NEMS & Ron Browz | ROC Solid w/ Memphis Bleek

Summary

Episode Overview

Title: NEMS & Ron Browz | ROC Solid w/ Memphis Bleek
Podcast: ROC Solid
Host: Memphis Bleek
Release Date: April 28, 2026

Theme:
This episode brings together three distinct New York voices: Memphis Bleek (Brooklyn, Roc-A-Fella), Ron Browz (Harlem, legendary producer), and NEMS (Coney Island MC, "Bing Bong"). From untold Roc-A-Fella stories to the grind of New York artists, the conversation is a raw, witty exploration of hip-hop culture—repping neighborhoods, recalling battle rap roots, discussing the evolution of production and artistry, and reflecting on industry politics, friendship, and authenticity.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Origin Stories & Neighborhood Rivalries

(02:38–06:43)

• Bleek, NEMS, and Ron trade memories about classic New York neighborhood beefs, especially Brooklyn vs. Coney Island.
• NEMS shares stories of growing up in Coney Island and the annual tension when outsiders flooded in during summer:

  "We never let the outsiders pass Stairwell Avenue... It started way before you was born." (NEMS, 05:29)

• Bleek reminisces about intense Easters with Brooklyn crews going out, only to be chased and shot at by Coney Island locals.

2. Origins of Ron Browz's Producer Persona

(04:35–05:29)

• Ron Browz gets into his nickname "Ether Boy," stemming from producing Nas’s "Ether" and local Harlem love for the track.
• Browz's name playfully dissected:

  "Your shits is crazy. I never noticed that." (Memphis Bleek, 14:12, joking about Ron's eyebrows)

3. Inside Beat Shopping and Studio Culture

(03:30–04:15, 26:21–29:10)

• Bleek and NEMS laugh about "beat shopping" woes; NEMS recalls Beanie Sigel dismissing all his beats with a "next one, next one" attitude.
• Ron and NEMS on the relentless competition among NYC producers in the early 2000s with heavyweight peers like Just Blaze, Kanye, Swizz Beatz, and Pharrell.

4. The "Pop Champagne" Era, Auto-tune Backlash & Jay-Z’s "D.O.A."

(07:17–10:16)

• Ron reflects on the success (and the criticisms) of "Pop Champagne." The track’s melodic hook was not sampled but inspired by Harlem’s music store scene and auto-tune fascination.
• Bleek addresses the misconception that Jay-Z’s “Death of Auto-Tune” (D.O.A.) targeted Ron Browz specifically:

  "Jay made that for auto-tune at that time, for the era, not specifically. Nah, that was for you, homie. Cause you made Ether." (Bleek & Ron, 08:14–08:46)

• Ron reveals the paranoia and stress of radio DJs and peers telling him D.O.A. was a shot at him.

5. Battle Rap Roots & Hustle

(10:16–13:08)

• NEMS highlights his path from NYC street battles and Fight Club wins ("20 wins... that was really the first notoriety that I had") to industry recognition, even after doing time in jail.
• The crew salutes the foundation of lyricism and competition, especially in the NYC rap scene:

  "When you first put that pen to the paper, it's somebody next door to you like you whack. I burned you, nigga. Straight up." (Bleek, 10:55)

6. New Collaborative Album: "I Should Boom You" — Meaning, Tone, Features

(14:59–16:27, 24:08–25:00)

• Ron Browz and NEMS announce their upcoming BOOM BAP-inspired album, "I Should Boom You":

  "It's a double entendre for boom bap...But also, when you hear it, it's gonna make you want to boom something." (Ron Browz, 15:22–16:10)

• Features include Lil Fame (of M.O.P.), and possibly a Harlem artist—Bleek, NEMS, and Ron joke about scrambling to secure last-minute features before the album drops.
• The project represents a modern take on hard-hitting, drum-driven New York rap.

7. Industry Realness: The Blessing and Curse of Co-signs

(33:36–35:13)

• Memphis Bleek gives advice about visibility, privilege, and the double-edged sword of big-time co-signs (like Jay-Z's):

  "It's a gift and a curse to this shit...I ain't dropped an album in 15 years...I'm lit. Why? Because the big homie is on fire. So they like, that's his bro, he gotta be on fire too." (Bleek, 34:01)

• The crew discusses radio politics, cliquishness, industry gatekeeping, and the importance of staying independent and respected.

8. Books, Side Hustles, and Next Moves

(22:39–24:08, 47:24–48:14)

• NEMS drops his book "Beat the Odds" about channeling uptown hustler energy into creative output. Ron jokes about not knowing; a running gag forms about appearing in "part two: Beat the Evens."
• Both NEMS and Ron are active with radio and outside projects; Ron plugs his label deal with Goliath/FYI and upcoming solo albums, while NEMS highlights his podcast ("Outside with Gorilla NEMS") and FYL merch store.
• Authentic hustler mentality:

  "We’d be outside in the winter time when it’s mad cold. All of that." (NEMS, 49:26)

9. Street Culture, Authenticity, and Codes of New York

(54:24–56:15)

• The dangers and codes of NYC street life are dissected—jewelry, reputation, and the culture of "if you deserved something, it got took."
• Ron on survival instinct:

  "When you come from that environment...you know when to see, you can see...You could sense it. And it's like, if you look for it, you're gonna find it." (Ron Browz, 55:39)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On being labeled the auto-tune target:
  "I got 50 calls. Yo, Jay talk about you right now on the radio...maybe this was the shot at the kid."
  — Ron Browz, (09:51)

• The art of sending beats:
  "Any beat that a producer like is 90% trash. If the producer call you hype, 'I got it' — it's not it."
  — Memphis Bleek, (27:30)

• On the grind:
  "I was throwing out garbage man for like eight years in Bed Stuy. Only city job with a felony."
  — NEMS, (12:36)

• The Harlem aesthetic:
  "It’s a fashion show in the wintertime....you had to be fly to go get fly."
  — NEMS/Bleek, (39:23)

• About cyclones and risk-taking:
  "He finally makes it on his, like, 37, 38th birthday to Coney Island...rides the Cyclone on his birthday...The shit snaps his spine and he dies."
  — Ron Browz, (41:24)

• On radio politics:
  "We gotta find out why...the system. We gotta put a cheat code in it. Up, up, down."
  — Memphis Bleek, (32:54)

• Coney Island city identity:
  "It is projects with beach views...Just imagine that – a beach view projects, a lot of them, too...like East New York with a beach."
  — Memphis Bleek, (40:05)

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:38] – Episode starts proper, hosts and guests introduced
• [05:29] – NEMS on Coney Island pride and rivalry
• [07:17] – Deconstructing "Pop Champagne," auto-tune, and "D.O.A."
• [10:16] – Emerging through battle rap: Fight Club roots
• [14:59] – Announcing the new collab album "I Should Boom You"
• [24:08] – Features and last-minute album hustle
• [33:36] – The curse and blessing of a big co-sign in hip-hop
• [40:05] – Vivid descriptions of Coney Island and Harlem
• [49:26] – NEMS builds "Outside with Gorilla NEMS" in Coney Island
• [54:24] – The code of the street: jewelry, risk, and survival
• [56:15] – Final shoutouts and recap of the episode's energy

---

Tone and Language

The conversation is full of New York humor, gentle roasting, and unfiltered wisdom rooted in lived experience. The hosts and guests maintain a raw, honest, and lively banter—making space for both street stories and OG game, peppered with inside jokes, local lore, and freestyle storytelling.

---

Summary Conclusion

This ROC Solid episode is a showcase of New York hip-hop solidarity and competitive spirit, offering personal, rarely-heard stories and practical game for new artists. With plenty of reminiscing, sharp humor, and direct insight into music, street life, and industry politics, Memphis Bleek, Ron Browz, and NEMS deliver a potent, fun, and thoughtful conversation that’s a must-listen for anyone invested in real hip-hop culture.

Transcript

[Memphis Bleak]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.

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[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

And Doug, there's nowhere I wouldn't go to help someone customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual. Even if it means sitting front row at a comedy show.

[Podcast Advertiser/Host]

Hey, everyone. Check out this guy and his bird. What is this, your first date?

[Memphis Bleak]

Oh, no. We help people customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual together. We're married. Me to a human, him to a bird.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Yeah, the bird looks out of your league.

[Memphis Bleak]

Anyways, get a [e-mail] or with your local agent.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Liberty. Liberty.

[Podcast Advertiser/Host]

Liberty.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Liberty.

[Memphis Bleak]

Hey, what's good, y'?

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

All?

[Kier Gaines]

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[Podcast Advertiser/Host]

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[Memphis Bleak]

What up, y'?

[Nems]

All?

[Memphis Bleak]

This your main man, Memphis Bleak, right here. Welcome to Rock Solid, a production of iHeartRadio and the Black Effect Network in partnership with my guys over at Drink Champs. You should know by now. You should know by now.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Nikolai vocal head.

[Memphis Bleak]

I got you this how we start this one off? You already know what it is. Rock solid podcast. We here. We here. Yours truly, M. Greasy in the building at the Vault. Yo, this is. This is a special one, man. We got my guy in the building. You know him? Ron Browns. They call him Ether Boy. He in the building. You know what I mean? We got my bro from Brooklyn, Nems in the building.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

Boom. Your head off.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Facts.

[Memphis Bleak]

This is why this is special, because now I get to do the.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

The setup.

[Memphis Bleak]

It's the setup, bro.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Bro.

[Memphis Bleak]

And Ron don't even know bad style. Make a call, my CI. Yo, get cool with him. Make them think you making the album with him. Bring them to the part, and we gonna knock them out. And we here.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Nah.

[Memphis Bleak]

What's up, my guys, man? Good seeing you, my brother. Back at you, man. Love, man. Yo, me and this brother right here been in the studio countless days putting major work in, and we just never made nothing happen. My nigga.

[Nems]

They violated me in baseline one night, man.

[Memphis Bleak]

Who? Hey, yo, Beanie Beans did.

[Nems]

Yeah, I had a 30 clip of beats. Beans was just like, next one, next one.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, you. Oh, that's when he was on his next one. That was Mac Mittens. That wasn't Beanie Siegel then.

[Nems]

Oh, okay.

[Memphis Bleak]

He was Mac Mittens then. Skipping through mad beats. I'm like, you got, like, one joint, and he ain't let nothing play. Just going to the next one.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Before or after Ether?

[Nems]

Before.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Oh, so, yeah, before.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, after Ether, he still was coming through. We still was showing them he was pulling. But he never, you know, it wasn't his fault. No, no. They just made the beat. But then he was running around. Eat the boy. People don't know.

[Nems]

That was me saying that was just, you know, growing up in Harlem, I never thought I'd, you know, make it right.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

A beat for.

[Nems]

For Nas. So when that happened, you know, my dudes in the hood, that the name actually came from my man, he said, yo, if you have a kid, you're gonna have a little Ether, boy. So that's when I just kind of thought it had a dope ring.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Why not Ebonics, boy?

[Memphis Bleak]

Bro said, God bless Big L, but,

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

you know, I'll whip your head, boy. Boy,

[Memphis Bleak]

Take them back to the beginning, CI. Cause me, I know CI for one day out the year, Easter. Easter, we get flat, we go by the Himalayas, smoke mad weed. Then here come the Coney Island. Niggas wanna fight. Chase us back to the train station. Shootouts and shit. So I wanna hear from your perspective back then, what was it like, coming up Coney Island.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

I'm from Coney island my whole life. And that literally is like, what we took pride on is when everybody came during the summer and tried to have a. We never let the outsiders pass Stairwell Avenue. Cause from an og My man Del song, he started. He was. He had Don Diva magazine. He's from Coney. He was like, yo, that started way before you was born.

[Memphis Bleak]

It was major wars. Like, yo, bro, no bullshit. Every year be 50 deep. Brooklyn. You get deep, we all meet Hoyt, skimmer, horn. Niggas get deep. We go there ball and chilling. Like you said. You have a good time chilling. Then for the night over.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Boom, bow, bow, boom, boom, boom.

[Memphis Bleak]

It's like, yo, what just happened on Easter? Everybody stuffing all the new fresh. Like, yo, it's like, yo, we just was chilling. Why we never get. But then when it was time to get grimy in the winter, we had called a Coney island nigga come through for us. You know what I'm saying? So it was weird, like, for us. Like, I never hung out there, but I have many, many peoples out there. Word up. Crazy, man. So how did the link up with y' all happen, man?

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

He sent me a beat and was like, yo, just get on. You know I want. It was. He was rapping on it. And I was like, oh, he can rap. Like, we know him from the. You know, pop champagne. It's rapping, but it ain't like rapping, rapping. You know what I'm saying?

[Memphis Bleak]

It's like, what you mean, man?

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

You like, happy rapping, man.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, damn.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

That's party rapp.

[Memphis Bleak]

He was giving Pharrell balls.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Yeah. So when he sent me the joint, he's rapping, rapping like he's like. He's the fourth member of the Locks.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, chill. He didn't go from designer.

[Nems]

It always was pop champagne was the.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, yeah, commercial version. It was the era, too. Yeah, yeah, it was that era, man. Like, you did your thing, but a rad money. Let's talk. Y' all was getting too much money. Where say got a rad money. What was the sample even saying?

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

You know what? It wasn't a sample. You know what he said? Tell him.

[Nems]

It was nothing. It was no words. But just, you know, being in Harlem, going into E Rap stores, listening to the music. When I got auto tune, I was like, yo, this sound like Arab sound like I'm speaking Arabic. And I just made the hook. I tucked it paused because I ain't. I ain't think. I thought people Was gonna think I'm a little bugged out. And then after pop champagne, Busta called me like, yo, I need.

[Memphis Bleak]

I need something crazy.

[Nems]

And I sent him that.

[Memphis Bleak]

And he was like, yo, that's my single. I don't know what you saying. I don't care. I don't give a fuck what you

[Nems]

saying, but that's my single. And he had the whole marketing rollout for that joint too.

[Memphis Bleak]

Them shits went off my G like they gave you a bad rap, man. You know the Internet today. This is what's fucked up about the Internet. Cause they try to put shit together and be like, this is what this happened for. Because think about it, all those songs was coming out. You wasn't the only one at that time doing auto tune. The whole industry was like, bro, it was bad. Like, the whole industry was auto tuned. So Jay made that for auto tune at that time, for the era, not specifically.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Nah, that was for you, homie. Cause you made Ethan.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, they made it like he did it specifically for you. That was the cause I was getting. And I'm not gonna say it wasn't like my.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

I'm not gonna say it wasn't for you.

[Memphis Bleak]

I'm not gonna say it was for all of y'.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

All.

[Memphis Bleak]

But it's not singly to you because you wasn't like a threat to the homie for him to want to just like, stop your bag. Like, it was just like, he stopped my bag, though. But you know why? For a little while, because he felt like everybody, I, I believe, felt like at that time, anybody was just making records, bro, you had no talent. All you had to do was put

[Nems]

the auto tune on.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, Milli Vanilli somewhere pissed the fuck off at y' all niggas then. Now the new rappers perform with the words on the. Them niggas is sick. Yeah, they ready to clip some.

[Nems]

Yeah, they was gonna. When Jay dropped it, flush out to flex and God bless Mr. C. Mr.

[Memphis Bleak]

C. They was on air like, yo, Ron, this is for you.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

No.

[Memphis Bleak]

Damn. I got 50 calls.

[Nems]

Yo, Jay talk about you right now on the radio.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Damn.

[Nems]

I'm listening to him like, wow, this is crazy. So, like hearing 50 people calling and. And Flex and Mr. C, I was like, oh, maybe this was the shot at the kid.

[Memphis Bleak]

Nah, man, for real.

[Nems]

And then I saw, you know, Von as my man.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Yeah, yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

So Vaughn shout out Cool.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Vaughn.

[Memphis Bleak]

Vaughn.

[Nems]

Like, yo, that ain't shout out Vilio. I'm like, that wasn't for you, man. I was like, oh, man, that's what everybody said.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, it's for everybody though. So it is for you. But it was for everybody. Yeah, it is. Like it wasn't for. It wasn't like you got use a casualty of wall. My God, N.S. man like yo New York Knicks, my G, bing bong, all this fly, yo. Then the battle rap scene. First let's start there. The battle rap scene. Cause that's what got you knowing. Popping in the city, you know what I mean? I used to watch you moving on to the URL. Battle raps, Fight Club. That's what it was. My bad. I'm giving wrong shout outs. But shout out to all the niggas, you hear me? Cause I respect the battle rap. That's where it start from. Hip hop. We start especially in New York. I can't speak for any other city, but in New York, when you first put that pen to the paper, it's somebody next door to you like you whack. I burned you, nigga. Straight up. So you grow up battling. What was that like for you? Coming up.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

I just knew that, that, that was a way to get my name known, you know what I'm saying? During that time, that's before the Internet, you know what I'm saying? I was like, in New York City, it was like they would just have battles all the time. Like not even Fight Club. It was just like, yo, wetlands battle tonight. You gotta battle eight people tonight and

[Memphis Bleak]

win a hundred dollars, you know what I'm saying? That's a fact.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

But when you do that, that's how you really got your name known. So I would just take my songs from verses that I was doing and, and just use them. But I always rhymed aggressively, you know what I'm saying? So I was. It was easy for me. And. And then the fight club came. I beat one guy, pause. And then I just kept going and winning. I didn't know it was like gonna be a thing, like a league or a battle thing, whatever. And I just kept winning. Then I till I had like 20 wins and I was like, damn, what the was this? Yeah, and it was just. That's really the first notoriety that I had that was. Was the hottest in the city or in the game at that time. Because it was industry only. I was beating mad rappers and all types of shit, you know what I'm saying? So that was good. But right when I got that notoriety, I went, I got locked up. And then it came out on MTV and then all of that. But it was good, kept my buzz going.

[Memphis Bleak]

But then you got that Knicks play, my, that's major.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

That was all luck. That was just the universe.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's crazy.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

I was throwing out Gar in bed style. I was a garbage man for like eight years in bed style. Hell yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

I should pay good. All my niggas who come home from

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

up north, only city job with a felony.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, they pay good.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

Damn. That's what's up, man. Damn, that's dope.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Where you at? The name M. Greasy. Hey, yo, that's a crazy name. Who made. Who named you that?

[Memphis Bleak]

Shout out. My man Young. Chic Young. My man Leaky, man from Marcy, man.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

So a man named Leaky named you M. Greasy?

[Memphis Bleak]

Cause you know why? We was watching what's the movie with my man Denzel, with the little kid man. With the little girl. He protected her.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Oh, yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

Man on fire.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Oh, yeah. Creasy is she.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's why he like, I'm greasy, you know what I'm saying? So it came from that, like, you

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

know what I mean?

[Memphis Bleak]

We was putting in pain, my G.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

You know what I mean?

[Memphis Bleak]

That's why his name was Leaky. He let you. He going leave you. It's just, it's. You know, you got a name from different.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

You like.

[Memphis Bleak]

You know how it was growing up if your name you was Cupcake, your name was Cupcake.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Oh, matter of fact, I was thinking about that, cuz you my man. I ain't never even asked you that. I'mma ask you that on this podcast. How the you got wrong brows, cuz. Your eyebrows.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, yo, chill.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Them shits is crazy. I never noticed that.

[Nems]

Yeah, nigga, at the time when it was and I started making beats, it was a couple.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Yo, your shits is crazy. I never noticed that.

[Memphis Bleak]

You do got those. Yo, yo.

[Nems]

Yeah, I might be mixing with something.

[Memphis Bleak]

Got some Dubai brass.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Yeah, son, what's up? You getting Arab out of the real?

[Nems]

It was a lot of producers. Our one producer name was Ron. I was like to separate like the. The names from that was just his name.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Just Ron. That's it. Ron.

[Nems]

I seen Pause. He was a hitman. One of Diddy producers.

[Memphis Bleak]

New York is up. They get some pause. He was a hit.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

That means he's a killer.

[Nems]

Like he was hitting there for Puff.

[Memphis Bleak]

That that's. I see why you.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Hold on.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, so let's talk about y' all got a project coming out. I asked this off camera, right? This is the most double Entra album name I ever heard in my life. So I say the wrong like, yo, what's the name of the album dropping said, I boom you. So it's like, wow. I'm just asking you the name of

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

the album I should boom.

[Memphis Bleak]

And then said that. I'm like, yo, that's kind of dope. They said, yo, it's the. It's a double entendre for boom back.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

He didn't even know that, yo.

[Memphis Bleak]

He didn't know that he took it.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

I'm gonna tell you why he took it, yo.

[Memphis Bleak]

He flipped it and you took it.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

He just didn't understand it. Cause we was. We was like, halfway through this, and I said, yo, we gonna name this album I should boom you just like that. That's a statement that's right there. And I'm saying. Because one of the skits we got in there is the dude saying, like, oh, you hit women. I should boom your stupid ass. And so I. He was just like, oh, yeah. He wasn't sure. And then when it was, like, stapled, he was like, oh, you meant like. Like, because we're using drums. Like, boom back. I was like, yeah, that too. But also, when you hear it, it's

[Memphis Bleak]

gonna make you want to boom something.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

You know, Right now is doing mad beats without drums and just samples. Not wrong. Don't do that. He do the hard body smacking in your face. So it's like both ways. It's gonna make you want to boom something. But we bring in that boom back to hip hop.

[Memphis Bleak]

You know what I'm saying? Yo, Ron is my man, right? But when it was drama, he fueled all the enemies. It was drama with Dipset. Here go Jim Jones. Champagne, the jewels. What it was like denies. It was like, fair. But you in baseline. Why we wait? Why you was giving them them packs? That's why Beans, I think, was going next. You didn't give us the drama pack. You was giving the it's cool pack.

[Nems]

Now, the origin is I gave it to hip hop. Hip hop?

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Never.

[Memphis Bleak]

What, Pop, champagne?

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

No, the. Eat the beat.

[Memphis Bleak]

Hip hop.

[Nems]

Hip hop. Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

Super A and R. Hip hop didn't pick Eat the beat.

[Nems]

I gave it to him on a cd they brought him to. They brought him to the block.

[Memphis Bleak]

Don't worry, Hip hop will be on this couch. Yes.

[Nems]

I said, yo, get his.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Get us the hov.

[Nems]

I think he said, yeah. It just never made it to baseline.

[Memphis Bleak]

No way. It probably did. It probably did. Now, I ain't going. One thing about all the ars from Rockefeller. Them CDs used to make it there. Now it was on niggas to be in that studio to grab that and tell guru or somebody to push play or take that to the crib. I ain't make the cut vibe with it.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Yo, I'm gonna keep it real, though, like that. Eat the beat. If you looking for a classic Ron Browns production, that's not it. You know what I'm saying? That's. That's not the Ebonic, the boom. The Ether don't really have.

[Nems]

They got like, like, like to be like that.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, you about to have mad queens.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

It's all. It's a rv. That ain't all that.

[Memphis Bleak]

My word up, my G. So now the setup is in.

[Nems]

Slow flow.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

Do you remember when Diana Ross double tapped little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people? I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at It podcast. I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Ali. Speaks English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s.

[Clifford Taylor IV]

To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just cause of crack.

[Memphis Bleak]

I've dabbed talking about crack all day, but yeah, yeah, literally. But just so y' all know, I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now, so thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Kier Gaines]

Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host and your favorite therapist, Kier Gaines. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people, scoreboard wise, life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross. Cause you find it important to be a good person while you're here on earth? Or are you a good person because you're afraid?

[Memphis Bleak]

Because that's two different intentions, bro.

[Kier Gaines]

Absolutely.

[Memphis Bleak]

And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person.

[Kier Gaines]

Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way. Open your free iHeartRadio app search learn the Hard way and Listen now.

[Podcast Advertiser/Host]

In 2023, former Bachelor star Clayton Eckerd found himself at the center of a paternity scandal. The family court hearings that followed reveale declaring inconsistencies in her story. This began a years long court battle to prove the truth. You doctored this particular test twice, Ms. Owens, correct?

[Memphis Bleak]

I doctored the test once.

[Podcast Advertiser/Host]

It took an army of Internet detectives to crack the case.

[Nems]

I wanted people to be able to

[Podcast Advertiser/Host]

see what their tax dollars were being used for.

[Nems]

Sunlight's the greatest disinfectant.

[Podcast Advertiser/Host]

They would uncover a disturbing pattern. Two more men who'd been through the same thing.

[Memphis Bleak]

Greg Gillespie and Michael Maranchini.

[Podcast Advertiser/Host]

My mind was blown. I'm Stephanie Young. This is Love Trap.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Laura Scottsdale Police.

[Podcast Advertiser/Host]

As the season continues, Laura Owens finally faces consequences.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Ladies and gentlemen, breaking news at a Maricopa county as Laura Owens has been

[Memphis Bleak]

indicted on fraud charges.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

This isn't over until justice is served in Arizona.

[Podcast Advertiser/Host]

Listen to the Love Trapped podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Clifford Taylor IV]

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what y' all say. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor iv. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, the Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. And the next, we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And for more behind the scenes, follow CLIFFORD and at TikTok Podcast Network on

[Memphis Bleak]

TikTok, how y' all is partners in the studio making the album, our boom, making heat. But then you dropped a book, and he ain't even know, yo, it just dropped, man. Beat the odds. You finished beating all the odds. Not all of us.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

What about the evens? You beat the even.

[Memphis Bleak]

What I about to say? Cause I ain't getting all my even straight yet, so I don't know about all the odds. There's probably some odds ducking me. Yeah.

[Nems]

The book is about me being around, you know, a bunch of hustlers from uptown and fueling the energy.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's right.

[Nems]

Into making beats. So what are you wearing?

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Rug on your back.

[Memphis Bleak]

Shout out to Kevin Child.

[Nems]

Shout out to Jewel Rutledge. This is Beat the Odds. It's a crazy story from me. From a kid.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

What's crazy is I've been hanging out with this guy for probably the last six months doing this album. Not only have I never seen this book, right? He never once spoke about it. He never said, yo, I'm doing a book. Yo, I'm. Yo, it never even came up in conversation. This is the first time I'm seeing this on this. I said, yo, Bleak, you got a book?

[Memphis Bleak]

And he's like, nah, that's not me. What the is this, yo? So he's not in the book now? This is.

[Nems]

I did this interview last night.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

I don't get a chapter. You shout me out.

[Memphis Bleak]

It just dropped.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Shout out to Dems.

[Nems]

Yeah, you in part two, man.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Beat the evens.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, it's out now.

[Nems]

Amazon, though.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's dope, man. Any features on the project or just y' all two going straight, thugging it out?

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

At first, we ain't put no features none. And then when we gave it in the album, the. The label was like, yo, you got any features? You guys want any features? I was like, you know what, man? We could send it. I said, I sent it to Little Fame for Mop. He gave a verse, my dog shout out. You know, it's a Harlem on production in Harlem. And we kept it real. Brooklyn.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's right. And one, the shadow was in. I didn't even see it. I wanted the album come out on Friday.

[Nems]

I got to get a Harlem. I got to get a Harlem on there.

[Memphis Bleak]

I don't know.

[Nems]

I got to figure it out by Friday.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Comes on in three days.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, chill. It's like the newest from Harlem Chicken right now with is that kid Fergie.

[Nems]

Fergie, yeah, shout out to him.

[Memphis Bleak]

That joint is hard, you know. Nick Buck, my dog.

[Nems]

Yeah, shout out to that.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

I'm have to remake remix that. Nice day to be in Brooklyn, yo.

[Memphis Bleak]

And one thing, I ain't gonna lie. You shout out my dog. Pap.

[Nems]

Pap.

[Memphis Bleak]

Don't never ever not have a verse, yo, like you said, papa Record. I think it like that shit right back. Yo. Like, nigga, you was writing a rhyme of the beat before I got it. Like, this happened. Like how you did the record so quick.

[Nems]

Yo, I was on Summer Jam with Pap one year and they was saying it was the year. They saying he took the mic and performed. He did sway the next day and had a whole verse about him taking the mic, paused and rapping.

[Memphis Bleak]

I was like, yo, I ain't yo, come on, man. The N performed the alphabets backwards. Yo, chill, man. I don't even know the alphabets backwards.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Like, me neither.

[Memphis Bleak]

Me neither. The rapid backwards. I can't even say say it backwards. That like, you kidding me? Let's go back a little bit to the beginning. Ron, how was, you know, being a. A producer from New York, especially in that time, early 2000s? Yeah, everybody and their mama was producing. You had a lot of competition. Neptunes was moving. You had just Blaze just coming up Kanye west, you know what I mean? You had beat the Monster. You had Rock Wilder, you know what I mean? Swiss, and then here come you. How tough was it to get placements for you back in the day?

[Nems]

It was crazy because you have a lot of artists be in the studio and they have a bunch of producers sitting in their lobby. Like, next you playing joints. So at that time, your beats had to be like knocking. It was like strings. It was string bass and aggressive beats. So I was just able to actually listen to all them guys, so. And learn from all of them and kind of made up my own style.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Afford any producers?

[Nems]

Nah.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

You want to fight any, let's go jump them

[Memphis Bleak]

as a new artist, right? I want to just give you some games. See, like with producers, do you usually get your beats? Do they usually send them email to you? Or, like, are they like round sitting

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

go through their whole stash?

[Memphis Bleak]

Oh, you wanted them like, yo, yo, just play the whole player, play that whole file.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

I'm mad picky with beats. Yeah, so. And when producers send you, they gonna send you that they think you sound good. I always tell producers, send me what you think I won't like, because that'd

[Memphis Bleak]

Be their best beat.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Exactly.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's a fact.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

100.

[Memphis Bleak]

Any beat that a producer like is 90 trash.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Facts.

[Memphis Bleak]

90 trash. Yes. I'm telling you, if the producer call you hype, I got it. It's not it.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Yo, he sent me some. Yo, yo, I've been listening to to this one joint. It was ridiculous. Hard, hard, right? And I just, you know, I was just like, ah, whatever. Then I finally was like, yo, send me this beat. Let's try to do this before the album come. He sent me, sends me this. I don't know what the he did to it, but it was totally changed around. I said, yo, homie, what the is this, bro? Matter of fact that I got a voice note, man. Yo, dead ass. This how much is my friend, cuz I wouldn't talk to nobody like this. That's not my friend. You heard. This is crazy.

[Memphis Bleak]

Look, I'mma put it right on the mic.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Look. Pause Y homie, what the did you

[Memphis Bleak]

do to that beat?

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Why did you make it a boom bat beat? No boom, B. Whatever the you did to that beat, you ruined it.

[Memphis Bleak]

He said you ruined it.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

What I thought you were sending to me took. You took all that last three hours trying to fix it to my type of style.

[Memphis Bleak]

No, send it to me my original

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

way it was that is. You just made a fire beat trash.

[Memphis Bleak]

You just made a fire beat trash. That's so crazy, cuz. Producers and be like, that's how I got around here. My G float from just walking in the old. Just. What's this? He like, now, this is some. I'm working on. Play that. Let me get that. He's like, you want. Let me get that.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Yo, I passed by Marcy all the time. How the did you get that? Whatever. That was the Caddy. What was in the ball court. I'll be looking, I'll be like, yo, how did. There's no entrance to this ball court where you could fit a car in this.

[Memphis Bleak]

No, that wasn't. It wasn't the basketball court we had it in. Pause. It was in front of my building. It was in front of my building. It's like the corridor. Cause Marcy got like a driveway where the chains. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

So the cops could drive through them.

[Memphis Bleak]

Shit. Exactly. Fire department, all of that shit could get through. So I had the car right there in front of the buildings. So the way we shot it, you see the playground in the back? Wasn't actually in the park, but yeah, rest in peace. My dog Ralph, man, he the one who did that for me. Man, I remember calling that nigga, like, yo, I need a V for the video. He was like, yo, bleak. I just did this Caddy with the Lamborghini doors. Yeah, nobody saw this yet. You gonna crush him. I said, bring it. Send me a picture. I went, bought the Dodgers blue jacket. The match like, whoa, we up. It's up. Word. So, yeah, that's an old school name.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

You don't hear the little kids named Ralph anymore, right?

[Memphis Bleak]

It's like little girls named Gladys. You know what I'm saying? Somebody said, I seen a post. Somebody said, yo, why you never meet a baby? Keisha? You only meet Keisha when she grow. Like, yeah, what's the baby? This is Keisha. You only meet Keisha as an adult. He's like, yo, that's kind of true.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

All Ralph's mechanics, Joe, he was a car.

[Memphis Bleak]

Cuban car, man. Rims. Ralph got rims. But, yo, like, one thing I with you with them's like, you brung back in this era cutting up facts. Yo, you. Yo, you talking to me like that with the Skittles on.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

You got them slippers on.

[Memphis Bleak]

You just cut the cameraman up. Just coming in here, my dog ain't gonna say his name. So be like, yeah, you be getting cut up, Dusty. But just know the cameraman got chopped. Sued into that because he got on crocs that he said he do construction. He did.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Yo, but that came because before I had the deal with Goliath and Rosenberg, I was like, on the block, and my album was coming out, like, in the. In the week. And I was like, damn, I don't got no. You know, I don't got no budget. I don't got nothing. Like, how the. How I'm gonna let people know this album was. I was just like, no, I got. It's like I got the world in my palm right here now. Like, I don't know what the fuck I just put. Yo, don't disrespect my album looking like a Mario Brother.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, come here.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Don't disrespect my shit. I kept doing it every day until the album. Album was coming out. By the time the album was coming out, people was like, look, we kind of don't want your album to come out, man. We want you to keep making these videos, man.

[Memphis Bleak]

Wor.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

And I was like, yo, I got signed here, and I just kept on with it.

[Memphis Bleak]

Nah, man. Then that led into now y' all doing the XM station. Got that disrespect radio. Congrats on that. Thank you. That's dope, man. What's that like?

[Nems]

He never have his friend come up there yet.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

I told you we could come up.

[Memphis Bleak]

You ain't tell him about the book?

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Yeah, yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

I had to get him. That how he was going to interview you if you was just going to talk about this.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Y' all talk about.

[Memphis Bleak]

I gotta get him back, man. All right, Cool facts, bro. Yo, but yeah, definitely, man. So how. What's that like working up there, man?

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

That is mad fun, mad easy. I love, yo. You gotta understand, I've been, like, since battling since the early 2000s. I was trying to get on for, man long, you know what I'm saying? And I so. And it just started happening.

[Nems]

Yeah.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

So I'm really like, this.

[Nems]

This.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

I'm like a kid in a candy store, man. I love this, man. This is a dream come true.

[Memphis Bleak]

But from one artist to another artist, do one favor. Being inside the radio. Learn the cheat code, man. Figure out why they ain't playing our as much as they need to be playing.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

I play whatever I want on my show.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's right. We gotta find out why. The system. Yeah, we gotta put a cheat code in it. Up, up, down.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

In the system. So it works for us, you know, 100.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

I agree. Like.

[Memphis Bleak]

Cause they don't be with us. Certain records, you hear, you'd be like, how that? How what? Who he know Facts not.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

And being in the game, you see certain people like that, you're like, bro, your father must be a publicist, manager, agent. How the. You getting all these looks? You just got into getting. Nobody know you.

[Memphis Bleak]

How the.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Oh, you know, L. This guy's son. That's this guy's. You know what I'm saying?

[Memphis Bleak]

One thing I'm gonna tell y', all, right? A lot of people, a lot of artists, like, you know, you. You can. You can agree to this. A lot of artists look for that cosign. Yo, I need to be down with such and such or be down now. I'm gonna tell you, it's a gift and a curse to this shit. I live my whole life. It's a gift and a curse. You lit, right? I ain't dropped an album in 15 years. I still walk outside, I'm lit. Why? Because the big homie is on fire. So they like, that's his bro. He gotta be on fire too.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

You got damn right.

[Memphis Bleak]

More fire. So that's cool. But the curse of that shit be that with the radio, with promoters, with this. Because Jay is who he is. Say, like, when he did this has always been the illest to be right. Looking at this like, you a bastard, yo. How you do that? When he did 99 problems. He say, radio don't play my hits. If I don't play, they show, I don't give a. So I'm looking at that like, no, no, that's not what. What they do. They don't play bleak hits. You were supposed to say radio don't play bleak hits.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

I don't give a shit.

[Memphis Bleak]

Cause that's what's happening to me. You say no, they like 50 less spins on mine. Rap.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Yo, facts.

[Memphis Bleak]

Take that shit out the mix.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Facts.

[Nems]

Yeah, that's some bullshit, yo.

[Memphis Bleak]

Like, your whole career. That's what I'm saying. So being free, like, not free. Like, you free to be out here rolling around, but, like, not having that pressure. You get to experience certain things that I never got to in this game. And that's why I want you to take full advantage of that shit, bro.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Yo, the other day, Dave Chappelle came up. He was like, yo, I love your video. I watch this all the time. You are hilarious. Then on the same hand, Nori and Busta Rhymes is with me, treating me like I'm a peer. And I came up. I got all they albums. You know what I'm saying? This is a dream. I love this shit.

[Memphis Bleak]

We see what you doing. You making the death. You. You making the impact, your struggle, respect your hustle, respect your grind, number one. And then you. You making moves that artists dream about, you know? Come on, man. We've been in this game for years. I think you getting a radio show.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Facts only.

[Memphis Bleak]

Joe Buttons did that. You feel me? You play my. All day.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

I do play your. All the time, bro. I got you, bro.

[Nems]

Thanks, man. You won't let me up.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Yo, he got. He. You got a. He's Harlem. Harlem. You gotta. When the cameras is on, it's a whole exterior, yo.

[Memphis Bleak]

I just.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

I just started getting cool with this, like, two months ago. He was doing an album for six months.

[Memphis Bleak]

He was. He was hollow.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Oh, yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

What's up, man? Y' all bring him around people. He'd be like, yeah, what's up? My bag wrong. You gotta like that, man.

[Memphis Bleak]

Be cool, man.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

It's my man. I'm introducing you. Stop with that Harlem, man. A Harlem. You got pause. You got to crack their exterior first.

[Memphis Bleak]

You got too cool. That's.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

That's what it is. A too cool.

[Memphis Bleak]

He don't want Wrinkle with sweat. That's uptown, man. That's uptown. Will Snap on you, man. Your sweats is wrinkled.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Once you get past that, though, they the coolest.

[Memphis Bleak]

Nah, that's a fact.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

But you got to get past that exterior, bro.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's a fact. So talk about that, man. That Harlem world, Harlem life.

[Nems]

Harlem is just, you know, grow up. Seen all the infamous drug dealers, yo, and you get inspired, man.

[Memphis Bleak]

Listen, it was a time in Harlem, my. I hated walking through Broadway every two steps. Not every block. Every two steps. One, two, fish girl. Fish girl.

[Nems]

Oh, yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

One, two. Bobby. Bobby. I beat both of their prices. Bobby, right here.

[Nems]

Yo, that was a wild time.

[Memphis Bleak]

So if you come to New York and see the weed out here and think that's crazy, we had that coke. Yeah, that was right there. You walking fish girl, fishing. You're like, what? What? Oh, let me get a zip.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Let me get a zip.

[Memphis Bleak]

Go back to the. I'll be right back, papi. But then y' all had them. That'll rob you. Yeah, yeah, in the McDonald's. Wait right here. I'll be right back, papi. Come sell you that motherfucking Sheetrock.

[Nems]

Yeah, yeah, man. Yo, a lot of niggas went up there blasting.

[Memphis Bleak]

You know what I mean? You talk about. You say. You speak about that in the book, man. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Just.

[Nems]

Just growing up, being around a lot of dudes. You know, like I said, my man Kevin Childs, my man Drew Rutledge and all the people that was around. And I just got to experience a different type of life growing up, and I just channeled it into doing music. And you'll hear it a lot in the lines of just day to day life, growing up in Harlem and being around, like, a lot of OGs.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

I just said that the other day, though. I just. I was. When I was in Harlem, I forgot maybe we was doing a video, something. I was like, yo, it's a whole different lifestyle growing up in Coney island, where in the wintertime, it's like a dead land, you know what I'm saying? Where you just is one way in, one way out. Like growing up there and then growing up in Harlem, it's a whole different lifestyle. No, it's totally different, but still New York.

[Memphis Bleak]

You see how you say the summertime, the whole Brooklyn come alive in the summertime. We, we. You loitering. Everybody hanging out, every block. Winter time is in the crib.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

Facts, Ghost town. It's everywhere. You go to Harlem.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Oh, it's showtime Outside. It's your time.

[Memphis Bleak]

It's like going to doctor. Yeah, you go. I don't Even know how they separated Harlem and the Bronx. That is a little bridge over that. Like.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Yep.

[Memphis Bleak]

It ain't like Staten Island. Yeah.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Brooklyn.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah. Like, that's a far place.

[Nems]

Like, it's a fashion show in the wintertime.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, y', all, that is Runway central up there. You all seasons. You could. You can't go to Harlem. Like, imagine that, right? You getting up to go shopping. Like, yo, I gotta go buy some fresh. But you gotta be fresh.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Go buy the fresh.

[Memphis Bleak]

Like, that's Harlem. Like, in Brooklyn will come out like, whatever you got on your sweats. Whatever. Like, yeah, I'm going shopping, though, bum ass. You ain't buying that Harlem. You had to be fly to go get fly.

[Nems]

Yeah, yeah, swap those out, man. Take these new sneakers off, give me the mother joints and like that, like.

[Memphis Bleak]

And then you got Coney Island. My.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Like, when they come out cruddy, they go to the store.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, listen, y' all ass naked. Yo, listen. Let me just give y' all visual description of Coney Island. It is projects with beach views. So just think of. Just imagine that a beach view projects a lot of them, too. Like, facts. My. That is like, East New York with a beach.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Exactly.

[Memphis Bleak]

What the happened? How they did that?

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

That's why they've been trying to gentrify forever. But nobody wants to live over there. Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

No, they can. Cannot knock all them shits down.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Gentrify a little because it's close to the city. Yeah, it's like two, three stops.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

From the city.

[Memphis Bleak]

Oh, forget about Dumbo. Got that no more.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Yeah, Dumbo's over.

[Memphis Bleak]

They took it.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Coney Island. It's like, it's an hour at least to get to the city. So they've been trying to put new buildings in gentrify, but it just ain't happening.

[Memphis Bleak]

But y' all done upgraded Coney island, the playground, like the. That the Cyclone even got a facelift. It was like, God damn. B shot a video on that.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Yeah, Facts.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's how you know they gave it a facelift. He got on the cycle.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Yeah. I don't have. Not since I'm a. That kills people.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yes. Yo, my. Listen, right now, it's walking around, getting back surgery pause from riding the Cyclones.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

This is a true story because I'm a Coney Island. I'm the mayor. I got to know this. You know what I'm saying? There was a roller cycle, roller coaster enthusiast his whole life. He went to. Went to every. He was from San Francisco, went to every park, rode the roller coasters, loved it. Everything his dream was to ride the Brooklyn. The Cyclone. He finally makes it on his, like, 37, 38th birthday to the infamous Coney Island. Rides the Cyclone on his birthday. His dream, lifelong dream. The shit snaps his spine and he dies.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, I'm telling you, that hit a curb. My. That wooden box. My. You. But that's like putting a shopping cart on the track. Like, that was like. Yeah, son, but it was the most fun in history as a show. You went on the Cyclone? You kidding me?

[Podcast Advertiser/Host]

Of course.

[Memphis Bleak]

Everybody. Yo, listen.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Never been on that.

[Nems]

Nah, Harlem don't be going to Brooklyn.

[Memphis Bleak]

So where was your amusement park? Where y' all went? Don't man.

[Nems]

Ride Playland, man.

[Memphis Bleak]

Ride Playland Park.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Smith.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, we did. That ain't gonna front. Y' all couldn't come to Coney Island. I'm glad. I'm glad then, yes. Because back then, it was. It was wicked. Yo, it's some OGs in my projects, right? That one day, speaking of code, bring me to a story. So OG's, right? So these is going to Coney Island. So I'm like, yo, bro, I got. Let me roll with y'.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

All.

[Memphis Bleak]

I got my own money, man. I don't give a. So niggas like bleak. Nah, you can't roll with us right now. But I'm like, y' all going to Coney Island. Y' all gonna make sure I'm good. Like the. I'm with y'.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

All.

[Memphis Bleak]

Y' all the older homies. Let me with y'.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

All.

[Memphis Bleak]

I got my own money. I want to go have fun. So the like it. All right, come on. We get to Coney Island. These is not in Coney island for fun. These gonna have a major gangster, me, all type of other gangsters and new gangsters, they want the ball. Like, please go get some Nathan's or something.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Like, what?

[Memphis Bleak]

What's going on? This is before.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Before?

[Memphis Bleak]

Come on, man. This is way before you see, you never even had a knish man.

[Nems]

Yeah, school.

[Memphis Bleak]

School. That's not saying.

[Nems]

Like, when you go out for lunch, that's all you can afford is a knish man.

[Memphis Bleak]

But you ain't have it from Nathan. I mean, don't on Nathan's Coney island, man. Fight for that, man.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

That's why you got gloss on your manicure, man. Uptown shit, man. Yeah, we get manicures, too, Brooklyn, but we don't get the gloss. I get pedicures, too, man, but no gloss. You get gloss on the pedicures, man.

[Memphis Bleak]

You get gloss on the pedic.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

You get gloss on the Petty.

[Memphis Bleak]

Then you gotta know you gotta take a stripe from you, bro. Yo, we gotta take a stripe from you.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Extra clean.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, you can't get gloss on the body N, man.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Yo, that's. That is some hol. That might be some Harlem lost on the Petty.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, I did rock the chick. Your joints got to be right in the summertime. Tried to on hole for wearing chingletas. And then everybody grew up that beach now like this.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Y' all be thinking that. Y' all be thinking that too. That they. They. They used to get on hold for rocking Ch.

[Nems]

Got the Gucci joint.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, just. Just. Cause y' all got supreme on y' all shits mean it's cool.

[Nems]

Yeah, the Louis joints.

[Memphis Bleak]

Nah, the Hermes joints is cool. Yo, every I see with the Hermes slides for.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Yo, this is a good friend. Look, I ain't even. All this time, I ain't even noticed the NFL hat on the low, you

[Memphis Bleak]

know what I'm saying? For life, yo.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

It's like subtle. It's like, so, like, it's just some fresh shit. But then when you go behind you like. Like, oh, with the rock, Little the Paper Plan, I was like, oh, he's slick with it. You know what I'm saying?

[Memphis Bleak]

He's a good friend. No, I mean, I gotta rep the squad. My G, you see they got me termy Dominican with the durag. Yeah. I mean, yo, yo, you Puerto Rican or Puerto Rican? Yes, my. You know, I mean, I hang with nothing but Puerto Ricans. Dominicans, man. You know what I'm saying? They got me telling these my. My Guavo ass niggas fucking play with me. Manuele Beach. Well, they beat yours, man, learning. These niggas only teach me the curse words. Know all that, everything curse. They don't know. Yeah, I'm about to hire a Spanish tutor. Teach me some game. My G's Dior in the building.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Yeah, see, as soon as you said that, mad Dominicans just came in. That's right.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's what I'm telling you. I went to school with them, yo. One of my homies. Right, right. Because, you know, in Brooklyn, we got the major, major Dominican side of Brooklyn. Like, so one of my homies, my man Debo. Shout out Debo. So he went to. He went to check one of his mans that. You know what I mean, that live in Brooklyn over there down on Broadway or Kosciusko and all that over there.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Mad people don't know how to say Koski.

[Memphis Bleak]

I know. So the nigga.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

You could say it because we said It. So if you see the sign, you

[Memphis Bleak]

won't know how to pronounce it. So you know what I mean? So the nigga was like, yo, you hang with Bleak? Like, that's my bro, man. Tell him I said, what's up? But the homie don't speak English. He only speaks Spanish. So Deebo looking at him like, how the fuck you know Bleak? He was like, man, I went to school with Bleak. So that nigga Deebo cut back to me like, yo, Bleek, what school you went to? I was like, yo, bro, I went to 71. They called me with the joint, clicked me out. Mom said you not going to 33. Sent me way across town to 49.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

It was nothing.

[Memphis Bleak]

But Dominicans and Puerto Ricans had nothing to do with Get Cool. I was over at all the Midden gay parties like this. Like what y' all say with Two Step Blizzard? That's how Diva Loblique came about. He been lit.

[Nems]

Alter ego.

[Memphis Bleak]

But what's Next for my GS? We know we got the project. You got any projects dropping on your own?

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Yeah, I'm working on the Thug. So I have a three album deal with Goliath. Fifth record, slash version was Paul Rosenberg. So after this one, we gonna. I'm. I'm working on the third album. I don't really know what I'm doing yet, but we're taking it to the next level.

[Memphis Bleak]

A lot of people get them Rosenbergs Confused with Rose 97.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Yeah, that's Paul.

[Memphis Bleak]

You got Eminem, Rose.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Facts. It gotta go.

[Memphis Bleak]

I got Eminem, Rosenberg.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Yeah, big difference. Big difference. So shout out to Pete. That's my guy too, though.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, what's next? Besides the book, Any chapters in the book? You want to give us a sneak peek, man, just read it. A scoop

[Nems]

story in there.

[Memphis Bleak]

What about no dark stories?

[Nems]

Nah, nah, nothing like that.

[Memphis Bleak]

Argument over the next personal.

[Nems]

Like that.

[Memphis Bleak]

One thing I'mma give you the major props two NIMs for. Because you know when it come down to the Puerto Ricans in the game, they don't come from the Bronx. Yeah, yeah, Facts, you know what I mean? They've been fronting on my guy Jojo Pellegrino for years. Ain't letting my guy in. But you broke through.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

But he ain't Puerto Rican.

[Memphis Bleak]

What? Joe? He Italian.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Yeah. Hey, from Staten Island. Thank you.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's my Godo, man.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

I think it's the Where I'm from remake with the Staten Island. That shit was hard.

[Memphis Bleak]

He's super nice. Been nice My ghost.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Yo, but Coney, I don't get that. That's why I go hard for Coney Island. Look, big and whole. They ain't shout out Coney island on Brooklyn's finest. I held that. I kept the.

[Memphis Bleak]

I hold that. That gives me motivation. Yo, I've been holding that. Brooklyn's five days since 96.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

I've been holding that in. Nah, but that's why I go hard with Coney Island.

[Memphis Bleak]

38, 40 years. I respect you. Do your. Your show show out there too, man. That's dope.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Outside with Gorilla Nims. Yeah, we shoot right in front of my store. I got a store on Mermaid Avenue, 16th street, the FYL store. And we shoot the podcast there outside with Gorilla NEMS. We got 73 episodes. It's outside. We'd be outside in the winter time when it's mad cold. We put the beach chairs outside. All of that.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's fun.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, they don't let black people get stores. Only the Dominicans, the Puerto Ricans, and the Arabs. That's it. You ain't gonna never walk into bodega in here. Never. Shit that ass. Never. You gonna hear every culture but some black shit in there.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

I wonder why, man.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, they never gave us one. All my homies that got one lost they store, though. Cause you know, they was. They got stories like in the book.

[Nems]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

Stuff happening in the back.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

They wasn't really selling. You know what I mean? Potato chips.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

It's rare to even see a Puerto Rican corner store anymore.

[Memphis Bleak]

No, that's right. That was the stores. When we first walked in, you had to walk in like this.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

Let me get the back. Let me get Two dungeons, two Dutches in the Snapple Bobby. Now you gotta walk in there. Yo, what they say? I Bibi. Yeah, yeah, read the back.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Was I, baby, What side was your. Was just your stores to go to. Because I be. I told you I was throwing out garbage there. So Marcy don't got. I mean, Flushing don't got no stores.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's what's crazy.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

On which side? On.

[Memphis Bleak]

On Houston Avenue. It was two stores. It was one on Flushing and Marcy.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Yeah, yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

Pause, pause. Because this store used to be called Meatball. The Meat Barn used to be called Meatball. Word. Yeah. That was all Flushing and no string. And then we had a 24 hour store on flush. I mean, on Flushing and Marcy was paused Meat Bond. And on Flushing and no string, they tried to open up a 24 hour store, but too many niggas got clapped there. So they closed that down. We had the two stores, brothers and then the pizza shop that turned into another store that brother bought. That was on Nostrin. We got the other store on the other side on Nostrin.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Nostrand. One is still there.

[Memphis Bleak]

The other one on the other side on Nostrand, between Nostrin and Myrtle, between Park and Myrtle was still there. Then we had the one on Myrtle Avenue. Right by the fucking Nostrin is Kennedy Fry.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

But the Kennedy Friday that got. They got the picture. Yeah, and they cap.

[Memphis Bleak]

Because he never even told them to do that. They just made it for the. Went in there, ordered something. Next thing you know, they got a whole meal, like, with his picture on it.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Like, they got his picture on there with the durag. Yeah, yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

Don't with it. He ain't never shut it down. That's the only Kennedy Friday that got the whole special right there on Marcy, right there on Myrtle Avenue. Then we got the three stores on Marcy Avenue. The Green Store. So all the stores was my neck of the woods. But my main store was Brother Store, no String and Flushing.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Okay.

[Memphis Bleak]

You know what I mean? Because that's right there. Walking out my building, right through the lane right there. Yeah, yeah. Every store we went to, that's how them start selling backwoods. Because the only store on my side that sold backwoods back in the day was the store by Warhol Hospital.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

That's a mission.

[Memphis Bleak]

This is what I'm just trying. Yeah, you had to go all the way down there and they only had the brown pack. Nah. So I used to have Freeway and Beans and them meet me on the turnpike with boxes of backwoods back then. And then I would go to my stores in the hood like, yo, y' all gotta order these, man. Come on, buy them up. And that's how they started ordering the backwoods, bro. Yo, you love giving beats for beats. Yo facts, yo, he the drama producer, yeah. Now if y' all got smoke and you wanna smoker, come see. Cause J. Mills rapping like the rip dude the did the landlord knock on the door

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

that crib, that DNA yeah, they got

[Memphis Bleak]

black gloves and what's going on?

[Nems]

He had a situation, man, he had to take care your wall it's time like all right, he took care of it.

[Memphis Bleak]

He ain't playing, he body bagging rap, rapping up that used to say he doing

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

was crazy I just seen a battle rapper well known one I seen the other day his chain was mad

[Memphis Bleak]

fake yo, chill, I feel bad.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

I was like, damn, homie, yo, that.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's bad. Cause will kill you for that.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

If you're a battle rapper at that

[Memphis Bleak]

will kill you for this. You risking your life for some fake. You wake up every day and strap all on that fake. Be like, yo, I'm go out there and put myself in mad danger just for a look. Yo, that's crazy. Because the wolves is out right now. Ain't no. You see the video? They just booked somebody in what, Patterson, New Jersey.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Oh, yeah.

[Memphis Bleak]

And online, acting like that's French, like doing Chinese. That's normal. It's called wolves. Food we have to eat. You gotta be with the.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Got used to this culture back in the days. That's how every. That was just the norm. It's just become not the norm now. Yeah, but it's still the norm.

[Memphis Bleak]

Rapper from New York that I ain't gonna even say his name. Cause I don't like keeping going and you know, love the. But a rapper from New York. I seen this in LA and that. Like, yo, you wear your jewelry in la? Hey, I wear my jewelry. Whatever the I want. That's what I bought it for. Like. And like, you crazy. Like, no, I had to explain to him, yo, you know where I'm from, right? He's like, yeah, you know, Brooklyn originated take, right? Like we this way. It started at. If you wasn't my dead ass. Serious. The environment in New York city. Brooklyn, New York, from when I was a JIT, the 80s. I say from about 89 to about 2004. 5 my. If you wasn't a person who deserved something, it got took it look. Yeah, like that's limit head. He think he. That's just the code of Brooklyn. Like, it's the culture.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Yeah. Yo, we just went. I just was in Medellin in Colombia, and everybody was like, yo, it's not dangerous. I said, yo, I'm from Coney Island.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yeah, it's dangerous.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

We dangerous. Exactly. What the fuck. I'm not saying. Saying I'm the top. But when you come from that environment,

[Memphis Bleak]

you know when to see, you can see.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Exactly. You could sense it. And it's like, if you ain't looking, if you look for it, you're gonna find it.

[Memphis Bleak]

That's right.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

You know what I'm saying?

[Memphis Bleak]

It's like going through your girl phone, you gonna find that there's nothing good

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

that could come in there. Even if you don't find something, you're gonna find something.

[Memphis Bleak]

You're gonna make up something. You said you was going to the cleaners at 4 o' clock. Yo, word up, yo. So yeah, let them know, man, boom your face off.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

I should boom.

[Memphis Bleak]

You drop it out right now.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

If you don't listen to it, it's probably cause you yo, straight up.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, I love this guy. Yo, listen, me and them are best friends after this episode, you hear me? This is the type of. I like this. That got a song where he told the On40 Deuce Selling they mixtape. They stupid. All right, I'll twist me that. Yo, listen, I wanted to jump out my car and let it go on its own when I heard that line. And now I'm sitting here with this. It's like, no way. This is my best. My best friend now. We bff, y'. All.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

A lot of people think it's just when they don't meet me in real life. They think it's like, might be an act for the Internet or something. This is how I really am.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, my nigga, you a real one. I told you he can't walk in the door and cut the cameraman up. I feel bad for him because he gonna have to edit this shit. He might try to edit just the points, my G. So we gonna have to give him some bread on the side, you know what I mean? But you know what it is? It's been a real one. I love my guys, man Ron keep putting in that pain. My stop making. Stop making getting beef and get better get them records when they ain't got no drama like me. I ain't got no drama. We can make up some drama though. It. Yo, hold up.

[Ron Browns (Ether Boy)]

Before we end, what's up with the the the the the.

[Memphis Bleak]

Yo, they violated the major mega man head, right? Yo, they violated me. I love it, though. Yo, they were saying it was AI. Yeah, they said I was. Yo, I like it though, man. Give me the all of yo mean me up. You know what I'm saying? Long as you get demon oblique. The bean is outside. You heard y never had a boy baked bean. Cause your pop is soft, rock solid. You know what it is. Yeah. 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 em,

[Nems]

this

[Memphis Bleak]

is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.