← The Breakfast Club
The Breakfast Club
Best of full interview: New Edition & Boyz II Men Talk Brotherhood, R&B Evolution, Industry Rumors, Group Tour + More
01:03:52
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This is an Iheart podcast. Guaranteed human peace of the planet. Charlamagne tha God here. And the end of the year is the time to set the foundation for next year. New ideas, new product drops, new goals. And when I'm building anything meaningful, I need the right tools. That's why I always tell folks, especially black entrepreneurs and small black owned businesses, Shopify is the move. We use it at the Black Effect Podcast network. And I've seen firsthand how it helps creators and business owners grow with confidence. Okay, Shopify is like having a whole team behind you. Your chief of staff, your personal assistant, your co founder, all in one platform. Wherever your people are, Shopify makes sure your business can meet them where they're at. So if you're ready to take the next step in your life, whether it's merch products or anything in between, get on shopify.com ben and make it happen. It is time to stop putting off your future and start your new role as your own boss. Today, the holidays are the most wonderful time of the year. A season filled with family dinners, laughter and holiday shopping. But even in the middle of all of that joy, everyone needs a moment to slow down. The little pause between the music, the memories and the madness. And nothing makes that break better than an ice cold Coca Cola. It's that quick refresh that turns the holiday rush into calm, making the moment feel just right. It's the breath between the laughter and the late night rapping sessions. Because the best part of the holidays isn't having it all together, it's enjoying it while it's happening. Enjoy your Coca Cola refresh your holidays. So let me get this straight. Your company has data here, there and everywhere, but your AI can't use the data because it's here, there and everywhere? Seems like something's missing. Every business has unique data. IBM helps your AI access your data wherever it lives. To change how you do business, let's create Smile to business. IBM. 10 athletes will face the toughest job interview in fitness that will push past physical and mental breaking points. You are the fittest of the fit. Only one of you will leave here with an IFIT contract for $250,000. This is where mindset comes in. Someone will be eliminated. Pressure is coming down. Trainer games On Prime Video January 8th. Watch the trailer on Train. Did you know? Microsoft has officially ended Support for Windows 10? Upgrade to Windows 11 with an LG Gram laptop. Voted PCMag's Reader's Choice top laptop brand for 2025. Thin and ultra lightweight. The LG Gram keeps you productive anywhere, and Windows 11 gives you access to free security updates and ongoing feature upgrades. Visit LGUSA.com iHeart for great seasonal savings on LG Gram laptops with Windows 11 PC Mag. Reader's Choice. Used with permission. All rights reserved. Hold up. Every day I wake up. Wake your ass up. The Breakfast Club. Y' all finished or y' all done? Morning, everybody. It's DJ Envy. Jess. Hilarious Charlamagne Tha God. We are the breakfast club. Lon LaRose is here as well. And we got some icons. Legends, man. Legends in the building today. Praise God. Ladies and gentlemen, we have New Edition and Boyz II Men. Wow. Wow. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's go. Yes. They going on tour together. I feel like this should have been happening, right? Why did it take so long? Who wants to start, man? Go ahead, Juan. Go ahead, Juan. I think that there's a lot of logistics that go with having two groups, two groups with such great success in order to get that together. Scheduling has to be right also. You know what I mean? The energy has to be right. The climate has to be right. And I just believe that this is the time. God put this time as the time to show the world what this whole vibe is all about. New Edition, Boys to Men. Toni Braxton. It's a real thing. And this is the moment. God placed it right here. Now, how does Boys to Men feel? I gotta ask, because you guys, they were your idols, right? Yeah. From the start and still are. Still. Are you seeing them? When y' all had a show in Philly, y' all coming to the bus and y' all singing, and that's how it was. We wouldn't be here without New addition. Let's be clear on that. Well, you know, that's not actually how it went. You know what I'm saying? Nah, nah, nah. I don't mean to. I don't mean to. But, you know, like, in order for the story to actually be told in a movie, sometimes you have to, you know, make it all go together in sequence. Well, tell us the truth for people that didn't see the story. So there's truth to that, but it was Michael Bibbins, Ricky and Ron. They were actually coming off stage at the Powerhouse. And they were in Philly. In Philly. And they were introducing that you guys were gonna be BB and we had just. By the time they came off stage, we had just snuck backstage. We passed passes back and forth. We got backstage, and soon as we got there, they were coming off stage. And I guess Nate asked Ricky can we sing for him? You know what I'm saying? And Ricky was like, y' all got a tape? You know what I'm saying? You know what I'm saying? He said, y' all got a tape? And we was like, no, we ain't got no tape. And he was like, ah, well, y' all need a tape, you know what I'm saying? He started writing down the address, but then Nate was like, hey, yo, let to Biv. So he's like, biv, can, you know? Can, you know. You know, can we sing for you? He was like, can y' all do it right now? Boom. We bust into can youn Stand the Rain a cappella. So it was backstage. It wasn't at a tour bus, but you know what I mean? The story, nonetheless, it definitely resonated. Wow. The tour bus was more exciting. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Right, right. It was a lot more sexy. The two of us were sexier. I do want to ask, you know, every. Every artist manager or artist executive relationship has its highs and lows. When you look back, what were some of the biggest misunderstandings or lessons y' all learned from, you know, each other, I guess you could say, like, with any relationship, I mean, in a group. Because even when Bib signed his years ago, it was almost like him being the fifth member at the time. And I think it was more like a dynamic type thing. You know, we learned a lot about each other's personalities as well as just understanding, you know, how the business went. So, you know, you had your share of highs and lows and ups and downs, but at the end of the day, it's all about the. It's better is the end of a thing than the beginning of a thing. Absolutely. So it's one of those things where it's like, here we are. Look at this. You know what I'm saying? A lot of people didn't think that this situation would even happen, but as you mentioned, yeah, boys and men owe a lot to New Edition, but this is what succession looks like. You understand what I'm saying? So it's one of those things where it's like, these guys did what they did, and they gave us the ball, and we ran with it. So. So that's. Now we can roll with it together. So now we can roll with it together. Now, how often do y' all rehearse? Right? Because it's a lot of different characters with a lot of different families with a lot of different moving pieces. But people love the old dances. They love to see in Sync. They love to see somebody going left, somebody going right. The outfit. So how is rehearsal for y'? All? That's going. That's. That's the beautiful thing about New Edition in itself, like, they carry the. The torch of what R B groups should look like. They are the standard. And when it comes to this tour, that we're gonna show that, like, it's all gonna be implemented in the. In the whole production along with Tony. So it's like, rehearsals. We haven't started yet. Because this is our. This is our first promo run, so. But once we do, we gonna lock in, and it's gonna be dope. It was gonna be smartest, though. He came in with the crutches. Cause he knew what was gonna happen with. This is just prep this. I'm prepping for the game. You know what I'm saying? That might be an excuse. That's not prep right there. Okay. It's an excuse. Right now, I get through TSA quicker than y'. All. You know what I'm saying? And how long is the show? Cause y' all all have so many individually group. How long is the show as individuals? You know, we probably give them, you know, 90 minutes, maybe even two hours. But when you put all of this excellence together in one night on one stage, that's gotta be Prince. Like, it's almost three hours. It's gotta be Bruce Springsteen. Three hours and some change. And I'm excited about it because how do you put that in 90 minutes? You can't. When you look at the success and the legacy that we all have and all the joints and even the individuals that are within this conglomerate right here, I'm just excited about it. You know, we didn't start rehearsal, but Mr. Brooke Payne gave us a date for probably December 1st. And like Sean said, when we lock in, it's gonna be crazy. Who chooses the track list? Like, who? The artists all sit together. Yeah, we gonna put it all together. Yeah, we all gonna sit down, and we're gonna figure out how this whole thing works. Because the truth is, again, we are connected. We are from different cities, but the story is the same. So it's gonna be deeper than just doing songs. This is telling a story. Yeah, this is more so. And unlike any show that you've ever seen, this isn't just about, you know, lights and cameras and all this other stuff. We are literally brethren, like, from beginning to end. So we have to tell that story and amalgamate that story to make people understand why this is important. This is deeper than Just a genre. This is deeper than just, oh, it's just a bunch of black folks on stage. Like, this is history between us. New Edition and Toni Braxton is 150 million records. Dang, I got it. So the thing is, that has to be celebrated. And this is deeper. This is why we urge everybody to come, because this is history. This is something you will never see anywhere else in decades. So it's bigger than us. Can we expound on the brotherhood between all of y'? All? Man, I love seeing all of y' all together after all these years. What have y' all learned about forgiveness and just staying together as brothers between New Edition and Boy? Well, absolutely. I could say, go ahead, go ahead. You said, you said. I said it before in a few interviews, talking about the fact that when you're talking about true brotherhood, it's a real, true brotherhood and we're like real siblings. And I've said that. That's why you see you. We go through our ups and downs, our battles. We done had some ups and downs and all of the. The above, but at this stage of our lives, when we come together, man, it's like, it's just nothing but laughter. It's like at this point in our lives, we didn't been through a lot. And I'm sure there's more to deal with as far as challenges go, but we've come full circles just as grown men, just as human beings, and, and we have fun when we come together. Yeah. I was gonna say, do y' all need to talk or y' all just like, look, we brought. Let's just do this. Well, this, this is the deal again. We, this is the first time that we've even come together in this circumstance, you know what I mean? Other times it's been, you know, we've been on shows with, with bbd, we've done a few shows with, with Johnny and Bobby and, you know, and we. I think we did one gig that we all were together, but I feel like in order for the energy to actually get to the place where it's supposed to be something like that, a break bread moment has to happen. You know, some things, you know, some things that we might have on our hearts may need to come out, you know what I'm saying? I mean, that's what brotherhood is about, you know, And I'm a big fan of atonement, guys. You know what I'm saying? I'm a big fan of, of, of, of letting it go. Especially at the age that we're all at you know, I'm. I'm trying. I'm trying. Yeah, man, I'm trying. I'm trying to. I'm in. I'm in coast mode. You know what I'm saying? I'm really trying to be in coast mode. This is the time. Let's go out, let's make some money, and let's entertain these people and be on coast mode. That's all that initial conversation. Like, what was that initial conversation? Well, we didn't. What he was saying was it's one of those things where because we're on the road and because we have the time, it's going to be one of those organic things. We don't want to make this a melodrama. And it ain't no negativity, ain't no mess. You know what I'm saying? None of that shit. Excuse me. None of that stuff. It's really just about understanding how important this meant or this was to not only to the fans, but to us. So this is what we're doing. We're celebrating. We're going to have a good time. We're going to go on the road, and we're going to sing and dance our asses off. Absolutely. And we're going to give people the greatest show they've ever seen in their life and have fun doing it. That's right. That's right. Have fun doing it. That's right. Michael. Anybody ever tell you that you look like Yo Gotti? Yeah, we. We took a pecci together at. What was that big, The BET Awards. So there's a picture of him and I standing side by side. It was just cool to meet him, too. I think it was right at the beginning of him coming through the door. He was hustling. He was standing outside on the red carpet with not no bodyguards and all that. So he looked like he was. He had his crew there, but he was a little more loose, and it was good. We just looked at each other like, okay. And we just smiled, you know, we was like, oh, shit. You know, age. So y' all look like y' all be brothers. Everybody said, I think what's. One of the kids looked at the TV and was like that. And it couldn't figure something. I know one of my kids, like, he looked like that. I don't know if it was. Shila St. Was one of them. They was a little. You know, it was little. Yeah. So it was all good. And shout out to him, man, hell of a CEO. Now, what do you think there's missing in the R B game right now. Why don't you think there's more R and B groups? They missing us. Yeah, yeah. No, you know, I just think the times has changed and that's the thing that we understand about time. And the world is constantly going and we've seen nothing stays the same. And part of the thing is that we have to learn and have the attitude and take that mindset that, you know, you have to learn how to. To work, continue to do what we do and not compromise who we are, but also understand where the world is and figure out how we can fit in it, because the world ain't stopping for us. I think we live in a YouTube society and everybody's selfish. Nobody wants to share with their friends or their brothers or their cousins. Nobody wants to make a group. Everybody wants their own. Absolutely. Everybody want their own money. Well, no, go ahead. No, I'm not going before you. I go right out. That means Mike got a R and B group in the cut somewhere. No, I was going to make a point, but I. If you want to jump in, jump. I make a point and I'll go. I was going to say, bro, honestly, I think it start at the record label. I think people that are hired now, some of them don't have an eye for talent. They have an eye for their computer. Word. Sometimes you have to go in the street like we met in the street, you know, the singing to be close. And I think they look at it as the hits of the computer makes them a hit group, but it's so much more to it. And back in the day, like for myself as a CEO, I stayed the two in the morning and kept looking at the. The pitches, listening to the music, the A and R and the people at the office, now they're on the red carpet before the artists get there. So the responsibility and the care to detail is missing. And if someone would just slow down and say, yo, how many times we gotta look at the Grammys and not one R and B group is on the show. Right, right, right, right, right. And the first time we see an R and B group in the last five years, well, you know, we saw what Bruno and them did, but that was a different thing. I'm talking about someone from the hood, like a Jodeci. New Edition, Boyz II Men, Jagged Edge is when Juan's Sons was on there and Jesse gave them the shot. That's the first time we've seen black kids on the Grammys ever in a long time. And that's where it starts. It Starts younger, it starts at the office. Or it's gonna have to come from us. Yeah. I don't think people looking for talent no more. I think they're looking for people that's just doing numbers. Absolutely, absolutely. You don't even have to have a record deal. You get the numbers and then you get a record deal. You know what I'm. And really just understand that there is a blueprint. You understand? A blueprint that we follow to get to where we are. You know what I mean? There's the groups of old, of our time, peace of the planet, Charlemagne, the God here now. 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Make time for a Diet Coke break. Diet Coke. This is my taste. 10 athletes will face the toughest job interview in fitness that will push past physical and mental breaking points. You are the fittest of the fit. Only one of you will leave here with an IFIT contract worth $250,000. This is where mindset comes in. Someone will be eliminated. Pressure is coming down. Drink Trainer Games on Prime Video January 8th. Watch the trailer on trainergames.com did you know? Microsoft has officially ended Support for Windows 10? Upgrade to Windows 11 with an LG Gram laptop, voted PCMag's Reader's Choice top laptop brand for 2025. Thin and ultra lightweight, the LG Gram keeps you productive anywhere, and Windows 11 gives you access to free security updates and ongoing feature upgrades. Visit lgusa.com iheart for great seasonal savings on LG Gram laptops with Windows 11 PC Mag Reader's Choice. Used with permission. All rights reserved. That actually helped shape the entertainment value of all of us, you know what I'm saying? So all these artists have to do is keep looking at the blueprints, because the blueprints still exist. That longevity just means that you did something very, very right. You understand? And understanding behind it is they're not looking for longevity. They're looking for the quick fix. Social media is the. Is the fastest way to become famous, but also the quickest way to lose everything. You know what I say, Juan? I say, like, everybody's obsessed with going viral and not understanding a component to the word viral is virus. Exactly. Like, why would you want to be a virus? Like, there's two things that happens to viruses. One, they get killed or it kills everything. Yeah. Like, why would you want to. Why would you want to base your career off of going viral? Like, there's no future in that. Right. And that's what. That's what the industry has taught us, Sean. Honestly, I. I would have went second on that question, but I. I think we should ask Ralph what did he think is missing. No, but let me finish. No, but let me, let me, let me, Let me finish. I'm gonna tell you why. The responsibility of being up front is either something that's in you, you're born with. And I feel like that question you gotta ask yourself, when he sits and watch a group or YouTube, he's looking to see who reminds him of himself, who's got that route treasure. So, Rizzo, take the mic and tell us, what do you think? There it is. What was the question? What's missing in R B? What's missing about the groups in R B? Like, what's missing? I don't know. There's a lot missing. The game has all changed. It's not even the same place that we were in when we started. So everything has changed. Can you hear me? Yeah. I'm sorry. It seems like everything has changed, man. Nothing's how it used to be. You know, when we're out here trying to think about something in particular that can bring it back like it used to be. And I don't know, I don't have no answers with all that. I just feel like it's evolved. But, you know, it's interesting even, you know, for biv. To say Ralph was the lead. Cause you were the lead technically. But then Bobby went off and was a great leading man, and Johnny was a great leading man. And BBD had six success. Like all of y' all could have been a leading, you know, man. Now he's talking about how I started it all off with Candy Girl. Okay, okay. Michael Jackson analogy. Candy New Edition. Candy Girl. Jackson's. That vibe is what Mike's speaking on. And during that time period, it wasn't a whole lot of examples for us. We just had what was in front of us or behind us and trying to take what we had learned and make something new out of that. Yeah, exactly. Which was not adding what was going on in. In the current times. You know what it is? Streets popping. Hold on one second. Yeah, yeah. And I just think that back when we first started, what motivated us, what influenced us, the artists, you know, the Temptations, Blue Magic, the Jacksons, is that. That's not the motivation today. Before we even, like, knew anything about how to even get a record deal, because that was actually the furthest thing from my mind, We. There was no way that you do that to approach that. So our main motivation was to how do we put on a good show? And we rehearsed probably for a couple of years before we even stepped on the stage. And we were more excited about making the crowd scream, you know, than actually making a new record. And so now today, like Sean said, the motivation is how do I become famous? Not really about how do I put on a good show, but it has to feel good. Like, I send biv videos of my daughter, 7 years old, singing New Edition Records, which is crazy, because the music is a feeling. And I feel like sometimes you don't get that with these artists. Like, music doesn't last the time that it does. I think that's a big piece of what's missing when I think of it as love. Like, when we came up, it was a lot of love, right? A lot of love. A lot of love. And it seems like love is not a part of the major. The topics now. It's not. It's not about. It's not even in the music. It's not in the approach toward when you. The passion that we had. We had love for this. We wanted to do what we saw the Jacksons doing. We really wanted to make it happen. Y' all wanted to be great. The industry doesn't groom legends anymore. They don't groom longevity anymore because it doesn't benefit them. Like, think about it. When you when you have a company and you know that you can go viral with a kid for 15 minutes, get your ad revenue, and then kick them to the side and then move on to the next thing, that's a good money maker to anybody, I would think. You know what I'm saying? And. And the artists suffer. Yeah, but. But the bottom line is, is that the artists suffer, but the artists still have the hand. And what I mean by that is a lot of the things that we don't like about, you know, because I'll be on group chats with a lot of producers and managers and stuff like that, and they complain about the same thing. And my thing is change it. That's all. Just change it. Stop doing. Stop chasing the carrot, like, because everybody wants to try to fit in the system, knowing damn well it doesn't benefit them, right? So the music industry isn't an industry without the music. So. So change it. Change the paradigm. Change how music is consumed. Change, you know, who has the power to create that next thing and then hold it so these industry people don't try to put their grubby hands on trying to make it like a, you know, a viral thing or, you know, or whatever. It's partially our fault because we fell into the whole system, and all we gotta do is change it, period. Now. Well, Bobby, with so many hits, how many hits are you gonna do on stage? Oh, man. To the mic and then. Cause this. That's the time where everybody could take a break. You have so many hit records. Singular, right? Like, how are you gonna give us a break, Bob? Give me a break, all right? I don't know. It's up to Brooke, and it's up to, you know, the guys, how much they want me on the stage. I don't plan to do no more than the next, man. I know that. Trust me. All right. Yay. Okay, so for Boyz II Men, how long did it take y' all to complete a whole song in the studio? Because you. When I say when the songs be going off, you be like, no, no, no, I got some more. That was back in the day, seven minute songs back then. I'm gonna even be specific with it. The Christmas album that I bump all year round to this day. Christmas interpretations. Wow. Thank you so much. My favorite. Appreciate my. I play all year round. How long did it take y' all to complete a single song? Well, I'll tell you this. It took us two weeks to do the Christmas album. What? That's all the time we had. Two weeks. That's all we had. And we recorded it in Europe. London. In London? Yes, with Brian McKnight. We sat there because we were on tour. We were on tour in London. Right. We had promo. We had to meet a deadline. Yeah, we had to meet a deadline. And we sat in there. Of course, we wrote songs on the road. You know, like, Sean would call me to his room. He had Joyous song. I came up with Wild Christmas. Nate had cold December nights. Mike did. No, no, Mike was Cold December nights. Nate had. What was the record? Share Love. Share Love, yeah. So the idea, like, literally to do a new standard Christmas album was. It was grueling because we didn't have much time, but we wrote the hell out of that. Like, every aspect of it was straight from the. You know, the soul. You know what I mean? It was real. Real moments. So we. And we didn't want to make it all like, you know, jingle bells, jingle. You know what I mean? We wanted to make it. We wanted to make it so that. So that we. So that we can feel it. You know what I'm saying? So that you could actually play that john straight. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. You know, once you. You know, once the standards come and play, you know, you, of course, you can make choices, but when you have new Christmas records that people fall in love with, that's the only choice. That's why we decided not to make another one. Yeah, yeah, yeah, please. But if you all don't need to, because that's one of my favorite albums. Thank you. Appreciate it. Johnny Gill, why did you kill Give love on Christmas day? Cause that's my favorite Christmas song. Like, y' all were singing these Christmas songs like women were leaving y' all or something like that. Cause they were. That's all I had to give. I didn't have money back then. All I had was love to offer. What is it like for y' all when y' all are, you know, on stages and doing the different things that y' all are doing, and you run into people like Jess who are still feeling. Filling the music so impactfully, but also different generations and things are being recreated. Tik Tok and all these different places. It's the biggest compliment ever. Yeah. The fact that these songs out are older than some of our kids and. And people are still enjoying them, and it. It just is proof positive of, I guess, the work that we put in and the. The. The type of music that'll last way after we're gone. Yeah. Again, what Ralph was saying is we do this for the love. We did it for the love. And we continue to do this for the love. I mean, it's nice that we get paid well for it. But ultimately, what you're gonna see and what people are gonna witness on stage is love. Yeah. Why? Why we do what we do? And I wanted to touch, too, about how the fact that the industry has made not reaching back to history uncool. It's like, when I see a lot of, like, young kids, like, talking. They talk about. That's that old shit. Yeah. But that's that good shit, you know? The reason why songs last as long as they do is because just like Ricky even mentioned, like, their idols were the Jacksons and Blue Magic and the Stylistics. Like, you gotta reach back to history to understand how to move forward in the future. And the bottom line is that a lot of these kids don't understand what was. Which is why the sound of it. And let's be honest. Cause y' all radio folks, y' all know the sound quality is different. Y' all know it don't hit here. It's just a bunch of sonics. It's just a bunch of drums and. And sound effects. But it don't make you feel changed a lot, right? When I do R B parties, right, Y' all records ring like newer records, right? Even more to the point where it's like, I'm watching people do the dance. Can I stay in the rain? And this is festival. So it's like with different groups. I would say with y', all definitely Mary J. Blige, it hits different. Cause those songs keep going. And these are younger kids. These could be 21 year olds. These could be 19 year olds in college when we do these parties, but it still hits. That make me happy. What's the kids say about low frequency? Like, a lot of the songs, unfortunately, not all of them, but a lot of the songs have very low frequency. It's the reason why these songs that we've done for the past, what, 40 years, fellas, like some odds, you know, but that they still ring true, because, again, it still has that thick analog feel to it. You know what I mean? Tell you something right now, in 2012, my baby father played me Mr. Telephone Man. And that's how I got a baby right now, Mr. Telephone man. Damn. If it was that easy, I was gonna ask. So you talked about Sean, you talked about the. It not being cool to throw back to, like, you know, legends and iconic moments of music. How much of the business has made it where that's why the kids are doing that. And has it made it hard for you guys trying to do business because of that feeling? Well, first off, let me say, just to answer the last part, our business is doing well. And this is the crazy part, too, that a lot of people don't get because we're not always on the front pages of certain websites and things that nature that they don't think that we're doing well. As you look around, you see everybody's skin glowing. Come on, come on. Stop playing with us. Stop playing with us. 100K subscribers. On that note, your YouTube channel just hit 100K, ma'. Am. So congrats. We're good. You call them and try to book them and see their numbers. And that's the thing is, like, the industry has got everybody so gassed to think that, yo, if you're not on this particular platform, then you're not doing well. And again, this is proof positive. Like, we're about to do arenas, 30 dates. I love it. We're fine. Let me say again. Again, bro. Let me say this. Like, honestly, Envy, it means a lot to us when you in New Orleans and you make that call 20 minutes before we hit the stage. Sorry. And say, bib, leave me some tickets. Yeah, right. He's always in the front singing and stepping with us, and that means a lot. And I thought that was part of what you asked. What do we feel when we see y'? All? Yeah, it feels good, bro. Cause you're not being, you know, the radio guy, the party guy. You're being someone that enjoys the music, and that's probably why your tickets is always there. Yeah, but this. But this group is one that I see every time y' all in town or every time I'm in a town, because it gives me that feeling. Yes, I can see you once, I can see you twice. I know the dances. You know, if somebody gets hurt, I could jump in for y'. All. My question is, is there a song that you guys hate to do that? Like, I just don't want to do that song. Oh, boy. Y' all looking at each other. See, I know it was one. There's one. Still of the night still. Into the mic. What you say? Into the mic. Oh, I'm sorry. In the still of the night. I hate that song. You hate that song? I'll tell you why. He hated. So. So we're in Salt Lake City. We were on tour, and the record label. I'm sure Biv has something to do with this shit. The record label called and was like, yo, we need a record for the Jackson's miniseries. And we wanted to be in the still of the night. Now we could think of so many other records that we would have been excited to do. You know what I mean? But they wanted in the still of the night, so. Okay. It's a very easy record, guys. You know what I mean? Of course, with our harmony structures, we kind of. We kind of do it a little bit different because it's not the regular triad. But the issue is, is nobody wanted to sing the lead. It was a day off and we wanted to go snowmobiling. Exactly. Right, Exactly. So nobody wanted to sing the lead. So any. Right, right, right. No, no, no. Hell no. We didn't want to sing the lead because it's right. So we flipped the coin. That's how we did every. That's how we. That's how we cleared every altercation, every situation. We would just flip a coin. And Nate won and we left. Oh, we left the studio. Oh, we left his ass right there. We left him and he. We did our parts and flipped the coin of who was going to sing lead. Nate won and we left. We love you. I don't even remember, bro. I was so pissed off that day, bro. I'm looking out the window at snow capped mountains and. Yeah, hilarious. Feels traumatized. Is there song a new edition hates to do? Yeah, I want to know that. Yeah. What song y' all hate to do? I love doing if it is in love. But I don't like doing it because I don't like. Because it's like by the time you finish like this, you're like this. Bob, tell us what you don't like doing. If it isn't. I don't like to do the dance thing. Dance steps are real difficult. I dig it. I dig it, I dig it. I dig it. For me, it would probably be. You're not my kind of girl. What? Yeah, because of the lyrics. And it leans in on the dance side. There's this one move that we do with our. I know. And later on. My ass hurts every day. Are y' all reinventing dance moves then? Like, things y' all not gonna touch this time around on the stage? We are definitely gonna. We do want to give people a different experience. Like Envy said, some of the classic stuff that people have come to know us for. If it isn't love, maybe even. You're not my kind of girl. Some of those things we're going to keep in place. We might add some variances, but. But I think people want to see us do something new and fresh and different and we're excited about the challenge of coming up with those things. For whether it's the Poison breakdown or every little step, you know, where people might understand in the aisles, like Mike said, they're anticipating the move but we're going to throw a curve ball this time around and that's what it's all about. I think the reason why we've been able to stand the test the time for 40 plus years is because we've always challenged ourselves. You know, we always really felt like we had to go deep because the bar was raised for us for from some of the greats that we used to love to see. And when they poured into us, I mean Lakeside, we would stand on the side of the stage every night when we were on tour with them, just taking that energy in. I remember times where my uncle would have us sit Indian style on the floor, you know, in a little meditation pose and he would play the Jackson's live album and he would tell us to close our eyes so we can ingest, you know what that was. And it's paid dividend. So we definitely want to give people a different experience this but you can't do everything. As ball players get older, they even got to adjust their game. Thank you. Listen, you got to, You gotta tell, you gotta tell Brooke that. Cuz he ain't, he ain't not trying to hear that. Don't expect that. They want the same look from 21. He like, yeah, you try. That's what you tell him, you try. Sometimes the running man just ran out. Can't do the running man all night. The walking man. You ever notice how wildlife gets when you don't slow down? From meetings to errands to your phone buzzing nonstop, it can feel like the day never ends. Sometimes you gotta stop and reset. That's when it's time to grab a Diet Coke. That crisp, refreshing taste, crispy as some would call it, allows you to make time for you time. Maybe you're wrapping up a workout, finishing that last email or sitting on the couch scrolling. Or maybe you're catching up with friends, cruising through your neighborhood or enjoying a quiet moment nobody else can touch. Whatever your break looks like, Diet Coke can make it so much better. It's not only a drink, it's a signal to take a breather, reset and remind yourself the moment belongs to you. Because when you choose to pause, you're choosing you. So next time life feels non stop, hit pause, crack open a diet Coke. Take a sip. Let the bold taste cut through the noise and remember your break is yours. Make time for a Diet Coke break. Diet Coke this is my taste. 10 athletes will face the toughest job interview in fitness that will push past physical and mental breaking points. You are the fittest of the fit. Only one of you will leave here with an IFIT contract worth $250,000. This is where mindset comes in. Someone will be eliminated. Pressure is coming down. Trainer Games on Prime Video January 8th watch the trailer on trainergames.com did you know Microsoft has officially ended Support for Windows 10? Upgrade to Windows 11 with an LG Gram laptop voted PCMag's Reader's Choice Top Laptop Brand for 2025. Thin and ultra lightweight, the LG Gram keeps you productive anywhere and Windows 11 gives you access to free security updates and ongoing features. Feature upgrades. Visit lgusa.com iheart for great seasonal savings on LG Gram laptops with Windows 11. PCMag reader's choice used with permission. All rights reserved. Season 2 of unrivaled basketball is here and the talent is unreal. The best women's players on the planet are running it back with even bigger moments and bigger stakes. Don't miss as Paige Beckers, Nafiza Collier, Kelsey Plumb, Brianna Stewart and more take the court and redefine. This isn't your regular season. This is unrivaled, where the pace is faster, the energy is higher and every athlete shines. Unrivaled basketball Season 2, sponsored by Samsung Galaxy, tips off January 5 on TNT, TruTV and HBO Max. Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like EFTs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member finra, SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors, llc. SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com disclosures. Something that y' all appreciate about each other now that you probably took for granted back then. Max, you ralph. Me? Yeah. I think everybody's gifts, you know, I think back then we didn't realize how talented. I don't think back in the days we realized how talented everybody really was and what they had to bring to the table. What exactly had to offer. When we first started, we was trying to do, like a mixture of the Jacksons meets the Temptations. That was our idea of us. So everybody was supposed to have a role. When we came with the Candy Girl album was more of this Jackson 5ish vibe, which we would have switched it out the gate. It would have came in the gate a little bit more with everybody's talent, talents being showcased out the gate. So I think that what I've learned is the brotherhood, how smart everybody is, how much they actually added to the table and brought to the table that you take for granted because everybody's supposed to do that part. We just taught you, do your role. But then you look back later on, it's like, what if that he didn't know how to do that or he didn't have that gift? This might not have worked at all. But that's what I've learned. I've learned that everybody's gifted and extremely smart and knows exactly what we're doing and has gotten better over time. And we're really a real brotherhood. What about y'? All? I think that in the beginning of our career, we actually. We were groomed, you know what I'm saying, by great people. We had, you know, Michael Bivens, we had Khalil Roundtree, we had Gerald Busby. And a lot of the things that they were doing was cultivating what they already knew existed. At some point, it might tell you they didn't know what to do with us because we weren't doing what everybody else was doing at the time. So when it came down to it, it was more so, you know, knowing what we were capable of vocally, because that's what the nucleus was. How good can we be with our harmonies? How can we set ourselves aside from the rest of the people that are singing at this time? And, you know, I think that that was what we focused on more than anything. We didn't really get into the brotherhood until, I guess things started going awry. You know, I mean, because there's not a. There's. There's always levels to this. You know, there's ups and downs. So when things started getting to a certain point, I think that's when we said, okay, now we have to hold on to each other. Now we have to hold on to the brotherhood. And as you can see, we're a lesser brother, you know what I'm saying? Because when the chips are down, you know, it's. That's. That's a real thing. You know what I'm saying? Everybody has to stay as strong as you did in the beginning when you were doing it for nothing. That's right. You understand? So that's what it is. And then we just started realizing when things were at a certain level that we needed each other more than anything. We already knew what we were capable of. I mean, and we gave each other roles all the way from the beginning. I mean, Nate's always been the business guy, you know what I mean? Sean's always been kind of like the creative and the balance of it all, and I'm just a crazy motherfucker, you know what I'm saying? You know what I mean? But them, because I have a responsibility to the integrity of my group, I had to bring that down. And that was because I had people like Brooke, and, you know, they saw it in their realm, and they were like, okay, let's bring him in. Let's bring him back so he don't end up in a different way. You know what I mean? And no bull crap. I'm tell you this. My dude, the dude that saved my life in numerous instances that he. He don't even remember, is this guy right here. You understand? Yep, he has. And because Khalil used to say it all the time, you ain't gonna be like that. Remember that name, yo. He was like, I promise you ain't gonna be like that. I was like, but I love him. You know what I'm saying? Like that. And. And, and, and. And. And it was an unspoken connection until I met him. And then he literally. I will tell that story another time. But this guy right here, man, he's checked on me even when he wasn't in New Edition, you know what I'm saying? He checked on me like, yo, dude, you in atl? I'm like, hell, yeah. You know what I'm saying? What we doing? You know what I'm saying? But that's the thought process. The thought process is everybody got us to a certain point. It was up to the Upper ups and the downs, the struggles to create the. The. The. The nucleus that boys to men is right now that to. To know what we are all capable of. And we all play our roles perfectly, which is the reason why God has blessed us to be so successful at this. I want to go back to something Ralph said. When you talked about, you know, leaning into everybody, you'd have leaned into everybody's talents earlier. Yeah. When everybody broke off and had success outside in the audition, did y' all ever look at each other and be like, nah, I didn't know they could do that. Like, I didn't know BBD could do that. I didn't know Bobby could do that. Not me. Okay. I was ecstatic. Every time something blew up and somebody was winning, I was ecstatic. I was at home, like, there you go. Bobby was the dance entertainer, mastering our projects. Absolutely. You know, when we grew up, I just knew he was better than all of us at dancing and entertaining and just. Just being live. You know what I'm saying? He was that dude. And so not the world. The world. Not being able to see that as a part of our group, that was a big dynamic missing to me. So when he stepped out and he did it, it's like, yes, they get to see that we have that in us, too, because there was a lot of stuff that was coming. Real candy, girl. Real. Them boys of real soft or this bubble gum. And we don't get bubblegum. So you don't. You don't hate it, but you don't like it either, Right? So having other pods. BBD started representing, and Bobby started representing. Johnny's in the group. Now he's doing his thing with his grown man. He's just turning everything into what we. I really knew what we had and letting the world see it. So for me, it was just, finally, the world's getting a chance to see what we're really made out of. Ralph. Let me give y', all. Y' all flowers and say that there's been no group, white or black, that has done what New Edition has done ever. Not to me. Not for us. There's never been a group alive, past, present, or probably future. Come on, man. That has been a group. Broke up all em, Went platinum, came back again, and went platinum again. Wu Tang. The only one. Wu Tang. Wu Tang. Wu Tang's the only one. Literally, that's it. So I just want to just put that out there. Like, they've done something that is unprecedented, and the only way that that could possibly happen is if we make it happen. We can help. If we can help a group get to that point, then that's the only way. They have to follow the blueprint. If they're not going to follow the blueprint, then it's not possible. You can't be successful without following what we've done. Exactly. And speaking of that, Juan Moore, Big Boy, Tulo, Ty, Rocco. Your boys, man. Yes. I love them. Thank you. So y' all gonna do that for them? I mean, because I'm talking about them boys got the voice already. I tell you what, I am so ready to tap in. Yeah. And, you know, God bless them, definitely. And they're passionate about it. And with. With different opportunities that come my way, I'm gonna definitely make sure that, you know, we, We. We tap in. All those boys can say, oh, man, thank you so much. When you think about some of the things that allow you to be successful, you know, is discipline. Yes. And they have discipline. They do. And then on top of the discipline, you have to have consistency. Absolutely. That's something that we had, as Rick said. Yes. Early in our career, before the opportunity presented itself. You know, we were prepared because of the consist. Consistency over time. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. When we see them putting their videos out, making sure that they're staying consistent, working on their craft, you know, that they have to. To touch the stage. Yeah, we're gonna be on. We gotta definitely make that. Oh, man. Come on, let's go. You know what? Too Charlemagne, like, there's quiet storms in our group, and you guys just really get to hear the music, see the concert. You don't get to get on the conference calls where the really goes down. Right, right. You don't come in the dressing room where this really goes down. But. But I would just say this. And Rizzo, you know, he's always gonna say it so eloquently because that's how he speaks. But, you know, Ralph's important. When he shows up to do the show, it gives us a sense of strength. When he walks through the door, it's like Brady coming through the door. Yes. It is what it is. And, you know, when Bob is hurting or his leg and he's just like, fuck it, let's go. I'll just stand over here. He's like, basically, I can't do that shit. But I'm a rock this microphone, and that means everything to the audience. Right. When we're trying to make a decision, you know, big bro Johnny Gill, he's. He's a heavy voice in Our group, you know, he's a. He's older, he's wiser. He's not just a singer, but he's a leader by conversation. And he keeps us at a high standard. Just there's some shit we not accepting. And that's just that. And in prayer, that's Mr. Ricky Bell. Whenever we need to hear a good, kind word, he'll close the call. And that's so powerful to keep us together. And of course, you know, bro over there, when he was speaking about the dance moves, it's because he makes us reach for excellence. And that's Rodney. You know what I'm saying? When we want to just go sit down, grab some water. Nah, nah. Let's go two more times. And you see that in his performance on stage. So I was just going to say what makes us tight. What Ralph said is everyone brings something to the table. And I want to say it on Breakfast Club because I don't know when we'll all be back here together. Hold on, Mike, before you finish. I'm not done. I'm. Let me get to your slot before you finish. And Mike's slot is the point guy. Thanks, Rizzo. He hands the ball to everybody. He carries the ball. He knows the next play to make. He's thinking of the next play to make. And he knows who to deliver the ball to to make sure that we get. We scored a basket. You know what I'm saying? We win the game. Yep. Thanks, bro. That's Bill. And I want to say this. Cause it ain't over, but because of this guy, you know, he's matured. When I met him, he was just ready to sponge, get all the information. But if it wasn't for Nate Morris, I would have never been a CEO. Really. He seen something in me that I didn't see in myself. So I always wanted to tell him. I tell him in Texas. I tell him on the phone. But I'm gonna say it to the world. Thank you. You changed my life. He helped me see something I didn't see. I was 19. I know my words and cursing was heavy, but that's because I loved y'. All. I wanted y' all to be the best. And I just want. Y'. All. Can't dance. Juan, Stop. Stop. I got a few more, though. Come on, Juan. It's too early. Come on. Let me finish. Let me. Oh, my God. What did you see, Nate? What did you see in bed? I mean, I just. It just seemed like from the outside looking in. You got to remember, we. We Weren't in the industry at the time. But, you know, from the outside looking in, I saw what. What Ralph just said, you know what I'm saying? It just felt like he was a guy that kind of held the group together. He had, you know, put everybody in different positions. And at that point, I felt like, you know, it's a group that we look up to. I mean, honestly. And, I mean, I've never. Never told Mike, but, I mean, he did. He was. He was my first hero in the music industry. I mean, that's pretty much what it was. So for me, it was like, if. If he can do that for them, you gotta be able to do it for us. So, man, that's crazy. Like, it's simple. I just. Y' all two right there. I thought they was gonna be at blows. Well, how about this? Let me pull up, but real quick. But I tell you this. We might be able to make it. Here's the deal. We gonna have our conversation. We ain't straight, but we know we ain't straight. I got you. And. But we all know we gonna go get this money, we gonna please these fans, and we gonna figure out what we gotta do. Either we gonna fix it or we not. But we all gonna go out here and do what we. I feel you, Nate. And that's a smarter move to do what you. Well, let me ask a question. Question, Biff. If you could go back and renegotiate that first deal with Boyz I Men with everything you know now, what would you do differently? That's a good question. That's a good question. No, honestly, I think some of those deals was something that Gerald suggested. See, he's the one that said, be an executive. He said, do a production, do, publishing, do. I didn't even think like that. You know what I mean? And at the same token, he was totally against it. He didn't really like Boys to Men, you know, so I'm fighting for them to be heard and to be seen. He's helping me structure stuff. And I thought that it was a. It was a gamble. And the thing is, like, we never had a lawyer sit in the room with us when we signed. It was just us. Yeah, it was just us. We signed and we went through the paperwork, and we just did it. The good thing about it is it was successful, right? And the record label. Honestly, the record label needed a hit to keep the lights on, and we kept the lights on. Yeah, we did all right. We was thinking about say Less, say less, Right? And then sold the motherfucker so the thing is this. Even in all of that, what was the easier way to do? It was 50. 50. Now, remember, in their 50 is for them. Them. In my 50, there's one. And so a lot of the stuff that might, you know, look a little different later is through success. So a lot of that stuff there might have been the things that made it look a little crazy, made it feel a little different. I love it. But that shit was crazy. Yeah. But at the end of the day, what was able to come out of it and what was able to dig. We didn't fail or we wouldn't be here. I was gonna say Mike. And to follow that was. Gerald was your mentor. And just like, what, you know, we were talking about earlier about the guys talking about us being their mentors. And it's so funny, because when you influence or you're being taught the game, you rocking with the game, you're rocking with it, and you're learning as you go. But I can say this in a nutshell. Listen. We all have been through a journey, been through some ups and downs, some changes and turnarounds in our lives. And when you look at where we are today, we're blessed. We're all blessed. And guess what? So what we had to go through to get here, at the end of the day here, I'm not mad at anybody. Because this is like looking at God and smacking him in the face. Because you're saying, I'm mad that you took me through this to get here to where I am today. I'm grateful. I'm grateful. And nobody has walked a road, and that has been easy. And that has been just that simple. It doesn't work like that. Yeah, I agree. I agree totally. I agree, Johnny. But, you know, under the circumstances, as human beings, you know what I mean? Emotions, emotions mean everything. As human beings, you know, you. You have thought process. We have to respect the human in each other. Because it might be easier for some people to get over things than others. You know what I'm saying? Like, for me, you know, my getting over it is very simple. I was the youngest and I lived in the projects. This man saved my life. You understand? He gave me an opportunity by the grace of God. God saved my life through Biv. He gave us the opportunity. So in my mind, he did what he was supposed to do for me. It was up to me to go the next to the next place. It was up to us to do that. And we did. You know what I mean? Under the circumstance of forgiveness, and all of those things a communication is, is everything, you know what I mean? And it does not take away from the fact that you guys are our heroes, our mentors. Don't be that way. And again, like I said, I don't speak much because I only want to speak about stuff that matters. But in this case, like I said, you know, we've been able to be where be in the nucleus that we've been for the last few years. And like Juan said, we all just got into the room together for the first time in a long time. And that's a feat in itself. You ever notice how wild life gets when you don't slow down? From meetings to errands to your phone buzzing nonstop, it can feel like the day never ends. Sometimes you gotta stop and reset. That's when it's time to grab a Diet Coke. That crisp, refreshing taste, crispy as some would call it, allows you to make time for you time. Maybe you're wrapping up a workout, finishing that last email, or sitting on the couch scrolling. Or maybe you're catching up with friends, cruising through your neighborhood, or enjoying a quiet moment nobody else can touch. Whatever your break looks like, Diet Coke can make it so much better. It's not only a drink, it's a signal to take a breather, reset and remind yourself the moment belongs to you. Because when you choose to pause, you're choosing you. So next time life feels non stop, hit pause, crack open the Diet Coke, take a sip, let the bold taste cut through the noise, and remember, your break is yours. Make time for a Diet Coke break. Diet Coke, this is my taste. 10 athletes will face the toughest job interview in fitness that will push past physical and mental breaking points. You are the fittest of the fit. Only one of you will leave here with an IFIT contract worth $250,000. This is where mindset comes in. Someone who will be eliminated. Eliminated. Pressure is coming down. Trainer games on Prime Video January 8th. Watch the trailer on trainergames.com did you know Microsoft has officially ended Support for Windows 10? Upgrade to Windows 11 with an LG Gram laptop, voted PCMag's Reader's Choice top laptop brand for 2025. Thin and ultra lightweight, the LG Gram keeps you productive anywhere. And Windows 11 gives you access to free security updates and ongoing features upgrades. Visit lgusa.com iheart for great seasonal savings on LG Gram laptops with Windows 11. PCMag reader's choice used with permission. All rights reserved. Season 2 of unrivaled basketball is here and the talent is unreal. Paige Beckers, Nafiza Collier, Kelsey Plumb, Brianna Stewart and more are back to redefine the game. Unrivaled basketball Season 2, sponsored by Samsung Galaxy, tips off January 5 on TNT, TruTV and HBO Max support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index. With AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like EFTs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member finra SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors, llc SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com disclosures I would say even with with whatever might be, whatever will handle or deal with whatever, it's a feat in itself. There's a lot of groups out here today that, you know, get emotional about things and don't know how to handle business correctly, right? And the key is you handle business first and then you handle your family stuff in the back room and not on the the Internet, in the media. So with that being said again, it ain't nothing but love in this room. Whatever else we gonna deal with, we'll deal with it. I mean, I love, I love the fact that y' all guys are coming together, right? Because y' all all had individual battles in the press, in the public, in the group and all that. But the fact that you look at how many, you know, even rappers and R B singers on this wall that's no longer here. You know, the fact that there have been so many should have or could have or damn, that would have been dope. Y' all are actually pulling it off. Oh yeah, like that could have been is gonna happen on this tour. That's why this is important. Let's see that two amazing Groups that can really sing and can dance. Well, Bib said y' all can't dance, but singing, dance to pull off this show is amazing. And it ain't a small Beacon Theater. No disrespect to Beacon Theaters. Y' all doing arenas. Yeah. So for that, we applaud y'. All. And we. I know. I'm so excited to see y' all come on multiple dates. And I'm gonna be on the side of this thing stage just in case one of the members ain't there. I know all the souls, both groups. If y' all need me, we'll have your uniform ready. Cuz it's about to be reverse racism. Cuz I don't see that many light skinned brothers. So put me in. That's why they were so successful. And he ain't even that light skin. He ain't that light skin in the middle. Ronnie, that's for black. My wife says it's peanut butter. That's. There you go, There you go, There you go. There you go. Are y' all helping Boys and Men develop their biopic? Cuz I remember there was rumors of a Boys and Men biopic at one time. No, it's not a rumor. I mean, we're. We're still in the. The embryonic stages of it, still trying to get things together because we want to make sure that the story is told the right way. Because there are a lot of things that, that by design, we have not said. You know, there's been a lot of things that's been mentioned about the group and said about the group and things of that nature that we just kind of watched and laugh, kept quiet, you know what I'm saying? Because it's funny how certain people in the industry tend to think that they could score points on us because maybe we don't, because. Oh, Jesus Christ. I wasn't gonna say no. But my point is that a lot of people tend to try to score points on us because we're not affiliated with a gang or we wouldn't roll up on somebody. And because we don't say nothing and we don't say nothing, we keep it quiet. Busy. I'm too busy. Because. And a lot of the things that are said is hilarious to us, especially because when you see the people that are actually saying it, you gotta always consider the source. And when you see their positions and the lives they're living and things of that nature, outside of all of the shock value of, oh, somebody said this. If you look a little deeper, you say, oh, okay. That's why they said that now. You know, the thing about the industry, though, is that everybody knows everything about everybody. Yeah. If I wanted to come on this, this radio show and talk about certain people, I know I could because I know exactly what happened, who did it, the whole nine yards. Or do you just think those type of. Or do you. And that's the issue. You know what, though? You know what, Sean, is. We're in the era where you could just reply with your fingers, right? Say what? You say you could tell someone, meet me at such and such, whatever, right? But you gotta look at it this way. Within the nine of us, I'm sure all of us have been through something and learned something. And I would say this, sitting next to Bob, he might have some of the toughest skin I've ever seen any individual have. And the one thing I never said, Bob also used to people up, though. Yeah. But I was gonna. But wait, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. This what I was gonna say. This is what I was gonna say. But I've never seen Bob really wild out the way you may say it. I'm just saying I hear people say shit to Bob, to me, and I say to myself, I like the way he carries himself, and sometimes you gotta pop off, off, right? But I'm just saying the skin is deep. And we got that somebody in our group. That is what you're talking about. The. The he gotta hear when he's sitting home with his kid that just don't feel good to the soul. And as brothers, we. We check somebody when we're around someone and say, no, no, no, no, no, I'm a. You can't do that. You're not gonna do that. And you supposed to do that if he's there or not. But see, that's brotherhood. The issue is not us, though. You know what I mean? It's the people. You know what I'm saying? Everyone has an opinion. You know what I mean? They call it social media, but there's nothing social about it at all. You know what I mean? The thought process about it is when someone says something about you, it's fine, especially if it's true. I don't care. But I'm tired of people lying about us. They lie about us and we never say nothing. Well, I got a. A messed up knee. I got three screws in it. And, and, and I'm. I'm getting myself together. Before you go there, I want to give them an example of how we don't say anything like people Been talking about our fourth member forever. Oh, y' all did this to him. Y' all kicked him out. He was sick. Y' all ain't give a. About him. Y' all don't know the story. And that's okay because we keep that in. But I tell you one thing we've never done. We've never said anything about him until the latter years to. And to make sure that man, if he's not here, he can have a career. Absolutely, absolutely. Stomp on him. You don't do that. So we don't. We don't do that. That's not. I mean, I'm the least social media guy on the planet. Yes, yes. There's no need for. I don't live in that space, so there's no need to go in there and deal with all the craziness because we gonna handle ourselves. So when someone is. Is doing that and telling stories, like literally fabricated stories, I feel like it's. It's just felt like time, you know, time to. To defend the integrity of my group, of my fellas, myself, you know what I mean? And, you know, look, I'm not gonna say boys to men, we. The. We was the cleanest niggas on planet Earth, you know what I'm saying? We. We did some stuff, you know what I'm saying? A lot of people, you know, I'm pretty sure we pissed some people off, you know what I mean? Right. But at the end of the day, we would. Trying to protect our brand. We were trying to protect it. We didn't have Michael Bivens on over us anymore to protect us. We didn't have Kilo Roundtree. He got murdered, you know what I'm saying? We was trying to figure out all kinds of things managerial. We had Michael Jackson and Prince telling us to know your worth and don't let nobody get over on you, you know, so we. We developed a. A chip. A chip. We started looking at everybody like, no, you're not going to do this to us. You're not going to do this to us. So when they hear our voices, because we were so silent because everybody else was doing it for us, now we're, you know, you understand? Just because we're sitting in the studio and we're working on a project does not mean that we're going to be consorting. That's not what Boys to Men do when we're in the studio. We work. We don't have time to play games, you know what I'm saying? Because we have a. We have to please these fans, you know, so when someone is saying, you know, that we said something as specific about a friend of ours. We don't need baby face. Yes. Who I just talked to two days ago. I just talked to yesterday. Come on, man. I saw you jump in the comments of the clip, too, and say, yeah, maybe what you said. But so why now even address that if you know it's not true? Because I got time. I got a broke, messed up knee. I was sitting on the damn couch. I was sitting on the damn couch. Couch. I couldn't get up. I couldn't drive. I was watching cartoons and playing PlayStation. And I saw that shit, and I said, h, this will be fun. And guess what? It was. It was very fun. Because I got a chance to let the people who really cared on that page know that it was a lie. Now, you could choose to take it forever, you want. I'm just trying to figure out where it came from. I never said anything derogatory about Chili. If you read the comments, I said, I love those girls. I said, we have history together. I'm just trying to figure out what happened. I mean, we heard that Tion said after the. The Pastor Mike thing, I ain't stand for this corny ass, corny ass show. That's what you know what I'm saying? And I'm like, why I love you. We love y'. All. Like the nostalgia. When we walk into the room, they jump into our. I mean, Chili used to jump into our arms. Yeah. It's like, what's good? At the end of the day, we. We just gonna sell some tickets. To be honest with you, this where we are and what we trying to do, we trying to inspire. Absolutely. That's right. Absolutely. And you guys, movie is gonna be a great movie. It's gonna be from your point of view. Your fans are gonna love it. And we just want them to come to this. Absolutely. So they can see us together. Cause we've never done this. Absolutely. You know, and this. This is really our first interview. So the Breakfast Club is really the first interview of us all together. Can I just say to you guys, to boys and men, let's me just say this and I'll shut up. But I'm glad that you guys are telling your story, because in a world that we're living in now with social media and everybody can get on here and say what they want, ruin people's lives, ruin your reputation, they can do a number of things. It is important. No, you can't fight the whole world. No, we'll never be able to change. Sometimes people view, no matter whether it's the truth or not. But when it comes from the horse's mouth and it's written in stone, it can't be erased. Tell the story so nothing else. At the end of the day with your legacy, anybody want to believe whatever they want to believe. That's all. It's all well and fine, but it has come from the horse's mouth directly in his written. Amen, Johnny. Yeah, so. So the answer, yes, we're working on the biopic. Bib is definitely going to put his input into it and work it out. Mike McCarry is going to have his input. You know what I'm saying? Because it's everybody's story, right? Everybody. It's everybody's story. But the stuff that one and everybody was touching on, man, and people that were saying, they corny, they cornball. Look, I'm like, nathan, Nathan, like, I do none of that. Hey, he don't Internet. He don't. He don't social media at all, bro. I live in the real world. Yeah. Nothing on there has nothing to do with me. I don't know none of those people. I tell my son, if you might just open the front door and just let everybody walk in your house. How many fights you get into on tour when people try to play y'? All. Cuz people always try to play an R B artist. Like, they always think of R B art is a soft bubble gum. How many times you got to throw somebody around, move some furniture? You know what? They. They. They police. They police. Oh, they police you. They hold you back. They try to talk me like, yo, bro, it ain't worth it. You know what I'm saying? You know, so, I mean, it's not a lot, but it. Get to the mic, mate. Oh, it's not a lot, but I mean, you know, man, some people. What's the difference between R B and some other genre? The greatest daylight. I don't know. Why? Because we speak peace, people think we can't throw no joke. Don't let the bow ties fool you. You know what I'm saying? It's one of those things where it's like, we. We. We never had this braggadocious bravado, like, you know, we walking around like tough guys because we ain't have to. Because we sing love songs, right? Why you mad at us? We sing love songs. That's all we do. Please don't. Don't get it twisted. And it's just. I mean, it's the same, I think. I think it's the same vibe with New Edition, though. Cause people was, like, calling them, you know, popcorn. But, you know, Orchard park ain't popcorn. Orchard park ain't Popcorn. I've been there. I've been there. Like, when I see Johnny and Bobby go at people and call people, like, what you say about me? I'm like, nah, nah, I know n. They used to play with Johnny, too. I got issues. And Johnny would pull up, listen, I'll talk about God in a minute, but I'll kick your ass in the next. And then I'll turn around and I'mma ask him for forgiveness. Knock it off. Leave us alone. Let us sing our love song. I do have one last question, man. If the. If the. And this for both. Both groups, if the early 90s version of y' all could see this reunion now, could see this tour now, what do you think they would think? It's long overdue. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, I think it would have been different. It would have been. I think it would have actually catapulted both groups to another stage because of the synergy and because of the importance of it. But again, we. We. We live in a God's timing. And the bottom line is it was supposed to happen now. Yeah. We're wiser now at this moment. We're older, we're wiser. We understand not just each other, but we understand each other's places in our lives. We know that by osmosis, we're connected. Yeah. And. And again, we're a branch of that. We're a branch of the tree. You know what I'm saying? And again, let's. Let's get it twisted. We will always pay homage to these guys, you know what I'm saying? And thankful for what these guys have done for us. And this is our way of telling that story in an entertaining way. Yeah. For two and a half, three hours. Like Ron said, we're gonna give you guys our story and have the best time ever. And have the best time ever. I know. I can't wait. Get your tickets if you haven't got your tickets yet. And don't be trying to buy me because you can't dance. And I have an announcement. Hell no. I'm not giving away no free tickets. I did that two tours, and every time I did that, he's not showing up. And I'm spending all this money. Some show up, no money is giving away. Listen, this is no. It's a no comp tour. No, I'm not giving away. No buying. I'm done tickets if you haven't got your tickets. Absolutely. And. And I can't wait. Do we know when the presale was? Yesterday. Talking to Mic thing is Friday. Preset was Tuesday. But the main thing is Friday. Friday. He said on sale Friday. Get you it. They're talking about 30 cities. I'm sure it's gonna be more than that because they're gonna have to ask. It's gonna sell out so fast. I'm just happy grown folks got something to do, man. It's gonna be a great day. New edition. Boys to men. Thank y' all for joining us. That's what I meant. Why Tony? Why. Why did y' all decide to get Tony? We needed a queen. And I thought that, honestly, she was, to me, I thought was a. A great, great part. Could be a great part of this. This, the whole movie. Because it's about. When you're doing a show like this, you want catalog, you want everything to be able to fit perfectly. And I think that she just fits for the. For the. Was she the first choice or. Yes, she was my first choice. Yeah, that conference call was different, but she's there. Yeah, yeah. So y' all need to call to her personally. Oh, yeah, I did. You did you. I talked to her directly. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Thank you, Johnny G. Because I'm happy I'm going to be seeing her, too. All right, well, New boys to men. It's the Breakfast Club. Good morning. Every day I wake up. Wake your ass up. The Breakfast Club. You don't finish or y' all done? 10 athletes will face the toughest job interview in fitness that will push past physical and mental breaking points. You are the fittest of the fit. Only one of you will leave here with an IFIT contract worth $250,000. This is where mindset comes in. Someone will be eliminated. Pressure is coming down. Trainer games on Prime Video January 8th. Watch the trailer on trainergames.com did you know Microsoft has officially ended Support for Windows 10? Upgrade to Windows 11 with an LG Gram laptop, voted PCMag's Reader's Choice top laptop brand for 2025. Thin and ultra lightweight, the LG Gram keeps you productive anywhere. And Windows 11 gives you access to free security updates and ongoing feature upgrades. Visit lgusa.com iheart for great seasonal savings on LG Gram laptops with Windows 11. PCMag reader's choice used with permission. All rights reserved. Season 2 of unrivaled basketball is here, and the talent is unreal. The best women's players on the planet are running it back with even bigger moments and bigger stakes. Don't miss as Paige Becker, Snafeeza Collier, Kelsey Plumb, Brianna Stewart and more. Take the court and reach. Redefine the game. This isn't your regular season. This is unrivaled, where the pace is faster, the energy is higher and every athlete shines. Unrivaled basketball Season 2, sponsored by Samsung Galaxy, tips off January 5 on TNT, TruTV and HBO. Max support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index. With AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like EFTs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to Public and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors, llc SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available@public.com Disclosures A new year is on the horizon and your 2026 savings start here. Right now you can access the Washington post for just $2 every four weeks. Head into the new year with six months of savings at this special intro rate. After that it'll cost $12 every four weeks. 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