← The Breakfast Club
The Breakfast Club
Best Of Full Interview: Marsha Ambrosius On Linking With Dr. Dre, Blending Genres, Self Care, New Album + More
00:56:51
Loading summary
Transcript259 lines
- [00:01]
Coca Cola Advertiser
The holidays are about spending time with your loved ones and creating magical memories that will last a lifetime. So whether it's family and friends you haven't seen in a while, or those who you see all the time, share holiday magic this season with an ice cold Coca Cola. Copyright 2024 the Coca Cola Company.
- [00:22]
DJ Envy
Life is an act of constant reinvention. That's true for you and for cars. Nissan reimagined the all new Kicks around you. The Bose Personal plus sound system with speakers in the headrest keep you in the groove, while The Nissan Safety Shield 360 technologies keep you safe. If Nissan reinvented the Kicks, you can reinvent yourself. Drive the all new reimagined Nissan Kicks today.
- [00:42]
Coca Cola Advertiser
Available Features compatible device service and consumer activation of Nissan Connect Services package Required Use only when safe and legal. Subject to third party service availability. For more information, see nissanusa.com connect legal Apple CarPlay is a trademark of Apple Inc. Intelligent all wheel drive cannot prevent collisions or provide enhanced traction in all conditions. Always monitor traffic and weather conditions.
- [00:58]
Comedy Advertiser
Hey comedy fans. The funniest comedians in the world are on tour and you can get tickets to see them live near you. With the biggest names in comedy like Atsuko Okatsuka, Chelsea Handler, Jimmy Carr, Kathy Griffin, Matt Matthews, Matt Rife, Sarah Silverman, Sebastian Maniscalco, Stavros Helkias, Wanda Sykes, and so many more. All kinds of shows, all kinds of venues, all kinds of funny. Head to livenation.comcomedy to get your tickets today. That's livenation.comcomedy how crispy are the new.
- [01:29]
Coca Cola Advertiser
Deli Meg's Crispy Quesadillas? Let's see. I'm gonna pop one in the microwave.
- [01:33]
Marsha Ambrosius
Yeah.
- [01:34]
Coca Cola Advertiser
Deli Meg's Crispy Quesadillas are cris crispy. Even from a microwave, I can already smell it. Heads up. If you hate loud crunching, you might want to mute so crispy. Like barely hear myself think crispy. These should come with a warning. If this crispiness is making you hungry, get to your closest grocery store for Deli Mex Crispy Quesadillas in the frozen aisle. Critics and audiences are falling in love with the fire inside.
- [02:01]
Marsha Ambrosius
As long as I'm boxing, I'm gonna be okay.
- [02:04]
Coca Cola Advertiser
Based on the inspirational true story.
- [02:06]
Charlamagne Tha God
Damn proud of you, y'all.
- [02:07]
DJ Envy
Golden.
- [02:08]
Coca Cola Advertiser
It's a knockout crowd pleaser. The whole family can agree on my.
- [02:11]
Charlamagne Tha God
Baby going to the Olympics.
- [02:12]
Coca Cola Advertiser
It's this generation's Rocky.
- [02:14]
DJ Envy
Can't nobody beat me.
- [02:15]
Coca Cola Advertiser
You'll stand up and cheer. It's one of the best movies of.
- [02:20]
Marsha Ambrosius
The year you represent out there. Something I would do with it.
- [02:22]
DJ Envy
Flynn.
- [02:22]
Coca Cola Advertiser
The Fire Inside, Based on the incredible true story. Rated PG 13. Inappropriate for children under 13. Now playing only in theaters.
- [02:29]
Charlamagne Tha God
Wake that ass up. Early in the morning. The Breakfast Club.
- [02:33]
DJ Envy
Morning, everybody. It's DJ Envy. Jess. Hilarious. Charlemagne. The God we are the Breakfast Club. We got a special guest in the. Yes, indeed we have Marcia Ambroses. Welcome back.
- [02:42]
Marsha Ambrosius
What's happening? Hi, guys.
- [02:44]
DJ Envy
How are you?
- [02:45]
Marsha Ambrosius
Queen Marcia, seven, eight years.
- [02:47]
DJ Envy
Eight, nine years. It's been a long time.
- [02:49]
Marsha Ambrosius
Crazy.
- [02:50]
DJ Envy
How you feeling?
- [02:51]
Marsha Ambrosius
I'm great. How are you doing?
- [02:52]
Charlamagne Tha God
Well, let's black and highly favored. I mean, you got so many classics to me. Late nights, early mornings, Friends and lovers. Nyla, you've done it again with Casablanca.
- [03:01]
Marsha Ambrosius
Thank you. You heard it?
- [03:02]
Charlamagne Tha God
Yes, absolutely.
- [03:04]
Marsha Ambrosius
They gave it to you. I feel it's such a vulnerable feeling when people, like, have it now. It's, like, not real. It's like this is all a dream.
- [03:14]
DJ Envy
Well, congrats.
- [03:15]
Marsha Ambrosius
Thank you.
- [03:15]
DJ Envy
So I heard it was your mom that actually got you to link back up with Dr. Dre.
- [03:20]
Marsha Ambrosius
You know what she did? In true Scouser fashion, the Liverpudlian that she is, she hit me up and.
- [03:26]
Charlamagne Tha God
Said, you're using words we have no idea.
- [03:28]
Marsha Ambrosius
Scouser means you were born and raised in Liverpool. A Liverpudlian. Right.
- [03:32]
Charlamagne Tha God
Okay.
- [03:32]
Marsha Ambrosius
So I'm born Liverpool, born and raised. So my mom calls me. My mum calls me and says, oh, Marsha, have you spoke to him, Dr. Dre lately? Not even. I don't even think she referred to him as Dr. Dre. She just said Dre. Like, I was supposed to know who that was. And I'm like, no, Mom, I haven't spoke to Dre lately. I was like, all right, I'll call him up. So this is round about the end of 2020, December. So I give him a call, say, what's up? We reconnect. He's like, I'm working on a couple of things. I'll send you a couple of ideas. So we started shooting ideas back and forth. What would then be the GTA video game. But I didn't know that that's what was being worked on. You know, Dre is just like, let's just work. You never know what's gonna happen. So we're going back and forth, and a couple of weeks go by, and the top of 2021, he had a brain aneurysm. And I was on the treadmill when I found that out. Like, looked at my phone and, you know, it popped up whatever news outlet. And it was like, what? I just talked to him, like, less than 24 hours ago and made all the calls, found out everything was okay and stable. 24 hours after that, he called me, said, look, Marge, I'm cool. I'm in recovery, but I want to get back to work. So I want to get you out to LA and let's just figure some things out.
- [04:54]
DJ Envy
So he in a hospital bed calling you, like, look, we got to get back to work.
- [04:57]
Marsha Ambrosius
All I know was, like, plugged up, plugged up. On the way back, I said, okay, Dr. Dre, whatever you say. And within a couple of weeks, I was in LA most of that year, 2021. And the creation of Casablanco happened a couple of months after that. So it was really all the GTA stuff. And then I told Dre that I was overdoing this artist thing. Nyla's mother's now, and I just want to chill. Like, I just want to produce and write. I've never been a pick. Me. I want to be in front of the captain. No, I was done. And he said, yeah, nah.
- [05:34]
Charlamagne Tha God
Oh, you was done with music?
- [05:36]
Marsha Ambrosius
Yeah.
- [05:37]
Charlamagne Tha God
Really well.
- [05:37]
DJ Envy
Being an artist.
- [05:38]
Charlamagne Tha God
Being an artist.
- [05:39]
Marsha Ambrosius
Yeah, being an artist, like, I was always gonna create, but the whole being the artist thing, I was like, I've done everything that I could possibly do on a. This bucket list that I tried to create for myself. I've surpassed my bucket list on the bucket list.
- [05:54]
DJ Envy
I'm just curious.
- [05:55]
Marsha Ambrosius
Get signed, win a Grammy, lose some Grammys. I don't know. Like, work with my favorite artists, like, regular stuff. But my actual things, I didn't write. Oh, work with Michael Jackson, work with Prince, work with Stevie, work with Dr. Dre. I didn't write those things out loud, but I wanted those things, and I'd achieved that by now. This is 24 years in for me. So I'm like, ah, what's next? I'm on my Quincy Jones mission.
- [06:26]
Charlamagne Tha God
Yeah, I know you write for other people and produce for other people, but there's something about your sound and your music that I don't think nobody else can deliver. Your voice, your energy. It's something about a Marsha Ambrosius album that's just different than everything else that's out there.
- [06:40]
Marsha Ambrosius
This is true. I'd done those. I felt like I'd said all the things that I wanted to say up until that point. I say all that to say. I told Dre this over, like, we had a party for the kids at his crib, chilling, and I'm like, look, Dre, I don't want to do this no more. I'm really into producing and writing. I love this team. I want to stay creative. But as far as me doing it. And he was like, yeah, nah, I just want to keep you creative. I just want to keep you inspired. And we did one song in particular. I can safely say the titles now. Yes. So we started with a song that used to be called Curfew, because there's a line where I say, let's fall in love before the street lights come on. And I was like, before curfew. And Dre was like, no one likes curfew. No one likes a curfew. So it was. We used a sample from A Night in Tunisia.
- [07:36]
Charlamagne Tha God
Oh.
- [07:37]
Marsha Ambrosius
And I called it Tunisian Nights.
- [07:40]
Charlamagne Tha God
Oh, that's that class. It's a classic jazz record, Right.
- [07:43]
Marsha Ambrosius
So it's a classic jazz record. It's the way we sampled it. We used this elaborate piano intro that Bluetooth came up with, and I just started singing this intro. And then that Night in Tunisia hits, and then it goes to an entire Nas situation, and then the Mary thing comes into it, and it's just all of these things. And it was that magic happening in the studio at that moment that we knew, you know, you know, you know, it was one of those moments, like, sometimes in the studio you're creating, and it's like, oh, this is fire. It's cool. We'll go home. Listen to the beat. Everyone in that room felt something shift, felt something new happen. And to have done everything that I've. I've already done, musically, everything that Dre has done, we'd never done this. So we were onto something, and it felt like we had to see it through. So Casablanco became a destination. Casablanco became the mood, the vibe, the standard, and we just took it from there.
- [08:46]
Charlamagne Tha God
I like the pedestal you put hip hop on on this album because. Because just musically, it just shows how much of a classic musical art form hip hop is. The fact you can go from that Tunisian record is, like, from the 40s, right?
- [08:59]
Marsha Ambrosius
Yeah.
- [09:00]
Charlamagne Tha God
The fact you can go from that to nah.
- [09:02]
Marsha Ambrosius
To 90s, right. And it blend perfectly, seamlessly. It doesn't. A lot of things that we did on this album shouldn't make sense. Like, I truly believe we will be in the Guinness Book of World Records for how many things we sampled and the way that we sampled them. So no, Wu Tang, Duke Ellington, and Michael Jackson aren't supposed to fuse, but on Thrill her, they did. You know, so it's yeah, it was a wild ride, but one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had. Not only recording it, just the entire process, even getting to this point, even it taking so long to get a release date for it to be available. Like, the entire thing has just been. No one's done this before.
- [09:49]
DJ Envy
Now you talk about. You talk about inspiration, right? And Charlotte may say how you inspire so many people, but you must have inspired Dr. Dre as well, because we haven't heard music from Dr. Dre. We haven't seen him executive produce things. We've only heard rumors and, like, it's almost like a tease.
- [10:03]
Charlamagne Tha God
Nothing ever comes out. You hear. You hear Dr. Dre executive producer, such and such album, but you never hear this.
- [10:08]
Marsha Ambrosius
He recently said this in a bit. In a. In an interview he recently did and said, and I absolutely believe this, he may have only released 5% of the music that he's ever recorded.
- [10:20]
Charlamagne Tha God
Wow.
- [10:21]
Marsha Ambrosius
And now working with him as extensively as I did during the pandemic, it's absolutely true. And he doesn't do it purposefully. It's because he loves the creative process. And it's like, no, this is just for us. This is ours.
- [10:36]
Charlamagne Tha God
So what did you do? How did you. How are you one of the few people, I was gonna say get your album?
- [10:40]
DJ Envy
Did you ever think it wasn't gonna happen?
- [10:41]
Marsha Ambrosius
I'm. I'm the only there. You are the only. There's not one person.
- [10:47]
DJ Envy
Damn.
- [10:48]
Marsha Ambrosius
Before or after. I don't even think this happens again, that has an entire project solely produced and mixed by Dr. Dre. How did I do it? Not clear, but I know that I did it. I know that this is something that he'd never done. And I feel like that that was the driving force for it to be something new. He could have just did a hip hop record. It could have just been a soul, R and B. It's none of those things. It's something so specific, so different, but so familiar. And I feel like we were both going through a similar situation. It was. He had health scare to health scare. The pandemic is happening. It felt like the end of the earth during that time. So it felt desperate in a way. It felt, if we don't do this in this world ends tomorrow, what's the mark that we actually leave on planet Earth? And musically, like you said, I've done things that, you know, a Marsha Ambrosius album is this specific thing. If I had to leave it all on the floor and put up my triple double and win a chip, that's this album, if it was all said and done, like, okay, apocalyptic world that we're now in because of the pandemic and many other things, it was that it was out of desperation and feeling like I could have lost my life, Dre could have lost his. We didn't. We survived these things. We're now post Covid. How do we navigate through this? And what does that sound like? And that's why and how this happens. So, yeah, Dre being inspired by me, I'm inspired by him. And it. It just took off.
- [12:34]
Charlamagne Tha God
Tell us what the title means.
- [12:36]
Marsha Ambrosius
So Casablanco I initially, within a week of recording what we knew this was going to be off the Tunisian Nights, he threw out some album titles, a couple of which were things like, I sing or I sing mother. One of those. And I was like, drake, we need an actual title. Like, what is this? It was like, I mean, you sing, motherfucker. That's it. So I'm like, no, Dre, this needs to be entitled. Like, what is this thing? So I was in a spoiled circumstance where I'm driving through the Beverly Hills, like, just Hollywood Hills, every day to the destination, to record. And it felt very vintage Hollywood. Like the lights, the lamps. It was glitz, glamour, red carpets, the whole nine. And I felt underdressed for the studio every time I got there, based on what we were creating. And so it was strings, it was a symphony, but it painted these pictures. And I was like, no, it feels like a place. It feels like Casablanca. And he was like, okay, Casablanca, he said, but, nah, it's that Dre shit. So it's a little bit more gangster than that. It's like Casablanco, like Griselda Blanco. So the fusion of that very vintage jazz Hollywood feel meets hip hop is how Casablanco became what it was, what it is.
- [14:10]
Charlamagne Tha God
And all you make it feels like it's soundtracks to make love to. Of course, like, nothing more, nothing less. Why is that?
- [14:16]
Marsha Ambrosius
I have no clue. It's just in me. It's ridiculous. Like, I've had this. Well, a friend of mine recently was like, how do you even come up with another one this? Why not? Even in a place of desperation, even in a place of the world was over, I still find a song to make love to. And I. It's a gift. That's. It's a gift.
- [14:45]
Charlamagne Tha God
It's called one night stand music. Too good to have a one night stand too. Like, that's not the type of music you have a one night stand. Too much not.
- [14:51]
Marsha Ambrosius
Well, that was the point, my one night stand is now 10 years long.
- [14:57]
Charlamagne Tha God
Okay?
- [14:57]
Marsha Ambrosius
And I'm saying, so I definitely lent from other experiences and wild drunk nights over the course of, you know, Grammy open bar, you know, it gets very ridiculous. So yeah, those, those one nights, they're a part of that song too. But ultimately it's that one night that could be your forever.
- [15:24]
Charlamagne Tha God
People that'll be like, you shouldn't have one night stands.
- [15:26]
Marsha Ambrosius
Why not?
- [15:27]
Charlamagne Tha God
Exactly.
- [15:27]
Marsha Ambrosius
I don't know where it's going to go.
- [15:29]
Charlamagne Tha God
That's right.
- [15:29]
Marsha Ambrosius
Like if you don't. Everything is a one night stand when you think about it. So we've all done it. It's whether or not it lasted or it didn't. But you shouldn't be. Oh, I'd never do that. If I didn't do it 10 years later in a 7 year old. Maybe that doesn't happen. If I don't just. You know what I mean? Like, if I don't say, hey, I.
- [15:48]
DJ Envy
Gotta, I want to ask, I want to go back to what you said. You said the health scare and your child, how did that change your life with the healthcare in your child? Because I guess if the baby's what, 6, 7 years old, happened right before COVID So you pretty much raised the.
- [16:00]
Marsha Ambrosius
Baby during COVID It's just Covid babies are different.
- [16:04]
DJ Envy
Oh, they different.
- [16:05]
Marsha Ambrosius
It's ridiculous. Like, but for me, how it, how it all changed, it changed all of us, you know, so it was being a bit more sensitive, being a bit more open. And I feel like all of our issues, all of our mental health, it was, everything was on the table because we could all see each other now. We had way too much time to spend with ourselves. So you were like, oh, you're. I see you and we're going through exactly the same thing. So there was much more. Well, for me anyway, much more dialogue. Even though suicide skyrocketed, like, all of these things, all of these numbers, all of these things are happening. And I have my baby, I have my husband, I have my own bubble that allowed me to feel safe amidst the chaos. Like it was, it still is chaotic, but that was my peace and me being able to be grounded. So that, that definitely helped. But at the same time, being in a dark place, I don't think there's anything that could bring you out of that. And that was terrifying during the pandemic. And I'm pretty sure for anybody where you're like, not even your kid could bring you. No, my mother, my father, my brother, like close friends, you couldn't write your way up. This is what Casablanco ended up being Casablanca. When the timing of it all was. I could see the light at the end of the tunnel now. I was over the other side of that dark place. And even with this tentative, oh, there's gonna be a release date, or we had think about the samples on this album. We literally took over a year to clear the samples. And I didn't mind that because I felt like I still needed time to heal. So waiting for this release date was almost like. When I say a death date, it was, okay, that's the end of that era. So whenever it was happening, it was like, okay, now it's June 28th. I was like, that's the end of all this madness that I had to get through to get to it. So it was like, if I can survive that long, I made it. So what we've got covered, couple of days to go until we get there. I didn't think I'd see this moment at one point. So to get here and to be happy and to be in a space that I'm in is just. Wow.
- [18:44]
DJ Envy
Wow.
- [18:45]
Charlamagne Tha God
Is that where the song. I guess Self Care Wrong Right might.
- [18:48]
Marsha Ambrosius
Come from, but even that is a song to. To make love to.
- [18:51]
Charlamagne Tha God
Yeah. You know, I mean, making love is a form of self care, right?
- [18:55]
Marsha Ambrosius
It's self care is being in tune to oneself. Put the. Do the math. One plus one is do you. So, yeah. Self care. And no matter who's wrong or who was right, it was just don't leave me and don't leave that feeling. And once the music started, it was all of those emotions. And even in that, like you said, it all came back down to. In true Marcia Ambrosius fashion, you got a fuck right in that love song.
- [19:26]
Charlamagne Tha God
Yes.
- [19:27]
Marsha Ambrosius
Still. So I'm just glad to be able to do that.
- [19:30]
Charlamagne Tha God
What's the wrong right part of it, though? Like, what does that mean? Who's wrong? Self care Wrong right was.
- [19:35]
Marsha Ambrosius
So initially those were two separate songs. And the self care was I needed to do me figuratively, literally. So by the time we got to wrong right, it's me inviting that person then into my space, and it's giving me good. Like you so hood, like, please don't go. It's that you're so wrong right now for even trying to let me let my guard down because I was so cool with just letting me do me. And then here comes this. This. This fine, dark chocolate son of a guy swept me off my feet and let me put my guard down. And I'm a Leo, and that's hard for me to do. So when it happens, it's both terrifying, but the. The fear in a lioness comes out in aggression and anger and a lot of sexual appetite, that is. Or, you know, anyone that knows that knows. And, yeah, that was. You're so wrong right now.
- [20:49]
DJ Envy
Where did y'all meet? Where'd you meet your husband?
- [20:51]
Marsha Ambrosius
On tour.
- [20:52]
DJ Envy
On tour?
- [20:53]
Marsha Ambrosius
Yes.
- [20:53]
DJ Envy
How did that go down? Cause you talking about him, you just. You started. Your mouth started salivating, and you just.
- [20:59]
Marsha Ambrosius
You start getting hot.
- [21:00]
Charlamagne Tha God
You turn it in beyond.
- [21:01]
Marsha Ambrosius
Cause you say, I'm thinking about the song wrong, right?
- [21:04]
Charlamagne Tha God
I'm like, hey, and be thinking about your man getting turned on, Child.
- [21:07]
Marsha Ambrosius
Like, chill out.
- [21:12]
DJ Envy
I'm just saying. I'm just saying. She was just so excited. I'm just asking, where did they meet?
- [21:15]
Marsha Ambrosius
But that's where the music.
- [21:16]
DJ Envy
That's love is love. Thinking about my wife. All right, I'm sorry.
- [21:18]
Marsha Ambrosius
Good. It's fine. No, we met on. On tour 10 years ago, and I saw him. It's 10 years later. I said, you know, when you know, you know, you keep, like, all the movies that you see. That's corny. Like, it never happened. Yes, it did. It was. I seen him and he had a red fit on. And I was like, who is that? And I approached him like, yo, what's up? And we got to talking, and we haven't stopped talking since. Wow.
- [21:56]
Charlamagne Tha God
You need to write a book called One Night Stand. Because there's so many people who think you gotta make. Make the man wait 30 days or 60 days or 90 days.
- [22:04]
Marsha Ambrosius
There's so many formulas to it. Maybe don't just follow your intuition, because it all depends on what type of person you are. Like, there are people that are. I've never. I'm not approaching unless I know it's for sure. I don't know. There's many formulas to it. So even if I did write a book, I'm going with what worked for me. I'm not giving you the manual to how this works out. Like, ooh, you too can find your 10 years later.
- [22:33]
Charlamagne Tha God
Or.
- [22:34]
Marsha Ambrosius
You know what I mean? Like, I'm not giving it as game like that. I'm saying, if you saw what it was that you wanted and you didn't make your move, that's on you. Because then you'll sit there and ponder and be like, well, what if I just said something? What if I just approached? So by the time that I did, and it was what it was, and I knew that it Was more than just that one night in Philadelphia, that one night in Chicago, that one night in Virginia, that one night in la. Now it's many nights. Now it's all, you want to move in. Sure. Moved in together. And then it's, oh, you want to go back to the UK for Christmas with me, Meet my whole family? Sure. And then by April, we were pregnant.
- [23:19]
Charlamagne Tha God
Wow.
- [23:20]
Marsha Ambrosius
That serious. Sounds ridiculous when I say it doesn't. No, when I say ridiculous, it's like, that's the timeline, though, you know? And we were both very sure.
- [23:32]
Charlamagne Tha God
I can't remember what song it is. Maybe it was greedy. What's this one song? Maybe I'm tripping. It sound like you was talking about having a threesome.
- [23:38]
Marsha Ambrosius
Oh, thrill her. Thrill, Thrill her. That was a dream. Not really came true, but a fantasy. So Thrill her was a drunken high night. I want to say I took that story from. Was it Atlanta? No, this one might have been at L. A. It was definitely a Grammy week. And I painted the picture, came in drunk as hell, give some head. Then a knock at the door and it's another chick. I'm like, who the is this? And I'm like, oh, it's about to go down. Oh, it might have been a Philly story too. There's, like a lot of stories involved. So. Yeah, when people hear this album, they can claim that, yeah, that was me. And then. Which is great. I love that for you. Yeah, it's. It's. Yeah, it was a wild night, but.
- [24:34]
Charlamagne Tha God
It was a dream.
- [24:35]
Marsha Ambrosius
Who knows?
- [24:36]
Charlamagne Tha God
Okay. I don't know. It sound real to me.
- [24:41]
Marsha Ambrosius
Sounded real to me too.
- [24:44]
Charlamagne Tha God
And the album is very, like 1990 now. Like, how do you have such a nostalgic feeling, but feeling. But keep it fresh.
- [24:51]
Marsha Ambrosius
Because that's what I mean. Any hip hop connoisseur or R B head 90s is just. It's unmatched. It was a time, if you weren't outside, just say that. And I feel like with this album, to have grasped what the. The Nazis of the world were doing then, the Marys of the world were doing then, but making it now, it's because that was timeless. And that's. I think we're all the same age, like our generation of timeless. Like, whereas our parents. It's temptations, it's, you know, earth, wind, fires. Okay, even later than that. But it was timeless music. So it survives now and sounds fresh now because it was that good then. So I couldn't integrate. When I say couldn't. Didn't really want to integrate what we Feel like hip hop is now, or R and B is now. I could only learn from what I really know. And me creating in my creative process has always come from the Jodeci era. It stops and starts there. It's Jodeci. That's my R B. Like, ultimately. So my hip hop is Nas, it's Jay. So it's all of those things in one album that make it fresh. Because it was good then, so it's gonna be good now. It's like singing what's a classic to you. Give it any classic.
- [26:18]
Charlamagne Tha God
Mary J. Blige, My Life.
- [26:20]
Marsha Ambrosius
Right? So you sing that now. It's. It's then, but it's absolutely now because it was that good then. And I feel like I've always, when I say, attempted to write timeless music. For me to sing, say yes or Butterflies now I can. But that is 24 years ago for me, in my real time, four years later. Absolutely timeless. So to create a casablanco and know that 24 years later, that can still live, that's the goal. It's like, what is your tomorrow? And musically, I've been doing things that could live for tomorrow, whenever that future is.
- [26:59]
Charlamagne Tha God
I just love the fact that a Nas Illmatic can inspire something like this, because when I hear this album, I hear a lot of. I hear a lot of Illmatican.
- [27:07]
Marsha Ambrosius
Yeah. And that was unintentional, I guess, with that first Tunisian Nights. It's trying to outdo how we implemented unintentionally, Nas in there. And it was all of these things because hip hop back then was still lending from classic jazz records. So it only made sense that we not only borrowed from what the 90s did with those samples, but reinventing and elevating them in the only way that a Dr. Dre can work. And did. You know.
- [27:41]
DJ Envy
So I was gonna ask, you know, you talk about Dr. Dre only releasing 5% of the music that he actually made. How much music did y'all make? And how did. What was the process of trickling it down from the amount of songs you made to this? 11.
- [27:56]
Marsha Ambrosius
You know what's crazy? We made about 12 or 13 songs, really, and knew when it was time to start. We knew it when it was completed. And the only reason why the other two didn't make it is because one of them, it made the album play a little longer than we felt comfortable with, and it matched another song on there, like, evenly. Like, if you had to get rid of one or the other, and it was like, ah, it's definitely that one, though. And one of them we couldn't clear, like, get nah damn nah. One of them. So I was like, okay, we can't clear that one. We have an album and Dre, in the creative process has like a whiteboard on the wall. We'll write the titles for each song. We just looked at it and was like, that's it, that's it. We're done. So between April, end of April 2021 and end of May, we were completely done with recorded vocally. I recorded everything, written everything. And we took a couple of weeks off and reconvened And Dre said 27 piece orchestra. So we were at Gower Studios, Eric Goldfain did the string arrangements, and we were in with the orchestra, listening to them go crazy. On this album that we created, which was already doing what it was going to do, this symphony just took it to another place, like, just didn't even make any sense. So by the time that's happened, it's just timeless in that way.
- [29:38]
Charlamagne Tha God
How does you know really thinking about your mortality and like, you know, maybe, I guess being face to face with death, in a way, how does that change just everything about you as an artist, as a person?
- [29:50]
Marsha Ambrosius
I don't know if you can see it. I'm so happy and chill. Like, nothing can really, like, phase me. And if it's anything that does kind of interfere with my peace is. Whereas I would get upset or combative or defensive about things in the past, it's okay. That's how you feel. Cool. Like, there's so many more important things than being mad about anything or holding on to things unnecessarily. Like that brush with what you think death looks like and that flash across your eyes, like that was it. The things you think were important never were. And by the time you get your life back, it still feels like that. Like it's not important important. Like prioritizing the importance of things in your life changes. Like it's not important.
- [31:01]
DJ Envy
But, you know, with you taking so much time off, it's part of the reason, like, I just don't want to deal with the noise, with the people talking, with the social media, with the conversations. It's just, you have a clear mind when you don't deal with things and people.
- [31:16]
Marsha Ambrosius
Not necessarily that I love people. I love the Internet. It's a very entertaining space. So it was never that. It was the obligatory having to do it, the whole artist thing.
- [31:31]
Charlamagne Tha God
It's the gotta show up to interviews.
- [31:34]
Marsha Ambrosius
Gotta be here on this day. Right? It's the. No, now I have an itinerary. Nah, let's just live and chill and maybe do stuff for fun and live how the other side lives or whatever you think that looks like. It was always that. But as far as noise, I think I've. I forced myself to engage, to get perspective on where people are actually at in their lives, to understand me more, if that makes any sense, because I couldn't. I think during the pandemic, we all internalized a little bit more and understood ourselves a bit more, but I think not enough people were sharing that for the fear of being looked at crazy. Because you have more time to think about who you were, why you were, and if all I had to end tomorrow, what. What did you do while you were here? So all of these things are happening, and I was okay with noise. I feel like I was more terrified of the silence.
- [32:41]
DJ Envy
Would you say okay with the noise, meaning you didn't mind people discussing and talking and.
- [32:47]
Marsha Ambrosius
Oh, no. Like, if not makes you feel like.
- [32:50]
DJ Envy
You'Re still there, right?
- [32:51]
Marsha Ambrosius
Yeah. Like, if I. If I wasn't there, I don't know. When I say it doesn't matter. I think I was engaging in conversations and catching up with. At such and such on Twitter or at blah, blah, blah, because it was, oh, we're still here. We're still able to communicate. You okay? Whether it was negative or positive, it's like, you've made time you're talking about regardless. Yeah. So it was like, you've made time.
- [33:17]
DJ Envy
It's the fear of when they're not talking about you.
- [33:20]
Marsha Ambrosius
I didn't mind that. It was life I was comfortable with again and all of it in all of its noise. So I think for anyone during the pandemic, that silence, it was like the zombie apocalypse. Like, is anyone here? Am I crazy by myself? Are we all gonna die? What's happened? Like, it was the silence. Scary.
- [33:44]
Charlamagne Tha God
Yeah. Especially if you've never. If you've never done any internal work you never did, no therapy, if you never did no meditation, if you never have been on no healing journey. And that was your first time having to deal with yourself.
- [33:55]
Marsha Ambrosius
That's noisier than anything. You in your thoughts by yourself, screaming at times. And then it was quiet, but then it was peaceful.
- [34:08]
DJ Envy
Right.
- [34:08]
Marsha Ambrosius
And then it was, okay, let me breathe. And everyone. Okay, everyone good, you know? And it felt like that.
- [34:17]
Charlamagne Tha God
What did you learn new about yourself during that time?
- [34:21]
Marsha Ambrosius
I have way more patience than I thought. I'm terrible. Like, terrible. Like, Uber eats. Where you at with my food delivery? You said you made A left turn. What do you mean you're still waiting? What do you mean you're. Yeah, I'm terrible. I don't like waiting. I got no patience and I hate waiting, so.
- [34:42]
Charlamagne Tha God
Mommy, get your ass in. Let's rock.
- [34:44]
Marsha Ambrosius
Rock. That's my favorite line. One of mine. Yeah. Patience didn't have any. Now I have all of it. Because it's. Oh, it's not happening right now. Cool. Before what you mean? Why?
- [35:00]
Coca Cola Advertiser
When the holidays are about spending time with your loved ones and creating magical memories that will last a lifetime. So whether it's family and friends you haven't seen in a while or those who you see all the time, share holiday magic this season with an ice cold Coca Cola. Copyright 2024 the Coca Cola Company.
- [35:23]
Comedy Advertiser
Hey comedy fans. The funniest comedians in the world are on tour and you can get tickets to see them live near you. Laugh at the biggest names in comedy like Atsuko Okatsuka, Chelsea Handler, Jimmy Carr, Kathy Griffin, Matt Matthews, Matt Rife, Sarah Silverman, Sebastian Maniscalco, Stavros Helkias, Wanda Sykes, and so many more. All kinds of shows, all kinds of venues, all kinds of funny. Head to livenation.comcomedy to get your tickets today. That's livenation.comcomedy.
- [35:53]
Bodi Advertiser
Ready for a new year health and fitness breakthrough that will blow your friggin mind. I'm Carl, co founder of Bodi. That's Bodi with an I and this is the Bodi Bogo sale. Right now. If you sign up for a one year subscription to BODI, I'll pay for your entire second year. That's 78% off our monthly price and our best deal ever. Look, it's not easy to get fit and lose weight. Especially if you want healthy results. At Bodi we make it simple to reverse years of unhealthy habits. We have over 130 structured programs like For Beginners Only, 21 Day Fix, P90X and Insanity. Our app also has complete eating plans and thousands of healthy, delicious recipes. Let's take the guesswork out of getting you fast results. The next 500 people who sign up for a year of Bodi get a full second year free. It's time to love your body. Just go to bodi.com that's b o d I.com.
- [36:54]
Coca Cola Advertiser
Looking for excitement? Jumba Casino is here. Play anytime. Play anywhere. Play on the train. Play at the store. Play at home. Play when you're bored. Play today for your chance to win and get daily bonuses when you log in. So what are you waiting for? Don't delay. Jumba Casino is free to play. Experience social gameplay. Play like never before. Go to Chumba Casino right now to play hundreds of games, including online slots, bingo, Slingo, and more. Live the chumba life@chumbacasino.com VGW Group no purchase necessary. Void work prohibited by law.
- [37:22]
Marsha Ambrosius
Seek terms and conditions the following ad is sponsored by Pets Best Insurance Services.
- [37:26]
Comedy Advertiser
Your pet is your bestie, your therapist your preferred match.
- [37:30]
Marsha Ambrosius
It's easy to love them even when they sneak your snacks.
- [37:33]
Comedy Advertiser
It's easy to protect them, too, with pet insurance coverage from Pets Best because it's all fun and games until they.
- [37:40]
Marsha Ambrosius
Chew on something they shouldn't.
- [37:42]
Comedy Advertiser
With perfect timing, Pets Best helps protect your furry friend and your budget from this imperfect world. Get up to 90% on eligible vet bills for less than a dollar a day. Find your Perfect match@petsbest.com Pet insurance products.
- [37:54]
Marsha Ambrosius
Offered and administered by Pets Best Insurance Services, LLC are underwritten by American Pet Insurance Company or Independence American Insurance Company for all terms, visit petsbest.com policy don't even care When I say don't care, it's I can't do anything about time. And it's I thought I had time at one point, and when I realized I had none. Oh, now I'm patient with everything because now I feel like I've held on to more time than I could have had.
- [38:29]
DJ Envy
Got you.
- [38:29]
Marsha Ambrosius
So that's different.
- [38:31]
DJ Envy
I was watching the R and B Money podcast Shout out to Tank, and you made a comment. I guess you were joking. I don't know if you were joking or not talking about you thought Stevie Wonder really can see now, and people took it as they were mad at you for a little bit.
- [38:44]
Marsha Ambrosius
Mad at me how?
- [38:45]
DJ Envy
I don't know.
- [38:46]
Marsha Ambrosius
Because if you're a Stevie Wonder fan, what I said was he can see if you listen to the music. To be one of the most prolific, descriptive songwriters of our time. How can he not? And maybe not in the way that you believe that that is, but his pen game makes you visualize us with actual sight. Visualize everything. He was saying, that's a gift. That's what I said. Yes, he can see because there's no way he says, I never dreamed you'd leave in summer. And I literally see the summer day he's referring to. That's not fair. Mary wants to be a superwoman, and I know who Mary looks like. I've already made that character. The song plays and I see it. Stevie more than anything. Songwriter I believe on Planet Earth has made me See a song the way Stevie does. That's what I said. I said what I like I said.
- [39:58]
Charlamagne Tha God
That's why I said, I get what you're saying. He might be blind, but he got vision. There's a difference.
- [40:02]
Marsha Ambrosius
Speaking of vision, to use that song on Casablanco. I remember Dre. Actually, he might. Dre was nervous about using the Stevie records or, like, asking him, like, yo, let's hit Stevie and see what he thinks. I'm like, okay, crazy. But, yeah, we got to use visions on Casablanco. And with Stevie's blessing and bucket list. Like, wow, this fake bucket list I keep making up. Like, I'll check that one off.
- [40:36]
Charlamagne Tha God
You know, did he want to hear it or.
- [40:37]
Marsha Ambrosius
Oh, yeah, yeah, he had it. So, I mean, we had to go through that process. But did he love it?
- [40:42]
Charlamagne Tha God
Did he give any creative input?
- [40:44]
Marsha Ambrosius
We had creative input because I did curse in that song at some point in the bridge. But I. When I curse in music, it's for emphasis. So I think with this one, I've taken it too far.
- [41:00]
DJ Envy
Steve. Steve was like, now, now, now.
- [41:03]
Marsha Ambrosius
He might have cursed. Dory. Like, nah. Like, no, he might have cursed. Trying to tell us not to curse, but it was necessary. I took it out. Made sense. I didn't have to. Wanted to in that emotional moment, though, and did. And maybe live Stevie over with it. I will absolutely still sing that same line that I did. But, yeah, it was a. It was a wonderful experience.
- [41:30]
Charlamagne Tha God
Did Stevie FaceTime Zoom? What did he do?
- [41:33]
Marsha Ambrosius
I want to say it was a phone call that I had and Dre had spokesman also. So. Yeah.
- [41:40]
Charlamagne Tha God
How involved is Dre?
- [41:41]
Marsha Ambrosius
See, we're just gonna let that one do this. Cool.
- [41:49]
DJ Envy
You caught it.
- [41:49]
Charlamagne Tha God
You caught.
- [41:50]
DJ Envy
As long as you caught it.
- [41:50]
Marsha Ambrosius
Oh, absolutely.
- [41:52]
DJ Envy
You caught it smooth, too.
- [41:53]
Marsha Ambrosius
I love it. You caught it smooth. FaceTime.
- [41:55]
DJ Envy
No, I ain't a FaceTime. I love it.
- [41:56]
Marsha Ambrosius
Cool.
- [41:56]
Charlamagne Tha God
How involved is Dre as far as creative direction and, like, just taking your input?
- [42:01]
Marsha Ambrosius
Oh, for this. This was a complete hand in hand, 5050 Battle of the creative minds. And his respect for me, my respect for him allowed us to really do this. And he's a genius. I'm me. And he said that I was a genius.
- [42:31]
Charlamagne Tha God
You are. What you mean? What are you talking about?
- [42:34]
Marsha Ambrosius
It's crazy to hear it from who I'm. I'm looking at a genius, and he's looking like. It's like the Spider man meme. We're all doing this in the studio. And he's like, yeah, I'm Dre, and I do this thing, but I ain't telling Michael Jackson what to do. I said, aha, you're absolutely right. I did that one. So there was just a respect level there, and he let me push boundaries in a way that I'd never done one. It's Dre's budget, and he's literally saying, no limits. You can do whatever you want. If you had to make the perfect song and implement all of these things, what is that? Just do it. I didn't think that me having Wu Tang, Duke Ellington, and Michael Jackson on one song was possible until we did it. I didn't know a Patrice Rushin and a Mary J and Mary Jane Girls one song could happen, but it did. And all of these things were happening because Dre said, no limits. And it's unreal. For real. For real. If I. If I'm honest, it's. I've never done anything like this. Like, I've made music before, but with the. The creative freedom and no limits on it allowed me to do things that I'd never done ever and may never will. This might really, truly be the one of one, and I'd be okay with that.
- [44:21]
Charlamagne Tha God
Damn. So you. You. You don't think you'd put out another album after this?
- [44:25]
Marsha Ambrosius
It's not even another album. It's not another. This. I'll create music for the rest of my life. Whatever that sounds like, whatever that looks like. But this in its moment, it's like we can't recreate the timing of when these health scares happened, the desperation of what's happening with planet Earth, the uncertainty of life, and why we made this album. You know, we can only do celebratory, like, Happy to Be Alive albums after this. You know, everything else is kind of just. Ah. But this album was made because we didn't think we'd ever get the chance to make one again.
- [45:12]
DJ Envy
How was it when you played the record for Method man during the Roots picnic? I seen it on your.
- [45:18]
Marsha Ambrosius
I had, like, most of my best friends standing behind me, waiting to just hold him, like, give me a second. Method man, please could you listen to my. I mean, he's a dream. I could still say that. I know I'm married. My husband knows what it is. Method Man. So to play him. I remember when I was writing that moment in the song, and the Go outside in the rain sample is happening, and I knew the beat was about to come in, and I'm like, you got that M E T H O D Man, do that thing you do. Those hands kiss on this. And make it dance Take it, baby Giving you permission with persistence. Oh, I love and I can't get enough of this ocean flow below my legs Swim in it Go diving inside Inside my love, babe Love you, babe.
- [46:20]
Charlamagne Tha God
That'S wet, right, ain't it? Yeah, that's the song right over there. The name of the song.
- [46:27]
DJ Envy
You all right?
- [46:27]
Charlamagne Tha God
That's the name of the song.
- [46:32]
Marsha Ambrosius
You feel me? Like, so to play it for him. Fantasy bucket list. You can't make up like this. Method man play wet the Method Man. And just to see him blush when the moment came in and him do.
- [46:53]
DJ Envy
A little two step, right?
- [46:54]
Marsha Ambrosius
Two step to that. Give me all the audibles. Said he's going to be the leading man in the video. And it's, you know, the mini Riperton inside me at the end. And it's just all the things. It was a fantasy. All of this feels very surreal. Like it's happening, but it's happening in real time. Like I get to go, hey, Stevie, Listen to what we did with your. Hey, George Benson. Here's Patrice Rushing. His married, his nas, his clean. It just. Yeah. So Meth. Thank you. Meth, my leading man.
- [47:33]
Charlamagne Tha God
I just got a couple more questions. You said you didn't tell Michael Jackson what to do or Dre didn't tell Michael Jackson what to do.
- [47:39]
Marsha Ambrosius
Dre didn't.
- [47:40]
Charlamagne Tha God
Okay, okay, okay, okay.
- [47:41]
Marsha Ambrosius
So he's saying basically his nod to me was, I'm Dre and I've made several other goats, but, you know, I didn't tell Michael Jackson what to do. That was you. So it's. I'm coming to the room with something that he's never done.
- [47:57]
DJ Envy
Wow.
- [47:57]
Marsha Ambrosius
So don't devalue what it is with you in the room. And I, I get that. And you have to understand the amount of people that have probably crossed paths and been in the studio with Dre and possibly gotten to a stage where they thought maybe a project is happening. This part has barely happened for. Like I said that 5% is just the creating of the music. The actual artists that get to be at this part only happen if you're the five people that you can count. Six or seven maybe, but don't happen. So it was. It was that it's. I'm one of one and mj Coachable. What? Yes. And wanted to be like. I think that was the. I had a spoiled experience. I was just getting to, you know, Atlanta, then get to Philly, get signed by the end of that year. Now I'm in the studio within less than a year of the time it took me to get to the States, then work with Michael Jackson because he's heard this demo and we were here in New York Hit factory. And he was there two hours. Michael Jackson was there in the studio two hours before call time, just warming up his vocal. He was that guy. Like, he was great because he worked like unlike any other. And I'll never forget the first moment where he goes in the booth like that glass behind there. And it was. I'm at the mixing board. And Bruce, sweetie. And God rest his soul too. Andre Harris is at the board. I have the talk back button. And the first chord happens and Mike just whispers like butterflies. And I just started crying. Wow. Immediately just couldn't even hold it back. Was just, I'm in the studio. I'm 22, 23 at that time. Like, those were my younger years, my formative years. And I'm doing this at that age. And then it was taught back one more time. Might get your timing right. One more time. Mike, make sure you, like, vocally produce that entire song. But when I press play is only when I can hear the reality of that, because it's seamless. There's nothing wrong with that song. And he allowed me at my very young, naive, very green to everything industry. Not only do me retain all my publishing and flourish in that studio as a vocally, as a vocal producer, producer and writer for that record. And Mike was just the king for all reasons.
- [50:49]
DJ Envy
Can you take us back? How did he hear Butterflies? How did he hear that reference track and said I wanted that?
- [50:54]
Marsha Ambrosius
Well, I'd written this song when I was about 16, 17, in Camberwell, South London, about a boy that worked at McDonald's. Don't even know his name. I just knew that he was a neighbor's friend and he was fine as hell.
- [51:10]
DJ Envy
He gave you butterflies every time he went to McDonald's.
- [51:12]
Marsha Ambrosius
Every time. So I recently put two into.
- [51:14]
Charlamagne Tha God
I know it wasn't the McDonald's giving you bubble guts, though.
- [51:17]
Marsha Ambrosius
Then there's that. I wasn't eating McDonald's like that, though. I never really ate my. Well, I did kind of. But I was basketball back then, so I was in athlete mode for sure. But Camberwell, the place that the McDonald's is in, is Cold Butterfly Walk. And I never put that together until we recently went back and started taking pictures there. And I was like, look at. God, look at that. So I end up writing this song, get to Philadelphia, year 2000. That's a couple years after that. Meet the team at a Touch of Jazz. One producer in particular, Andre Harris, who done two of my favorite Jill Scott songs, Long Walk and the Way. And I was like, who did those two? That's Dre, that's Andrew. I was like, I want parts. So within a week, Andre Harris and myself had recorded say yes and Butterflies together. So say yes was for Ron Eisley. So we did that demo together, and that was with the intent that Ron Eisley was gonna do say yes for his album. He just didn't take it. Rest is history and then Butterflies a few days after that, five or so in the morning, Six or so in the morning, Play the chords on my Dre, slow those down, yada, yada yada, and Butterflies happens. And John McLean, who ended up signing Flowetry to DreamWorks, was Michael Jackson's personal manager. So he has the demo, plays it for Mike said, listen, you have to listen to these girls. Listen to this demo. Mike was like, I want that one. Just butterflies. Mike, you can have the entire album if you want it, it's yours. I don't have to do another thing. And that's how we heard it. We got the call in Philly at A Touch of Jazz. Everyone thought it was a prank call. Went to voicemail the first time. And then I think Jeff spoke to him or Carvin spoke to. I think Carvin said he spoke to him and he thought it was Dre messing around. We were practical jokers back in the day. And Mike, you don't really know. You think you know his voice. Mike had a deeper, raspier voice. And I think he only used a higher tone just to preserve his greatness. Like he didn't want to use or project. He was only using that for the booth or the stage and that's it. So by the time we've spoken to him, this is the summer of 2000. I was in the studio with him in New York the following year, March. So it's like that quick. Wow.
- [53:44]
DJ Envy
Now, you also mentioned Flow Tree fans would always will Flow a Tree. Ever do an album together again or that chapter your life is over.
- [53:51]
Marsha Ambrosius
Who knows? No chapters are closed. And I think rewinding to what you said about, you know, when I met my husband, I did a flow tree tour, 2015, 2016. And that's when I met him. Then got pregnant the following year on the other tour. So it was like a back to back, hey, reunion, Soul Love. And yeah, who knows now?
- [54:10]
DJ Envy
Also, I seen Amanda Seals was on Club Shay Shay and talks about. She said that she thinks you wanted her to Quit flow tree. Was that true?
- [54:19]
Marsha Ambrosius
The loaded question quit flow trees is, is very vague. What was happening with Amanda Seals? And this is what. Because I won't spend a lot of time in this. This is like a quick bit. When did we last do the Breakfast Club? This is like seven years. So, yeah, initially my. The first thing I said about Amanda Seals is, sorry, like I can play the clip, you can go to YouTube and see it. And it was. She was put in a position that she shouldn't have been in in the first place. The label and management are trying to re establish what that was and it just didn't work. So by the time we've put all of these things into action, we've rehearsed a show and you've given it to the public, everyone has gone, oh, nah. And there's nothing I can do about that part. And this is also 17 years ago, three weeks of a summer tour. We may have done like 15 or 16 shows and it just didn't work out. And that was the end of that, really. But we've had nothing. But for me, and I'm saying like, I. Well, for me, we'd had nothing but positive interactions thereafter. Like I saw her 2013, took pictures together, we reminisced, and she'd been texting me throughout the years after that. Nothing but positive vibes. So I'm in a good space right now, 17 years later. So for whatever she believes that was, I don't think publicly we can do this. Combative. Well, you said this happened or I said this happened. I know exactly what happened on my end. But you know, kind of 17 years ago, I've done all this healing between now and then. I'm not the same. Like 17 years ago, 2007, I'm still talking to Michael Jackson at that point. I've still got Prince on speed dial. Like, I was still very much Grammy winning, Grammy nominated. Me that was in a position to do what I wanted to do at that point, moving forward. And here we are 17 years later and I'm still moving on and moving forward. And Casablanco with Dr. Dre is about to drop and just in a different.
- [56:43]
Charlamagne Tha God
Space, you know, on the song Greedy, it makes me wonder, does your husband ever hear certain lyrics and be like, you talking about us? Because you say it's never enough to love you. Same old, lame old. Ain't no way I'm ever gonna take that I'm giving you everything and it's the thanks I get.
- [56:57]
Marsha Ambrosius
Don't play that. Even if it was Greedy during that time and even during the creative process of Casablanco, my husband and I had a conversation about where I was at mentally to create the actual. Basically, he said I didn't have to be married Marsh and come from that space. And I understood what he said when he said that because the love songs are different if I'm attached to the relationship I'm in and having to kind of skirt around what that looks like. Those songs sound like don't wake the baby or just like old times. And they're different with this. It was, you need to stretch that pen and write from a space of you doing you. And what does that sound like? So by the time I got to Greedy, I was angry at the world. Like, it's never enough to love anyone or anything and then be satisfied in a way that you feel like you put your 100 in and they only claim it's 30%. So I could give you the moon, and it's like, well, where the sun at? Like, it's the moon family you don't want, you know? And I feel like, Greedy, I was talking about everyone. It wasn't even just about him. It was everyone and everything playing this tug of war of, if you're not next to me, you feel as though you're missing out on something that you only gain by being with me or taking something from me. I'm like, well, what's the end game? Like, what exactly do you want? Because you're really upset. Like, you mad as fuck that you not around me like that. Greedy. Mm. I love that song.
- [59:08]
Charlamagne Tha God
On Music on My Mind, you said it's that Wu Tang meets Coltrane. And what I love about that is, like, what I told you earlier, it's like you're putting hip hop on this proper pedestal of being like a classic musical art form. Was that intentional throughout the project?
- [59:26]
Marsha Ambrosius
Maybe not intentional, but my affinity and adoration for hip hop has stemmed from me knowing all the words to Beat Street Breaking. Like, being overseas, getting all of these imported hip hop 12 inch records from my uncle, and hip, you're the love of my life. And I feel like on this album, it only made sense that I made sure that that last music of my mind was my love letter to music. And I couldn't fit everything in, so I just gave you the bullet points of what those errors and time. So, yeah, Wu Tang gets a shout out. I even shouted out Mace and Cam before I even know they would reunite. This is 2021. I'm calling this out. And I know what Horse and carriage did for me in the 90s, you know, so it was all of these small nods to things. And this is in the same breath, I'm saying, you know, MJ J, Dilla, Marcus Miller, murder, Maze Cam killer, Ms. Patty Bunkadelic, George Clinton, and I even shout out Luke Skywalker. Like, just things that I've loved over the course of my life. And if that were my last speech to planet Earth, like it's been real. This was it. That's what music on my mind in that last statement was. The last thing that I say is Dre that mamba mentality. The game winning shut for the three. Kobe. Kobe Swish. It's good.
- [61:15]
Charlamagne Tha God
Great way to end the project.
- [61:17]
DJ Envy
That's right.
- [61:18]
Charlamagne Tha God
Great. Fantastic album.
- [61:20]
DJ Envy
Comes out next Friday, June 28th.
- [61:22]
Marsha Ambrosius
Oh, my goodness. When you say it out loud, it's real.
- [61:25]
DJ Envy
That's right. Next Friday.
- [61:26]
Marsha Ambrosius
Oh, man. Listen.
- [61:29]
DJ Envy
But what do you want to hear off the album?
- [61:31]
Marsha Ambrosius
Do I want to hear that you're.
- [61:33]
DJ Envy
Gonna allow us to play? Because we got to get it from you guys. But we have it.
- [61:36]
Marsha Ambrosius
But might be wet. Wet might be self care. Wrong riot.
- [61:43]
DJ Envy
You can do both.
- [61:44]
Marsha Ambrosius
Thrill has a thing, though. That thing is a story.
- [61:49]
DJ Envy
We ain't got enough time for three, but we got two.
- [61:52]
Marsha Ambrosius
It's pick one. Tell us to be dot at the board. Like, okay, what we saying? Throw her wet skirt. Okay, cool.
- [62:01]
DJ Envy
Thrill her and wet.
- [62:02]
Charlamagne Tha God
Let's do it.
- [62:02]
DJ Envy
All right, we'll get that on. Thank you so much for joining us. The album Casablanco comes out next Friday. Today the track listing is released, so you guys can check that out. And we appreciate you for spending it with us today.
- [62:13]
Marsha Ambrosius
Thank you so much for having me. There you go.
- [62:16]
DJ Envy
It's Marsha Ambrosis. It's the Breakfast Club. Good morning.
- [62:19]
Charlamagne Tha God
Wake that ass up early in the morning. The Breakfast Club.
- [62:27]
Comedy Advertiser
Hey, comedy fans. The funniest comedians in the world are on tour and you can get tickets to see them live near you. Laugh at the biggest names in comedy like Atsuko Okotuka, Chelsea Handler, Jimmy Carr, Kathy Griffin, Matt Matthews, Matt Rife, Sarah Silverman, Sebastian Maniscalco, Stavros Helkias, Wanda Sykes, and so many more. All kinds of shows, all kinds of venues, all kinds of funny. Head to livenation.comcomedy to get your tickets today. That's livenation.comcomedy.
- [62:57]
Coca Cola Advertiser
Looking for excitement? Chumba Casino is here. Play anytime. Play anywhere. Play on the train. Play at the store. Play at home. Play when you're bored. Play today for your chance to win and get daily bonuses when you log in. So what are you waiting for? Don't delay. Chumba Casino is free to play.
- [63:12]
Comedy Advertiser
Experience social gameplay like never before. Go to Chumba Casino right now to play hundreds of games including online slots, Bingo, Slingo and more. Live the chumba life@chumbacasino.com VGW Group no purchase necessary.
- [63:24]
Coca Cola Advertiser
Void where prohibited by law.
- [63:25]
Comedy Advertiser
See terms and conditions 18 + you.
- [63:27]
DJ Envy
Wake up, put on your Ray Ban Meta glasses.
- [63:30]
Marsha Ambrosius
You're living all in.
- [63:31]
DJ Envy
You realize you need coffee so you.
- [63:33]
Coca Cola Advertiser
Say hey Meta, how do I make a latte? Brew two shots of espresso?
- [63:37]
DJ Envy
After Meta AI gets you caffeinated, you're ready for some beats.
- [63:40]
Comedy Advertiser
Hey Meta Play hip hop music.
- [63:42]
DJ Envy
You head to meet some friends but can't remember the place.
- [63:45]
Comedy Advertiser
Hey Meta Call Eva Ray Ban Meta.
- [63:49]
DJ Envy
Glasses the next generation of AI glasses. Just say hey Meta to harness the.
- [63:53]
Marsha Ambrosius
Power of Meta AI, shop now at meta.com smartglasses Once Upon a time, Amazon.
- [63:59]
Coca Cola Advertiser
Music met audiobooks, and listeners everywhere rejoiced. Oh yeah, because now they could listen to one audiobook title a month from an enormous library of popular audiobook titles, including Romantasy, Autobiographies, True Crime, and more. Suddenly, listeners didn't mind sitting in traffic or even missing their flight. Amazon Music Unlimited now includes Audible Download, the Amazon Music app now to start listening. Terms apply. Whether you're ordering wings for the game, whipping up a seven layer dip, or ordering pizza, there's something about football that makes you want to eat. And this football season, Uber Eats has the best deals on game day food no matter what you're craving, from two for one pizza. To buy one, get one wings. Uber Eats will be dropping new deals each week all season long. Uber Eats Official On Demand delivery partner of the NFL. Order now. Terms and conditions apply. See app for details.