The Breakfast Club BEST OF 2(Teddy Swim, Nina Parker & KevOnStage, And Leon Thomas Interview)

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Breakfast Club BEST OF 2 (Teddy Swim, Nina Parker & KevOnStage, And Leon Thomas Interview)

Release Date: July 2, 2025

Hosts: DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, Charlamagne Tha God

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1. Navigating Relationships: The Dynamics of Age-Gap Dating

The episode kicks off with an engaging and candid discussion about the complexities of older men dating significantly younger women. This topic resonates deeply with listeners, sparking a lively conversation filled with personal anecdotes and critical insights.

Notable Discussion Points:

• Lenard McKelvey's Personal Experience: Lenard shares his tumultuous relationship with a much older man, highlighting the challenges and emotional toll it took on him.

  Caller (04:03): "I have one on the way."

  Lenard McKelvey (35:35): "It was a domestic violence situation. So I definitely finally got the courage to leave because I didn't want my children to keep on seeing that I don't."

• Impact on Personal Well-being: The hosts emphasize the importance of recognizing unhealthy relationship patterns and the significance of self-worth over financial or material support.

  DJ Envy (34:10): "Everybody's not made for marriage, right?"

• Cultural and Social Implications: The conversation delves into societal perceptions of age-gap relationships, questioning the motivations behind older men pursuing much younger women and the potential for control and manipulation.

  Caller (32:27): "Why are men have not grown out of that. I love discipline, I love stability. I love having a family."

Key Insights:

• Emotional Manipulation: Older partners may leverage their financial stability to exert control, leading to imbalanced and potentially abusive relationships.
• Breaking the Cycle: It's crucial for young women to recognize these patterns and prioritize their emotional and mental health over financial gains.

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2. Special Guest Interview: Leon Thomas on His Musical Journey and Personal Growth

Leon Thomas, a rising star in the R&B scene, joins the show to discuss his career, personal struggles, and the therapeutic role of music in his life.

Notable Discussion Points:

• Early Beginnings: Leon shares his transition from Broadway to music, highlighting his performances in iconic plays like "The Lion King" and "The Color Purple."

  Leon Thomas (10:11): "I grew up in New York, started on Broadway out here. I did three Broadway plays from Lion King to The Color Purple."

• Music as Therapy: Discussing his album "Mutt," Leon reveals how creating music served as a form of therapy, helping him navigate heartbreak and personal growth.

  Leon Thomas (18:03): "Talking about being in the limelight and trying to fill voids. Nobody really talks about the darkness that comes with the flashing lights."

• Collaboration with Musical Icons: Leon recounts his experiences working with legendary artists like Stevie Wonder and his aspirations to continue evolving as an artist.

  Leon Thomas (27:11): "I got a chance to do a record with him, too. So he's gonna put out on his next record. I hope so."

Notable Quotes:

• Leon Thomas (16:54): "Naming the album was kind of to have that conversation with myself, to get myself to go."
• Leon Thomas (20:25): "I'm grateful to be available."

Key Insights:

• Embracing Vulnerability: Leon emphasizes the importance of being open and authentic in his music, allowing listeners to connect with his genuine experiences.
• Overcoming Trauma: His journey underscores the role of creative expression in healing and personal development.

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3. American History Hotline Segment with Bob Crawford

In a recurring segment, Bob Crawford takes on historical myths and questions from listeners, providing insightful and often humorous answers.

Notable Discussion Points:

• Chappaquiddick Incident: Bob explores the various narratives surrounding Ted Kennedy’s tragic car accident in 1969, shedding light on the differing perspectives.

  Bob Crawford (24:21): "Walt Whitman said something like, you know, 99.99% of war is diarrhea and 1% is glory."

• Historical Anecdotes: The segment includes quirky and lesser-known historical facts, presented in an entertaining manner.

  Bob Crawford (24:46): "Those founding fathers were gossipy AF and they love to cut each other down."

Notable Quotes:

• Bob Crawford (24:27): "I'm Bob Crawford, host of American History Hotline, the show where you send us your questions about American history and I find the answers, including the nuggets of wisdom our history has to offer."

Key Insights:

• Myth Busting: The segment aims to clarify historical misconceptions, making history accessible and engaging for the audience.
• Entertainment and Education: By blending humor with factual information, Bob ensures that listeners are both informed and entertained.

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4. Highlight: Unusual News Story - Christina Solomito’s Incident

A caller introduces a bizarre and humorous news story about Christina Solomito, a 44-year-old woman arrested for defecating on a car, which becomes a focal point of the conversation.

Notable Discussion Points:

• Incident Details: The story revolves around Christina's public act of defecating on a vehicle, sparking widespread attention and humor among the hosts and listeners.

  Jess Hilarious (70:53): "The incident was captured on video by a bystander. The video shows Christina Solamito walking to another woman's car and, later, appearing to defecate on it."

• Hosts’ Reactions: The hosts engage in a lighthearted yet critical analysis of the incident, blending humor with commentary on societal behaviors.

  DJ Envy (71:48): "When you listen to him, catch a disease."

Notable Quotes:

• DJ Envy (70:35): "Listening to that Song, catch a disease."
• Bob Crawford (73:36): "Be careful, that's not a good idea."

Key Insights:

• Human Behavior: The story serves as a humorous exploration of extreme reactions and public behavior.
• Cultural Reflection: It highlights how odd incidents can capture public attention and become part of popular culture discussions.

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5. Promotions and Advertisements (Skipped)

As per instructions, commercials and promotional segments featuring Nissan Murano, Annabe sofas, and Line2 services were excluded from this summary to maintain focus on the core content.

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Conclusion

This episode of The Breakfast Club offers a multifaceted exploration of personal relationships, the healing power of music, and intriguing historical insights. Through heartfelt discussions and entertaining segments, the hosts and their guests provide listeners with valuable perspectives and relatable experiences. Whether delving into the intricacies of age-gap dating or celebrating the artistic journey of Leon Thomas, the episode delivers both depth and entertainment, ensuring that both regular listeners and newcomers find something meaningful.

Listen to the full episode on iHeartRadio or your preferred podcast platform to experience the dynamic conversations and engaging content firsthand.

Transcript

[Bob Crawford]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[DJ Envy]

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[Lenard McKelvey]

Panoramic moof, ambient lighting, bows and massaging leather. Appointed seats are optional features.

[Jess Hilarious]

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[Caller]

Ugh.

[Jess Hilarious]

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[DJ Envy]

I'm Bob Crawford, host of American History Hotline, a different type of podcast. You, the listener, ask the questions.

[Caller]

Did George Washington really cut down a cherry tree? Were JFK and Marilyn Monroe having an affair?

[DJ Envy]

And I find the answers.

[Leon Thomas]

I'm so glad you asked me this question.

[Jess Hilarious]

This is such a ridiculous story.

[Lenard McKelvey]

You can listen to American History Hotline.

[DJ Envy]

On the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Lenard McKelvey]

So what happened at Chappaquiddick? Well, it really depends on who you talk to.

[DJ Envy]

There are many versions of what happened in 1969 when a young Ted Kennedy drove a car into a pond and.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Left a woman behind to drown.

[Guest]

Chappaquiddick is a story of a tragic.

[DJ Envy]

Death and how the Kennedy machine took control.

[Guest]

Every week we go behind the headlines.

[DJ Envy]

And beyond the drama of America's royal family.

[Jess Hilarious]

Listen to United States of Kennedy on.

[Lenard McKelvey]

The iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever.

[Caller]

You get your podcast DJM.

[DJ Envy]

That's hilarious.

[Caller]

And Charlemagne. Thank y' all for being like cultural leaders.

[Bob Crawford]

Guys are family.

[Caller]

The Breakfast Club is where people get.

[Lenard McKelvey]

The information on the topics, on the.

[Caller]

Artists and everything like that. You guys were nice. Everybody got me all nervous like you guys.

[Leon Thomas]

Let's not go on you locked into the world's most dangerous morning show.

[Lenard McKelvey]

More Dangerous than the Brown.

[Caller]

If you want a Breakfast Club, you ain't gonna bring it 120, you might as well not come up here. Oh, my Jesus. This what y' all do up here? That's right. Get up out the beds and listen.

[Guest]

To the greatest show on Earth.

[Caller]

Ray. Ray. Ray. Yo, Charlemagne.

[DJ Envy]

Envy, what up?

[Lenard McKelvey]

Are we live? This is your time to get it off your chest. I got an indoor pool.

[DJ Envy]

We want to hear from you on the Breakfast Club.

[Caller]

We can get on the phone right now.

[Lenard McKelvey]

He'll tell you what it is.

[Caller]

We live. Hello?

[DJ Envy]

Who's this?

[Caller]

Yo, this. This Ben, man. How y' all doing?

[DJ Envy]

What's up, Ben? Get it off your chest.

[Caller]

Ben, man, I just want to talk. First of all, good morning, Jess. Good morning, Charlemagne. Good morning. All right. I just want to get this opportunity. I can't say this to my girl, so I'm gonna just say it to y' all. I hate my girl. Dogs.

[DJ Envy]

Okay, what kind of dogs are they, bro?

[Caller]

She got some kind of little poodle dog and American pit, Okay? I am a dog guy. Don't get me wrong. I love dogs. I just didn't grow up with dogs in my house. Okay, but it's not about to run. He crazy.

[Lenard McKelvey]

I don't know how.

[Caller]

Okay, to all the dog people out there, I don't know how y' all deal with dog running all around your house and dog everywhere, but this about to make me say, hey, I can't do this no more. She got you cleaning up poop, bruh. I don't.

[Lenard McKelvey]

I just refuse.

[Caller]

Like, I don't even walk. These dogs. Y' all got kids. I don't do nothing. Yeah. Lord have my kids.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Damn. He about to walk away because the dogs.

[DJ Envy]

What are they doing to you?

[Caller]

Man, listen, the dogs ain't doing nothing to me. They just. They just stupid dogs. And I hate dogs everywhere. Well, I don't. I don't like going to work with dog hair all over me. Okay? That's crazy, man. Look, these dogs don't even be in my car. And I got dog hair in my car. I'm vacuuming my car and my old lady with every day because I'm sick of these dogs. It sound like y' all need more space. Like more. More space in where? When y' all residents? Yeah, we got a nice size house. Ain't no space. You need to get rid of these. Damn. All right, well, make one. Make one of them come up missing, you know?

[DJ Envy]

No, no, don't do that.

[Caller]

Listen, this is what made me call this morning. I listen to this show every morning on my way to work, just like I'm doing now, bro, I had a dream about poisoning them dogs last night.

[DJ Envy]

Oh, my goodness.

[Caller]

I said, boy, I might need to talk. I might need to call Charlamagne and talk to him, but there's something going on with my mental. Did y' all have dreams? Having dreams about. Did you and your wife have a conversation? Did you tell her how you feel? Yeah, we had one a few months ago, and that turned into a big old argument. So I ain't trying to go there no more.

[DJ Envy]

So why don't you buy one of them kid gates? You know, the little kitty gates. Buy one of them little kitty gates and put the dogs in the kitty Gates.

[Caller]

Got one. Charlie, I don't want the dogs in the house. I don't care what kind of solution you're trying to give me. All right, man. So let me. I don't want the dogs in the house. So let me tell you something. That was all. When you heard that they was. When you heard the lie that they was eating cats and dogs in Ohio. Did you. Did you. Did you smile a little bit? Did you think about taking a little trip? A little bit.

[DJ Envy]

You have a good one, man.

[Caller]

Have a good one, man.

[DJ Envy]

Get it off your chest. 800-585-1051. Did y' all grow up?

[Caller]

You grew up with dogs?

[Lenard McKelvey]

No, I didn't grow up with dogs, but I have dogs now.

[DJ Envy]

Charlemagne.

[Caller]

A couple.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Yeah.

[Caller]

Not like that, though. I had a couple Rottweilers when I was young. I had a bad experience because somebody poisoned my dog. Somebody got tired of my dad. Damn. I had two Rottweilers named Band Tara, and somebody got tired of Tara and they poisoned the neighbors. Poisoned them. I can't prove that the neighbor poison them, but I feel like the neighbor poisoned them and. Poor Terror. No. Which one died? One of them died because they got poisoned. One of them got picked up by the dog people.

[DJ Envy]

Jesus Christ.

[Lenard McKelvey]

I know.

[Caller]

Yeah.

[DJ Envy]

I had shepherds all my life. My dad didn't believe in having a dog. As a petty. If you had a dog, the dog need to have a job.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Oh, wow.

[DJ Envy]

So you gotta protect the house.

[Caller]

Yeah, that was different.

[DJ Envy]

We ain't got no pets. You gotta have a job. You're gonna protect this house. If not, we don't want a little dog.

[Caller]

No, we want a dog. I want a dog now. My wife won't let me get one.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Oh.

[Caller]

Yep. I want a South African boy. Boy.

[DJ Envy]

Well, get it off your chest. 800-585-1051. If you need the vent, hit us up now. It's the Breakfast Club. Good morning, the Breakfast Club.

[Caller]

I'm dialing, I'm dialing.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Hey, what you doing, man?

[Caller]

I'm dialing. I'm calling.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Yo, this is your time to get.

[DJ Envy]

It off your chest, whether you're Mad or blessed. 800-585-1051. We want to hear from you on the Breakfast Club.

[Caller]

Hello? Who's this?

[Lenard McKelvey]

This is kistine from the 803, leaving a late night booty call. Doing the walk of shave, AKA the ride of shave home.

[Caller]

So you stink right now.

[Guest]

Oh, boy.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Oh, that got a good point.

[Caller]

You know what?

[Lenard McKelvey]

But actually, I don't because I don't eat meat and I don't really have an odor like that, to be honest.

[Caller]

Hey, asparagus stink. That man know that man. That man. That asparagus stink when you pee now. Yeah. Don't act like that.

[DJ Envy]

But was it a good night at least that asparagus.

[Lenard McKelvey]

It was a good night. But check this out. Before we get into my good night, go to my tick tock page. Not you, But y' all. 5 million listeners, Kafiz Content. K A F K A F I S K O N T N T. Now get back to the late night booty call.

[Caller]

What's up?

[DJ Envy]

No, I just asked if you enjoyed yourself, that's all.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Oh, I always do, though.

[Caller]

Okay, this is a regular boot. Something new. This something new or just a regular boo?

[Lenard McKelvey]

No, it's a regular boo. Listen, I did. I was a burger until I met him. And then I had two kids already, but I was a burden until I met him. Because I never knew DJ Izzy. I knew again was missing out on.

[Caller]

I never knew Jesus. Well, hold on. She said she was a virgin until she met. Oh. Cause she. You had two kids, but you never had an orgasm?

[Lenard McKelvey]

Okay, yeah, I kind of did have an orgasm. I just didn't know. Sex is good. Okay. All right. While I'm late night creeping on a weekday and I gotta be to work and I.

[DJ Envy]

Where the kids at?

[Lenard McKelvey]

And still gotta.

[DJ Envy]

Where your kids at?

[Lenard McKelvey]

My oldest son home. My son, like 31 and my daughter 10.

[Caller]

How far is it in life? Where you driving from? Where your booty call?

[Lenard McKelvey]

At F Road. You in F Road?

[Caller]

Yes, I do.

[Lenard McKelvey]

To Rosewood? Yes, to the fairground.

[Caller]

That ain't too far.

[Lenard McKelvey]

It ain't too far. It's like, ain't no traffic on the road. You talking about 12 to 15 minutes.

[Caller]

12 to 15. Okay.

[DJ Envy]

Well, get your ass Back home you got to be working a little bit, right?

[Caller]

Right?

[Lenard McKelvey]

Good morning, Breakfast Club.

[Caller]

Get home in time to take a shower now.

[DJ Envy]

Brush your teeth before you kiss that 10 year old too.

[Caller]

You going there smelling like Bodhis. Stop. You don't want to smell like B.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Playing with me. Stop playing with me. I told you, I don't have an odor. I don't eat meat. I playing with me.

[Caller]

All right, Stinky. Goodbye, everybody. That why people have people that stink can never smell theyself.

[DJ Envy]

We don't know what she do. I thought I hung up on. Hey, yo, get it off your chest. 800-585-1051. If you need the vent, hit us up now. It's the Breakfast Club. Good morning, the Breakfast Club. Morning, everybody. It's DJ Envy Jess. Hilarious Charlemagne the guy we are the Breakfast Club. Jess is out today. Lauren's holding it down. And of course we got our niece Nala here. And we got a special guest in the building, Brother Teddy Swims.

[Leon Thomas]

Hey, man.

[Caller]

How you feeling?

[Leon Thomas]

I'm so honored to be here, man. I'm pumped, man.

[Caller]

Happy to have you.

[Leon Thomas]

I'm really, really excited, dude. We did our album release party last night, though, so, you know, again, excuse my drinking for.

[Caller]

You don't have to excuse yourself for drinking early in the morning. You see that one over there?

[Bob Crawford]

Let's hear.

[Lenard McKelvey]

That's what she does. That's her birthday.

[Bob Crawford]

She does exactly.

[Lenard McKelvey]

On the way for my baby.

[Leon Thomas]

On the way, Yeah.

[Caller]

I have one on the way.

[Leon Thomas]

Absolutely.

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Leon Thomas]

You're drinking with a pregnant man. It's early.

[Caller]

Tell us about yourself, Teddy.

[Leon Thomas]

Man, that's so loaded. I'm from Georgia. From. From about 30 minutes east of Atlanta in Conyers, Georgia, Rockdale County. And you know, I like singing songs and I'm a good, good, good boy.

[Caller]

You have a very soulful, soulful voice. Did you grow up in the church?

[Leon Thomas]

Yeah, so my granddad was a Pentecostal pastor. I didn't grow up singing in a church a lot, but, you know, I definitely grew up with fire and brimstone. For sure, man with a fear of God.

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Leon Thomas]

You know what I mean?

[Caller]

You're afraid to sin?

[Leon Thomas]

Oh, no, no, not, not these days. I mean.

[Caller]

I'm just talking about, like back in the day. Was it like a very religious household? Yeah, yeah.

[Leon Thomas]

You know, like, girls don't get haircuts. You know, girls wear skirts, men wear jeans, like that kind of thing. It was of tight. And I was. I mean, I'm very fortunate, I guess. I. I feel like I still subscribe to so many of the principles of, you know, even the beliefs aren't there. I. I do love that my, My granddad was. As I was growing up with my granddad, he was, he was like, we wouldn't even go to restaurants that would have a bar in the restaurant, you know, and not that he ever had a problem drinking, but it was just. He stood on his belief so much. The thing that I was always with him was that I. I didn't subscribe to the idea that like telling people that they're wrong and this is the only way to believe something. I remember he look at other churches and be like, think that the only way he believed it was right. I rem. The first time I sang at his church, I might have been 17 or 16 or something. And I remember him saying, like, you know, I want you sing at the church, bud, but man, all these kids are like break dancing and carrying on for the Lord. And I was like, yo, Pop, like, nobody's broke dance since like my mom was a child.

[Lenard McKelvey]

You're so.

[Leon Thomas]

And if they want to break dance.

[Caller]

For the Lord, Pop, like, let him.

[Leon Thomas]

Break dance for the Lord. You know, he was, he was very, you know, stern.

[Caller]

Like, just buy the book.

[Leon Thomas]

If it wasn't in the Bible, then.

[Caller]

It was a sin.

[Leon Thomas]

You know what I mean?

[Bob Crawford]

So were you rebellious?

[Leon Thomas]

Um, hell yeah. My mom was worse than I was. I remember, I remember getting in trouble for all sorts of. And being like, I'm not doing any of that. She was. Thought I was doing all sorts of mess and I mean, but she was a pastor's kid. My mother was the.

[DJ Envy]

But listen, I wanted to. You know, when you talk about rebellious, you started off playing football. All right, so yes, sir, you was. I heard your family was a big football family.

[Leon Thomas]

Uh huh.

[DJ Envy]

So what got you from football to singing?

[Leon Thomas]

My dear friend Jackson.

[Caller]

I can see that.

[Leon Thomas]

Yeah, yeah.

[DJ Envy]

Yes sir.

[Caller]

Yeah. That was your favorite.

[Leon Thomas]

Yeah. And an offensive offensive guard as well. Oh yeah. But I mean, I just. 5 foot 7 wasn't really happening, you.

[Caller]

Know, I just in high school, middle.

[DJ Envy]

School at the time.

[Leon Thomas]

Yeah. But I've been 5 foot 7 since I was in 8th grade. And so I thought they thought I was gonna be big, you know. And then it just, it didn't happen. Guys started shooting up to 6 foot 2 and 3 and whooped my ass off the line.

[DJ Envy]

So what got you into arts?

[Leon Thomas]

Like my dear friend Jesse, who still plays with me. I've known him since I was a little kid. His dad was always in bands and stuff. So we. We started trying to experiment and play music and stuff, and his. His older s. Musical theater and got us into musical theater. And I just kind of fell in love with singing. And I was so. I was hooked. I was hooked. Singing has changed my life. I wasn't good always, but I fell in love with it, you know? And I remember telling my mom that I was. I was gonna not do football anymore and I was gonna sing, and she was so, so hurt. I brought out all my memorabilia. Like, I can't believe you do this to us. We would play football, you know? And I remember my first little. We did this show called Damn Yankees. I did like two lines in it, I think. And after I got done, I come off stage and she was like, I'm so sorry, baby. This is where you belong.

[Caller]

Really?

[Leon Thomas]

You're a star. You know, after that, I did like, two lines, you know, but it was.

[Bob Crawford]

What you mean by you weren't always good at it. Like, how do you. You sound amazing.

[Caller]

I was so bad.

[Leon Thomas]

We were so bad at it, you know.

[Caller]

You was in a group?

[Leon Thomas]

Well, no, just me and my buddy Jesse. He still plays guitar, writes and. And he plays guitar in my band still. And we, as we were learning and trying to build bands together and do it as kids, you know, we just were really bad. You know, we. We sucked. Like, we're just not good. You can still YouTube. I was a senior in high school. My first band, Heroic Bear, is still on YouTube. Our first little EP. And I was in, like, a metalcore band at the time. And so you could still hear me, like, screaming away and, like, singing. And if you want to hear it.

[Caller]

You know, the routine.

[Leon Thomas]

If you hear it, dude, you're gonna be like, okay, yeah, you got good.

[DJ Envy]

Did you get lessons or did you practice or how did you get so good?

[Leon Thomas]

Well, I think I was so lucky. I mean, I was in theater, you know, and I had a lot of good friends and they were singing. But I think. I think the biggest thing was growing up in the, like, when the YouTube era was first kind of starting, you know, and if I had questions or if I wanted to know how to sing, there was always a live version of singer singing, you know, so, like, I could. I could watch, like, live videos of how. How is. How are they moving? They throw. How are they moving their jaws? How are they.

[Caller]

Oh, yo, that was crazy.

[Leon Thomas]

You know, I could. I could just sit there and watch YouTube videos and see people singing live, you know, like, singing. Craig David singing, like, and credit recovery. I would pull up like a YouTube proxy and just have it behind the video and just like listen to Craig David just. I'm walking. I could listen to live videos and watch their. Them play, you know, and singing. It was like.

[Caller]

Do you think you like saw somebody like Craig David and like mimicked him and that's how you found your voice?

[Leon Thomas]

Oh, totally, yeah. Yeah. Some of the best, man. Some of the best that ever did it. Marvin Gaye, watching Otis Redding, man, listening to Al Green, you know, I mean, I just fell in love with the instrument and I was like, I want to know how to access that.

[DJ Envy]

And then you started doing these covers, right? And you started covering songs and then you did one cover that started shooting up crazy. So talk about that a little bit.

[Leon Thomas]

Oh, I think Shania Twain still, the one was our, like, that was the one that really kind of went crazy for us, you know. I love my mama and my mama loved Shania Twain when I was coming up. I love Shania Twain too. That was a real life changing one for us. Our first one we started out with was because June 25th of 2019 was the first time I never even expected doing covers, you know, online. And we had found like the stems of Rock with youh online.

[DJ Envy]

Michael Jackson.

[Leon Thomas]

Yeah. And so it was. It was 10 years right after he passed. It was his 10 year anniversary. And so I was like, wait, we should just do Rock with youh by Michael Jackson just to pay homage to him and for the. You know, and then. And we uploaded it and it started doing well and it was like, man, we should just keep this. I guess this cover train kind of going. So we, we kept on for, you know, next few months. And I think the beautiful thing about starting with. With Rock with youh, it started getting, you know, like I said, the first day we woke up, we had like 10,000 views. And it was so life changing for us. We're like boys, we're getting hammered. This is sick. And it was such a weird thing because once it hit like this, this critical mass of like maybe 500,000 views, I think people were looking at, seeing the way I look and then seeing the Rock with youh, you know, and saying Rock with youh by Michael Jackson and me, and I'm looking like an absolute redneck and saying like, either this is hilarious or this is actually really good. And I think for our benefit, it was. It was kind of both, you know, because just the fact that I was singing that song but doing it well was. Was kind of funny and surprisingly good.

[Caller]

Now, Teddy, why have you Tried everything but therapy.

[Leon Thomas]

Well, I have tried therapy now. You know, even as we're. We're getting ready, every kid. Me and my girls have been doing even couples therapy too, which has been so wonderful and making sure we're coming in and having this child in the most healed, safest environment possible. But I. I think. I think naming the album that was. Was kind of to have that conversation and with myself, to get myself to go. I think there's just like, been in generations past. And even still there's this, like, connotation on therapy that we're like, we're not allowed to go to that or we're not allowed to share our feelings or emotions. Yeah. You know, and. And I. I just. It's been life changing for me. And I did have even this in my brain that I was like, I'm not crazy. I don't need that. You know, I had this for so long that I was like, I know myself. I don't need nobody to tell me what's wrong with me. You know? And I feel like once I got it too, it was so much different than I thought it would be too. And I feel like there was something beautiful about having that first album and not trying it and being in a place of turmoil and heartbreak with somebody that was. Made me feel like my feelings were invalid or not allowed to have. And having this part two coming out and being this thing of. I've tried therapy. I'm back in love. I'm having a child. I've got some level of success in this. And, you know, on the back of heartbreak, it does get better on the other side.

[DJ Envy]

Teddy Swims is here. Charlamagne.

[Caller]

Can we talk about some of this music on this new album?

[Leon Thomas]

Sure. I'd love to hear.

[Caller]

Not yout man is a very vulnerable record.

[Leon Thomas]

Thank you, sir.

[Caller]

Have you ever really felt like you gave everything to a woman and it wasn't enough? Yeah.

[Leon Thomas]

Hell yeah, man. I think it was important to start this one out like that. Cause I wrote this forever ago. I was in a place with somebody where my. I know it's hard. I don't want to talk about her in a way that. Because now as I've grown and healed and moved on, I thank her for what we went through, you know, And I'm grateful for that and space that we had together. And I was at a place. Yeah. Where I felt like I was given everything and my feelings and my. I was. Was not validated or it was not enough, or I was crazy or feeling this way, or I Was abusive situation. I don't know. I don't want to. I don't want to say it.

[Caller]

While emotionally abusive.

[Leon Thomas]

Oh, both, man. Physically, she was. She was just not good. She was not a good person and I want the best for her. But yeah, it was a very tough thing to try to try to heal somebody, try to make space for someone to heal, try to give somebody everything. You would think, you would think if you had a. If you had a passion. I'll just make it like this. You had a passion in your life, and you had somebody in your life that says you could quit your job and just focus on your passion. I'll take care of the rest. You got it. And you don't do anything with your life, but you just eat Xanax all day and lay around and blame somebody for your shortcomings. When you had the opportunity to follow your dream and somebody that would support you in your dreams and you'd be like, so surprised to see if somebody had the opportunity to follow their dreams and they had everything taken care of, how many people would be like, like, everything's taken care of. I don't gonna do anymore. And you can't. You can't put ambition and drive into somebody. You can't heal nobody. You can't save nobody. And I've started to go on that tangent.

[Bob Crawford]

But from that situation, do you feel.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Like you no longer enable because it's.

[Bob Crawford]

Like though you want to do something.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Out of love to better somebody, sometimes.

[Jess Hilarious]

It'S to their own detriment?

[Leon Thomas]

Yeah, I think. I think. Yeah, I think it's an. It was an enabling. At the end of the day, you know, I was doing something to help someone become. But I think at the end of the day, I was enabling somebody to do nothing. And if that was inside of them, I was enabling that. And I think it's a common pattern, you know. But yes, I'm trying to heal and learn to see somebody for who they are and not who I want them to be or think they should be.

[Caller]

I can tell you got a big heart, but people will take advantage of it.

[Leon Thomas]

Hell, yeah. And I'm so grateful to be. I don't say I'm grateful to be taking advantage of that. I'm grateful to be available.

[Caller]

Everybody's going to use you, but don't let people miss you.

[Leon Thomas]

Amen.

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Bob Crawford]

I have a last question for you. I was reading this interview you talked about because your girlfriend's black, and you talked about, like, when you guys are in the self, you get like, looks from people. And like, it bothers you because love should be love. But you're about to bring a baby into the world. You're so positive. She seems so amazing. But the world is not always like that. Like, how do you defeat that? Because you're really a really nice person. Like, it breaks my heart.

[Leon Thomas]

I mean, you know, I hate how much she's go through. So her dad's black and her mom's white. So she tells me about stuff all the time. About, like, you know, how she felt not white enough or not black enough and how much her, like, world in her life has been such a, I guess, like a juxtaposition in both sides, you know, Feeling like she wasn't quite accepted by either side, you know? And so this is not a story. I won't tell you her story because she's better at saying it than I am. I'll never tell you her story, but I see how, like, how beautiful she is and how, I guess how, like, elegant she navigates being who she is. She's the most incredible human being I've ever met, man.

[Caller]

I got a good counselor for y' all to talk to.

[Leon Thomas]

Okay?

[Caller]

I would Love that, man. Dr. Umar Johnson.

[Bob Crawford]

Come back this way. Focus over here.

[Caller]

Speaking of black and white. No, the song with money Long.

[Leon Thomas]

Yes, sir.

[Caller]

That title's a little on the nose, don't you think?

[Leon Thomas]

Yeah, yeah, I think that. I think that.

[DJ Envy]

Hey, what up, y' all?

[Lenard McKelvey]

It's DJ Envy.

[DJ Envy]

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[Lenard McKelvey]

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[Jess Hilarious]

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[DJ Envy]

Today, American history is full of wise people.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Walt Whitman said something like, you know, 99.99% of war is diarrhea and 1% is glory.

[Bob Crawford]

Those founding fathers were gossipy AF and they love to cut each other down.

[DJ Envy]

I'm Bob Crawford, host of American History Hotline, the show where you send us your questions about American history and I find the answers, including the nuggets of wisdom our history has to offer.

[Guest]

Hamilton pauses and then he says, the.

[DJ Envy]

Greatest man that ever lived was Julius Caesar. And Jefferson writes in his diary, this.

[Caller]

Proves that Hamilton is for a dictator based on corruption.

[DJ Envy]

My favorite line was what Neil Armstrong said, it would have been harder to.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Fake it than to do it.

[DJ Envy]

Listen to American History Hotline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Leon Thomas]

The point of it was kind of to the core of Love in itself is black and white. Like, it's a. It's a black and white issue. Love is love and not. Love is not love and loving, whether it's a person of a different color, shape, size, sexuality, same sex, whatever it is. I think that the thing was trying to say that we, no matter what, we could come from different worlds. It's a true, I guess, Romeo and Juliet story, you know, kind of is the.

[Lenard McKelvey]

The.

[Leon Thomas]

The basis of it is that, like, you know, we. We come from different places, we come from different cultures, we have different things. But when you're in love, man, love is love. And. And that should be enough. And that's really. There ain't nothing great about that, man. That's just love, you know, Love is love, baby.

[Caller]

You know, I love that record. And it's a good stamp because, you know. Money Long recently went viral for saying she's not writing soulful songs for white artists. Did you see that?

[Leon Thomas]

I did not. Oh, I'm glad I got that one. Before she said.

[DJ Envy]

Exactly when did she do that song? Was that a Long. Did she do that a while ago?

[Leon Thomas]

Yeah, we did it. It's gotta be a few months ago now. My dear friend Jeff Kitty and Mickey Echo was a part of it with us, too, and we, like, started working on it. And I remember Jeff Kitty has been working with Money for Long years and years, and he's like, man, should we see if Marnie wants to do this song with us? And I was like, I mean, yeah, that's like. We'd kind of like to do a record like this. We would kind of need that. You know, I would be so stoked if she'd be willing to, because I knew what I kind of wanted to say. But also, I can't say that, you know, without having money help me say that, you know, but also without, like, relying too much. I think I needed to. We needed to say that together. And so I'm just grateful she took that opportunity to say, I see what you're trying to say. I'll have you say that, you know, and said it with me. And I think I'm so grateful for her. Cause Money's just. Just a legend, man. What a bad, badass, man.

[DJ Envy]

Now, you also said you wanted to meet one of your musical idols were Stevie Wonder.

[Leon Thomas]

Yeah.

[DJ Envy]

Did you ever get an opportunity to meet?

[Leon Thomas]

Yeah, you know, we haven't met in person, but I. Yeah, yeah. And I got. I got a chance to do a record with him, too. So I think he's gonna put out on his next record. I hope so. I hope it's gonna come out. I'm really excited. It's a good record. It's called Politic Player. Yeah. Which is such an honor to be on Stevie Wonder record. But, yeah, he did FaceTime. I'll tell you about it. It's so fun. He FaceTimed me.

[DJ Envy]

Did he hold the camera up himself?

[Leon Thomas]

Yeah. And here's the thing. Here's the thing. He is actually blind, y' all. This is true life. He was blind. I'm saying. People say, people. There's a conspiracy that he's not.

[Lenard McKelvey]

You seen him pick up the mic that fell?

[Leon Thomas]

Look, I'm telling you. I'm telling you. I was on the phone with this. I was FaceTiming this man, and he said he had turned his. He had put the camera around. He said, this is my son over here. And then he said, I'm over here. Daddy pulled over here, and he said, and this is my niece. And then he had phone facing her. And for the next 10min. The Conversation, I. I look as far as you are. I looked at his niece and not him at all. And he was holding. He was holding the camera like he was holding. Like he thought I was seeing him. And I did not have the heart.

[Caller]

He's blind.

[Leon Thomas]

She was.

[Caller]

She was sitting there. Confirmation that Stevie won.

[Leon Thomas]

She was sitting there texting on her phone. I didn't have the heart to say, hey, I can't see you. Well, you know, my dumbass, man. My dumbass. The reason he called me, cuz I was in Tokyo, right? I was in Tokyo, and I had found. I had found my favorite album of all time. Best album ever. Songs in a key Alive. I found a CD of it. It was a Tokyo version of it, like, the Japanese version of it. And my dumbass texted him a picture of it.

[DJ Envy]

Oh, my goodness.

[Leon Thomas]

Like an idiot. Like. Like he was gonna see it, right? Right? Like, I just.

[Guest]

That's what I found, bro.

[Lenard McKelvey]

That's what I found, bro.

[Leon Thomas]

He just FaceTimed me. So I was like, see, my dumbass, too, was like, did you give him a text? He's definitely.

[Lenard McKelvey]

He didn't see it, bro.

[Leon Thomas]

I don't think so. Just to put all those things to rest for you to be the person.

[Bob Crawford]

To shut down the rumors is crazy. All these years, black people been trying to figure this out, and you are.

[Lenard McKelvey]

The one that solved the problem.

[Leon Thomas]

I just know I was looking at his knees for about 15 minutes again.

[DJ Envy]

Well, there you have it.

[Caller]

Teddy swims, y' all.

[DJ Envy]

We appreciate you for Joining us, it's the Breakfast Club. Good morning.

[Caller]

It's topic time.

[DJ Envy]

Call 800-585-1051 to join.

[Caller]

Going into the discussion with the Breakfast Club.

[DJ Envy]

Morning everybody. It's DJ Envy. Just hilarious. Charlemagne, the guy. We are the Breakfast Club. If you just joining us, we open up the phone lines. 800-585-1051. We're talking about older men dating these younger women. And when I say younger women, I'm talking about teens or low, late, early 20s.

[Caller]

I should say, oh no, no, no, no. When I'm talking about younger women, I'm talking about these guys that are 30 years, these people seniors. That's what I'm talking about. Like, I think when you 50 something years old and you dating a 20 year old, that's ridiculous to me. And I, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm consistent. That's what I'm talking about.

[DJ Envy]

Teenagers, 18, 19, early 20s. Somebody could be 32 dating a 60 year old. And are you cool with that?

[Caller]

You said what?

[DJ Envy]

A 35 year old dating a 65 year old man? A 60 year old man?

[Caller]

Yeah. I think that's even more because this man's 60 plus years old. So. But at least a 30, 30 plus.

[DJ Envy]

Women at least live the.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Ass.

[Caller]

Grown ass.

[DJ Envy]

So it's not the, the difference. We're talking about actually looking at her.

[Caller]

A little crazy like, damn, what you want with that old ass, man? He must be rich, right?

[DJ Envy]

Well, let's, let's ask Jess. Jess, you said you dated a, a 49 year old.

[Lenard McKelvey]

49 year old man.

[DJ Envy]

You. At what age?

[Lenard McKelvey]

I was 23.

[Caller]

Why? Just he had money.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Yeah, he did.

[Caller]

He about to lie, trying to make up something. I was not about to lie.

[Lenard McKelvey]

I was really about to say, yeah, he had money and I always had like a little old soul or whatever, you know what I mean? And I met him at the car dealership. And no, I ain't buying me no car, but he helped me with the down period.

[Caller]

Huh?

[Lenard McKelvey]

He helped me with the down payment.

[Caller]

How much?

[Lenard McKelvey]

And I think the down pay, I was getting like a little Honda. It might have been like 5,000 or something, but I act like I have it all. And he was like, you know, and.

[Caller]

I, and how much did he give you?

[Lenard McKelvey]

He gave me like $3,000.

[DJ Envy]

How long were you with him dating him?

[Lenard McKelvey]

For like six or seven months. It really wasn't long, but I broke it off. Not even him. I broke it off because you get in like relationships with older guys as a young woman. Because you think, oh, this gonna help me grow up, or I'm doing something that ain't nobody else doing. I'm in. You know, and he's very childish. He was childish. You, you automatically just think because you date an older guy that they're gonna have it all together. They're wise, you know, they can teach you things.

[DJ Envy]

Try to do those things when you're like, nah, I know what I'm doing. And do this. Did he try to be like, treat you like a child or no?

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Until he realized that he couldn't do that.

[DJ Envy]

Got you.

[Lenard McKelvey]

And then that made him, that made me even more attractive to him. Like, he liked that. He's like, okay, so you're not a young dummy. You smart. Now let me show you how dumb I am. It was just weird. Like, I was like, oh, no, I gotta. No, I can't. Like, he was very childish and stuff. He didn't know how to have sex. He didn't know how to the box. I was like, oh my God, you too old to not know these things. And I started dating back in my age bracket.

[Caller]

You probably know how, like, these don't taste the way they used to. The ones from my era used to taste a whole lot different. I'm gonna be honest with you, I just think it's corny. There is no way you should be dating a woman who was in somebody's womb when you was 30. Yeah, okay, imagine, imagine being 30 years old standing over a crib with your out like, that just looks crazy to me.

[DJ Envy]

That sounds wild, but that's how you.

[Caller]

Should look at it. Why are you 50? If you, if you 50 plus years old dating a 20 year old, that makes no sense to me. I don't know why men have not grown out of that. I love discipline, I love stability. I love having a family. When you, if you 50 plus years old, you should be kicked up, you have your feet kicked up at home. You got your wife over here, you got your kids over here. Why are you chasing these young girls?

[Lenard McKelvey]

I disagree with that. Standing over the crib with your out like that. Now listen, the only reason why, the only way I would think about it like that is if we around the way and you seen this girl grow up and you waited for her to get, get a certain age, like 19, 18, something like that, to date her, then I get that notion of it. But to these, if you're just an older man and you see a younger woman, younger looking woman, you know, whatever, it's like, all right, they are Attracted to young women, you know, but that's different. I'm not about to think about it as I'm standing over a damn crib with my watch this little girl grow up and then I jumped.

[DJ Envy]

I will say this. Everybody's not made for marriage, right?

[Caller]

Yeah.

[DJ Envy]

He was married and didn't enjoy it. So he wants to get bachelor. And I'm not mad at that, but I look at it a little different.

[Caller]

Different?

[DJ Envy]

Charlemagne, you got four daughters. I got four daughters. I don't want my 21, 19, 22, 23 year old daughter dating a 54 year old man. There's nothing in common. The only thing I feel like you dating that young is because you want to control. That's, that's what, that's my mentality. But there's nothing, you know, I don't see nothing wrong with. If you want to be a bachelor, he could be a bastard. Maybe he's just not made for the.

[Caller]

Marriage with somebody your age. Go get you a nice 40 something.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Year old and exactly what you said. Do you want to control? Because that guy at that dealership gave me $3,000 because he just knew he she green control her and did not.

[DJ Envy]

He didn't know he was dealing with Jessica Baltimore.

[Caller]

Go find somebody that can help you regulate your cholesterol. Go find somebody that they dealing with their blood pressure. Go find somebody that can recognize the signs of a stroke.

[DJ Envy]

I got to go get a colonoscopy.

[Caller]

You don't know what that is. Like, who is Cal? You like, who is Calvin? Who's Calvin? Hello?

[DJ Envy]

Who's this?

[Lenard McKelvey]

Hey, this is Key. How y' all doing?

[DJ Envy]

I'm good.

[Caller]

Key, how old are you, Key?

[DJ Envy]

No, hold on. It says key was 17 dating a 40 year old man.

[Caller]

Come on, man, he was 40 something.

[Lenard McKelvey]

A little bit older than 40.

[DJ Envy]

And y' all got married. Break that down.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Yeah, we end up getting married. We have three beautiful children together. We are no longer together.

[Caller]

Cuz he dead.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Oh my God. Is he dead? No, he's still. He's almost 61. Still dating younger women.

[Caller]

What state are y' all in that that was legal?

[Lenard McKelvey]

Huh?

[Caller]

What state are y' all in that that was legal?

[Lenard McKelvey]

It wasn't Virginia.

[Caller]

But you say y' all got married.

[DJ Envy]

But they got married probably when she got a baby.

[Lenard McKelvey]

I didn't get married until I was like 22.

[Caller]

Oh, duh. Okay, you.

[Lenard McKelvey]

So long story short, it was very hard. My 20s, my early 20s to mid-20s was very hard, very depressing. He was very controlling, was always gone.

[Caller]

Out doing what he wanted to do.

[Lenard McKelvey]

While I was at home taking care of our kids. It was really hard. It was something that I would not recommend any young woman ever doing.

[DJ Envy]

Was he very controllable?

[Lenard McKelvey]

Of course he was. It was a domestic violence situation. So I definitely finally got the courage to leave because I didn't want my children to keep on, you know, seeing that I don't. Didn't want them to think that that's normal. And it affected our oldest son. He's 15 now. I had to put him in therapy.

[Caller]

Because, you know, it just. It was just horrible.

[Lenard McKelvey]

He's seen a lot of things. Yeah.

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Thank God that I had to pray my way out of that situation, because I was really in love with him.

[DJ Envy]

Where was your father at at this time? Was your dad around?

[Lenard McKelvey]

So, yeah, let me. Let me protect my parents. My parents are both retired army, and they were both overseas fighting the war in Iraq. So I was in Virginia with my.

[Caller]

With my grandmother.

[Lenard McKelvey]

But I was at work when I met him. So it's not like my grandma just let me do whatever. I was at work. A legitimate place. And, you know, he took that opportunity to, you know.

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Lenard McKelvey]

And he used to come pick me up from high school and everything. Like, I don't know how I got out of high school. You know, you supposed to get signed out, so. Yeah, definitely old enough to sign your ass out.

[Caller]

That's.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Wow, crazy.

[Caller]

But.

[DJ Envy]

But thank you for sharing your story.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Happy that you still here and that you are out of that situation. Yeah, definitely. I didn't want my kids to think that that was normal.

[Caller]

So. Yeah.

[DJ Envy]

Thank you, Key.

[Lenard McKelvey]

And he's a horrible father, so that.

[Caller]

Mean he a horrible grandfather, too.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Yeah, he is.

[Caller]

All right. The moral of the story is, I know y' all like to be out here bragging about smashing these young girls, but that's not a flex to me. You know what I'm saying? You 54 years old, in your 50s. You should be laid up with your wife and kids or at least be with women that's close to your age. Like, that's. That's me. Yeah. You know, and I'm consistent with that. I said that when Diddy was out here with young Miami and, you know, Leonardo DiCaprio. I don't know what y' all see in these young girls. I need somebody that can. That know at least all. At least six members of Wu Tang.

[DJ Envy]

At least six.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Straight up, it was six of them.

[Caller]

Yo.

[DJ Envy]

Oh, my goodness.

[Caller]

I haven't told y' all this story about how years ago I'm not gonna say his name, but there was a record rep and he was talking to me about how, man, I tried to talk to one of these young girls and she was real smart and I said to her, you a regular Doogie Houser? And she was like, who's Doogie Houser?

[DJ Envy]

Just don't know who Doogie.

[Caller]

No, I don't exactly. You know who Doogie is either. No. Okay. Exactly.

[Lenard McKelvey]

See, regular Doogie. How. Tell me what's a doozer?

[Caller]

Doogie. How. It was a hit sitcom back in the day that Neil Patrick Harris.

[Lenard McKelvey]

My grandma has said, I know Neil Patrick.

[Caller]

You got the latest coming up. You see what I'm saying?

[DJ Envy]

But I would say, I would tell everybody out there that's thinking about it. Just imagine when you have daughters. Would you want your daughters to date a 54 year old man at the age of 19?

[Caller]

Imagine being 30, butt naked, standing over somebody's crib. That's what you should be thinking about when you out here ready to holler these 20 something year old girls when you 50 plus. Cut it out.

[DJ Envy]

Just joined us. This context, I swear, this context, I promise it is.

[Caller]

Yeah.

[DJ Envy]

It's the Breakfast Club in the morning.

[Caller]

The Breakfast Club.

[DJ Envy]

Morning, everybody. It's DJ Envy, which is hilarious. Charlamagne the guy. We are the breakfast club. Lauren LaRosa is here with us. And we got some special guests in.

[Lenard McKelvey]

The building this morning.

[Caller]

The host of the new show Friday Night Vibes on tbs. Well, the new host of Friday Night Vibes on tbs, Deena Parker and Kevin on stage. Welcome up, y' all. I feel good. I brought that up. Cause you know, Kev didn't talk about that last night time he was here and I saw Nina and Chance and Nina was like. N was like, I don't know why he was up there and did not mention that we in a new host of Friday Night Vibes.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Men be having tunnel vision. So you got all these other projects. He was. I watched the interview and I was so excited. I was like, I can't wait till he mentions Friday Night Vibes. Because we were in the middle of filming Friday Night Vibes.

[Caller]

As soon as I got home, I said, man, what happened?

[Lenard McKelvey]

Nothing about it, man.

[Caller]

Friday Night Vibes. Friday Night Vibes.

[Lenard McKelvey]

And I had just did Taryn hall and I was like, kev, I mentioned you and shouted you out. They showed your picture on the back.

[Caller]

I'm being gaslit. First of all. I feel the same. I'm being gaslit. I said it first, so it means it's true.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Maybe that's just not who you are.

[DJ Envy]

Because, you know, one of your best friends was up here.

[Lenard McKelvey]

What is that? Like, just right here.

[DJ Envy]

And when we told him that you.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Were coming, he was like, he didn't.

[DJ Envy]

Even tell me he was here in New York.

[Caller]

Are y' all really best friends?

[DJ Envy]

He was like, we were playing pool.

[Caller]

What is friendship?

[DJ Envy]

And he never said, what is friendship?

[Lenard McKelvey]

We saw him and we saw Tony just in the green room. I was like, what are you doing here?

[Caller]

Sony didn't tell me he was doing.

[Lenard McKelvey]

The Breakfast Club, but men don't share details like that. Like, if it would have been me and my homegirl, we would have been like, at the hotel having breakfast before we came over. I feel like y' all just see each other when you see each other.

[DJ Envy]

But, you know, Tony had a show in New York.

[Caller]

I, I, I did know that, yeah. I got tickets to a show.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Oh.

[Caller]

Oh, you was going to surprise him. Yeah, I was going to pull up on him.

[Bob Crawford]

You bought the tickets or he gave you the tickets? Cuz he's afraid.

[Caller]

I always buy my tickets. I don't even play that. I'm not trying to hear it. Don't hit me, cuz. People you ain't even cool with, like, what's up on the tickets, Kevon? Stage.com is, what's up with them? My parents buy tickets to my show.

[Lenard McKelvey]

I want to support. But then they want you to give up the ticket.

[Caller]

No, that ain't support.

[Leon Thomas]

The parents buy tickets to your show.

[Caller]

My parents refuse to get free tickets. They're like, I believe in you and what you're doing. I go get tickets.

[DJ Envy]

They know you made it, though, right?

[Leon Thomas]

They, it's no, make sure.

[Bob Crawford]

They want to make sure they don't got loan you no money ever again.

[Caller]

No. Well, yes, exactly. They're like, you keep doing good, son. You know what I'm saying? I need you to make. You know they're not just testing you just to see if you going to say, no, no, no, Y' all have done enough. I got you. Nah, they, they. I'm ticking.

[Jess Hilarious]

No.

[Caller]

They buy them. They support.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Now I know for the next show.

[DJ Envy]

I got, I'm on my own.

[Caller]

My friends, I don't mind. It's people I don't know. We ain't got a relationship. You trying to get the free tickets, man? Nah.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Oh, okay.

[Caller]

It's like a hookup. When I work in Popeyes, I give my friends a hookup. Not everybody. Like, you can't. What's up with the biscuits? If you see the price that's true. How did this come together?

[Lenard McKelvey]

You know what's crazy? We actually chem tested together. Kev and I knew each other only on social media. Like, I was a fan of his work, but we had never met, so we would, you know, exchange on social media. And then, you know, the show used to be hosted by Tiffany Haddish and Dion Cole. They were revamping it, and so they did, like, a big casting call. So when we got called, and sometimes when you get to a certain level, you're like, oh, I still got a Kim test. Oh, I was like, so we did the Kim test, and it was. It was actually like a family reunion. It was about 20. About what, 15 women, 15 men.

[Caller]

Yeah, yeah.

[Lenard McKelvey]

And we were chem testing with our friends, so it was like a big. We got in trouble.

[Caller]

It took all day long. Yeah. It was like, you. You spend five minutes with this person and, okay, y' all done? And this person. And when Nina and I went, it was like, this sounds cliche, but I was like, I forgot we were even auditioning. We were just chopping it up, and they stopped us. We were like, okay, cool.

[Lenard McKelvey]

I was like, this. We got this. Like, there's. Sometimes I feel like you get that little voice, you know, when you're. When you're in this industry, you just know when something is magic.

[Caller]

Absolutely.

[Lenard McKelvey]

And we were sitting next to each other, and it was so easy with him. And I've had a lot of co hosts over the years, and Kev is by far, like, the easiest person I've ever worked with.

[Caller]

Like, that's the ultimate compliment, by the way.

[Lenard McKelvey]

It's not. It's not to him. It's to his wife, Melissa, because his wife is. He knows how to.

[Caller]

To.

[Lenard McKelvey]

There is a. There's a dance, as you guys know. And then when you have, like, a co host who. It knows how to communicate in a healthy way with a woman, it's just like. Even like, he'll be like, do you need to sit?

[Caller]

I'm like, what? Because I'm used to people being like.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Get out the way. And it's just. He's very kind, so it just makes it so easy to work with.

[Caller]

But also. Nina, go ahead. I tell people that all the time. When somebody says you're easy to work with, that's beautiful. And when somebody says you're a pleasure to work with, you gonna always work. Yeah.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Because it's a long.

[Caller]

The work is hard.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Yeah.

[Caller]

So talent is evenly distributed, you know, in la, New York, but. But good people to work with is not so much. And then it's already stressful. You got early call times and all that stuff. If you're also a jerk on top of that, it's like, bro, I don't even want to do it.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Because life be life. And as you know. So it's like. It's hard to get on and have to, like, turn all of that off, you know, when filming. So when you have somebody that's like, Kev is really like, my real life brother, you know, I really love him. I love his wife. Like. Like, we have dinners. Like, it's so. It's just. It doesn't. It truly doesn't feel like work. So we just be cutting up. And, you know, this show really allowed me to, like, be funny and, like, really tap into. Because I feel like I've done so much formal journalism. This was like a different. This was more vulnerable. And Kev is more my coach sometimes, but he's like, just say it. Like, no. You know, because I'm so trained that sometimes it's a little bit more stiff. So he's like, just say it. They ain't gonna care.

[Caller]

Yeah. Helped me, too, because I. I had never done official tv. Never worked off a prompter before. So the first day, I was like, dang, man, this is like. That's a lot of pressure, and you can't really mess up. It's time for you to do your job. Right, Right. And he was like, oh, it's all good. This is how you do it. Let's run through it once. And Nina, man, let me tell you what. She big sis for real. Cause I don't be wanting to do stuff. She be like, ah, we ain't doing that, y' all. We are doing this. Like, you can tell she's been in the game for a long time. Never rude or anything like that, but she. She knows how to assert herself, and people respect her for that. And I'm more of like, I ain't never done this, so whatever y' all say is cool.

[Lenard McKelvey]

But also, when you've done it a long time, you know, when people are padding time like, you're like, we don't need.

[Caller]

We.

[Lenard McKelvey]

We got this. We can just roll through this. Like, y' all ain't gotta baby us. Like, we gonna come in, we gonna knock this out, and we gonna go home. Everybody gonna get home on time. Y' all ain't gotta pay overtime. Let's go.

[Caller]

Is it hard for you, Kev, being on a production that you don't control no low key Actually, it's freeing because you like being so. What to do. Oh, my God, he likes it. There's a certain amount of stress when you control it.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Like.

[Caller]

Like the talent is just one aspect. Then you gotta worry about the budget and the control and the edit and the delivery. Friday Night vibes, brother. When it's over. All right, y' all, See y' all tomorrow. And it's. It is a. It is a welcome reprieve from having a duo. I don't want to have to worry about post edit deliveries. Time code, you know, S and P.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Leaving at the door.

[Caller]

Leaving at the door. Coffee? Yes. What time is lunch? Okay, perfect. See y' all tomorrow. I just come on time, do my job, chop it up with Nina. Yeah, I knew we was cool. Nina let me. She was getting braided down. She was like, come on.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Dressing y' all real friends.

[Caller]

I said, as a black man, you let me see the breakdown. That's real. The breakdown is intimate. Come in real quick. Close the door. No. That's why I think that camaraderie and chemistry from the audition through the show, it just carries on throughout. And then that's why the show feels so natural. Our guests come on. They feel really natural with us. You know what I'm saying?

[Lenard McKelvey]

And it doubled the rating. So we did the first season, we only had, like, 12. So it was just the first Friday of every month, which right now, you know, TV is very difficult. They actually doubled our episode order because they were saying that our interviews with each other and with our guests were spiking over the movies. Yeah. So, I mean, listen, to get a double order during this time, we feel very blessed.

[DJ Envy]

We're still kicking it with Nina Parker and Kev on stage. Their new show, Friday Night Vibes, is on tbs.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Lauren, I was gonna ask you. Nina.

[Bob Crawford]

Cause for us in the journalism world, you talked about broken and hard journalism. I know you come from tmz, your career and how you've been able to diversify your resume. We all watch it.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Like, how.

[Bob Crawford]

Because it is hard when you're such a journalist to do things where they allow you to show your personality. What was your first lesson in, like, I even wanna try to diversify.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Well, my first lesson was I got fired. And, you know, as you know, it's like.

[Caller]

You got fired from tmz.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Well, I got fired my first week from tmz.

[Caller]

I didn't know that.

[Lenard McKelvey]

So my first.

[DJ Envy]

You feel the pain.

[Bob Crawford]

I'm gonna let her talk her story, and then we'll.

[Lenard McKelvey]

I got my trauma. So the first time I got fired was my first week in tmz. I just moved to la, and I was not even a PA yet. I was a runner. I didn't know anybody in la. I literally got the job by emailing contacts. They used to have, like, a contact tmz. And I just emailed and was like, I got a degree. Can I like, you know? And they were like, you've been out the game for a little bit. Because I had stopped working in journalism. And so they were like, we'll make you a runner. You can get the lunches. But this was before gps, so I had, like, a Thomas guy.

[Caller]

Oh, wow.

[Lenard McKelvey]

I'm an agent myself. Oh, lady. But I was. I got lost. LA is very difficult to navigate. You like, why is there two San Vicente? I don't know why today. And so I got lost. So Paris Hilton got arrested, and I had to go get the tape from the paparazzi of her coming out of CNN for her first interview with Larry King.

[Bob Crawford]

My heart just dropped for you. You got lost with that tape.

[Lenard McKelvey]

And I got lost. And if, you know, CNN was on Sunday Sunset, and I took Highland to get back to the Valley. And Harvey was like, why would you take Highland and not Kawanga? What's wrong with you? You're fired in front of everybody.

[Caller]

Taking Highland Nakawanga.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Yeah, baby. What a street choice.

[Bob Crawford]

Do you understand how that's very different.

[Lenard McKelvey]

If you live there? And, you know, like, this is. Before you could transfer digitally, you had to have the tape. So I cost them, like, 15, 20 minutes, and they wanted it up first. So he fired me in front of the whole newsroom. And I went to the bathroom. I only been in la, like, three months. I went to the bathroom and I was crying. My ego kicked in. It was like, f this place, go somewhere else. You don't need this place. And there was this really quiet voice that was like, just go apologize. And I went to my managing editor, and Harvey was in his office. I went to the managing editor, and I had been staying late every day. And I would just ask her if she needed anything. So she needed her trash taken out, whatever. I would just stay late for hours. Is just helping her, not getting paid. And I said, hey, you know, I'm really sorry if I can work with you in the future. She was like, what are you talking about? And I said, oh, Harvey just fired me. And she goes, girl, sit down.

[Bob Crawford]

You do that every week.

[Lenard McKelvey]

And she went in his office and yelled at him. And he heard him say, will you take her? And she came back out and offered me a year contract and was like, do you want to be my writing pa?

[Caller]

Oh, wow.

[Lenard McKelvey]

And then that was in June of 2007. The show started in September of 2007. And by then he had heard me just talking. I would do my stories and talk out loud and he thought I was funny. And he was like, I want you to pitch for the show. And I was like, no, I just want to write. He was like, I'm not asking you. You going to get on the show? And that's really how it started. That was the first time I got fired. And I was just like, I'mma just go for it. And I just was like, I'm not going to allow like one person to have the keys to like drive my car. Like I got to have these options open and I have to like eat my ego a little bit. And I think our ego gets us in a lot of trouble in this industry. There's a lot of misunderstandings that happen, happen that you, you take it the wrong way. And I just learned to like drop that and it's helped me.

[Caller]

Well, what got you fired? For real?

[Lenard McKelvey]

I didn't. I was fired from cbs.

[Caller]

Cbs, okay.

[Lenard McKelvey]

They didn't renew my contract. Well, it was kind of fire, you know, like, it's like we don't. We're not having you back. I had like a two year contract and I had. It was the most money I had ever made because now I'm an official correspondent. I'm doing the red carpets and I made all this money and I blew it. I was buying bags. I remember I went on my first check and bought a Gucci and Louis Vuitton bag. Both, just both. Cuz I had been. I was making 450 a week at TMZ before taxes, so I wasn't making any money. So when I was getting the CBS money, I lost my damn mind. And I had no, I had bad credit. I had no financial literacy at all.

[Caller]

So you hate H and M too then that's. You just had to be at blooming.

[Lenard McKelvey]

There had to be. And so when I lost the job, I was broke because I had, I was, you know, even though I had money, I was spending every check. I was, you know, I was at the, at the brunches spending money like a drug dealer. I was just like, come on, let's, let's get the bottles, you know, and just ridiculous. And. And what I realized was I thought to myself, I had to downsize everything. I got a car accident. I lost my Car. So I had to get a used car with the red light always on. And I had to get into a smaller apartment that was like a little bit more, you know, know, in a bad neighborhood. And I told myself, I was like, when I get my next thing, because I knew it was going to come. I educated myself on how to get good credit. I fixed my credit. I figured out how what I needed to save. I was like, I need multiple income. I was talking to Kevin Frazier, who was at cbs, and he was kind of telling me, like, you acting crazy. You know, I talk call him my toxic mentor, because he would give me advice, but it was always like, really harsh. And I was like, the next time I get it. And I got love and hip hop reunion, and I just started saving everything. I started living under my means. So I was like, let me build this so that, like, I can have two years of income so that the next time I'm not gonna let this network decide, like, whether I eat or not.

[Bob Crawford]

Do you. When you left to go back a little bit, when you left tmz, were you senior news producer? Where were you?

[Lenard McKelvey]

I. When I left tmz, I did not have a job. I quit because they did not want to pay me. Okay.

[Bob Crawford]

Because there's always been a conversation.

[Lenard McKelvey]

I don't know.

[Bob Crawford]

I was told this before I went there. Okay. So not even just internally, but just in the journalism world that, that you had been offered news director or something like that, but they didn't want to. Like, they didn't. You thought you should have news director, but they didn't want to give it to you.

[Lenard McKelvey]

It wasn't news director. But what actually happened? I've never told anybody this. I accidentally got my co workers check and we were sitting next to, you know, TMZ would have the desk where there wasn't a divider. And they set his check next to me, and I was just opening it blindly. And he was making six figures. I was not. I was making well under that. And I had been there and I was contributing. I was breaking stories. I was a part of Michael Jackson's death being broken. I was a part of major stories. Bernie Mac, Diane. I was the managing editor on weekends.

[DJ Envy]

Hey, what up, y' all?

[Lenard McKelvey]

It's DJ Envy.

[DJ Envy]

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[Lenard McKelvey]

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[Jess Hilarious]

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[Caller]

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[Jess Hilarious]

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[DJ Envy]

American history is full of wise people.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Walt Whitman said Something like, you know, 99.99% of war is diarrhea and 1% is glory.

[Bob Crawford]

Those Founding Fathers were gossipy AF, and they love to cut each other down.

[DJ Envy]

I'm Bob Crawford, host of American History Hotline, the show where you send us your questions about American history. And I find the answers, including the nuggets of wisdom our history has to offer.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Offer.

[Guest]

Hamilton pauses, and then he says, the.

[DJ Envy]

Greatest man that ever lived was Julius Caesar. And Jefferson writes in his diary, this proves that Hamilton is for a dictator based on corruption. My favorite line was what Neil Armstrong said. It would have been harder to fake.

[Lenard McKelvey]

It than to do it.

[DJ Envy]

Listen to American History Hotline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast best.

[Lenard McKelvey]

So it was just me and Harvey in that office and a pa. I was in there working. I only had Wednesdays off. I gave up my weekends for three years. And I was like. I put in the work. I was. It was my life. I didn't have a boyfriend. I didn't have friends. I wasn't going to the club. And I felt like I was owed this money. I think I was maybe making, like, 50K.

[Caller]

Jesus.

[Lenard McKelvey]

And I just wanted what he was making.

[DJ Envy]

He's a white male.

[Lenard McKelvey]

I'm sorry. Yes, he was. And they were like, no. And I was on every show, and I was just like, y' all not gonna pay me? And we went into a little negotiation, and I think maybe they offered me, like, 10 more percent. I did not have another job. I did not have an agent. And I was like, I quit.

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Lenard McKelvey]

I didn't have nothing, but I knew people liked me. And I reached out to a woman who used to be at Telepictures, and she had just got an SVP job at cbs. And I was like. She was like, hey, we have the. The Inside Insider. Why don't you come test for the Insider? And so I went and tested for that, and I got the Insider.

[Caller]

Wow.

[Lenard McKelvey]

But I didn't have anything when I left tmz. I didn't know what I was going to do. And the good thing about being young is because I was still in my 20s at the time. You a little crazy. Yeah. So, you know, had I been this age, I might have been like, let me just figure something out. But now, you know, because I got.

[Caller]

Bills and have big bills.

[Lenard McKelvey]

But back then, I was like, ain't nothing for me to pack up this studio apartment. Yeah, I'll get on the couch.

[Caller]

That Bay Area was like, you ain't gonna Trap me.

[Lenard McKelvey]

And they was the bad. The best decision I could have made. I mean, I left really at the pinnacle. Van had just started. Like, it was really a good time to be there. And everybody told me not to quit. Everybody. Like, socially, TMZ was really hot. And, like, because this is the Paris Hilton, Britney Spears era. So people were like, you're crazy to leave. But I was just like, this is not serving me. And they. Not only that, like, this was before pay disparity was really a thing. So it was just accepted that the women take less. And I was like, I work harder than all these people up in here, and I'm a black woman woman. And, I mean, when you guys started the Breakfast Club, we. That's how we met. We started emailing. Like, it was like, I got this new show. I was like, we're gonna put you on the show. And I've made a lot of contacts because I would reach out to black media and be like, get on our blog roll. Let me send you to breaking news. Like, I really cultivated. I still have all those relationships because I really was like, I can't prevent them from putting this story out about black people, but I can at least give our side. And if you call me, I'm gonna give your side out there. Because they didn't care. Yeah, they would just put it up. And so that was really, for me, like, my time. So I was like, you're not gonna pay me.

[DJ Envy]

We're still kicking it with Nina Parker and Kev on stage. The new show, Friday Night Vibes, is on tbs. Was it toxic working there?

[Caller]

Envy.

[Bob Crawford]

What?

[Lenard McKelvey]

I mean, listen, this is. I've heard it's not like that anymore. I don't know.

[Caller]

I.

[Lenard McKelvey]

And this is. This is one of the reasons you and I haven't talked, because I checked out of all things tmz. I never watched the show again. When I stopped, like, I didn't. I stopped communi. I didn't use. I'm not communicating with people I knew, but anything. Like, I just kind of shut that part of my brain off because I had a lot of ptsd, and it was. You have to think about it. This was like the. The birth of new age media. There were no rules. So we would work, like, 14 hours a day. You would get in trouble for taking a lunch. You couldn't leave, like, your desk. You had to answer your phone at 4 in the morning. It was. You would work weekends, and you couldn't say no. We would rock. People would walk around with their laptop. We would Go to a concert, you have to have your laptop in your bag. Because if you got a call at 4 and you didn't answer, you would get fired.

[Bob Crawford]

It was over for you.

[Lenard McKelvey]

It was over for you. So. And I made the decision to participate in that because I didn't have anybody. I didn't have anything else. I didn't have a team. We were kind of deterred from getting a team. Like, you know, so the things I.

[Bob Crawford]

Know now, this is pre HR there. This is because HR was new. When I got.

[Lenard McKelvey]

There was no hr.

[Caller]

Hr, no HR was very new.

[Bob Crawford]

And there was no. The union. Things that come in when you have.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Union protection, they got written that didn't exist back then. Like they had telepictures. That was the parent company that technically you could go. But you didn't know anybody there because they weren't. You only knew who was in the. The building. So it was. It was really the Wild West. And I probably. I mean, when Michael Jackson died, I didn't leave the office for three days.

[Caller]

Damn.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Like we slept there.

[DJ Envy]

And that was your salary of $50,000 or less.

[Caller]

Whatever.

[Lenard McKelvey]

I mean, I think I was still making like the PA salary then, which was. I think I had got boosted to like 650 a week.

[DJ Envy]

Crazy thing is, when Lauren started working here, you ever see that dog that they. And I'm not comparing you to a dog. That dog that when you get out the shelter, right, and you put your hand up to pet it and the dog is scared. That's how Lauren was working here. Lauren was like, wait a minute. You guys just said, good job.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Like it was. I'm like, what?

[DJ Envy]

I thought she was joking. Then I realized, no, she was traumatized. Like it was crazy.

[Caller]

Still won't tell her that.

[Bob Crawford]

No heat.

[Caller]

How long we were you there?

[Bob Crawford]

I was at TMZ for eight years. And when you come in, you hear well from the black people there. You hear so much about you. Van was always really big about, you know, talking to me about you. He was there when I was. When I was there, so was Raquel. And then they left. And when they left, it was me. And I was like, what?

[Lenard McKelvey]

At least you had the camaraderie.

[Bob Crawford]

But then they left, right? And then George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery happened. It was like, oh, and you're fighting.

[Lenard McKelvey]

By yourself because there's a lot of microaggressions. There's macro too. And one of the things that was hard for me was like at the time, and this was before Van even got there. I was the only black person on camera. And so, ooh, me.

[Bob Crawford]

You are soul sister.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Yes.

[Caller]

No.

[DJ Envy]

The story she tell me.

[Lenard McKelvey]

I sound. And you feel an obligation, but sometimes you're tired, right? And you don't know what you're supposed to be saying half the time. But the thing is, with black talent especially, you don't have the luxury of being silent when it's a black issue. Because they're going to look at you in this room full of white people and wonder why you didn't say anything. They're not going to think about like, I've been doing this every single day. Day I got a migraine. I'm tired. Like, I'm tired of arguing. I know they're race baiting me. They're. They bait you on purpose. But at the same time, I'm like, I got to think about the people who are watching that look like me, that are like, nina, why didn't you speak up? But you know, you know, as you age, fighting every day gets exhausting. And also when you're getting baited because it's like, I don't mind having a healthy discussion, but you purposely trying to bait me to have this conversation so you can have content. And I'm not really with that. And so you get tired of being used. You get tired of. Of like women being talked about. You know, you feel like, I'm in this space. When I was there, it was very toxic. Like we would get. They had a relationship with Vivid because, you know of Kim Kardashian sex tape. And they. Vivid was send like sex tapes in. And sometimes people would just watch them in the office, you know, and it was like, you were like, what am I? What's going on? But then also you're like, well, what are my other options? And that's when you start to build these relationships and you're like, I gotta make an exit plan.

[Bob Crawford]

I. I had a. I just want to say this real quick that we can move away from tmz because you have moved away. But I met you.

[Caller]

I'm finding out some much about.

[Lenard McKelvey]

We've been in the trenches.

[Caller]

Never said nothing about this.

[Bob Crawford]

I met you a long time ago in la and our interaction, you weren't rude, but it just wasn't the best. And when I was about to leave, Ben was like, you should call N. And I was like, I don't think she cares for me that much. And he was like, why? And I was like, well. And I told him. But now hearing your. I don't know if you even knew who I was. But if so, I'm thinking, like, maybe that I had nothing to do with that. But I never thought about this because when you're in that environment, you. You think it's regular, you think it's okay.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Right.

[Bob Crawford]

I never thought about, like, what your post life felt like, mentally having to go through and deal with all of that, I think.

[Caller]

So that got to do with you telling the world that Nina was Rudy?

[Bob Crawford]

No, I said she had nothing to do with nothing.

[Caller]

Like, why would you do that?

[Bob Crawford]

The reason why I'm saying you could.

[Caller]

Have said that off the head.

[Bob Crawford]

No, the reason why I want to say that is because now I'm sitting here and I felt your emotion just now we were talking about your experience, and I identify with it so much, and it made me think about if I were to run into something, someone. Right. In that same predicament.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Yeah.

[Bob Crawford]

Unknowingly, I might not like, you know. Do you know what I'm trying to say?

[Lenard McKelvey]

Well, you're reacting to the place, not the person.

[Bob Crawford]

Yes.

[Lenard McKelvey]

And so you, you know, it's like if someone brings up a relationship that hurts you, you're kind of like. Especially if you're not in the space to like, say you're not thinking about it and it jars you for a second where you're just like. And also, I'm very media trained. Right. So sometimes I don't want to speak bad on. On a place, and I don't know if my experience will be your experience.

[Bob Crawford]

Yeah.

[Lenard McKelvey]

So there's a lot I can't say to you without saying it right.

[Bob Crawford]

Yes.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Where I can. It's like, how do I tell this person they're in the, in the trenches and, like, get out quickly.

[Bob Crawford]

Yes.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Because that may not be your journey. So how do I say that to you with. Because it's so nuanced. So it's just such a layered thing. So sometimes if, like, people come up, be like, I'm at tmz.

[Bob Crawford]

I'm kind of like exactly how I was, and I'm like, yeah, I don't.

[Lenard McKelvey]

I don't know what to tell you because the stuff is. It's only something you understand if you've been there. It's like being in a sorority.

[Bob Crawford]

Yes.

[Lenard McKelvey]

But at the same time, and I think I've just healed from being there probably within the last, like four years. Four or five years. You. I have this thing now where I'm. My friends say I'm the fastest responder because you had to be this thing. Right. I always, even now I'm not really in news anymore. Like, I'm a host for shows, and even now I feel like I gotta look at these headlines. I'm like, what am I doing? I ain't posting about no news. The first to post a tweet about it, like, what am I? So you have these things. So I don't remember the interaction, but I'll say that it was so traumatizing that sometimes it was hard to react positively about it. And also, you know, as you grow, you learn how to temper that a little bit better. But I think probably when we met, I hadn't really quite learned how to.

[Bob Crawford]

It wasn't nothing crazy, but I just. I felt your. Like, your shock. I just didn't. I didn't understand. Yeah, I didn't understand what I felt until this moment. And I was like, gang, gang.

[DJ Envy]

She wasn't messing with that.

[Bob Crawford]

You never know what people are dealing with. But I didn't know because when. When we hear about your journey there, we just hear.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Well, I've never talked about. This is the first time. I think we always said things positively because ultimately it was a positive experience. Because I have never learned. You learn kind of when you're in that. This is like the army, right? But I tell people it was the.

[Bob Crawford]

Best boot camp I've ever been.

[Lenard McKelvey]

It's the best boot camp you'll never. And one thing I will say about Harvey is he. I, to this day, probably the hardest work ethic of anyone I have ever known in the industry. But you. You get a lot of trauma from it, and it's very difficult to express if you haven't been there. And then also, it's like, I don't want to make that my story. So, you know, when I meet somebody and we're in a social setting, it's like, it's. It's still. Now, some people say, oh, I know you from tmz. And I'm. I cringe a little bit. Not because I'm ashamed of it, but I've done so much. But it's still something that's always associated with you and will always be as you will know it will always be. And there's going to be a time where you just don't want to hear about it because you've accomplished so much more. And so it's a little triggering when someone comes up to you and wants to talk about it, and you just, like. It's like bringing up an ex that you don't with me, do it anymore.

[Caller]

And what you really wanted to Say to her probably was good luck.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Yeah, but you know, if you don't.

[Caller]

Want to be negative.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Cause like what am I supposed to.

[Caller]

Say if you in it, you know, like what else you might need that.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Yeah.

[Bob Crawford]

I mean I needed the money, but I forget what was going on at the time. But I think this was one of the times where I been wanting to quit and I just didn't. People think you're crazy when you say that. And I was like, oh, Nina Parker, I could you talk to.

[Caller]

To her? Yeah.

[Lenard McKelvey]

And then I was. And I wish we would have been introduced through van because there I would have loved to have talked to you one on one like privately and just really give you a good download because I know that you did reach out and DM and I never even saw him because we weren't. I wasn't following you and I didn't even see him until I followed you. And I was like, dang, there's DMS in here and I didn't even see this girl.

[Bob Crawford]

I was crying out for help.

[Lenard McKelvey]

This gonna be my last thing about the, the, the. The ptsd. What I found is a lot of people who leave believe only find their worth in posting news because they. That's how you were rewarded then you were only. You were. You could have been fired for not producing enough. So you find like your worth in, in producing stuff. That's why like when I left I would be posting breaking news and I don't even have an outlet to attribute it to. And what is what it allowed me to do when I took a step back was start to put more worth in like me what I'm saying and the other things because I was like, I don't even know if I really like news anymore anymore. Like I don't know if this is something I even enjoy anymore. Like I enjoy talking to people. I enjoy xyz. Like what else can I dive into? And for you, what I would like to say is, and I think you're very good at it. But you know, and I know you have other things that you like to, you know, get into. And I just don't want you to get caught up in this thing of like I have to produce to. To be valued. Because it's like what who you are that brings the value not being first. Because we're. We kind of are taught to like we got to be first.

[Caller]

I heard you that one more time.

[Lenard McKelvey]

I'm just saying the value is not in being first anymore because this is what I. I have learned. It's what you're going to talk about that is valuable because you're not technically in a news place. That has to be first.

[Bob Crawford]

It just sometimes it you.

[Caller]

When did you hear that? Did you hear that that week?

[Lenard McKelvey]

Sense of urgency is what makes you special because you care, and that's important. But I think people care. Just they want to know that these days, everybody can get it anywhere they want your take on it.

[Caller]

That's right.

[Lenard McKelvey]

So.

[DJ Envy]

And you were correct, and everybody else was wrong.

[Bob Crawford]

Yeah, I know I was correct.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Amazing at your job.

[Bob Crawford]

Correct.

[Caller]

Friday night vibes on tv. We appreciate you guys for coming up. And don't be strange. You can come. Kev, I feel like you didn't get to N, girl. I was watching too. I was like, oh, my God, this is really happening. They gonna put this on tmz. But I'm serious.

[DJ Envy]

Please come up more.

[Caller]

Please come up more.

[DJ Envy]

If y' all in town, please come up. We had to wait seven years to get Cav, so.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Well, y' all just had him, so.

[Caller]

Nina, this was fine. I was fully. I was in the. I was tweeting. I was in the comments. Yo, but n. Your line is still in stores.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Yes, yes, I have a. I have a close in line for plus women sizes 12 to 30 is. Yes, it's in stores. It's at Macy's. It's doing very well. And so this is one of the designs. So, yeah, it's. Do you know the multiple streams?

[Caller]

It's always need that Nina parking, not the little one should keep a check.

[DJ Envy]

All right, Nina Parker. Kevin on stage. Friday night vibes on tbs. It's the Breakfast Club. Good morning.

[Lenard McKelvey]

That donkey.

[Caller]

That donkey. That donkey. Donkey of the day right there. Breakfast Club.

[DJ Envy]

You can call me the donkey of.

[Guest]

The day, but, like, I mean no harm.

[Caller]

Yes, Donkey. Whoa. Why the hell I'm so loud? Scared myself, donkey. And the date goes to a Pennsylvania woman named Christina Solomito. Christina Solamido is 44 years old, and she did something that people figuratively talk about doing. And I wish I could curse on the radio, but I can't. But just know Nicki Minaj wrote a song about doing this to her options. She called it did it on him. But that's the clean version. Yeah. Let's hear some of this. Classic. You remember this, right? Yes, that's how the clean version go. No, it was Denning on it. Okay, Turn it up.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Let me hear it.

[Caller]

Okay. Keep the instrumental going for me. Yes. See, all of y' all talk about releasing stink missiles on your ops, but you Never actually, actually released the chocolate hostages, but Christina actually did. Let's go to NBC 10 Philly for the report, please.

[Jess Hilarious]

The police chief for Prospect park says he has seen some road rage cases during his career. Somebody cut someone off, then the drivers might get into a heated exchange. Then they typically drive away. But in this case on Tuesday, there was a little more to that. And the incident was captured on video by a bystander. That video, shared thousands of times on Instagram, shows a woman I identified Thursday as Christina Salameto walking to another woman's car. The 44 year old sits on the hood, or not, showing the most graphic part of the video, including when she appeared to defecate on the car. Salameto was brought to the Prospect Park Police Department Thursday in handcuffs, offering no remarks. She faces a number of charges, including indecent exposure and depositing waste on a highway.

[Caller]

Imagine how mad you got to be to weaponize your own digestive system, okay? This is biological warfare, all right? I respect people who can back the brown Cadillac out of the garage in public, okay? I'm not one of those people. I am. I am very regular, okay? 8:30am Every morning, I'm making a tombstone in the water grave here at work. But if somebody comes in the bathroom or sits in the stall next to me, I can't do it, okay? I'm a cowboy fan, but I can't. I can't take the Browns to the super bowl if someone else is in the bathroom with me. So the fact this woman was able to bake some butt brownies in public on cue, it's impressive. But I'mma tell you something, Christina. The reason you getting the biggest he haw is because according to the police affidavit, you said, and I quote, I wanted to punch her in the face, but I pooped on her car instead and went home. I would have rather you punched her in the face, okay? It takes way more energy to pull your pants down and birth a creamy behemoth in public than it does to punch someone in the face. Face. Now, Christina allegedly told cops that it was a clean poop. I didn't have to wipe. True. Quote for the record, there is no such thing as a clean wipe, okay? Or a clean poop. When you release the mud monkeys, the anal area becomes soiled with stool and you gotta clean it, okay? Fecal matter contains bacteria and other microorganisms that can cause infections, are spread if not properly cleaned away. And having residual dunky around the rim of your boonky can cause discomfort, okay? Itching and irritation whenever the inside of your boonky itching guarantees you didn't wipe properly. So there is no clean kills when you push out a sewer snake. Okay? When you launch fudge torpedoes, there is always a casualty. That's all I got. Please let Remy Ma give Christina Solomido the biggest Hee haw.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Hee haw hee haw. You stupid mother. Are you dumb? The amount of effort in which you put that presentation. Yes, you did.

[Guest]

You literally.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Boy, like, you ate that.

[Caller]

I would never eat dookie. Well, my life ain't never been that.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Bad, but I'm saying you literally. You told that story like Maya Angelou.

[Caller]

Hey, Y. Oh, my God.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Andy's still disgusted.

[DJ Envy]

All right, well, thank you for that donkey of the day. Now when we come back, thank you.

[Caller]

For that dookie of the day, the Breakfast Club.

[DJ Envy]

Morning, everybody.

[Lenard McKelvey]

It's DJ Envy.

[DJ Envy]

Jess. Hilarious Charlamagne, the guy we are the breakfast club. Laura LaRosa filling in for just today. We got a special guest in the building. Yes, indeed, we have the brother, Leon Thomas.

[Caller]

Welcome, bro.

[Lenard McKelvey]

What's good? What's good?

[Guest]

How y' all feeling?

[DJ Envy]

How you feeling?

[Caller]

Blessed, black, and highly favored. Leon, you are by far the greatest new male R and B singer. Doing it today, man.

[Guest]

Thank you so much.

[Caller]

That shouldn't even be up for debate, man.

[Guest]

Man, I really appreciate that, man.

[Caller]

How do you receive that?

[Guest]

Yeah, I mean, you know, to be honest, I try to just take it one step at a time. You know, I try to stay humble with everything, but I'm glad to be a new voice in R and B. You know, it's a genre that I love. You know, I'm trying to bring back live musicianship, real songs. You know, writing with the team that I have has been an amazing pleasure. And, you know, just bringing like, that. That organic feeling back to the live stage is like a big thing for.

[DJ Envy]

Me when, you know, for people that don't know. Leon Thomas, you know you started on Broadway. Tell everybody how you got your start and your way into being this R and B star.

[Guest]

Well, listen, I grew up in New York, started on Broadway out here. I did three Broadway plays from Lion King. The Carolina changed the color Purple.

[DJ Envy]

You were Simba in Lion King?

[Guest]

Yeah, yeah, I was Simba in Lion King. And then, you know, I started booking movies and TV shows.

[DJ Envy]

How was that? I just took my kids to see.

[Leon Thomas]

Oh, no.

[Guest]

It was insane.

[DJ Envy]

How was that training? Because it's a lot of shows, a lot of people, and it's live, so.

[Guest]

You can't mess up no no, you can't mess up. It's eight shows a week. I was 10 years old when I did my first Broadway play, Shout out to my mom and my family for, you know, supporting me through that whole journey. And, yeah, man, I went from being a regular kid to starring on Broadway in a matter of months, you know.

[DJ Envy]

Now, how was that? Because it's not the typical thing New York kids do. Right. So you're singing, you're dancing, you're doing that. So how did you get into that part of it?

[Caller]

No, because, you know, going to Broadway.

[DJ Envy]

I don't know, but they went to Broadway, so it's very different.

[Caller]

New York kids that go on Broadway.

[Bob Crawford]

I don't.

[Guest]

I mean, I don't know. I had a couple homies who ended up in different plays, but for the most part.

[Caller]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Guest]

It was definitely, like, a bit of an anomaly for my neighborhood in Brooklyn. It was. It was kind of weird explaining it to my homies at school. Like, yeah, I was just doing a show last night.

[Caller]

They're like, what?

[Guest]

What's going on?

[Caller]

Maybe kids from a certain area. Yeah, well, not from New York. From the hoods of New York.

[DJ Envy]

Okay, all right.

[Guest]

But, nah, it was definitely a real pleasure, you know, but from there, I ended up doing a lot of TV and film. You know, I shot my first movie out here with Robin Williams and Terrence Howard called August Rush, which was an amazing pleasure. And that kind of brought me into a lot of TV after that. Yeah, with Nickelodeon, he was on Victorious. Victorious, yeah, yeah, yeah. With Ariana Grande. And, you know, that was a big journey. That was the number one show on the network at the time. We were beating out American Night, and it was a way for the rest of the world to kind of really tap into who I am as a creative, but it took years of really honing in on who I am as an artist to get to this point, producing and writing for a bunch of different artists, winning a Grammy, working with SZA and Babyface Drake. A bunch of different people. It's been a.

[Caller]

You wrote for Drake?

[Guest]

I actually produced for Drake. But, you know, shout out to him.

[Caller]

A lot of people write for Drake. Allegedly.

[Guest]

Yeah, allegedly, man. But, you know, I don't think there's anything wrong with it either, but it was a blessing to. I mean, it's interesting because I'm an artist and people see me as a singer. They kind of forget that I also produced a lot of big records. You know, my production game is pretty tight. So you sing like a rap, though? Yeah, on purpose.

[Caller]

Your lyrics aren't like that of a rapper. That's why when I see Freddie Gibbs on your records of being the Butcher, it makes so much sense to me. You still in touch with anybody from Victorious?

[Guest]

Absolutely, man. You know, I chop it up with ahrii. Avanjogia is a really good friend of mine. You know, Matt Bennett, a lot of the cast, we all hang out and do lunch. It's kind of like my last two years of high school were with them. So that's like my graduating class. Essentially. We were all in school together, so we filmed, but we also went to school. So those are. Those are my really good friends.

[Caller]

Salute to Victoria and her mom. I did a hosted a New Year's Eve special with them. Oh, for real?

[Guest]

Oh, that's dope. That's dope.

[Caller]

You ever wrote for Ariana?

[Guest]

Yeah, actually I worked with her on her first album. That was my first time going number one with an album. I did about like four songs on her first album, Yours Truly.

[Caller]

Wow.

[Guest]

So that was a real. A real pleasure. Yeah.

[DJ Envy]

Did you know you always wanted to be an R B singer? Like, was that the goal as a kid growing up, or did you always want to be an actor? Like, and when did you pivot? When he was like, all right, this is what I want to do.

[Guest]

Listen. I feel like I did this role with Kathryn Bigelow. She's a Oscar award winning director. But I had to cut my dreads for it. And that was kind of like my last straw in acting. You know, I did this role for Detroit and I felt like, you know, I need to kind of tap back into who I am as an artist. You know, grew my dreads back, really got into my internal self meditating, really, like tapping into who I am as a human being. And a lot of great music came out of that. You know, I always knew I wanted to be a singer, but I knew for a fact I needed to really present myself as who I truly was. It's so easy to play a character when you're always having acting. You know, I needed to come to the world as my true self.

[Bob Crawford]

When you were on the, like, the sets, when you, like, even with like Victorious and stuff like that was your mom and like your parents there often or.

[Guest]

Oh, yeah, my mom, Ariana Grande talked.

[Bob Crawford]

A lot about that too. Like how y' all parents were close.

[Guest]

Nah, they were there. They were there. You know, my mom was never like a momager, like over my. Over my shoulder kind of mom. But she was also very protective of my peace Gotcha. And mental health and making sure that I'm just, like, in a. In a good. A good space while I'm. While I'm trying to create something timeless and, you know, shout out to her for just always, you know, creating safe spaces for me right throughout that journey, you know?

[Caller]

Probably kept you from getting slimed. Yeah, yeah.

[Guest]

Definitely nuts. Definitely nuts. You know, seeing. Seeing how everything definitely. It's definitely, Definitely insane.

[Caller]

Don't say that. Definitely nuts after that.

[Guest]

Yeah, I know, I know.

[Caller]

You know, crazy.

[Guest]

It's crazy because, you know, I just saw the doc not too long ago. It was definitely eye opening, and a lot of my castmates, we hopped on a zoom call. We all wanted to talk about it, and luckily during our seasons, it was very wholesome and chill. But, you know, shout out to anybody who dealt with anything bad. I mean, my heart definitely goes out to them.

[Caller]

The thing I love about your music, too, is number one. I can tell you, man, you got a sense of freedom. Yeah. So does that come with money or does that come with just how you came up, you know, with your mom doing music? So you always felt free as an artist? Yeah. Yeah.

[Guest]

I mean, you know, I think the greatest thing about being an artist is that it's a. It's a great representation of being a free black man. You know, like, you know, being able to wear what I want, you know, say what I want on record is really important to me. You know, I try to stay as grounded and as real to who I am as I can be. I mean, I think it's really easy to want to be an artist and play a character who you think people want you to be. But I'm doing my best to just, like, kind of just say what I want, do what I want.

[Bob Crawford]

You know, when you come up with songs with, like, I like Feelings on silent.

[Caller]

With Wale.

[Bob Crawford]

I love Wale. But songs like that, like, when I listen to it, each time I get something different from it. So the first time I listened, I was like, oh, this is like, guys just being like, we keep our feelings to ourself. And then the second time I listened, I'm like, this is the trauma that they deal with. Because, like, he mentions PTSD and a bunch of other things. Like, how do you. First of all, sitting back. You wrote that?

[Guest]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I co wrote that.

[Bob Crawford]

Sitting back and writing it with him. How do you be like, okay, here's all the things that we want people to get when they hear this? Or do you guys just write and whatever people get, they get like, were you dealing with something yourself then?

[Guest]

Or, you know, the way I wrote that record was really interesting. I was in. I was in Italy actually. I was working with Ye and Ty $sign on the Vultures 1 project hey.

[DJ Envy]

What up y' all?

[Lenard McKelvey]

It's DJ Envy.

[DJ Envy]

The first few months of 2025 have been quite a year. Work deadlines, group chats you can't escape, and your weird cousin's latest overshare. It's a lot, but here's some good news. You don't have to bring that stress into your car. The all new Nissan Murano is your piece on wheels thanks to its available features. Imagine sliding into the relaxing, massaging seats that feel like they were made to melt your tensions. Take in the skyline views that let sunlight pour in and watch as your day brightens. I have a special playlist that always gets me right. And with the Bose Premium sound system, you too can vibe like you're at your own private concert. Plus, with your 64 color personalized lighting option, you can set the mood any way you want, be it romantic, chill or in a straight up do not disturb mode. Let the Nissan Murano be your oasis in a chaotic world because sometimes the greatest rush isn't rushing at all. Drive the all new Nissan Murano today.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Panoramic moonroof, ambient lighting, bows and massaging leather appointed seats are optional.

[Jess Hilarious]

Features features this July 4th celebrate freedom from spills, stains and overpriced furniture with Annabe, the only machine washable sofa inside and out where designer quality meets budget friendly pricing. Sofas start at just $699, making it the perfect time to upgrade your space. Annabe's pet friendly stain resistant and interchangeable slipcovers are made with high performance fabric that's built for real life. You'll love the clean cloud like comfort of hypoallergenic, high resilience foam that never needs fluffing and a durable steel frame that stands the test of time with modular pieces you can rearrange anytime. It's a sofa that adapts to your Life. Now through July 4th get up to 60% off site [e-mail] Every order comes with a 30 day satisfaction guarantee. If you're not in love, send it back for a full refund. No return shipping, no restocking fees, every pen money back. Declare independence from dirty outdated furniture. Shop [e-mail] Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply.

[DJ Envy]

Want to keep your personal number private but still stay connected with line two, you can get a second phone line right on your device with a super simple app and no need for another phone. Whether it's for online shopping, dating, or shielding your main number from spam, Line two is an easy way to manage ready for peace of mind without breaking the bank call, text block and more for only $9.99. Get started with line2.com audio or download line 2 in any app store today. Line 2, your second line. Simplified American history is full of wise people.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Walt Whitman said something like 99.99% of war is diarrhea and 1% is glory.

[Jess Hilarious]

Those founding fathers were gossipy AF and.

[Bob Crawford]

They love to cut each other down.

[DJ Envy]

I'm Bob Crawford, host of American History Hotline, the show where you send us your questions about American history. And I find the answers, including the nuggets of wisdom our history has to offer.

[Guest]

Hamilton pauses and then he says, the.

[DJ Envy]

Greatest man that ever lived was Julius Caesar. And Jefferson writes in his document, this.

[Caller]

Proves that Hamilton is for a dictator based on corruption.

[DJ Envy]

My favorite line was what Neil Armstrong said.

[Lenard McKelvey]

It would have been harder to fake it than to do it.

[DJ Envy]

Listen to American History Hotline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Guest]

And I just had some lyrics kind of, you know, bubbling up in my head. But I think it was one of those moments that, that it was just kind of stream of consciousness. I didn't really think too hard on my sections. That was like my second take that you're hearing there. It wasn't like me like kind of really punching in a bunch of different ideas. It was just kind of flowing. And when Wale heard it, that was probably the hardest verse to get.

[Caller]

Cause we did probably come back outside.

[Guest]

Cause he, we did like five sessions to get that one verse. But yo, he's so talented and seeing how he crafted his verse, I mean, he would do like five bars at a time. And he really cared about the poetry of it all. And it's why I really respect him as an artist. He's just a true lyricist.

[DJ Envy]

Of course. Leon Thomas is singer, songwriter, producer and actor. His album Mutt is out right now. And we gotta congratulate you cause you got a Grammy for your record with sza. We tell everybody that we helped with that because we played snooze every morning. Four times a morning. 6:00am Yeah, 6:00am but you wrote Snooze.

[Caller]

No, I produced.

[Guest]

I produced on Snooze, man. Yo, first of all, let's clear this up. Shout out to SZA for Writing that record, we were producing in a separate room and she heard the instrumental was like, what is that? And you know, there, there is something that I do where I like take my voice and I, I chop it up like a sample. Because clearing samples is really expensive and cuts into the publishing. So rather than like actually doing a sample, I'll. I'll just, you know, sing a little something, right? So she really liked that and then took it into the other room and wrote an amazing song. And being a part of the production on that with Babyface, legendary Babyface was a true pleasure, man. I mean, it was a real journey to see that song go from like a crowd favorite to a Grammy Award winning R and B song, man. That was definitely life changing for me.

[Caller]

You got a production team, right? It's the Rascals.

[Guest]

Yeah, yeah, the Rascals. Me and Chris Tynes, man, we've been working together since we were like 18. So it's really cool to see the. I mean, we started off, you know, a little shaky when it came to production, but it's nice to see us, you know, really develop into the producers we are now. We had great mentors, man.

[Bob Crawford]

You have such big moments, like, even before that and during that. But it's like, I don't know, like, when do. When do you feel like things started, like, to click finally where people were like, oh, shoot, Leon. Like, we get it now.

[Guest]

It's really interesting. I like to call it the Drake effect. When I was working, when I was working with Drake, all of a sudden label executives who have known me for years were like, yeah, I think you could be an artist, you know, And I was like, ah, okay. So I kind of peeped that and I said, okay, well, let's start kind of building this out. But I knew I wanted that. That same formula that Drake had with Lil Wayne. And, you know, working with Ty Dolla sign was a really smart move. Not only because he's just an amazing artist, but because it was just nice to have a mentor who had done it already. So he's, he's just like, kind of like, yo, try this. Make sure the look has this. Or, you know, even when it came to the music, like, here's how you really format an album. And I'm definitely doing a lot of studying. You know, shout out to Todd Dallas on For Sure. He definitely, you know, saw something in me that a lot of label executives were not sure about. And it's cool to see it developing. How did you. Real time.

[DJ Envy]

How did you and Ty Dollason me.

[Guest]

I was actually working on his album as a producer on featuring Todd Dala San. I was like, one of, I think, nine producers on a song with Kanye and Thundercats and a bunch of other people.

[Caller]

Nine producers on one record?

[DJ Envy]

Yeah.

[Guest]

Cause it was like.

[Lenard McKelvey]

It was like 0.5.

[Guest]

Like, I was just there, added this or that vocal and, like, some bass or something, but. But he had everybody play, like, their unreleased records, and I played him some of my first album as, like, demos, and Todd was like, yo, you really. You're really tight, you know, as an artist. He was like, man. And he was originally trying to record one of the songs that I had, but I was like, nah, I want you to feature on it. And over the years, we became really good friends. I was working with him a lot and just kind of developed into a whole situation with Sean Baron. Sean Baron is the guy who officially, like, put it all together with easy money and Motown.

[Bob Crawford]

Is it tough navigating because people are getting to know you now and everybody's falling in love with your music now? And, like, you have such a close association with Drake. You have to, like, pick and choose where you go musically and what you.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Do musically with who you know?

[Caller]

Honestly, she's asking, can you work with Kendrick Lamar if you wanted to?

[Guest]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know that's what she's asking. I mean, the way I really look at it is just, like, on a political level. I make R and B, you know, Obviously I make hip hop too. But I'm really focused on my artist journey, so. I mean, Kendrick is such a huge artist. I don't really foresee us working together in the near future. And even with Drake, you know, I still want to take my steps to really build on my own two feet as an artist. So I'm doing what I have to do right now to really, like, grow my own business. Business Touring is a big thing for me. I'm really focused on that. I'm hitting the road all this year and working on more records, so, I mean, shout out to everybody, but. But I'm.

[Leon Thomas]

I'm.

[Caller]

I'm.

[Guest]

I'm definitely focused on me.

[Caller]

How old were you when you realized Vibes Don't Lie? One of my favorite records. How old were you when you first realized Vibes Don't Lie?

[Guest]

I think that was. That was definitely early 20s. I think LA is. Is filled with facades and people who are pretending to be something they aren't, People who move from their hometown and create a whole new Persona. So I think for me, just really studying Folks, especially a lot of the women you deal with out there, you know, it's really important to. To study their actions and not their words.

[Caller]

I love the fact that you are encouraging women. Women to keep their healthy.

[Guest]

Yes, I am.

[Caller]

Okay. Did you ever want to be a gynecologist?

[Leon Thomas]

No.

[Caller]

Health.

[Guest]

No.

[Caller]

No, no, no.

[Guest]

That wasn't on the list. I just listened to, like. Yeah, I just listen. I just listen, man. So you.

[Caller]

They tell you, like, hey, I'm not feeling the best today.

[Guest]

No, I mean, I just think ph balance is a conversation and, you know, I just listen, man.

[Caller]

That's what it was, cuz you was very, very specific. You said, she. She only drink water. She keep that healthy.

[Leon Thomas]

Yeah.

[Bob Crawford]

They said on Twitter you be talking crazy like that, but you sing it so people can't be back.

[DJ Envy]

Yeah, they can't really.

[Bob Crawford]

Like, you had that conversation in real life with your home. Like, you're not your homegirl.

[Guest]

You're still. Honestly, you know what? I'm just big on shock value. I think songs, especially R and B songs, have gotten a bit. Not boring, but I think we've kind of already hit the golden era of R and B. So I'm just finding new ways to make people's ears, you know, perk up and their minds move. I think social media and podcasts are really interesting to me. You know, these phone mics bring out so many conversations. And I think as an army R B artist, I want to find ways to let that live on the record. And it doesn't always have to be, like, verbatim of what I'm going through in real life. I think it's important to create the drama. You know, I kind of see music as, you know, script and a score. So sometimes the records are just, like, really good dramatizations of, like, what I'm seeing.

[Caller]

You've been counting some unhealthy vaginas. Don't lie.

[Bob Crawford]

I was gonna say so you.

[Guest]

I mean, I think everybody is.

[Lenard McKelvey]

But, like, how.

[Bob Crawford]

But like, how does that go for you now?

[Lenard McKelvey]

I mean, I don't think.

[Guest]

I don't think it's now or like.

[Bob Crawford]

Women expecting you to be like, all right, here's the check. Like, how do you. Cause you got the songs. Like, they're there.

[Guest]

Yeah, yeah, you know, I definitely got the songs, but I think it's just important to be honest with your partner, you know, communicate. But I think it's a pretty interesting conversation I try to stay out of if I don't have to, you know what I'm saying?

[Caller]

You ever did the earwax test?

[Guest]

No.

[Caller]

I don't even know what that is, man.

[Guest]

So you putting me on right now.

[Caller]

It's an earwax test. Digging your ear a little bit. There's a little wax on it. Put a little pinky. Put the pinky inside her. Hold on. What is jump. She got something.

[Guest]

What?

[Caller]

That's right. As healthy as it should be.

[DJ Envy]

If you listen to him, catch a disease.

[Caller]

Yo, that scene, you should do it on yourself.

[Lenard McKelvey]

I don't know where he got first off.

[Caller]

Anybody you do that is nuts.

[DJ Envy]

That's some South Carolina road thing that they do. It doesn't. Do not try.

[Caller]

That works. He.

[Bob Crawford]

That doesn't. Your mom never told you that you got stomach. Go drink ginger ale.

[Caller]

We ain't talking about stomach aches.

[Lenard McKelvey]

We talking about people think ginger cure everything.

[Bob Crawford]

Not ear wax. Don't listen to him.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Ginger.

[DJ Envy]

Put ginger ale on your vagina. That's why you single. That's why you single.

[Caller]

Delaware is crazy.

[Bob Crawford]

My girl used to be like, go get some ginger ale and lay down.

[DJ Envy]

Wow.

[Caller]

About everything.

[Guest]

Yeah, no, no. We love ginger ale around here.

[Caller]

Did your therapist really tell you that you're too detached? Or is that just something you tell women so you don't commit?

[Guest]

Nah, I think. I think you know, that bar for me. I have a co writer, Bizzy Crook, and he lives in Miami. Great rapper. That was a bar that came from him. He's very deep into therapy. But I'm glad that we talked about it on record, because, I mean, it's something that I definitely did try out over the pandemic, and it's something that I actually really respect you a lot for a championing, you know?

[Caller]

Thank you, brother.

[Guest]

But, yeah, that was a bar from Bizzy, but I thought it was important to add in there, you know, don't.

[Bob Crawford]

Try to blame Bizzy now.

[Guest]

Nah. I mean, yo, that's my co writer. You know, shout out to him. You know what I'm saying? Like, we write a lot of our songs there together, and I really respect a lot of the perspectives he brings to a lot of my poignant records. You know, he has some great bars.

[Bob Crawford]

On for dancing with. When I listen to Dancing with the Demons.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Yeah, it.

[Bob Crawford]

Do you ever get, like, Miguel references sometimes?

[Guest]

Absolutely.

[Bob Crawford]

Yeah.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Because I was listening.

[Bob Crawford]

I'm like, oh, my gosh. Like, I wonder if. Like that, like, are y' all. Do you know him?

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Guest]

Yeah. That's like my big bro. We actually did a movie together. He was in Detroit. The one I had to cut my hair for he. He was. He was an amazing. An amazing mentor for me for some years. You know, that bridge between R and B and rock and roll, he's traveled across that bridge many a time. I definitely look up to him when it comes to that. And, you know, for me, because I play multiple instruments, you know, I definitely try to just embody a lot of that energy. But I think we both have the same influences as well.

[Caller]

I agree with Lauren on that. Miguel, to me, before you, was the last great R B, male R B singer. To me, I'm just about the new guys. I'm not talking.

[Guest]

Right.

[Caller]

Yeah, you know, the OG legend I'm talking about, he's the. He was the last one to me, and I. I felt the same way when I heard Dancing with the Demons. I feel like. I feel like you're talking to yourself on that record, though. You said you can't seem to save yourself Never learn to ask for help Going out all night Searching for a feeling so, so what, what, what have you learned to ask for help?

[Bob Crawford]

It's a one. But I thought. Because I took it as like it wasn't talking about a woman.

[Caller]

No, at some point.

[Guest]

I mean, it's interesting for me. Like, that record, when I wrote it, I wrote it in two different days. The first day I was, you know, microdosing on shrooms, so it's a bit of a haze. The next day I listened to it, and I was like, man, this is really poignant stuff. I mean, it's just really talking about being up all night and searching for a feeling, and it's trying to fill voids. I feel like, as you know, when you're in your single journey, you can try to fill a void with a stranger, and that's not always very helpful. Healthy. It could be fun. It could be fun, for sure. But. But. But. And then. Especially when you're. When you're in the limelight. The second verse is more so. Talking about being in the limelight and trying to fill voids. Nobody really talks about the darkness that comes with the flashing lights. And. Yeah, that. That record was very deep and very personal for me. You know, I'm glad that people resonate with it.

[DJ Envy]

Now. You talk about microdosing on shrooms.

[Caller]

Yeah.

[DJ Envy]

Where does that put your mind? And do you always do that to produce and write?

[Guest]

Nah, nah. I mean, I think. I think for this. This album, it was an interesting opportunity to. To kind of unplug. I mean, I wasn't doing as many shows around that time, too, so it was really Helpful to. To kind of just get into my own head and try to figure out who I am, you know, I. I definitely did a lot of manifesting, a lot of just, like, writing down who I wanted to be as a human being around that time. A lot of journaling, you know, and looking back at that season in my life, it was. It was a journey for me to. To evolve into who I am right now. I wouldn't suggest people just go super crazy on shrooms or anything, but I think microdosing, you know, a small amount could be healthy if you're trying to just find yourself, you know, and at that time, I was trying to find myself, you know?

[Caller]

Yeah. I microdose. I've macro dose, too.

[Bob Crawford]

You said you were trying to find yourself. Did you find yourself?

[Guest]

Yeah, but I mean, I feel like that's a constant journey. That's like the whole part of finding yourself. You realize it. It never stops because we're always evolving, you know, But. But it's great that I was able to do it through music. That was like a version of musical therapy for me, and I'm glad that people are resonating with it, you know?

[Caller]

I love how you're normalizing dogs on Mutt. I'm not a dog anymore. There is a young, unhealed version of me that would have really appreciated that record. Cause you make it sound so fun, and it's almost like women are just gonna bring you in, like, oh, Brent, come in, you stray dog. Let me domesticate you.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Nah.

[Guest]

I mean, I was really just documenting what I saw, but. Nah, nah, nah.

[DJ Envy]

It's definitely parts of me.

[Caller]

It's definitely parts of me.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Now you document what you said.

[Guest]

You know, post breakup, where. Where I just had to. I just had to figure it out. But I think that's all a part of living, you know?

[DJ Envy]

Do you get nervous, though?

[Guest]

This was a. This was a post breakup, like, album.

[Caller]

Yeah, yeah.

[Guest]

This is a post breakup album. So this is me documenting, you know, finding myself. First off, like, you know, you. You're kind of broken after that, and then you gotta. You gotta put the pieces back together.

[Caller]

Her fault. Yes.

[Guest]

No, it's not her fault. It's our fault.

[Caller]

Listen, Leon, it's her fault that you ended up being a dog. You went through your phase. I think it's very commendable, too, that on the song Safe Place, you let the person you're dealing with know this isn't a safe place.

[Guest]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Caller]

What inspired that?

[Guest]

I mean, I think knowing that I wasn't necessarily ready to Settle down. I think that conversation definitely came up a lot during. I guess you would call him my face. You know, just understanding, like, yo, I'm. I'm not trying to settle down. This is a fun place, you know, this is a time period where I'm just figuring me out. Work is crazy. It's hectic, you know, And I think having that conversation was important to, like you said, just avoid people not understanding what it was at the time.

[DJ Envy]

But are you honest in person, though? Cause you're honest in music, but it's difficult to be face to face with somebody and be like, this is very difficult.

[Guest]

You know, I really try my best to be as honest as I can, but, yeah, those are hard conversations, man. You know, I can't sit here and say I've always done it right, or I'm perfect or anything. But I try. I try to be, like, real, you know, I try to explain myself. But even when you explain yourself, sometimes wires get crossed, you know, so unpacking it and communicating, you know, is an important thing later on.

[Caller]

Yeah, I don't know. Woman want to hear that after she just let you hit Raw.

[Guest]

Yeah, yeah. It's not.

[Bob Crawford]

Has a woman ever said that to you when you were trying to, like, create, like, a. All right, maybe this is, like, a thing. And she's like, yo, I don't want.

[Lenard McKelvey]

To do that to you.

[Guest]

Yeah, actually, yeah. Yeah. In my early 20s, I was talking to this amazing artist, and, yeah, she was just like, listen, baby, this ain't a safe place kind of thing.

[Caller]

You know? Anybody we know now?

[Guest]

She's like, no, no, no.

[DJ Envy]

I don't think you got teared up a little bit.

[Guest]

Yeah, no, no, no. It was all good for me.

[Caller]

I mean, at that point, machines are fogging up. I ain't gonna lie.

[DJ Envy]

Nah, you teared up a little bit.

[Guest]

But, yeah, yeah, you know, it was definitely. You know, it was definitely a realization for me. I was like, oh, it can happen on that side, too. I was like, 20, maybe 21, you know.

[Caller]

You cried in the car?

[Guest]

Yeah, yeah. So I was like, real young, kind of, you know, green, like, oh, okay. I bet.

[Caller]

Cool.

[DJ Envy]

So you all looking for a relationship now? If the right person.

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Guest]

Yeah, yeah. I'm definitely. I'm definitely in that mode right now.

[Bob Crawford]

Are you dating? Would you date art, other, like, artists, celebrities? Or do you, like, how does that work? Are you doing that?

[Guest]

It's just hectic. I mean, you kind of inviting the media into your life, like the one safe place you have.

[Caller]

But.

[Guest]

But, I mean, who Knows if I really catch a vibe with somebody who happens to be fan. I mean, I don't really care about that side of things. You know, I've been in the game a long time. I've met some beautiful women who are amazing artists. But it's just about the human being. And it can be tough to really build something if both of your schedules are super hectic. So, I don't know, I wanna ask.

[Caller]

A question too, about another record on Far Fetched. Yeah, you said. Cause we was having a big conversation this week about tricking. Cause you know, Skip Bayless allegedly. Oh, my God. Offered somebody 1.5 million.

[Leon Thomas]

Oh, my God.

[Caller]

And you said, paid for my mistakes in Benzes and diamonds. 250 fronted like you was my artist. 5 G's just across the Atlantic. We sat in silence for almost two hours.

[Bob Crawford]

Yeah, that's a horrible vacation.

[Caller]

A quarter million dollars.

[Guest]

Yeah.

[Caller]

Benzes and Diamonds.

[Guest]

Well, listen, when I wrote that record, it was not for me. That was not a joint that I was originally gonna use for me. It was for somebody really famous and really rich. But I just love the way it sounded. And I was like, well, you know what? I love to speak in a world where I can actually afford. Why not?

[Caller]

Let's manifest that in lucid dreams. You talk about your significant other. Leaving things behind.

[Guest]

Yeah, that was a fun record.

[Caller]

With Masego after a breakup, why do you think that topic is taboo?

[Guest]

I don't really consider it taboo necessarily, but I think it's just like. It's just funny because for me, I was living with my ex for like a couple years, so she just had like, a closet filled with clothes at my crib. And it had been like a year and a half since we had broken up. So we were in the studio talking about different things. Things. The guitarist and producer on that song, Freaky Rob, his girl left a flat screen at the house that he had to use to watch Netflix. He was like, man, when is she gonna take this flat screen? And, you know, Masego also had a similar situation like that at his crib with the couch. So we were all just kind of using all of our different experiences, putting it into a song and, you know, just locking it in.

[Caller]

It's different when it's closed, though.

[Bob Crawford]

Yeah. Did you clear. You cleared out the clothes?

[Guest]

Yeah, it definitely clears out the.

[Caller]

Yeah, yeah.

[Guest]

Cleared out the clothes closet.

[Bob Crawford]

Did you move out of the apartment or you just cleared out the closet?

[Guest]

Nah, I'm still at the crib.

[DJ Envy]

You know what I mean?

[Guest]

Still at the crib. You know, there's definitely a certain interior design choices. I'm gonna switch up soon, but this.

[Bob Crawford]

Is, like, real recent.

[Guest]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Caller]

All right.

[DJ Envy]

The album is out right now. Make sure you pick it up. And we appreciate you for joining us.

[Guest]

Thank you so much for having me, man. It's a big opportunity.

[DJ Envy]

Thank you so much. It's Leon Thomas. The album Mud is out now, and it's the Breakfast Club. Good morning. Morning, everybody. It's DJ Envy. Just Larry Charlamagne, the guy. We are the Breakfast Club. It's time to get up out of here. Charlamagne, you got a positive.

[Caller]

Now, the positive note is simply this. I swear. Cause we was talking about this earlier, about not being able to say no. We was talking about Glorilla when the girl walked up to her asking her for money for her tuition. Nothing has caused more problems for me in my life than my inability to say no or turn people down. Soft and empathetic nature cost you a lot. Remember that. And no is a complete sentence. Have a blessed day.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Oh, my God.

[Caller]

Now, I like that one.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Driver Cleese, bump for that. Because this man is white.

[Caller]

Breakfast Club, bitches. Y' all finished or y' all done? Ugh.

[DJ Envy]

Spam calls. Sound familiar? Introducing line two. Get a second phone number right on your existing phone. Imagine discounts, appointments online, forms. Handle it all without giving out your personal number. It's like having a secret weapon against spam. And when those unwanted calls sneak through, Boom. Blocked. No more interruptions, no more stress. Stay connected.

[Caller]

Connected.

[DJ Envy]

Stay protected. Keep your main number safe and out of harm's way. Ready to take back your phone? Visit line2.com audio or download line2. In the app Store today, I'm Bob Crawford, host of American History Hotline, a different type of podcast. You, the listener, ask the questions.

[Caller]

Did George Washington really cut down a cherry tree? Were JFK and Marilyn Monroe having an affair?

[DJ Envy]

And I find the answers.

[Leon Thomas]

I am so glad you asked asked me this question.

[Jess Hilarious]

This is such a ridiculous story.

[Lenard McKelvey]

You can listen to American History Hotline.

[DJ Envy]

On the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Lenard McKelvey]

So what happened at Chappaquiddick? Well, it really depends on who you talk to.

[DJ Envy]

There are many versions of what happened in 1969 when a young Ted Kennedy drove a car into a pond and.

[Lenard McKelvey]

Left a woman behind to drown.

[Caller]

Chappaquiddick is a story of a tragic.

[DJ Envy]

Death and how the Kennedy machine took control.

[Guest]

Every week we go behind the headlines.

[DJ Envy]

And beyond the drama of America's Royal Family.

[Jess Hilarious]

Listen to United States of Kennedy on.

[Lenard McKelvey]

The iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever.

[Caller]

You get your podcasts.

[Jess Hilarious]

Stay informed, empowered and ahead of the curve with a BI N News this Hour podcast updated hourly to bring you the latest stories shaping the Black community. From breaking headlines to cultural milestones, the Black Information Network delivers the facts, the voices and the perspectives that matter 247 because our stories deserve to be heard. Listen to the BI N News this Hour podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Bob Crawford]

This is an iHeart podcast.