Episode 8 w/ DJ Franzen

Summary

ROC Solid: Episode 8 with DJ Franzen

Release Date: July 29, 2025

---

Introduction

In Episode 8 of ROC Solid, host Memphis Bleek sits down with the legendary DJ Franny (DJ Franzen) to delve into their intertwined journeys in the hip-hop industry. The episode offers a nostalgic trip through the golden eras of hip-hop, enriched with personal anecdotes, industry insights, and discussions about the evolution and future of the culture.

---

Early Beginnings

Memphis Bleek and DJ Franny reminisce about their early days in the industry, highlighting their first meeting in 1997 during the Chitlin Circuit tour. Memphis shares, “[03:25] I met DJ Mother Francois, my brother from the Bay Area,” emphasizing the deep-rooted friendship that has lasted decades.

Memphis Bleek: “We was in the studio, just two young dudes with dreams, and little did we know the impact we'd have on each other's lives.”
DJ Franny: “[00:27] Tools, allow students to focus, learn and create with ease.”

---

Becoming Icons: Experiences with Rap Legends

The conversation transitions to their interactions with iconic figures like Biggie Smalls, Snoop Dogg, and Jay-Z. DJ Franny recounts his early DJing days, stating, “[07:03] I broke E40 records,” showcasing his pivotal role in spreading Bay Area hip-hop across the nation.

DJ Franny: “[12:32] Mac Dre was really just a genuine person. He loved to turn up and was always on level.”
Memphis Bleek: “[35:12] Victory Lap is one of the best hip-hop albums ever. Front to back, you could play it, run it. No skips.”

Their stories paint a vivid picture of the camaraderie and mutual respect that define the hip-hop community. Memphis adds, “[16:10] Snoop Dogg is that guy, man. He’s the real deal,” highlighting the authenticity and influence of these legends.

---

Impact on the Industry and Communities

Memphis and Franny discuss their contributions to keeping hip-hop alive, especially in regions like Las Vegas. Franny shares his experiences of overcoming challenges, including a period when he was banned from playing hip-hop on the Strip, which led him to create the popular Sweet Parties—safe spaces for women to enjoy music without harassment.

DJ Franny: “[30:22] There was a time when I couldn’t play hip-hop or R&B anywhere on Las Vegas Boulevard.”
Memphis Bleek: “[14:37] You always been in tune with Bay Area music. You would ask me, 'Send me some of that Bay Area music.'”

Their efforts not only sustained the genre but also fostered inclusivity and community support, making a lasting impact beyond just the music scene.

---

Personal Reflections and Stories

The duo shares heartfelt stories that reveal their personal struggles and triumphs. Memphis recalls a poignant moment, “[75:07] So many of these women had lived the same stories,” reflecting on the story of Kelly Harnett, a woman unjustly imprisoned who became a beacon of hope for her fellow inmates.

Memphis Bleek: “[89:11] I always had my limit, man. Even.”
DJ Franny: “[98:08] Let Franny know you’re out here.”

Their camaraderie is evident as they discuss overcoming personal challenges, such as DJ Franny's battle with gambling addiction, and how golfing became a therapeutic outlet for him.

DJ Franny: “[65:18] Golfing is like part of my life now. It changed my life.”
Memphis Bleek: “[89:55] Always had my limit, man. Even.”

---

Future Plans and Collaborations

As the episode winds down, Memphis and Franny brainstorm future collaborations, contemplating the idea of DJ Franny releasing an album or mixtape that captures their rich history in hip-hop. Memphis encourages Franny, “[62:44] You could put out a photo album just of the pictures you have of the history.”

Memphis Bleek: “[63:05] It's never too late. You a DJ that lasts forever.”
DJ Franny: “[100:26] Fantastic. That's that one, though.”

Their discussion underscores a shared commitment to preserving and advancing hip-hop culture, ensuring that their legacy continues to inspire future generations.

---

Notable Quotes

• Memphis Bleek at [03:25]: “We was in the studio, just two young dudes with dreams, and little did we know the impact we'd have on each other's lives.”
• DJ Franny at [12:32]: “Mac Dre was really just a genuine person. He loved to turn up and was always on level.”
• Memphis Bleek at [35:12]: “Victory Lap is one of the best hip-hop albums ever. Front to back, you could play it, run it. No skips.”
• DJ Franny at [65:18]: “Golfing is like part of my life now. It changed my life.”
• Memphis Bleek at [63:05]: “It's never too late. You a DJ that lasts forever.”

---

Conclusion

Episode 8 of ROC Solid with DJ Franny offers an intimate glimpse into the lives of two hip-hop stalwarts. Their stories of friendship, resilience, and unwavering dedication to the culture provide invaluable insights into the industry’s past, present, and future. Whether you're a longtime fan or new to the scene, this episode is a testament to the enduring spirit of hip-hop.

Stay Solid. Stay Roc.

---

For more episodes of ROC Solid, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Transcript

[Unknown]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Memphis Bleak]

Want to feel more creative but don't.

[DJ Franny]

Have the right laptop? Lenovo.com can help. Look through our legendary lineup of AI powered PCs and devices and find the one that fits your passion. Our PCs, powered by Intel Core Ultra processors as well as cutting edge AI.

[Memphis Bleak]

Tools, allow students to focus, learn and create with ease.

[DJ Franny]

That's the power of lenovo with Intel.

[Memphis Bleak]

Inside plus, college students and teachers can.

[DJ Franny]

Get 5% off their order. Shop now on Lenovo. The future's waiting and it needs you.

[Unknown]

The Girlfriends is back with a new season, and this time I'm telling you the story of Kelly Harnett. Kelly spent over a decade in prison for a murder she says she didn't commit. As she fought for her freedom, she taught herself the law.

He goes oh God. Harnett Jailhouse Lawyer and became a beacon.

Of hope for the women locked up alongside her.

[Memphis Bleak]

You're supposed to have your faith in God, but I had nothing but faith in her.

[Unknown]

I think I was put here to save sou getting people out of prison.

The Girlfriends Jailhouse Lawyer listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Danielle Robay]

Just like great shoes, great books take you places through unforgettable love stories and into conversations with characters you'll never forget.

[Unknown]

I think any good romance, it gives me this feeling of like butterflies.

[Danielle Robay]

I'm Danielle Robay and this is bookmarked by Reese's Book Club, the new podcast from hello Sunshine and I Heart Podcast where we dive into the stories that shape us on the page and off. Each week I'm joined by authors, celebs, book talk, stars and more for conversations that will make you laugh, cry and add way too many books to your TBR pile. Listen to Bookmarked by Reese's Book Club on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Unknown]

I knew I wanted to obey and submit, but I didn't fully grasp for the rest of my what that meant for my heart.

Podcasts and Rococo Punch this is the Turning River Road. In the woods of Minnesota, a cult leader married himself to 10 girls and forced them into a secret life of abuse. But in 2014, the youngest escaped. Listen to the Turning river road on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Memphis Bleak]

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 GU drink champs. Big whipping. Yeah Memphis. I'M back at it. Notice the difference. Just more grown, Prezzy. No stones. What it do? What it do, y'? All? Back at it with another exclusive episode of Rock Solid Podcast. Yours truly, M. Greasy. I got my brother in the building. All the way from the Bay Area. Now we out here in Vegas. One of the greatest DJs I ever met in my life. I met this man in 1997 on the chitlin Circuit tour. When I was out there dropping Is all right single. I was on the road with Diamonds in the Rough. My God rail, you know what I'm saying? We had some rep from Def Jam. I forgot his name, but he told me, tuck my chain. I told him he was insane, you know what I'm saying? But we here now with the legendary.

[DJ Franny]

Who was that?

[Memphis Bleak]

I forgot.

[DJ Franny]

Was that Kaiser?

[Memphis Bleak]

No, no, no, it was it Pekkas. No, no, it was somebody else. It was a LA based dude. LA based dude. I forgot his name, though. But we here. And I got my brother in the building. None other than DJ Mother Francois.

[DJ Franny]

My brother.

[Memphis Bleak]

My brother, DJ Franny from the Bay. You don't know.

[DJ Franny]

Before we get started, I just want to say happy birthday, my brother.

[Memphis Bleak]

My brother. Thank you, my brother.

[DJ Franny]

Today is officially your born day. And you know, birthdays are very important to me because, you know, I think a lot of these holidays are made up and shit.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah. You know, they got a lot. Hamburger day.

[DJ Franny]

Yeah, yeah. Pizza day. Tequila Day. I mean, even. Even like Valentine's and all that, you know, that's made up. It's a. It's a move to. It's a move to make us spend money. But our birthday is our real holiday because. Because, you know, it's. It's an official day that we were brought into this world. So therefore, it's a true holiday. So happy birthday, my brother. All my cancers out there, salute.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, it's a season, baby. We outside with it. My brother, man. Friend. Delay bay, man. It's an honor sitting here with you. Like I said, I knew my first time sitting in the studio with you. Let me bring the people back.

[DJ Franny]

Yeah, yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

1997.

[DJ Franny]

Yes.

[Memphis Bleak]

My first time in. In the bay in San Francisco. We pull up the KMEL came here. I'm on the Chitlin Circus. So this was one of the, you know, most known radio stations that opened their door to the new guys because we was just doing college ready.

[DJ Franny]

And this is. This is the number four market in the nation.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yes. And we pull up now, mind you, we pull up. I don't know, Franny. I don't know. Nobody in there. We talking about the single anything. And my guy looked at me and said, yo, roll up. You smoking Duchess? What you got? I got. I got some butt right here. Roll up. And I said to you, yo, we could smoke on the air. And you was like, yeah, right here. Since then, number one DJ in the world. Nobody come close. I don't interview with the best.

[DJ Franny]

And you got to think that was in 1997. Right? Way before we was legal. That's way before.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's what I'm saying. These dudes would never get it. I don't think no DJ in the world got that much props in the station when they let them burn on air.

[DJ Franny]

And, you know, I was still a kid back then. I was 20. I was 20 when you met me, right?

[Memphis Bleak]

17, 16.

[DJ Franny]

Yeah. And. And I didn't even know, like, the impact it would have years later because, you know, weed has brought a lot of people together, man. A lot of good people together.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yes, I know, friend. I know my partner because of you. Right, Fred?

[DJ Franny]

See, that's my dog right there.

[Memphis Bleak]

I remember coming to Vape. We'll get into the Vegas later. Let's talk. We. We in the bay right now.

[DJ Franny]

This is actually when Bleak was. I mean, Bleak been smoking backwoods, but this is when packs of backwards came in. Eight.

[Memphis Bleak]

Eight. But no, when I first met, we was on Dutch Masters.

[DJ Franny]

Yeah, true, true, true.

[Memphis Bleak]

Dutches.

[DJ Franny]

The Dutches. That's right.

[Memphis Bleak]

I was on my Dutch Master Swag back then.

[DJ Franny]

That's crazy, because when I first met biggie in. In 94, him and cease, they were smoking Dutches and White Owls and, you know. And I was smoking Garcia Vegas.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, Yo, Garcia's was the.

[DJ Franny]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, I wanted to ask you, too, because that's another thing, like, knowing being around you. One thing I know you've been around for some of the most prestigious classic eras and not only been around like, you mingle, rub shoulder, shook hands.

[DJ Franny]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

DJ for party with. Went to dinner with some of the greats that some of these people never even got to meet in their life, bro. Like, you said, Biggie, Little C's. I know. God rest, Biggie. God rest Aaliyah. No, you. You knew TLC on the come up. Let go. Rest Left eye.

[DJ Franny]

Yes.

[Memphis Bleak]

Think E40 in them.

[DJ Franny]

All of them. I broke E40 records. Like, oh, you gotta understand, in the 90s, you know, I came. Yo, we broke everybody from Mariah Carey to Boyz II Men to Jodeci to Pete Rock and CL Smooth, you know. You know I mean, the list goes on. And, you know, that era was special. And I met you during that era.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yes.

[DJ Franny]

You know, to me, that's like the golden era of hip hop. You know, it'll always be, yo, I.

[Memphis Bleak]

Tell people that I knew LA before the East, west coast, the bay. Excuse me. My first time going, like, they treated us like as if we was foreigners. Like, when my first time coming to the bay, LA and all that, bro, we was. We was like foreigners. They loved us. And then once the. You know, the drama happened, I was, yo, security. Be on point. Check in, tap in. Yeah, but we talk about the era before that. Like, I remember you introduced me to Richie Rich.

[DJ Franny]

Yes. You guys were on the same label Richie was on. He was on Def Jam.

[Memphis Bleak]

And I remember Richie Rich taking me to the DJ pools. Like, all the little stores out there in the bay and all that shit. Like, we used to be moving, doing crazy. But I always wanted to ask you, what made you get into dj?

[DJ Franny]

Well, I've always been into music because my mom, you know, growing up, my mom, she loved music. You know, she's from the Philippines. Filipino mom that loves music. Anybody out there that knows Filipinos, they're soulful. They love music, they love to dance. They just, you know, they love the culture of. Of. Of the whole thing. So when I was growing up, my mom listened to her little Filipino music, but at the same time, she put me up on the Beatles, she put me up on Whitney Houston, she put me up on Stevie Wonder, you know, Cool in the gang, you know, Earth, Wind and Fire, Frank Sinatra, you know what I mean? Elton John. Like, it was Vibe, it was heavy. But then again, you know, I grew up in an urban area in San Francisco, in the Ingleside district. Shout out to Lakeview.

[Memphis Bleak]

So I'm saying Bay Area.

[DJ Franny]

Yeah, the city. The city. And, you know, when I. When I grew up and I would go to my friend's house and their parents would be playing music.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah.

[DJ Franny]

You know, back then, there was no Shazam. Like, you had to really, like, ask for the information, Right?

[Memphis Bleak]

Who is that?

[DJ Franny]

Yeah. Like, what's the name of that song? And who is that? And it's not like you go on your phone and stream it. Like, this is something you would have to go to actually find at the record store or find a station that's playing it. But, you know, a lot of the old school stuff, like, I was listening to K Mel when I was a kid. That was my jam. You know what I mean? Yeah. So that was a dream come true. But getting back to your question on how I got into DJing, I think it was, golly, I was maybe 10, 11 years old, I seen my cousin playing with a turntable and he started scratching on a turntable. You know, I was always intrigued with music. Like, music was my shit already. So I was like, man, that's kind of cool right there. So I was like, let me try it out, you know, that's how I go. And I tried it out and I was like, oh, this is. I like this. I like this. You know, I was also like, when I first got into hip hop, of course, Run dmc. Jam Master J is like a big influence. Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. Shout out to DJ Jazzy Jeff.

[Memphis Bleak]

God bless Jam Master J. Yeah, forever.

[DJ Franny]

You know, and some of the Bay Area DJs as well, like Hubert, you know, some of the old school DJs that's been doing it. I got influenced by them as well. And when I got this opportunity, I was the kid who was always calling the radio station, requesting songs, trying to introduce songs, you know, 12, 13, like, yo, let me be a guest DJ. So that's how that shit started right there. And by the time I turned 12, my dad bought me a pair of generic ass turntables. Like they had these roll pitches. They weren't technique 1200, they were called Scots. And you know, at 12, like, that's when my journey started. I had a pyramid mixer, two Scott turntables, and whatever records I could buy, you know, so my allowance, I had a paper route. I used to get a little allowance.

[Memphis Bleak]

The way you was on the use of paper.

[DJ Franny]

Boy, oh man, around the block for sure.

[Memphis Bleak]

As a hustle.

[DJ Franny]

I tell, I tell everybody this music shit like DJing. And you know what I do radio, like, this is the only real job I've ever had in my life. I. I've never, like, I'm not one of those DJs that had a second job that depended on something else, you know, like, this is. This was my only job. That's why it's my only form of income.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's why I tell people with the music, I never had a job outside of rapping. Yeah, now do say, but, you know, that's.

[DJ Franny]

Cheers to that, man. Happy birthday.

[Memphis Bleak]

You know, I mean, my brother. But yo, and another thing, like, so the DJing you got in the camel boom and moving. One thing I always been intrigued about and you know, I hung around you for years. We smoked a hell smoke, probably 17 pounds in our life together right now. Facts and I never asked you this. What was it like even knowing Mac Drake? Cause his. His influence, his impact. Like, I never got to meet him. You know what I mean? I know his music. I know him through, you know, Pelly, playing the music through you playing the music. And I know him through every rapper. I don't care, New York, the Bay, even Drake shout out Mac Dre. Like, you know what I mean? Like, his influences is crazy. I like, he's somebody that I, you know, I wish I could have got a chance to meet from the.

[DJ Franny]

Mac Dre was really just a genuine person, like. And, you know, if you listen to some of his early music, like, this is way before thiz entertainment. This is way before all. This is like the early, early 90s. He talked about, you know, what was happening in the streets, you know, the hustle, the struggle, you know, everything. You know, everything with rap is about everything. What the culture is about. And he was just always a chill person. I mean, he loved to turn up.

[Memphis Bleak]

You know, I see, man, when you watch the videos. And he was always on level.

[DJ Franny]

Last time I seen Mac Dre, I'll never forget. Rest in peace, Mac Dre. The last time I seen him on Las Vegas Boulevard, not too far from here, less than a mile from where we're doing this podcast at, and I seen him in an S500, and this dude was ghost riding the S500. I was doing an event at a club called Utopia.

[Memphis Bleak]

I remember Utopia.

[DJ Franny]

And he pulled up right there, right next to the mgm, got a fat burger right behind the fat burger. And he pulled up, but I was already done with my gig. But he was still. He was out there representing the 500. Brand new chill.

[Memphis Bleak]

He was getting too much money.

[DJ Franny]

Oh, man. You know, think about Mac Dre. Like, he. He was really like Mac Drake.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, man.

[DJ Franny]

He was a Mac.

[Memphis Bleak]

I could see he was. He was loud. He was pimping everybody with him. And like, you know what I mean? Like, the west coast, my influence from the west coast, you know, everybody always gonna bring up the Tupacs.

[DJ Franny]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

You know What I mean? Dr. Dre, Snoop. Yeah, but you got the E40s. You got rapid fote.

[DJ Franny]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

You got too short.

[DJ Franny]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

Like, you had Richie Rich.

[DJ Franny]

That's the thing about you, you know, you've always. You've always been in tune with. With Bay Area music all the time, bro. And you would even ask me, I remember, you know, back in the day, you would ask me, yo, man, yo, send me some of that Bay Area music, you know what I mean?

[Memphis Bleak]

Yes, yes.

[DJ Franny]

Send me a mixtape. This is back in the mixtape days when I actually had the. Ain't no email and send me an mp3. Like send me an actual physical copy of a mixtape.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah.

[DJ Franny]

So I can bump it out here and, you know, in New York.

[Memphis Bleak]

No, that's a fact. You know, I always been, you know, all the different regions. Because when I started traveling, you know, when you first start making music, you think it's all about your neighborhood.

[DJ Franny]

Yeah, yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

And then when you go down south, here's these people, you go to this town, south here is this. You go over to Texas, is that.

[DJ Franny]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

Get over to New Orleans. Is this. You get to la, is this. You get to the Bay, is that. You get to San Francisco. I mean, Seattle, you like, it's this. It's like, wait a minute. So that's what made me intrigued to listen to everything and, you know, brought in my, my ear to the music and getting more familiar with everybody. Like, one thing I, I wish I got a chance to do was spend more like, you know, Jay did a lot of collabs with Biggie, spent a lot of time studio. Yo, they hung out. I never really got the chance to really build that relationship with him. Lucy's my dog. Me and Lil C's my dog for life. You know what I'm saying?

[DJ Franny]

Shout out ocs man, people don't even.

[Memphis Bleak]

Know, like, you was there for the big rise and everything.

[DJ Franny]

Like, even I was the first DJ to play Juicy.

[Memphis Bleak]

Like, word up.

[DJ Franny]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

Like, Even when the E40 situation with Biggie and them happened in the back. Yeah, it called Deep by dog.

[DJ Franny]

Yeah, yeah. Facts. You know, a lot of people don't know that, but you know, that's, that's something that'll be told later on in time, whether it's a book or a bio, you know what I mean? Because I have a lot of interesting stories that sometimes I don't even believe. Like. Like when you, when you bring that up, like, you were the first DJ to say roll up in the studio. When I think about that now, I'm like, yo, what was I doing? I know I was a youngin wilding on the radio, but what was I doing back then?

[Memphis Bleak]

Like, yo, nobody. Nobody was on. Oh, hold on.

[DJ Franny]

Turn that light on, man. Why not? There you go.

[Memphis Bleak]

No, I mean, yo, and just to be in the studio, just to say light up. Nobody can do. To this day, weed is legal and people still can't smoke in studio and they place a business. I don't care where you work at you not lighting up.

[DJ Franny]

We got away with murder at Cameo.

[Memphis Bleak]

You kidding me, bro? I used to be out there. I used to love when they used to be like, yo, bleak, you got to do radio in San Francisco. I was like, hell, yeah, book the flight. I'm on my way. I'm getting up with my dogs. Like, you introduced me to a whole wave. Champelli, remember, he had his own we. Kelly was like, 16.

[DJ Franny]

Yeah, that was. That was like, my favorite till this day. Favorite weed, bro.

[Memphis Bleak]

And you listen. Mac, Dre, E40, Snoop Dogg, me, Beans. Everybody done shouted out that they smoking Champelli, Facts, even Dog Pound, everybody. Yeah, they're my dogs, man. Like, word. Dad's my dog, man. Word. Shout out the Dog Pound. Yeah, but, yeah, like, you was on the wave way before everybody, bro. And that's why I wanted to bring you here and give you your flowers.

[DJ Franny]

Because thank you, brother.

[Memphis Bleak]

This platform is for those I deem solid.

[DJ Franny]

Like I said, you know, weed has really brought a lot of great people together.

[Memphis Bleak]

Hell, yeah, bro.

[DJ Franny]

Like, I've met a lot of. I've created a lot of relationship and met a lot of, you know, big, big time people in the industry because of this flower.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, bro, I met you through hov. I still don't even know how you met hov. How HOV used to be like, yo, I don't care where we at. HOV used to put the it. Find Franny. Make sure Franny backstage with us. Get Franny at the show. I used to be like, who this? How Franny got so cool like this.

[DJ Franny]

I think it was the first show I did with Jay Z was back in 1996. This is like, even before he was doing radio. Like, this is. This is right before Reasonable Doubt came out.

[Memphis Bleak]

So it's the $5,000 hole.

[DJ Franny]

There's. Yeah, I'm tell you the story real quick. So there's a promoter named Chuck Live. Shout out to my boy Chuck Live from San Jose, California. And he used to do these. These parties called the booty Hop. Hip hop parties. All right.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah. And.

[DJ Franny]

The crazy thing about this is the majority of the crowd, I'm talking about, like, maybe 80 to 90% of the crowd was Filipinos. This is a Filipino hip hop party going down, like, partying.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's crazy.

[DJ Franny]

You know, I'm 18, 19, DJing these parties. And we're carrying crates of records.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's right.

[DJ Franny]

Geno and kt carrying crates of records for me.

[Memphis Bleak]

Shout out, Geno, kt. Man, I've been around y' all guys, like, my whole life.

[DJ Franny]

Going 30 years.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yes, bro. Like Geno and KT. Yeah. I'll let you finish, though.

[DJ Franny]

Yeah. So we did this event. I'll never forget. It was at the Great American Music hall in San Francisco. We had a. We even had. I don't know. You know, back then, wasn't called twerking, but we had a dance contest.

[Memphis Bleak]

Basically, it was whining.

[DJ Franny]

Whatever it was called.

[Memphis Bleak]

Dirty Whining.

[DJ Franny]

Dirty one. So Jay Z performed. That was, I think, one of Jay's first performance performances in San Francisco, if not his first one. Wow. Yeah. And I'll never forget, Chuck live told me. Yeah, man. I. You know, I paid Jay five grand to come here tonight. And I'll never forget, because I met Jay Z, I met Dame, and I met Biggs all in the same night. And at that exact table were the two dudes from Chris John.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yes, yes, yes. The brothers. Yeah, the Anthony brothers.

[DJ Franny]

Yep. They were there, and I remember hearing something about, oh, yeah, we're gonna sign these dudes.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah. Nah, they was ahead of their time, bro. Yeah, Chris John was ahead of his time.

[DJ Franny]

You listen to that.

[Memphis Bleak]

Full of smoke. That album bro is still album. Vibe was. They was ahead of the time. Them and J. Damon Biggs.

[DJ Franny]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

With the R B wave.

[DJ Franny]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

Serious.

[DJ Franny]

Oh, let me promote my R B party. Every Wednesday night. If you're ever in Vegas, come to Hakkasan. We do this R B vibe. It's. It's. It's a beautiful thing.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's right.

[DJ Franny]

Do say, do say all over everywhere, man.

[Memphis Bleak]

Do say always, man.

[DJ Franny]

So ho perform for 5,000.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's insane.

[DJ Franny]

And that's when I introduced myself to him. I'm like, yo. I walked up to him, I'm like, yo, man, I really appreciate you shouting out the Filipinos. Because on ain't no. He said, coach Bag looking half black and Filipino. And I was like, yo, yo. Nobody ever gave Filipinos a shout out until that song.

[Memphis Bleak]

And it's crazy that when you come out to the bay, it's majority Filipino in the bay.

[DJ Franny]

A lot of Filipinos out there.

[Memphis Bleak]

You look at the videos and you be like, oh, it's this. And then you get there, you be like, hold on. It's mixed. It's like New York. I could get around out here.

[DJ Franny]

So that was 1996. So every time, next year, 97. Right. And just think, you were on. You were on Reasonable Doubt. You were on that album. So when that album came out, I was like, wow, this is a. This is a masterpiece. That's when I first heard you I was like, okay, Memphis bleak. Okay, I gotta meet this dude one day.

[Memphis Bleak]

And then we smoking at the session.

[DJ Franny]

And it happened the next year. So every, you know, every time you and hov came to. Came to the Bay, you held it down. It was most likely me who was gonna converse with y' all and do the interview with y'. All.

[Memphis Bleak]

You held it down all the time. I get off the airport, the plane, you had somebody there to pick me up. You had a bud ready at the airport.

[DJ Franny]

Champelli had it ready.

[Memphis Bleak]

Word up. Like, yo.

[Unknown]

Kelly Harnett spent over a decade in prison for a murder she says she didn't commit.

I'm 100% innocent.

While behind bars, she learned the law from scratch.

He goes, oh, God. Harnett, jailhouse lawyer.

And as she fought for herself, she also became a lifeline for the women locked up alongside her.

[Memphis Bleak]

You're supposed to have your faith in God, but I had nothing but faith in her.

[Unknown]

So many of these women had lived the same stories.

I said, were you a victim of domestic violence?

And she was like, yeah, but maybe Kelly could change the ending.

I said, how many people have gotten other incarcerated individuals out of here? I'm going to be the first one to do that.

This is the story of Kelly Harnett, a woman who spent 12 years fighting not just for her own freedom, but her girlfriend's, too.

I think I have a mission from God to save souls by getting people out of prison.

The girlfriends, jailhouse lawyer. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[DJ Franny]

From.

[Unknown]

Iheart podcasts and Rococo Punch. This is the turning River Road.

I knew I wanted to obey and submit, but I didn't fully grasp for the rest of my life what that meant.

In the woods of Minnesota, a cult leader married himself to 10 girls and forced them into a secret life of abuse.

Why did I think that way? Why did I allow myself to get so sucked in by this man and thinking to the point that if I died for him, that would be the greatest honor?

But in 2014, the youngest of the girls escaped and sparked an international manhunt.

For all those years, you know, he was the predator, and I was the prey. And then he became the prey.

Listen to the turning river road on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Danielle Robay]

Just like great shoes, great books take you places through unforgettable love stories and into conversations with characters you'll never forget.

[Unknown]

I think any good romance, it gives me this feeling of like, Butterflies.

[Danielle Robay]

I'm Danielle Robaix and this is bookmarked by Reese's Book Club, the new podcast from hello sunshine and I Heart podcasts. Every week I sit down with your favorite book lovers, authors, celebrities, book talkers and more to explore the stories that shape us on the page and off. I've been reading every Reese's Book Club pick, deep diving booktok theories and obsessing over book to screen casts for years. And now I get to talk to the people making the magic. So if you've ever fallen in love with a fictional character or cried at the last chapter or passed a book to a friend saying you have to read this, this podcast is for you. Listen to bookmarked by Reese's Book Club on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Memphis Bleak]

The summer of 1993 was one of the best of my life.

[DJ Franny]

I'm journalist Jeff Perlman and this is Rick Jervis. We were interns at the Nashville Tennessean. But the most unforgettable part, our roommate, Reggie Payne from Oakland, sports editor and.

[Memphis Bleak]

Aspiring rapper, and his stage name, Sexy Sweat. In 2020, I had a simple idea. Let's find Reggie.

[DJ Franny]

We searched everywhere, but Reggie was gone. In February 2020, Reggie was having a diabetic episode. His mom called 911. Police cuffed him face down. He slipped into a coma and died.

[Memphis Bleak]

I'm like thanking you, but then I see my son's not moving.

[DJ Franny]

No headlines, no outrage, just silence. So we started digging and uncovered city officials bent on protecting their own. Listen to finding Sexy Sweat on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Memphis Bleak]

Bringing up Geno. Geno. I think he noticed. You know, Geno saved my life before, right? In the bay.

[DJ Franny]

Nah, you never told me that.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, bro, listen, we in the bay. I had a show, bro. I don't even know who booked me, but this is when I was doing the Get Low records thing, okay? And you know, shout out J.T. bigger figure.

[DJ Franny]

J.T. the bigger figure.

[Memphis Bleak]

So we out there, right? You know what I'm saying? And mind you, I didn't know who he was. I didn't know the drama. It was drama. I didn't have no clue. Gino was at the show with me. So I'm on stage performing, you know, I mean, doing my thing, and Gino walk on stage in the middle of the show, just the last song. So I'm looking at him like, what up? He was like, this the last song. So as soon as we. I'm like, all right. I tell my man Don DeMarco, let's go. Let's get out of here. And Gino, he like, yo, stay right behind me. We get out, like, we get outside the club and was really trying to roll on us. And Gino, like, you know, he tell him like, yo, he with me. Like, how y' all go disrespect. And, you know, they fell back on the strip for Gino. But we got in the car, and then I'm like, yo, what's going on? He like, yo, bleak is on you. Like that. JT is serious. You gotta get to the bottom of it. So I'm out there lunching. I had no clue.

[DJ Franny]

You had Get Low records and they had to get Low Posse.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yes. I had no clue. So they always thought I stole like. Like that. I came to the Bay. Cause I was in the Bay so much with y' all that they figured that I got that. And they had no. No clue that it was never that. And then I remember. I'm gonna tell you a story, right? Cause JT right after that happened. So now, you know, my alert is up, all right? Every time I come to the Bay, it's on jt. I gotta watch out. I don't know who this guy is, right? Yo, bro. So I get to la. We have a show in la, right? Jay is so foul. Cause hov like, yo, you know, JT Bigger figure looking for you. So I'm telling hov.

[DJ Franny]

Oh, wait, Jay say that?

[Memphis Bleak]

Yes. He like, yo, JT looking for you. So I'm like, what? Like, how you know what's going on so you're not popping my man. I don't give a. We see JT is up. It's whatever. Yo, bro. We get to the Bay. So now we at the show, you know, Hope, like, we in the Bay. You better watch out. J.T. looking for you. So he keeps saying this all day, right? We backstage. I go in Jay dressing room for say who. In the dressing room with him, JT Bigger. I look at Hope, like, yo, you trying to set me up. Wow. Yo, I swear to you, no lie. And that's when I met the homie. We kicked it. Everything was. Was chill, man. He's a really, really good dude, man. Word out. We've been cool ever since, man. You see, a lot of rap beefs is all over misunderstanding. A lot of people could get to the bottom of things if they sat down and communicated. Yeah, like, communication is key, man. You know what I'm saying?

[DJ Franny]

Yes, Sir.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, so with that being said, Franny in the Bay is a different Franny from Franny in Vegas. You know that, right?

[DJ Franny]

Oh, yeah, I know that. You got to think, you know, when I lived in the Bay, I didn't drink hard liquor.

[Memphis Bleak]

But you was active.

[DJ Franny]

I was active.

[Memphis Bleak]

I think that's just the culture of the Bay. Yeah, I think y' all have any active? Yeah, we active. I think that came from the Bay. Am I correct?

[DJ Franny]

Most definitely.

[Memphis Bleak]

Because y' all definitely had your own vibe. Y' all ghost riding the whip, dance music, and come on, the whole club shift crazy.

[DJ Franny]

Like, you've seen it.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, bro, it's many times. Like, it's unbelievable.

[DJ Franny]

You've seen the culture even out here in Vegas. You've seen it. People come out here from the Bay because it's a hop skip and a jump, right? Like, what is that our flight?

[Memphis Bleak]

Let's give you your props for Vegas because for the last. I gotta say about a good. What, you've been here, what, 15 years?

[DJ Franny]

Nah, man, 20 years. It'll be 24 years in August.

[Memphis Bleak]

So think for the last 24 years, you the reason why hip hop is still alive in Vegas. You're the only club you DJ at. The only club that still play hip hop.

[DJ Franny]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

Who's the DJ there? Granny? Yeah, DJ at Club Dre's. You know how big that is, man?

[DJ Franny]

Like, yeah, man, I'm going on my 11th season over there.

[Memphis Bleak]

Like, that's insane, bro. Like, when a person come to Vegas, for them to hear real hip hop, they gotta come here, you play it. Did you ever think about it in that aspect?

[DJ Franny]

Well, you know, there was a time when I was banned from playing hip hop on the Strip.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah. Cause Vegas, they got a lot of rules. You get banned on the Strip and it's serious.

[DJ Franny]

There's a black book out here and everything. It's serious. But there was a time where, I don't know, a three, four year period where I couldn't play if I was playing hip hop or. Or R B, I couldn't play it anywhere on Las Vegas Boulevard. Yeah. So, you know, that happened. So that's when I used to throw all the sweet parties at the Palms. You still doing, you know, sweeties? We still do that. Yeah, we still do the sweet parties.

[Memphis Bleak]

But listen, that's what we.

[DJ Franny]

You know, that's when we started doing that. It started out small, and then. And then people heard about it.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, yo, yo, listen. If you haven't been to a Franny Sweet party, I don't think you ever really been to a sweet party? I remember when I first met my wife, we came to your birthday party out here in Vegas. It was like, 2014. No, that's when I got married. This was around 2010, 2009. First sweet party you invited me to is me and wifey, we pull up palms. Yep. And I get in there with wifey, and I'm looking around, and I'm like, this before we was married. So I'm looking around like, why did I bring her with me? Franny didn't give me this. He didn't update me that, yo, it was gonna be nine to one. Like, it literally was only, like, six dudes at the party.

[DJ Franny]

That's what's crazy about that. Those sweet parties is because, you know, I wanted to do this really for the ladies, just for them to have a comfortable space to dance, chill, bring the girls, and, you know, have a drink without dudes harassing them. Cause we're. We're different over here. We don't. We don't harass the females. You know what I mean? We don't believe in doing that. So they would always feel comfortable. So every time I did one, they always wanted to bring more girls. And that's how it happened.

[Memphis Bleak]

It was unbelievable.

[DJ Franny]

Like, literally, like. Like, the majority of my parties, like you say, probably six to one.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, as you see, I never been to another one. His wife, he been to that one. Like, oh, no, that ain't happening. We cool. Better go to the day after Franny birthday.

[DJ Franny]

Yeah, so I did that. I did that for a good. Well, I'm still doing that, right? But, like, from my pleasure, from my friends. You know, I did that for a good. When I got banned from the Strip. Even before I got banned, as a matter of fact, I was doing it when I was at poetry and gallery and prive. Like, I DJed at a lot of clubs out here in Vegas.

[Memphis Bleak]

Like, people don't know, man. Like, when you hear Drake say, me, Franny and Molly mall at the Cribo, they. I don't think they know who Franny is. That's why I had to bring you here, because you got legends like Drake shouting you out on records. Like, I remember when I came here in the wreckage. I remember hearing the record home and then calling you when I came to Vegas and sink, the record go off, and you like, Blizzard. He did this at the Crib. And I'm like, no, he did this.

[DJ Franny]

At the Cribo studio. That's what he shouted out the Cribo.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, that's crazy. I know. That session had to be ill my G, you know?

[DJ Franny]

You know how that happened? I've told this story before, but some of these people I know probably never heard this. But that happened because he wanted to use a studio to do a hook for. For a Rick Ross song, which was Diced Pineapples. Wow.

[Memphis Bleak]

Damn. That's crazy. That's crazy.

[DJ Franny]

So he's like, yo, I gotta record this hook right quick for Rose. Like, perfect. Come through. Yeah. He did that and then pulled out his laptop. He had a beat pack. He started playing beats. I heard the motto beat. I was like, yo, that's it. What is that? I said, what is that right there? So we put that beat on. On repeat for a good 15 minutes. He's got his BlackBerry. I'll never forget this. Dude pulls out his BlackBerry. As a matter of fact, before we even recorded the song, he said, yo, you have your laptop? I always have my. My backpack. I stay ready.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, stay ready, ready, ready, bro. All day.

[DJ Franny]

So he was like, yo, I need you. I need to hear some Mac Dre songs. So I played him some Mac Dre songs.

[Memphis Bleak]

I'm telling you, that's the impact. Mac Dre got my G. I'm telling you, bro, like, he's one of the most influential rappers outside. Outside debate, I think, because, you know, when you do people, you don't have respect to the biggies, the Tupacs, you know, the pop smokes, like, all of those. The big puns. Mac Dre never saw that industry success, but he definitely got that industry respect, if not more facts, you know what I mean? Like, his respect on the west is, you know, God bless another soul. Nipsey respect. It's same level, bro. Like, same exact insane.

[DJ Franny]

And Victory Lap is one of the best hip hop albums ever.

[Memphis Bleak]

Ever, ever, ever, bro.

[DJ Franny]

Front to back. You could play it, run it.

[Memphis Bleak]

No skips.

[DJ Franny]

No skips, man.

[Memphis Bleak]

No skips.

[DJ Franny]

Shout out to 1500. Shout out to Mike and Keys.

[Memphis Bleak]

Oh, yo, bro.

[DJ Franny]

And shout out to Granny, too. Rest in peace, Granny. Rest in peace, Nip.

[Memphis Bleak]

Definitely, man. That's the fan, man. 1500 or nothing. Mikey Keys, man. That's from. Yo, bro. You introduced me to all of these guys. Like, I met all these people through you at the Cribo, bro. We used to be down there wilding, and y' all had Drake there. I came to one of your birthday parties. You had Drake there again. And I used to be like, damn, hold on. This friendly not only pull hov out, pull big out. Pulling Drake out, too. Like, that's what I mean. Friendly.

[DJ Franny]

It's all an organic thing though.

[Memphis Bleak]

You.

[DJ Franny]

And you know that.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's what I mean. Like, a lot of these guys try to get these relationships with these people and they can never be done. And I watched you build these organic relationships and really genuine friendships because you'll go to OVO Fest, you'll be at Made in America with you be everywhere, like, and you know what I'm saying? And it's organic love with everybody that gotta feel like, you know why you ain't just rap dog. Come on, man.

[DJ Franny]

It's a blessing to be around that because, you know, a lot of that shit is history. Like.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah.

[DJ Franny]

Go down in history history. Like you. You took me to my first Coachella ever.

[Memphis Bleak]

No way.

[DJ Franny]

I'll never forget. It was. It was right after BP3 came out.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yep.

[DJ Franny]

HOV performed. And I'll never forget this bleak. It was me. You. It was me, you and Woo. We were on a side. Wooski. We were on the side of the stage. And I'll never forget when. When B came out. What she do? Forever Young. Yeah, she did Forever Young. They performed that. And I'll never forget looking at the crowd and looking at everybody going crazy. And I seen this one chick just pass out, bro.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, B.

[DJ Franny]

And I haven't seen that like at a concert since Bone Thugs in Harmony back like in 99 when. When busy and. And what's the other? Lazy.

[Memphis Bleak]

Lazy, busy and crazy. Yeah.

[DJ Franny]

No, but when the two light skinned dudes were rap.

[Memphis Bleak]

Over with. Over with.

[DJ Franny]

Like these dudes, I mean, these dudes, as soon as they hit the mic, these girls are crying and they're passing out.

[Memphis Bleak]

I've never been to a Bone Thugs in home.

[DJ Franny]

Crazy.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's crazy, man. Word.

[DJ Franny]

I'll never forget. I'll never. Like, that's one of those moments in my life life. Like, I remember seeing it vividly. Like these girls are passing out over these dudes like rap singing.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's crazy.

[DJ Franny]

Like, so when I seen. When I seen Beyonce come out and. And surprise the crowd, people are excited, taking out their phones. And I seen a couple girls pass out. I was like, oh, this is real, right?

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah. No, you can you see how big Coachella is now, man? They got Lady Gaga there.

[DJ Franny]

Yeah. Like, yo, they got like these big EDM DJs. Like, with full production. These dudes are spending their whole budget on the show and not even making money.

[Memphis Bleak]

We got to get a helmet for you. They got Danger Mouse marshmallow. We got to get that helmet for you.

[DJ Franny]

I ain't doing that. This is like the hat.

[Memphis Bleak]

The hat.

[DJ Franny]

My glasses. Like, I've been wearing hat and glasses ever since I was like 6 years old. My helmet.

[Memphis Bleak]

They ain't going to know it's you. We don't know who them people are. It's like the blue man group. That could be any blue dude. Who is the people. Oh, like, they ain't going to know.

[DJ Franny]

Like, have a. For EDM DJ name, Fran or some.

[Memphis Bleak]

They getting 250 grand to DJ. I want to learn how to DJ like crazy.

[DJ Franny]

And you know what's crazy is, you know, EDM is like the easiest genre to dj.

[Memphis Bleak]

It's the same beat or every record. Every record is.

[DJ Franny]

Have fun with it, though.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah. No, and then they have fun. They live their life. I'm not taking nothing away from edm. They have major fun. Fun. They have fun. It's not my fun, but they have fun.

[DJ Franny]

You know, there's different types of edm. I like the more soulful. Like, I. I like. I like melodies. I like to hear lyrics.

[Memphis Bleak]

Flashing lights. I'm gonna get a headache. I'll keep it.

[DJ Franny]

But, you know, there's songs like, you know, Rihanna, that one song, you know, you got. You know, the Chris Brown song. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, those are. Those are good songs.

[Memphis Bleak]

If they flip your record, the Edmund them.

[DJ Franny]

Oh, man.

[Memphis Bleak]

Out of here.

[DJ Franny]

Yeah, I ain't playing no hip hop. I'm playing no EDM version of a hip hop record.

[Memphis Bleak]

You out of here.

[DJ Franny]

You see what Never address. You'll never hear me do that.

[Memphis Bleak]

What's the homie? What's the homie? Big's artist, my man St. John. You see what they did to St. John?

[DJ Franny]

Nah.

[Memphis Bleak]

When they remixed his record that with Diamond. Crazy out of here, bro. And I think some dude from Russia did that. A Russian DJ flipped in.

[DJ Franny]

And, bro, those like European, Russian, German.

[Memphis Bleak]

DJs France saying, Bro, crazy insane, bro. I got.

[DJ Franny]

Those are superstars.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yes, they are, man. Talented.

[DJ Franny]

Steve Aoki, you know what I mean? Zed, David, Greta, DJ Snake. He's a beast. Oh, my God. Yeah, Snake plays a. He plays. He plays hip hop, though.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, man. A lot of them, man. All them DJs, man. All the DJs overseas, man. Shout out. All the DJs overseas. Overseas. Showing love.

[DJ Franny]

You're connected overseas, bro.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, everywhere.

[DJ Franny]

Yeah, this guy right here is connected overseas. I don't think you guys understand anything you guys need. Yo know somebody there?

[Memphis Bleak]

Hey, Blizzard. All you got to do is spin the glow. Wherever your finger stop, hit blizzle. I got the plug there.

[DJ Franny]

Like, what's your favorite spot? Like, as far as I know, you've been all around the globe. What are some of your favorite spots to travel?

[Memphis Bleak]

I don't have, like, I'm still learning them, man. Like, I'm doing Zanzibar this year. This ain't an interview of me. Whether it's you. Don't try to flip it off me like what just happened.

[DJ Franny]

But it's not an interview, though. This is more like a vacation. It's your birthday.

[Memphis Bleak]

What's your favorite spot that I've been to? Yes. Cause y' all love I go front. I gotta go to Cabo with you. I love I gotta do Cabo with you because y' all boys make Cabo look like it's the. I ain't never been Cabo.

[DJ Franny]

You know what I'm saying? See, we were just talking about Gino. He's here. No, but Cabo is very relaxing. We stay in San Jose, not San Lucas. San Lucas is like where all the club are, you know, where all the college kids go. You know, it's 18 and over. They could drink out there. 18 and over. I can't go to Mexico, so we stay in San Jose. But if we want to turn up, we take that 20 minute ride to San Lucas. It's a vibe.

[Memphis Bleak]

Cancun is different. Cancun is it? I never been to Cabo. I got to do that. But what's your favorite place to travel?

[DJ Franny]

I just came from Hawaii, you know, for my birthday. Like, I love. I love that spot that's right here. That's closest.

[Memphis Bleak]

Cheating. That's like me saying Puerto Rico.

[DJ Franny]

That true, true. But it's just. It's just something about that spot, you know?

[Memphis Bleak]

Nah, Hawaii is lit. You saved my life in Hawaii, yo. Let's get to that. You probably don't even remember you saved my life. Yo.

[DJ Franny]

I don't remember a lot of things, bro. You know that. You have to remind me for me to have that memory click back on, bro.

[Memphis Bleak]

20, 19. 2020. It had to be be before COVID Yeah, right before COVID Okay. Me and wifey go out there during Thanksgiving weekend. We like, yo, we gonna do something different this year because we seen the homies go lad. The year before, they had a ball swimming with the dolphins, doing everything. Hawaii in Hawaii.

[DJ Franny]

I've never swam with the dolphins in Hawaii.

[Memphis Bleak]

Wilding, right? Doing everything.

[DJ Franny]

That's on the bucket list now.

[Memphis Bleak]

Doing some everything. They was wild and doing unbelievable boat out in the water. So me and wifey, like, all Right, Cool. This year, we going. Gonna do what they did. We're gonna go out there and it rained, it was cold. We land. We had to go to the mall, buy sweatpants and everything. And I remember I didn't even get to see the beach one time. And I remember calling you like, yo, Franny, you gotta have a plug out here. And you like, yeah. I got my guy out there, Sunil, and he pulled up, you know, he brought me to.

[DJ Franny]

That's my guy.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, listen, he. He from. What, is he from Pakistan or Palestine? Some of his family.

[DJ Franny]

Yeah, Pakistan, India, around that area.

[Memphis Bleak]

So they boug. You know, they were having the Thanksgiving, like, family thing at the crib. So he invited me and my wife over there. Family is wonderful family. We had a ball. But one thing that stood out to me, right, I learned something interesting that day because one of his cousins was in town from Pakistan, and he like, yo, my cousin's visiting. I want to introduce you to him. I was shocked the guy knew who I was talking about. Bleak. Yeah, we heard your music. I'm like, oh, that's dope. You know what I mean? That's ill. So, boom. Sunil, walk away or whatever. We in the kitchen, I'm talking to the cousin. So, you know, they got the. The. The ice tray there with the bucket of sodas and everything. So he look at me and he like, yo, Bleak, can I get one of those Cokes? So I'm like, fam, I'm a guest here. Like, you family? How you asking me for something? I don't even know these people. I just met all of y' all.

[DJ Franny]

40 minutes ago, and he's asking.

[Memphis Bleak]

He asked me for a Coke. So I'm like, yeah, go ahead. They for everybody. He was like, man, where I'm from, that's a Christmas gift. Gift. Blew my mind. Blew my mind. Like, what? He's like, yeah, bro, that's a Christmas gift. You can't. Ain't just out there freely like that. You get stuff like that, like a Snickers or something like that for Christmas. Like, that's insane, bro. And you think it's people out there living like that?

[DJ Franny]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

And ever since then, me and Sunil, that's my guy, man, I go. I go to Hawaii vibe with him. You know how many people go out there now? I tell them, yo, I got the plug. Acting like I'm you down.

[DJ Franny]

No, that's good people. So Hawaii is definitely one of my favorite spots to go. I like, you know what? I like to go to Toronto, too. They Love music out there.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, you ovo. You know ovo Facts.

[DJ Franny]

Facts.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, but I ain't mad at you even.

[DJ Franny]

Like there's times I go to Toronto where I won't even lick with nobody from OVO except like 40. 40 is always down to smoke. I go to the studio.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's why I heard you a real good dude.

[DJ Franny]

Really, really good dude.

[Memphis Bleak]

I never met him though.

[DJ Franny]

Really good dude. Man. Shout out to 40, man. Man, smoke that bull rider, Bleak. They got that bull rider from Canada. Yo. Word. No, I'm telling you, bro, that bull rider is special. It's like their version of the OG Kush. It's weed Bull rider, but it's called Bull Rider, bro. Facts. Need to try some of that.

[Memphis Bleak]

I haven't been to Toronto in forever, man. Now, I mean, I got a gold plaque from to my dude shot clear out there. I mean.

[DJ Franny]

Oh yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

You know what I mean?

[DJ Franny]

Official.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yep. Caught, man. Cardinal official. Was. He was Drake before Drake in Toronto. There was nowhere you could go out there if people didn't say, yo, you know, Cardinal official. I used to be like, no, I never met him. Didn't they play his music everywhere when.

[DJ Franny]

He got signed, I remember he came out here to Vegas and he came to the show and I interviewed him and ran some of his songs and we've been cool ever since.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, no, he a good dude. I met him a few times out.

[DJ Franny]

There doing his thing.

[Memphis Bleak]

Hell yeah, man. It's a lot of artists out there in to doing their thing. It's a lot of talent to. I'm married now. T dot but I'm be honest.

[DJ Franny]

Come on.

[Memphis Bleak]

Toronto. Come on. Might have.

[DJ Franny]

Hello. I know where you going.

[Memphis Bleak]

The most beautiful women in the world.

[DJ Franny]

They, they really do facts.

[Memphis Bleak]

I just 1 million percent I just have to say yet one. And you know, they're really nice.

[DJ Franny]

Canadians are really nice too.

[Memphis Bleak]

You know, I, I, I think I felt gonna laugh.

[DJ Franny]

You know, London got some pretty women too. But they, they smoke cigarettes though, bro.

[Memphis Bleak]

But I think I found Victoria's Secret secret plant where they. Because you know, you look at Victoria's Secret book, you like where these girls at? They don't walk the street. These girls don't exist. They growing these girls in a plant somewhere.

[DJ Franny]

Where Toronto. They, they from Finland.

[Memphis Bleak]

Finland or Sweden?

[DJ Franny]

All nationalities too.

[Memphis Bleak]

My wife gonna hate me, but if I, if I was Swedish or Finnish, I'd be lucky.

[DJ Franny]

Bleak. It's not just that though. You got, you got everything out there though.

[Memphis Bleak]

Everything, bro.

[DJ Franny]

They got everything out every country really bad though, you know who's really, really bad, though? Those East African ones.

[Memphis Bleak]

Oh, yeah. Yes. I was in beautiful. Yo, bro. I was in Gabon. Then I went to Tanzania. Then we went to Cape Town, where I never seen more black people driving Bentleys and Lamborghinis and Ferraris in my life. It's insane. And then going through the mall, you looking at certain girls, and they're like, yeah, she a princess.

[DJ Franny]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

Where like, I want to be king.

[Unknown]

Kelly Harnett spent over a decade in prison for a murder she says she didn't commit.

I'm 100% innocent.

While behind bars, she learned the law from scratch.

He goes, oh, God. Harnett, jailhouse lawyer.

And as she fought for herself, she also became a lifeline for the women locked up alongside her.

[Memphis Bleak]

You're supposed to have your faith in God, but I had nothing but faith in her.

[Unknown]

So many of these women had lived the same stories.

I said, were you a victim of domestic violence?

And she was like, yeah, but maybe Kelly could change the ending.

I said, how many people have gotten other incarcerated individuals out of here? I'm going to be the first one to do that.

This is the story of Kelly Harnett, a woman who spent 12 years, 12 years fighting not just for her own freedom, but her girlfriend's, too.

I think I have a mission from God to save souls by getting people out of prison.

The girlfriends, jailhouse lawyer. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Memphis Bleak]

From.

[Unknown]

Iheart podcasts and Rococo Punch. This is the turning river road.

I knew I wanted to obey and submit, but I didn't fully grasp for the rest of my life what that meant.

In the woods of Minnesota, a cult leader married himself to 10 girls and forced them into a secret life of abuse.

Why did I think that way? Why did I allow myself to get so sucked in by this man and. And thinking to the point that if I died for him, that would be the greatest honor.

But in 2014, the youngest of the girls escaped and sparked an international manhunt.

For all those years, you know, he was the predator and I was the prey. And then he became the prey.

Listen to the Turning river road on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Danielle Robay]

Just like great shoes, great books take you places through unforgettable love stories and into conversations with characters you'll never forget.

[Unknown]

I think any good romance, it gives me this feeling of, like, butterflies.

[Danielle Robay]

I'm Danielle Roubais, and this is bookmarked by Reese's Book Club the new podcast from hello Sunshine and I Heart Podcasts. Every week I sit down with your favorite book lovers, authors, celebrities, book talkers and more to explore the stories that shape us on the page and off. I've been reading every Reese's Book Club pick, deep diving booktok theories and obsessing over book to screen casts for years and now I get to talk to the people making the magic. So if you've ever fallen in love with a fictional character or cried at the last chapter or passed a book to a friend saying you have to read this, this podcast is for you. Listen to Bookmarked by Reese's Book club on the iHeartRadio at app Apple Podcasts are wherever you get your podcasts.

[Unknown]

What would you do if one bad decision forced you to choose between a maximum security prison or the most brutal boot camp designed to be hell on Earth? Unfortunately for Mark Lombardo, this was the choice he faced.

[DJ Franny]

He said, you are a number, a New York State number, and we own you.

[Unknown]

Shock incarceration, also known as boot camp camps, are short term, highly regimented correctional programs that mimic military basic training. These programs aim to provide a shock of prison life, emphasizing strict discipline, physical training, hard labor and rehabilitation programs. Mark had one chance to complete this program and had no idea of the hell awaiting him the next six months.

[DJ Franny]

The first night was overwhelming and you don't know who's next to you and we didn't know what to expect in the morning. Nobody tells you anything.

[Unknown]

Listen to Shock incarceration on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[DJ Franny]

How many different countries have you been in Africa?

[Memphis Bleak]

I did Gabong, Tanzania, Cape Town, Joburg, Morocco. I've. I'm trying to do Egypt. That's my next stop.

[DJ Franny]

What was the hottest spot?

[Memphis Bleak]

Everywhere. Hot everywhere.

[DJ Franny]

Because I know Africa is always hot.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo bro, listen, is this hot to.

[DJ Franny]

You today in Vegas?

[Memphis Bleak]

No.

[DJ Franny]

Okay.

[Memphis Bleak]

Nothing in America is Africa hot. There is nothing in the world. Even with the humidity, there is nothing in the world gonna prepare you for Africa hot. And there's nothing gonna prepare. You've been to Dubai.

[DJ Franny]

Never been to Dubai.

[Memphis Bleak]

Listen, the flags is mad in Dubai. Them shits is like, why you hang me up? You know? Ain't no wind coming through here, fam. Like flags.

[DJ Franny]

I gotta go golfing in Dubai. Then if there's no wind and it's hot, that ball's gonna travel.

[Memphis Bleak]

Them glasses, them shit's gonna fog up soon as you go outside.

[DJ Franny]

That already happens when I go to Houston Or Miami, Atlanta during the summertime.

[Memphis Bleak]

Me and wifey went for her birthday during July. Dubai, bro. I wanted it. Was it. One thing I like about traveling in them places, though, I look at it as that's my cleanse. Because you know you can't smoke. There ain't no weed out there.

[DJ Franny]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

Only person could smoke in Dubai is your man. I don't know why I call you Snoop. You know Snoop is written in the law in Dubai. That's crazy. I didn't even know.

[DJ Franny]

I didn't even know that.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yes, because one of the prince I heard out there wanted him to do a show and he didn't. He was like, nah, I'm cool. Cause I can't smoke. And they made it a law off that Snoop Dogg. That is to blow it down in Dubai.

[DJ Franny]

That is mine.

[Memphis Bleak]

But I don't got Snoop number. When I'm out there, it's like, yo, I gotta hit Snoop so he can hit the homies and let him know, blizzle the homie.

[DJ Franny]

You know what's crazy too? Like, back in those days, we had sessions with Snoop.

[Memphis Bleak]

Bleed, bro.

[DJ Franny]

Me, you, Snoop.

[Memphis Bleak]

I died in the room with you and Snoop. Gang. Tell him, G. I died. I lost my life in Vegas in the room with you and Snoop. That's when.

[DJ Franny]

Oh, that was. That was like early 2000s. That's when I first moved to Vegas.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yep, that's when he had the. The. Yo, think about it. He had the Teen Summit Suite in the Palms. Remember that? Oh, yo, that's right. As I'm thinking about it, I'm like, yo, the Teen Summit Suite in the Palms. Remember? Snoop was smoking so much, that's my first time actually seeing.

[DJ Franny]

So that was around 2006.

[Memphis Bleak]

Just flowing through the air like this. Sitting there. He came out with the whole box of swishes already rolled.

[DJ Franny]

Cause you know, once. Once that blunt is like. Once that backwood is like half done, it's over with.

[Memphis Bleak]

But this was swisher so Snoop back. Yeah, this wasn't even backwards.

[DJ Franny]

You're right.

[Memphis Bleak]

Swisher, Snoop, he smoked my life away. I left that room little half dead put his.

[DJ Franny]

I'll never forget. You know I used to do Snoop Dogg radio, right? This is like way before podcast, like so. Yeah, so when I left Cameo, before I came to Vegas, there was like a seven month period where I did Snoop Dogg radio, a syndicated radio show where we. Yeah, well, we were syndicated in like 30 different cities. You know what I mean? We were on every Sunday. I think every Sunday we were on. We were on the beat. Remember the beat in la?

[Memphis Bleak]

Hell, yeah, man.

[DJ Franny]

So we were on that station. So that was like, a big deal to me. Even though, like, I didn't really do a lot. Basically, all. All we were doing was conversing and playing records, you know what I mean? And smoking. And his and his wife would write me a check every time, every week. Yes. Would write you a check? Yes. I got like, Snoop paid me to be on there, talking with him. I'm like. I'm getting, like. When I think about it now, I'm getting paid to smoke weed, get flown out.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's the Ellis job in the world with Snoop Dogg. That's the end job in the world.

[DJ Franny]

You did that for, like, six or seven months before I moved to Vegas, man. That was. That was an experience. But, like, Snoop is another guy like, we've known for a long time.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, Snoop the big.

[DJ Franny]

I remember you guys did that record on Rock La Familia. Get your mind right.

[Memphis Bleak]

And you know what's crazy? I didn't even know he was gonna be on that joint. Me and Jay laid that verse first, and then, you know.

[DJ Franny]

Where'd you guys record that at?

[Memphis Bleak]

In Basel.

[DJ Franny]

Baseline.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah. This was really. Man, we did the whole.

[DJ Franny]

The whole album. Such a classic. Too crazy.

[Memphis Bleak]

We did it in, like, a week, too. Jay was putting pressure on everybody.

[DJ Franny]

I remember when we, like, was Emil always late to the studio?

[Memphis Bleak]

Sometimes, like, you know, like, Emil caught the bad end of the stick, man. Like, I wanna. I would love to let her come up here and tell her story, but, you know, like, she's one of those girls I look at. That was, you know, love, man. Love. Of course. You a lot in this game.

[DJ Franny]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

You know what I'm saying? Like. And everybody love, like. That's why I say you can never question how people love or grieve. Everybody deal with that in their own manner, in their own way. You gotta just respect it, you know what I'm saying? But she had a major shot, bro. Yo, but I remember, I was in Africa, right? We had a show, and Snoop came in the room. You know what I mean? He was hollering at HOV in Africa. In Africa.

[DJ Franny]

All the way in Africa.

[Memphis Bleak]

And Snoop pull up, right? So, you know, he come in the dressing room, he holler at hov. So then he ask hov he like, yo, where Bleak at hov? Must have told him, like, Bleak got his own dressing room. But before he came over there, hov came in the dressing room, he came to me. Me. He like, yo, Bleak, why Snoop Looking for you. I'm like, yo, that's my dog. Me and Stu. Hey. He's like, oh, man, I thought it was something guy like you did something or something. Like, nah, me and Snoop be blowing it down. That's the homie. Man, Jay ain't even know that we was cool like that. He was looking like the hell Snoop doing. Looking for a little bro like that. Let me find out what's going on. Word.

[DJ Franny]

That's Snoop Dogg.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, word. He was looking for me. Word. We held it down in Africa. Snoop is that guy, man. Like, I'm gonna tell you an ill story about one time I was in la. Just popped up, right? La? They said, Snoop having the Pimping players.

[DJ Franny]

Having a what?

[Memphis Bleak]

The Pimping Players Ball.

[DJ Franny]

Oh, yeah, yeah. Remember he used to do that with Don Juan.

[Memphis Bleak]

With Don Juan. He had all the pimps there. Everybody with the curls shout out, Kenny.

[DJ Franny]

Red, man, rest in peace.

[Memphis Bleak]

Kenny Redd, everybody, right? So, yo, so somebody must have told Snoop I was in the building. Did. He had no clue I was coming to this, huh? He had no clue I was coming to this Pimp and Players ball.

[DJ Franny]

Oh, you actually went to one?

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, I went regular dress.

[DJ Franny]

You've never told me this.

[Memphis Bleak]

Regular dress, regular dress, regular clothes. Everybody suited Booty girls dressed to impress Thongs, boobs out. AB it's the pimps and play as ball. They carry girls by the leash, everything.

[DJ Franny]

Oh, the hoes are out.

[Memphis Bleak]

It's crazy. Listen. So somebody tells Snoop I'm in the building. He gets on the stage, he never even comes out. Say what up to me. I'm in the crowd, chilling, gets on the stage. I like to make an announcement. We got one of the young OGs in the building. And I just want to bring him to the stage, give him an award. Because ever since I met him, he'd been a stand up guy. I'm like, you know me. I don't know who he talk about, what's going on.

[DJ Franny]

Yeah, yeah, he said, but you hear everything he's saying.

[Memphis Bleak]

So he said, I got my guy. Memphis Bleak. All the way from the East Coast. Brooklyn, make some noise, y'. All. Memphis, come to the stage. So I go to the stage, right? He like, yo, I got this award for you just because you a real one, you like us and we support our people from the east that support the west, you know, all this. He giving me the speech, he gave me the award, said, this award here is for the best assistant pimp in the game. What year was this? This was like 2003. Two. Thousand two. Yo, bro, I still have the trophy in the crib. I've never.

[DJ Franny]

Never told me that. Have you ever told that story?

[Memphis Bleak]

No, I never.

[DJ Franny]

That is crazy.

[Memphis Bleak]

No, I swear. The best assistant pimp in the world. It was like, did he just dis me or. He showed me love? Like, I didn't know, but I take the award.

[DJ Franny]

The thing about Snoop is he's a very standup guy.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, Major. Genuine, bro.

[DJ Franny]

Very standup guy. Very nice. I've never liked the times being around him. I've been around him for many years, right? He was even a resident artist at Dre's.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yes, I remember.

[DJ Franny]

Snoop will take a picture with anybody.

[Memphis Bleak]

Real.

[DJ Franny]

He will miss his flight to take a picture with anybody. Like, he's. He's a genuine. He's a genuine guy. And this guy, I'll never forget. One time, after we recorded one of the shows, we leave the house with no security. Bleak, like, no, we take off.

[Memphis Bleak]

But look at what you saying, bro. You telling me stories about Mac, Dre, Biggie, Hov, Drake, Snoop. Yo, bro, that's legendary.

[DJ Franny]

I got stories with bleak, too.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, it's getting fine smoking backstage. Dad's charging us. Y' all gotta pay 500. You smoking in the dressing room again? Oh, yeah, we got those type of stories. Yo, bro, it's insane the life you live, man. I'm. I'm not. I might not never say it. I might not never show it, but just know I'm one of those guys that's on the sideline however they want to say it. Admiring, bro. Like, I always admired what you do, how you move, how you did it. I always like me one thing I always said, why Franny never did this? You had all the plugs in the game. Every rapper, when they come to Vegas or the bay, the first person they hitting is his granny. Why you never did an album? Like a clue.

[DJ Franny]

That's something. That's something I've been thinking about, like, for the last 20 years, and it's just never came to fruition, bro.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, bro, like, just off the.

[DJ Franny]

Like, I know G be on me about that, too, because you got make beats, too.

[Memphis Bleak]

You could drop a photo album. You don't even have to drop an album. You could put out a photo album just of the pictures you have of the history. I say, between you and Lin S, y' all have more history in the game than any other photographer, I believe, because y' all was there for the real moments. You know what I mean? The moments that solidified people as Stars as icons.

[DJ Franny]

Damn. Lenny S. You talking about Lenny S. I remember when Lenny S used to drive the. The E class with the logo, with the Rockefeller logo.

[Memphis Bleak]

You know he still got that car?

[DJ Franny]

No.

[Memphis Bleak]

Oh, my God. Lenny still have the car?

[DJ Franny]

No. Yeah, Lenny I need to see that.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, Lenny still have the car. Word.

[DJ Franny]

When they did the book of Hov.

[Memphis Bleak]

And all that they was trying. They. They took pieces of it and put it in the museum for the book.

[DJ Franny]

That's crazy. Kodak lens, man and thing.

[Memphis Bleak]

He started as a photographer. Yeah, but back to my question. Why you never did an album on mixtape? It's never too late. I just dropped a joint and they said it's my best work. I can't believe it. It's like 20 years later.

[DJ Franny]

You got some shit on there.

[Memphis Bleak]

I take it that it's never too late. And you a DJ that lasts forever. I told you. Let's put the mask on, man. Who we gonna be? It's marshmallow. It's danger mounts. Come on, man, let's get some money. They ain't gonna know who you is. I'mma be the voice. You just dj.

[DJ Franny]

Let's make it happen, Shaq.

[Memphis Bleak]

Even out there like this.

[DJ Franny]

Let's make it happen. You know, we could definitely get some people on the album too.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, bro, you know you can. You connect E40, all you. The whole bay gonna come out and support you. You know that half of the east coast, when it come to Fab Jada, kissing the locks like, bro, rest in peace, dmx, everybody. With Franny. My. You kidding me, dude? Yo, I should have called you to get some features on my album. Maybe I'd add some features. I got no one on there. I should have hit Freddy.

[DJ Franny]

Sometimes it's better like that, though. Like when you don't have features on the album. You know what I mean? Yeah, of course. You still got it bleak.

[Memphis Bleak]

Like sometimes you need that boost. Remember, like flipping. They put their hand. You put your foot there. Like 1, 2, 3. You need a boost sometimes. But it facts.

[DJ Franny]

It's never too late. And you know, I've had this. I've had this title forever. Like for an album called Better Late than Never.

[Memphis Bleak]

And when you come to the yo, when the people come to the west, man, like I told you, you've been keeping hip hop alive. Vegas, bro. Like when people come to Vegas, the only place they're gonna hear that real genuine hip hop, authentic music is by your hand spinning it. There's no else. You go everywhere else. Flashing lights and not the Kanye song. Neither fact, straight up. You better be ready to get your. Your Jersey Shore fist pump ready, man. Bring. Pack that in your L, Blake.

[DJ Franny]

Once again, happy birthday, Bleak.

[Memphis Bleak]

My brother.

[DJ Franny]

Appreciate you, bro.

[Memphis Bleak]

My brother, man. Cancer gang. We out here, man.

[DJ Franny]

Cancel season.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, so what made you switch again to golf? Because now I see everybody golfing.

[DJ Franny]

Man. Golfing is. Golfing is like part of my life now. It's changed, changed my life. Like, for real.

[Memphis Bleak]

He said it's big money.

[DJ Franny]

I wake up at 5am I used to go to sleep at 5am yo.

[Memphis Bleak]

That'S how me and Fred got cool. That's why I was gonna tell you before you finish that question. Let me remember I said earlier, the. The Franny in the bay is different from the Franny in Vegas. The Franny in the bay. I used to land in the bay. Franny active. We outside, we go, Franny. And they used to be sleep all day. Yo, I used to come to Vegas and be like, yo, Franny calling him, calling him, calling them, call him. No answer. That sun go down. Yo, bro, you know, I was in the crib, Dad. I was sleep all day, yo, now.

[DJ Franny]

That sun go down, that's when I wake. And I used to wake up.

[Memphis Bleak]

So all I had to bring you.

[DJ Franny]

Was some golf clubs to get you up, I guess. I guess. But it's really changed my life though.

[Memphis Bleak]

Like, I see, man, it's just something.

[DJ Franny]

I found that I. I really had a passion in. Yeah, Like, I seen other, you know, other people playing it. I was at topgolf one night just, you know, playing some of the. The featured games that they have.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah.

[DJ Franny]

Have over there. And I invited one of my boys, Will, and he see me hit, you know, hitting. And he was like, you should come out in the golf course and you know, and play around. I was like, ah, I don't know, man. I don't have that confidence yet. But then he threw a tournament like, three weeks later. He was like, I got you around. Just come out here. So that right there made me buy golf clubs right there. That off the top. I had to buy some irons, I had to buy a driver, I had to buy a putter. You know, the whole deal. I had to buy ball.

[Memphis Bleak]

I had to spend the most expensive sport.

[DJ Franny]

Man, golf is the most crazy sport. I've spent a lot of money on that. But, you know, it's brought me joy to my life and I want some money, definitely want some money off of. But at the same time, it's also made me change my whole lifestyle. Like I said, I wake up at like, 5, 6am now you up?

[Memphis Bleak]

Now I see friendly back is up.

[DJ Franny]

And I go to sleep. And I go to sleep before midnight. Now, if I don't have to work.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah.

[DJ Franny]

You know what I mean? If I'm not at Hakkasan, I'm not at Dre's. I'm not at any of the other events that I do at night time. I'm going to sleep early. So I can not just do that, you know? And I just got knee surgery a couple, you know, a couple weeks ago, and I'm still doing physical therapy. Therapy.

[Memphis Bleak]

So golf is.

[DJ Franny]

You know what I mean? Like, therapy. You say that. That, and, you know, real pt. So, yeah, you know, it's definitely helped me out.

[Memphis Bleak]

I used to say, people who golf just want to get away from it.

[DJ Franny]

You see your boy Ja? Ja's on it right now. Heavy. He's already got a hole in one.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, listen, listen. Ja is different. He invited me with him for a birthday trip.

[DJ Franny]

I remember you told me the story.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, bro, every morning, he think I'm waking up early on vacation to go golfing like, Ja. I catch you after breakfast, fam. Then I go with him one morning, hurt my knee. You hurt?

[DJ Franny]

You didn't tell me that.

[Memphis Bleak]

Hurt my knee. And they like, yeah, that's just beginners. That's beginning. Like, you gonna get over it. Couple more games, you. Nah, fam. This ain't for me, right? It's hot. I don't even know how to swing. I'm swinging like a baseball bat. It's not going where I. I wanted to go. It was. It was bad. So I told John Cool then, first of all, this. I know it's the most expensive sport. I didn't even have to buy clubs or anything. I had to buy shoes. This was 150. It's like, wait, these ain't even no Air Force ones. Nothing.

[DJ Franny]

Like, I remember, you showed me the whole fit.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, bro. Had me out there looking crazy by gloves.

[DJ Franny]

You had to buy golf balls. You had to rent clubs.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, my wife thought I was gonna get down. I looked that up. You seen state property? Get down and lay down. I'm gonna lay down, girl. All right.

[DJ Franny]

Nah, but, you know, golf is like life, though. You know, you get that one good shot, you're like, damn, I could do this shit.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah.

[DJ Franny]

I could really do this shit.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah. Yo, yo, but one thing, too. I don't want to look over. I say you keep. You kept hip hop alive in Vegas, but during COVID you kept that shit Alive on Twitch too.

[DJ Franny]

IG was going hard.

[Memphis Bleak]

You had.

[DJ Franny]

I still have.

[Memphis Bleak]

We used to have 10, 15,000 people a night in there watching you. DJ. Yeah.

[DJ Franny]

You know, shout out to Aneel over there at Twitch. Like, he really made that. That happened with all the DJs. Like, at a time where we didn't even know if we were going to be working anytime soon, what was going on. Like, you got to think they were telling us, oh, yeah, we'll be down for like two, three months. We'll be back to it. We didn't. Like. I didn't want to believe. I don't believe every. Any. You know, everything I hear, word up. Can't be gullible. That's a fact. Whether the news is saying it, the government's saying it, whoever's saying it. That's right. I'm not going to believe it. Right. We all. We're all entitled to our own opinions. That's right. But you know, there was a time where I was streaming on Instagram and they would cut us off. If you weren't de nice, it would cut you off every 15 minutes. Because the copyright infringements, right? Yeah, the copyright infringement, exactly. The label started hitting them. They didn't care. They didn't care if you on a radio or we're doing the biggest clubs in the nation. They didn't care. Like, it's crazy. You were going to get cut off. So Twitch was an avenue to play music without getting cut off. And I didn't even know you could get paid from it. You know what I mean?

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah.

[DJ Franny]

And. And I. I built a crazy community. And from time to time, I still go on Twitch and they're still there.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's what's up, man.

[DJ Franny]

Crazy. Real. It's a real community. And some of these people I've met in real life, like, these people are.

[Memphis Bleak]

From all over the world.

[DJ Franny]

From London. From.

[Memphis Bleak]

Bro.

[DJ Franny]

You know what I mean? From.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's all over one reason.

[DJ Franny]

New Zealand.

[Memphis Bleak]

Like, that's why I love Vegas, man.

[DJ Franny]

Because you flew to Vegas to come.

[Memphis Bleak]

You touch everywhere. I feel like between Vegas and Miami, you get the chance to touch everywhere. You never know where people. Where people flew in from.

[DJ Franny]

You already know. Florida is different because everything is two hours away. You could go to any island you want. Two hours away. That's a hack. It's a cheat code. Living in Florida, bro. I don't think a lot of people, like, who really love to.

[Memphis Bleak]

A lot of people don't take advantage of that. Right.

[DJ Franny]

You know what I'm saying?

[Memphis Bleak]

A Lot of people don't travel. They stay where they at. They feel like they live in paradise. Everything is right here.

[DJ Franny]

You gotta think, like, in that. In that area in the Caribbean, like, you got everything. Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, Saint Kids, St. Martin.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yes.

[DJ Franny]

Barbados, everywhere.

[Memphis Bleak]

Trinidad, St. Lucia. Yo, I just went to St. Lucia. Oh, my Jesus.

[DJ Franny]

Yo, bro, listen, how was the weather? Humid.

[Memphis Bleak]

Amazing, Bro, listen.

[DJ Franny]

The water was blue.

[Memphis Bleak]

One of the best countries I think I visited in a while, man. Like an island. Like, how was it? Fun? Amazing, bro. Bro.

[DJ Franny]

Fresh.

[Memphis Bleak]

Amazing. They got some of the best seafood. The culture there is amazing. I didn't know what the. What the. What I was even expecting.

[DJ Franny]

Straight farm. The table.

[Memphis Bleak]

Crazy, bro. Like, I love it, man. Like, St. Lucia is lit. I'm trying.

[DJ Franny]

You ever been to Columbia?

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, yeah. I did Colombia with Fred for his birthday.

[DJ Franny]

Colombia has some of the best seafood chicken. No, no, no. Seafood, too.

[Memphis Bleak]

In the world.

[DJ Franny]

But their chick. I don't know what they're doing with their chicken out there, but it's just. It's different. Different. I've tried fried chicken, grilled chicken, rotisserie chicken, everything. Smoked chicken. I've tried everything in Colombia. Jug, you ain't.

[Memphis Bleak]

You ever seen them, like, handle the chicken right in front of you? Pause, like, nah, listen. In Africa, shout out, my man Saffy. Yo, listen. He like, yo, Bleak.

[DJ Franny]

I met Saffy before.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, yeah, in Jersey. That's my dog, man. Yo, he like, yo, Bleak, you gotta come with me to Africa. We going to Accra, Ghana, chilling at the crib. Me and B. I, we was out there for probably, like, two weeks at the Homie Crib. So, you know, he had the chefs, the maids, all that at the crib. And one day, the lady was like. One of the chefs was like, yo, what y' all want to eat tonight? So, B, I like, yo, we want chicken. She like, all right, well, come in the back. So we like, all right. What's in the back? We go in the back. She like, pick a chicken.

[DJ Franny]

Pick a chicken. Get the out of here.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, bro, they running around everywhere. Chickens everywhere. So I'm like, yo, we just pick a chicken. She like, yeah, so, like, all right, that one. Yo, bro, that chicken, like, how they say, yo, you run around like a chicken with his head cut off. That is a hundred percent facts, yo, bro, she grabbed the chicken like it was none. Grab the neck, cut the head off that started moving around crazy. Run around with no head. Like, so you know me. Blood everywhere. They're all like, like, that's wild. What's she gonna do now? She started the feathering that. Cutting it up, cutting this up next, you know, chicken on the table, bro. Cooked it, done. I'm like, yo, no way. That's my first time ever seeing that. And she was looking at us like, yeah, y' all city boys.

[DJ Franny]

That is insane.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, bro. Crazy.

[DJ Franny]

I don't think I could. I don't think I. I almost didn't want to eat the chicken because I don't eat beef or pork. Like, I don't. I don't eat anything that walks on four legs. Lamb. Lamb. You with lamb, right?

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, I with lamb.

[DJ Franny]

Like the. The lamb at Fred C's restaurant at Romans. Crazy. Yeah, crazy. That's what everybody says.

[Memphis Bleak]

Crazy.

[DJ Franny]

Gino, you ever had that lamb? Yeah, at Roma's.

[Memphis Bleak]

Crazy, man. You know how we do, man. That's the best.

[Unknown]

Kelly Harnett spent over a decade in prison for a murder she says she didn't commit.

I'm 100% innocent.

While behind bars, she learned the law from scratch because.

Oh, God. Harnett, jailhouse lawyer.

And as she fought for herself, she also became a lifeline for the women locked up alongside her.

[Memphis Bleak]

It's supposed to have been faith in God, but I had nothing but faith in her.

[Unknown]

So many of these women had lived the same stories.

I said, were you a victim of domestic violence?

And she was like, yeah, but maybe Kelly could change the ending.

I said, how many people have gotten other incarcerated individuals out of here? I'm gonna be the first one to do that.

This is the story of Kelly Harnett, a woman who spent 12 years fighting not just for her own freedom, but her girlfriend's, too.

I think I have a mission from God to save souls by getting people out of prison.

The girlfriends, jailhouse lawyer. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

For my heart Podcasts and Rococo Punch, this is the turning river road.

I knew I wanted to obey and submit, but I didn't fully grasp, grasp for the rest of my life what that meant.

In the woods of Minnesota, a cult leader married himself to 10 girls and forced them into a secret life of abuse.

Why did I think that way? Why did I allow myself to get so sucked in by this man and thinking to the point that if I died for him, that would be the greatest honor.

But in 2014, the youngest of the girls escaped and sparked an international manhunt.

For all those years, you know, he was the predator, and I was the prey. And then he became the prey.

Listen to the Turning river road on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Danielle Robay]

Just like great shoes, great books take you places through unforgettable love stories and into conversations with characters. And you'll never forget, I think any good romance.

[Unknown]

It gives me this feeling of like butterflies.

[Danielle Robay]

I'm Danielle Roubais and this is bookmarked by Reese's Book Club, the new podcast from hello sunshine and I Heart podcasts. Every week I sit down with your favorite book lovers, authors, celebrities, book talkers and more to explore the stories that shape us on the page and off. I've been reading every Reese's Book Club pick, deep diving booktok theme series and obsessing over book to screen casts for years. And now I get to talk to the people making the magic. So if you've ever fallen in love with a fictional character or cried at the last chapter or passed a book to a friend saying, you have to read this, this podcast is for you. Listen to bookmarked by Reese's Book Club on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Unknown]

What would you do if one bad decision forced you to choose between a maximum security prison or the most brutal boot camp designed to be hell on earth? Unfortunately for Mark Lombardo, this was the choice he faced.

[DJ Franny]

He said, you are a number, a New York state number, and we own you.

[Unknown]

Shock incarceration, also known as boot camps, are short term, highly regimented correctional programs that mimic military basic training. These programs aim to provide a shock of prison life, emphasizing strict discipline, physical training, hard labor and rehabilitation programs. Mark had one chance to complete this program and had no idea of the hell awaiting him the next six months.

[DJ Franny]

The first night was overwhelming and you don't know who's next to you and we didn't know what to expect. Expect in the morning, nobody tells you anything.

[Unknown]

Listen to shock incarceration on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Memphis Bleak]

But Joe. Yeah, now we got some stories, man. Remember in New York, it had me and my guy Franny sitting on the curb? You remember that? The police.

[DJ Franny]

Oh my goodness. That was your truck we was in.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah. Yo, remember it was me, you and.

[DJ Franny]

Fred C. See Hawaii Mike?

[Memphis Bleak]

We did see him. Yeah.

[DJ Franny]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

And we was. Came after that. We were sitting there smoking. Oh, yeah. And we got in the car and he came out. Remember the police tapped on the side of the door? Fred was like, yo, that's a fan right there. I think he wore A picture. I told there ain't no fan. That's the police. Like, get out the car. Remember they had us sitting on.

[DJ Franny]

The head is handcuffed.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah. On the curb. Sitting there in New York City. I'm telling them. I'm like, yo, my people not even from here. Here, the weed is mine. But remember, you checked my pocket. I had the. The fop card.

[DJ Franny]

Family.

[Memphis Bleak]

A police officer. The gold card got us off. He let us go.

[DJ Franny]

That's right.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah. Remember?

[DJ Franny]

I forgot about that.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah. Got us off with the family. You.

[DJ Franny]

Who else? Fred.

[Memphis Bleak]

Fred and your man, Hawaii Mike. And Hawaii Mike had us sitting on the curb in Chinatown.

[DJ Franny]

And I think Hawaii Mike's wife came.

[Memphis Bleak]

Out like, what the hell? Yeah, yeah. They was on us. We almost went through. Book them down, Manny.

[DJ Franny]

They were undercover.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, they pulled his badge out. Fred thought they was fans. They knocked on the side of the truck like that. Fred like, yo, some fans knocking on the truck. I think they want a picture. I looked out the rear view mirror like, fred, that ain't no goddamn fan. That's a cop, yo. And that. That one story. And I got another story where, bro, you. I always said you my good luck charm when it come to gambling and Vegas, yo. I mean, we left the club. I think it was Dre. No, it wasn't Dre's.

[DJ Franny]

No, it was way before.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, it was way before Dre's. I forgot what club it was. But we came. We was in the mgm, and we sat down to gamble. My nigga, I started with $500. Remember? We sat there for about three hours. I walked away from that table with $35,000. I remember looking at Freddie like, nigga, we just killed them. Like, yo, were I. Yo, bro, that was wild.

[DJ Franny]

I do remember that.

[Memphis Bleak]

I never won, ever. I think I gave the 35 back by now because I never won. Yo, my wife hate coming to Vegas with me. And she know I call her the Black Cat. I lose, I say. Cause I bet you I lose.

[DJ Franny]

Oh, my goodness.

[Memphis Bleak]

She tell me I'm the prize. That's why, like, yo, word, bro. Crazy.

[DJ Franny]

Do you still gamble?

[Memphis Bleak]

Hell, yeah. When you're on there. Hell, yeah. I'm ready to go hit the tables right now.

[DJ Franny]

No, when we left Dre's the other.

[Memphis Bleak]

Night, I was at that.

[DJ Franny]

We were heading out.

[Memphis Bleak]

600 pack. I had to run. I'm telling you. I've been losing so much that now 600 feel like a win. Like, I'm out.

[DJ Franny]

We have. We must bleak. We must advise these people, like, Vegas is serious. And then we'll take. We will take your money.

[Memphis Bleak]

Like my dog say, casinos is not built off winners. That's some of the best advice that they could tell you right there. A casino is not building. You start thinking like you, right?

[DJ Franny]

You know, the other day, I'm walking through the casino. I'm a stoner, so I'd be thinking about crazy. And I'm looking at all these slot machines, right? You know, some people are gifted. They hit lucky with.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, y', all, man, the milkman, he.

[DJ Franny]

Hit on the slot all the time, talking about Ferris.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, the milkman.

[DJ Franny]

Gino, too. Gino Gin know has selective slot machines that. That he, you know, plays. Yeah, But I'm looking at all these slot machines. I'm like, how much money? Like, as far as Vegas goes. Like, how many slot machines are in Vegas taking money right now every day? And how many. How many are really, like, giving back? Yeah. And those giving back are the ones that got that. That ice in their vein. Because they think, okay, I won this jackpot. I'm gonna go try it again.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, listen.

[DJ Franny]

Next thing you know, the whole jackpot is spent. You have to get out. You have to get out.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yes, you have to get out. Get trapped in the. In the casinos, man. The longer you stay like me. Listen, I'm the cheapest gambler. Like, I'm gonna be honest. I go in there with the mindset. Cause since I won 35,000, I want to win 35,000, everybody, every time I sit down. But my limit is 500. Because I look at it right. If the table is 25 a hand or $50 a hand, with 500, I got more than 10 shots. If I swing at something 10 times and I don't hit, I don't think I need another 10 shots to be like, yo, I won. It ain't my night, fam. You feel me?

[DJ Franny]

And you're gonna have your nights, though.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's what I'm saying. You get them in. But, yo, I was just telling Fred, right? You're gonna laugh at this story. Shout out Fred C. The hobby out here, right? Because, listen, my man just came out here for the first time. Boston George BG Yeah, for the first time.

[DJ Franny]

Shout out Cheech.

[Memphis Bleak]

You know what I'm saying? They go to the casino, he go to the crap table, win 1100, first time. 1100. So you know me. I've been paying craps with Fred for 20 years. I never won a dollar in crabs, right? So Fred told me, yo, he probably ran across a hot roller. So I said, My nigga, I been out here with you for 25 years. We ain't come across one hot roller in 25 years.

[DJ Franny]

And BG's first time, first time to.

[Memphis Bleak]

Vegas, he get the hot roller. I'm like, nah, dawg, I don't believe that theory. What happened? Like, yo, craps is not for me. Blackjack, three card poker, you've always been.

[DJ Franny]

That's what it is. When you won that 35 grand was three car poker, three card poker.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's because that's hov say I'm calling guts every time. Drag my nuts, every rhyme, that was. The game we played in the casino was guts. But the way we played guts was. And this is why hov said that line. So we put some clarity to niggas, man, that listen, guts was. It could be 10 people playing. Remember, you're only getting three cards. So you trying to make the three the best hand out of three cards in a poker hand. Whether you got a flush, straight flush, three of a kind, whatever it is, whatever you got. So however many people call, dealer draws five. No, no, you. Everybody get three cards.

[DJ Franny]

And that's it.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's it.

[DJ Franny]

Nobody. There's no cards drawn on.

[Memphis Bleak]

No. So imagine six people playing.

[DJ Franny]

Okay?

[Memphis Bleak]

Only one person could win, but everybody feel like they got a good hand. So mind you, the pot start at a thousand dollars. So the core, guts.

[DJ Franny]

So you got three cars. So the best hand is what, a three of a kind, a three of a kind, or.

[Memphis Bleak]

Or straight flush or royal flush, right? Or whoever got the highest pair.

[DJ Franny]

Okay?

[Memphis Bleak]

So boom, hot start at a thousand dollars, mind you. Six, seven people playing, only one winner. So if four people out of the six or the seven people called gun guts, it's only one winner. The three losers gotta put what was in the pot. So I take the thousand, three losers. Now the pot, 3,000. So the next time a person called guts, it's three grand. You lose. You got to put three grand up. Now, four people call guts. All of y' all gotta put three grand up. So now that should go to 24,000. And they keep going. Yo, bro, I seen the pot one day get the, like a. Like, like 150,000, 200,000 losing. And HOV didn't even look at his. Cause he just guts and looking like, even if you got good hand, I'm not calling it because if I lose, I had to put 200 up. I ain't got it. Like, so I can't even afford to take the chance. And hov don't even look at his cards. He's just sitting there. He's the worst to play guts with because he just. You just dealing cars. Cars on tape table every head, guts. So he'll lose every hand. Put the money up, it's cool. To the one hand where it's 200 now and you gotta put it up. Oh, I remember I lost one time he was mad at me. I owe 25 grand. Like, I know you guys used to.

[DJ Franny]

Gamble on the pj.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah. Oh, yo, listen, yo, yo, listen.

[DJ Franny]

I know it goes down on. On the pj.

[Memphis Bleak]

Listen, Hope don't want no smoking Spade, yo. You hear me? Franny and Spades smoked them. John Maneel was my partner. We was doing that thing. Yo, we was doing our thing. Smoking him and Kaiser.

[DJ Franny]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

Then, right, we land. He flew. His mom's in that. His mom's his partner. I can't talk no smack. The mama. Mama J. That's my Gloria. I can't talk no junk. So now we sitting there playing, and John Manelli now Mom there hero. So I'm like, yo, what you doing? He like, yo, that's the strategy. What's the strategy? Let them win. I'm like, john, you playing with me? You can't get fired. He's not gonna fire you, dog. If he fire you, we fighting on this play. Yo, John really do the like. He let them win because Moms was there. So Jay don't want no smoke. And in that dice, Jay don't want to smoke on ceelo with blizzle. I smoked them.

[DJ Franny]

One kilo is three. Three dice, right?

[Memphis Bleak]

That's what we play on the East. Y' all do craps?

[DJ Franny]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's why I gotta. That's why I'm saying how in 25 years, I never met one hot roller like Gino. Throw the dice. Come on, baby.

[DJ Franny]

There are some hot rolls, you know, like in Vegas like this. And be rolling for an hour in downtown. Like, I think it's like an hour and 45 minutes. And if you keep pressing and hitting hard ways and hitting like those. Those crap bets.

[Memphis Bleak]

See, I don't know how to play craps, man. That's not.

[DJ Franny]

It's a fast game.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah. It's never been my game. I don't know how to play.

[DJ Franny]

I don't know if you notice. I don't know if I've ever talked about this, but there was a time where it was bad for me.

[Memphis Bleak]

Like you was a gambler.

[DJ Franny]

What, When I first. When I first moved out here?

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah. It's going to happen.

[DJ Franny]

No, it almost Took me out, bro.

[Memphis Bleak]

Like, no way.

[DJ Franny]

Yeah, bro. Like, for real, real. Like, I had to talk.

[Memphis Bleak]

You had to call a hotline?

[DJ Franny]

No, no, it didn't get that bad. I had to talk to myself in the mirror. That was the hotline.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's the hotline. That's the hood hotline. That's the first one.

[DJ Franny]

No, no.

[Memphis Bleak]

On everything I love, nor that call, when they. In the mirror, they ignore that one. They'd be like, everything I love.

[DJ Franny]

Everything. No, no, no. Real everything I love. I had to talk to myself in the mirror and just, you know, wake up and snap out of it.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah.

[DJ Franny]

So like, you, you know, if I do gamble and have fun with it, like, you know, I'll see.

[Memphis Bleak]

I always had my limit, man.

[DJ Franny]

I have my limit. Exactly.

[Memphis Bleak]

Always had my limit, man. Even.

[DJ Franny]

Exactly.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's why Hov used to know, don't invite bleak to the game. He ain't losing no money. He gonna spend his little petty thousand dollars to get up out of there. You got there, right? I had two. I had five to ten shots at something. I'm telling you, I'm good. Good.

[DJ Franny]

I remember, I'm with hov one night he performed at the Palms. And we go to the Bellagio. And he's gambling. Playing like 500 a hand. You know, Little. Little just. Yo, a little something, you know. Bought in for like 20 grand. Like, this is back in like 2000. I'm gonna tell you, real gambling hope go 2002.

[Memphis Bleak]

He took that bread.

[DJ Franny]

No, no. Started out at 500 a hand. Like I said, 500 a hand. Next thing you know, he started pressing because he started winning. He took like a good 80 rocks from him that night.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, listen.

[DJ Franny]

And left. And, like, we out of here. Like, I'm not saying I'm not sitting.

[Memphis Bleak]

Here with hov in Amsterdam. You listen to me. In Amsterdam, a casino, you gotta get a button up. Remember, this is hoodie.

[DJ Franny]

You gotta. What you gotta wear.

[Memphis Bleak]

What casino? You have to wear a button up. You can't wear, like a crew neck. You have to wear a button up. Polo. Yes, a polo or regular button up to go in the casino. On the casino with hov, you know, they gambling. I'm moving around, doing my thing. You've seen the movie Casino Royale? Yes.

[DJ Franny]

Okay.

[Memphis Bleak]

Excuse me. That was my first time seeing the chips that came in the plastic case. You remember when he was gambling and they had the chips that come in the plastic. It's one big chip chip, and it's in a plastic case. People probably never even seen this. If you haven't seen it. I'm pretty sure people never seen it.

[DJ Franny]

But I don't remember that.

[Memphis Bleak]

If you watch the movie when he gambling, it's a one big chip in a plastic case. The chip is a half a million dollars over one. Four of them. 200 grand playing blackjack.

[DJ Franny]

You want four, so you want two million?

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, matter of fact, yes.

[DJ Franny]

Two million.

[Memphis Bleak]

Two million, man, I'm bugging 200 grand. Yes. Half a million dollars a chip, right? Boom.

[DJ Franny]

Yeah, that's 2 million.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, listen, my G4 pack, right? We wilding all night in the car. You like? Yeah, I got four. Two M's. I'm up killing them. We wake up. We wake up in the morning, time to leave, get on the jet, make our move, do what we do, you know? Then they could tell me I lost one of the cases.

[DJ Franny]

What? Like, what, you lost half a million?

[Memphis Bleak]

You lost a half a. M? It was like, yo, it. I'm still up. Like, we even backtrack, look forward, nothing I want to be like, where you was hanging that last night, like, where you was at. I wanted to look for the case. Like, somebody found a half of him. They a half a million dollar chip in the plastic case, bro. A half a million dollar chip.

[DJ Franny]

Telling me somebody came up crazy.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, I remember you. You ever been to Amsterdam?

[DJ Franny]

Yes, a couple times.

[Memphis Bleak]

Like, you. You ever use the ATM in Amsterdam?

[DJ Franny]

Nope.

[Memphis Bleak]

You just went with straight cash and cashed in?

[DJ Franny]

Yep.

[Memphis Bleak]

See me, my young dumb ass, first time I'm going to atm, like, oh, yeah, we gonna go to the, you know, smoke shop, get some weed. Let me take out 500. Honey, no, I get the receipt. Let's just say like, 900. Withdrawing, like, wait a minute. I ain't take out 900. I only took out 500. This big. Bug it. I was so young, I didn't know about conversion rate. They money and the difference. So you called the bag and the lady on the floor had to tell me, yeah, you and their money is worth more than I want.

[DJ Franny]

So you thought. Yeah. So you thought. You over here spending.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah. How did I get nine? I only took 500 out. Why I say I withdrew $900.

[DJ Franny]

Like, you got charged an extra 400.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, bro, that's how bad it was. So from that point on, I knew in my mind, yo, I need to get some shows out here. Because in America, I would go, crazy thing. You get 10 grand over there, you coming home with 20 racks at least. In, in, in, in. In Amsterdam and in Euros, you coming home, you get 10 racks, you probably come home about a good 15. Yeah, 14, 15. Almost 16,000, depending on the rate. You got that sterling pound, I guess, pounds, and then it's sterling pounds. You get that sterling pound. Oh, yeah. That was 100%, 50% up. You up 10 grand. 20 racks. That's why. That's why when you see people from overseas come here and they in the club out here balling, they lit. They come with all the time. They like, I got 16 racks.

[DJ Franny]

Like I said. Like I said. I've been at Dre's for 11 years, right? I'm telling you, I've seen them. The UK, they come out here, France crazy.

[Memphis Bleak]

Then you take your five pack over there. You got 2500. They take their five pack over here. They got. Just seen it grab.

[DJ Franny]

I just seen it. It's a. It's a light show for real, yo.

[Memphis Bleak]

It's insane, bro.

[DJ Franny]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's how I knew I always got to get money overseas, shout out my overseas plugs, man. We all doing shows. DJ Franny want to do shows. Yo, listen, you need to do a party in Dubai. You do the biggest club in Las Vegas. Do you hear me? The biggest club in Las Vegas. You need to be in Dubai, letting them know how it go down. They need to go ride the camel. Let's make them ghost ride the camera ammo.

[DJ Franny]

Oh, Gino, make that happen, man.

[Memphis Bleak]

I'm gonna make it happen.

[DJ Franny]

You know, and I think it'd be good to, you know, good to go to Dubai so I could get a detox.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, that. I was saying that earlier. That's my cleanse. Like, my wife.

[DJ Franny]

I heard. I heard there's hash out there, though.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, but you'll get your head cut off. You do 70 days and 60 days. What future?

[DJ Franny]

DJ, let's go. Yeah, yeah, I'm not doing that. No, I want a DJ detox, you know? But listen, I want to smoke some shisha.

[Memphis Bleak]

This was. I remember my wife, man. I know I bring up a lot, but that's my backbone. It's like my best friend. I remember the first time she wanted. She always telling me, I want to go to Dubai. And I'm like, I ain't going to Dubai. You can't smoke no weed over there. So she like, yo, you ain't going nowhere. You can't smoke weed. And I'm like, no. Why? She's like, yo, that's some real crackhead. I was like, I rubbed me wrong. Like, yo, you kind of right. That is some crackhead. Like, I ain't gonna go see Places. Because I can't smoke. Smoke. So that's my, like when I.

[DJ Franny]

That's your mindset right there.

[Memphis Bleak]

When I go to Dubai, I go to Morocco, I go to Bali.

[DJ Franny]

You ever been to Tokyo?

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, I go to Tokyo. But I got the plug in Tokyo.

[DJ Franny]

Konnichiwa.

[Memphis Bleak]

I got the plug.

[DJ Franny]

You know, Japanese food is my favorite. What's your favorite food, bro?

[Memphis Bleak]

My favorite food is Italian.

[DJ Franny]

I love Italian, too. Italians up there.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's why I'm a fat bastard now. Thai can't get over it. I'm in Milan all the time.

[DJ Franny]

I love Thai food. I love Mexico. Mexican food.

[Memphis Bleak]

I love Thai. But remember, I grew up in Brooklyn. Chinese restaurants is everywhere. So it's like fried rice is fried rice. I don't care where it come from.

[DJ Franny]

I love Caribbean food.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yes. Come on, man. Jerk chicken. That's why I go to Jamaica a lot. All the islands get that real jerk chicken. Montego all over, man. I gotta do Negril.

[DJ Franny]

Negril. Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's my next trip. Negril, man. I told wifey we never seen that one.

[DJ Franny]

Gino just went. Not too long ago. He went to the whole Bob Marley.

[Memphis Bleak]

Oh, yeah, I did that. I did the Bob Marley tour. Yeah, really dope, man. It's really dope. Yo, they shot the studio up. They really still got the bullet holes in the walls and the windows and everything, bro. Like, really dope. You see? Bomb. It's so crazy to know that, you know.

[DJ Franny]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

Seven miles.

[DJ Franny]

It's like an hour hour away from Montego Bay.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, you did the, the. You did the. The Dun. What is that? The Dunn's Mountain. Dunn's Falls. Duns River. Yeah, I did the. I, I. We sent. We went to the grave. Pablo, too, and I did that in Colombia. Yeah, Colombia.

[DJ Franny]

It's crazy where his brother lives, right?

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah.

[DJ Franny]

You did that, too.

[Memphis Bleak]

I did that. We went to the picture with his brother. Yeah, with his brother.

[DJ Franny]

It's crazy.

[Memphis Bleak]

We glorified drug deal, right? It's crazy. That's how you know that Said the Waves.

[DJ Franny]

That's some history.

[Memphis Bleak]

He said the Wave.

[DJ Franny]

That small airport that's right there.

[Memphis Bleak]

The most successful dealing the world, bro. You see how much money, man? It's crazy power, man. That's what drives a lot of mad power. Too much power. Too much, too much, man. But, Franny, man, we got to get you to do a mixtape, an album, something. My guy, straight up, man. Let's put it together, man. That gonna tell hov come out of retirement. Drake got about six verses for you. You he know you ain't in the beef. You got six verses.

[DJ Franny]

I definitely ain't in that shot. You know, I stay out there.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's right, man. You know that, man. Rap is crazy. This yo rap beef today, man. I'm glad. That's why I do this pie where we don't talk about no negativity. You see that, man?

[DJ Franny]

We can't put that in the air.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, man. It's like.

[DJ Franny]

Because it's getting too many people doing that.

[Memphis Bleak]

It's crazy.

[DJ Franny]

And they do it for clicks. And that's what I mean.

[Memphis Bleak]

Like.

[DJ Franny]

Like, the thing is. The thing. Bleak. The thing is we come from a different era, bro. You guys were recording. You guys were recording songs when you needed to book studio time. Nowadays, you got a MacBook Pro, you got a mic in the inbox, you live. That's it. That's all you need. That's it. You know, we come from a different era, man, where we really had to listen to the radio to learn some of these songs if we couldn't afford to buy the music. That's a fact, bro.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's the time you heard them, man.

[DJ Franny]

Now everything is right here, right? Everything is right here.

[Memphis Bleak]

Program crazy. So what's next for my G? You know, you DJing the biggest clubs in Las Vegas. Hakasan. Dre, my guy be on Twitch, he on Twitter. Let people know where they can find you, follow you and. And check all that fly out.

[DJ Franny]

Franny, man, Fran De on Instagram, DJ Fran. Djore Franzen on Twitter, and then Fran Le on threads, too. I don't think a lot of people use thread. You use threads?

[Memphis Bleak]

No, I don't use threads. I gotta get on threads, though. But let's listen before we close this out, because this is rock solid, and everybody rock solid. Everybody in the world think they got an AKA. I need you to close it out with your AKAs.

[DJ Franny]

There's too many, man.

[Memphis Bleak]

Come on. Well, they need to hear about 10 of them.

[DJ Franny]

So, you know, people know. Well, a lot of people don't know. Franzen is my real name. My dad's name is Francisco.

[Memphis Bleak]

Okay?

[DJ Franny]

My mom's name is Zenida. So they put Fran and Zen together, and that's how. How they came up with my name. So Friends is my real name. It's not a stage name, but a bunch of AKs from Franz and Entra, Frandale Bay and Delay Bay, Franny Pacquiao, Carmelo Franthony. You know what I'm saying? There's a lot. Carlos Frantana. There's a lot there's too many. Like, there's so many. I can't. I mean, we could travel. We could go to Fran Antonio. Yeah, I'm saying Fran Juan Port, Puerto Rico.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah. I mean.

[DJ Franny]

Fran Francisco.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah. I mean, let them know, dog.

[DJ Franny]

There's just too many, man.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's my dog.

[DJ Franny]

Fantastic, though. Fantastic is that one, though.

[Memphis Bleak]

Make sure y' all have a fantastic day. Cause this is rock solid. We here. Grand Delay Bay. Best DJ in the world. West coast, east coast, put them up. Let's battle. We don't care any. Dj. I'm starting a verse.

[DJ Franny]

Heavy hitters. Shout out to the heavy hitters one time.

[Memphis Bleak]

Heavy hitters, man. Big Dog Pick Bulls, New York. We here. 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.

[Danielle Robay]

Let your imagination take flight with an AI powered PC from Lenovo. Whether it's creating digital art, designing new soft, or building a portfolio for a Future career, our PCs are powered by Intel Core Ultra processors to help students unlock smarter learning and unleash their creativity. That's the power of Lenovo. With intel inside, all you have to do is choose the one that fits your passion. Head to Lenovo.com to shop AI PCs and find your perfect companion. Plus, get 5% off when you create an education account.

[Unknown]

The Girlfriends is back with a new season, and this time I'm telling you the story of Kelly Harnett. Kelly spent over a decade in prison for a murder she says she didn't commit. As she fought for her freedom, she taught herself the law.

He goes, oh, God. Harnett Jailhouse Lawyer.

And became a beacon of hope for the women locked up alongside her.

[Memphis Bleak]

You're supposed to have your faith in God, but I had nothing but faith in her.

[Unknown]

I think I was put here to save souls by getting people out of prison.

The Girlfriends Jailhouse Lawyer listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Danielle Robay]

Just like great shoes, great books take you places through unforgettable love stories and into conversations with characters you'll never forget.

[Unknown]

I think any good romance, it gives me this feeling of like butterfly flies.

[Danielle Robay]

I'm Danielle Robe and this is bookmarked by Reese's Book Club, the new podcast from hello Sunshine and I Heart Podcasts, where we dive into the stories that shape us on the page and off. Each week, I'm joined by authors celebs, book talk stars, and more. For conversations that will make you laugh, cry, and add way too many books to your TBR pile, listen to Bookmarked by Reese's Book club on the iHeartRadio app. Apple Podcasts are wherever you get your podcast.

[Unknown]

Podcasts I knew I wanted to obey and submit, but I didn't fully grasp for the rest of my life what.

That meant for my heart. Podcasts and Rococo Punch this is the Turning River Road in the woods of Minnesota, a cult leader married himself to 10 girls and forced them into a secret life of abuse. But in 2014, the youngest escaped. Listen to the Turning River Red road on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Memphis Bleak]

This is an iHeart podcast.