey
Yeah, I'm gonna learn it.
- [01:26]
Unknown Host
You gamble out in Florida, where you're up?
- [01:28]
Chris Massey
No, I'm in la.
- [01:29]
Unknown Host
Oh, you're in la. Oh, okay.
- [01:31]
Chris Massey
So neither one of those. Well, LA has casinos, but they don't have, like, the games that I like to play.
- [01:36]
Unknown Host
Yes.
- [01:36]
Chris Massey
California doesn't have dice.
- [01:38]
Unknown Host
Oh, really?
- [01:38]
Chris Massey
No. So, like, matter of fact, me and my boy Malcolm. No Griffin, we went to. What is it, The Commerce Casino or something, and they had a craps, but it was cards. And I was like, what is happening right now? We were. It was like, real craps table, but there's, like, a Dealer that just flips over cards.
- [01:55]
Unknown Host
What?
- [01:55]
Chris Massey
I was like, this is, like, the most cheating way of playing ever. Like, I'm done. I went there one time, and I was like, I'm good on this.
- [02:01]
Unknown Host
That sounds so rigged.
- [02:02]
Chris Massey
Yeah, exactly. It's pretty bad.
- [02:04]
Unknown Host
Damn. Craps with cards. That's not even fun. Because the fun of the game.
- [02:07]
Chris Massey
Yeah, the fun of the game is throwing the dice. Exactly.
- [02:09]
Unknown Host
Because when you throw it, you feel like you have some control.
- [02:11]
Chris Massey
Yeah.
- [02:12]
Unknown Host
Even though you probably don't. Yeah. People have techniques about hitting the wall and stuff.
- [02:16]
Chris Massey
Yeah.
- [02:17]
Unknown Host
But it's all in your head, man. But what else you've been up to? You've been acting.
- [02:20]
Chris Massey
Yeah. Yeah, man, I've been acting. Just did BMF, episode 307. Go check it out. Yeah, that was fun. I got to play a gangster.
- [02:31]
Unknown Host
Oh, yeah.
- [02:32]
Chris Massey
Yeah.
- [02:32]
Unknown Host
Oh, yeah. I've never seen you in that type of role.
- [02:34]
Chris Massey
Yeah, it was fun. Well, I've done it before. There was a show called the Quad. It was on BET years ago. I did. I did an episode there where kind of did something like that. But this was, like, my. This one was really fun. I liked it because BMF is a really Good show. It's 50 Cent show, obviously.
- [02:51]
Unknown Host
Yeah.
- [02:51]
Chris Massey
But it was really cool chance to, like, film that one.
- [02:55]
Unknown Host
Yeah.
- [02:56]
Chris Massey
Because I'm actually a big fan of the show as well.
- [02:58]
Unknown Host
I Love it, man. 50's been crushing it.
- [03:00]
Chris Massey
He's killing it right now.
- [03:01]
Unknown Host
Who would have thought you could transition from music to that and just kill it, man?
- [03:05]
Chris Massey
You know? But it's funny because I tell people a lot of times, like, you know, there's. I think, honestly, truthfully, rap. Most of the rappers that did transition are all very successful. Even starting back with, like, Ice Cube. Right. Like Tupac.
- [03:22]
Unknown Host
Right.
- [03:22]
Chris Massey
You know, I mean, like, it. It kind of goes back to a very. I don't know. It's a. It's a. A lot of people say that, but the formula has worked.
- [03:30]
Unknown Host
It's. It's worked. Lil Dicky.
- [03:32]
Chris Massey
Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Lil Dicky with this show.
- [03:34]
Unknown Host
Yeah. I mean, he's not even making music anymore. He's just.
- [03:36]
Chris Massey
Yeah. And he was really good, too. I always liked his music.
- [03:39]
Unknown Host
I miss him.
- [03:39]
Chris Massey
Yeah. I always liked his music.
- [03:40]
Unknown Host
Have you seen his freestyles?
- [03:42]
Chris Massey
Yeah.
- [03:42]
Unknown Host
Oh, my gosh. Bars.
- [03:44]
Chris Massey
Oh, yeah. He's always. He's always been talented. I mean, you know, it's. I always say, like, most of the white rappers, like, when they can get all the audiences, like, you win.
- [03:56]
Unknown Host
Yeah.
- [03:56]
Chris Massey
Like, when. When everyone messes with you. Across the board, you're in there, it's like you're locked in for sure. Like, Lil Dicky's one of those.
- [04:03]
Unknown Host
He's one of those. Mac Miller was one.
- [04:04]
Chris Massey
Yeah. Oh, yeah. Mac Miller for sure. Sure.
- [04:06]
Unknown Host
Eminem. Who else was white and killing it?
- [04:10]
Chris Massey
I think even G Eazy. Well, yeah, G Eazy. But I got a shout out to my boy, who, you know, he's not. He's not as famous as everyone else, but he's one of my favorite rappers of all time. And he's capo. Capo. I'm gonna send you his music. You gotta check it out. He's from, like, Dothan, Alabama. He's like country, but he's got, like, the sauce and the sweat. He's like, bro, he's so hard, bro. He's like, one of my favorite rappers.
- [04:38]
Unknown Host
Well, dude, there's, like, rap country songs now. Have you seen this with Migos?
- [04:41]
Chris Massey
Yeah, yeah.
- [04:42]
Unknown Host
It actually sounds good.
- [04:43]
Chris Massey
Oh, yeah, man. I mean, country is one of those things. It's like another thing. It's kind of universal as well.
- [04:48]
Unknown Host
Yeah.
- [04:48]
Chris Massey
You know, a lot of people will say they don't listen to country, but then you put some shit on and they're singing that shit right along with you, 100%.
- [04:55]
Unknown Host
Lil Nas X was my gateway in the country.
- [04:58]
Chris Massey
Really?
- [04:58]
Unknown Host
Remember that song?
- [04:59]
Chris Massey
Of course.
- [05:00]
Unknown Host
Oh, my gosh.
- [05:01]
Chris Massey
Who doesn't say you don't know that song. You're lying.
- [05:03]
Unknown Host
Like, oh, my gosh. I used to hate country, but that song was way too catchy.
- [05:09]
Chris Massey
It was a hit.
- [05:11]
Unknown Host
I'm not big on, like, old, like, actual country, though, I'd say.
- [05:14]
Chris Massey
Okay.
- [05:15]
Unknown Host
I mean, like, do you listen to country, country or like.
- [05:18]
Chris Massey
Like, do I put it on on my own? No. But do I, like, listen to it? Like, I'm very, like. I'm very cultured in a way where I listen to a lot of music, man. And it was. I think it was also kind of like growing up on my show. Like, Sean Flynn.
- [05:35]
Unknown Host
Yeah.
- [05:35]
Chris Massey
Who played Chase on my show. He introduced me to a lot of music that, oh, yeah. I would never have listened to in my life. And I became a fan of it. Like, there. There's one group. I always talk about this. There's a group that was called Sigurd Ross. I don't know if you've ever heard it.
- [05:52]
Unknown Host
I've never heard of it.
- [05:53]
Chris Massey
Yeah, me neither. And it's crazy. They're, like, Icelandic. Like, they're from, like, Iceland, and they don't sing, like, melody songs. It's, like, just sounds it's like weird.
- [06:06]
Unknown Host
That's actually cool.
- [06:06]
Chris Massey
Yeah, it's kind of. It's kind of. It's like ambient, like sounds. Like this guy, he makes like these very high pitched notes and like, noises, but it's like, not like, you know, the regular formula, if you would, of music. But it's really good though. Like, I used to like, listen to it on the plane to like go to sleep and shit. It's like weird, but like, you know, I was always like introduced to new music as a kid. So like, my, my palette for songs is kind of like all over the place.
- [06:33]
Unknown Host
Yeah.
- [06:33]
Chris Massey
Like, people get in my car and they're like, bro, we listen to a trap song, Frank Sinatra song, a Whitney Houston song, a Lil Wayne song. I'm like, yeah, I'm like, my brain's kind of like that.
- [06:43]
Unknown Host
So you just appreciate music?
- [06:44]
Chris Massey
Oh, yeah.
- [06:45]
Unknown Host
You just find the beauty in every genre.
- [06:46]
Chris Massey
Yeah. Like, my kids, when they, when they're in the car with me, they're listening to like James Brown, like Ray Charles.
- [06:52]
Unknown Host
I love it.
- [06:52]
Chris Massey
Mariah Carey, Boy Simon. Like, I kind of switch it up. Like, I don't. Especially for my kids, like, they don't listen to like any rap music.
- [06:59]
Unknown Host
I'm with you on that. I think the programming with rap.
- [07:01]
Chris Massey
Oh, yeah. Like, they don't listen. I mean, it's just gotten like so crazily out of hand.
- [07:06]
Unknown Host
Yeah. With the drugs and violence.
- [07:07]
Chris Massey
Yeah. You know, and for me, what I do is I let them hear good music. Good. Like. Cause I want them to understand quality music. So that way when they do hear other stuff, it's kind of like, you know what I mean?
- [07:23]
Unknown Host
Yeah, yeah.
- [07:24]
Chris Massey
Cause that's how I grew up, you know, like, when I grew up, we would go on like trips and stuff with my mom and my dad. And like, my mom would have like all the Boys to men stuff. The Whitney Houston and, you know, Toni Braxton, all this kind of stuff. Like, that's kind of what I grew up listening to, you know, I feel.
- [07:41]
Unknown Host
Did you feel like you had to grow up quick because you were working at a young age?
- [07:46]
Chris Massey
Yes and no. I think we grew up quick in a way that we learned how to communicate with people and adults a lot better than most people. Yeah, but I don't think we grew up quick in a negative sense just due to the fact that, like my dad, both my parents kept me and my brother very grounded.
- [08:08]
Unknown Host
Oh, yeah.
- [08:08]
Chris Massey
Yeah. So like, you know, we would be in la, we would do our shows, we would do all these appearances and all this kind of stuff. And then when we were done, my dad would be like, all right, are we filming? We're done filming. You're done filming. Okay, cool. We're going back to Atlanta. And when we would go back home, we were kids again, so we would be cutting the grass and cleaning the pool and doing chores around the house. And, like, it was. It was. He took us out of that mode of, like, you know, because there is a. It's an interesting world when you're growing up in as, like, a child actor and child star, because you do have the power to, you know, demand pretty much anything at any point from adults, right? Like, you can be like, hey, can you go get me a bag of chips and water? And, hey, I want to order a pizza. Can you give me a pizza? Like, you can do that.
- [09:00]
Unknown Host
Wow.
- [09:00]
Chris Massey
You know what I mean? And it's like, because of the fact that, like, you're the star of the show, this person is here to basically fulfill whatever it is you need or want while you're on set. And my parents did a really great job of saying, like, hey, listen, you know, even when you're on set and we're asking for these things, we were still. Had to be respectful. We still had to be like, hey, oh, thank you so much. You're like, oh, could you please, you know, go get this for me? It wasn't like, go get me a sandwich. You know what I mean? And I've seen it, you know, I've seen it with other people.
- [09:34]
Unknown Host
Yeah, I'm sure you have for sure.
- [09:35]
Chris Massey
Just, like, kind of abused that power. But for us, you know? You know, my mom and dad would check us really quick, like, and especially if it was something we could go get, my dad would be like, no, you go get it right there. What the fuck?
- [09:46]
Unknown Host
I love it.
- [09:47]
Chris Massey
What the fuck are we talking about? Go over there and go grab it, you know? But if it was like, if you're on set and you can't, you know, they're like, we need you to stay here. I could be like, hey, could you please go grab my water for me? Thank you so much. You know, so it was pulling us out of it kind of kept us to where we understood there's a. There's a big difference in, you know, when you're on set and when you're not, right? Because my dad always said, like, look, when you're on your shows and you're on your set, I got it. You're working. But when you leave there, you're my son, you know? I mean, that's your mom, so cut that shit. You know, Basically, like, that stays on set.
- [10:23]
Unknown Host
That's important, man. I feel like a lot of child stars did not have that.
- [10:25]
Chris Massey
Oh, yeah, no, a lot. Yeah, a lot. Now, there were some that were really good as well, you know, like, we grew up with a lot of them, so it's like we got a chance to see who was. Who was who and who wasn't. But I definitely feel like the ones who did kind of have that kind of kept a little bit of the longevity in it.
- [10:44]
Unknown Host
Absolutely. Because a lot of them just can't recover, right?
- [10:46]
Chris Massey
No, it's. And it's sad, you know, because. And a lot of times, I mean, we. We would see and we would know who the ones that were gonna be that.
- [10:58]
Unknown Host
Oh, you knew in advance.
- [10:59]
Chris Massey
Oh, yeah. You could tell because you're like, all right, this is not gonna. This is gonna burn out real quick. I mean, because, you know, you're just, you know, a lot of people were bigger than who they actually were.
- [11:09]
Unknown Host
Ego.
- [11:09]
Chris Massey
In their ego. Yeah.
- [11:10]
Unknown Host
Yeah. That ruins a lot of different things, man.
- [11:12]
Chris Massey
Absolutely. Absolutely. And in this business, you can't have it for multiple reasons, Right. I mean, and I think it's like that with anything, any business whatsoever. But there's always tables that are turning, right? And I've seen it happen where there's this person who's here. He's huge. And this person's here, and this person talking down on this person and on this guy, and now this guy is up there where the ceiling is, and now you're here and you're like, oh, I remember. Oh, that's my boy. And he's like, nah, he used to shit on me like, you're not my boy. Like, you know, and I think that's another cool thing with us is, like, you know, we always root for all of our people that we grew up with and we were around in our era, and when we all see each other, it's always love.
- [12:01]
Unknown Host
Yeah.
- [12:01]
Chris Massey
You know, like, you might not see them every day, you might not talk to them on the phone every day, but when we run into each other in passing, it's just like, oh, my God. And hugs and kisses.
- [12:11]
Unknown Host
And you share that bond, right?
- [12:12]
Chris Massey
Yeah, you share that bond of, like, man, we. We. We grew up in this shit, you know?
- [12:16]
Unknown Host
Yeah, for sure.
- [12:16]
Chris Massey
Kind of cool. So, like, for me, it's fun, cuz, you know, I'll be somewhere and I'll see, like, you know, Miley on a billboard or some shit, or I'll see, like, some of my castmates in a new movie or something. I'm like, oh, shit, look, it's awesome.
- [12:29]
Unknown Host
Yeah.
- [12:29]
Chris Massey
You know, and it's fun. You know, it's always fun and it's always love.
- [12:32]
Unknown Host
I love that. Do you think having your brother throughout the process really helped you, too?
- [12:35]
Chris Massey
Hell, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think it was a. I think it was really cool because my brother and I were like. We also have a kind of a cool record. We're both the only siblings to be nominated for a Daytime Emmy on two different shows.
- [12:54]
Unknown Host
Oh, wow.
- [12:55]
Chris Massey
Yeah. So we both were nominated for Emmys at the time. He was nominated for the Sraven or his show was nominated, and my show Zoe was nominated. So we were both in the. Because most siblings back in our era were on the same shows, right? You get like, Tia and Tamara were on Sister Sister. You get like, Dylan, Nicole, they're on Suite Life. You know, everyone. But we were the only two that were like, yeah.
- [13:17]
Unknown Host
I didn't even think about that. Wow.
- [13:18]
Chris Massey
Yeah. Separate shows, separate networks.
- [13:21]
Unknown Host
Oh, yeah. Separate networks, too.
- [13:23]
Chris Massey
Yeah. So that's pretty cool.
- [13:24]
Unknown Host
That is a random thing, but Yeah. I can't even think of siblings on different shows right now. Holy crap.
- [13:29]
Chris Massey
Yeah, it's. You know, it's. It was. It was a really cool experience because we learned that actually while we were there. Oh, yeah. We were doing interviews and they were like, do you guys know that you guys are the first. We're like, no, we didn't know that. That was kind of cool, you know?
- [13:43]
Unknown Host
So did you know Zoe was going to take off right away?
- [13:47]
Chris Massey
No, I didn't. You know, it was. It's actually funny. I was talking about this recently. I was actually on the set of my brother's show that's a Raven. And I used to. That was like my most fun memories of all time when I was a kid, because that's. The Raven was like, really, like a family atmosphere or whatever. It's like everyone knew each other for years. And so. So I was on the set. I had auditioned for it one day, and I was on set playing basketball or something, and my mom, she came down the hallway, she's like, you booked that show that you auditioned for? And I'm like, really? Oh, okay. Like, you know, and originally I actually auditioned for Chase.
- [14:29]
Unknown Host
Oh, yeah?
- [14:30]
Chris Massey
Yeah.
- [14:30]
Unknown Host
That would have been crazy.
- [14:31]
Chris Massey
Yeah. So I auditioned for Chase, and then I think. I guess they kind of like, created this Michael character for me or whatever. And I was a. I think I had a guest starring role technically on the pilot. And then I guess after they, you know, tested it, when they got picked up, they were like, all right, you're a series regular.
- [14:54]
Unknown Host
Wow.
- [14:55]
Chris Massey
So that was fun. And, you know, when we first filmed it, it was a really cool experience for me because I did a lot of different shows when I was younger as well, like just guest starring roles. Like I did the Parkers. I've done yes, Dear, which is another show that was back then the District. And, like, the Practice, like, it was like a bunch of different little things when we were kids. We just kind of do different shows here and there, you know, like Everybody Hates Chris, shit like that.
- [15:24]
Unknown Host
That was a classic.
- [15:25]
Chris Massey
Yeah, so that was my first role where I had, like, a full time, you know, gig. So for me, it was. It was really fun. But the real cool experience was we were fully on location. So, you know, most of the shows, especially the kids shows at the time.
- [15:43]
Unknown Host
Yeah.
- [15:44]
Chris Massey
Were all on a soundstage. So, like, my brother's show, that's a Raven, Corey in the House, Sweet Life, Hannah Montana, all that were on sound stages. So we were completely on location. We filmed in Malibu. You know, we got the beach.
- [16:00]
Unknown Host
Yeah, that campus was beautiful.
- [16:02]
Chris Massey
Yeah. Like, right, we're at Pepperdine. We got, like, the full campus. And so that was the really cool part. But when I realized it took off was the second year, when we went back to film the second season at Pepperdine, because we filmed in the summer, so there were a lot of camps and stuff like that where people would send their kids for the summer camps.
- [16:26]
Unknown Host
Yeah, yeah.
- [16:27]
Chris Massey
So those kids were our demographic. So that's when it got, like, hectic. You know, there would be, like, you know, fans trying to come up and see the cast, and we would go to have lunch. And where we used to eat lunch at the cafeteria used to be, like, super quiet. And now there's, like, screaming girls there. Yeah. So it got like. It was like a full, like, turnaround from the first season to the second season. And that was when I, like, realized, like, okay, this thing is pretty, pretty big, dude.
- [16:56]
Unknown Host
Every kid watched our show. Damn. Three seasons, right?
- [17:00]
Chris Massey
No, we did five.
- [17:01]
Unknown Host
Oh, five.
- [17:01]
Chris Massey
Yeah. So I think on paper it might be four, but, yeah, I think we. One season was, like, 20 something episodes. So the first two seasons were 13 episodes.
- [17:14]
Unknown Host
Got it.
- [17:15]
Chris Massey
And then the third. And the third season also was, like, 13. And then the fourth season was, like, 23 episodes. So they kind of, like, stretched it.
- [17:24]
Unknown Host
Got it. Got it. And the movie, too, right?
- [17:26]
Chris Massey
Yeah, and then the movie.
- [17:26]
Unknown Host
Got it.
- [17:27]
Chris Massey
Yeah.
- [17:28]
Unknown Host
So were the opportunities Crazy. After that show, were people just knocking at your door left and right?
- [17:33]
Chris Massey
Yeah. And yes and no. So, like, there's a. There's like a really a fine line when you're a child actor, right? So there's, like, the moment you're done. Like. So for. For instance, for my show, we were done when I think I turned. Or I was about to turn 18. I think we, like, ended on, like, the end of 2007. And then, like, 18 is when, like, my birthday's in January, so maybe a few months later, I was 18. So, you know, from 13 years old is when I started to, like, 17 turning on 18. It's like, now you're in that transitional stage, right? So you're getting your money. You're, you know, you're finding yourself, right? You're, like, dating girls and you're doing, like, now you want to be, like, outside with your friends and have fun. So there were a lot of opportunities that were kind of, like, presented, but there was also, like, this other side where you're just like, I kind of want to just, like, hang out and, like, kind of like, you know, because you gotta understand for what, I guess all of my high school and, like, in the middle school, all those years I was on set.
- [18:51]
Unknown Host
Right.
- [18:52]
Chris Massey
You know, so it's like. And then when you're not on set, you're still constantly auditioning and you're, you know, you're doing this award show and you're presenting this award here, and you're going all these, like, different things and functions. And so it's like, it was constant. It was never just, when you're on set, you're. Every day is something. Right? So, like, we used to do autograph signings. That was like, back in the days.
- [19:15]
Unknown Host
Yeah, back in the day, people cared about autographs.
- [19:17]
Chris Massey
Yeah, exactly. Right. Like, we used to sit. And I'll never forget, it would be like, you know, we would do, like, there was a thing called the Ronald McDonald foundation with McDonald's, and we would have the whole entire Universal backlot. And they would just have every single kid that was on a TV show would be there. We would sign autographs for, like, basically all day.
- [19:41]
Unknown Host
Your hand would be falling off.
- [19:43]
Chris Massey
Yeah. Like, you know, just. I mean, literally stacks of, like, headshots. And we were just like, you know, we're sitting next to each other. Like, is your arm tired? Like, my shit's done. Like, you know. But those used to be some really, really fun times, man. Like, I think. I think that the culture of film and television Kind of has obviously swayed away from, like. I mean, most shows don't even do 20 episodes anymore.
- [20:14]
Unknown Host
It's like five to 10.
- [20:15]
Chris Massey
Yeah. Like, most shows now, you're, like, getting a good, like, five to eight, honestly. Yeah, we're being honest. But even the top ones, 10 might be max a season. So I think we kind of were the end of, like, that golden era of, like, television where, you know, people come up to me all the time and they're like, man, you're my childhood, man. Like, you were my childhood. And I'm like, that's a really cool, warm thing to, like, hear. But it kind of sucks because, like, my kids, they don't have, like, shows like that, you know?
- [20:45]
Unknown Host
Yeah.
- [20:46]
Chris Massey
Like, you know, my. My oldest is nine, and, like, I took her to the Kids Choice Awards last year, and I was like, she's gonna be so excited. She's gonna get to see her favorite, you know, people or whatever. And she was like, all she wanted to meet were influencers. That was it. Like, not one. Like, I think there was one or two girls that were, like, on a show, I think, like, Henry Danger or something that she wanted to see. But, like, everyone else was, like, influencers.
- [21:17]
Unknown Host
Crazy times have changed. My Cartoon Network just went under. Did you see that? Yeah, like, a couple weeks ago.
- [21:23]
Chris Massey
Wow.
- [21:23]
Unknown Host
So I wonder how these networks are going to adapt, because now people watch stuff on Netflix and Hulu, and.
- [21:28]
Chris Massey
Yeah, man, I think it's good. But I also think that what I truly believe is they need to bring back sitcoms. Right. Like, I think that all of your streaming platforms, they're going with the fact that people are. They're trying to change kind of the. The. The landscape of film and television. But I really do believe that sitcoms were, like, something that people looked forward to. Like, you know, and obviously, maybe the format can change up a little bit.
- [22:01]
Unknown Host
Yeah.
- [22:02]
Chris Massey
But I think people, like, don't get me wrong, there are a lot of great shows that people watch, and they love to watch them. But something about that sitcom and that live audience, that just did something, Right. Like, because when my brother show, for instance, that's a Raven, they filmed in front of a live audience.
- [22:19]
Unknown Host
So I didn't know that.
- [22:21]
Chris Massey
Yeah. So that was like.
- [22:22]
Unknown Host
So those laughs were real.
- [22:24]
Chris Massey
All real.
- [22:25]
Unknown Host
I thought they just edited those in.
- [22:26]
Chris Massey
That was all real.
- [22:27]
Unknown Host
No way.
- [22:28]
Chris Massey
And it was a. It was the most fun experience. And I think that was why, as a kid, I really enjoyed being on that set. Because my show filmed, like, most shows film now. Right. You're just on Set filming, you go home. But on my brother's show, they would. They would do a table read on Monday. So they would go out and they would have. You would get there early on Monday. All the cast, whoever's. The guest stars will be there. We would all sit in a big room, big table. The producers, the writers, the cast, the director, they all sit there and they would read the episodes fully through the entire episode. So they go from start to finish with everyone reading their roles, right? So then Tuesday comes around. They block. They just say, like, okay, you're gonna come in through here. They go on the set and they kind of block through the shots. Wednesday, they do the same thing, rehearse. Thursday, they film, and then on Friday, they bring in a live audience. So on Fridays, that used to be my. That was my most fun because I used to love just being a part of it because it was such a unique experience where, you know, your favorite TV show, you could go sit in the audience and watch them film it, right? So, you know, you got people that are, like, super crazy fans, all this. They're in there, they get a chance to, like, be right in front of you. And it's like a play.
- [23:51]
Unknown Host
Yeah, almost.
- [23:52]
Chris Massey
Right? And for me, I felt like that was, like, a very warm part of television that has been, like, kind of taken out of the equation. Right? And I feel like with Netflix and Hulu, you guys are. It's still big enough to where a great sitcom will still work. You know what I mean? Where you could have people come in, sit in the live audience and watch it. Because some of the funniest moments happened while you were on set watching them film, you know, because as a director or as the producers, they would go off the laughs, right? So you might have wrote something that was funny. And let's say Raven did this joke four times, and people laughed, but they didn't really. Now Raven does something that no one wrote down, and the entire audience goes crazy. They're laughing. They're. They're falling out their seats. And then the director goes, we're using that.
- [24:46]
Unknown Host
I love that. So it's kind of improv.
- [24:48]
Chris Massey
Exactly. Oh, yeah. A lot of it was improv.
- [24:49]
Unknown Host
Wow.
- [24:50]
Chris Massey
Oh, yeah. A lot of it was improv, for sure. Like, and a lot of the great shows that we watched back in the day, some of the funniest moments were improv that they kept because of the fact that you wrote something down, it was funny. But what this person did was a little bit funnier. And it was a unanimous decision. You couldn't go in there and go read it how it's on the paper. Because guess what? This person just trumped what you wrote on that paper.
- [25:16]
Unknown Host
Yeah.
- [25:16]
Chris Massey
Because now everyone is screaming, laughing, they're like. And then now the director might go, hey, do that again. Try one more time. Do it one more time. Just like that. She does it again or he does it again and it's funny and everyone laughs again. And they're like, all right, we're keeping that. Scratch what we had at first. Just keep that. It's gonna be a part of it.
- [25:33]
Unknown Host
Facts.
- [25:34]
Chris Massey
So I think it also helped with the creativity of television.
- [25:39]
Unknown Host
Yeah.
- [25:40]
Chris Massey
Because now everything is so by the book. Everything is so scripted to the point where it's like, stick to the script. Stick to the script. Because guess what? You don't have that backing of the audience. You don't have that backing of, like a raw moment where no one was expecting it and everyone died laughing.
- [25:58]
Unknown Host
Right.
- [25:58]
Chris Massey
And you were forced to put it in there, you know, because that was a really cool thing too. And I think that's why even with me, like, when I did bmf, I improv a few times in there. And, you know, a couple of the actors who were there were kind of like him, you just saying whatever the fuck you want to say. And I'm like, but I came from that. That era where it's like, look, alright, this is cool. But, like, this is how I would have did it, or this how I feel like it should be said. And, you know, and one of the cool things about that is when you watch the show and you sit back and, okay, you watch it for the first time, you go, let me see what they kept and what they didn't keep, you know, and then you watch it and you go, okay, I created that line. That line didn't exist. I said that shit on my own. And then you realize, like, okay, you know, that's what, to me is really truly the art of film and television. Absolutely is being able to express kind of your feeling of how you would want this to be interpreted. You know, Like, I watched a thing the other day about Denzel's line in Training Day, the King Kong ain't got shit on me. And their director, Antoine Fourqua, says, that was completely unscripted.
- [27:17]
Unknown Host
No way.
- [27:18]
Chris Massey
It wasn't in the script.
- [27:19]
Unknown Host
Wow.
- [27:19]
Chris Massey
Right. And. And those are those things where it's like, when you. When you come from that side of the film and television side, you understand, like, those are the best moments because you can't. You, you know, who would have thought that while they just had the cameras rolling, he just said this. You know, I mean, and. And not only him just saying it, but that being the most iconic line of the entire movie. Right.
- [27:43]
Unknown Host
You can't write that.
- [27:44]
Chris Massey
You can't write that. So it's like, those are the things that I pride myself on is, like, just trying to be a little bit different. Like, obviously, you know, you stick to the script as much as you can. And, like, you know, and. And also knowing when to back off. Right. That's a lot of people don't have, like, knowing like, okay, you're trying this and the shit's not working. Like, leave it alone.
- [28:05]
Unknown Host
Yeah.
- [28:05]
Chris Massey
You know, I mean, like, that's another skill that a lot of people need to adopt is like, okay, look, you could try it out, but if it's not working the way it should work, leave alone.
- [28:15]
Unknown Host
Yeah.
- [28:16]
Chris Massey
Go back to what it. You know, what's on paper and, you know, and, like, I just try to give it kind of a variety of things sometimes when I'm in there.
- [28:23]
Unknown Host
Absolutely. I love that. Seems more natural, too. It's like, oh, yeah, it's from the heart. Why do you think studios stopped going away from live audiences?
- [28:33]
Chris Massey
I don't know. I think it may be a mixture of a lot of things. Probably liability.
- [28:41]
Unknown Host
Maybe people are getting riled up.
- [28:43]
Chris Massey
Well, no, I mean, like, we never had any bad instances on our sets or anything like that. But, I mean, I think that nowadays, like, for some reason, I feel like people are a lot more afraid of people.
- [28:56]
Unknown Host
Maybe Covid did it.
- [28:57]
Chris Massey
Covid is one thing, but just. I don't know. I mean, maybe like, all these, like, school shootings.
- [29:03]
Unknown Host
Yeah.
- [29:04]
Chris Massey
Kind of, like security risks and stuff as well. But, like, I'm not sure what it is, but that feeling, man, was like. It was something about it that was just amazing.
- [29:15]
Unknown Host
Yeah. Sounds incredible.
- [29:16]
Chris Massey
I mean, because you. Even if you think back to the old days, like, I Love Lucy, it was the same thing. Like, that was black and white television, but it was still a live audience who were sitting there watching this person act out these things, and they're dying, laughing in the audience. And it also created kind of, like, this security in the fact that, like, oh, this is funny. Right? Like, when you hear the laugh track go off, you get your laugh kind of out of it almost, Right?
- [29:45]
Unknown Host
No, it makes you laugh.
- [29:46]
Chris Massey
It makes you laugh. Like. Right. Because you're. Or sometimes even me as a kid, like, I remember not knowing sometimes you'll hear a joke that you probably didn't get like, kind of went over your head, but you see everyone else dying laughing. So I guess that's funny. Like, I guess that's funny. Like, why is that funny? You know, so it's like you kind of. It kind of teaches you, like, what's what. And, like, I don't know. I don't know why they did it, but I think, truthfully, if they brought it back, I think it would create such a cool, nostalgic moment for people.
- [30:16]
Unknown Host
I agree.
- [30:16]
Chris Massey
Because even towards the end of a lot of shows, a lot of sitcoms, they were starting to use the laugh track. So you weren't wrong on the fact that, like, oh, I thought they just put that in there. But it was only towards the end of, like, got it. The sitcom era, when they went away from live audiences.
- [30:36]
Unknown Host
Yeah, yeah. Something special about they. They might be worried about just social media leaks. Like, with phones.
- [30:42]
Chris Massey
That part too.
- [30:43]
Unknown Host
Because when I went to the Kevin Hart show, they made us lock our phones.
- [30:45]
Chris Massey
Yeah, yeah. They do that a lot in Stand Up.
- [30:47]
Unknown Host
Oh, yeah, yeah.
- [30:48]
Chris Massey
Well, because they have to. Because for one, a lot of comedians, you know, they work on their material in a lot of different places. So, you know, one person leaks it, and it's like, I heard that jerk already. You know, that's kind of why, you know, because when they're going to city to city to city, they're saying the same jokes, right? And you're a new audience, so you're like, oh, my God, this is hilarious. But he said it in Houston, Louisiana. You know, so when it leaks, if it leaks on the Internet and everyone watches the whole thing, it's like, all right, we've seen your set now. Yeah, now you got to switch it up.
- [31:21]
Unknown Host
I feel that. Would you ever do stand up?
- [31:23]
Chris Massey
I do it.
- [31:24]
Unknown Host
Oh, you do it?
- [31:24]
Chris Massey
Yeah.
- [31:24]
Unknown Host
Oh, I didn't know that.
- [31:25]
Chris Massey
Yeah, stand up. I work a few places. There used to be a place on Sunset that I used to do the Sunset Rooftop with. My boy Cameron Tory, that's Joe, Tori's son. He's a great up and coming comedian as well. And then I also work out of uptown comedy in Atlanta.
- [31:47]
Unknown Host
Okay.
- [31:48]
Chris Massey
So, yeah, my boy Daryl Quick down there, he. He always calls me up. He's like, hey, man, what you doing, man? I'm like, I'm chilling. What's up? Bring your ass down here, man. Come on, get on stage.
- [31:57]
Unknown Host
Oh, so you. Nice.
- [31:58]
Chris Massey
Yeah. Cause he actually, like, I went to do one where I was like, kind of like, you know, I want to try it out because people always tell me like, bro, you're funny as hell, bro. You need to do standup. So I went up there and did it, and I purposely went up without any material.
- [32:15]
Unknown Host
Wow.
- [32:16]
Chris Massey
Right? So I was like, you know what I'm gonna do? I'm just gonna go up here, I'm just gonna talk shit, and I'm just gonna, like, just be myself and see if that will get laughs. Because I think the main thing that I incorporated into my stand up is we learned a lot of things when we were young. One being know your audience, right? So I've always remembered that as a kid. And I kind of put myself in a position where I'm like, okay, well, look, if I go up here, like, I'll. I'll literally sit in the back and just watch everyone. I'm looking at this guy, this lady, how she's drinking her drink, how many drinks this person ordered, how much food this person ordered, all this shit. And I'm just like, okay. I'm like, all right, I'm gonna talk about this guy. I'm gonna. I'm gonna ask this lady a question. She looks interesting, right? And I'll just. And I'll. What I'll do is I'll go up and I'll go off of that, right? And then I'll kind of. I may have a few things in my head talk about, right? Or like, maybe like, something about the city or something like that. But that was how I started. So now I'm gotten a little bit more seasoned to where I'm like, okay, now I'm writing material. Because Darrell, the guy I'm talking about in Atlanta, he. He runs that club there.
- [33:28]
Unknown Host
Yeah.
- [33:29]
Chris Massey
And he basically was like, yo, man. Like, he was like, you're naturally funny, but in order to take it to the next level, you gotta write some jokes. So I'm like, all right, cool. So now that's what I, like, really pride myself now on, is writing the jokes, setting up the punchlines, dropping them. And then when you see you first get that feeling of, like, starting it off, you get to the middle, then you get to the laugh, and it's like, it works. Then it's like, all right, this shit's kind of addicting.
- [33:56]
Unknown Host
I love that.
- [33:57]
Chris Massey
Right? You know, it's kind of fun because it's a really hard thing to do to make people laugh, and especially different audiences. Oh, right. So for me, what I learned, like I said, knowing your audience is some. I've watched some comedians have a bad situation, right? Or a heckler, you know, something. Or like, the Audience starts booing them. I've never been booed.
- [34:23]
Unknown Host
Nice. Knock on wood, for sure.
- [34:25]
Chris Massey
But I've learned, and that it's about knowing. Knowing your audience. And some people will have set jokes ready to go, right? But they won't look out and see who their audience is. And that's where you shoot yourself in the foot, right? Because essentially, it's like being, you know, a quarterback and not reading a defense.
- [34:50]
Unknown Host
Right, right.
- [34:51]
Chris Massey
You're gonna get fucking blitzed, like, and. And that's what it is. So, like, some guys will come out like, oh, man, I got this shit I've been working on. This is gonna be funny. I'm talking about fucking, you know, single moms. I'm joking. Cracking on single moms.
- [35:06]
Unknown Host
Yeah.
- [35:06]
Chris Massey
Guess what? Your fucking audience is 90% single mom, right? And then you're. Now you're saying jokes, and they're like, that shit's. Now you got someone in the back screaming at you, and you're like, oh, I thought this was gonna work. Or, you know, you're making. You know, you're making, like, a bad race joke or something. Or you're talking about a certain group of people and you're not looking at who's in the audience. So for me, I've. I've always stayed kind of away from mostly racial. I don't do, like, racial shit. I don't do too many.
- [35:39]
Unknown Host
There's someone getting canceled for that right now. Yeah, Andrew Schultz. Yeah.
- [35:43]
Chris Massey
Yeah, but exactly, right? So some people. And don't get me wrong, right, I do feel like comedians and a lot of comics do feel as though comedy should be a raw expression where you should be able to express yourself in any way. But it's also the environment that we're in. Things change, right? That's why you got, you know, a lot of comedians that had fucking specials that came out in the 80s had to come out and apologize. Hey, man, like, I didn't mean what I said back then. Shit's changed now.
- [36:13]
Unknown Host
Certain words you can't use.
- [36:15]
Chris Massey
Yeah. Certain words you can't use. So it's like, you know, just like I said, knowing your audience, knowing that times are changing, you know, you can, you know, you can say whatever you want, but there's consequences and repercussions for everything. So, you know, when people like, oh, there's freedom of speech. Well, yeah, there's always freedom of speech. You can. Your mouth can open up and say ever the fuck you wanted to say. But if I were you, I would make sure it was something that's not gonna get you canceled or have someone looking at you in a way where they're like, yo, what the fuck was that about?
- [36:44]
Unknown Host
Yeah, you know, the old tweets thing. I mean, because certain words were normal 10 years ago, so I'm not a fan of people getting canceled over 10 years old tweets.
- [36:51]
Chris Massey
Absolutely. You know, that's true. I mean, man, you know, it's. But it's. It's kind of ironic that, like, the world that we live in now, it's like, you know, you get especially. You know, who I feel the worst for, though, honestly, are like the. The very old people, right? Like, the people that are, like, their 80s and, like, they're like 90s and shit. Like, I, like, I kind of feel bad for them in a sense, because, yo, this person can't help it, right? Like, if you're like, if you were 85 and something, and you were racist in the 50s, like. Like, no Instagram or Twitter is going to stop you from being racist now. Like, you know what I mean? It's kind of like. But I do feel like it's a. It's pushing in the positive direction where nowadays you have, you know, everyone's kind of mixing and mingling a lot more than they were back then, obviously.
- [37:42]
Unknown Host
Right.
- [37:42]
Chris Massey
It's like, it's not the same as it was the segregation era. It's not the same as it was during, like, the Jim Crow era. So, you know, clearly in the next 50 to 100 years, you know, I feel like the word racism will not be around.
- [37:57]
Unknown Host
I hope so. That'd be cool.
- [37:59]
Chris Massey
Yeah, I don't think. I don't think so. Because, you know, it's too many black kids with a white mom, and there's too many white kids with a black dad, or.
- [38:08]
Unknown Host
Yeah, by then everyone will be mixed, Right?
- [38:09]
Chris Massey
Yeah, exactly. There's too, like, there's my mom's Asian, my dad's white, or my mom. Like, it's way too much to, you know, to go backwards.
- [38:19]
Unknown Host
Right, Right.
- [38:19]
Chris Massey
Like, I think, you know, back in the day, I mean, you had people who hated the Vietnamese just because we went to war with Vietnam.
- [38:27]
Unknown Host
Right, Right.
- [38:27]
Chris Massey
Like, they never met a Vietnamese person. They were just like those goddamn Vietcong. Right? Like, they didn't. They didn't know. They just know what they saw in the media.
- [38:35]
Unknown Host
Right.
- [38:35]
Chris Massey
And I think that nowadays we live in an era where people question the media and people combat the media and they go, what the. That doesn't make any sense. Right. But back then, it was like, if it was on TV. They were like, oh, well, it's all. It's on 60 Minutes. It's got to be true. But now I think people are going to go fact check things and they're 100, you know, they're gonna, you know, you got social media and those guys who are like digging up everything. Like, no, that's not true. You know, so, yeah, the fact checkers. Yeah, the fact checkers, man. Like, you know, it's a. It's a different time that we live in and I think it's. I think it's going in a better direction than when we ever came.
- [39:14]
Unknown Host
I'm a fan of it. Have you been canceled yet?
- [39:17]
Chris Massey
No.
- [39:18]
Unknown Host
Well done.
- [39:19]
Chris Massey
Yeah, right? Yeah. I hope never to be canceled, but like, you know, I think it's all about just like steering clear of a lot of shit. And sometimes like, me and my brother were just talking about this. We were very fortunate to have training at a very young age where it's like, watch what you say.
- [39:44]
Unknown Host
Yeah.
- [39:44]
Chris Massey
Watch what you do. Watch who you hang around. Right? And I think what's going on right now is there's a lot of people that are getting a lot of money, a lot of influence, but they're not getting a lot of knowledge on how to maintain it, how to keep it. Right, Right. So, you know, there's a big difference in talking with your boys when you're fucking saying whatever you're saying in the comfort of your own home. There's a big difference when you're a streamer and you have cameras, you know, on, and you're in your room and you're talking with your boys, you're saying some shit that probably is not good for your stream.
- [40:24]
Unknown Host
Yeah, right.
- [40:24]
Chris Massey
And I think that's what's happening a lot too is people are filming so much shit to the point where there's no real on and off switch. Right?
- [40:33]
Unknown Host
Yeah.
- [40:33]
Chris Massey
Like, I think like for you, right, let's say even in your situation, you come here, you set your stuff up, you sit down, you turn it on, right? Yeah, there's a big difference in like, I see like a lot of these influencers are like, I'm gonna stream for 20 hours straight. Like, bro, you don't think you're gonna slip up once in there? Like, you know, I mean, like, you don't think you're gonna like, do something that someone's going to be like, hey, yo, like, yeah, what was that? So it's like, you know, sometimes I think it's just best to like, some people to like, take it and take it in spurts, you know, like, do what you got to do. Get off of it. Go back to reality, you know, do your stream, do this, do whatever. But kind of give yourself time to like acclimate and go, okay, well cool, like that's done. Now I'm back over here. You know, I think the cameras and everyone's faces kind of like it. It increases the chances.
- [41:27]
Unknown Host
Oh, yeah.
- [41:27]
Chris Massey
Of you slipping up 100.
- [41:30]
Unknown Host
There's streamers that do 24 hour streams.
- [41:32]
Chris Massey
Yeah, I mean, like, come on. Like, you know, there's people who do that and then they're like, they may smoke weed. And they're like, oh, that streaming service doesn't allow you to smoke weed. And it wasn't even them. It was just their boy that was like, oh, what's up, bro? He comes in there smoking. They're like, he just got my stream shut down. Yeah, because he didn't know. He just walks in like, oh, I thought we were just chilling for real. I didn't know you were streaming right now.
- [41:53]
Unknown Host
Like, you know, there was one where a guy walked in a public restroom and he brought the camera in there and got banned.
- [41:57]
Chris Massey
Exactly right. It's like. So I think that's, that's a, that's a tough little gray area for like what, the influencer? Because you know, now the influencers are, they're influencers, but they're pretty much like celebrities these days, right?
- [42:16]
Unknown Host
They're like what you were back then.
- [42:17]
Chris Massey
Exactly. Yeah, exactly. And, but going back to the training, it's like, but we knew how to be like, okay, look, you know, someone puts a camera in your face, you're not going to be fudgeing, talking about something crazy. Yeah, but a lot of these kids nowadays, they're just saying what's on their mind, saying like whatever the fuck they want to say. And then they're like, oh, you can't cancel me for that. I was just speaking what I want to say. Yeah, well, that's not how you do it here.
- [42:41]
Unknown Host
You know, I think the problem with streamers also is they have to constantly impress and one up their last stunt.
- [42:47]
Chris Massey
Yeah, man. Yeah, I seen one where they're like, I think what is. It was Kaiser and I when he like barely, he. His friend set the fireworks off. Oh yeah. And I'm like that. It was, it was funny. But at the same time, it's like, you know, when you're influencing younger kids, you get some kids who may not understand that there was a guy with a fire. Fire extinguisher on set.
- [43:11]
Unknown Host
Right.
- [43:11]
Chris Massey
Or there was a guy who was there to make sure this place didn't burn down. Right. And then you're gonna get the next kid who's gonna go do that at his mom's house, he's gonna burn that down. And then they're gonna be like. And then guess what? It's gonna flow back somehow some way to you. Right. So I think that the responsibility of a lot of them should just be like, look, you know, even just throw a disclaimer up.
- [43:34]
Unknown Host
Yeah.
- [43:35]
Chris Massey
Hey, everything you're seeing right here is not, you know, this is, you know, because a lot of people believe a lot of things that they see now. Yeah. And I think it's important to differentiate what's real and what's like something for the entertainment of my stream or of my, you know, 100% channel.
- [43:52]
Unknown Host
Did you see Ishowspeed jumping over the moving car?
- [43:54]
Chris Massey
Yeah, that was crazy.
- [43:56]
Unknown Host
Yeah, but kids are gonna think they could do that.
- [43:58]
Chris Massey
Of course they're gonna be in the hospital. Their parents could be like, where did you get a dumb ass idea like this? And they're gonna be like, oh, I watched it last night, you know, which is. Yeah, but you know, I commend those guys, man, because at the end of the day they're, they're creating something out of pure entertainment. They're, you know, they're, they're owning their own shit. They're putting it all together just like you, man. I commend you as well, everything that you're doing. Because at the end of the day, everything always changes. It always moves in a different direction. And with you guys being on the forefront of it, it, it gives a lot of people hope to say, hey, you know what, there's other things that I can do to make a living. There's other ways that I can like show my talents, you know, and it's not, you know, it's not always exactly like how our parents grew up.
- [44:49]
Unknown Host
Right, Right.
- [44:50]
Chris Massey
Because back, let's just say shit, 30, 40 years ago. I mean like if you were a 15 year old or a 10 year old or like, let's say 50 years ago, if you were a 10 year old or a 15 year old, you're getting like army brochures, you're getting, you know, fucking, you're going to the Marine Corps or you're going to learn, you know, this or do this or go to school and do this. And like nowadays you got kids who are like 10, 12 years old. Like I want to be an influencer, right. I Want to have a YouTube. I want to have my own podcast. I want to have, you know, so those are really cool things that will create, you know, a lot more influence, I believe, in the future than any other thing else.
- [45:31]
Unknown Host
Yeah, I agree. It's a new era for sure. I was on your Wikipedia, said you got married in Vegas. True.
- [45:36]
Chris Massey
Yeah.
- [45:37]
Unknown Host
Did you do the overnight wedding?
- [45:39]
Chris Massey
It was like. Yeah. Yeah, One night.
- [45:41]
Unknown Host
Oh, yeah.
- [45:41]
Chris Massey
Walked in there and just did it.
- [45:42]
Unknown Host
No way.
- [45:43]
Chris Massey
Yeah.
- [45:44]
Unknown Host
That's crazy. See, my previous guest did that too. I didn't know people actually did that.
- [45:47]
Chris Massey
Well, you know, it's so funny, man. Like, I never, like, I never. I'm one of those people who. I always wanted to do that.
- [45:56]
Unknown Host
Yeah.
- [45:56]
Chris Massey
Because I always saw like that in movies and shit like that. And I always thought that was so fun. Fun and like, cool too. Like, but like, one day I'll probably have like a real, like, wedding and like, really, like, get married. Married. But, like, I just did it because it was like, fun.
- [46:11]
Unknown Host
Yeah. Your wife was down. She's like, let's do it.
- [46:14]
Chris Massey
Yeah.
- [46:14]
Unknown Host
How drunk were you guys?
- [46:16]
Chris Massey
Not that drunk.
- [46:17]
Unknown Host
Not.
- [46:18]
Chris Massey
Not that drunk. Like, I mean, we're pretty, like. I mean, we were drinking, but like. Yeah, not. Not too faded. And I remember it was. We went there and then it's so funny because she actually said that. It was later on we found out, like, that's where I guess Elvis. No, not Elvis. Travis Barker and.
- [46:39]
Unknown Host
Oh, Kardashian. One of them.
- [46:40]
Chris Massey
Yeah, one of them. That's where they got married too.
- [46:42]
Unknown Host
Wow.
- [46:42]
Chris Massey
That's where they got married. I'm like, oh, we went there. We did it first. But clearly we weren't the first.
- [46:48]
Unknown Host
That's wild. How worried are you about AI? Because now they're saying AI is going to replace actors. They're going to license their image and likeness and then replace them.
- [46:56]
Chris Massey
Yeah, man. Yeah. Trippy. Yeah, it's very trippy, I think. I mean, you know, not just actors, right? So I think AI is really insane because I've seen some shit in the past few weeks where it's like, even with music, right? Like, you can type in, I want to make a song about falling in love. And they will literally create a song that's like completely license free of a love song.
- [47:28]
Unknown Host
Wow.
- [47:28]
Chris Massey
And I'm like, this is gonna put a lot of people out of business. Not just actors or think, but like songwriters, right? Music producers, script writers. They got them for scripts now, right?
- [47:42]
Unknown Host
Yeah. There was that strike, right? The writer strike.
- [47:43]
Chris Massey
Writer strike. And that's what it's about. But I think that if, you know, the higher ups, if we're being honest, the higher ups will do this. This is what I believe will end up happening. I believe they'll still keep a few people on payroll, right? To say, hey, look, we're going to keep a few writers here and there. We're going to keep this person here and there. But what they're going to do is they're going to start comparing things to this, right? And say, which script do you like better, this one or that one? And when people go, I like this one, the more people that choose the AI version, it's gonna fuck up a lot of things.
- [48:21]
Unknown Host
Yeah, yeah.
- [48:21]
Chris Massey
Because now it's. It's to the point where you don't know what's real anymore. There was an Instagram page that I followed, and it, like, blew my mind. I was like, I'm looking at the photos and I'm like, this girl is, like, perfect.
- [48:38]
Unknown Host
Yeah.
- [48:39]
Chris Massey
I'm like, I'm liking the picture. And then I go, I look at it again. I'm like, is this real? So I sent it to my boy Griffin. My boy Griffin Fields, he. He's always ahead of everything. He know he works in the industry. He tells me, like, all the shit before it's gonna happen. He's like, yo, AI is about to do this. They're doing this with the AI and all this. I said, it's him. And I said, bro, is this real or is this like. He's like, no, bro, that's AI.
- [49:02]
Unknown Host
No way.
- [49:03]
Chris Massey
I said, you're lying, bro. I'm talking about, like, beach videos.
- [49:07]
Unknown Host
Like, what?
- [49:08]
Chris Massey
The water running up against her. Like. Like, it's like the. And it looks so real to the point where I had to, like, look at it a few times. And, like, I said it to him. He goes, no, bro, that's a I. And I'm like, imagine that, right? Like, now you're. Now you're going to a space where you're going to augment reality in real time, where people are going to be like, they're never going to know what's real and what's fake anymore, right?
- [49:32]
Unknown Host
Some of these actors are making millions. So from their point of view, I could see why they would want to replace them with.
- [49:36]
Chris Massey
Absolutely, absolutely. Because guess what? Now I can license your face and pay you pennies on the dollar, right? I mean, technically, I'm not paying you, but use your face, name, image and likeness and do the same thing.
- [49:50]
Unknown Host
They're saying they're going to do that with Dead people, dead artists, dead actors.
- [49:52]
Chris Massey
Oh, yeah. And that's why I think a lot of these college guys need to be weary of the nil deals.
- [49:58]
Unknown Host
Yeah.
- [49:59]
Chris Massey
Because, you know, we learned at a very young age, like, your name and your image and your likeness is a very, very, very, like, sacred commodity. Right, right. And I think that everyone got blinded by the dollar to the point where they're like, oh, these guys are getting paid now. They got their nil deals. They're all getting paid. And it's like, that's not how you want to get paid. Right. Because the nil is your name, image and likeness.
- [50:28]
Unknown Host
Yeah.
- [50:29]
Chris Massey
Right. Which means, in a sense, you can really kind of, once you own that, or let's say they own it or they lease it for whatever amount of time. That means that in this realm of this new generation of AI, that person who has the rights to that name, image, and likeness can do whatever it is that they want to do with it. Because you have to look at it the same way as, like, you look at a song. Right. Whoever owns the. The masters and the rights to a song can go license it to a toy company. They can go license it to, you know, a TV show. They can go license it to wherever they want to go do it, because they own it. Right. They own the masters. They own it. It's the same thing with your face and your name and your image.
- [51:13]
Unknown Host
So they could just use it in ads and everything.
- [51:15]
Chris Massey
Absolutely. Absolutely, they could. And especially when you add AI to it, you throw. Put a body. Throw the face on there. Go ahead. Yeah, pay us whatever you want.
- [51:25]
Unknown Host
Voice is the easy part.
- [51:26]
Chris Massey
Oh, yeah, the voice is very easy because, I mean, now, you know, it's. It's a very wicked game. Right? Like, that's just a. That's a touchy subject because I feel like, give it five to 10 years, you're gonna start seeing lawsuits. You're gonna start seeing these guys.
- [51:46]
Unknown Host
They already started the Drake songs.
- [51:48]
Chris Massey
Yeah. They're going to start coming after these people like, yo, you know what? Like, you guys got my face on this. I didn't get paid for this. And they're going to be like, oh, we don't have to talk to you. You forgot your name and your image and your likeness. You signed away for half a million dollars.
- [52:04]
Unknown Host
Yeah, right.
- [52:05]
Chris Massey
Like, if I came to you right now and I said, look, I'll give you a million bucks, but I want your name, Sean Kelly. I want your fucking face and your likeness, which is literally your height, your ears, your glasses. I want all this shit to be mine for a certain amount of time. If you don't think that I'm gonna be hustling like fuck to put that shit everywhere that I can during that time period, then you're out of your mind.
- [52:30]
Unknown Host
That's wild.
- [52:31]
Chris Massey
You're out of your mind. And that's why in music, when you hear these people say, like, I want to own my masters, or, oh, like, trying to get my masters, or, oh, I own my masters. I tell people all the time, I said, you know, the record companies have that shit in a chokehold for a reason. Right. People think that music makes money on the. On the radio. They don't understand the real severity of, like, when someone owns your masters, like, they can go take your song, put it in a fucking toy. They can go put it in a movie. They can go put it anywhere they want. And guess what? When you hear a song in a movie, someone's getting paid, Right?
- [53:08]
Unknown Host
A lot.
- [53:09]
Chris Massey
When you. Yeah. There's deals to be made. Like, there's not. It's not. Just like someone said, oh, yeah, you want to use it? Go ahead. No, someone's sitting down and there's someone on the phone saying, hey, I'm gonna use it. We'll use, like, 15 seconds of it. How much? Those artists are never seeing that money.
- [53:25]
Unknown Host
Really?
- [53:25]
Chris Massey
Most of them are not.
- [53:26]
Unknown Host
Wow. Yeah. I saw Lil Wayne dealt with this, right?
- [53:28]
Chris Massey
Yeah. Most of them are not seeing the money due to the fact that the labels, like I said, they own it. Right. It's the same way with your name, image, and your likeness. Right. That's the reason why Prince changed his name from Prince to the symbol. Right. It was because he said. Okay. He found a loophole. Okay, you guys own Prince. So now I'm gonna be the artists formerly known as Prince, right? Yeah. I mean, yeah.
- [53:53]
Unknown Host
Taylor Swift did this, right?
- [53:54]
Chris Massey
Yeah.
- [53:55]
Unknown Host
She made a whole new album.
- [53:56]
Chris Massey
Yep.
- [53:57]
Unknown Host
And change a few words.
- [53:58]
Chris Massey
Yep. Because at the end of the day, it's like they've been. They've been doing this because the system has been there for years, has been before we were born. People were being screwed out of, you know, shit before. Right. So I think now, I think more people are just being aware and hip to it. And I think social media also helps. Right. Where people can go out and talk about it, and it spreads like wildfire when you hear that your favorite artist is, you know, trying to find out where their money is.
- [54:25]
Unknown Host
Yeah. It seems like more of them are going independent, right?
- [54:27]
Chris Massey
Oh, yeah. Yeah. Most of them are either halfway there or And a lot of times, that's why they're not getting the big push that we're used to seeing from them. Right. You used to, like, you know, like, let's say you just said Wayne. Like, when Wayne used to drop, it was like, everybody knew Wayne's dropping way. This is his album's coming out. But it's like, when you go independent now, you're depending on that core fan base because you get the lion's share of the money. But now you're not getting the machine behind you anymore.
- [54:59]
Unknown Host
Right.
- [55:00]
Chris Massey
You know, because the machine is what keeps. Keeps you at the top of the. The charts, is what keeps you in the front of the headlines, is what keeps you, you know, getting nominated, you know?
- [55:11]
Unknown Host
Yeah.
- [55:12]
Chris Massey
It's like, it's what keeps you in the public eye.
- [55:14]
Unknown Host
So you got to kind of pick your side, right?
- [55:16]
Chris Massey
Yeah, you pick and choose what you want to do. But I think that sometimes it's best for people to sit back and. And really understand the business side of it, because the business is where it's at.
- [55:30]
Unknown Host
Yeah.
- [55:30]
Chris Massey
Like, there was a. There was a toy I bought my daughter one day was a. When she was like, really little. It was like one of those rolling kind of trucks things. She like. Like a ATV type thing. She rolls on. She hit a button, and it played like a Bruno Mars song, really? On the. On the toy. And I remember saying, like, do you know how much Money, just that 24 karat song being played for, like, five seconds on this toy, how much that deal was worth? Right. And when people, they think like, oh, they sold this amount of records, they sold this amount, that's all the normal fans and normal people of the world, that's all that they associate with how much money you make off of a song. They associate it off of, like, oh, they sold 2 million records. That's the number that they just dangle in your face because they want to keep people. Oh, you didn't sell that many records. Okay. But the song was on every movie song was on this soundtrack song was in this toy. Because you gotta understand, in order for that toy company to put that song in there, there had to be a licensing deal. Someone had to be on the phone, someone had to sign off, someone had to give a number.
- [56:45]
Unknown Host
Yeah.
- [56:46]
Chris Massey
Someone had to agree to it. And then they had to go, okay, that's fine, go ahead. But meanwhile, your artist is somewhere going, I didn't see that. You know, and that's why a lot of them are finding out about records and stuff. They're like, yo, my song is in this movie. I never got a check from that.
- [57:02]
Unknown Host
Crazy.
- [57:02]
Chris Massey
You know. Yeah, because we. We did a. We used to do a lot of sync deals and stuff back in the day with this guy, Mason Cooper. Really great, man. We used to go to his studio in the Studio City or like Valley Village, and we would go in there, we would record songs with them, and he really taught us how to put, you know, the records in. Into movies, TV shows. And still to this day, you know, some days I'll get a check.
- [57:31]
Unknown Host
Wow.
- [57:32]
Chris Massey
In the mail. That'll just be like, you know, from this film or, you know, this movie played this amount of times. And. And then also David McKenzie, man, he was another person. We put. We put songs in a few television shows and projects that we did, we worked with together. So we were. We were schooled by the OGs.
- [57:52]
Unknown Host
That's good.
- [57:53]
Chris Massey
Kind of like, yo, this is how you do this. This is how you can, you know, always have a little bit of flow of know if you're. This movie does a lot or someone watches it, you get paid.
- [58:03]
Unknown Host
Yeah. So is it similar in the entertainment industry where the guys making it are making a majority?
- [58:11]
Chris Massey
Yeah, but I think that in the entertainment industry, as far as, like, television and film, it's a little bit more. It's a little bit more even playing field, Right. Because, you know, we've seen a lot of artists who've. Who are very famous, right. And they're bleeding in a way of they can't get their album out or they can't get the funding, or the label is saying, oh, we paid you for your first album, and, oh, it didn't do well. But like, in television and film, everything is very direct, right. So it's like, that's another reason why I kind of got out of the music side of stuff because I kind of took a break from acting and really focused on music for a very long time.
- [58:56]
Unknown Host
Yeah.
- [58:56]
Chris Massey
But what I started to notice is you have a lot of artists who are very talented, who have very great songs, but they can't put it out. Right. Like you. I mean, you've seen. We've all seen it where we're like, yo, why isn't this person dropped yet? And they're like, blame the label all the time. The label won't fucking let me drop my records. And they're like, you know, and they're. They're. The artist is just as upset as we are. Right. But I think the cool part about the film and television side is once you're on A television show, you know how much money you're getting paid, like, you know how many episodes you're doing. You know, your only limbo is just, are we coming back for another season? Right. Like, so that's another reason why I kind of went back to it and was like, you know what?
- [59:40]
Unknown Host
More steady.
- [59:41]
Chris Massey
Let me stick with what I know. And what's definitely more steady now, obviously, it's still a industry where you have to kind of be chosen unless you create your own films or something like that. Like, that's why. That's what I'm working on now. So I've written, like, three or four scripts.
- [59:59]
Unknown Host
Nice.
- [60:00]
Chris Massey
And I'm just in the process now where, like, the ownership of saying, hey, look, I know all of the actors and actresses that are in the top shows right now, you know, because I grew up with all of them, Right? So it's like, now we're all kind of coming together. We're on conference calls, like, yo, I need you, you and you for this movie. I want you for this show. Let's. Let's all come together. We all produce it. We all put our heads together, you know, to get a good producer. Get this. Because now it's like, we're. We're in an era now where you can create and you can say, okay, look, you know what? I don't have to go in and pitch this a hundred times to the network. I can go straight to my guys and go, hey, let's shoot this shit and. And then we'll pitch it.
- [60:44]
Unknown Host
Yeah.
- [60:44]
Chris Massey
You know, or put it out on our own and see what kind of traction it gets.
- [60:48]
Unknown Host
Because some of the networks have lost their power. Right. People are going to streaming services, so.
- [60:52]
Chris Massey
Absolutely. And a lot of it is his going from just some of the people that are higher up that are just not paying attention to what's going on. You know, I mean, it's just like with music. I mean, you got fans that are begging for a little Uzi album, you got fans that are begging for a playboi Carti album, or you got fans that are begging for a new Taylor Swift album. And you have these people, these artists that are fighting battles for themselves, wanting the same thing. They want to put it out for you.
- [61:27]
Unknown Host
Right.
- [61:27]
Chris Massey
And they're fighting the same battles that you guys are. And most of the fans don't know. They're blaming the artists.
- [61:33]
Unknown Host
Yeah, yeah.
- [61:33]
Chris Massey
They're like, yo, we've been waiting for fucking four years for this shit. And they're like, yo, it's not up to me. You know, and, and I think that it's. I think it's unfair that a lot of them kind of, they still have that mindset when realistically, as a, as a label or as any other entity, if you could sit back and go pump this shit out, I'm sure you. Everyone will be happy. Right? On, On. On all sides.
- [61:59]
Unknown Host
Yep.
- [62:00]
Chris Massey
And because a lot of times, I mean, now it's, it. It's nowhere near as expensive as it used to be to roll out a project. Right? Like, I mean, shit, we. You can go put a movie out and say, hey, look, I'm gonna pay you and like five other influencers to talk about it and create a buzz. Right?
- [62:20]
Unknown Host
You don't need billboards anymore.
- [62:21]
Chris Massey
Yeah, that spreads like wildfire. We're not paying $5 million to have a billboard on Sunset and this and that and that. Right. Like as, as it used to be. Right. Like, I remember there was a place on Santa Monica. It was a building that had a humongous Apple Apple advertisement for years. For years. And the guy who ended up selling the building, he was like, the, the new owner wanted to keep the Apple logo there. And the guy goes, no, I'm buying another building and that. My deal with them is moving to that building. You're not getting that deal. So he's like, he just sold him the fucking building. He's like, no, you don't get the advertisement space on the outside. Like, that's, that's separate. Yeah. He's like, no, you can have the building, though. Enjoy.
- [63:08]
Unknown Host
Like, that's crazy.
- [63:09]
Chris Massey
But, you know, so now, you know, you don't have those. You know, it's, it's way easier to pay someone. Like, speed.
- [63:16]
Unknown Host
Oh, I'd rather pay speed. 100k.
- [63:17]
Chris Massey
I'll pay you 100k to say this movie's coming out in October.
- [63:21]
Unknown Host
That would convert so well.
- [63:22]
Chris Massey
It will converse way faster. And then you're going to get real time feedback, right? You're going to get like literally instant feedback where you're not having to go through, you know, days and days of. No, you're gonna see people gonna be like, that looks trash. Or they're gonna be like, yo, I can't wait to see it.
- [63:40]
Unknown Host
I've never bought off a billboard personally.
- [63:42]
Chris Massey
Exactly. Right? So it's like, that's the era we are in now.
- [63:46]
Unknown Host
Yeah.
- [63:46]
Chris Massey
I mean, you get a. People are more. I mean, you'll see an Instagram ad that might make you go and go on Amazon before you see something on a billboard.
- [63:55]
Unknown Host
Oh, 100. Yeah. Chris it's been cool, man. Where can people keep up with you and your next project?
- [64:01]
Chris Massey
Okay, so my next project is a film that I'm working on that I'm also gonna direct. I'm not gonna star in it. Probably just gonna do a little cameo in it. But it's a horror film. It's really cool. Great cast. That's. That's my main focus right now. And you can also catch my episode of BMF, episode 307, fun little thing. But my Instagram is. Chris Massey, TMB. Yeah, man. It was a pleasure seeing you.
- [64:33]
Unknown Host
It was blast.
- [64:34]
Chris Massey
Dude, you gotta come. I gotta come back, man. Do it again.
- [64:36]
Unknown Host
Yeah, we're. Do it again. We're gonna ball.
- [64:38]
Chris Massey
Yeah, yeah. That's another thing.
- [64:39]
Unknown Host
We're gonna hoop.
- [64:42]
Chris Massey
Make it happen.
- [64:43]
Unknown Host
Oh, yeah. All right. Thanks for watching, guys, as always. See you next time.
- [64:45]
Chris Massey
Yes, sir.