Episode 2 w/ Young Guru

Summary

ROC Solid with Memphis Bleek – Episode 2 Featuring Young Guru

Release Date: June 17, 2025

In the second episode of ROC Solid, hosted by Memphis Bleek and featuring his close collaborator Young Guru, listeners are treated to an in-depth exploration of their intertwined careers, the inner workings of the Roc-A-Fella empire, and personal anecdotes that highlight their enduring brotherhood in the hip-hop industry.

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1. Introduction and The Roc Nation School Partnership

The episode kicks off with Memphis Bleek welcoming Young Guru to the show, emphasizing their deep-rooted connection within the Roc-A-Fella family. Bleek introduces the Roc Nation School, a collaborative initiative with Long Island University (LIU), aimed at fostering education in music, technology, entrepreneurship, and production.

• Memphis Bleek [02:00]: "Yo, you already know. We back with another exclusive live episode of Rock Solid."

Young Guru elaborates on his role as the director of the school, ensuring that the programs remain under the Roc Nation banner while granting students a legitimate bachelor's degree from LIU.

• Young Guru [02:03]: "So we put three different majors in there, you know what I'm saying? So I'm in charge of music, technology, entrepreneurship, production."

This partnership not only solidifies Roc Nation's commitment to education but also paves the way for the next generation of hip-hop talent.

---

2. Formation of Brotherhood and Early Collaboration

Memphis reflects on how their bond strengthened over time, crediting various individuals who played pivotal roles in their partnership, particularly L'Oreal and engineer B. Stanley. These connections were instrumental in shaping the trajectory of their careers and the pivotal projects they undertook together.

• Memphis Bleek [03:05]: "If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't even know my brother right here."

Young Guru reciprocates the sentiment, acknowledging the life-changing impact Memphis had on him.

• Young Guru [03:05]: "Like l' Oreal, you know what I'm saying? Changed my life like crazy, bro."

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3. Touring Tales and Studio Dynamics in Miami

A significant portion of the conversation delves into their experiences touring, especially in Miami. They recount lavish parties, recording sessions, and the challenges of managing budgets. The duo reminisces about their time recording at GOO House, juggling studio work with personal responsibilities.

• Memphis Bleek [06:25]: "We done recorded everywhere. My G, like. But just think, we gave them a free album, bro."

They narrate the story of an all-white party in Miami, highlighting their camaraderie and the lengths they went to secure outfits and manage expenses.

• Young Guru [07:11]: "Cause Chronic eclectic, they was like, yo, we having an all white party tonight."

The narrative takes a dramatic turn as they discuss an incident on September 11th, where unexpected events unfolded during their Miami tour, intertwining personal stories with broader cultural moments.

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4. The Evolution of Studio Practices and Production Philosophy

Young Guru and Memphis delve into the intricacies of studio work, contrasting their meticulous production methods with the "good enough" approaches prevalent today. They stress the importance of quality equipment, a well-designed studio environment, and the relentless pursuit of excellence.

• Memphis Bleek [26:54]: "Everything is off. Everything is wrong. It's just like how pain are walking. And no, the pain is not right, bro."

Young Guru echoes this sentiment, lamenting the decline in craftsmanship and the rush to produce without honing the craft.

• Young Guru [27:46]: "It's like in the 65 on the test. Yeah, I passed."

This discussion underscores their commitment to preserving the legacy of Roc-A-Fella’s golden era through disciplined production techniques.

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5. Influential Figures in Hip-Hop: J Dilla and MF Doom

The conversation shifts to honoring legendary producers like J Dilla and MF Doom. Young Guru shares personal stories about his interactions with them, emphasizing their unique contributions to the music industry.

• Memphis Bleek [30:14]: "Every producer pays homage to J Dilla."

Young Guru recounts his memorable session with J Dilla, highlighting the producer's unparalleled talent and influence.

• Young Guru [30:35]: "I sat there with Dilla, and me and him just rolled up all day, smoke you know what I'm saying? He was making joints and I was just like, yo, this dude nice. Like, dumb nice."

They also discuss MF Doom's innovative rhyme patterns and his distinct style, showcasing his impact on their own artistry.

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6. Navigating Relationships and Conflicts within Roc-A-Fella

Memphis and Young Guru address misconceptions about internal conflicts within Roc-A-Fella, particularly the perceived rivalry between producers Bink and Justin.

• Memphis Bleek [32:00]: "I know somebody kept it a stupid."

Young Guru emphasizes his efforts to mend relationships, advocating for unity over conflict.

• Young Guru [33:13]: "It don't play the right no, not even that, not even that."

They advocate for collaborative efforts, suggesting a hypothetical "A versus B" scenario to celebrate both producers’ talents without fostering grudges.

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7. Personal Anecdotes: Near-Death Experience and Global Tours

The duo shares intense personal stories from their global tours, including a harrowing near-death experience in Gabon and unforgettable culinary adventures in Japan.

• Memphis Bleek [66:43]: "Yo, I died in Korea. Yo, I died in Korea."

Young Guru recounts the chaos during a performance in Taipei, highlighting the unpredictability of life on tour.

• Young Guru [74:32]: "They locked us in the club that day."

These stories not only provide a glimpse into the high-stakes environment of a hip-hop tour but also reinforce their resilience and deep trust in each other.

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8. Mentoring the Next Generation and Preserving Hip-Hop Culture

Towards the end of the episode, Memphis and Young Guru discuss the importance of mentoring young artists and maintaining the integrity of hip-hop culture. They emphasize staying true to oneself, fostering loyalty, and the significance of a cohesive team in creating authentic music.

• Memphis Bleek [80:16]: "Culture, integrity. Staying true, you know, and believe what you believe."

Young Guru adds that culture transcends mere music, highlighting its role in shaping societal norms and personal identities.

• Young Guru [80:26]: "It's about culture. That's it. That's it. That's all you gotta do."

They express optimism about the future, hinting at the possibility of a Roc-A-Fella reunion tour.

• Memphis Bleek [86:18]: "Oh, you heard it here first, baby. Rock solid. You know what it is? We remain absolutely boom."

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9. Concluding Thoughts: Legacy and Future Aspirations

As the episode wraps up, Memphis and Young Guru reflect on their legacy, the enduring impact of Roc-A-Fella Records, and their aspirations to continue influencing the hip-hop landscape. They encourage listeners to stay true to themselves, uphold integrity, and actively participate in shaping the culture.

• Young Guru [80:35]: "You let them be them. Please. Because that's the advice."

The episode concludes on a high note, reaffirming their commitment to the hip-hop community and the values that have sustained their careers.

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Notable Quotes

• Memphis Bleek [05:00]: "We gotta tighten up. So we moved the session everything to GOO House."

• Young Guru [13:00]: "Free came back with them smokers. Cause only record me and Beans did was hypnotic."

• Memphis Bleek [26:54]: "Everything is off. Everything is wrong. It's just like how pain are walking."

• Young Guru [80:26]: "It's about culture. That's it. That's it. That's all you gotta do."

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Final Thoughts

Episode 2 of ROC Solid offers a rich tapestry of stories, insights, and reflections from two stalwarts of the hip-hop industry. Memphis Bleek and Young Guru not only shed light on their personal journeys and the evolution of Roc-A-Fella Records but also impart valuable lessons on maintaining authenticity, fostering loyalty, and nurturing the next generation of artists. For fans and newcomers alike, this episode serves as a compelling testament to the enduring spirit of hip-hop culture.

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Stay solid. Stay Roc. 🎙🔥

Transcript

[Memphis Bleak]

This is an iHeart podcast. What up, y' all? This your main man, Memphis Bleak, right here. Welcome to Rock Solid, a production of iHeartRadio and the Black Effect Network in partnership with my guys over at Drink Champs. Big whipping. Yeah, Memphis, I'm back at it. Notice the difference. Just more grown. Prezi. No stones. What it do, y' all. You already know. We back with another exclusive live episode of Rock Solid. Here. Got my brother in the building. My ace boom comb. You know, everybody know HOV is my guy. But where, if it's ever anybody that's close to HOV in that position is this guy right here, my brother, Young. Go. Welcome to the show. You know, you more than Rock Solid, My G. My G. I mean, good to see you, man.

[Young Guru]

Good to see you.

[Memphis Bleak]

How you been, man? I know you've been all over the world. No Beyonce tour, Jay Z secretly recording. You know what I'm saying? It's a lot of shit going on with my man Young Goo.

[Young Guru]

Yeah. You know what it is? You know what it is? Bleak.

[Memphis Bleak]

Then you got the Roc Nation school. Yo, they don't even know my guy principal in these streets, man. Yo, you say yo. Yo, hold on. Yo, they be sitting. They get to the dean office, man. You gotta. You gotta what you.

[Young Guru]

I'm the director. I'm the director. So we. You know what I'm saying? The same thing is, like, we always giving back. You know what I'm saying? So we put everything that we do underneath a Roc Nation. We put it basically in Long Island University in Brooklyn, right across the street from Juniors.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yep, yep. Shout out Juniors. Shout out bk. That used to be the LIU University. Shout out Ho for too much fucking money.

[Young Guru]

Nah. But we. We put three different majors in there, you know what I'm saying? So I'm in charge of music, technology, entrepreneurship, production. It's called mtep, right? It's a. It's a track that we got. Basically, when you come to the school, it's still going to liu. It's still going to college. You get a bachelor's degree.

[Memphis Bleak]

Oh, okay. It's still liu. Hope just partnered up.

[Young Guru]

Okay. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Same thing as if, like, say you went for nursing. You know what I'm saying? You would go to liu, but your school would be Nursing. This is the same thing. You go to liu, but your school is Roc Nation. You know what I'm saying? So we got the music. We got a vocal track, so vocal performance. And we also got the same thing we do with the management. So we have a sports management, and the sports management actually has a bachelor's and a master's.

[Memphis Bleak]

Y' all hear that, man? Got kids, man. Coming out of high school. The Roc Nation school. Hit up my man Goo. You know, I mean, Principal Goo. Y' all seen Lean On Me? That's how he walking the halls. But we all right. We gonna dive into all of that. I want to really get started this one off. Cause you my bro, and we been through. Pardon me. We've been through so much, man. Talk about how we first linked up, how this brotherhood, you know? I want to give a big thanks to my girl l' Oreal, you know what I'm saying? If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't even know my brother right here.

[Young Guru]

No, that's. That's. That's a key factor. Like l' Oreal, you know what I'm saying? Changed my life like crazy, bro.

[Memphis Bleak]

And I remember how it happened. Shout Out B. Stanley, you know what I'm saying? He was the engineer. He had something popping off that day, and he called out. And I remember l' Oreal running in. She like bleak. I got another engineer. He from Delaware, but he in D.C. right now and all that. He ready to pull up. I think he was at Daddy's house at time at Puff Studio. And I was like. I. I was like, yo, all right, cool. Do he know how to. Do he roll up? Do he smoke? She like, I believe so. I'm like, all right, well, tell him. Pull up and go came through, man, and changed my life. Changed the history and trajectory of Rockefeller, bro.

[Young Guru]

It's crazy that you say that. Cause it's like, I always wanted to ask you. I always say that in interviews, you know what I'm saying? Like, it's no secret. You changed my life, bro. You know what I'm saying?

[Memphis Bleak]

I appreciate you saying vice versa. Because you made me understand being a more professional in the studio. You know what I mean? Like you, Shang. Rest in peace, Kamel.

[Young Guru]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

You know what I'm saying? Like, that. That trilogy and Baseline, man, y' all carved the way of how I go to the studio today and record. It's like. I don't know.

[Young Guru]

I don't know what it was, but I was like. I always tell people. I was like, man, like, I got. My man was. You know, I don't know what it was. He was sick or he was having a baby or something like that. And when me and you got together on that first session, I was just like. We just clicked.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yep.

[Young Guru]

Super and you basically saying, I'mma call GOO back, I want him again. You know what I'm saying?

[Memphis Bleak]

Every day. And then hov stole you, you know what I'm saying? Hov stole my plug, you know what I'm saying? Now he hov engineer. It's all good. That's my bro. But, yo, from there, we went on tours. We did. Yo, bro, we done did million, countless sessions, man. Like, to the point. I remember when. When we found out we were spending too much money in baseline.

[Young Guru]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

When we finally went over the numbers.

[Young Guru]

But listen, it be hard sometimes. Pause. You know what I'm saying? It'd be crazy sometimes when you go to the A R meeting. And it was a real story where, you know, I'm sitting in front of Jay, I'm sitting in front of la, and they like, yo, Goo, you spent this amount? How I'm getting my money back?

[Memphis Bleak]

Exactly.

[Young Guru]

And that's when I was like, oh, man. Like, yo, I came straight to you. Like, yo, you gotta come to my house.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yep, we gotta tighten up. So we moved. We moved the session everything to GOO House. He had the studio just like this studio set up in the crib, in the shed. I remember all the kids, young, coming in. My G had to go out, change pipe, change diapers, make bottles in the middle of the sessions. But we were so ahead of time, you know? Cause a lot of these artists now record theyself. We was doing this 20 years ago, almost now. You know what I'm saying? I remember we thought that we were going to get the budget. We did everything. We calculated all the money, how much we spent, featured all this. Everything. Me and Goose in there like, yeah, rock, rock. I don't think it was still Rockefeller at the time. Yeah, they owe us, xyz. Hope GOO brings the, you know, invoice. The hove they booked us. End of the story is they robbed us with no gun. Them said, yeah, I ain't got no llc. Yeah, I ain't got this.

[Young Guru]

We was young. We didn't really know what it was, but, like, it was crazy just putting that together and the history that we did. Yo, bro, like, that was the. That was the crazy part. Like, from. From baseline to the crib, to the.

[Memphis Bleak]

Crib, to rock the mic.

[Young Guru]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

To everywhere. We done recorded everywhere. My G, like. But just think, we gave them a free album, bro.

[Young Guru]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

Five, three, four. So they talking about where the money coming from, how they gonna get their money back. Y' all recoup the first day it hit the stores. Yeah, they ain't Spend no money. Like, yo, that was one of the illest things then. Me and my G, I remember when we first got our money, we in Miami. I think this. When Jay first met B, they was having. We was having the all white party.

[Young Guru]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

We let everybody shopping. This is the real Miami.

[Young Guru]

You gotta tell. You gotta tell the whole story. Because it was like, people think we get the invites 10 days early.

[Memphis Bleak]

Oh, no. We got the invites that morning.

[Young Guru]

So that morning, hov, and specifically through Karleen, was like, yo, we having an all white party tonight. I was like, we in Miami. I don't got no all white.

[Memphis Bleak]

Exactly.

[Young Guru]

So I had to go out and remember, figure out the outfit.

[Memphis Bleak]

There was no stores in Miami like it is today. This is where Miami just was. One Ralph Lauren store on the corner. And by the Lowe's Hotel, they just had. I think it was kfc. That was it. Then you had to go way out to Dolphin Mall or the swap meet. I think we all went to the Purple Label store.

[Young Guru]

Nah, it was crazy. So I went out. You know what I'm saying? We get the shoe. Get your little. But you can't just get white pants. You gotta get the linen. You know what I'm saying?

[Memphis Bleak]

Miami Scarface.

[Young Guru]

But I'm six' five.

[Memphis Bleak]

They don't got all that in my G size. We had to improvise.

[Young Guru]

So you do what you do.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's right.

[Young Guru]

That night, it was crazy because it was like, yo, we started at one spot, went to us, right? And it was like we wanted in two different spots. Hold on. But we walked in, they had everything on trays. They was like, yo, you know, you want to drink, smoke, you want to. Whatever it was. We was chilling. We had to. You know what I'm saying? A little spot. Then Jay and LeBron get up.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah.

[Young Guru]

And was like, yo, we gonna go to the club.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yep. This LeBron rookie year.

[Young Guru]

Rookie year.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yep.

[Young Guru]

We walked down the street. It's 75 people were all white on all white. So we get to the front of the club, and the promoter was like, who with y' all? Everybody in all white.

[Memphis Bleak]

Everybody in all white. Yo, we went in there, shut it down. Skein even was there. Clue, everybody, man. But I'm just thinking about before the day even started when we was looking for our outfits. I remember me and you. This is like our first time touching some real paper. And I remember we all chilling, walking through, and we bought them dumbass Lockmans. Yo, yo, my G. Like, we literally went in the store and like, it. Let's grab These.

[Young Guru]

I don't know what it was. It was just like, I'm with you. I'm with the crew.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yep. Free. Everybody was there be.

[Young Guru]

And we was getting it. So it was just like, yo, what you want? Five, ten for this watch?

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah.

[Young Guru]

Nothing.

[Memphis Bleak]

It's nothing. We was, like, swiping. We good. Everybody bought like it was nothing. You, Freeway, Petey, Crack, even bought one that day.

[Young Guru]

All in the same day.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, everybody bought a Lockman. And I believe that watch went out of style soon as we brought it.

[Young Guru]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

As soon as we walked out of store, the Lockman went out of business.

[Young Guru]

That was the fun we was having, man.

[Memphis Bleak]

Word up. We was young, wilding, man.

[Young Guru]

The Miami trips, you know what I'm saying? Like, that the month we spent in Miami, that was a brotherhood. That was like. We couldn't. You know what I'm saying? We can't replace that, yo.

[Memphis Bleak]

But now that is a budget. We blew. We blew that budget. Cause we went to Miami for the Beans and Bleak album.

[Young Guru]

Okay? So slow up, though. Slow up, slow up. Cause I always tell people this. Cause I'll be like, yo, the Miami trip started. It really started with the party. No, hold on. It started with your brother getting hurt.

[Memphis Bleak]

Oh, yeah. Yes. Yes, yes. And then shout out, Dre.

[Young Guru]

Yes. And then we said, yo, we're gonna move everything down to Miami, and we gonna go to Circle House. And we locked out circle house for 30 days.

[Memphis Bleak]

That was the worst, y' all. It's the worst and the best studio ever invented at the same time. If you can have your worst place and best place be in the same.

[Young Guru]

Place, Shout out to a bb.

[Memphis Bleak]

Shout out bb. Because that studio spoiled us, bro. Remember in Baseline, only hov had the studio budget where they got the bottles of Chris or whatever they drinking, saying the worst.

[Young Guru]

Because it was too. It was too crazy.

[Memphis Bleak]

Luxury. We didn't know. Like, we come to the studio, y' all got chefs, this, the pool, the Jacuzzi. We young. We got young females breezing through all day, like, record right now. We damn near Rockefeller Porn at this point. Like, we try to make no records. I might need them to holla at us.

[Young Guru]

Crazy.

[Memphis Bleak]

So we basically blew the budget. But one. One thing I gotta say, I always said this Freeway took full fucking advantage, right?

[Young Guru]

Nah. Yo, what was crazy was we was down there, and you was working, Beans was working. But y' all was working at opposite times. Cause Beans and, like, you were super early.

[Memphis Bleak]

Seven in the morning, eight in the.

[Young Guru]

Morning to get my money. You know what I'm saying? And And I would tell people, like, Bleak would be at Baseline by, like.

[Memphis Bleak]

Nine in the morning. That's right.

[Young Guru]

Beans would call me at, like, 11, 12 at night.

[Memphis Bleak]

It won't show.

[Young Guru]

Be like, yo, yeah, yeah. I'm coming from Philly. You know what I'm saying? And be there, too.

[Memphis Bleak]

All night.

[Young Guru]

That was like. We seen it in Miami. So then Freeway was like, after three, four days, he look at Justin, be like, yo, like, you giving all the beats. The Beans and Bleak, I can't get nothing. So we was on our way to the strip club.

[Memphis Bleak]

I remember we used to.

[Young Guru]

Right?

[Memphis Bleak]

That's what we did.

[Young Guru]

We was in Miami, we on our way to the strip club. And Freeway was like, yo, come on. Just like, let me get something. And he cooked up Rock the mic right there. And that's when it flipped to Becoming a State Property album.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yep. Free came back with them smokers. Cause only record me and Beans did was hypnotic.

[Young Guru]

Yeah, but that's still. Still. We got records. Yeah, y' all did more than that.

[Memphis Bleak]

We got a couple unreleased Beans and Bleak records that just never came out. We just never dropped it. We never finished the project. Nothing.

[Young Guru]

But you made me argue you into Hypnotic.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yes. Cause I. Yo, that's the illest. Cause I ain't even want to do that.

[Young Guru]

Yeah, you didn't want to do the beat. Nope.

[Memphis Bleak]

Beans had.

[Young Guru]

That's another beat that I was like, yo, Bleak, you gotta do this beat.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yep. It wasn't Til Beans set the whole tone. Remember, Beans had the studio. Dark candles burning. I come in there. Everything hypnotic. I'm like, oh, wait a minute. Yeah, now I feel the vi. Let's go. And I did my verse. And then when HOV came and he heard it, he like, I gotta get on this. Y' all niggas is bugging. I need PC of this.

[Young Guru]

Now, that was the first time. That trip, too, when he came down was the first. Cause we were shooting a video for. For Beans. I forget which record it was, but that was the first time. Like, I think. No, no. Cause he was starting a meeting, and he was, like, trying to ask why you and Bean's album wasn't done.

[Memphis Bleak]

We wasn't doing no record.

[Young Guru]

So he didn't start the meeting until I got there. He was like, yo, what's going on?

[Memphis Bleak]

They don't know, man. We spent so much money in that studio, man. Circle House. I think y' all done came up off us, man. Y' all might owe us a free session at this point. One on the house. Like, come on, man. Yo, then Right.

[Young Guru]

They showed us love. A BB showed us love. And. And. And what's crazy is that the last day of our organized session, like, say you pay for 30 days, was 9 11.

[Memphis Bleak]

Damn. That's crazy. Cause I went home that day and.

[Young Guru]

Goo me and just was trapped in the studio. And the bb and the BB let us stay there for like another two weeks. Cause we couldn't get a plane, we couldn't get a train. We couldn't.

[Memphis Bleak]

I flew home that morning. They shut everything down. That's crazy.

[Young Guru]

Last day was 9 11.

[Memphis Bleak]

Damn, you blew my head off with that one. Damn.

[Young Guru]

Last day was 9 11, bro.

[Memphis Bleak]

I. Now I had a real question. That Nori, he always texts me. He like, yo, I don't care who from, Rockefeller, you gotta ask this question. But before we get to that question, I got a question of my own. Out of all the artists. Of course not. Exclude hov. Exclude me. Cause that's like, bias. You came in with me, so I don't want you to be like, yeah, you. Out of all the artists. I'm talking about, everybody mop. Emil, Rel, you know what I'm saying? Beans, Free Petey, Crack.

[Young Guru]

Young Guns.

[Memphis Bleak]

Young guns, definitely Owen Sparks.

[Young Guru]

Yes.

[Memphis Bleak]

Who would you say was the easiest and the hardest artists to work with? That, like, you know, one that you ain't got to say nothing to, he just get in there and do his thing. And then the one person that's like, yo, fan, I told you seven times, spit that word over.

[Young Guru]

Nah, that's hard to say. That's hard to say. Cause it's like, I don't know you. Cause I remember it'd be like. And I'm gonna say it. Only you. It's me and you. So the people will understand. Right? So it's like almost like your kids. So I love all my kids, but they different. You know what I'm saying?

[Memphis Bleak]

Yes.

[Young Guru]

So, like, my oldest daughter and the way that she is my second daughter, my twins, you know what I'm saying?

[Memphis Bleak]

No, no, they're all different. They try to get you to shit so a nigga don't call them for a session.

[Young Guru]

It ain't about shitting on. No, it ain't about shitting on them.

[Memphis Bleak]

I don't want n to not get called for a session.

[Young Guru]

Let me. Let me explain to you what I'm saying. It be different emotions.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yes.

[Young Guru]

You know what I'm saying?

[Memphis Bleak]

Yes.

[Young Guru]

So hov is gonna like, sit there and figure out the rhyme and like, say, goo do. This makes sense. And boom, boom, boom. Me and you is on a like. Is on a like. This my brother. I'm making joints with him. You know what I'm saying?

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, but, yo, I ain't go front. You used to have me frustrated sometimes. Cause I write a rob Gool be like.

[Young Guru]

You say, no bullshit.

[Memphis Bleak]

Said that word three times already. Please, come on. We gonna put that word all through the rhyme. You serious? Word, word, word.

[Young Guru]

Cause I'm trying to. I'm trying. I'm trying to be like, yo, like.

[Memphis Bleak]

And then when Jeezy came out, repeating whole sentences, I used to be like, goo. I would have been the first.

[Young Guru]

We was trying to make the best rhyme.

[Memphis Bleak]

Word up.

[Young Guru]

You know what I'm saying?

[Memphis Bleak]

I used to be like, goo. Address me. Go. But look, but look.

[Young Guru]

Even that when you saying that, that's the fact that me and you could like. You know what I'm saying?

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah.

[Young Guru]

It ain't no like, yo, he trying to play me or this or this and that. You know what I'm saying? We brothers.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's right.

[Young Guru]

Yeah, that's right.

[Memphis Bleak]

It was. Yo, bro, come on. I never took nothing personal all the day.

[Young Guru]

We making the best records.

[Memphis Bleak]

We did everything, man. Like, I remember me and Goo in the crib recording, man, and we hit a block like we ain't know what to do. So me and Goo, like, fuck it, let's go to the store, get some back. We smoking backwoods. Yeah. We like, let's get some backwoods. And we run into a in the store like, yo, Bleak. What up? Yo, Goo. I make beats. Yo, I live out here in Newark. And Goo like, ah, yo, I know the homie from the block come to the crib, right? And we end up. He come to the crib, played us some heat. We end up doing hater free that night.

[Young Guru]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

And he turned out to be Shay Taylor, now here producing for Beyonce, out here moving. Shay, you owe me a beat. If I never bought backwards, you heard we did. Yo, me and Guta done been through it all, man. But one thing I gotta set up. Cause Timberland and Swiss, they got verses. I got my own verses. We gonna do this one. I'm. And if anybody steal this idea, somebody sued him for me. Because this. You heard it here first. We need a DJ versus. And the first two people on my DJ verses is my brother. It just blaze.

[Young Guru]

Oh, you gonna go there.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, yo, listen, Yo, y' all don't know, all right?

[Young Guru]

Yo, you gonna go there.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, Goo is a major nice dj. But one thing I can say about my brother is almost like he From Marcy. Cause you a competitive, and I'm the same way.

[Young Guru]

There's only certain things that I take super serious. Like, we could. We could do whatever. You know what I'm saying? Competitive and I lose, and I'll be like, cool.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah.

[Young Guru]

But it's certain things that I take super serious. I think one of them is basketball, and one of them is DJing.

[Memphis Bleak]

I think that's the only time I ever saw you like that upset. Like, usually, you know, you upset, but you compose. It's over some family show. This happened.

[Young Guru]

Now, what happened was. What happened was. No, no, I'm gonna tell you. I'm gonna tell you the whole story. So it was. It was the day that we was doing the EPMD record over with you and Beans.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yep. So what you're saying?

[Young Guru]

So. So we was happy because we was like, yo, we're gonna get DJ Scratch to come in and do the Scratches live. You know what I'm saying? So we set up, we rented. Yeah, yeah. Nah, we not. We got Scratch to do it over. So we had the turntable set. You know, me and justice, like, you know what I'm saying?

[Memphis Bleak]

Scratches.

[Young Guru]

Scratches me, you, and just scratches a legend.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yep.

[Young Guru]

So it's like us trying to set it up for him so that he's comfortable when he come in and be like, yo, it's already set up. You ain't gotta, you know what I'm saying, mess with nothing. Boom, boom, boom. So we had everything set up. Two turntables, the mix in the middle. Everything was weighted perfectly me and just, you know, everything for Scratch.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yep.

[Young Guru]

So then afterwards, it was just.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah.

[Young Guru]

In there being the shit popping. You know what I'm saying? Start in the studio, and I just.

[Memphis Bleak]

So happened to walk in the room and they talking shit. Goo like, what? I smoked you on these tables. Just like, what at all? So you know me, Marcy, instigator, y' all. Let me see this battle go down. And the battle went down. I ain't gonna say who won. Ain't nobody win. But all I know is my man who wanted to fight, and I was sitting there like, no way. It just, you know, he wanted to get back to Zelda, but he wanted to fight, too. And I'm looking at him like, no way.

[Young Guru]

No, you say what it is. Like, I don't like that when people battle and, like, they lose, and they don't say they lost. Cause.

[Memphis Bleak]

Nah.

[Young Guru]

Cause it's gotta be tv. Now.

[Memphis Bleak]

You ain't have your.

[Young Guru]

No, no. I'm into reggae battles. I'm into all types of battles. So if you come out and you lose that night, you gotta say you lost. So that night. Nah, that night I was like. Just was scratching. He was killing it, right? He was going, right, so I'm trying to beat Juggle. And the shit was skipping on me. And I lost. And I was like. But I was so heated. You had never seen me in that vein before where I was like, yo.

[Memphis Bleak]

I was like, what the.

[Young Guru]

That I had lost that in front of everybody. That. Yeah, I was ready to fight. I was like, yo, it was like. It was like the night. It was like, okay, just as the video game king in baseline, right? Yo, he's the video game king.

[Memphis Bleak]

Nobody beating him in 2K.

[Young Guru]

No, no. But the one is, I'm. I'm relaying this to the story you just told. So the one night that I beat just in a video game. I don't even remember what it was. He was on the same.

[Memphis Bleak]

I was there for that, too. I was there for that. That wasn't. I think it was. It was NBA Live. Because it wasn't too Caden. It was NBA Live or Madden. And you whooped them in the room.

[Young Guru]

Like, video games is something.

[Memphis Bleak]

I broke the controller and everything. I was there for some.

[Young Guru]

I don't care about.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, listen.

[Young Guru]

But he was ready to go.

[Memphis Bleak]

They love each other, but they got major competitive beef. And I love it. That just so happened to both of y' all competitions. But another thing, goo. And I ain't gonna lie. We done. I done seen the Book of hov. Shit, I done seen the Book of Eli.

[Young Guru]

That was really dope. No, no.

[Memphis Bleak]

How you.

[Young Guru]

How you feel? Like, like, you gotta. You can't. You can't skip over that. So first of all, being everybody. Everybody gotta realize that we kept that a secret from hov.

[Memphis Bleak]

I know somebody kept it a stupid.

[Young Guru]

We kept it a super secret from hov. So it was like, you know, something monumental to be like, yo, 50th, you know what I'm saying? Hip hop. What I would like to get out there, or people don't really realize is the museum was doing fine. The library wasn't.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's right.

[Young Guru]

And so with ho stepping in, making this exhibit, it brings the library to a certain point, you know what I'm saying? Where people are now getting library cards, you know what I'm saying? And like, all basically, you know, kept.

[Memphis Bleak]

The library going, like for your hometown.

[Young Guru]

You know what I'm saying? Right straight.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's a staple, that Brooklyn library. Been there since. Man, I could Remember? So we try to keep it a.

[Young Guru]

Secret until they, like, wrapped the whole.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah. And then everybody on. You know what I mean? Everybody on there. And my man Meek Mill, too. Shout out, meek, that's my bro. He said the direct flare. But yeah, the Book of Hov. I ain't gonna front that. Blew my mind just to be in the museum. Like, I'm born and ra there, you know, My. My. My grandma's is from Ebbetsville. You know what I'm saying? So I walk past that library my whole life, going to Prospect Park. So to walk in the library, bring my kids there, and they be able to see me. The history that we accomplished together is. It's remarkable, man. Like, there's no words to put to that. But I was saying that because you gotta make your book go seriously, I think it's time for you to release your book. Like, because Baseline didn't roll without Guru. When Guru said, I gotta go home, I'm going to take a shower. The studio basically was closed. Everybody just sitting there playing dice on the pool table. Just sit there watching YouTube because it's bullshitting in the studio.

[Young Guru]

No, it was. It was. So it was a super, like, intuitive.

[Memphis Bleak]

It was an intuitive, broken down everything, step by step app. Basically, pro tools book for dummies. Like, they have the crash course for people who don't know, you know? And I feel like that book taught me pro tools for the nights that you used to leave. And I'd be like, damn, Shane, where the book at? Shane? To show me the book, I'd be like, this wire, go here, this plug and go here. We hit this button. Shane, hit that button. I'm running the booth and do this verse. And from there I bought a laptop, bought an M box, and, bro, I used to record. I did the record with Mop in my hotel room. Yeah, like, you heard the fame on the record. Like, damn, y' all don't take the mic in the bathroom or nothing. Like, so that's all for you. So I feel like that book is pivotal. Like, people will want a copy of that and learn from that. Because what these kids doing today, man, is. Is not what we learned. Trust me.

[Young Guru]

Because I get it. I get it. It was just, you know, for. People don't realize I was there for four days straight, you know what I'm saying? I'm like, yo, I gotta take a shower.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah.

[Young Guru]

So while I'm gone, here's how you work everything in here, you know what I'm saying? So that the work don't have to stop.

[Memphis Bleak]

But that's. But that take time.

[Young Guru]

Yeah, of course.

[Memphis Bleak]

To break down. But you see how you walked in here. You like, yo, these plugins don't have no compressor. Your weekday bugging, 90,000 for the board. It's not one compressor. I tell people all the time, Goo is the oracle of this. He will walk in your studio and tell you, you, yo, it's not right. Everything is off. Everything is wrong. It's just like how pain are walking. And no, the pain is not right, bro. Like, it's not smooth here. It's lumpy.

[Young Guru]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

You know what I'm saying? That. And that's how you.

[Young Guru]

That's what. That's what baseline was like. You know what I'm saying?

[Memphis Bleak]

Yes.

[Young Guru]

We had it the way we wanted it. And. And you have to worry about the equipment. No, you know what I'm saying?

[Memphis Bleak]

At all. Now you go to studios, equipment ain't right. OG Ward spent that. That grip. He made sure everything was a one. And if it broke, we bought a new one.

[Young Guru]

And it was comfortable and it was like multiple rooms. And it. You know what I'm saying? The vibe that we had.

[Memphis Bleak]

Why all these dudes that got studios with multiple rooms? This is a good. Cause you said it was multiple rooms, and we never had this problem. And I know. You know what I'm about to say. You go in all these studios, the A room got ac, but the B room don't. What the fuck is that about? Like, everybody B room just hot.

[Young Guru]

Like, yo, now it's difficult nowadays because people don't really realize what it mean when they say the studio.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah.

[Young Guru]

You know what I'm saying? So. So people think, like, setting up a computer and a couple little things is a studio. And it's not really. You know what I'm saying? So to the point of building a room inside of a room and different design techniques and things that you don't gotta worry about. Cause you was like, yo, Goo know about it. You know what I'm saying? So it's not really about the quality of. Of what Good enough matters now. Not great, not perfect, not. You know, it's just good enough.

[Memphis Bleak]

It's like in the 65 on the test.

[Young Guru]

Yeah, it's like in the 65. I passed.

[Memphis Bleak]

I passed.

[Young Guru]

I'm good. Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

And that. And you're right. That's what's going on today is just good enough. It's not great. These kids not perfecting and not taking their time to learn the craft. Like, you know what I'm Saying that's one thing. And I know know being around you, like, see, I'm not familiar with this guy's music, but I got familiar with it through you two people. So this is a two part, like, question for me, because I Learned about these two individuals through you. 1. Both rest in peace. Damn.

[Young Guru]

God.

[Memphis Bleak]

You know, I mean, God bless. J. Dilla had a major influence on you. Go. I hear, like, it's not a studio session. Go by that. That name don't come up.

[Young Guru]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

And then MF Doom.

[Young Guru]

Yes.

[Memphis Bleak]

I would have not known who the hell that was if it wasn't for goo. He used to make sure y' all gonna know what this underground sound like.

[Young Guru]

I. I do it, you know what I'm saying? Backwards. But Doom was like, my man Ben, Big Ben, you know what I'm saying? Rap, Rap, bring us all together. Yes, Right. So my man Big Ben was a hype man. They used to call him Big Ben, the Klingon in the Doom. You know what I'm saying, world. He was one of my dudes that used to come down, you know, when I was at Howard. He was. He was a Howard student. And he would bring like, Lord Seer, Curious George, all of them, you know what I'm saying? Be rhyming against my dudes. And that's how I met mf. Doom was through Big Ben, but Doom was just like the rhyme patterns and you know what I'm saying? Like, it was different from what we was doing. Yes. But he. Yeah, he was dumb. Nice.

[Memphis Bleak]

Super nice. Super nice.

[Young Guru]

Dilla was. The Dilla thing was like, I had never heard nobody chop records like that and make, you know what I'm saying, the drum pattern so loose. And then the ill part was early, early on, he was messing with bhop, you know what I'm saying?

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah.

[Young Guru]

And he was like, you know, like, helping him in New York. Like, not managing them, but like, helping them, you know what I'm saying? Like, yo, I try to get you some. Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's crazy. I never met him.

[Young Guru]

No, no. And the crazy part is I said to him, I was like, yo, just give me a session with him. Like, I just want to see if it's real. Like, way early. And he got me a session. He got me. Yeah, he got me a session, you know what I'm saying? For people that don't know, that's Jay cousin, you know what I'm saying? And he was. Got me a session. And I sat there with Dilla, and me and him just rolled up all day, smoke you know what I'm saying? He was making joints and I was just like, yo, this dude nice. Like, dumb nice.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah.

[Young Guru]

You know what I'm saying? But he was.

[Memphis Bleak]

Every producer.

[Young Guru]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

Every producer pays homage to J Dilla, like.

[Young Guru]

Cause his swing thing. You know what I'm saying? And. And the looseness of his beats was just like. And the way he chopped samples was crazy. You know, that's what he was on every day.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah. All day, yo. Talking about that. Chopping samples. This wasn't even. Son, how you feel? I' ma have my homie up here too. Because I wanna. I wanna ask him. But, yo, tell man, was it real in the studio with the Big and the. Just blaze my G like. Like, bro, it's like we had to keep these dudes separated.

[Young Guru]

Well, I'm the person, and I could say this proudly, who has always tried to mend that particular relationship.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah.

[Young Guru]

Cause it's like nobody in the world can say that they have tried harder than me to mend that particular thing.

[Memphis Bleak]

I feel if we would have kept them, if them two would have stayed in the studio A and B room, I don't think Rockefeller would have saw.

[Young Guru]

A day at K I I, you know, again.

[Memphis Bleak]

Because when Big, that's what boy. Yeah.

[Young Guru]

I could only have my. You know what I'm saying? My way of saying, how can I broke a piece thing.

[Memphis Bleak]

Because when Bink left, that's when Yay came around harder and Yay filled that B room. But it was Bink in the A room first. And Justin.

[Young Guru]

Oh, no, no. For the history bank was definitely the. That baseline first person.

[Memphis Bleak]

Like, a lot of people think, you know, just did a lot of the records, but they don't understand. Bink did a lot of our records.

[Young Guru]

But then it's like, I don't want them to. Both of them are part of a history.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's right.

[Young Guru]

That is magnificent.

[Memphis Bleak]

And it's bigger than life. And y' all the reason why it's history. And that's why I want them together. Because it's like you stronger together than the part. Especially in the team, man.

[Young Guru]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

You know what I'm saying? Like Hope say when the family is. No. Nobody wins when the family feuds.

[Young Guru]

Yeah. I. I would just, you know, wanted on record that, like, you know, I've definitely over the years tried to put even up to now have tried to be like, how do I. You know, I'm saying make it a piece thing between that particular thing.

[Memphis Bleak]

We might have to have A versus.

[Young Guru]

It don't play the right no, not even that, not even that. Like just. Just awesome. Real like. Like, you know.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, it switch Highlab me.

[Young Guru]

I got producer versus I'm dead serious. I'm just like on some real. I want that.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah. To be.

[Young Guru]

No, no tension, no nothing.

[Memphis Bleak]

Cuz they both two of the greatest.

[Young Guru]

Producers I ever worked with ever like.

[Memphis Bleak]

That I ever work with. I. I can honestly say there's not a record or a beat Bink played me that I was like, nah, go to that one. It's not a record or beat that just Blaze played that. I was like, nah, not that. I may just give me around here. Remember, he didn't even want to get me to be like, nah, this I.

[Young Guru]

Give you a lot of credit for around here too.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah.

[Young Guru]

Cause he. Cause back then just made the beat, you know what I'm saying? Obviously it's in a certain vein, but you was always the person that way before then was always on the south, like Southern records and just putting us up on Southern, you know what I'm saying? I was like, bleak is the Southern connect.

[Memphis Bleak]

They don't know that.

[Young Guru]

So yeah, even for around here where it was like, yo, for you, I think it was just like, oh, TI Popping right now in the south. Like, let me get T.I. you know what I'm saying?

[Memphis Bleak]

I remember Hov says, why we paying T.I. like, and yo, shout out T.I. cause he only charged me five grand for that verse. That's probably like a hundred racks right now for a TI verse, right? But hov was like, why we giving this. Who the is T.I. why we giving him five grand, man? We got Beanie Siegel, he'll do it for free. And I'm like, yeah, but everybody know beans down, man. Like, I need a new nah. Yeah, the.

[Young Guru]

The round here was definitely a. It was like a. It was a perfect. Like you record a lot of times people don't know where it'd be like your personality, you know what I'm saying? So to me, round here was just like a perfect you. Because you always been. And I mean everybody from the south, you always been on Southern music. Always.

[Memphis Bleak]

A lot of people don't know that. BG album, Trick Daddy. All Trick Daddy albums. Come on, man. All of them. That book the Thugs. Come on. That. That still get ro. Like, you know what I'm saying? Mystical before all the other, the real, the mystical, where he was the James Brown, you know what I'm saying?

[Young Guru]

I used to play a lot of that.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, I was. I was on the south, man. No limit, cash money hard, you know. What I mean, eight ball mjg, man. Kidding me. I was riding dirty out here in New York. I have no understanding, boy. So, of course, a lot of people would definitely want to know. I. I know. So this ain't a question from me. This is.

[Young Guru]

I.

[Memphis Bleak]

Like I said, I tweeted out, yo, any questions y' all got for Goo? Like, yeah, ask Goo what a session.

[Young Guru]

With HOV is like, what they mean, what it's like.

[Memphis Bleak]

I guess they mean, like, how is it is working?

[Young Guru]

It's the same. It's the same as, like, me and you. You know what I'm saying? Like, we. We sit down, we listen to music, we pick a beat, you know what I'm saying? And that's part of my. What I do. I can't tell you what speak to you.

[Memphis Bleak]

No.

[Young Guru]

So I'm bring you what I think is good.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yes.

[Young Guru]

You know what I'm saying? And then what speaks to you? Then I'm gonna say, what is this saying? And then you start coming with a concept and spitting ideas. And I don't ever want somebody to think like, I ever wrote one of your. You know what I'm saying? No, when you sitting there and you like, yo, this beat is saying this, and this might be the hook, or this is. Then I start going, okay, take the thugs and the. It's out.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yep, that's the one.

[Young Guru]

You know what I'm saying? Take the.

[Memphis Bleak]

You saying the. For everything bleak. Yo, bug it. How many hits is it? Like, chill, change that up.

[Young Guru]

But the flow could be better. You know what I'm saying? But so it's not like. That's what vocal coach people would say. Vocal coaching, you know what I'm saying? It's not necessarily. I'm not telling you what to say. Yeah. Just when you write, I'm there with you while you writing.

[Memphis Bleak]

It was definitely the A and R slash engineer. You wasn't just no engineer. Studio that just pressed record.

[Young Guru]

So that's. That's what it'd be like with HOV is just like, you know what I'm saying? With hov, you know the rhyme gonna be good. You know what I'm saying? Is it the right thing that we supposed to be saying at the given time? Did you. You know, like, go ahead.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's the thing, too. That's where my train of thought was at when I said I lost my train of thought. One thing I always wanted to clear up. Go. And I. And you. You the perfect guy who can help me clear this up. Because for so long in my Career. People believe Hov was in the studio with us. Remember you did After Coming to Age album.

[Young Guru]

They think he wrote your rhyme.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yes. He was in the studio with.

[Young Guru]

He wrote one rhyme in the very beginning as a teenager.

[Memphis Bleak]

Exactly. I was 14 when I got. I didn't even know what equilibrium was. Meant nothing.

[Young Guru]

The rest. I'm a testament to it that the rest of your career. Because I come in on the second album.

[Memphis Bleak]

On the second album best is you.

[Young Guru]

Writing all those rhymes.

[Memphis Bleak]

Exactly.

[Young Guru]

Right.

[Memphis Bleak]

Like, because, you know, when we was going to do the verses, you know, I mean, with Santana, one thing Santana said is, I, you can't. If you going to do the verses, you can't play none of the songs that Hov wrote. And I said, all right, cool. I wasn't playing Coming Age anyway.

[Young Guru]

Yeah, it's one song.

[Memphis Bleak]

So you got a problem, my man. You better read.

[Young Guru]

But you got to think. You got to think, too. Okay, let's say a young kid. No, no, just think about it. A young kid, you getting on in the game. Hov gives you this paper and says, memorize this, and as soon as you can do this, you can get on. But let's just think of coming to age two. So you wrote coming to age two. And you got to realize that coming to age two is a mental sport. The whole thing is that the verses are all in somebody head. And y' all really. Throughout the whole song. If you listen to it, y' all only said, yo, what up?

[Memphis Bleak]

One time. It's all what we think. It's all a thought process. It's all thought. The whole thing is never. That's it. I saw a little homie, what's up? That's it. You never suppose what he thinking. I'm thinking and I'm thinking. He's thinking, thinking. Like that song. If you really dissect that record. Right, man, that we. That's why I say, man, back then, you took like, you said you couldn't be good. You had to be great. And when I came out, it was no dudes my age. Like, of course you had Ja Rule. Ja Rule is a next level phenomenon out there. Keep telling, let me hold three muscles, I'll be good. He was just next level, writing all kind of big records.

[Young Guru]

What was dope was like the thing of, like, being at baseline making records, knowing what that meant for. Because we had a. We had a perfect trifecta.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah.

[Young Guru]

So it was like me and Hop is gonna be in the studio with y' all making records, you know what I'm saying? So then Lenny is going to be in the office. Lenny gonna be the fly guy. You know what I'm saying? Fresh every day. And everybody love Lenny. And then it's gonna be G and G gonna go around and kiss the babies. He gonna, you know I'm saying, get the thing signed. He gonna do G. Doing that.

[Memphis Bleak]

And then Bobby Dash hitting the radio.

[Young Guru]

Radio.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yep.

[Young Guru]

So all of that worked together.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yep. It was all cohesive. Everybody moving is one unit.

[Young Guru]

Right.

[Memphis Bleak]

And that's what made Rockefeller so great at that time. And I always say, day, that was the best time of my life. Because I ain't have to do nothing. All I had to do was go in the studio and rhyme the next day, flex, Clue and them playing it. It's like, oh, I ain't even know they got the record. That's cause Bobby Dash took that record and took it to the radio.

[Young Guru]

But a lot of artists don't realize that where it was. Like, that's the part that you missing.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yes.

[Young Guru]

As to why your record ain't popping. Yes.

[Memphis Bleak]

You need that guy that's going, bobby used to be up there bright and early all day, Hanging in high 97. Hanging in 105. You're like, Bobby, where you was at? He's like, yo, I was at the ready all day. I'm in Baltimore tomorrow. I'm on these guys. We was on everybody.

[Young Guru]

What was. What was crazy to me was like, one time when you called me, you was like, ghoul, I see everything y' all was doing that I ain't understand. You know what I'm saying?

[Memphis Bleak]

It was like, yo, that's when I got the seat of the warehouse play.

[Young Guru]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

Cause being from the artist side, you know, you just in the studio writing rhymes, and I call you and Jay, when I got this chair of, you know, trying to be the CEO, run my own company, and you start start figuring out, like, hold on. You paying this? It costs this. You need this person for that. It's like, wait a minute. Goo was doing seven of those things, and then Jay handled all of this, man, I gotta call these and thank them, because I didn't even know it was this much work into putting out a project, man. Like, I just thought, write the rhymes, you pick the beat. Next thing you know, it's on the radio. But it's a. It take a lot, man. Take money. It's more than money. It's more than raps.

[Young Guru]

Yeah, it's more than money. And that's. That's the other part. You gotta. You know, I mean, Let people know.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, because people think.

[Young Guru]

People think you could just put money into it and buy it. No, and it's not that. Because then the richest people will have all the hit records.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's right.

[Young Guru]

It don't make sense.

[Memphis Bleak]

You can't buy a gram. You can't buy a hit record.

[Young Guru]

It don't make sense. But you do need the team.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yes.

[Young Guru]

Where everybody believe and everybody is, like, on one accord. And everybody. You know what I'm saying, is. Is moving, like, okay, this is the decision whether or not. And that's one of the things of soldiering, you know what I'm saying? Saying. So if you want a team and your opinion is heard, it may. You may not agree with the decision that everybody made, but you want a team.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's right.

[Young Guru]

So go with the decision.

[Memphis Bleak]

Like, that's how it happened with if going back around here. Remember, Jay and Leo didn't want that record to come.

[Young Guru]

No, no. It's plenty of records, bro.

[Memphis Bleak]

That wasn't gonna be they, like, first single.

[Young Guru]

And here again, here's where the people mess up. You can't take it as like, Jay and Lior didn't mean you no harm.

[Memphis Bleak]

No, no.

[Young Guru]

They doing what they think is the best thing for your career.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's right.

[Young Guru]

So. So what? Let's say they was wrong. Let's say they was wrong.

[Memphis Bleak]

Cool.

[Young Guru]

They still got the wisdom so we. We don't have to sit there and be like, yo, you was wrong a million times. No, let me get something of that right. We just be like, yo, it worked the same thing. They told me for what we do go, it don't have no hook.

[Memphis Bleak]

And look, that was the Joe.

[Young Guru]

They immediately said to me, ghoul me and hot was like, yo, this is the one. And they was like, g don't have no hook for what we do.

[Memphis Bleak]

Y. I never even noticed that. You know, I never noticed that, bro. That. That record, you right.

[Young Guru]

They don't have no hook.

[Memphis Bleak]

And I say to people all the time, yo, radio don't play records without a hook. That's what they used to tell me.

[Young Guru]

But look at what we do.

[Memphis Bleak]

What we do is Wrong is a phenomenal record.

[Young Guru]

But I don't even look at it like that. That's what I'm saying. I don't. When I say look at it like that, like, as if they messed up. They doing what they think is right.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's right.

[Young Guru]

You know what I'm saying?

[Memphis Bleak]

That.

[Young Guru]

That was even as a parent, you know what I'm saying? Like, sometimes as a Parent. We. We come in and we teach our kids based off of what we think is right in our time period. It may be different for their time period.

[Memphis Bleak]

I had a. I had a conversation like that with Daz. I remember when Jay. When we first talked about this, when do say first was getting large. And Jay like, yeah, I'm bringing you on to do say move. And dads was like, you don't know nothing about no liquor. I said, you right. We all ain't know nothing about none of this shit, but we doing it right. You don't know what you know until it's time to know it. Man, you gotta get out there.

[Young Guru]

That's the beauty of the thing is, like, imagine if somebody told you in 1993 that this kid from Marcy Projects is going to be a billionaire.

[Memphis Bleak]

Goo. I'd have been on Aladdin's carpet right next to it. I'd have been like the little monkey on the carpet, right? With him and the girl.

[Young Guru]

Now that's just the story of it, right? That's just the story. Like you like. Okay, cool. Now break down the odds of that you actually know that person. Person. Okay. That's a bunch of people that you know from Marcy. Now break down the odds that my mom and his sister is best friends.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, yo, I got sorry for that one, man. Cuz I remember. I remember asking my mom this probably was like two years ago. And I'm like, I asked my mom, yo, what made you move to Marcy? Cuz we originally from Brownsville. Like, my mom's was born and raised in Rockaway Projects. Brownsville, you know what I mean? Sutter Avenue, Rockaway. Dumont, that's my.

[Young Guru]

Yo, it bugged me out when I. When I found out. Found out she was related to Duck Down.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's right. Sean Price, my cousin. Rest in peace. Still Smith and Wesson, you know, shout out buckshot. Oh, the whole Louisville, the whole Duck Down. That's my family. I grew up with them guys, man, putting in work in the ville, watching them come grind into what they became. Mega, mega, mega successful. You know what I'm saying? So I saw both sides, the underground. And then I was with Hov and Marcy, and it was like. Like that was kind of tough juggling because it was like, damn, do I with my fam. Do I with my man from my building. How do you go?

[Young Guru]

So y' all ain't. Y' all ain't mess with each other back in the day?

[Memphis Bleak]

No, we did. I used to try to get on with them, but Them. I remember Sean Price used to always tell me, him and my cousin T. White to be like, man, you gotta come up, man, you ain't. Man, you ain't that good. Bleak. You gotta get better. So I used to be like, all right, I'm working, I'm writing, I'm writing. Then I used to go be around Stitch. Still. This is back when they were super wild because they was all in DCEPs, so still used to be like, you too little. You can't be with me. It's wild out here. Get out of here. So, you know, he used to on me until we, I mean, made records and hit these streets and started moving.

[Young Guru]

What's wild is I ain't. I ain't never go to Brooklyn until me and you went to Marcy together.

[Memphis Bleak]

No way.

[Young Guru]

Nah. I was always with Bronx.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's crazy. I don't know nothing about the Bronx. That's one thing. Brooklyn don't go to the Bronx, and Bronx don't go to Brooklyn. And I don't think it's because we too wild. Is that shit too far? Yeah, that shit too far. That shit number trains. We like, nigga, I don't know where I'm going.

[Young Guru]

All of my Howard dudes, right? Like, all my Howard dudes.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's right. How are you?

[Young Guru]

Yeah, all of my Howard dudes is Bronx dudes. So that's Jackson Avenue, St. Mary's Projects, the 2 and the 5.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yep, yep.

[Young Guru]

Take the 2 and the 5 from the 34th. You know what I'm saying? So I had never went. And then me and you went one day. I forget what it was. I don't know if it was Marcy Day or something, but me and you went to Marcy, and that was the first time I ever been in. In Brooklyn.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's crazy. Yeah. Nah, the Bronx, we definitely. I don't know about the bx. All I know is Fat Joe and Big Pun. You know what I'm saying?

[Young Guru]

Remy is my family.

[Memphis Bleak]

You know what I'm saying?

[Young Guru]

Now, Ice, Spice, Jackson, Ab Jackson, ab.

[Memphis Bleak]

You know what I'm saying? Oh, my God. Can't forget my guy. A boogie with the hoodie, you know what I'm saying? That's all I know about the Bronx High Bridge. That's it. You ask me anything else, I've lost love. Yeah, I've lost you know what I'm saying? Saying I'm glad we cleared that up, because a lot of people thought, you know, HOV was out here pinning the God versus. But let's. Yo, you Know one of the illest sessions I ever had with you, and I. I woke you up for this session.

[Young Guru]

Hold on, hold on. Before you even go there, do you feel like I put too much pressure on you in terms of, like, when it was flipping and it was like people was just saying anything, and I was just like, nah, I believe you can't just say anything. Anything. You used to argue a lot. You know what I'm saying?

[Memphis Bleak]

No. Thank you for that. Hell, no. No, man. Like, the anything rappers, they gone. I'm. I'm still, you know, I'm still here because you ain't let me say anything. Would have flushed me down the toilet. Spin cycle one time. Get him out of here. Flush him.

[Young Guru]

Yeah, no, I get it, I get it. But I used to be. I used to be like, you know what I'm saying? Super critic.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yes. Hell yeah. Goo was the major critic. So I don't know how y' all think I wasn't getting busy, because my man made sure we busy. You kidding me? I remember when he first bought 9th Wonder around, man.

[Young Guru]

Yeah, yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

Knife wanted. Now 9th to me, just is one of the greatest. Chop, right? He could chop that. Chop some up. You don't even know what the record was. Knife is the greatest flipper.

[Young Guru]

Yeah, Knife flip joints like, so. So that. That was like a. Me and Hop was in the studio and, you know, same thing. We. We have our ears to the underground. We was listening to the OK Player joints, and we was hearing the little brother joints. And then they came with this joint called Speed. And I was just like, yo, what is this? And then this kid named T, he ended up being the dude that was filming the behind the scenes for Fade To Black.

[Memphis Bleak]

Oh.

[Young Guru]

So I was like, oh. He was like, me and. Me and Hop was listening to the joint, and he was like, I know the kid that produced that. And I. I was like, who? He was like, this kid named Knife Wonder. And I was like, word call. You know what I'm saying? I'm calling his bluff. You know what I'm saying? Yo, call him.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's how you put it in on the spot. Call him.

[Young Guru]

Call him, right? So he called Knife. I'm like, yo, I'm hearing this. Yo, you gotta come. You know what I'm saying? Play some joints for the. For the fans. Yeah. And that's how me and Knife got it, was through the dude, T, who was filming the behind the scenes for all that. Like, behind the scenes, you see a fade to Black. That's the homie, T, like, that's my man now. That's crazy. But, like, when we first met. That's when we first met.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, that's ill. My. That's how I feel about Shout Out. Your artist, Ruben Vincent, of course, Knife Wonder. Y' all got the joint Family records.

[Young Guru]

He became, like, one of my best friends in the world, if not my best friend.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, man, that's dope.

[Young Guru]

Like. Like us coming together with the music. And I was like, I don't know. When a Jedi meet a Jedi, you know what I'm saying?

[Memphis Bleak]

It's like, yo, we family, yo. But Knife is a different kind of guy. I just was in rally, right? Not too long ago, me and Freeway had a party out there. So I hit Knife. That nigga hit me back. Who this? So I hit him back. Yo, this bleak. He like, bleak. What the fuck, man? Oh, shit. I ain't had your number. What you doing now out here? So I'm like, y' all might have for a party. I'm just chilling. He like, yo, come by the studio. I'm having a cookout. So I'm saying to myself, I is lit. So I get dressed. Like, usually somebody invites you to a cookout, you go regular. You know, it's just some regular hood. But this is Riley. I never been to a cookout rally. I ain't been there forever. So I'm like, I'm not gonna pull up in the block.

[Young Guru]

First thing they're gonna do in North Carolina is feed you.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah. So I'm like, they're not gonna see Blizzard looking crazy. So I get all dressed, we jeweled up. I tell the team, get dressed. We go in the cookout. Knife left out one major part of this cookout, that the cookout just was for him. It was nobody there. We were the only people there. Like, this had mad food everywhere. And I'm like, yo, what the, Knife? You told me you having a cookout. He said, yeah, I do this every Thursday. Bleep. I don't care if people here. I do it just for myself because I like cookout food.

[Young Guru]

Yeah, we're gonna feed you, Joe.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, Knife is ill, my G, for that. I'm like, yo, my nigga, every Thursday, I'm pulling up like it's free lunch again. You heard?

[Young Guru]

Nah, he. He. You know, it's just like my brother, during the whole pandemic, like, he started his thing fast. Auntie Lounge, you know, we seen a bunch of people that won off of. During the pandemic.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's right.

[Young Guru]

Excuse me. So, like, D. Nice. You know What I'm saying, we see what he did.

[Memphis Bleak]

He murdered them.

[Young Guru]

Yeah. And 9th did the same thing with his fast auntie lines. And so it's just like, you know, it's like us, like those of us that don't. I teach 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 year olds every single day. I'm not hating on them. It's just the fast auntie lounge is for us, you know what I'm saying? Like, let us have our vibe and then, you know what I'm saying?

[Memphis Bleak]

Like, y' all can get it later. That's right.

[Young Guru]

You know what I'm saying?

[Memphis Bleak]

Y' all can get it later.

[Young Guru]

I don't be hating on the kids. I don't like the old school to hate on the kids. Like, that don't make sense.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah. Like I.

[Young Guru]

You know what it was like when we was running around?

[Memphis Bleak]

They hated it. Like the old, old school hated.

[Young Guru]

Hold on. This is what the thing is. You at your age, if a young boy look at you and be like, yo, you doing this? You only own a barber shop or. No, this is where we at.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's right.

[Young Guru]

Because. Because he gonna look at you and be like, if I listen to you, and you been out here for 30 years and you ain't graduated from the.

[Memphis Bleak]

Barbershop or nothing, why I'm taking advice from you?

[Young Guru]

Why am I taking advice from you?

[Memphis Bleak]

Exactly. I would have been that kid looking like that. Yeah. It's normal. Like, don't give me advice that you didn't succeed with. I'm 100% still that old man that take it. Yeah.

[Young Guru]

Everybody tell you how to do it. They never do done it.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's a fact, bro. Everybody got their advice how to win that never won. So to win, there's no advice.

[Young Guru]

I'm telling you about somebody who is in there every day with kids on a corner, two kids in college. If you have not produced nothing in your life, don't talk to these young men.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's crazy. That's a fact, though.

[Young Guru]

You understand what I'm saying?

[Memphis Bleak]

That's a fact.

[Young Guru]

You shouldn't. You got to come to. You got to come to them with facts.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah.

[Young Guru]

Not the theoretical facts. Get them the facts first.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah.

[Young Guru]

Then give them the theoretical of what it could be. But give them the facts first of how to eat.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's right. You got it.

[Young Guru]

He hungry.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's right. Now, they don't want to hear what could be. They want to hear what's gonna be.

[Young Guru]

After you feed them. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, but they Say, you know, feed him a fish, he eat for the day. Day. Teach them to fish them all. But guess what? I got to feed them for me to teach them how to fish.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's right, cuz. They're not even going to listen to you if you don't feed them. They not even going to know where the meal coming from. They don't care.

[Young Guru]

He hungry.

[Memphis Bleak]

No, that's a. I got to feed.

[Young Guru]

Them to teach them how to fish. That might take me a week. That might take me a week.

[Memphis Bleak]

And that's ill. And these kids done grew lazy, man.

[Young Guru]

I know, I now you know what? It is bleak. And here's another one, you know what I'm saying? And, and I want to make this clear because we talking hypotheticals and we be doing all that like. And I don't want it to be a thing where like your podcast get. You know what I'm saying? Attack. I love the thing of like us when we was young, a thing of therapy and all that didn't exist. It didn't exist.

[Memphis Bleak]

Didn't exist.

[Young Guru]

It didn't exist. I love that. I love that for us to be able to be like, yo, you know what, I may need to go talk to somebody. You know what I'm saying? That's cool. The other side of it is that nobody want to tell these kids that they soft.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, chill.

[Young Guru]

I'm chill. Chill.

[Memphis Bleak]

But that's the truth. No, but hold on, hold on, hold on.

[Young Guru]

I win them every day. So at the same time you can have somebody that's empathetic and understand real generational trauma. Real trauma that comes from. It's so many different angles. I'm with them every day. But you know what happens? I get a 19 year old that the little amount of discomfort is traumatized. Is traumatized. No, you're uncomfortable.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yes, I deal with it.

[Young Guru]

You got. No, you gotta bust through the uncomfortable. Comfortable.

[Memphis Bleak]

I got a son. So I see it, man. That's not trauma.

[Young Guru]

Yeah, the uncomfortable is not trauma.

[Memphis Bleak]

No, man, it's just you uncomfortable, man.

[Young Guru]

And it make them soft.

[Memphis Bleak]

Right?

[Young Guru]

And, and nobody don't want to say that.

[Memphis Bleak]

And I ain't gonna lie, man. It's really. Because it's a lot of absentee fathers, man. I blame the dads, man. It's a lot of like I'm. I'm a person that grew up without a father. So I know the impact of not having the father in the household because my mom had to be both. And it grew to a point where my. You can't. What you what you you can't tell me now you're a woman? The you gonna tell me. So I had to learn in the street. And it wasn't until me having a son knowing what the Jews or son needed. Cuz I couldn't imagine leaving my kid out here without the proper knowledge or proper tool.

[Young Guru]

The crazy part is, it's ill that like I had the exact opposite you.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah.

[Young Guru]

So my father's the head, not only the head of my household, but the head of my family. So the cousins, the everybody. My dad's the like the head dad of all of it.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah.

[Young Guru]

You know what I'm saying? I remember when the 4040 opened, how many ties I had to tie in the front line.

[Memphis Bleak]

You tied my joint. Nobody knew how to tie a tie. That's a fact. Fact. No.

[Young Guru]

How many ties, I was like, yo, yo, I don't have time go. I ain't never tied a tie. I've never been on a job. Yo, yo, what's crazy is I said, you realize Bleak ain't never been on a job interview.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, yo, chill. Cause my man Francie, my man Francis say it all the time like, bleep. Man. How the fuck. That don't even sound right. How the fuck you never been. You never had a job or.

[Young Guru]

Nah, but because you gotta like, literally at the age of 15, 16 years old.

[Memphis Bleak]

Old.

[Young Guru]

You got older. G's like, yo saying to a promoter, I know he's 16 years old, but he's on his record and he's coming here.

[Memphis Bleak]

Hov used to pay a thousand dollars to get me at every club to perform. He used to have to pay one of the bouncers a thousand dollars. Like, I don't care. 16, he gotta get in his club. He got a record out. And that's a fact. Yo, so I know Bow Wow had drama out there.

[Young Guru]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

No, it's real Bow Wow. Probably just major bags.

[Young Guru]

How lucky that is, is. And you be like, yo, like, I had my father and my mother.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah. No, my mom's. When they used to send that blue card from school to go on the trip, my mom had to fill out both sides.

[Young Guru]

I had the mom and father. I had the moms that taught special ed. So my mom's knew all the, like, hookups in the hood. You can get free. This here, free lessons here, free music here, free this here. My mom's taught special ed. Yeah. And all the things thugs, you know what I'm saying? My mom taught them.

[Memphis Bleak]

It's so crazy that me, my hustle as a Kid I used to get paid for taking J nephews to school with picking them up. That was like my first hustle. I used to get a hundred dollars a week. So be like, yeah, well, I'm going to get what, how many times a week y' all need me to get them? I'll be there every day. So that's my only job. I never. And I don't take pride in saying, yo, I never work because I work for everything I got. But they scooped me off the block at 14.

[Young Guru]

So now you definitely work. You definitely work.

[Memphis Bleak]

There's no job out there for me. But that's why. That's why when Rockefeller was over, when hov talk about, yo, this over, I'm looking at him like, what am I gonna do now? I remember hov looking at me like, you, yo, I spoiled you your whole life. Like, I had the red carpet out for you. It's time for you to figure it out. You gotta fly, young man. And I hit the ground running, man. You know, Doucet popped off. I remember they thought I couldn't do it. You. Here we are, baby. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? They know what that do say is shout out my G rugs out there putting that foot on their neck. You know what I mean? That's exactly what we did in my.

[Young Guru]

Will somewhere.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, but that's.

[Young Guru]

That's the bugged out part. Because people think that bleak. They be like, oh, go, you good. Bleak, you good. And I'll be like, no, that is a break glass in case of emergency.

[Memphis Bleak]

And it's not an emergency. Not why you still got two working, right? You're working hands, no breath in your lungs.

[Young Guru]

But also, also, also too. You want to do it like, okay, this is the thing I'm interested in. This is the thing I'm interested in. Okay, Let me go do this. Boom, boom, boom. Yes. For the first time in your life, you like, yo, if it get all.

[Memphis Bleak]

The way.

[Young Guru]

To where I ain't got.

[Memphis Bleak]

Nothing, then I'll break glass in case of emergency. Other than that, we out here grinding, man.

[Young Guru]

No, no, because. Because. Because this is somebody you love.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's right.

[Young Guru]

So. So the. The point of view becomes this person already has to deal with a whole lot of str. Stress, a whole lot of people trying to talk to you. Boom, boom. Why would I add on to that if I really love you?

[Memphis Bleak]

Exactly.

[Young Guru]

It's the same thing of, you know, I'm gonna keep it funky. I'll be trying to, like, you know, protect everybody, but it's like you saying, yo, Carlene didn't give me these amount of tickets.

[Memphis Bleak]

Oh, yeah, I can't wait to get.

[Young Guru]

We gave you seven. We gave you seven first. We gave you seven tickets first.

[Memphis Bleak]

And you wanted more. More.

[Young Guru]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

Colleen, that's my girl.

[Young Guru]

So she said on top of that, I could give you two. You ain't say that part. You ain't say that part. It's cool. But that's my point. On a show day, I'm never going to stress Carleen.

[Memphis Bleak]

No, not on show day. It's. No, she barely.

[Young Guru]

That's like me.

[Memphis Bleak]

She answered that phone.

[Young Guru]

That's like me. On a show day, around 4 or 5 o' clock. I'mma turn the phone off.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's right. It's a rap.

[Young Guru]

Because as much as this is a thing of like, yo, I'mma come watch the Jay Show, I got to perform.

[Memphis Bleak]

And I got to be on point on.

[Young Guru]

I got to be on point.

[Memphis Bleak]

Lose my job.

[Young Guru]

Yes. If I'm not on point completely. Straight up. You see what I'm saying? That's what I mean. So. So I'm never going to stress my people on those particular days. I already know what that is.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's right. You don't know how hard it is. First of all, them Jay Z, Beyonce, those M show tickets, man, this is why I love my G's, man. Y' all think it's easy? Like me and Google just sit here. Yo, we need 10 tickets. We pulling up. Yeah, you better have 10 cashed out tickets. Cause every seat with every ass is a paid seat. There is no free ass and no free seats out there.

[Young Guru]

That's like me saying, no, listen, listen. That's like me coming to you and being like, yo, you my man. Your wife work at Circuit City.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, I need mad tv.

[Young Guru]

I need mad tv.

[Memphis Bleak]

It's free. Yeah, plug me, put me on, hook me up. Wifey in there. I need all the TVs in the back.

[Young Guru]

Not a discount.

[Memphis Bleak]

I need a free.

[Young Guru]

I need a free.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, you don't even want the friends and family form price, nothing. I just need them free.

[Young Guru]

I say, yo, fam, I don't work. I work for Jay Z.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's right. I called.

[Young Guru]

I do not work.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, listen, for the Beyonce. I even call goo. I think a goo like bleak. Now, you know. You know I don't got no plug over there. There's only one person you can ask.

[Young Guru]

For that you got not cause that big dog. That's. That's. I don't feel like I'm supposed To be the person that's supposed to add on to the amount of stress or ready. No matter what city you in, it's a superstar in that city. And they expect to get a free ticket.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's a fact.

[Young Guru]

They expect to be well taken care of. They expect to like, even talk to. And I'll be like, if she even. You know what I'm saying?

[Memphis Bleak]

Like, I seen them tell certain people, get out of here.

[Young Guru]

But just listen, you still gotta be super on point with the dances, with the outfit changes, with the lighting, with the. The.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, yo, goo, chill. You was in Africa with us, right?

[Young Guru]

Yes.

[Memphis Bleak]

Were you like, yo, you gotta be on point. You just brought back a memory. Yo, you remember I almost died in Gabong, my g. And I love my African people. I love Africa. Listen. Tanzania, Gabong, Cape Town, Nigeria, Ghana, Jobberg. We done been everybody everywhere.

[Young Guru]

But this one electricity gave out.

[Memphis Bleak]

That was at the hotel. I'm talking about the club where we performed that. Remember, we did stadiums. The whole Africa. We did stadiums. And this one particular spot in Gabong, I almost died.

[Young Guru]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

Because I don't think y' all came with me. I went with Randy to the show before y' all came, and we getting through. So all the people bum rushed the car. So Randy telling the people, yo, y' all got to clear that gate. Hov never going to pull up to the show. Y' all got to clear the fence. So me, I'm just sitting back, not talking, just watching. So I'm like, all right, I want to see how they going to clear. Cuz it's about 10,000 Africans in front of the gate. So I'm like, how they going to clear this gate? So I'm saying to myself, what the they going to do These Pulled up a box truck, opened the back of the box truck truck and let out like 20 dogs. And they had. You know how New York we got the batons, the they pull out. No, they had tree limbs, like bark from the tree as like a weapon. And they told them, yo, you got to clear the fence. They put so much blood in front of that fence, bro, that I literally had to tell them, yo, chill. Hov don't want y' all clearing the fence like this. Y' all gotta chill. Y' all violate and just tell people to move, move. You don't have to bust everybody head to get them to move. Like, chill. So that's what had me thrown off.

[Young Guru]

My takeaway was like, I had to meet y' all in Taipe, Taiwan. I don't know if you remember this in Taipei?

[Memphis Bleak]

I remember we was in Taiwan.

[Young Guru]

We was in Taipe. And we had to get. Which album was it done. I'm trying to remember which album was. And I had to bust through the front to get to y' all in Taipei, Taiwan. It was crazy. We had so many tour stories.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, yo, and hov was the foulest, man. Cause, you know, goo I used to hit the street, go get the weed for us. Remember I felt the weed in Japan. That nigga.

[Young Guru]

Hold on, hold on. I'mma tell you the best steak I ever had in my life. Oh, my God. I'm going tell you. I'm going tell you the best steak I ever had in my life. Life was in Japan.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's right. Shout out my bro, Nick Yamazaka out there. Yeah, I mean, big. This my guy, poker stars. He won all the money. He got all the money. He out there spending all the money. Richard Millies for just Wednesday. You know, that's how you do it.

[Young Guru]

But, yeah, we went to the joint, yo, and it was like, yo, we went in a. In a room and they brought. Brought this steak that I've never tasted ever again in life. And it was almost. It was almost perfect because the dude was, like, standing outside the room. But then every time, like, you put your fork down, he comes with more stuff.

[Memphis Bleak]

You remember they bought the shrimp alive?

[Young Guru]

Oh, my God.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, listen. They put the shrimp on the grill. The shrimp was alive. They put the shrimp on the grill. Them shits started screaming. Them shits like, yo, I looked at go like, I'm getting the out of here. That goo like, what you'll eat. That's the best part. You bug it. They squish the face down. All that goo was in there on his African eating the face, everything. I'm like, yo, I don't even know who this dude is no more. He turned Japanese on me.

[Young Guru]

Yo, yo, we had some times, man.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, I forgot about that Japanese trip, yo. Yo, Japan. No, nothing is worse than China. China, though, man. China. Them will walk up to you in the middle of the street with a chocolate centipede like, you what I took. You mean, I want. Hell no.

[Young Guru]

I took a picture, right? Because. Because they said it was a sign that was like, Roc Republic of China.

[Memphis Bleak]

Any trafficking drugs through here, subject to death.

[Young Guru]

So hold on, hold on. So you got to understand. So as we travel the world, we.

[Memphis Bleak]

Get the bud everywhere.

[Young Guru]

Everywhere. So it be certain places where I be like, yo, if bleak gotta be without weed for like, three days, I'mma die.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, I'm a die. I died in Korea. Yo, I died in Korea. I left a part of my life out there they don't even know. Korea is Seoul, Korea. It's a part of Bleak there.

[Young Guru]

They don't understand. Hold on. I'm really looking at the calendar. I'm like, like, yo, so Bleak gotta be without weed for like, four days on this part of the thing. Hold on. So it's like already. And this was. This might have been like Blueprint 3, where it was like, already 10 people in J Band. Then Bleak had him and his people with him. You know what I'm saying? So people get this confused. There's a B high and a B I. There's a B high. Ha. That's Jay's cousin. There's a B I as my man. That's Bleak, man.

[Memphis Bleak]

And they grew up in the same building, right? Yeah, they both from the same building, right?

[Young Guru]

So hold on. So we all on the bus and this is like, yo, it's a day where I'm like, yo, it's going to be like four days with this. Where this dude don't have no weed. Joe, understand Bleak is the coolest person in the world. World. He's my brother. But do not be around this man. He ain't got no tricks.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, you going to meet full fledged Malik. Oh, yo, my bro, B, he always say, yeah, you Memphis Bleak. A lot of people don't know who Malik is. When they meet Malik, they like that. I don't like him. Bring Bleak back. Yo, word.

[Young Guru]

I was doing my best, yo. I was doing my best mess. Yo, let's try to find this man some trees before days went by. And I swear to God, if it wasn't my man, he was like, at the point where it was like, I'm.

[Memphis Bleak]

Telling you, I asked a promoter. Yeah, yo, fam, where can I get the butt? That was like. I'm like, what you mean? No? Where we get the weed? Like, no weed out here. I could get you anything at all. They don't do no drug that slow you down. You want drugs that keep you up working. I got that all day. But if it's gonna slow you down, we're gonna send you to.

[Young Guru]

So a lot of people don't really understand a lot of my career, but also, like, trying to keep this out of jail, right? So we go to this joint. It's downtown. We walk in there, it's us, it's Mop Fab, It's a bunch of people. The VIP so packed that I'm like, all right, it's uncomfortable in here. Let me get out the vip. I don't know what the happened. I'm. I'm in the front of the VIP talking to Lays from Mop, right? So it's, you know, it's Mop is Fox, it's Lays, it's all of them. So I'm talking to Lays, me, and Lays is kicking it. All I hear is a ruckus. Just start in the vip. And I'm like, oh, this us. So I'm like, I turn around, yo, yo. And I look and I see Bleak going. Now that Bleak going I gotta come up to. Yep. It was on. Yeah, it was on. It was all. So when the cops come in, they.

[Memphis Bleak]

Locked us in the club that day.

[Young Guru]

They locked Bleak and Leaky.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yep.

[Young Guru]

Right. But we downtown.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yup. Me and Sheik. Yup.

[Young Guru]

Yeah, we downtown. Right? We downtown. So I'm trying to talk to the police officer to tell him, like, you know, first of all, I'm trying to play the Memphis Bleak card. You know what I'm saying? Early with the police officer, like, nah, they going. They're going down.

[Memphis Bleak]

They're going down. Nothing you could do. They going down.

[Young Guru]

Try to play that early. I try to play the young guru card. That ain't work. I try to play the. You know what I'm saying? I know. The promoter card. That ain't work. You know what I'm saying?

[Memphis Bleak]

Hov is the goat for that, too. Cause the next day, they had us in court, right? He had Colleen in court with the envelope.

[Young Guru]

No, but hold on. Before you even get to the next day with Carl, so these two niggas, you know what I'm saying? This is like 2 o' clock in the morning.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yep. We go through.

[Young Guru]

Cool. All right. So I call Karleen. I'm like, yo, Bleed just got arrested. Don't tell hoes.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yep. They lock this up, right?

[Young Guru]

So we go down there, and these two niggas is in the pen on some gangster shit, making it worse.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah.

[Young Guru]

Throwing shit, fighting like room B.

[Memphis Bleak]

We need that bench. We ain't sitting on no floor. We need that bench.

[Young Guru]

Got to move.

[Memphis Bleak]

They know how to book and get.

[Young Guru]

Forget all that gangster. I'm trying to get you out of here.

[Memphis Bleak]

We ain't sitting on no floor while they get trying to get you out of here. Yo, but yeah, Hov sent Carlene to court the next day. She had 100 grand in the envelope.

[Young Guru]

Call the lawyers, Carlene, just in case.

[Memphis Bleak]

I got to bail you out. But, yeah, me and she got had to go to trial for that. For that, man. Shout out Stacy Richardson, too, because she beat the case. I had on a white suit, man. And she was like, yo, if y' all beat this kid up this bad, broke his jaw, did all of this, and you got on a white suit, how come ain't no blood get on you? Like, I don't know, girl. She was like, well, we gonna put this suit in court.

[Young Guru]

This was a normal night going out with Memphis Bleak.

[Memphis Bleak]

Word, regular shit.

[Young Guru]

That that or is plenty of nights again. Back at that time, we was like running up and down the whole east coast getting bags, you know what I'm saying?

[Memphis Bleak]

Going crazy.

[Young Guru]

If it's north of dc, Bleak is gonna go tell the Turtle top to go to A.C. that's right.

[Memphis Bleak]

We on our way to A.C. baby. Shout out my AI used to see Allen Iverson in there all the time. Time at the three car poker table.

[Young Guru]

Yo, I'm trying to tell you, if.

[Memphis Bleak]

It'S north of DC, we out.

[Young Guru]

Bleak is gonna go at 2:00 clock in the morning.

[Memphis Bleak]

A.C. watch.

[Young Guru]

He's gonna go, yo, yo, let's go.

[Memphis Bleak]

To A.C. that's a fact, yo.

[Young Guru]

So I would take out a certain amount of money, and if I lose this, I'm done. I'm done. These niggas will be in there too. Like six in the morning until the.

[Memphis Bleak]

Sun comes come up. We used to be that the sun came the sun up. We driving back down to Jers.

[Young Guru]

Yo, drop me off at my house.

[Memphis Bleak]

Man. One of the illest days that we had, though that turned out to be one of the best sessions was the day we remember. We was in the studio and I forgot what st. I think we was in rock the mic and we was waiting. I think you. You went to sleep too, because I caught. No, you was in the studio. I was homie home and Swiss called me. It was like bleak. I got it. It was like five in the morning. I pulled up to the studio, pick goo up. We went right to Swiss studio. That like, I got the record. Go like, play it. Play like that. We recorded that record right there on the spot.

[Young Guru]

Right there.

[Memphis Bleak]

Five in the morning. By 9. 00am we are at Rock Nate Rockefeller Def Jam playing that record.

[Young Guru]

It.

[Memphis Bleak]

This is the single?

[Young Guru]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

They looking at us like, where y' all made this record at? Yeah, last night, them said the young.

[Young Guru]

Guns right to sw. That's true, too.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo. Took our swag. They like Swiss over there making like this. All right. Send the gunners over there, baby.

[Young Guru]

One of those two SW on fire. Swiss on fire.

[Memphis Bleak]

Swiss was on fire.

[Young Guru]

I like that. That, like, that was different. Like, that play. That's one of them joints that when I play in Dubai.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, it's still green.

[Young Guru]

I can play, like, anywhere.

[Memphis Bleak]

I remember we got off the plane in Africa, and we went on the Africa tour. The Water for Life. That was on the radio, the first song. We all jumped off the plane getting in the car. Hov everybody jump in the car turned on the radio. That's the song on the radio. Like that. We was bugging. Like, oh, word, man.

[Young Guru]

Crazy. I was definitely sleeping baseline. Oh, no. Rock. Rock the mic.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, it was rock the mic then, man. That's crazy, man. Like that session. Shout Out Swiss. It's crazy. DJ Enough was in the studio with us, too. Yeah, I don't think I got 1500 spins from you Enough. Probably, like, probably owe me, like, 60 spins.

[Young Guru]

This bleak is crazy.

[Memphis Bleak]

He probably ought be like, 60 spins, E. Nah, we.

[Young Guru]

You know what it is? You know what it is now. Now it's like, ain't even about the spins. It ain't even about playlists. It's about culture. It's about, like. You know what I'm saying?

[Memphis Bleak]

That's it, man.

[Young Guru]

It's about culture. That's it. That's it. That's all you gotta do. Like. Like, people getting tired of the normal formula. It's just about culture, man. Like, that's it.

[Memphis Bleak]

Culture, integrity. Staying true, you know, and believe what you believe. Don't be a follower.

[Young Guru]

Like, I think. I think. I think that's the thing.

[Memphis Bleak]

One thing.

[Young Guru]

No, but that's the one thing. If you was to look up loyalty in a dictionary, your face is like.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, I should definitely.

[Young Guru]

Me.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yay. Yo, you know, jungle.

[Young Guru]

I face your face. Your face is definitely next to the.

[Memphis Bleak]

Definitely should be there. But I definitely, like, I just want to say these young kids today, man, before we, you know, sign off or anything. Stay true to yourself, man. Integrity. Stop being followers. Because like I said, our own warehouse music group, and we steady looking for talent. And people always say, yo, Bleak, why you don't sign from New York? And it's like, all y' all. If it ain't a boogie, y' all is Chef G and Sleepy Hollow sound alikes. And it's like, bro, they have day lane artists. You have to do what you do. I couldn't imagine. And not at all. Era me trying to sound like Jadakiss Styles or chic or little Cs or Ja rule. Like, it would be like blasphemy. Would have had my head on the.

[Young Guru]

Chopping block that people seeing that with the decline in, like, the sale of hip hop music, people seeing that. And I think it's. It's a bunch of young, like New York cats that's. And females. You know what I'm saying? That's. That's killing it. Yes. It's just gonna take a next generation of. Of executives. So my dream. My dream bleak is. Is like the next executives is supposed to be 22 years old.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yes.

[Young Guru]

You know what I'm saying? You think back to how young we was. We was doing it that next Irv Gotti, that next Dame Dash, that next Jay Z, that next. You know what I'm saying?

[Memphis Bleak]

They the young boys. You gotta give.

[Young Guru]

It gotta be the. Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

And they can't. Of course it ain't the music. Like, I'm not never knocking the music. The drill sound, whatever.

[Young Guru]

These kids.

[Memphis Bleak]

I love it.

[Young Guru]

So many sounds in New York right now.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yes.

[Young Guru]

That's what I see.

[Memphis Bleak]

So many similar. Similar. That's the only thing I don't agree with.

[Young Guru]

On the radio, I just heard a.

[Memphis Bleak]

Dude send me a song, and he was rhyming like Ice Spice. And I was like, fam. Like, for real, Ice Spice. My. Like, I let. This is a girl.

[Young Guru]

It's a lot of.

[Memphis Bleak]

It's like, I never heard a In my era rhyme like Little Kim.

[Young Guru]

I'm telling you, I'm in tune. Tune with. I'm in tune with these young boys.

[Memphis Bleak]

This is getting spooky out. Did not want to be Little Kim. These out here want to be Ice Spice. This is crazy. And she winning, winning, winning. Between her, Lola Brooks, of course, Nikki Cardi, they the staple. But the new. The new young girls out here winning. The girls is applying pressure. And I knew this was coming because I used to say Eve was making it hard for these. She used to go in the booth and bully these. You got Remy been bullying, you know what I'm saying? And now the girls is like, they.

[Young Guru]

It only makes sense, you know what I'm saying? Like, I've been saying that for years. Like, if you think about my whole career is through women. You know what I'm saying? So. So from nonchalant.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, y' all got Rap City Rhapsody.

[Young Guru]

You know what I'm saying? Nonchalant was a beast, like, that whole thing. But the thing about it is just like, they gotta let them be them, you know what I'm saying? And not put them in a. In a box that we had.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's right. And y' all new Artists, don't be them. Let them be them.

[Young Guru]

Right?

[Memphis Bleak]

You don't be them.

[Young Guru]

Right?

[Memphis Bleak]

Okay.

[Young Guru]

You be.

[Memphis Bleak]

You let them be them. Please. Because that's the advice. I remember being a young dude right before Joe Jay Jazzo. I remember J used to be in the coming through the hood with Jazzo. Before they even gave me an opportunity. I used to always ask them, yo, what's the advice you would give me? Like, I remember telling Jazz, yo, yo, bro, I have troubles writing hooks. I don't know how to write a hook. And that was like, just keep writing. It'll come to you. Just keep writing. That was always his answer. Hove too. Yo, hov, how do this how you make a signal? Just keep writing. You'll get it. So that's what I give. You got to develop your own sound by just keep writing. Turn tune everything out. And do you man trust me, if you great is we gonna figure it out and we gonna notice. And that's what it is, baby. You know what it is. We here rock solid. Before we sign off, though. Wait, goo. How did you feel when Beans came at the crew? Like, when Beans went that whole, like, I know me it it. Then they shattered my heart. Like, that's my bro. You know, we passed that now. But how. How. What was your. Your mind state at that time?

[Young Guru]

It's always be elevation. You know, everybody feel how they feel at a certain point, and I just be like, I just be wanting to have conversations.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's it. I feel like conversations can and can be the solution to all problems, but some people always got a problem for every solution. Yeah, not my gossip, but still.

[Young Guru]

But still, it don't matter. Like, there's nothing that can't be talked out. There's nothing that can't be addressed. There's nothing. I feel as though, like, as elder Steve Statesman.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's right.

[Young Guru]

And especially people that have been through it, even if it's not just an example for a younger generation. There's nothing that nobody can't talk through.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's right. And can't get to the bottom of, man. And, you know, I'm glad we passed that. You know, it was just. It was a dark era for our. Our crew, man. And my last question before we get out of here. You think it'll ever be a Rockefeller reunion tour possible?

[Young Guru]

No. Absolutely.

[Memphis Bleak]

Oh, you heard it here first, baby. Rock solid. You know what it is? We remain absolutely boom. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows at, and you can follow me on any social media platform under the name Memphis Bleak. You see anybody frauding, flag them. This is an I Heart podcast.