Joe and Jada - Jermaine Dupri on Kris Kross & Da Brat, dating Janet Jackson, Usher’s Confessions & Mariah Carey

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Joe and Jada - Jermaine Dupri on Kris Kross & Da Brat, Dating Janet Jackson, Usher’s Confessions & Mariah Carey"

Introduction

In this special edition of The Herd with Colin Cowherd, host Joe Crack and Jadakiss welcome legendary hip-hop producer Jermaine Dupri. The episode delves deep into Jermaine's illustrious career, highlighting his pivotal role in shaping the careers of iconic artists like Kris Kross, Da Brat, Usher, and Mariah Carey. Additionally, Jermaine shares personal anecdotes, including his relationship with Janet Jackson and memorable interactions with Michael Jackson.

Early Career and Kris Kross

Jermaine Dupri begins by recounting his early days in the music industry, particularly his experience touring with Kris Kross. At just 12 years old, Jermaine made the bold decision to leave middle school to join the tour, an experience that was both exhilarating and challenging.

"I was 12 years old, so I don't care. I'm going on stage. This is the first time I ever seen this many people in the arena." ([04:56])

Jermaine highlights the pioneering efforts of Kris Kross, who sold millions of records at such a young age, setting a precedent for future child stars in hip-hop.

Producing Da Brat and Challenges with Female Rappers

Transitioning from Kris Kross, Jermaine discusses his work with Da Brat, Atlanta’s first female rapper to achieve significant commercial success. He candidly shares the hurdles he faced in producing for female artists during a time when the industry was predominantly male-dominated.

"Da Brat became the first female solo artist to have a platinum album. That was crazy." ([48:59])

Jermaine emphasizes the importance of authentic storytelling in Da Brat's music, steering away from superficial themes to address real-life challenges faced by young women in the hood.

Transition to R&B: Usher’s "Confessions"

Jermaine delves into his shift towards R&B, detailing his collaboration with Usher on the groundbreaking album Confessions. He describes the creative process behind hits like "Confessions Part II," revealing how personal experiences and writer’s block inspired some of the album's most poignant tracks.

"We Belong Together directly." ([79:42])

Jermaine explains how close collaboration and understanding Usher’s personal struggles were crucial in crafting songs that resonated deeply with audiences worldwide.

Working with Mariah Carey: Iconic Hits

The conversation shifts to Jermaine’s collaboration with Mariah Carey, highlighting the creation of timeless classics such as "Always Be My Baby" and "We Belong Together." Jermaine shares insights into the songwriting and production process, demonstrating his knack for blending catchy melodies with heartfelt lyrics.

"Mariah told Tommy she wanted to work with me, and that's when we started working together." ([77:46])

He reflects on the success of these collaborations, noting how they solidified his reputation as a versatile and influential producer in both hip-hop and R&B genres.

Personal Life: Dating Janet Jackson

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to Jermaine’s personal life, particularly his relationship with Janet Jackson. He opens up about the dynamics of dating an iconic figure in the music industry and the challenges that come with balancing personal and professional lives.

"I have to have the confidence to holla at Janet." ([73:04])

Jermaine shares heartfelt moments and the impact of this relationship on his personal growth and career trajectory.

Anecdotes Involving Michael Jackson

Jermaine recounts memorable interactions with the legendary Michael Jackson, adding a personal touch to his storied career. These anecdotes provide listeners with a glimpse into the camaraderie and mutual respect among some of the greatest artists of all time.

"Michael wanted me to come on tour with him. We sampled a part of a song, and he was all in." ([55:00])

He humorously narrates the moment he realized Jay-Z was referencing him in their collaborative work, showcasing the seamless synergy between influential artists.

Current Projects and Future Endeavors

Looking ahead, Jermaine discusses his ongoing projects, including the Magic City documentary and an upcoming Magic City soundtrack album. He expresses his commitment to fostering new talent and continuing to innovate within the music industry.

"Magic City thrives off the music. We gotta make it go." ([83:10])

Jermaine emphasizes the importance of preserving Atlanta’s rich musical heritage while pushing boundaries to create fresh and impactful music.

Conclusion

The episode concludes with a reflection on Jermaine Dupri's enduring legacy in the music industry. From his early days with Kris Kross to producing some of the most beloved tracks in R&B, Jermaine’s influence is undeniable. His candid storytelling and insightful discussions offer listeners an intimate look into the life of a music industry titan.

"All these records, I just start making all of these songs about the girls. Pow." ([88:30])

Notable Quotes

• "Hair happiness starts here." – Jermaine Dupri ([00:00], Ad Segment)
• "This is royalty right here." – Joe Crack ([02:24])
• "Confessions came from me saying I just want to confess." – Bow Wow ([72:35])

Closing Remarks

Jermaine Dupri's contributions to music have left an indelible mark on both hip-hop and R&B. This episode of The Herd with Colin Cowherd not only celebrates his achievements but also provides an authentic glimpse into his personal journey, making it a must-listen for fans and aspiring musicians alike.

Transcript

[Jermaine Dupri]

There's a myth. A lot of us grow up believing that hair loss is just a part of life. It happens, it runs in the family. And once it starts, there's no stopping it. But here's the truth. That's outdated thinking. Scientific understanding of hair loss has advanced in recent years. Today we have a deeper knowledge of underlying causes. And we've developed science backed solutions that are both effective and safe. And that's at the very root of Happy Head. Dermatologists led innovation offering stronger FDA approved ingredients that work. But what really sets Happy Head apart is how personalized it is. They don't do one size fits all fixes. You fill out a comprehensive consultation and they're board certified. Dermatologists assign a formula specifically for your hair loss pattern, goals and lifestyle. And whether you're early in your journey or more advanced, Happy Head offers targeted options that actually work. Topical treatments, oral capsules, or potent dual action bundles. All delivered directly to you, discreetly and and freshly compounded. In the US most people start seeing results in three to six months. But the real magic, it's sustainable. This isn't just about growing hair, it's about keeping it long term. So no, hair loss isn't inevitable anymore. Visit happyhead.com and find out what's possible when science, expertise and personalization come together. Hair happiness starts here.

[Jadakiss]

The volume.

[Bow Wow]

All my mind was at. I'm gonna make this record with Jay Z. That's all I was thinking about. I'm gonna make this record with Jay Z. I ain't know what the record was gonna be, but I'm like, I'm gonna make this record with Jay Z. And long story short, he came to Atlanta and I went to pick them up. And when I'm. When I'm driving to the airport to pick him up, I'm listening. Can I knock the hustle? And when he say, deep in the south kicking up top game, I'm like, he's talking about me. Who is he talking about? I'm riding, I'm thinking, he talking about me. He say, switching, folding. I'm switching them. By the way, I'm in a, I'm in a Bentley. So as soon as he come out of the airport, I say, yo, I'mma sample this part. This gonna be our song. And he's like, all right.

[Joe Crack]

It'S Joe Crack the dawn.

[Jadakiss]

It's your boy Kiss. You know what it is? The Joe and Jada show. This is a special edition right here. We got an historic legendary hip hop pillar in the building with no further ado Ladies and gentlemen, make some noise for my brother, Jermaine Dupree.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Joe Crack]

Hold up, hold up. Because this ain't a regular show, guys. This is royalty. This is not even. This. This is a pyramid. You know what I'm saying? It's a whole pyramid of Egypt sitting. I'm telling you the truth.

[Jadakiss]

I didn't say one.

[Joe Crack]

Like, I couldn't sleep last night, you know what I'm saying? Because I was so excited. I mean, we love all our guests, but this is a different. He. He's got the blue Leroy glove.

[Jadakiss]

This is royalty, right?

[Joe Crack]

This is royalty right here. So, you know, J.D. it's an honor to have you on the Joe and Jada show, taking the chance with our little podcast. You know, we the rookies of the year, most likely to succeed. But thank you for coming up.

[Jadakiss]

My brother. You already know how we go. We going. We gonna give a little. We're gonna go on a little time capsule for the people that might not know, because, you know, we. We living in a time where you have knowledge right in your hand. But some people prefer to look up shoes and look up some bullshit instead of getting some knowledge sometime. Now, you stopped attending school in middle school to go on tour. Just talk a little bit about what that experience was like for some people that might not know were going on tours. And for just a young ass kid stopping middle school to go on tour, what was that even like?

[Bow Wow]

I mean, I ain't actually know that's what was happening. I mean, it just was going like I was dancing. So, you know, the Fresh Fest was the first time they ever had a Fresh Fest anywhere was in Atlanta and they had Run DMC and all of them. This is the first shows on Atlanta. Shout out to Ricky Walker. He's the person who actually created the Fresh Fest.

[Joe Crack]

Fresh Fesses, Run dmc, obviously.

[Bow Wow]

Houdini, Fat Boys, Houdini, Curtis Blow, Grandmaster Flash. This was the first Rap tour appearance.

[Joe Crack]

This is the golden. It's never been an error better than this, according to me. But I mean, just my opinion, I always feel like, you know, when people start these debates, I'll be like, yo, that is it. Those are the pioneers there. But go ahead. You. So you was a dancer and you made it on tour?

[Bow Wow]

Yeah, so they had a. They also had a, you know, the Dynamic breakers, the New York City breakers, they had all these breaking crews on there as well. So it was like dancing and rapping, but they needed a opener. This was at a time when you, you know, they need an opener? You don't get no money. You just go out there and waste time. Burn the time off, right?

[Joe Crack]

It was still like that in 93.

[Bow Wow]

Go ahead. That shit ain't so. I'm like, cool. I ain't tripping. I'm like, I'm 12 years old, so I don't care. I'm going on stage. This is the first time I ever seen this many people in the arena. They gave me opportunity to go out there and do like. Probably had like three minutes just me dancing. That's a long time, by the way.

[Jadakiss]

Oh, yeah, dancing.

[Bow Wow]

You ain't got no routine. You just like, I can't believe they.

[Joe Crack]

Had cameras back there. Like, they got you dancing to some of them shits, like, on camera. You know how vital that is right now.

[Bow Wow]

Well, B.C.

[Joe Crack]

I see you dancing, I seen you personally. But hip hop? How would you get hip hop in Atlanta? Cause here in New York, it was only pipe. It was only. Not even. It was. It was red alert once a week and Mr. Magic and then awesome too, overnight. How do you get the new shit? How do you get the new music? The new hip hop that was coming down, how did it get to the atl?

[Bow Wow]

Well, it wasn't there when I saw it wasn't there. This was, this was, this was pre all that. You know what I mean?

[Joe Crack]

So how you dancing?

[Bow Wow]

Like how, you know, I mean, breaking was everywhere. Yeah, breaking was everywhere. You watching breaking, you watching, you know, street in these movies. But I was doing talent shows, you know what I mean? So I started doing talent shows. I was doing Michael Jackson and talent shows. So Michael Jackson routine, be like two minutes. You could do a two minute Michael Jackson routine. I started doing Michael Jackson and then I started paying attention to hip hop and I seen like, oh, I could add this and I could add this. I just started learning things. But I still wasn't like, great. I just was good. Cause I was 12, right? You know, little kids, they get away with it.

[Jadakiss]

They get a little more of a passion.

[Bow Wow]

Pass, right? Go ahead. He's like a clown at the circus. You know what I mean? Go ahead. Do what you gotta do. So I was winning talent shows and that's what happened. So I started winning all these little talent shows around my, you know, around Atlanta, or I come in second place or whatever it is. And so they was like, you know, it's like, yo, let him. Let him go out there and do what he got to do. So I went up on the stage and I did my perfect little time. I got Off I went tripping, you know, I mean, I hit. They made them hit they time. And they was like, you know what? We need to keep somebody to do this. And I'm like, you know what I mean? And I wasn't even paying attention to everything that came with it, because I didn't. I didn't know nothing about me getting out of school and all this. I tried to do the right way, but this was so early in, like, life. Atlanta had never had an artist that would go on tour at 12 years old. So we didn't even have a school system thing that was set up where they could take my grades and while I was on the road and count them as credits. I mean, I did all the work, and I had a tutor, and we tried to do it, but when I came back, they was like, we can't accept this. You got to do it. You got to do that grade again. I'm like, oh, nah, no.

[Joe Crack]

Oh, great.

[Bow Wow]

And after that, I had already been to 50 cities at 12, so I was like, oh, no, I'm done. I'm done. I got to figure this out. I got to figure it out. So then the second year, I was on the Fresh Fest for three years. 84, 85, and 86. And then 86 is when I started rapping. I added a rapping to it. And by then, it was a guy in Atlanta named Sha D, who was actually from the Bronx, who was actually. He came to Atlanta. He. He started bringing. He started.

[Joe Crack]

He got mad every time they mentioned the Bronx on this show. He might be a slight. Oh, yeah, you might be a slight hater.

[Jadakiss]

Everything's from the Bronx. Martha Stewart's from the Bronx. If you ask him.

[Joe Crack]

What do you want me to do? Go ahead. Sha D was from the Bronx?

[Bow Wow]

Yes. Yeah, so he, you know, so. So Shadi came. He started, you know, he introduced me to what the Zulu nation was. All of this, you know, H. Right. But I couldn't rap. I still couldn't do. But he taught me how to, like, write my rap. So he wrote my first rap when I was on the. On the Fresh Fest, and I started doing the rap and perform, you know, performing the rap. And then that's when, you know, the rest of the guys, Houdini and all of them, they start seeing that I was more into that than dancing. So then Jam Master Jay taught me how to dj, like, real. Like, really hands on.

[Jadakiss]

You heard that?

[Bow Wow]

Yeah. And then jamming, Grandmaster D start showing me tricks, and I just started learning from the best, like, you know, Jam.

[Joe Crack]

Master J, man, he taught me a lot, you know, and when I was coming up, man, you know, I had a little flo Joe. I ain't never want to leave the Bronx. And he kept talking to me, yo, you ever been to Detroit? You ever been in Chicago? You ever been like, he was trying to turn. You need to get out there, Joe. So you could. You only want to be in the Bronx. And so rest in peace, Jam Master J. Yeah, so I want to get back to this one thing. When hip hop came to Atlanta, how did it get to Atlanta?

[Bow Wow]

The migration of Atlanta.

[Joe Crack]

Primo was from Texas, and Primo said his cousins used to drive over there with tapes of Mr. Magic and Red Alert. I'm just trying to establish.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah, basically it was like the migration of a lot of New Yorkers start coming to Atlanta. Like I said, Shadi is from New York. So it seemed like more and more New Yorkers start coming to Atlanta. And then you start seeing, like, little parties and these pop up that was like, oh, this is hip hop. But then it was also like the artists was coming, right? The artists were coming. More and more artists was coming to Atlanta. Then they had a dance show in Atlanta that was only our local dance show, right. And it just, you know how it was coming in and out. We still only had a radio station, which was V103.

[Jadakiss]

They only played rap, Jack the rap. That's the first time I ever been in any shit like that.

[Bow Wow]

So we have, you know, once the station, they only play hip hop on Friday night for an hour.

[Joe Crack]

Yeah, that's how I go.

[Bow Wow]

So on that Friday night, in that.

[Joe Crack]

Hour, I was right there, like, kids don't understand. They got the. On their phone like, like water.

[Jadakiss]

You start to stay up. You used to have to be on point.

[Joe Crack]

I never forget. Khaled dropped. Wow, wow, wow. On a Thursday. Friday I was like, in Paris somewhere at a show, and they threw that on, and the whole crowd was like, wow, wow, wow. I was like, you know, it makes you think about what? You only heard hip hop on Friday and Saturday. I'm like this across the world in one day. But at that time, we have to look for it. Yeah, right.

[Jadakiss]

The tissue and the tape over, the cassette taping over.

[Joe Crack]

You know, me, I, you know, grew up in the Bronx. And so, you know, my guys, man, you know, my guys, we had like, a public phone in front of the building, and they used to break the public phone and use electricity to put the boombox. So the bigger guys shout out to aj, GP Craigo, Rest in peace, my brother. They used to put the boombox on, then they played the awesome two that was at four in the morning. Like that. So I would be a kid out the window listening to the overnight. Like, they would play whole other kind of music, underground music that they wouldn't play with Red Alert.

[Jadakiss]

So there was like beat on Stretch before.

[Joe Crack]

Yes, they were. Yes, they were.

[Bow Wow]

And then, so see, I, I. So in 86, I met Chad Elliott. Chad Elliott was part of Charles Stetler crew.

[Jadakiss]

Shout out to Chad.

[Bow Wow]

And when, when the Fat Boys won that contest in Crush Groove, Chad came in second place.

[Jadakiss]

Yep.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah, he came in second place. Right. So they put. So Charles Stetler was like, we need to put this kid on the tour if y' all got Jermaine on the tour. Right? So then they worked out for Chad to get on the tour as well. So then me and Chad met and we, you know, I mean, we hit it off and then we started hanging out. And then I moved to Brooklyn with him and stayed at his house on Eastern Parkway. And that's when I start, like, becoming pure. Yeah.

[Joe Crack]

You know, I was a kid. I never forget I was a kid and my, My aunt, my grand. My godmother, she lived in Brooklyn on the East New York and Summit. She had a little house. But I remember the kids, I used to spend all summers in Brooklyn and the kids was like, yo, come. And we went to the projects and they had a jam and they played this record. And I, I guess I grew up. I just didn't know, right?

[Jadakiss]

But.

[Joe Crack]

But they played this record where I actually walked up to the DJ and what? And it was SOS Band. It was, baby, we can do it. Take your time, do it. And I was just like, that must have hit every endorphin in the. Like, I was like a kid. But I was like, yo, what the is this, like, this is crazy. I felt like it was only a Brooklyn thing, right? But you in Brooklyn, you caught everything. So you, you was here.

[Bow Wow]

You caught. Yeah. And I learned, I learned, like, what was the difference between where I. Where I, you know, in Atlanta and New York, Immediately, they was bricking me with everything I had on, you know, I mean, they was telling me I was look like a country bum. They was. I was, you know, in East New York, was saying, what?

[Joe Crack]

They don't care?

[Bow Wow]

And I was going to the same way.

[Joe Crack]

They don't give a. They talk about your mom's walking in the building, everything.

[Bow Wow]

I got chased by Decepticons and all that.

[Joe Crack]

So you was outside Outside, he was fast too.

[Jadakiss]

If you had to get away from nothing.

[Joe Crack]

Yeah. At what point it goes down? Because me personally, right, this is something I'm gonna go to my. My deathbed with. 20 something years ago, I moved to Miami, right? And every time I go to atl, I argue with myself. Did I make the right thing? Should I have moved to the atl? Feel so at home in the atl.

[Jadakiss]

It was. Got a lot of restaurants you like?

[Joe Crack]

Nah, we love the restaurants. It's just, you know, I love black people. I love the entrepreneurialism. I love that they all just divide, help each other. The vibe is great, you know, the weather's everything. Just every time I go to atl, I argue with myself. Like, I just be like, damn, I was tough for me. Yeah, huh?

[Jadakiss]

It's hard. I keep extending my stay with me when I forever.

[Joe Crack]

You see what I'm saying?

[Jadakiss]

Two more days. You need two more days. That make me think I should just. It gotta out here. What's up, y'?

[Bow Wow]

All? It's going down.

[Jadakiss]

Friday, July 11th. Netflix and most valuable promotions are bringing the fight the whole world's been waiting for.

[Joe Crack]

It's the trilogy. The biggest fight of all fights. Continue, Continue.

[Jadakiss]

You already know it is on the past fights. Katie Taylor is chasing ultimate glory. Amanda Serrano is fighting for redemption and revenge. This is more than a fight. It's the first ever women's boxing trilogy in the world is watching.

[Joe Crack]

Do not move your seat off of Netflix and go get popcorn or go get a soda because somebody is getting hit through the ropes.

[Jadakiss]

That's a fact. Live from the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York City is Taylor versus Serrano. One last time. It's about to get personal. You don't want to miss this. Smoke the stakes, the sky high, the rivalry, legendary. Who will win?

[Joe Crack]

Serrano's gonna win this one. This is about to go five. Netflix. Gonna have to sign the next fight too.

[Jadakiss]

Check it out. If you are not tapped into this fight, what are you even doing? Watch Katie Taylor versus Amanda Serrano. Friday, July 11th at 8pm Eastern, 5pm Pacific. Live only on Netflix.

[N/A]

Hot days, humid nights and nonstop plans. All that heat can increase hair shedding, while a packed schedule can add stress which can impact your hair. Neutropol's whole body approach and clinically tested formulas support your hair from within so you can focus on living your best life all summer long. Neutral is the number one dermatologist recommended hair growth supplement brand trusted by over one and a half million people. See thicker, stronger, faster growing hair with less shedding. 3 to 6 months with Nutrafol Thinning hair is different for men and women, so a one size fits all approach to hair growth doesn't cut it. Neutral has multiple formulas for men and women that are tailored to different life stages such as postpartum or menopause and lifestyle factors such as a plant based lifestyle so you can get just what you need. Plus, users of Neutral men reported no impact to sexual performance. Thank goodness. While many supplements rely solely on ingredient studies, Neutropol clinically tests final formulations to ensure their efficacy. In a clinical study, 84% of men showed improvement in their hair after six months taking neutrophil men hair growth supplement and 90% of women saw overall improvement in their hair after taking Neutral Women Hair Growth supplement for six months. Building a hair growth routine is easy. Order online, no prescription needed. Enjoy free shipping, automated deliveries and up to 20% savings with Nutrafol subscription plus get free naturopathic doctor consults and a Headspace Meditation membership. Start your hair growth journey with Neutral for a limited time. Neutral is offering listeners $10 off your first month subscription free shipping. When you go to neutrful.com and enter promo code Culture Ristas Find out why Neutral is the best selling hair growth supplement [e-mail] spelled n u t r a f o l.com promo code culturistas that's nutrafol.com promo code culturistas There's a myth.

[Jermaine Dupri]

A lot of us grow up believing that hair loss is just a part of life. It happens, it runs in the family. And once it starts, there's no stopping it. But here's the truth that's outdated thinking. Scientific understanding of hair loss has advanced in recent years.

[Bow Wow]

Years.

[Jermaine Dupri]

Today we have a deeper knowledge of underlying causes and we've developed science backed solutions that are both effective and safe. And that's at the very root of Happy Head. Dermatologists led innovation offering stronger FDA approved ingredients that work. But what really sets Happy Head apart is how personalized it is. They don't do one size fits all fixes. You fill out a comprehensive consultation and their board certified dermatologist design a formula specifically for your hair loss pattern, goals and lifestyle. And whether you're early in your journey or more advanced, Happy Head offers targeted options that actually work. Topical treatments, oral capsules or potent dual action bundles all deliver directly to you discreetly and freshly compounded. In the US most people start seeing results in three to six months. But the real magic? It's sustainable this isn't just about growing hair, it's about keeping it long term. So no, hair loss isn't inevitable anymore. Visit happyhead.com and find out what's possible when science, expertise and personalization come together. Hair happiness starts here.

[Joseph Reeves]

Show me how good it can get today, God, and show the rest of the world what we already know it can't get. No better than being Hella Black, Hella Queer and Hella Christian. My name is Joseph Reeves. I am the creator and host of Hella Black hello Queer, hello Christian, a fully black, fully queer, fully human, fully divine podcast that explores society, culture and the intersections of faith and identity. Listen to hello Black, hello Queer, hello Christian to hear conversations about what it means to sound the way you look.

[Joe Crack]

I think what I've had to make.

[Bow Wow]

Peace with is that every iteration of.

[Joe Crack]

My voice is given to me by.

[Bow Wow]

God and I love it.

[Joseph Reeves]

Books that validated our identity.

[Bow Wow]

The library now Me is a safe space as someone who is writing books.

[N/A]

That they're trying to take off of.

[Joseph Reeves]

Shelves and how we as black queer folks relate to our Christianity. Listen to Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcast.

[N/A]

25 years, 25 players before training camp kickstarts a new NFL season, NFL Daily is going to look back. It is a special six episode series where myself, Greg Rosenthal and some of the top NFL minds like Kevin Harlan, Mina Kimes and Bill Barnwell make the case for each player. We're taking a look back giving you NFL Daily's top 25 players of the last 25 years. So who made the list? You know Tom Brady's on it. Where's Patrick?

[Joe Crack]

Mahomes is into the end zone. Touchdown Kansas City.

[N/A]

He's on it. How about Lamar Jackson?

[Joe Crack]

Jackson takes it himself. Look at him dart back and forth. Oh, he broke his ankles and he's got a touchdown. He is Houdini.

[N/A]

You are going to have to listen to find out. Listen to NFL Daily's top 25 players of the last 25 years starting on June 30th on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jadakiss]

Soaked up. Hip hop. You seen the difference in the demigod graphics of New York hip hop and ATL. Then you went back. You still young at 17. You discovered Chris Cross. Yeah, I was. Did you think it was gonna work? What was it? Was you rolling the dice or how. What was you going through at that?

[Bow Wow]

I mean. Well, well, crisscross actually was Like a. The works of me getting to that spot. So I had. I had a group prior that was called Silk Times Leather. That was these two girls. It was called Black Silk Times Leather.

[Joe Crack]

Silk Times Leather.

[Jadakiss]

Silk Times Leather.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah. They actually were the girlfriends of Houdini that I met on tour. Oh, shoot. Right? Wow. So I met them when we was on tour, and they was like, we from Atlanta. And I'm like, from Atlanta. So I was young, and I'm like, shit, y' all can come pick me up. You know what I mean? Like, whatever, Whatever. Y' all could come drive around. I'm like, oh, I got some girls that I can hang out with now in Atlanta. You know, that's what I'm thinking in my mind. And then I think Herbie had just put out Salt and Pepper. So this was like girls that was paying attention to this and some kind of way we start having a conversation, and I never produced a record in my life. And the girls was like, you know, we want to do what Salt and Pepper doing. And I'm like, you should let me produce you. I never did it. I don't know why I even said it, but I just was paying attention to what Herbie was doing, and it seemed interesting. So I started really paying attention to what he was doing. I'm like, oh, he writing the raps, he making the beats, all of this. And I'm like, I could do it. So I started trying to do it, and I did it good enough, where I got them a deal. They got signed to Geffen Records, right? So they actually was the first rap group in Atlanta to have a real major record deal.

[Jadakiss]

Wow.

[Bow Wow]

Wow.

[Joe Crack]

You pulled that off, and then you. And then you go into Crisscross.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah. So Chris with them, though, not so. So we didn't really have a lot of success, but we had enough success where I got. You know, I got $15,000 so I could get some real equipment. So when I got my real equipment, that's when I started making better beats and started getting more and more into it. Then one day, me and the DJ was a female named Dolomix. We went to Greenbrier Mall, and they had an article in Jet Magazine about the female rappers at that particular point in time. And one of the Chris's seen. One of the Chris's moms saw Dolomix and was like, I know that girl. I just read about her, right? But I seen the kids, and they was walking around the mall, and people was paying attention to them, and I'm like, what's Wrong with me.

[Joe Crack]

Charisma.

[Bow Wow]

I'm like, why? I don't. I don't know. These. I'm thinking they, like, you know, they must be on the Disney Channel or something. Like, I'm like, why is people acting like this? So I keep watching. Move around, move around. They going in Foot Locker. They going to Foot Action. They doing all the rap. I'm like, who is this? And girls is giving them free cookies at the Cookie Company. I'm telling you. I'm walking around watching them.

[Jadakiss]

It was lit before.

[Bow Wow]

I'm in there. So I'm like, finally walk up to him. I'm like, yo, who are y'? All? And I was like, what do y' all do? They like, we don't do nothing. I'm like, why y' all get. Why they're giving y' all no listen. Mall. They like. Cause we fresh. And I'm like, oh, wait, what? What? I'm like, do y' all rap? And they was like, rap? They said that to me. Like, who would rap? That's how they said it to me. And I'm like. And my mind just start going crazy. Like, if these niggas rap based on what they got going on, it's over with, right? So then I got their number. And luckily, they mom vouched, because she's like, he's somebody. Because I know that girl that's with him, right? She didn't. She hadn't put it all together, but she. You know what I'm saying? She had one of them New Jack City moments where dude was like, yo, I know that dude, right? So that's what she was doing. She was like, I know him. So I got the number and I started calling him, like, yo, y' all come over my house. We gonna start making music. They was like, come over your house. You know what I'm saying? So they was really on some, you know, little hood boys that was like, we ain't going over this house. Like, why we going over his house? So I had to get. I had to convince them. So I had to go pick them up from school every day and, like, become they homie, like. And let them see, like, I'm really fucking with y'. All. You know what I mean? So we started kicking it, and I start, like, driving, watching them in the back seat. And I play records, and I play a record. Like, Ice Cube or something was crazy at the time. And they was back there rapping the lyrics like they wrote them. They know this. They ain't never seen the lyrics before. How they know it. They like rapping it. Like, they really rapping. And I'm thinking, like, damn, if I write a song for them and it sound good, like they could do it. Ice Cube. And they learn it like this. They gotta work, right? So I just started trying to figure out how that was gonna happen. I. You know, I wrote so many songs that they hated, and I never got that reaction. I just had to keep going, keep going, keep going, keep going. And then I wrote this song called Little Boys in the Hood. And they liked it because of this concept. Like, I finally got to where they wanted. Okay, now you talking about shit we want to talk about. I was trying to do, like, kitty shit at first, and I was like. And they started telling me about how they, you know, in a school, kids, 12 years old, was walking around with their soc and they socks was doubled up. Cause they had crack in them selling, you know what I mean? So I started hearing all these stories about these little kids in the hood. So I'm like, you know what? When they be doing the news, they don't ever talk about what the kids have to go through and what they see, right? So I started trying to write about that based on what I was hearing them say. And from the deal that I had with silktimes Leather, I had met this engineer named Joe the Butcher, who actually owned Roughhouse Records in Philly. Rough House Record. So that's the only person I knew in the music industry that I could call and be like, I got a project, right? So I did the Little Boys in the Hood, and I sent it to Joe, and he was like, yeah, I want to sign him. And I'm like, oh, shit. You know what I mean? I got it, right? So he gave us a development deal. It wasn't a real record deal. It was a development deal to see if we can make some better records. And like, the night before we had to go to Philly to do, like, record these songs. I wrote jump. I knew it. When I, like In the first 29, 30 seconds.

[Joe Crack]

Yeah, yeah.

[Bow Wow]

I'm like, they pulled us off.

[Joe Crack]

Second you, you know, you hear that. You just like, yo, this, this jumping. Whose idea was it for them to wear the clothes backwards?

[Bow Wow]

Mine. Because, like, Left, I was living at my house at the time.

[Joe Crack]

This is what I want to talk about. This is what I want to talk.

[Jadakiss]

Great.

[Bow Wow]

Like, Left, I had came to my house as a. As a rapper from Philly.

[Joe Crack]

And she was from Philly originally.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah, she from Philly. And she met this guy named Ian Burke. And Ian was, like, the only guy in Atlanta that I knew that was, like, moving around. He was like an A R manager, slash, he was everything, right? And if you knew Ian, Ian connect you to somebody else. So then Ian called me one day. He was like, yo, I met this girl from Philly. She raps. She a young girl. I'm gonna bring her to your house. He brought her to my house. I like the way she rapped, but I was trying to do the crisscross thing. But I was like, yo, I'm fuck with you when I get through this. I ain't have no deal. But I had all these people believing that I was going to do it. So left I was staying at my house without my mom even knowing. Left I was like, living in my closet because she ain't really had no place to stay, so she was staying over there. And one of the songs I did for Kris Kross, I sampled Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney. The girl is Mine, right? And I was thinking, like, I could make a song about y' all arguing about Lisa, and then Lisa was gonna rap about shit, right? And that idea I had, but it never came to life. I kept trying to get it. I couldn't. You know what I mean? But I never couldn't figure it out. And my writing was terrible at that time.

[Joe Crack]

Question I have for you. Who's an artist that you slept on and became a big boy or big girl in the game, that you wasn't ready or things wasn't right? They tried. Like, you know, Eminem gave me his demo six times. And, you know, we ain't never seen no white boy pop off like that. So I guess I was sleeping, you know. After he blew up, I went to dinner with him. He was like, you know, I gave you my demo six times. And I was like, what? And he told me everywhere he gave it to me at who's an artist that you could have signed? And you was like, damn. Or you wish you could have signed?

[Bow Wow]

Well, I mean, I tried to sign Ludacris, but I had a. I had an office full of employees, right? And at this point in time, I was feeling like my office felt like I was controlling everything. So I went there one day and tried to have an A R me. And I asked them about Ludacris, and they all said no. And I tried to go with what my office was saying.

[Joe Crack]

Yeah.

[Bow Wow]

You know what I'm saying? I try. I'm thinking, this. What you're supposed to do. This is. You gotta let the people in the office Work. They was like, Nah, J.D. don't sign him.

[Joe Crack]

And I'm like, well, you know what? They probably slept on him because he started in the radio.

[Bow Wow]

Nah. But I had. I had already. I did something for Madden. So the first Madden game with music, I did it, right? And they called me and they was asking me.

[Jadakiss]

They asked me silence of flexing with the silence.

[Bow Wow]

They asked me for somebody to rap on it that was animated, right? And I'm like, well, I'm not animated like this. But Chris was doing these radio things, right? And I heard him, I kept hearing him do these radio commercials. He was really, really animated, right? And I say, chris, come do this. This Madden. This little Madden thing I'm doing for the video game. And that was the first time me and Chris worked together. But he wanted me to sign him and I wanted to sign him, you know.

[Joe Crack]

You know what's crazy? There's this guy who does commercials, but he don't rap. You don't be hearing them. He be like, 1-800-you crashed your goal, Top Dog. Yo, I love this guy, man. I don't have no clue of. Every time I ask commercial, I turn it up. Like, I be hearing, you crashed, you gone. You girl left. Your leg is sideways. Yeah, top one 800 to get you. I'll be like, yo, this dude is crazy. So I know what you saying. Yeah, Saludicris, right? At what point it turned from hip hop to R B?

[Jadakiss]

I go to the breakfast right after.

[Bow Wow]

No, right after Crisscross, the explosion of Chris Cross, right? I was just like, well, we got.

[Joe Crack]

The Brat, we got Crisscross. We got Bow Wow, we got Usher, we got Mariah, we got Bone Crusher, we got.

[Bow Wow]

Listen. So after, after, after Crisscross, I. I didn't want to be labeled as a one box producer, right? So I was like, I gotta do an R B project. After Kris Kross success, I ain't know if it was gonna work. This is the first time I ever did it, but I just knew that that's what I wanted to do. I didn't want to be put in a BO Project was the first album R and B record that I had ever written, produced or anything. And brought them girls to my house.

[Joe Crack]

And body on down to the sk.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah. You hear it sound like a rap song.

[Joe Crack]

Yes.

[Bow Wow]

Kick.

[Joe Crack]

Yo, bro, you know, I used to be scared to fly, so I used to drive everywhere to Miami to everywhere. And so I got a certain kind of like respect for certain groups, cuz, you know, it get hard on that 95 around South Carolina, when you start seeing Pedro, and they'd be like, pedro. And you gotta. That Escape, man. They got me through a lot of drives that. That escape was different. So you. So escape. You wrote all that?

[Bow Wow]

Yeah. So I'm saying I was taking still from hip hop. Like, kick off your shoes and relax your feet. That was Run DMC line. I just was doing what I thought you ever wrote.

[Joe Crack]

You ever. You ever wrote an R B song? No, I never wrote an R B song. I never. Like, I never had. I always thought I could.

[Jadakiss]

He just. He just broke it down. I could do one.

[Joe Crack]

Sometimes Beyonce has some witty lyrics where I be like, yo, Jay must have been right in that studio and gave her a bar. Like, I hear it all the time in her music where I'm just like, she's talking that shit. I said, oh, Hov. Must have been in that studio, gave her a bar. And, you know, it just. You know. But it's something I always wanted to do because I'm a lover, not a fighter, B. Yeah, I mean, like I.

[Bow Wow]

Said, if you take it, if you just listen to it, it's the same thing. Ultimately, you just have to figure out the melody. But other than the melody, writing rap and writing a song is pretty much the same.

[Joe Crack]

You know, LaFace goes down to the ATL, right? They're not from there. Right. Like, Babyface is where from? Indiana. And. But they set up shop, they fell in love with atl, but they let everybody work with the artists they signed. You know, he would go to. You go to Rico Wade.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah.

[Joe Crack]

Go to Dallas Austin. Right. And so what are some of the songs you wrote for TLC and other artists that wasn't actually your artist?

[Bow Wow]

Well, TLC was my group first, before they even signed in the Face.

[Jadakiss]

Another one.

[Bow Wow]

Like, you know, you gotta remember, left. I was at my house, right? So then Ian brought. Ian brought Tion to my house. And then they met at my house. And they was called Second Nature before they was called tlc. And I would have. Now this is what I do. Regret. I regret my mind not moving fast enough. Cause if I could have had TLC and crisscross at the same time. But I ain't, I ain't. I was too young to know.

[Joe Crack]

Learning the game I ain't know.

[Bow Wow]

You know what I'm saying?

[Joe Crack]

It was God's timing, too, believe it or not. It was like, it wasn't for you like that.

[Bow Wow]

You know what I'm saying?

[Joe Crack]

It was God's timing, but I had.

[Bow Wow]

So much energy for the guys. I wasn't giving the girls a lot of energy. And they went and had that conversation with Pebbles, and they was like, you know, they had a meeting. So if you see the TLC movie on VH1, when left out, make this phone call. She called me in that movie.

[Joe Crack]

I saw that.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah, they cut me out. But they.

[Joe Crack]

No, no, no, no, no. But I saw that movie.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah. She called me to be like, jd, they want to sign us. What you want to do? And when she said that, I could have been like, nah, I got y'. All. Let's do this. But I was. I started thinking like a producer. I started thinking, like, if they get signed, I could do a bunch of songs on their album, right? As. Instead of just trying to hold them, be like, let them sign on my label. So I was like, go ahead, do the deal. So they first album I did a song called I Could Do Bad By Myself on the second album is when I did more. More work with TLC than I ever did. But really, really, a lot of that, me working with LaFace came from Usher's second album, the Maui album. I did the whole album. Oh, wow.

[Jadakiss]

Basically another one.

[Joe Crack]

And so Usher was up here. So I remember when he was all around New York as a kid.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah.

[Joe Crack]

They snuck him into clubs.

[Jadakiss]

Everything.

[Joe Crack]

Everybody. This we did. I forget what. What was out. Jodeci. But they also had, like, hip hop, I think. Was it Black Rob's wall, or is it too. That was too early, because I'm trying to tell you, there's only very few records like Black Rob's Whoa or Ballin by Jim Jones. There was very few records when I was in a club that just. Everybody lost their mind. And I remember meeting Usher for the first time as a kid in the club here, and they had something out there that was stupid. And I remember ushered in. I was like, damn. And that was.

[Bow Wow]

But any case, this was partying days back then. This was.

[Jadakiss]

He's going back before. You talking about.

[Joe Crack]

I know, I know, I know. I'm just like. I remember Usher as a kid out here in New York and seeing them all over.

[Jadakiss]

Yeah.

[Joe Crack]

But this guy. So the second album, so you sit down with Usher and. And. And you say, yo, I'm gonna make a classic.

[Bow Wow]

No, no, I don't say that.

[Joe Crack]

What'd you say?

[Bow Wow]

I don't know what's gonna happen.

[Jadakiss]

You're gonna make some music.

[Bow Wow]

I actually don't know what's gonna happen. I just know that, you know, I think they tried to make an album with Dallas. They tried to make an album with Puff and the album that they wanted for his second record, it didn't work. So they actually tell me that they was on the verge of dropping him if it didn't work with me. Right. I ain't noticed, though. I started hearing this after the fact. So, you know, but they was like, you know, we want you to do what you did with Kris Kross, with Usher. We want you to take him to your house. You know what I mean? Make him your artist. And I was like, all right. I never did this before with the R. I never produced nobody male R B. So I don't know what the song's gonna sound like. I did escape.

[Joe Crack]

Oh, shit.

[Bow Wow]

But I ain't never do it with a male artist, so I ain't know what the song was gonna sound like. So he came, we start kicking, I start talking, and I start figuring out, okay, he.

[Joe Crack]

He.

[Bow Wow]

He just like, crisscross, almost like he pick up instantly. If he love it, he really get it. You know what I'm saying? So I'm like, okay, if I write songs for him that he love, he gonna sing it. He gonna sing it with his all. Yeah, right? But I still was writing songs like raps. Seven o' clock on the dot I'm in my drop top Cruising the streets these is rap lyrics.

[Joe Crack]

Reads.

[N/A]

Did you know using your browser in incognito mode doesn't actually protect your privacy? Take back your Privacy with IPVanish VPN. Just one tap and all your data, passwords, communications, browsing history, and more will be instantly protected. Ipvanish makes you virtually Invisible Online. Use IPVanish on all your devices, anytime you go online, at home, and especially on public wi fi. Get IPVanish now for 70% off a yearly plan with this exclusive offer@ipvanish ipvanish.com.

[Joseph Reeves]

Audio show me how good it could get today, God. And show the rest of the world what we already know it can't get. No better than being hella black, hella queer, and hella Christian. My name is Joseph Reeves. I am the creator and host of Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian, a fully black, fully queer, fully human, fully divine podcast that explores society, culture, and the intersections of faith and identity. Listen to hello Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian. To hear conversations about what it means to sound the way you look.

[Joe Crack]

I think what I've had to make.

[Bow Wow]

Peace with is that every iteration of my voice is given to me by God, and I love it.

[Joseph Reeves]

Books that validated our identity.

[N/A]

The library now for Me is a safe space.

[Bow Wow]

As someone who is writing books that.

[N/A]

They'Re trying to take off of shelves.

[Joseph Reeves]

And how we as black queer folks relate to our Christianity. Christianity. Listen to Hella black, hella queer, Hella Christian on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.

[N/A]

25 years, 25 players. Before training camp kickstarts a new NFL season, NFL Daily is going to look back. It is a special six episode series where myself, Greg Rosenthal and some of the top NFL minds like Kevin Harlan, Mina Kimes and Bill Barnwell make the case for each player. We're taking a look back giving you NFL Daily's top 25 players of the last 25 years. So who made the list? You know, Tom Brady's on it. Where's Patrick Mahomes?

[Jadakiss]

Kansas City.

[N/A]

He's on it. How about Lamar Jackson?

[Joe Crack]

Jackson takes it himself. Look at him dirt back and forth. Oh, oh, he broke his ankles and he's got a touchdown. He is Houdini.

[N/A]

You are going to have to listen to find out. Listen to NFL Daily's top 25 players of the last 25 years starting on June 30 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Joe Crack]

When you talk about all these kid stars, right. Something that keeps, maybe because it's you, but something that keeps popping up to me is Monica. Right. She was just a young girl out there and she sang like you, skipping the breath.

[Jadakiss]

I wouldn't hear.

[Joe Crack]

I'm not saying we got the brat. We got too much to talk about.

[Jadakiss]

But I'm just going, she quits.

[Joe Crack]

You want to go and see?

[Jadakiss]

Go ahead. We hear about the brat outfit.

[Bow Wow]

Go ahead with the Monica. Let me leave.

[Joe Crack]

I'm just saying Monica was a little girl with a big voice.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah.

[Joe Crack]

And she became a superstar just like that. Did you know like when you, when.

[Bow Wow]

You heard she was Dallas artist.

[Joe Crack]

I know, yeah.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah.

[Jadakiss]

I was breaking a lot of bread down there.

[Bow Wow]

I knew, I knew she was hot though. I knew she had it and she was like, she was a ghetto girl that Dallas was trying to take into the Whitney Houston space and she had the voice to go into that space. Not. I don't want nobody take it wrong with saying she's really.

[Joe Crack]

No, no, no, no. She was, she had the voice to go to go there.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah.

[Joe Crack]

There's no question about that.

[Bow Wow]

But I never thought I would work with her either. I didn't have no idea I ever worked with Monica.

[Joe Crack]

What joints you did for Monica?

[Bow Wow]

I did the first Night. That was the first song I ever did with her.

[Joe Crack]

The first night.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah.

[Joe Crack]

Yo, let me tell you something, boy. This ATL Royalty is that. Let's go to the Brat. I love the Brat. That's my sister. We not. Let's go to the Brat. Let's go to the Brat. First female to sell a million records.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah. Yeah, rapper. So the Brat situation.

[Joe Crack]

How do you find the Brat from Chicago?

[Bow Wow]

Yeah, yeah. So Brat, Brat met Crisscross when they was on their second tour. Yeah, they was on. They was on another tour after they went on tour. Michael Jackson, they was on another tour, right? So they went on. They went on a tour, and they had, like, what's his name? Ed Lover and from all love raps, right? Dr. Dre, like, the host of the tour. And they call people up on the stage and rap as an intermission between, you know, I think MC Light and Crisscross, right? Because they had put MC Light at the opening for them and shout out.

[Joe Crack]

To MC Light, my mom's just passed away. I love you, Light.

[Bow Wow]

Living legend Brat came on the stage and rap, and I wasn't there. And they called me right after Light Skin. Because I remember, like, yesterday, he called me like, yo, this female rapper, she went crazy in Chicago. And I'm like, I don't care about no female rappers. Like, don't nobody like female rappers. This what I'm saying. Like, this one. No female rappers popping off besides salt and pepper. Like. And in, like, street fashion of us driving around, we weren't listening to no female rappers in our cars. Like, that just wasn't what happened. So I just like, nah. And I thought, like, me messing with a female rapper was gonna be the first time that my little success story was gonna go wrong. Cause I was like, I just did.

[Joe Crack]

You was on a roll?

[Bow Wow]

Yeah, I just did Crisscross. I did escape. And I was. You know what I'm saying? I was moving, and I was just like, nah. Female rap. I can't do it. So. But I. But he kept pushing me, and I was like, all right, tell her to come to Atlanta. She came to Atlanta, and she told me to come to the hotel and meet her. I went to the hotel, like, to meet her, like, have a conversation with her. And I'm like, I'm gonna take you to my house, because this is where my studio was. So I'm driving her from downtown Atlanta to College park. And I stop and get gas, and I stop and get gas. I go in the gas station. I come back, she put a tape in the car while I was inside the gas station place pan. I came back, turned the car on, and the tape started going. And I'm like, what the fuck is. Who is this rapper? And it was her. And I was like, wait, who? Wait, who is this rapper? And the way she was rapping on the tape, I was like, oh, shit.

[Joe Crack]

She was not playing.

[Bow Wow]

Nah, she wasn't playing. She was really rapping like she was coming for it. This wasn't the type of rap I thought this was like, she was really rapping, like, really Chicago style, like Twister and all of that. Like, that type of sh. And I'm like, that's you? And she was like, yeah.

[Joe Crack]

Also, you was producing, like, west coast sounding beats for the Brat.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah, but I hadn't started.

[Jadakiss]

I didn't know what he was about to do.

[Bow Wow]

I didn't know what I was gonna do.

[Joe Crack]

But he didn't, though.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah, I didn't know what I was gonna do. So I took it to my house. I'm like, I like you. I'm gonna sign you. And honestly, Brat Project was like the hardest project for me because I couldn't find that thing yet. I couldn't find. I would make a song and I play it for people. And it was like, yeah, whatever, whatever. And then I just stopped paying attention to who she was. Like, she'd be outside my house and, like, it was cold. So we. We, like, take all the swim, like, all the water out of the swimming pool, and she'd go down in the swimming pool and smoke weed because she couldn't smoke in my house. And she was down in the pool smoking. And I started realizing, like, oh, she. She, like. She a female. Like. Like a little Snoop Dogg. Like, she smoke Reed, like, chain smoking before anybody, like, really by herself. And I'm like, we should put this in the music. And I just start seeing like this was what was happening. It's. You know, And I mean, I'm influenced by what's going on in hip hop, so it ain't, you know, I mean, and I saw, you know, I'm listening to Dre. I'm listening to what's going on, and I'm listening to Snoop. Snoop is doing his thing. And it was kind of like, it wasn't like. Cause the first song we came out with wasn't funk. It was more or less like it was the Isley Brothers. I just flipped. Sleeping in my. I mean, between the sheets. But what I did was I started realizing that if you play the sample over, it give you a different Texture to the music. So when you start playing the music over, that's when people start thinking it was like west coast music. But it wasn't West Coast. It was just. Just in between the Sheets, right? Because we had. I remember we had in between the Sheets and then Biggie them had Big Papa, right? And Big used to come to me all the time, be like, man, what did you do to your beat? That sounds different than my beat. And he just had a sample. I had more, you know, I mean, I almost had like, more. Yeah, different things. I could take the bass. I could do whatever I wanted to do. Because we played it over, right? And I think that's where people start, you know, it was.

[Joe Crack]

We.

[Bow Wow]

We ran with it because the song was called Funk Defy, but it wasn't. It was the Isley Brothers record.

[Jadakiss]

That's it.

[Joe Crack]

So Funk Defied.

[Jadakiss]

Yeah.

[Bow Wow]

And that's the first time I started rapping on as far as people. First time hearing me. And that's because I was in there writing the raps and I was in there writing, and I was just playing around. Like I. Playing around, like, I'm gonna say this and you say this, and it started going. It was like back and forth, back and forth. And everybody was around. It was like, y' all should do that. And I'm like, nah, I don't want to rap that. Right? I'm still trying to stick to just. I'm a producer. I'm. I'm going, I'm doing good. I'm not getting ready to start doing this. We're not going to mess this up, right?

[Joe Crack]

That's around the time they. They. Suge Knight was like, you want producers in your video rapping?

[Bow Wow]

No, no, this was before that. It was almost that forwarding too much. This was before that. So. Yeah, so. So we get to the Functified. Funkified. Come on.

[Joe Crack]

I was there.

[Bow Wow]

And this Brat record, go Crazy. Funk. The Fire record Go Crazy Too Crazy. And Brat album, she became the first female solo artist to have a platinum album.

[Joe Crack]

That was crazy, man. Shout out to the Brat, her wife.

[Jadakiss]

Y' all co wrote that?

[Bow Wow]

Yeah, yeah. Cause that's when I saw. You know what I mean? I start. I was writing, but then I started remembering. Like you rap. I already knew what. You know what I'm saying? So we just start figuring that out. Back and forth motion, right? And I write one part and then she. To grab it and understand where I'm going. And this. Just take it from.

[Joe Crack]

You know, Tip told me Tiny road scrubs. Yeah, Scrub isn't it?

[Bow Wow]

Yeah. Her Candy.

[Joe Crack]

He said he was on the passenger side.

[Bow Wow]

No, I'm sure. I'm sure.

[Joe Crack]

That's crazy. Gag. Kiss. Gag. I know. I'm jumping all up.

[Bow Wow]

You know, I got a beautiful conversation.

[Jadakiss]

This is very knowledgeable.

[Joe Crack]

I'm with you, brother.

[Bow Wow]

So then, like, I'm running around now with Brett, and I'm rapping funk. The fire is big. So I'm performing with her everywhere we go, right? And I'm like, I still don't want to rap, but. But I'm. I'm writing more raps now because I'm hearing myself on the radio, and I'm rapping. I'm starting rapping. And then all my friends like, J.D. you should make y'. All. You should make an album. And I'm like, no, I don't want to make no album. I'm just gonna keep doing what I'm doing. But I start making, like. Like, fake songs in the studio. Like, I'd be writing a song, and I'm thinking I'm gonna give it to somebody else. But I damn near finished the song, and my friends just start listening to it in the car, and they like, yo, you should make this a real song. One thing led to the next, to the next, to the next. And then I did my first album, Life in 1472.

[Joe Crack]

You want to know what's crazy? Is there's something going on down the other side of town. You got the Goody mom?

[Bow Wow]

Not yet.

[Joe Crack]

Not yet. You know what? I'm gonna let you control, get you ask questions, man. Not yet.

[Jadakiss]

Speed it ahead of time.

[Joe Crack]

So they're not ringing off yet?

[Bow Wow]

Yeah, not yet. Nah. Nah, not yet.

[Jadakiss]

This all, like, you know, how do I notice? And you older than me.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah, this, this. It seemed like that by a couple of candies. It seemed like. It wasn't like that. It's an argument about that now. Like. Like, people don't understand. Crisscross came out before outkast.

[Jadakiss]

Facts.

[Joe Crack]

I know that, but I didn't know. I didn't know that Goody Bob and Rico Wade and the family wasn't cooking up.

[Bow Wow]

But that's what I'm saying. You got to think about it. Like New York Crisscross came out before outkast, so you got to think about where the stretch was, right? It's like this. Crisscross and outkast. So Outkast came. I mean, Goody Mob came out after Outkast, after Outcast success.

[Jadakiss]

You ain't know that.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah, you ain't know that.

[Joe Crack]

No, no. No, I always thought the Goody Mob. I'm. That's why we learned. And I always thought the Goody people think I'm signed a big pun. You understand? Not There is. I'm telling you, they asked me. I'm thinking Goody Mob. Birth Outkast.

[Bow Wow]

Outcast came out first. Yeah. Outcast came out first, then Goody Mob. Wow. Yeah.

[Joe Crack]

Oh, that's amazing. But that's after gag. Good timetable.

[Jadakiss]

No, he was talking to you.

[Bow Wow]

Yes. You know, we went into this space of me starting rapping, and me and Brat started doing, like, going back and forth doing things. This, that, and the third. And we did the Sleeping In My Bed remix, right?

[Jadakiss]

That shit was monster.

[Bow Wow]

We did the Sleeping in My Bed remix. This was like the first song that New York had really ever, really, really embraced. That I did. Now, you gotta think from this whole time when I stand here in New York, I had sometimes loving. I took them to see Red. I took the record, the red alert. And. And Chuck, chill out. And Chuck, chill. I was like, nah, nah, nah. This ain't no.

[Jadakiss]

I can't play.

[Bow Wow]

Take that country back.

[Joe Crack]

Chuck's still like that.

[Bow Wow]

Oh, yeah. So. So I always had this thing where I kept trying to check my record.

[Joe Crack]

In New York, 2025.

[Bow Wow]

Chuck still be doing that?

[Joe Crack]

Yes. I listen to him.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah, I like that. I like that.

[Joe Crack]

He never changed.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah. But by the way, that made me to want. Want. That just made my. Me just like, I gotta get a record in New York. Like, I gotta get a record in New York. So I just kept. I wasn't thinking about Sleeping In My Bed being that record, but I was. I always wanted a record that. When I got to New York, I turn on Hot 97. I hear my music, right? So Sleeping in My Bed became like one of the hottest records in New York. Flex was playing at the Tunnel. It was an R B record. They weren't playing on R B at the Tunnel. Right? He was playing this. He's like, J.D. you gotta come to a party at the Tunnel. Sleeping in my bed is going crazy. Right?

[Joe Crack]

Right.

[Bow Wow]

So sleeping in my bed, going crazy. And then we had the photo shoot. The great day in Harlem. Remember that? With all the rappers out there, All y' all was out there, right?

[Joe Crack]

Looking like a baby on a. On a picture that's in my store right now in the Bronx. You looking like a baby out there.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah. So this. So we. We. We come to New York and go to Harlem, do this. And then that's when I met Hov, right? And on my Way to the shoot. I'm listening to Clue tape. And HOV took the sleeping in my bed beat, and he took my cadence. And y' all want to dance? I'm gonna make you dance. He took all of that and did a freestyle. So then I'm in the car like, oh, this nigga know me.

[Joe Crack]

Yeah, he fuck with you.

[Bow Wow]

I'm like, he really know me. He done paid attention to my whole shit. So I wasn't thinking, like, when I seen him, I'm gonna say, let's make a record. But somewhere in my mind, that's what happened, right? So when I seen him out there, I'm like, yo, I heard you just do my whole little flow on that Clue tape. You need to come to Atlanta. We make a record. And he's like, all right. He gave me his number. So I went back home. All my mind was that, I'm gonna make this record with Jay Z. That's all I was thinking about. I'm gonna make this record with Jay Z. I ain't know what the record was gonna be, but I'm like, I'm gonna make this record with Jay Z. And long story short, he came to Atlanta, and I went to pick them up. And when I'm driving to the airport to pick him up, I'm listening to Ken, not to Hustle. And when he say, deep in the south, kicking up top game, I'm like, he's talking about me. Who is he talking about? I'm riding. I'm thinking he talking about me. He say, switching full lane. I'm switching them. I'm, by the way, I'm in a. I'm in a Bentley.

[Joe Crack]

Oh, yeah, you caked up by then.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah, I'm in the Continental Tea, by the way.

[Jadakiss]

Not just a Bentley, Continental Tea, you.

[Bow Wow]

Know what I mean? I'm in the Continental Tea, going to the airport to pick him up, and I'm. I'm all out the window. I'm driving like this. I'm doing everything he's saying in there, switching four lanes, screaming through the sunroof, money, anything. I'm like, this is me. I'm definitely telling you. That's all I'm saying. He talking about me. So as soon as he come out of the airport, I say, yo, I'mma sample this part. This gonna be our song. And he's like, all right. And he's thinking about what I'm saying. And then all the way down the street to my house, down Old national to my house, he just got quiet. And I guess he zoned in on.

[Joe Crack]

His verse, started writing.

[Bow Wow]

He ain't even hit a beat. I ain't play no beat for him. I had an idea. We got to my house, I hit the beat and I said, this is what we gonna rap over. He's like, all right, let's go. I'm ready. And I was like, what? Yeah.

[Joe Crack]

That's crazy how this work.

[Bow Wow]

And I thought this was gonna be trash.

[Joe Crack]

Would have moved into your house. Jada, take his time. He done moved into your house for a month before he gave you that verse. You crazy. Jada, take his time.

[Jadakiss]

There you go, capping.

[Joe Crack]

Now I'm captain.

[Jadakiss]

I just flew to Atlanta for other and went in studio and gave him verse questions.

[Bow Wow]

Yes.

[Jadakiss]

Is that in fact or not?

[Bow Wow]

Yes.

[Joe Crack]

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I gotta with the God. But my thing is, he is each.

[Jadakiss]

One that could catch me come over kissing money. Lay this for me. Drop this for the brat.

[Joe Crack]

Money ain't the thing up here. Felt like that was the emergence of down south in New York.

[Bow Wow]

Like. Like it was.

[Joe Crack]

You know, it felt like that was the the. And y' all was talking that shit legendary. You know, whose idea was the video and all that? The video was crazy.

[Bow Wow]

Everything about that, it was me, hov and free shout out to free made. And, yeah, we was just like. We was trying to just figure out how to do the dumbest shit we could possibly do at that particular point in time. You know what I mean? And we were supposed to have a horse race where we both was riding a horse, but. But both was like, I ain't riding no horse. And I'm like, should I ride the horse? You can put your girl on the horse. I race her. And the way we started talking to each other, that's how the video was. Like, all right, bet a hundred thousand. Let's go. Right? So then everything was just like, let's do it. Let's go over top. So, yeah, we wrecking Porsches and everything at the video shoot. Real life.

[Joe Crack]

Yeah.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah.

[Joe Crack]

So y' all was just jumping out.

[Jadakiss]

Another one.

[Joe Crack]

So at what point do you hear outkast?

[Bow Wow]

Well, outkast is out at this point. Outkast is out. Like, Outkast came. Outkast was out. Like, I said, Outkast came out right after Krish Kross. So they actually was like, brat Outkast. And they. In that little era, all of that came out around the same time. Like, 94. Kris Kross came out in 92 too. So Outkast, I think, like, they came out and that's when they Won. They won the award at the Source Awards in 94.

[Joe Crack]

Yeah, I was there. That was that night. I was there, brother. I was sitting right behind Outkast. Right in front of Outkast was the 69 boys. Nas was sitting right in front of me.

[Bow Wow]

You really remember?

[Joe Crack]

Oh, I'm at the. I'm strapped in the Source Awards. Like, keep it real with you. I got the Animals with me. I'm up in there. You know what I'm saying? So I saw where Outkast won that. That award, and they just got up, and I wasn't. I was up on outkast, but I didn't think they were the Kings, right? So I. I knew they was nice. I knew they was repping that atl, but I ain't. When they won, who they won against, Wu Tang, they want against some serious people up there.

[Bow Wow]

That was a new artist who award, though, right?

[Joe Crack]

See? Yeah, but it was. It was around the same time, but when they. I remember them getting up, they did like, a little one, two, step. They went. Because they didn't think they were gonna win in New York like they did. So when they won, it was. That was a major. That was like Biggie on stage going, brooklyn, we did it. We made it, right? It's like when Outkast won, if you wasn't there, you and the atl. You seen when they won that on.

[Bow Wow]

Tv, I was there.

[Joe Crack]

Oh, you was there?

[Bow Wow]

Yeah.

[Joe Crack]

That must have been, like, in the whole entire south, or they, like, the south got something to say.

[Bow Wow]

I mean, for me, I didn't feel it like that because I had already said what I had to say. I had already been saying what the south got to say, right? But this was more or less like, you know, like what? Don't understand. I ushered in Young in rap. When I brought Crisscross in the game, it was no young people rapping. Young people didn't even want to rap, right? It was all old. So old niggas would never give young no credit. Crisscross came out, they first album, they sold 8 million records. Don't ever be, like, really, like, talking about this. Like, they want to give all Crisscross credit to somebody else. They sold 8 million records at 12 years old.

[Joe Crack]

That's a lot of records, man.

[Bow Wow]

They sold 4 million. Jumped.

[Joe Crack]

Well on that wall. You know, his studio, he got a wall with nothing but platinum, diamond shit.

[Jadakiss]

Call it a studio, I'll call it a museum, sound, art exhibit.

[Joe Crack]

You walk up in there, you know, you. You stepping in some shit.

[N/A]

Did you know using your browser in incognito mode doesn't actually protect your privacy. Take back your privacy with IPVanish VPN. Just one tap and all your data, passwords, communications, browsing history and instantly protected IPVanish makes you virtually invisible online. Use IPVanish on all your devices, anytime you go online, at home, and especially on public wi fi. Get IPVanish now for 70% off a yearly plan with this exclusive [e-mail] audio.

[Joseph Reeves]

Show me how good it can get today God and show the rest of the world what we already know it can't get. No better than being Hella Black, Hella Queer and hello Christian. My name is Joseph Rees. I am the creator and host of Hella Black Hella Queer. Hello Christian a fully black, fully queer, fully human, fully divine podcast that explores society, culture and the intersections of faith and identity. Listen to hello Black, hello Queer, hello Christian to hear conversations about what it means to sound the way you look.

[Joe Crack]

I think what I've had to make.

[Bow Wow]

Peace with is that every interaction of my voice is given to me by God and I love it.

[Joseph Reeves]

Books that validated our identity.

[Bow Wow]

The library now for me is a.

[N/A]

Safe space as someone who is writing books that they're trying to take off.

[Joseph Reeves]

Of shelves and how we as black queer folks relate to our Christianity. Listen to Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.

[N/A]

25 years, 25 players before training camp kickstarts a new NFL season, NFL Daily is going to look back. It is a special six episode series where myself, Greg Rosenthal and some of the top NFL minds like Kevin Harlan, Mina Kimes and Bill Barnwell make the case for each player. We're taking a look back giving you NFL Daily's top 25 players of the last 25 years. So who made the list? You know Tom Brady's on it. Where's Patrick?

[Joe Crack]

Mahomes is into the end zone. Touchdown Kansas City.

[N/A]

He's on it. How about Lamar Jackson?

[Joe Crack]

Jackson takes it himself. Look at him dart back and forth. Oh he broke his ankles and he's got a touchdown. He is Houdini.

[N/A]

You are going to have to listen to find out. Listen to NFL Daily's top 25 players of the last 25 years starting on June 30th on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Joe Crack]

How many millions man. Cuz kiss don't let me ask you that. He like to be hung.

[Bow Wow]

He said you got it But It's.

[Joe Crack]

A lot of millions.

[Bow Wow]

See, I mean, that. It was one time, it was at like 400, 500 million, but that's. That was like 10 years ago. Now that we got this streaming, I know it's way more than that.

[Jadakiss]

Confessions. Before I even get to Mariah, how. What was you in staff? Shout out to B. Shout out to everybody. What was. What kind of zone. What did y' all set out to do? Cuz, I. If y' all just say, yo, we about to cook up some and go diamond and take over the whole. Every piece of the world, Y accomplish that to the T. I don't think that's what y' all did.

[Bow Wow]

No, no. Well, I mean, you got. So we had 8,701 first before confessions, right? Shout out to that, definitely. Yeah. So. So 8701. We wrote you got it Bad, so. You Got It Bad. The success of you Got It Bad was just like. Was the beginning of it. Like, it was like, okay, listen, we make. After. After you got a bad success, we went back in the studio for Confessions. The mentality was that we had to finish off what we thought you Got it Bad did, right? So Usher was talking about a song. Like, he felt like his relationship was going through this situation. He wanted it to burn out. Like, just let it burn out. I'm gonna have to go through the pain and telling me this. And I. I couldn't really grasp what he was saying because I went. I have gone through that type of situation, but I was trying to. And I was trying to figure it out. And he told me this, and he left. And I sat there for a minute. I kept thinking about him, like, let it burn, let it burn. And I kept saying, like, oh, okay. When feeling nobody, I start trying to figure out what the words were. And then I got it. And I called him back. I said, I got it, I got it. I got the hook. So he came back to the studio, and we did Let It Burn first, right? We did Let It Burn first. And then he started saying he was going through this thing where he couldn't really work in Atlanta. Let's go to la. And I'm like, nah, here we go. This is the bullshit. I thought we was. This was.

[Joe Crack]

Everybody go through a phase. You thinking he gonna block his own blessings, right?

[Bow Wow]

I'm like, here we go. I know I'm thinking about me. Cause I'm like a. I want to be where I can grab all the records that I need. Any ideas? It's all in my studio, right? For Me, as far as being creative, I don't want to go nowhere because I know I'm gonna forget something. I'm gonna leave some more. I can't find something. Yeah, right. So he like, let's go to la. And I'm like, ah, cool. I'm going. We go, we go to Brandon's way and we get out there and my man that was with me, he was talking to me about girls and side girls and relationships and this, that and the third. And I just kept saying, that's all bad. Like everything you talking about is all bad. And Usher came to the studio and we started talking about some things, but then he left and all I kept remember he was like, yo, let's come back tomorrow. And I was like, man, nah, I can't let LA beat me. I get like a writer's block. I feel like I got a writer's block block basically. And, you know, it's really, really bothering me because I already felt like it was gonna happen when I got to la.

[Jadakiss]

So not to cut you off, that happens to me in la. I needed. I can't just go there and go straight to the studio. I gotta, I gotta cry, I gotta be, I gotta, some gotta happen.

[Bow Wow]

I can't.

[Jadakiss]

I don't got the same fluidity in the studio in LA that I got anywhere else. And I don't know what it did, I don't know what it is. It takes a while for me to get. I can't just go there and be kissed off the rip.

[Joe Crack]

So, yeah, I never really successfully wrote in la.

[Bow Wow]

Never.

[Joe Crack]

Me, myself never hit one out the park in la. Yeah, like, you know, I wrote there, but it wasn't.

[Jadakiss]

Blackout was recorded in LA on xl. This is it right here, man. That's probably.

[Joe Crack]

No, he was recording out there.

[Jadakiss]

I'm talking about. For me, X album is the, the best I was able to.

[Bow Wow]

So, yeah, so I, I, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm going through this thing and I'm struggling. So I'm like, I told an engineer, give me a copy of the beat. Because I made, we made the beat me and because he made the beat and I think I, I know, I know the beat, right? I just don't. I ain't got the words. I can't figure it out. And I, and, and I'm thinking about saying stuff that I don't think Usher's gonna want to say, right? So I'm thinking like, that he ain't gonna wanna do this. Cause I, this ain't what his life is, right? He ain't going through this. So I'm like, but that's what I want to say. But I'm thinking like, this ain't gonna work. So I take the beat and I get in the car and I'm getting in the car, I'm riding down Melrose and I'm thinking like I. I swear I knew. I'm thinking, I'm thinking like, I ain't got the words. I can't. So I start thinking about usual suspect. Right? Right. Kaiser Soj was in the, the, the jail. He a had the words for the story. He just started looking for the words on the board and try to create the story. So I'm like, I'mma try this. And that's what I've started doing. I'm looking at signs on Melroses, all kind of shit going right? So I get to the light, I think on third and the Beverly Center's in front of me. And that's when I say, every time I was in la, I was with my ex girlfriend. Every time she called me, I told him, gravy, I'm working. No, I was out doing my work. I was hand in hand in the Beverly Cent man, not giving a damn who sees me. And I'm thinking like, oh, and I'm just grabbing this everything I see. I would have never said the Beverly son in that song if the Beverly sun wasn't in front of me. I'm trying to do the Kaiser so they right. So as I get through that verse, I'm like, I'm like, I got it. So everything is everything. Everything I've been doing is all bad. I got a chick on the side with a crib in the ride I've been telling you some mineralize Ain't nothing good, it's all bad. I just want to confess. And that's where confessions came from with me saying I just want to confess. All of this shit that I've been doing is bad. We ain't have confessions that if I wouldn't have said that. I want to confess to you Everything that I've been doing is bad. So it's like my time. I'm saying this is going to be the first R B record with a nigga actually tell a girl. Fuck it. Yeah, you ain't got to even ask. Yeah, I'm fucking her. This what I'm doing. I got a crib on the side with a chick on the side with a crib on the right I've been telling you so many lies Ain't nothing good. It's all bad. Bad. I ain't know he's going. I just felt like day.

[Joe Crack]

That song feels so good to this day.

[Jadakiss]

Oh, bad.

[Bow Wow]

So that was the beginning, right? That was the beginning. I had to drive all the way to Malibu because everybody had left the studio and I couldn't record. I had to remember. I had to memorize all of this. Yeah. I had to keep going. Right. So the next day, it's like, we got to hurry up and get to the studio. So I put it down. Put it down.

[Joe Crack]

You ain't write it down.

[Bow Wow]

I'm right. I'm driving and writing in my head.

[Joe Crack]

I forgot.

[Bow Wow]

So. So we get back, we do this, we do all bad. And then Mark pitch, like, what happened after, you know, after this situation?

[Jadakiss]

Who.

[Bow Wow]

What happened with the chick on the side? Then it hit me. It's like, oh, damn, she got pregnant. This is like my real life, right? The chick on the side get pregnant. I know this story. Like, I really know this story. I ain't got to write this, right? So. So that's when we like, okay. I'm like, this is gonna be part two. And part two became these are my confessions. And you. If we wouldn't ever got to that, if we wouldn't have. Did we. So we did a part two of a song that never even came out.

[Joe Crack]

Wow. So that was part two to the part one. That was the response.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah.

[Joe Crack]

And you ain't even do the first one.

[Bow Wow]

Well, we did it, but it didn't come out. LA didn't put all bad on the first. He didn't put it on the album. He put it on, you know, me on the repackage.

[Joe Crack]

You know, you naming some big names, right. So you saying LA Reid, you're saying Mark Pitts, who decides what comes on the album?

[Bow Wow]

LA Reid on the Face. I mean, you know, at that time, Ariston, you know, that was his. That's.

[Joe Crack]

He'd be like, I want this, I.

[Jadakiss]

Want that shot call.

[Bow Wow]

That's his job. That's what he's doing. And that was his space. Like la, you know, putting the albums together.

[Joe Crack]

Saw like a. Like a old interview with R. Kelly, and he said he would do like a hundred songs and listen to all of them and pick out the 12 on the album. Like, you know how hard that had to be.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah.

[Joe Crack]

To like, there's probably some gems left on the floor. Right.

[Bow Wow]

But that's what I'm saying. Like, I never even understood why LA didn't even put both versions. He didn't want. He ain't put all bad. And I'm like, you know what's crazy is that people gonna listen to this and they're hearing the second story. They don't even know where it came from. But I couldn't figure. I. I couldn't figure out how it worked.

[Jadakiss]

Genius.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah, it was.

[Jadakiss]

It was like crazy. Genius.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah.

[Joe Crack]

So.

[Bow Wow]

So that was the beginning of Confessions, I think.

[Joe Crack]

Big Pun. Right.

[Jadakiss]

If you think about it, though, J.D. that's how movies they. Sometimes they make you watch the movie back.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah.

[Joe Crack]

That's a fact.

[Jadakiss]

Yeah.

[Joe Crack]

And it was ill. He said he did the Kaiser Soul. So. Yeah. Writer's block. So he was looking at signs. It was like driving.

[Bow Wow]

But you can't. You ain't got it. You know what I mean? Like, if you under pressure, that's. That's all I remember about that movie is that dude was in there, you know, I mean, in the jail, the dude asking them questions and he. He's under pressure.

[Joe Crack]

Made a whole story with it.

[Bow Wow]

He's just looking at stuff and he.

[Joe Crack]

Like, oh, that's crazy.

[Bow Wow]

If you could put it together to make it sound good, that's what I started trying to do.

[Jadakiss]

That was it.

[Joe Crack]

That's crazy. So I gotta ask you. I think Big Pun, because his. His biggest crush in the world was Janet Jackson.

[Bow Wow]

Right? Right.

[Joe Crack]

You got Janet Jackson at her prime. Was it a prime?

[Bow Wow]

Okay.

[Joe Crack]

She was six, packed up and all that.

[Bow Wow]

At that time. That was.

[Joe Crack]

There was a Janet that went crazy at one point, that she just became the baddest. I know that.

[Jadakiss]

Since Good Times.

[Joe Crack]

Can I say can. Can. Can she.

[Jadakiss]

In a profound.

[Joe Crack]

You caught her at the time. She went crazy. Right. And so. And I don't know. Let me ask.

[Bow Wow]

Crazy before that. That.

[Joe Crack]

Let me ask you a question. Well, if she went crazy before that, it was enough to make you say, let me holler.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah, right.

[Joe Crack]

The confidence to holla at Janet. Well, I don't know, because.

[Jadakiss]

Did you just hear what he said? He did from 12.

[Joe Crack]

No, no, I understand that's. It's Janet Jackson. No talking about Penny. Okay. Well, you got the confidence. I ain't got. Now, let me ask you a question. You ever got checked by. Can I say something? See, I tell you, he's on his. On this interview.

[Bow Wow]

Right.

[Jadakiss]

I can't let you get away with this.

[Joe Crack]

This ain't that, and that ain't this cracking kiss. Michael Jackson never pulled you on the side and said, yo, you dating my sister? You know? Did you. So he never checked. He don't get Involved in his sister's love life.

[Bow Wow]

Nah. But. But Jackie. I think Jackie did.

[Jadakiss]

And then Jackie wanted smoke a lane.

[Joe Crack]

They just let me know, like, I mean, somebody.

[Bow Wow]

Right, but at the same time, with.

[Joe Crack]

Your sister, you might. You most. Like, I used to sit in front of my sister with a baseball bat. She hated me my whole life. Guy come to visit her, and I'm sitting right in forest projects with a baseball bat, looking at the dude like they had no time before you met.

[Bow Wow]

Him anything before you even met him, huh?

[Joe Crack]

I don't give a. At that time, I was one of them crazy Puerto Ricans. So you was like, yo, I'm dating this chick, this a crazy Puerto Rican with a baseball bat, staring at me? No, no, at the house. You know, yo, miss, can I come visit your daughter? I'm sitting there with the baseball. My, my, my. My sister never got over that from me. You know what I'm saying? Because it was whacked. It was whack. So he never stepped to you like that?

[Bow Wow]

No, but in the house, you have to pick a side, though, between Michael and Janet at that particular side. Yeah, you had to pick a side, like if you was on the Michael side or you was on the Janus side.

[Joe Crack]

So there was family competition.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah. 100. Just imagine six Jermaine Duprees Atlanta up.

[Joe Crack]

So that was like, control.

[Bow Wow]

So, like, Jackie, me and Jackie, we hit it off. Jackie told me, he was like, you know, we the first in LA with Ferraris. And I'm like, what you have to think about that?

[Joe Crack]

Oh, that's what he said.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah, Just think.

[Joe Crack]

Oh, that's a fact, though.

[Bow Wow]

No, but I'm just saying you can't.

[Jadakiss]

In LA to ever have with Ferraris.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah, yeah.

[Joe Crack]

They're the first alien in the living room, bro. These guys, you leave it to us. Anything they did, we. We believe.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah, for sure. So, I mean, you have to, you know, he's just breaking it down for me, like, you know, I mean, you didn't know that.

[Joe Crack]

That's why I'm telling you. It took a lot of cojones to step to Janet Jackson. When that world heard Jermaine Dupree was dating Janet, he was like this, you know, how many was like, oh, I wish I had the heart to talk to her. Yo, I did. You know, it's, you know. You know, Raul recipes always told me Jlo gave him a look. One time we were shooting a video with Jayla. He would tell me all the time. I'm like, shut the up. She ain't looking at you, the line.

[Bow Wow]

But by the way, that's all it looked at me. That's all I'm saying.

[Joe Crack]

Telling you, I. I respect it. Cause of you. I said, JLo did not look at you. Raul, he really. He went to his grave with that story. He really believed that.

[Bow Wow]

It's probably true. That why I said the money and things. She look, she go, it's. It's bye, bye.

[Joe Crack]

She looks, she go, for sure.

[Jadakiss]

You ain't got to say no more.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah.

[Joe Crack]

I mean, damn.

[Bow Wow]

As I still live. I live by that today. She looks, she goes, go.

[Joe Crack]

That's it.

[Bow Wow]

That's what it is. She looks, she go, it's a rap now.

[Jadakiss]

After you now. Confessions. Cause I gotta be on the journalist side. Cause he. He keeping it on.

[Joe Crack]

Oh, you've been asking. You've been asking. I want to stay on such. You've been asking all the questions.

[Jadakiss]

It's about time.

[Joe Crack]

All right, I'm with you.

[Jadakiss]

Listen, Mariah, how y' all the mc. You. You just seem to hit everything out of the park with everything you create for her. And with us.

[Bow Wow]

I mean, what a. Mariah's was like. The first record I did for Mariah was Always Be My Baby, right? And. And I love that song.

[Joe Crack]

You will always be my baby.

[Jadakiss]

Timeless. Oh, that shit's forever.

[Bow Wow]

So that's the first song I did her, and she came to me, like, she told Tommy, like, I want to work with him. Because she liked just kicking it. She liked Escape. And she wanted a song that felt like that. And that was my attempt to give her, like, a Just kicking it would always be My baby. Right? And then that's where we formed our relationship. And we just started working, working, working. And then when LA signed her to Def Jam, he started working on Emancipation and Mimi, and I wasn't over. And he called me and he was like, oh. He told her his favorite song. His favorite Mariah Carey record was Always Be My Baby. And she was like, well, JD did that song. And he was like, well, you need to go to Atlanta and see JD and he sent her to Atlanta. And the first record we did was. It's like that. And no, the first record we did was Can I get your number? And I'm singing on the record. Because I was going. I wanted her to do the part, but when she heard it, she was like, I'm not doing that. You stay on the record. And I'm like, I don't wanna. I'm not singing on the record. She's like, no, stay on the record. So I ended up staying on this song. Can I get your number? And then me and B. Cox, we did shake it Off. So we did Can I Get yout Number and Shake it off in the same little, like, two days. So they went back, she came back to New York, she played these two songs for la, and he was like, go back. He's like, hold up. This, this, this, this feels like where we need to go. You need to go back. Go back to Atlanta one more time. So then they called me. He's like, she coming back. And he was like, J.D. you still ain't make Always Be my Baby. And I'm like, I don't. I can't do that again. I don't know. I don't think I can do that again. So he came, and I'm knowing that he wants his record. That feel like, Always Be my Baby. So immediately I'm like, we gotta make a ballot. That's what he looking for. He looking for a ballot. And we made We Belong Together.

[Jadakiss]

And I'm on a remix.

[Joe Crack]

We belong together. I can't sleep at night.

[Bow Wow]

And then we did. It's like that, too. That same little session. But We Belong Together directly.

[Joe Crack]

You know what's crazy is my favorite singer of all time is Luther Van Joss. Recipes. And this morning I woke up and I played the performance of Luther in London with Mariah. Now, I've seen videos of Luther singing with Whitney Houston where he had the encourager effect. Like, yo, Whitney, come on. Like, he was giving a pep talk. Kaluta different, but a young Mariah Carey went over there and went toe to toe, like a Muhammad Ali fight in that performance. And it was just like, yo. And like, she wasn't scared of Luther. She was a young girl.

[Bow Wow]

That's Mariah Carey, man. She, she did different.

[Joe Crack]

You know what's crazy? Before the world was BMFs, it was so, so deaths.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah, for sure.

[Joe Crack]

And so I, I, I remember going to Atlanta. Like, yo, it's so, so deaf Atlanta, right? And then it turned into bmf.

[Bow Wow]

Well, they got a sign across from me across on the other side.

[Joe Crack]

They got the sign across the other side.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah. I ain't. No, this. I'm just saying.

[Joe Crack]

No, no.

[Bow Wow]

The signs was like, they.

[Jadakiss]

A lot of people think encouragement for them.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah, a lot of people think that they. We switched sides. My side, My side right there.

[Joe Crack]

They was like, like, that was like unauthorized, to be honest.

[Jadakiss]

Well, we knew what was gonna.

[Joe Crack]

He could kind of call Chapo, like, gotta be kidding me, right? I used to think they was police or something at first. They'd be like, yo, get with them. I'd be like, what? Yeah, they paying crazy money for features and this. I'd be like, I see them in the clubs and all. I see, yeah, General this is just. No way these guys are doing it like they thought they would legally selling drugs, right? And so. No, no, I'm telling you. They come to Miami, 20 white cars. Lamborghini, white, Ferrari, white. Cullinan, white. This white truck, like this Tuesday. Sky blues. Well, Phantoms, sky blues, Ferraris. They was just doing.

[Jadakiss]

Of different colors.

[Joe Crack]

They had a. Had a birthday party where they was. They had tigers in the club, bro. Full fledged. They was doing.

[Jadakiss]

First time I ever seen them at 175 Hummers, I imagine.

[Bow Wow]

Let me say this. Atlanta. Atlanta allows you to do that. Like, Atlanta is the only city in America where you can go to, and you're gonna see black people with money that don't sell dope. I'm talking about money.

[Joe Crack]

No, I'm with that.

[Bow Wow]

Ultimately, what Meech was doing doing blended in so well that it didn't feel like. What you talking about? To us.

[Joe Crack]

Because me coming from the Bronx.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah, that's what I'm saying.

[Joe Crack]

I knew there was some indictments coming soon.

[Bow Wow]

See, that's what I'm saying. It didn't feel like that.

[Joe Crack]

I knew it like the back of my head.

[Bow Wow]

It didn't feel like that to us because I'm saying, if you pull up the Lennox Square right now, it's mad rich.

[Joe Crack]

Black people.

[Bow Wow]

Look like. They look just like. What you talking about?

[Joe Crack]

That's probably the only bag I never took. Like, they was like, yo, we got the bag. He wants features. And I was like, I took that.

[Bow Wow]

It was. We took it. It's a beautiful show.

[Joe Crack]

I was terrified.

[Jadakiss]

What's up with this Magic City album and doc?

[Bow Wow]

All right, so the Magic City album, initially, we did a Magic City documentary, and I didn't have. I had. I got a new deal with Hybe associate Deaf Hype, but I didn't have my deal, right? And I was just doing a documentary as an executive producer. And then I signed my deal in between us putting this doc out, and I was just like, it's crazy that we ain't doing something with the music, right? So I had conversations with Scooter, and I'm like, I think my first project should be a soundtrack from this Magic City documentary. And he was like, yeah, that's. Yeah, let's do that. And we called Stars, and we was like, yo, we gonna do a documentary. We'll do soundtrack. And he was like, we don't really do soundtracks like that. And I'm like, what? And I'm like, this is what. This is what the club is about. The club thrives off the music. The music moves the club, so you gotta make it go. And they weren't really, like, sold on doing the music, right? But I'm sold on it at this point. I'm going. I'm going. I'm starting to call artists. I'm trying to do what I gotta do. So then I was just like, you know what I thought about when I was working on American Gangster? The songs that in American Gangsta ain't in the movie, right? So the American Gangster album, it says Jay Z, American Gangster. I mean, inspired by American Gangster, the movie. But the songs that's in there is not in the movie. So then I was like, shit, we could do this. We could just make a Jermaine Dupree album inspired by the Magic City documentary. So that's basically what. That's where we at right now.

[Joe Crack]

I gotta ask you a question, though. Jada hates this, but I'm giving it to you. Top five dances of all time in Magic City.

[Bow Wow]

White Chocolate at the top.

[Jadakiss]

White Chocolate. I gotta write these down because I gotta Google these people.

[Bow Wow]

She's in the documentary. All these people, they all in the documentary. Yeah, they all indicted.

[Joe Crack]

All right, let me get four.

[Bow Wow]

I don't know if I can't top five too many.

[Jadakiss]

See, always, man.

[Joe Crack]

It was a girl named Sugar. It was a girl named Sugar in there.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah, Sugar.

[Joe Crack]

Oh, he talking about a girl named Boy.

[Bow Wow]

Sugar. Yeah, Sugar around. I don't know. I ain't dance no more.

[Jadakiss]

None of them shouldn't dance no more.

[Bow Wow]

Magic. Magic's had its. Its time. Like, yeah, yes, That's. It's. But, But White Chocolate, I feel like is of all time, is all time at the. She's number one. She the one at all times.

[Joe Crack]

So they don't. They don't. Threw the most money at White Chocolate ever.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah, yeah.

[Joe Crack]

Because you know, the Cribs is affordable. Them girls was probably buying acres of. No, I'm telling you the truth.

[Jadakiss]

I know you are.

[Joe Crack]

Like, they was out there. This was.

[Bow Wow]

I mean, I spent $10,000 every Monday for 20 years. Straight in back. Easy.

[Jadakiss]

Take the S off now.

[Joe Crack]

I went. I, I. I made the song Make It Rain. I didn't go to strip club for about three years till it got played out.

[Jadakiss]

Till it got old.

[Joe Crack]

No, they was killing me. Like, Every time I walk in to be like, I'll play the Superman song, the lighter. Come on, man. Mr. Rain is here. I'm like, and it was never enough because you may make it rain. They want you to keep. I was like, yo, guess what? It's not good for me to go in the strip club, because they get. They putting major peer pressure on me.

[Bow Wow]

But see, this is where you got to walk. You got to walk from. You got to walk from the VIP section, and you got to go holla at the dj. You got to get away, you know? I mean, you can't stay in that light.

[Jadakiss]

Yeah, it's a plot. It's a play. You can get stuck somewhere where you're.

[Bow Wow]

Stuck in that light. Everybody watching you.

[Joe Crack]

Magic City.

[Bow Wow]

Gotta get out there, huh? No Magic. They ain't got no second floor.

[Joe Crack]

It had a second floor.

[Bow Wow]

Oh, no. They got a little step up.

[Joe Crack]

That's where I met Jeezy for the first time. A little.

[Bow Wow]

Little step up.

[Joe Crack]

Yeah, that was as far that. That's as low as you could go up in that. You know what I'm saying?

[Bow Wow]

Yeah, a little step up.

[Jadakiss]

What made you. Did you want to do the rap game? Like, what. What inspired what say y. I want to get some kids with some.

[Bow Wow]

Oh, the rap game, not the rap. Well, it wasn't really my idea. It was. It was an idea that. That I think, like, Flavor Unit, they had the idea before Shout Out.

[Jadakiss]

Shout Out.

[Bow Wow]

But I just was the person that had produced kids before, and they didn't know nobody else that they thought could pull off that part. So the idea they had, they already had the idea. But when they came to me, that's when I started flushing it out, telling them, like, this is what we gonna do. And then my reach about getting the artists and all of this, I just took over the show from that point. And once I. You know, after we got through the first season, I realized what we was doing, and I was like, oh, I got this. I'm getting ready to run this up. Cause I seen that, you know, I seen how many people was paying attention to. To it. And I also saw, like, once again, it was like, an opportunity for the young. The younger generation to step forward and be a part of hip hop in a way that they weren't ever. You know, when I was a kid, it wasn't happening. Or even somebody else, even, like, Bow Wow. Bow wow coming in the game. At the time when Bow Wow came in, it still won no kid rappers, you know, I mean, when he came, it was still one. Nobody else out that was at 12 years old doing what he was doing. So it was like Bow Wow to.

[Joe Crack]

Me was like LL Cool J of.

[Bow Wow]

The Kids, Facts 100 and the. The. The. The. The third album, When I wrote like, like you, that's what I was trying to get to. Like, you know, that was.

[Jadakiss]

Is when I'm alone in the room.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah, yeah, I was trying to get to that. Like, you know, he was dating Sierra, so I was just like, we gotta make all these songs for the girls. All these songs out of my system. Like, you. All of these records. I just, you know, him and Chris Brown, shorty like mine. I just start making all of these songs about the girls. Pow.

[Joe Crack]

Is crazy. Like, certified. Like, nutso.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah.

[Joe Crack]

Yo, I'm telling you, I'm on tour with him, and they sat me everywhere we went. They had, like, me in 101, 102. I don't know why they gave me Bow Wow. He randomly just knock on my door, and I'll be like, yo, Bow Wow, what's up? And he start reading scripture. He's certified. Like, you can't. I met some crazy. He's like, Keith Murray crazy, Crazy. Very crazy. I'm telling you, Bow Wow. Some of the. He say private is out of control. I'm just like, no, no, it is private. I ain't say what he said. I'm just telling you.

[Bow Wow]

By the way, you don't know how.

[Joe Crack]

Many times I said it, right? Bow Wow. I was like, yo, he's seven. Like, said I. I turned around like, yo, this guy. Like, ignorance is bliss with Bow Wow.

[N/A]

Did you know using your browser in incognito mode doesn't actually protect your privacy? Take back your Privacy with IPVanish VPN. Just one tap and all your data, passwords, communications, browsing history, and more will be instantly protected. Ipvanish makes you virtually Invisible Online. Use IPVanish on all your devices anytime you go online, at home, and especially on public Wi fi.

[Bow Wow]

Get.

[N/A]

Get ipvanish now for 70% off a yearly plan with this exclusive [e-mail] audio.

[Joseph Reeves]

Show me how good it can get today, God. And show the rest of the world what we already know. It can't get. No better than being hella black, hella queer, and hella Christian. My name is Joseph Reeves. I am the creator and host of Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian, a fully black, fully queer, fully human, fully divine podcast that explores society, culture, and the intersections of faith and identity. Listen to Hella Black, Hella Queer Hello Christian. To hear conversations about what it means to sound the way you look.

[Joe Crack]

I think what I've had to make.

[Bow Wow]

Peace with is that every iteration of my voice is given to me by God and I love it.

[Joseph Reeves]

Books that validated our identity.

[Bow Wow]

The library now for me is a safe space. As someone who is writing books that.

[N/A]

They'Re trying to take off of shelves.

[Joseph Reeves]

And how we as black queer folks relate to our Christianity. Listen to Hella black, hella queer, hella Christian on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.

[N/A]

25 years, 25 players. Before training camp kickstarts a new NFL season, NFL Daily is going to look back. It is a special six episode episode series where myself, Greg Rosenthal and some of the top NFL minds like Kevin Harlan, Mina Kimes and Bill Barnwell make the case for each player. We're taking a look back giving you NFL Daily's top 25 players of the last 25 years. So who made the list? You know, Tom Brady's on it. Where's Patrick Mahomes?

[Joe Crack]

Kansas City.

[N/A]

He's on it. How about Lamar Jackson?

[Joe Crack]

Jackson takes it himself. Look at him dart back and forth. Oh, he broke his ankles and he's got a touchdown. He is Houdini.

[N/A]

You are gonna have to listen to find out. Listen to NFL Daily's top 25 players of the last 25 years starting on June 30 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Bow Wow]

What's interesting about Bow Wow, this Bow Wow is a real rapper.

[Joe Crack]

Yes, he is.

[Bow Wow]

Like, like literally, I'm saying literally. He was on, he was on Arsenio when he was six years old. He, he has the longest rap career in rap than anybody. Don't nobody ain't pay no attention to. He's been rapping longer than anybody and he's still on the radio and still got songs playing in the club. He's been rapping longer than anybody else that's in rap right now.

[Joe Crack]

That's crazy.

[Bow Wow]

I signed him when he was 7.

[Joe Crack]

Superstar. I always thought he was Snoop Dogg's son or some.

[Bow Wow]

He basically was.

[Joe Crack]

Yeah, because we was like little bad. Wow. You just don't know. You know that. Yo, Kiss. You gotta relax.

[Bow Wow]

So Kiss. I got a question, I got a question for you because I, you know, I've been, I'm making this Magic City album and I have to ask people prior to me making the records if they beefing with somebody or whatever. Whatever. Because I, and I only do this And I only do this because I didn't this with you, right?

[Jadakiss]

No, but you did a good thing. I mean, you have. You kind of like fixed it before we fixed it with that song.

[Bow Wow]

So I. I did hating, hating your blood, right? I did the song hating your blood. And I put Kiss and Freeway on the same record in the middle. In the middle of the heat without speaking to them, right? And I wanted the record to be just me and Kiss. I ain't want Freeway to rap. I just wanted Freeway to do the hook. That's what I heard in my head. So I had got Kiss verse. I had Freeway come to the studio. He's like, I'm get to put my verse on here. And I was like, nah, I just want you to do the hook. I wasn't really paying no attention to me telling him nah. And his man and his, you know, his arch enemy got a verse going that.

[Joe Crack]

That beef was nuclear jaded. You and. And Beanie and Freeway and all them going back and forth like that. That might have been one of the greatest lyrical beefs of all time.

[Bow Wow]

So somebody, I mean, I know somebody had to say something about this.

[Joe Crack]

That serious.

[Jadakiss]

No, no, no.

[Bow Wow]

It was a crew.

[Joe Crack]

I'm somebody in the crew.

[Bow Wow]

Somebody in the crew had to say something. Somebody crew said something about this. That crazy.

[Jadakiss]

The song was knocking. So it didn't. It didn't really bother hollered me and our beef. It wasn't. We. We had love. We started with love. So it wasn't. It wasn't one of them things like that. It wasn't one of them we're gonna die. I'm saying it wasn't like.

[Joe Crack]

So, yeah, I think on this my.

[Jadakiss]

Trust was in you with the song. So I know you. You got the billion dollar ears. So if you hear me based on.

[Joe Crack]

Ears, whatever you say, go your is the extendo click.

[Jadakiss]

I really crazy like that.

[Bow Wow]

I really n. I got. Yeah, I got the. I got the Kiss rule. I have to ask now that I'm.

[Joe Crack]

Making these, now you got to do it. But you know, I think I'm going to add a little segment. It's called Delusional records.

[Bow Wow]

Delusional. Yeah.

[Joe Crack]

Because, yo, lately I like.

[Jadakiss]

I actually like that.

[Joe Crack]

No, no. This bit out of control.

[Bow Wow]

You definitely need. By the way.

[Joe Crack]

I definitely need to do that.

[Jadakiss]

Yeah, you definitely need to do that.

[Bow Wow]

Because I was trying to think like. Like I said, I've been doing this record, this, this Magic City album, and I'm only using artists from Atlanta, right. I'm only. I'm only doing records with artists that's from Atlanta. It's the whole soundtrack. So the first single is with ti2 chains and. And dro I never had records with any of them. Like, never had records with them, right? And crazy as the energy keeps going with this, I keep seeing people say, JD Bringing the city back. This is what the city need. Blah, blah, blah.

[Joe Crack]

And.

[Bow Wow]

And what ultimately hurt Atlanta music scene because people talk about why the music scene ain't like it used to be. What ultimately hurt Atlanta's music scene is delusional records, right?

[Joe Crack]

Break that down for me.

[Bow Wow]

And. And. And. And the. The independent mindset, huh?

[Joe Crack]

To find what you.

[Bow Wow]

So from my side, it's the independent mindset because all the artists that all the people in Atlanta love, love, they not independent, and they not paying no attention to it. So they delusional to believe that they gonna be like these people. It ain't gonna never happen like that. It's not gonna happen. It's the biggest delusion going, right? And everybody keep trying to pump, like. Like, I swear I was talking to myself before I came over here to this interview, and I was saying, like, you know, like, if you look at Beyonce, right? My dad signed Destiny Shy to Columbia. He was the president of school, so my dad used to work in Columbia Records. This was one of the things that he. You know, this is one of his. This is one of his puts right there. He shout out to OG Yeah, shout out to my dad. But I say this to say that Beyonce has been signed to Columbia Records for 25 years, right? Or longer. The outro, right? But Steve Stout got a record company that's independent United, Met, and Stout and HOV is partners, right? You would think that if it's so green on the other side, why wouldn't Beyonce get out her deal and go sign with Stout or anybody else for that matter, right? And the delusion is that it's a delusion in there. And whatever your delusion is, it's a delusion in there. And that's what I'm saying. All these artists, Lil Wayne, Drake, Kendrick. I don't care who you talking about. About. If they on that list, they signed to a major and you could talk about they got a better deal. And that's the. That's the part I'd be trying to make people understand. Like, we got out of this space of, like, being. We got into this entrepreneurial space, and we got out of making deal space. Like, you can make a deal. You ain't. You ain't gotta. You don't have. You ain't got to own it. You can go in there and make a deal. You could tell exactly what you want. If they with you, they gonna take it. If they don't, you just keep walking right like this. This when I. When I just heard you talking about that you getting paid to talk. You can't believe that, right?

[Joe Crack]

It's unbelievable.

[Bow Wow]

That's what I'm saying. But you. You doing. You got what you wanted.

[Joe Crack]

Yes, that's a fact.

[Bow Wow]

Exactly.

[Joe Crack]

Well, we got what we want.

[Bow Wow]

That's what I'm saying. Y' all got what y' all wanted.

[Jadakiss]

You know, you don't get what you asked for. You get what you negotiate.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah, you gotta. You gotta negotiate. And that's. That's. That's what has hurt Atlanta. Atlanta's spirit was that if Dallas Austin wouldn't have got a deal, then Kevin Wells would go get a deal, then Devon Stevens would get a deal, and then Polo the Don get a deal. And it was like niggas was going out here finding big, big, big, big bags. And then it got to a point where like, oh, them. We gonna do this shit by ourselves.

[Jadakiss]

Yeah. All right. I like to see it.

[Joe Crack]

Delusional Records put me on. He was one of the first to move down to Atlanta. Atlanta from New York. Diamond D, Keith Sweat went down there, right?

[Jadakiss]

Bart who? My man, Bar.

[Joe Crack]

Yeah, your man went down there. A lot of guys moved down there. But the. The part of my delusion is right, so. Aaron Hall's brother. You know what?

[Bow Wow]

You ain't even got to say it. You ain't got to say it.

[Jadakiss]

I think I'm gonna get low on this.

[Joe Crack]

Yo, yo, kids, yo. I'm just saying, when the brother, the. The. The. The Damien hall, what did he do? He know what the I'm talking about. He said God was the greatest group of all time.

[Bow Wow]

Now God feel like that.

[Jadakiss]

Go ahead. Yeah.

[Joe Crack]

What's the greatest group of all time?

[Bow Wow]

No addition.

[Joe Crack]

Hello. Can you stand the rain?

[Jadakiss]

No, but can you?

[Joe Crack]

Hello. Now, you gotta be delusional to think you're going up. You want to know what's crazy? Two days ago, we in my pool, right? Friends, family, I brought this up, and everyone said, New Edition. That wasn't even a brainiac thing because, you know, my. My favorite group of all time is Boys to Men. But still, everybody said New Edition.

[Bow Wow]

Now, let me say this on the show right now. New Edition is the greatest group in music here history, period. They the greatest group to ever come out white, black. I don't Care what it is. They the greatest group to ever come out. Reason being, everybody went solo and went platinum. Everybody, Everybody. This ain't happened with the Jacksons. This ain't happened with the Four Tops. This ain't happening with Temptations. This ain't happened with the Backstreet Boys. This ain't happened with NSync. Newer did. They got BBD. They win platinum. Ralph Tresvant went platinum. Bobby Brown sold them 10 million records. Johnny Gill, nobody in their crew didn't eat. And they all went solo and they all came back.

[Joe Crack]

Because I got real cool with him. We still cool, but we got cool for a time. And I love that. You know, I love seeing my OGs doing great. You know, I'm waiting for him at the Waldorf in la and the man pull up in the Bentley, come out with the Bottega bag with this.

[Bow Wow]

I see Johnny Gill.

[Joe Crack]

That's how I like to see my OGs. I don't like to see my OGs, you know, in hip hop, a lot of the OGs up in the pockets. But I love to see Johnny Gill pull up with that on Doing fun. What happened? Kiss. You stretching?

[Jadakiss]

Yeah, my elbow. I hurt my elbow.

[Bow Wow]

Nah. But for real, they. They the greatest. They the greatest group. We gotta. We. We should treat New Edition betterment. New Edition is the greatest musical group to ever come out. I'm talking about all of these groups. I'm talking about the who. I'm talking about the Rolling Stones. I'm talking about all of these artists. If you go, I'm talking about all of these bands. You can say the Rolling Stones. You can say all them. None of them have all they artists, they hold about the Beatles. Everybody went.

[Jadakiss]

Whoever did die with Diamond.

[Joe Crack]

You know, when white people get something, they hold on to it.

[Jadakiss]

Whoever they got.

[Joe Crack]

J.D. when white people get something, they hold on to.

[Bow Wow]

Well, we need to do the same thing. New addition that.

[Joe Crack]

They still outside of Elvis house right now.

[Bow Wow]

You said what?

[Joe Crack]

They still in Elvis house right now. Taking tours right now. I'll tell you, them white people, they won't let that go.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah, but we need to do the same with you now.

[Joe Crack]

We need to do that with.

[Bow Wow]

I'm telling you because you talking about Boys and Men. Boys and Men came from Bivens.

[Joe Crack]

Yes, they do.

[Bow Wow]

Dudes.

[Jadakiss]

Favorite group. When your favorite group was your favorite.

[Bow Wow]

Group.

[Jadakiss]

How could you take them? The guy that made them. I don't even. You didn't think about that?

[Joe Crack]

No, no. I'm. I'm just being honest with you.

[Bow Wow]

I'm.

[Joe Crack]

I'M I'm, I'm a New Edition worshipper. I'm just saying, you know, vocally, man, that boy to man, man, that's hard. That's, that's, that's, that's a hard one. They voice the men in their vocally.

[Jadakiss]

They got the, they got. They, they do. But just with New Edition did.

[Joe Crack]

No, no, New Edition put them on. So there's no question I'm agreeing. I'm just saying. Damien Hall.

[Bow Wow]

Shout out to Damien.

[Joe Crack]

Listen, we had Jim Jones.

[Bow Wow]

I honestly. What? What?

[Joe Crack]

No, we had Jim Jones up.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah.

[Joe Crack]

I mean, that shit started out.

[Bow Wow]

I'll just let him keep talking.

[Joe Crack]

No, you see what he said. Kiss.

[Bow Wow]

They tried. They tried.

[Jadakiss]

He's on my side. You let him keep talking.

[Joe Crack]

What do you want me to do? Stop him? I tried to stop him. The man kept talking. We tried.

[Jadakiss]

I tried. Like Josh on with Little. Listen, I tried.

[Joe Crack]

Let me tell you something. I realized that man was determined to do that. And he waited for any. If we would have said Serena Williams or Venus, he would have said, yo, I'm better than N. Like, he just was waiting for that. That numb eyes.

[Jadakiss]

You pulled up the little guy that did the comparison.

[Joe Crack]

And what I would have said. And what I would have said was, hey, it's an honor to be compared with the rap God. Any normal person would have said.

[Jadakiss]

It's nothing about. With that little.

[Joe Crack]

We have a whole new segment called Delusional Records out here.

[Jadakiss]

You invented that episode.

[Joe Crack]

This out of control out here. Like, you, you, you, a guy like you, you've been there since the Fresh Fist. You, you got Instagram. You see some of this sometimes and you just like, yo, this.

[Bow Wow]

I mean, it happened to me every day because it's like a lot of the things that I live through as a child, whatever, it ain't around no more. So it's hard for people to even grasp what I'm talking about. Right? It's like it's supposed to.

[Joe Crack]

It's a post shows like this is very important.

[Bow Wow]

Like, as opposed to my studio. Studio. That's a crisscross poster. And it says, you know, on tour, Michael Jackson. And people coming in, they like, I know that happened. Yeah. Crisscross went on tour. Michael Jackson, like, like, I wrote it up there. Like I did. Like this actually happened.

[Joe Crack]

Yeah. You want to know what's crazy is I think if they did a movie of anybody who had interactions of any kind with Michael Jackson Jackson, I would tune in every day. Like, you know what I'm saying? I'm so intrigued by mj. That's why I asked you if he said. You got any ill stories with mj.

[Bow Wow]

He was Michael Jackson at all time, though. At all times. Michael Jackson was Michael Jackson at all times.

[Joe Crack]

Even behind the scenes.

[Jadakiss]

How that. How the. That.

[Bow Wow]

No, he wanted him on tour with him. He wanted. That's called for. He wanted. I mean, you know, he's all on Sony, but, you know, Jump was. Jump was huge, right? It was just a big record. And Mike, like. He like rap, but people ain't, you know, I mean, they. They wouldn't really find. They didn't know that that's what he was into. And he. He was like, that song. Them kids, they got it and he took them on tour. And we was having this argument about it because I don't think it's nobody else that rap that's ever open for Michael Jackson besides Kris Kross.

[Joe Crack]

No, no. I remember Heavy Duty with Janet Jackson. I remember Biggie had to join with Mike, but nobody did that. You know, I got a crazy story. I don't know if it's mine to tell, but my man, 5,001 guy, 5,001.

[Jadakiss]

He got that budget for that, right? 70,000, some kind of crazy budget, and it never came out or something.

[Joe Crack]

Got 5001. Rodney Jerkins calls him. Shout out to Ronnie Jerkins, legend, all that Brandy, all that. So he tells him, yo, come to the studio. I got an important customer for you. I can't tell you who. So guy goes to Sony studio or something. He got his little notebook with him. He about to take the measurements. It could have been anybody, he said. He went to the bathroom and he told Poppy. You know, Poppy cut up all the shit, right? So he told Poppy, poppy, we're going to meet somebody famous. It's like, chef, if I. If I would have told you, but I don't know. He was like, we're going to meet somebody famous. Calm down, Poppy. Don't get too excited. He didn't know who. So he said he went to use the bathroom and he was about to piss. And the biggest guys opened the bathroom.

[Bow Wow]

Door and was like.

[Joe Crack]

They looked and all the. They was like, all right, you could come in. It's safe. And Michael Jackson walked in. God, 5001 pissed on him. Pissed on him. And he had the pad in his hands, not trying to cover. He was like, poppy, let's go. Poppy, let's go. He never got the measure, mj. And then he pissed on himself and ran out of there. Poppy. Poppy, let's go. Poppy was like, yo, what what happened? We gotta go. I don't know what the I'd have did if I met Michael Jackson. Like, I'm not gonna lie to you. I don't know. Whatever. All I could tell you is Michael Jackson. The day he died, I had to pull the truck over. I was in the Bronx, and I start crying for like an hour.

[Jadakiss]

Do you know. Do you remember if you remember vaguely. It did mad when Mike died. It stormed rain hell. Or we was on my block under the thing it did. It's like a bro, he was talking to the heavens. All type of.

[Joe Crack]

I'm tell you a cap story right now, and nobody's gonna believe me if you wasn't tuned in again. The Taliban took a day off for mj. I'm telling you. It was on cnn Impact. Yo, I'm trying to tell y'.

[Bow Wow]

All.

[Joe Crack]

Yo, yo.

[Bow Wow]

Oh, my God.

[Jadakiss]

Let me hear this. I gotta hear you out, my brother.

[Joe Crack]

I'm just trying to tell you because I'm not sure if everybody. I'm a cnn had. Whether they lied and it was propaganda or whatever it was. When MJ died, they said that the Taliban took a day off and they had them dancing around a boombox in the mountains. The Taliban was in there trying to do the Michael Jackson. Hey, yo, yo, yo.

[Bow Wow]

What do you.

[Joe Crack]

MJ was the biggest in the world ever created.

[Bow Wow]

Oh, Jesus Christ.

[Jadakiss]

Take a day off. It's crazy.

[Joe Crack]

CNN said the Taliban took a day off and they had them dancing around the box. I'm telling you.

[Bow Wow]

I will say this, though.

[Joe Crack]

I.

[Bow Wow]

When I. When I talk about, like, being on tour, Michael, it's. It. It's hard for me to even have a conversation with people because they don't actually even be, like, wanting to believe what I saw, right? Like, you know, like Chris Brown, right? He got the thing where he, like, he's on the thing. He flying over.

[Joe Crack]

Oh, no, he's flying through the head.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah. Michael had a jet pack that he used to put on at the end of Billie Jean, and he flew out the stadium and left.

[Jadakiss]

No cap.

[Joe Crack]

You saw it. You saw it.

[Bow Wow]

Look.

[Joe Crack]

See something.

[Jadakiss]

He was.

[Joe Crack]

I'm not gonna lie. I seen it. They got to be my Dominican man. My brother, Omega Fuel, the man. Omega was the biggest, like, regular before, right? Telling you, he showed me it. He came to studio in Miami. Omega was big, but he dissed the Dominican government. They don't let him come over here no more. He came to us. He thought he. He was the first guy to say, I'm never going back. So he used to come in my studio all the time. Lamborghinis, Ferrari, Omega's the. His first big, like, I don't want to say, but he was like a bad bunny at that time, right? Selling out Madison Square. God. So he came one day and showed me that on YouTube or something and he said he was going to do it. He said, I'm doing the stadium. I'm going to fly out the stadium. He said, you see Michael Jackson, he's flying out the stadium. He showed me the.

[Jadakiss]

Where did he land at?

[Bow Wow]

He went back. It went back to the backstage and the car was back there waiting. He was gone.

[Jadakiss]

Who taught him how to do that?

[Bow Wow]

I actually don't believe it was him. You know, I mean, I'm like, this is, this is a little dangerous, but.

[Jadakiss]

Every, every show Mike going over, I'm.

[Joe Crack]

Not going to lie to you. God bless Chris Brown trying to die on that thing. He not just flying in the air. He's like, you ever seen like little kids diving in a pool, trying to crack their head? Like, dude, you be like, hey, like every time this guy's flying in the air doing flying flip like 100 miles per hour. Chris Brown, like, he believe in them wires or whatever he doing on that because he test the speed. I dare you test the speed of him and anybody else who did that. Chris Brown is doing it on stage. Like, he, I, I swear to God, I look at it and I'll be like, yo.

[Bow Wow]

But he has to go that fast to get across this stadium. It's too big, man.

[Joe Crack]

I ain't doing none of that.

[Jadakiss]

Before we get out of here, we can't let you go without talking about health and wellness. You turn vegan some years ago, we got products, ice cream drinks and. Tell us about that.

[Bow Wow]

Yeah, so I mean, I've been vegan almost, almost 25 years or 23 years now.

[Joe Crack]

No chicken?

[Bow Wow]

No.

[Joe Crack]

No chicken, no beef?

[Bow Wow]

No.

[Jadakiss]

Do you know what a vegan is?

[Joe Crack]

No. Pescetir?

[Jadakiss]

No, no, none of that.

[Bow Wow]

Plants.

[Joe Crack]

Scott want to live a long time.

[Bow Wow]

And I, and I, I actually, I actually went vegan. I was at Quincy Jones house and Ray Charles. So he was talking to Ray Charles and Ray Charles. This was Ray Charles on his death. Ray Charles, yeah, Ray Charles on his deathbed. And Quincy was paying all his bills on the doctor bills. And Ray Charles called him from, from the hospital. Ray was like, quincy, I'm done. I'm just gone and die. And Q was like, no, you're not. I'm paying for the best doctors. And all of this to come over here. They was having this crazy ass conversation on the phone. And Rach, I was like, nah, nah, we done all the girls. We done did. We done did it. We done. We done ate all the steaks, did everything we could possibly do. He. He was really like. He was like, I'm ready. I'm tired. I ain't gonna keep going through this. And Q was like, man, cjd, that's why you got to take care of your health. Don't be doing no drugs. And he. When he told me that, it just was like, click. I gotta. I gotta kick in because, you know, I mean, I felt really, really. I felt bad because it was Ray Charles basically saying he was done. Q was trying to keep him alive and he was doing all he could do. But Ray Charles, you know, he was on heroin. He just. He. Whatever he was feeling, he was ready to go. But I. But it made me say I ain't ready to. You know, I ain't ready to go. Then I sit in the studio so many hours and we eat waffle House and this, that, and the third, and all this. That ain't good for you. It ain't. It ain't good for you if you sitting around and you ain't doing no exercise.

[Joe Crack]

I'll be honest with you, man, if I can't eat a steak or no like that, check me out. Styles P, his brother took me to some in Miami. He was like, this is gone. I ran out of there, ate peanut butter crunch so fast in the house. He said, look at you. You're walking in like you're mad. Yo, I must have walked in with the ice girl. I was like, styles, my brother, he was like, look at this cucumber gazpacho. I was like, yo, I'm getting the out of here to that peanut butter cucumber confession so fast.

[Bow Wow]

Oh, my God.

[Joe Crack]

I've been able to do a lot of things. I really don't. You know, I don't smoke. I don't really. I don't. I can't do eat.

[Jadakiss]

You can't eat.

[Joe Crack]

You gotta vegan, man. I got. I gotta. I gotta taste that. You know what I'm saying?

[Jadakiss]

With that being said, oh, my God.

[Joe Crack]

This ain't that and that ain't this.

[Jadakiss]

Yeah, it's cracking. Kiss. We want to thank our guest Jermaine the Pre for coming on the Joyalt Royalty.

[Bow Wow]

The volume.

[N/A]

Did you know using your browser in incognito mode doesn't actually protect your privacy? Take back your Privacy with IPVanish VPN. Just one tap and all your data, passwords, communications, browsing history and more will be instantly protected. IPVanish makes you virtually invisible online. Use IPVanish on all your devices, anytime you go online, at home, and especially on public wi fi. Get IPVanish now for 70% off a yearly plan with this exclusive [e-mail] audio.