Joe and Jada - Ne-Yo on new COUNTRY album, Beyoncé collabs, Michael Jackson & Prince stories

Summary

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The Joe and Jada Show: Ne-Yo on New Country-Inspired Album, Beyoncé Collabs & Iconic Stories

Episode Air Date: October 1, 2025
Podcast: The Herd with Colin Cowherd (Joe and Jada Show Segment)
Host: Joe Crack (Fat Joe), Jada Kiss
Guest: Ne-Yo

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Episode Overview

This episode features a vibrant, candid conversation with Ne-Yo—multi-Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, and producer—who breaks down his foray into a country-inspired album, his iconic work with Beyoncé, and personal stories involving legends Michael Jackson and Prince. The discussion delves deeply into music industry politics, creative process, song placement, A&R frustrations, and Ne-Yo’s unique family life. Joe and Jada keep the tone fun, energetic, and real, making for a compelling, behind-the-scenes exploration of Ne-Yo’s career and the business.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Ne-Yo’s “Country-Inspired” Album

(03:25, 05:00, 61:00)

• Ne-Yo resists calling it strictly a “country album”:

  "Country inspired. ...I feel like it's disrespectful for me to call it a country album. ...It's inspired by all the things that I love about country music." – Ne-Yo [03:31]

• Loves country music's storytelling/Clever lyrics:

  "I've always appreciated country music. ...It's storytelling. You gotta be clever with the lyric in country." – Ne-Yo [05:01]

• Blending with his own sound:

  "It's gonna have some country, but it's still gonna have some of that. ...It's everything I love about country music mixed with what I do." – Ne-Yo [61:04]

• Vegas residency, tour, and new song "Simple Things":

  “I think the tour is top of 2026. Me and Akon moving fire.” – Ne-Yo [71:26]

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Collaborating with Beyoncé & Songwriting

(04:05–05:00, 35:00, 35:35)

• Writing “Irreplaceable” and creative process:

  "Beyoncé is 'Irreplaceable.' I'm still eating off that. ...I'm used to going in the studio and holding the artist's hand. Man, I never felt so useless in my life working with Beyoncé. She ain't need me for nothing... She knocked that song out in about an hour by herself." – Ne-Yo [04:22-04:42]
  "I kind of wrote it like a country song...no drums on it, just the guitar part." – Ne-Yo [05:00]

• The role of A&R (Tata) in song placement:

  “The Beyoncé record might not have happened if not for Tata. ...I didn't write that record originally for Beyoncé.” – Ne-Yo [35:00]

• Songs often land with different artists by chance:

  "It happens like that a lot, honestly. ...Give somebody first right of refusal...it'll go somewhere else." – Ne-Yo [38:00]

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Meetings with Michael Jackson and Prince

Michael Jackson
(16:37–20:20)

• Surreal call and meeting MJ:

  "When I picked up the phone: 'Hey, what are you doing? This is Michael Jackson.' I hung up immediately." – Ne-Yo [16:40]
  "So we got back on the phone. ...He walked in with a black suit, aviator sunglasses he didn't take off. ...He said, 'Oh my God, you know what my favorite song of yours is?' ...He sang 'Go On Girl'. ...I turned into a twelve-year-old girl instantly. I kept it in though." – Ne-Yo [18:11–18:51]

Prince
(20:31–22:46)

• Prince’s validation after a career slump:

  “Prince saved my life and he don't realize it. ...Libra Scale...the album didn't do well at all. ...We got invited to Prince's Grammy party. ...He sees me, puts his guitar down, beelines through the crowd, straight to me. And he comes onto me, says: 'Libra Scale is a good album. Don't let nobody tell you different.' And walked on. ...From that moment, I was like...Prince said it's good, it's good. ...It restored my desire to do music.” – Ne-Yo [22:08–22:46]

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Industry Realities: Labels, A&R, and Flops

(29:41–44:15)

• Labels quick to distance after a flop:

  "They there for all the celebration when things go well and when things go bad, it's your fault." – Ne-Yo [29:41] Joe recalls being hyped by executives, then abandoned:
  "The guy who insisted and gassed me...ran away from me like I had AIDS or HIV." – Joe Crack [30:49]

• Rant on A&Rs taking undue credit:

  "Who the fuck is the A&R guys, right? ...Every time a fucking artist comes out...some guy comes stand next to them and takes the credit with them at the Grammys...I never liked that shit." – Joe Crack [33:28]

• Learning how budgets get spent, artist disempowerment:

  "Every time them cats would fly us to New York and take us to Mr. Chow's and throw that credit card down...that was my budget." – Ne-Yo [37:32]

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Picking Hits & Creative Process

(40:03–44:15)

• Ne-Yo relies on trusted ears, not his own, to pick singles:

  “I don’t have that. ...I be so close to the music that I can’t hear the one...every single I’ve had that went, Tango [manager] was like, it’s this one. ...I did not believe in 'Closer.' ...Jay Z and Tango were like, keep that shit.” – Ne-Yo [42:08–43:40]

• The manufactured hit:

  “I felt like I cheated the game. When I did, when I did something like, shit went number one, too." – Joe Crack [40:24]

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Grammy Wins & Frustrations

(44:15–45:54)

• Pride and perspective:

  "Fifteen Grammy nominations. ...Three Grammy wins. ...But Stevie Wonder got double digits...I got more work to do.” – Ne-Yo [44:15–44:59]

• Debate on Grammy’s meaning and snubs:

  “I got mixed feelings about the Grammys…they get it wrong all the time. ...What song you had that you lost the Grammy that you knew for a fact you should have won?" – Joe Crack [45:00] "'Give Me Everything'...was the song of six summers, and because we didn't turn it in on time, we wasn't eligible." – Ne-Yo [45:42]

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Generations, Streaming & New Media

(47:10–49:39)

• On appearing on Kai Cenat’s stream with a young audience:

  "I felt like the old nigga in the room. ...It was kids that literally did not know who I was." – Ne-Yo [47:33]
  "These young kids don't give a fuck about you on IG with your filter...they don't want the fake shit. ...They want up in front of them on a stream...They want to see if it's real." – Joe Crack [48:28]

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Family Life & Polygamy

(54:50–60:11)

• Open about his four wives and approach:

  “Yes, indeed.” (on having four wives) – Ne-Yo [54:50]
  "There's a mindset the woman has to have in order to be able to share a man...If you got four women that want Birkin bags, you got the wrong four. ...It's community, it's family, it's like everybody doing something. ...If you're the only person taking care of everything, you're doing it wrong." – Ne-Yo [55:05]
  "After my divorce...I decided I don't ever want to be the reason nobody feel like they never can. ...From that moment, I was like, I'm going to just keep it a buck with everybody about everything.” – Ne-Yo [56:20]

• On people’s reactions and managing the family:

  “So what you got, like a giant bed?” – Joe Crack [58:35]
  “You can shoot you a number because, mind you, you can’t buy an Alaskan king. You gotta get it made.” – Ne-Yo [59:13]

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Ne-Yo’s Favorite Songwriters

(62:19–63:47)

• Top Five Songwriters:
  1. Babyface
  2. Smokey Robinson
  3. Jonte Austin
  4. The-Dream
  5. Lionel Richie
• Lionel Richie’s respect as a songwriter:

  "Lionel Richie took Publisher of the Year two years in a row—not a publishing company, Lionel Richie by himself...He could write R&B, pop, country. Why would he not do it?" – Ne-Yo [63:12–63:34]

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Notable Moments & Quotes

Prince’s Validation Restored Ne-Yo’s Passion

"Prince said, 'Libra Scale is a good album. Don’t let nobody tell you different.' ...From that moment I was like, you know what? I don’t give a damn what the critics say. ...Prince said it's good, it's good. I’m good." – Ne-Yo [22:08–22:46]

On Writing for Beyoncé

“I never felt so useless in my damn life working with Beyoncé. She ain’t need me for nothing. ...She knocked that song out in about an hour by herself.” – Ne-Yo [04:41–04:53]

On New Generations

“These young kids don’t give a f*** about you on IG with your filter...They don’t want the fake s***...They want up in front of them on a stream.” – Joe Crack [48:28]

True Grit of Hitmaking

"I had to train my ear, like I was a program director, to know what they would play on a Sunday in South Carolina...And I knew if it wasn’t a hit, I’m f***ed." – Joe Crack [41:20–42:08]

About His Polyamorous Household

“If you got four women that want Birkin bags, you got the wrong four...It’s community, it’s family, everybody doing something.” – Ne-Yo [55:05]
“A man can love more than one woman. Absolutely.” – Ne-Yo [57:10]

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Musical Performance

Live performance of “Simple Things”
(69:20–70:43)

• Ne-Yo shares a heartfelt, country-inspired ballad, impressing Joe and the crew:

  "You have made me a country music fan, Ne-Yo." – Joe Crack [70:56]

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Closing & Tour Announcements

• Country-inspired album drops soon; tour in early 2026 with Akon [71:18–71:32].
• Vegas residency announced [61:17–61:24].

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Final Thoughts

This episode delivers a warm, unfiltered, and authentic look at Ne-Yo—from superstar collaborations and musical roots to battles with the music industry and candid reflections on love and family. Ne-Yo’s humility, the hosts' humor, and the wealth of musical insight provide a masterclass interview for music fans, creatives, and anyone fascinated by life at the top of the R&B and pop worlds.

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TIMESTAMPS

• 03:25 – Ne-Yo on “country-inspired” album
• 04:22 – Writing “Irreplaceable” for Beyoncé
• 16:40 – Ne-Yo’s first call and meeting with Michael Jackson
• 22:08 – Prince’s validation during Ne-Yo’s career low
• 29:41–44:15 – Music industry realities, A&R talk
• 62:19 – Ne-Yo’s top five favorite songwriters
• 69:20 – Live performance of “Simple Things”

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Transcript

[Hunter]

I'm Hunter, host of Hunting for Answers on the Black Effect Podcast Network. Join me every weekday as I share bite sized stories of missing and murdered black women and girls in America. Stories like Erica Hunt, a young mother vanished without a trace after a family gathering on 4th of July weekend 2016. No goodbyes, no clues, just gone. Listen to Hunting for Answers every weekday on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Matt Jones]

Hey, this is Matt Jones. And I'm Drew Franklin and this is NFL Cover Zero. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game. What was that?

[Joe Crack]

Oh, my.

[Matt Jones]

We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining.

[Joe Crack]

And twice a week, that is exactly.

[Matt Jones]

What you're going to get. Listen to NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts.

[Joe Crack]

You get your podcast.

[Matt Jones]

I'm Dan. He's Ty.

[Neo]

Hello.

[Matt Jones]

And we're the solid verbal college football podcast. Tune in for previews, recaps, bits you won't hear anywhere else, and all the emotional support you need as a college football fan. Join us all season long as we ride the roller coaster of this ridiculous sport. Listen to the solid verbal college football podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We don't just love college football, Ty. We live it.

[Hunter]

I'm the homegirl that knows a little bit about everything.

[Joe Crack]

And everybody let me know.

[Neo]

Lauren LaRosa. You hear that?

[Jada]

Exclusive.

[Joe Crack]

Lauren came in hot.

[Hunter]

I came in telling the truth. Every day I'm bringing you the latest in entertainment, breaking down the headlines you can't stop talking about. And giving you my very unfiltered take on the biggest stories in the industry. From exclusive news and y' all know I got it to us breaking down the interviews. Cause y' all are my. My co host now. I'm giving you the deep dives on some of the biggest moments in pop culture.

[Joe Crack]

Oh, my God.

[Hunter]

Listen to the Latest with Lauren LaRosa, weekdays on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Neo]

He sees me, puts his guitar down, beelines through the crowd, straight to me. And he comes onto me, says, libra Scale is a good album. Don't let nobody tell you different. And walked on. And from that moment I was like, you know what? I don't give a damn what the critics say. I don't Care what nobody say Prince said is good, is good. I'm good.

[Joe Crack]

Yo, what up, y'?

[Neo]

All?

[Joe Crack]

This is Joe Crack the Dawn.

[Jada]

It's your boy, Jada. You know what it is? The Joe and Jada Show. Every show legendary, Every show iconic and so forth and so on. Ladies and gentlemen, today we want you to give it up for our brother, Triple Threat artist, great human being. I can keep going on for hours of the good characteristics of this brother here. Make some noise for my man Neo. Neo.

[Neo]

Love and respect. Love and respect. What's going on?

[Joe Crack]

Yeah, so you're our first country artist. Because it's obvious.

[Neo]

Country inspired. Country inspired. I. I do that. I feel like it's disrespectful for me to call it a country album.

[Joe Crack]

Sombrero on right now. What are you talking about?

[Jada]

Is this.

[Neo]

This.

[Jada]

Everything's connected.

[Joe Crack]

So that's why I'm trying to like.

[Jada]

But, you know, he ain't. You know what they know what he do. Got a platinum pin.

[Joe Crack]

Yo, let's Rushmore. It's like, I didn't even wanna look up the stats, right, because it's just too much. But if I looked into the Neo bag, it would definitely end up at Beyonce.

[Neo]

Yeah.

[Joe Crack]

You know what's that like working with the queen and pinning something up for her? Not only that, something iconic.

[Neo]

Yeah, man. That's one of the ones. I'll say this, though.

[Joe Crack]

Let's tell them what the song is talking about.

[Neo]

Beyonce is irreplaceable. Yeah, that's. Yeah. I'm still eating off that. I still ain't spent all that. Still ain't touched that.

[Joe Crack]

What the hell?

[Neo]

It's different. But I'm used to going in the studio and having to kind of. Kind of hold artist's hand, so to speak. You know what I'm saying? Like, all right, here's the next note. All right, here's the next part. Do this part.

[Joe Crack]

Do that part.

[Neo]

Man, I ain't never felt so useless in my damn life working with Beyonce. She ain't need me for nothing. I'm like, all right, I'm gonna go get some coffee. You got. She got it. She did it. She knocked that song out in about an hour by herself. Like, I wasn't needed. I wasn't needed, but I was mad at it.

[Joe Crack]

It got country vibes to it.

[Neo]

It do. I kind of wrote it like a country song. Cause when I first wrote it, it was no drums on. It was just the guitar part. So I kind of wrote it like, kind of like a country song. Cause I've always appreciated country music. Cause it's like. It's storytelling. You know what I'm saying? It's like, you gotta be clever with the lyric in country music, so. So I always, always had a appreciation for that. That's kind of why I'm doing the album that I'm doing country again. Country inspired. I don't feel like I can call it a country album in that I'm not a full fledged country artist. Like, I feel like that's disrespectful to cast that's been doing that for years. And then here I come on some. Yeah, I'm doing a country album. Like, nah, nigga. It's inspired by all the things that I love about country music. Yeah. Coming soon. Coming soon. Real quick, Real quick. I don't walk to nobody house without a gift.

[Joe Crack]

Damn, we ain't got nothing.

[Neo]

Don't do that. Ah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah. Me being here, me being here. Y' all having me here is the gift. I appreciate that. Shouts to my man Vaughn Smith the name of the headline is Circa. What do you just forgot?

[Joe Crack]

So we got some burros. So the gift, look, he got no, no cash.

[Neo]

Oh, that's hard. Yeah, man. Yeah. Circa is the name of the lines. My man. My man Vaughn and his partner, they put that stand together. So, yeah, just appreciation for having me on. I appreciate y'.

[Joe Crack]

All. Oh, you see the Knicks way. That's for fans who think we really gonna win like that. If you think the Knick's gonna win this, like, yo, it's a little wavy.

[Neo]

We don't know, man.

[Joe Crack]

I appreciate it, man.

[Neo]

Out of pride. Appreciate y'. All.

[Joe Crack]

We get nothing, really. And we don't get nothing. Nothing for Father's Day. We don't get shit for the. Not even a fair socks. What does a guy who has four wives, four girls, do? You receive a gift on Father's Day or birthday?

[Neo]

You know what? I get gifts from my kids on Father's Day, and that's enough. I don't necessarily.

[Joe Crack]

We just. We. But see, I don't.

[Neo]

I don't need nothing.

[Joe Crack]

We get Birkin bags, all type of shit. We get socks.

[Neo]

I don't even get that. And.

[Joe Crack]

But I don't.

[Neo]

But see, I'm also. I don't need. I don't need a gift.

[Jada]

Not even a good tool. Boob socket.

[Joe Crack]

My father, man, flying across the floor. My father lasted 89 years. He had the same complaint every year. Yo, I don't get shit. I gotta buy flowers, chocolates. This my Father like, yo, I ain't get shit. Why we can't get shit? What?

[Neo]

But see, in my household, I don't have to lift a finger. I don't gotta cook. I don't gotta clean. I don't gotta. I don't gotta do much or nothing in my house because from between my kids and my women, I don't. I don't need no gifts.

[Joe Crack]

Say, like, they should throw, like, ice cream on the floor. You can eat that shit off the floor.

[Neo]

Spotless.

[Joe Crack]

That shit is like a drive through. Drive through. That. Like the. You know, the. That they be marbleizing the. The offices and shit. That shit gotta be crystal clear now.

[Neo]

Absolutely. Absolutely. No, I'm good. I don't need. I don't need gifts. I don't. Every day is a gift in my crib.

[Joe Crack]

I get it. Now, me, I'm not gonna lie to you. Like these hats. I swear to you, I'm gonna wear it, and I truly appreciate it, because I don't get shit. I'm being honest with you. I don't get shit. I don't. Fat Joe don't give shit. I'm being that. You got any money? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Jada]

What? I'm just chilling, man. We having. Having a nice conversation here, man.

[Neo]

It's.

[Jada]

My God. He's. He's a. The bag. When you talking about the bag. He's a very giving person. I shot a video on level four. He had these Louis on. I'm like, yo, I like them. He sent somebody and bought him.

[Joe Crack]

He did your I liked him trick, huh?

[Jada]

No, I wasn't.

[Joe Crack]

He did.

[Jada]

This is before.

[Joe Crack]

I like the trick, huh?

[Jada]

I didn't even know him, really.

[Joe Crack]

He did the all I like him trick.

[Jada]

He was. He was really flexible.

[Joe Crack]

I had dinner with this guy, right? I had dinner with this guy, man. He's a gambling expert. What the.

[Jada]

And you hit him with the. Oh, I like.

[Joe Crack]

Frank is dating. Nah, he hit me with the Oopti wapdi. I had these Louie glass them like 5,000, some fly shit. Every bite of the dinner, he was like, man, them classic. Really nice. Every bite, and it just kept. And I'm from the thing. Like, if you compliment too much now, it's almost like the mirror's gonna crack. Like, I'm like, yo, give it to him or it's gonna be bad, blood. I said, these glasses, like, 10 tons. I said, yo, here you go, brother. Take them, man. Enjoy the glasses. It's not a problem. This. I never found them glasses again. Vegas Dave hustled me for My shit.

[Jada]

Yo, Vegas Dave send the glasses back.

[Neo]

Vegas Dave might send them back.

[Joe Crack]

It works sometime. Thank you for being the generous guy.

[Neo]

I'm always be that. I'mma always be that. I feel like you gotta be a blessing to receive a blessing.

[Joe Crack]

Facts. By the way, Khaled spun me when we did the Khaled joint. And I kept saying, can I get a loan? That motherfucker never asked.

[Jada]

We eat. James Brown's.

[Joe Crack]

He the king of the spin. I just watched that episode. I said, this James Brown. That nigga said a whole lot of nothing. That motherfucker like Dragon from Game of Thrones without the fire coming out his mouth. I'm like, huh? I'm looking at that. Cause I got drunk. I up. I got drunk with him, and I don't drink. And so it took me to see the shit, to notice that I got spun like. I'm. I'm. I'm like one of them Lulu dolls. What's up? The Lupello shit.

[Jada]

I was a little.

[Joe Crack]

I'm fucking at it.

[Jada]

I was feeling a little nice. But when you asked him that, he took us all the way around Broward. He took his.

[Joe Crack]

I'm trying to get the man on record to say, yo, Joe, I don't need a loan. I just try to get him on record. He ain't go for it. He spun me to death. But, yo, Neo, man, you got a country album. You know, everything you do is incredible. You know everything. Last show I had with you, we was in, what, the Cayman Islands?

[Neo]

Yeah.

[Joe Crack]

And I felt like, you know what I'm saying? I was watching you perform. I was like, and you also my wife's favorite singer.

[Neo]

Love, respect, right?

[Joe Crack]

You know, my moms and pops had just passed away around the time we were supposed to do our birthday. You said you would do it. Jeezy's her favorite rapper. He was coming, too, but. And she just went to see Jeezy. But he ain't do the song with Neo. She was pissed. The joint y' all got together. She was like, yo, he ain't do my song, man.

[Jada]

He said, yeah.

[Neo]

Yes, sir.

[Jada]

That shit right there.

[Joe Crack]

How many times you do a show and they say you ain't do they song?

[Jada]

Oh, man, everybody's always. Every kid, every somebody. Like, why you didn't do this song that you never do?

[Neo]

Mind you, it wasn't a single. The. The fourth album cut like, this is my favorite joint. Why you ain't. Man, listen, did you enjoy the show? All right, Leave me alone. Damn. Come on now. It's A lot. It's a whole lot.

[Jada]

My last show with him, we was in Jamaica. Remember? If something happened, I had to save the day for you. He used my dj. We was out there for some. It was one of them festers with a bunch of Jamaican artists, and it had me and you and Buster was.

[Neo]

Supposed to be there, Remember? He canceled.

[Jada]

We was in that.

[Neo]

Okay.

[Jada]

Montego Bay or somewhere.

[Neo]

The Kinks.

[Jada]

We were somewhere. And they like, yo, Neo is band. Something happened. Could he say, yeah, you could rock with me? And that's how we rock the technicians in Jamaica.

[Joe Crack]

Technician?

[Jada]

Yeah, we use tech.

[Neo]

Yeah.

[Joe Crack]

You know, when I. Yeah, you double tipped him up. That's tech. He want his feet. He said, hey, you know, when you went to pay him, he said, two artists.

[Jada]

Listen, text Jamaican. So he was living a life out there. He had the chefs, the maids. He was eating seven meals in the motherland. Yeah, he was chilling.

[Joe Crack]

I just went. I just came back from Puerto Rico. I went to the Bad Bunny concert.

[Jada]

Did you feel like Khaled?

[Joe Crack]

Like what? No, no, it was. It was fino. You know what I'm saying?

[Jada]

Oh, see, I need you. I need the same energy.

[Joe Crack]

No, it was what you want me to say? I'm not gonna do what Khaled said. It was an incredible show. Super talented. The fucking aesthetics was crazy. The vibe and portable. When we landed on the plane, the shit. No, the pilot was like, welcome to Bad, buddy. And the whole plane went crazy. Like, I never like that whole island. I heard he generated, like, 700 million for the island. And the whole theme of the show is based on, like, gentrification of Puerto Rico, that grandmothers are selling their cribs and, you know, and so he brought all that money back to the economy. It was really incredible. You know, I've been drinking a lot lately. I drink in that motherfucker, too. I was saucy. I technically was smart.

[Jada]

It's all right.

[Joe Crack]

Yeah, you know, I gotta drink a lot.

[Jada]

Y' all get that water, baby.

[Joe Crack]

You already know. You got it. But incredible, phenomenal show. One of the greatest shows I've ever seen in my life. And then the next day, I snuck into that Brian McKnight show. When's the last time you seen Brian.

[Neo]

McKnight before you seen that man?

[Joe Crack]

In a while.

[Jada]

He was in Puerto Rico?

[Joe Crack]

Nah, he was in Jersey. You see, I snuck in the Englewood theater. On the low were you shot back.

[Jada]

Right at the Ben.

[Joe Crack]

Right back. Seen Brian McKnight. He was like, anytime soon reaching out for me.

[Jada]

I would have loved to See, yo.

[Joe Crack]

This guy, like, where he been at?

[Neo]

He been at high.

[Joe Crack]

I don't know. But the only artist I've seen, the only artist I seen vocally sing like that in years was, like, Luther Vandross. This guy really scary. Like, he sneak in next time you hear he's in the city. You would just sneak in, sit in the back. You gonna be like, yo, this guy's fucking. He caught a body on Broadway, this guy. Brian McKnight.

[Jada]

I love Brian McKnight.

[Neo]

I grew up on Brian McKnight. Brian McKnight, Boyz II Men. That was kind of the era of music that I, like, really started taking music serious. I wanted to be wine, gay, Morris.

[Joe Crack]

I want to be in the group. You know what's crazy? I'm watching Brian McKnight the whole time I'm saying, yo, this guy could have been in Boys to Men. The whole show I'm watching, I'm thinking, you know, my music or whatever. You know how we. It's tapping my brain. I'm like, yo, this guy could have been a fourth member of Boy to Men. Easily, like.

[Neo]

Era when it was he.

[Jada]

A little bit older than boys.

[Joe Crack]

Yeah, but what I'm saying is, vocally, vocally and aesthetically, this guy could have been in Boys to Men.

[Neo]

They did one joint together. It was a Christmas joint. Let it Snow, Whatever.

[Jada]

Let it snow.

[Neo]

Boys to Menace. Yeah, I think that's the only joint they ever did together, but that was a joint.

[Joe Crack]

That's ill. Yeah, man, that's crazy. Who do you think you line up with? Like, if I just went to NeoRadio, who. What other artists would they play on Neo radio?

[Neo]

That's a good question. Well, I don't know. I don't know. Not saying that I'm on some level that's above anybody else, but they gonna.

[Joe Crack]

Play some Michael Jackson on there.

[Neo]

I mean, definitely. So definitely play my inspirations. Absolutely. Yeah, yeah. Mike Prince, you know what I'm saying? I grew up in Vegas, so, like, the Rat Pack was a major, major thing for me. So, like, you might hear some old Sammy Davis Jr. On that thing, something like that. But, yeah, the era where I really started taking music serious was Boyz ii Man, Brian McKnight, Jodeci, beforehand, you know, Drew Hill and all that. Drew Hill.

[Joe Crack]

That whole.

[Neo]

I really started, like, really started looking at, like, I could do this for a living type shit.

[Jada]

You was able to meet mj, right?

[Neo]

Yeah, yeah. How?

[Jada]

I was.

[Neo]

I met Mike. It was weird. It was cool, but it was weird. Cause it's like so mind you, when I first, When I first. When they first set up the meeting, my assistant was supposed to call me before Mike called me to let me know that Mike that he, that somebody had gave Mike my number and he was going to call me, but Mike actually called me first. So when I picked up the phone, oh yeah, Dan said, hey, what are you doing? This is Michael Jackson. I hung up immediately because I thought.

[Joe Crack]

Somebody happened to me four times today. The bank kept calling from 8:5 5. I'm like, Yo, I'm next to my wife. The BIS keep saying, hi, this is Johnna. I'm like, yo, don't be calling this fucking phone right now. I don't need no mishaps. It's me from TD Bank. I'm like, well, why you ain't say that shit? You calling from a 8 5.

[Neo]

Lead it with your first name. Hold on. No, no, no, not doing that.

[Joe Crack]

Who's that? Don't know.

[Neo]

Well, yeah, so what happened? So I hung up and then my assistant called me like, yo, are you sitting down? Yeah, I'm so now Michael Jackson about to call you in 10 minutes. I'm like, Nigga, Michael Jackson called me 10 minutes ago and I hung up in his face. You almost fired. You almost fired.

[Joe Crack]

You wanted to die.

[Neo]

Did you hung up on Michael Jackson?

[Joe Crack]

Oh my God.

[Neo]

So anyway, so we got back on the phone.

[Jada]

Did you any apologize?

[Neo]

No, I lied right away. I lied. I'm like, yeah, it was a bad reception, bro. I'm dropping under bridge and the joint just dropped.

[Joe Crack]

He sounded like Michael Jackson.

[Neo]

He sounded like, hey, how you doing? I'm good. Who is this? It's Michael. Michael who? Michael Jackson. Ah, cool.

[Joe Crack]

Click.

[Neo]

Nah.

[Joe Crack]

And then when you spoke Michael Jackson.

[Neo]

Yeah, yeah. So. So first I didn't know Mike was tall. Michael was like 6, 2, 6, 3.

[Joe Crack]

I didn't know that either.

[Neo]

Or maybe, maybe he was tall in my head. I don't know. When he walked in the room, The N was 10ft tall. When he walked in, he had on a black suit. He had on aviator sunglasses that was mirrored that he didn't take off the whole time.

[Joe Crack]

We was there for like an hour.

[Neo]

He did not take the glasses off the whole time. And we sat, we talked about music. When he first walked in the room, he said, oh my God, you know what my favorite song of yours is? And I'm like, favorite song of mine? Do you know that's favorite song of mine?

[Joe Crack]

That's nuts.

[Neo]

It was nuts. It was nuts.

[Joe Crack]

But what was his favorite song of yours?

[Neo]

Go on, girl, please. Don't worry about me.

[Joe Crack]

I'm fine.

[Neo]

That joint and he sang it and I turned it to a 12 year old girl instantly. I kept it in though. I kept it G. I'm like, that's. That's dope.

[Joe Crack]

No, no, no. I cried. You know, Michael Jackson, I probably. He's one of those from the Bronx. If Michael Jackson walked in there, I was gonna ask him, did he drop his flat? You know, I say. They say Michael was a m. Was a gang member. I don't know if he dropped his flag before he met you or not. Some people say.

[Neo]

I've heard things. Michael Jackson was.

[Joe Crack]

No, they say Michael from the 60s, right? Y' all didn't say he was a gang member. Not another flag.

[Neo]

I need proof it's a picture floating around him doing something. Yes, I seen it. I seen it.

[Joe Crack]

Yo, let me tell you something. I would have cried if I would have met Michael Jackson. He's the one guy I would have cried. Like, I just. I ain't gonna lie to you. It's like he was from out of another world. Yeah, like he was other.

[Neo]

Like, never be another.

[Joe Crack]

That's my favorite rapper, Fat Joe. Mother is different. You see Michael Jackson, man, listen, you fucking want to die. You sit.

[Neo]

You crying from the Michael Jackson and can't nobody even make fun of you because it's like, it's Michael Jackson. How you don't like. I kept.

[Jada]

I kept your life. You crying from the mic.

[Neo]

The only reason I didn't cry because I felt like, all right, he probably get this all the time. Let me, Let me try to. Let me try to shift my composure. But it was cool. We sat. Talked about music.

[Matt Jones]

We.

[Neo]

We actually started working on some stuff that he was supposed to record after the. The this Is it tour was old, but, you know, he passed before we got a chance to do it. So.

[Jada]

How about Prince?

[Neo]

Prince, man. So Prince saved my life and I. He don't. He don't realize. Wow. But so after Year of the Gentleman was like my best. My best seller album won Grammys for that album. And then right after that, we did Libra scale, right? Libra scale. I just got off. I did like two movies. So I kind of had the movie bug. So I went to the label like, yo, so I want to do like a 30 minute mini movie and like let the album be the soundtrack to the movie. They was like, oh, yeah, that's dope. That's dope. Who's going to write the script?

[Joe Crack]

I got it.

[Neo]

I'll Take care of it. Mind you, I don't know shit about writing scripts. I know how to write a song. I don't know how to write a script. So they like, all right, 30 minutes. All right, cool. So I bring them the script. So in the world of writing scripts, a page equates to a minute. So 30 pages in 30 minutes. My script had 145 pages in it.

[Joe Crack]

Yeah.

[Neo]

And they was like, nigga, it ain't nothing. Many times, nah, this ain't gonna work. So I had to bust it down to 30.

[Joe Crack]

Right.

[Neo]

Basically. Long story short, the album came out. It was kind of all over the place. The story was weird. Like, people didn't get it. The album didn't do well at all, right? So I was kind of down. Cause, like, we had just came off the high of Year of the Gentleman. And then it was like. Like the shit. We went double glass. Anyway, so that year, we got invited to Prince's Grammy party. He used to throw a Grammy party every year. So we go to the party, and mind you, I'm in there and I'm excited. Cause we had Prince's joint. But at the same time, I'm like, bummed out. Cause, like, man, the album not doing well.

[Joe Crack]

It recently had just dropped the album.

[Neo]

We had just dropped the album. The album came out, didn't do the numbers. You know what I'm saying? The singles was kind of moving, but not really. Like, it was a bad way. It's a bad way. So we go to the party and we standing there and, like, I'm there, but I'm not there.

[Joe Crack]

Prince.

[Neo]

It's in a pool house at Prince's house. So, like, everybody's standing on top of the pool. It's like a plexiglass shit on top of the pool. And everybody's partying on the pool. He's in the corner with his band. He's jamming, right? They just playing whatever. He sees me, puts his guitar down, beelines through the crowd, straight to me. And he comes on to me. He says, leber Skill is a good album. Don't let nobody tell you different. And walked on.

[Joe Crack]

Wow.

[Neo]

And from that moment, I was like, you know what? I don't give a damn what the critics say. I don't care what nobody say. Prince said is good. It's good. I'm good. And it restored my desire to do music. Man, I was messed up behind it.

[Jada]

Today's show is brought to you by our new presenting sponsor, Hard Rock bet. Open up the Hard Rock BET Sportsbook app, you'll see why it's top rated with thousands of five star reviews. If you ever been to a Hard Rock hotel casino, you know that they treat you right.

[Joe Crack]

That's right.

[Jada]

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[Neo]

That's a lot like that if you.

[Jada]

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[Joe Crack]

More states is going to pick it up real soon. Hard Rock, the biggest growing bet place. Go there right now.

[Jada]

Make your first deposit today. Payable and bonus bets. Not a cash offer offered by the Seminole Tribe of Florida and Florida or offered by the Seminole Hard Rock Digital LLC and all other states must be 21 and over and physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee or Virginia to play. Terms and conditions apply. Concerned about gambling in Florida? Call 188 admitted in Indiana. If someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-9 with it gambling problem. Call 1-800-gambling that's in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia.

[Matt Jones]

Hey, this is Matt Jones. I'm Drew Franklin and this is NFL Cover Zero. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining and twice a week. That is exactly what you're going to get. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game. What was that? Looks like something that should not be sold.

[Joe Crack]

Oh, my.

[Matt Jones]

So that was my other big Colts takeaway.

[Joe Crack]

They sold that.

[Matt Jones]

Yes. Might want to go back to the Colts stadium. Yeah, I might want to go back to the drawing board on that.

[Joe Crack]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

I thought the shape we had with pretzels was working pretty well. It's worked for generations. We're just here trying to enjoy it. We hope you all will join us throughout the year. And let's go. I hope I'm as youthful as Pete Carroll is at his age. He's a young 73. He is a young 73. He is spry. I wouldn't fight him. I would listen NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.

[Hunter]

I'm Hunter, host of Hunting for Answers on the Black Effect Podcast Network. Join me every weekday as I share bite sized stories of missing and murdered black women and girls in America. There are several ways we can all do better at protecting black women. My contribution is shining a light on our missing sisters and amplifying their disregarded stories. Stories like Tameka Anderson. As she drove toward Galvez, she was in contact with several people talking on the phone as she made her way to what should have been a routine transaction. But Tameka never bought the car and she never returned home that day. One podcast, one mission. Save our girls. Join the search as we explore the chilling cases of missing and murdered black women and girls. Listen to Hunting for Answers every weekday on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Matt Jones]

I'm Dan, he's Ty. Hello. And we're the Solid Verbal College Football Podcast. College football season is here. And you know what that means. Your team is going to break your heart three times, probably before Halloween.

[Joe Crack]

Uh huh.

[Matt Jones]

But fear not. The Solid Verbal will be right there with you through every soul crushing loss and impossible comeback. Join us all season long, all year long, as we ride the rollercoaster of this ridiculous sport. Whether you're a dive fan or a casual observer, we'll help you make sense of all the chaos and of course, celebrate the madness. Tune in for previews, recaps, bits you won't hear anywhere else, and all the emotional support you need as a college football fan. We don't just love college football, Ty. We live it. Listen to the Solid Verbal college football podcasts on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Joe Crack]

In early 1988, federal agents raced to track down the gang they suspect of importing millions of dollars worth of heroin into New York from Asia. We had 30 agents ready to go with shotguns and rifles and you name it.

[Matt Jones]

But what they find is not what they expected.

[Joe Crack]

Basically, your stay at home moms were.

[Matt Jones]

Picking up these large amounts of heroin.

[Joe Crack]

They go, is this your daughter?

[Jada]

I said, yes.

[Neo]

They go, oh, you may not see her for like 25 years.

[Joe Crack]

Caught between a federal investigation and the violent gang who recruited them, the women must decide who they're willing to protect.

[Matt Jones]

And who they dare to betray.

[Neo]

Once I saw the gun, I tried.

[Joe Crack]

To take his hand and I saw.

[Neo]

The flash of light.

[Joe Crack]

Listen to the Chinatown sting on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or anywhere you get your podcasts. Like now, I say I cut people off, so I'll let you get the Prince story off. But how did the label act with you when it went double flash? You know how that thing go, man. I'm asking, though.

[Neo]

They there for all the celebration when things go well and when things go bad, it's your fault.

[Joe Crack]

Let me tell you something.

[Neo]

You know how that goes.

[Joe Crack]

I had an album went double platinum. Jealous one still went. They had a fucking picture of me six stories high in Atlantic Records. The fucking picture was six stories high. I'm doing. They swapped it out for TI But I'm not going there. What I'm going is they gassed me to put out an album in Christmas time with Mariah Carey, Jay Z, Missy.

[Neo]

Elliott, this, this, or they threw you.

[Jada]

In the traffic with all super gassy.

[Joe Crack]

And. And I'm over here, I'm over here telling them, yo, this is a bad idea. This is a dis. I don't think you think we're going to sell like Missy. We're going to sell like Jay. You're the big guy. Fourth quarter, this, that. I didn't know that back then they were getting paid on the shipping. So if your Last album sold 2 million, they shipped 2 million, they get paid already. So whether you sell 10 records or 20, like that album that went double glass, they made their money. Yeah, they shipped that a million.

[Jada]

They always make their money.

[Joe Crack]

They always make their money. So my. My point is, when the flop, maybe like a month later, the guy who insisted and gassed me, I'll say it. Craig Calvin gassed me that album. I saw him at like the MTV Music Awards and I was like, yo, hey, Craig. And the man in real life got up, looked at me and ran away from me like I had AIDS or hiv. I was like, yo, Craig, he was like, motherfucker got up at like. And I realized at that point, I said, yo, these people don't give a fuck about. This is the same guy. I'm sitting on his couch telling him, yo, let's not drop. Let's not this. You know, they. You know, as soon as that album flopped, TI Poster went up. Shit crazy, man. So that's why I'm asking you.

[Neo]

That's how I go. That's how I go. No, you know what, though? I had shit crazy.

[Joe Crack]

They just started telling me, you know, this the biggest guy. I'm like.

[Neo]

Cause, like, so Jay's crazy out here. This was right when Jay had became president over there. So it was Jay and Tata. That was pretty much Jay through the whole recording of pretty much all my shit. And, like, Tata is one of them n that just. He can't not keep it real. So, like, he like, Tata was a nigga that told me. He was like, yo, I need you to understand. Nobody in the building believes that you're gonna do anything. I just need you to know that. I need you to understand that.

[Joe Crack]

With that album.

[Neo]

No, with my first album, before the first album came out, like, they signed me, and I want to believe they signed me as a tax write off. Cause they didn't think it was going. Cause he came to me, he was like, listen, I'm gonna let you know now. You know, sitting around with all The A&Rs, ain't nobody really. You ain't got too many people in your corner. I'm just letting you know that. And I'm like, I couldn't do nothing but appreciate the fact that he kept it that real.

[Jada]

Shout out to top.

[Joe Crack]

Well, who are the DNRs? So my thing, I got a different type of like. Like, will you let him finish? He just finished.

[Neo]

No, he didn't.

[Joe Crack]

He was just starting.

[Jada]

That was.

[Joe Crack]

No, you finished, though?

[Neo]

Yeah, I did.

[Joe Crack]

I did.

[Jada]

He finished that right there.

[Joe Crack]

I've been very patient, yo.

[Jada]

Patiently.

[Joe Crack]

I've been very patient.

[Neo]

No, what I was saying was I had one or two folks in the building that was actually riding for me whether we won or lost. Like Ty and Jay, they was good to me. You know what I'm saying? If it was a win or lose, even through the deliever scale situation, they was like, it's all right. We'll get them next time.

[Jada]

They was hell of a team.

[Neo]

Damn straight. Damn straight.

[Joe Crack]

Exactly.

[Neo]

So it was good. It was good.

[Joe Crack]

My thing is, who the fuck is the A R guys, right?

[Jada]

You know them.

[Joe Crack]

Who I Don't know them. So you come in there, you create, you tell your life story, you make hit records, and they get credit. I never liked that shit, man. I mean, I fucking never liked that shit. Every time a fucking artist comes out, say a lizzo or somebody, a cardi b or whoever's a sensation, some guy comes stand next to them and takes the credit with them at the grammys that they don't even fucking know. Or they never even talked to. They never even saw them. They never nothing, no recommendation, nothing. Stand up there like they did some shit. I never like that shit ever. Somebody else taking credit beat up a nr. No, I don't want to beat up nobody. I don't want to beat up nobody. But what I'm trying to tell you is I really want to know an a r. Baby Bob reef tulo's beats.

[Jada]

See how you gonna start finding.

[Joe Crack]

No, no, no, no.

[Jada]

A lot of good for the game. A lot of them is fucked up. But it's some good ones.

[Neo]

I never had the help.

[Joe Crack]

I don't know if you had the help.

[Neo]

Was my a r. My first four albums.

[Joe Crack]

Somebody came and said she was a model for the year. They bought that beat.

[Jada]

No, I mean, pick did bring me to Virginia de Pharrell street. He didn't write it. That's my fucking words. But he took me to meet pharrell. So that's the. You get the wrong.

[Joe Crack]

He introduced you to him.

[Neo]

I'll tell you like this. The Beyonce record might not have happened. If not for tata, it might not have happened. Cause I didn't write that record originally for Beyonce. There's a bunch of records that went on Rihanna's album that I didn't write for Rihanna. But because tata was always there, like, every time I was in the studio, he was it. I mean, they set up like. Like four days for Britney Spears with me, right? It was like, yeah, she gonna come in and whatever. Whatever. She never showed. Four days, she never showed. But every song that I wrote for her, tata was there. He like, yo, let me get a copy of that. And then two weeks later, he's like, oh, yeah, we gave that to Rihanna. Yeah, we gave it to Beyonce. Yeah, we gave that to this one or that one.

[Joe Crack]

So, like, he was great. I'm not talking about tata specifically. I'm talking about the world of A&Rs. A lot of these guys don't do shit. And they got too much to say about what the single is, how they know this. You know, how many times we seen the artist come out Pure talent blow up. And then all of a sudden, the A and R try to start telling them what to do or what should they shoot or how they should look or this and throw away this shit.

[Neo]

My first deal is when I had my experience with kind of crappy A and rs. Like, so I got signed to Columbia. That was my first record deal.

[Joe Crack]

Like, a guy like you, right? You're so fucking talented. Imagine, now we know the story now, 20 years in, you're fucking super producer, super mega star. This, this, that. You starting the game. You got all this fucking talent. You know, God gave you all this talent, and somebody trying to direct you and tell you what it is. And you sitting here looking at him like, is this shit crazy?

[Neo]

But I was green, though. I ain't know no better. I was just happy to have a deal. So, like, whatever they was telling me to do, I did it like, nah, don't write with these cats. Write with these cats. Nah, don't wear that. Wear this type shit. So, like, we finished the album for Columbia, and I'm looking at the shit, and I'm like, I don't recognize the nigga on the COVID I don't recognize the music. Like, this ain't me. This is who they want. Like, they try to turn me into, like, Baby Tyrese or somebody, right? So I went back into the label, like, yo, is it cool if maybe I go in and you know, cut one or two more records to kind of. Kind of fit who I am? And they was like, well, I mean, we would let you, but your budget is depleted. And I'm like, at the moment, at that time, that was the most money I ever had in life. So I knew where the money was going. I'm like, nah, this much studio time cost. This. This cost that we should have at least this left, right? That's when I learned that every time them cats would fly us to New York and take us to Mr. Child's and throw that credit card down.

[Joe Crack]

Yeah, how about you flying them?

[Neo]

Yeah, yeah. How you find them whenever they swipe that card? That was my budget, and I didn't know. And of course, they're not gonna tell you, so. Yeah.

[Jada]

Yeah.

[Neo]

That was my first experience with A R that just was on the take, basically.

[Jada]

Well, listen, when you. From listening to you, he ain't listening for me listening to you, it sound like a lot of the songs you wrote for people you didn't write for people they happened to. You know what I mean?

[Neo]

Yeah, yeah. It happens like that a lot, honestly. Like, you know, it's. You give somebody first right of refusal, and if they don't. If they don't see it, they don't see it. All right? But that don't mean the song is whack. That don't mean you can't use it. So it'll go somewhere else.

[Joe Crack]

See, the other day, fucking JLo wrote that. Well, at least half. That's what Faith said on the interview. I love you. It was JLo's song. She passed on it, and Faith kept it. And that shit turned into a fucking.

[Jada]

That's one of my favorite biggest hit.

[Neo]

In the world is that shit.

[Joe Crack]

I mean, that's how that shit goes, especially for songwriting. You know, you don't know. But the good thing that Tata did, he had your best interest. Because you need somebody in there casting it off.

[Neo]

Yo, check this out somewhere. Yeah, yeah.

[Joe Crack]

You know I did that, right? Yo, yo, yo, yo. You already said I did that. The album, the Usher. I'm gonna give you two the album that Usher did with Rico. Love a lot of. And Rico, super producer. A lot of them songs I was in the studio with, and Usher wasn't sure. He was like, yo, I don't know this, this and that. And I'm like, yo, bro, this guy's the hottest guy in the game. I did the same thing with Kelly Rowland, with the joint that Rico wrote for her. Because at the time, she had, like, an EDM song that was. She was about to go all the way over there. She was like, I'm going edm. Like. And I'm like, yo, you know. You know, you Destiny's Child. Like, you know, the hit was right. It was so much of a hit that I was like, yo, this you crazy if you're not cutting this. This a smash hit. You know, and sometimes people want to get a little outside voice to say, all right, man, maybe I should fuck with it.

[Neo]

Yeah, yeah.

[Joe Crack]

And they fuck with it. You know, they said, you know, it's certain hits that I did that I ain't like. Because to me, they were like sellout hits. Like, I just knew it was gonna be a hit. Like, you know, when you manufacture a hit, there's a way to manufacture a hit.

[Neo]

Yeah, yeah. To be like, there's a formula.

[Joe Crack]

This is the sound. This is the formula. Get the homie on the hook. Get this. And it's a hit. And I never liked it. Cause I felt like I was cheating the System label way. I never forget, they came to see me.

[Jada]

They was like, yo, you American Standard Instructions of it by the door pretty.

[Neo]

Much step one, step two.

[Joe Crack]

But you feel. You feel like you cheated the game. I mean, me, I mean, thank God I still make money to this day off of it. But I felt like I cheated the game. When I did, when I did something like, shit went number one, too.

[Neo]

So you have an ear. You can hear when something is going to be like the one.

[Joe Crack]

Now let's go back to Craig Calvin. The only real shit he ever said to me was. He said, you're not Beyonce. He said, if you put out a.

[Jada]

Song, that was the only real shit.

[Joe Crack]

It's the only real shit he ever said to me was, you, not Beyonce. If your song doesn't do good, there isn't the next song. And it's crazy because you got that fucking hat on. I remember I walked in Atlanta. I told Atlantic, I'm fucking up the whole office. I walked in there, all 5,000 employees was out the building. That shit was like.

[Neo]

Tumbleweeds.

[Joe Crack]

I said, I'm going in it because they didn't want to shoot that video. And then I got up to that Terror Squad, Fat job beating everybody up in the office. Five o', clock, I'm walking in. That was a ghost town. Only one guy stood there, man. Recipes. Rodney Johnson, man. He's tried to explain it to me. Say, joe, we told you that if the record don't do good, you can't do enough. So basically, they were like, yo, look, you got one shot. If it hits, you get another one. So I had to almost train my ears, like I was a program director, to know what they would play on a Sunday in South Carolina. I knew I would play these songs and be like, yo, they'll play this shit in South Carolina or Arizona. So I had to train myself. And I knew if I didn't, if it wasn't a hit, I'm fucked.

[Neo]

So, see, that's a skill in itself. Like, I don't have that. Like, I be so close to the music that I can't hear the one shout outs to my man Tango. Tango is my manager. Been my manager for 20 years. When I first met this nigga, he didn't have a radio in his car, talking about, I'm gonna manage your music career. Nigga don't even listen to music. He's like, nah, nah, nah, nah. I don't know music. I don't know product, and I know people. And I'm like, all right. And to this day, every single that I've had that went Tango was like, it's this one. And mind you It'll be shit like, nigga, I spent five days on this record. This one I did in like 20 minutes. He was like, bruh, is that one? And sure, Closer. I did not believe in Closer. I didn't think that Closer was for me. I literally wrote it to sell it. It was Tango and Jay Z that was like, yo, keep that shit.

[Joe Crack]

Trust me, keep it.

[Neo]

We put the joint out for the first three months, nothing. Nobody gave a fuck. They didn't get it to the point where we went to the lab, we went to the label, Larry Reid called us in on some. Yo, I think it's time to switch singles. Before I walked into LA office, Jay was like, yo, LA about to tell you, get off that record. Do not get off that record. But even I was like, bruh, this, it ain't working, man. Why would we like, yo, trust me, stay on that record.

[Joe Crack]

All right?

[Neo]

So we stayed on the record. We did the BET Awards that year. After that performance, that motherfucker took off. We never looked back. Those was the day. But I don't have everybody. What's the recipe for a hit? I couldn't tell you. I'm gonna get in the studio and do what? Feel good to me and then hand it off to the folk that had an ear like that. Cause I don't got that, like, don't let me pick the single.

[Jada]

That's crazy.

[Neo]

You crazy.

[Jada]

You can't. You got.

[Neo]

I don't know, bro.

[Jada]

I can't pick the.

[Neo]

It's what feel. I go off of what feels good to me. You know what I'm saying? That's as far as I could take it. I don't know. This audience is gonna do this and that's. That's a whole other skill set that I just. I don't do that part. I don't do that part. I'm gonna go in, I'm gonna cut the record, and then I'm gonna pass it off to the person that goes, ah, yeah, this is for this market. That's for that market. Like, realize my job ain't to sell records. My job is to make music. So I'm gonna make the music and then give it to the person whose job it is to sell the record. That's how it works.

[Jada]

Fifteen Grammy nominations.

[Neo]

Yeah, man, three Grammy wins.

[Jada]

How does that feel?

[Neo]

It feels good. But at the same time, Stevie Wonder got double digit Grammys, you know what I mean? So it's like, I got more work, but it's also, you know, Stevie Bar.

[Joe Crack]

You brought up Stevie Wonder. Stevie Wonder's the last American Big Got no Grammys, dude.

[Neo]

Huh?

[Jada]

There's a lot of people with no Grammys.

[Joe Crack]

I ain't got no Grammys. Why you trying to get. That's a. That's the shit. Yo, your man's. Your man be pow. Like on the. Yeah, I ain't got shit. What but you. What you trying to say?

[Jada]

He said he's mad at three. I said people.

[Neo]

Oh, no, I ain't mad at.

[Joe Crack]

I got mixed feelings about the Grammy.

[Neo]

I got more work to do is what I'm saying.

[Joe Crack]

I got mixed feelings about the Grammys. Yeah, it would be great to have a Grammy. I don't like that when someone dies, they immediately Grammy nominated a Grammy. What makes Grammy holier than thou? Like, what makes that word Grammy? Like, any artist dies from any genre, they go Grammy winner, Grammy. What is it? Who are they? Cause they get it wrong all the time. Like, you think what song you had. I could tell you mines what song you had that you lost. That you lost the Grammy that you knew for a fact you should have won.

[Neo]

Oh, come on. Me and Pitbull, Time of Our Lives? No, no, no. Not Time of My Lives. Give Me Everything. Give Me Everything was the song of six summers, and because we didn't turn it in on time we didn't get, we wasn't eligible for the Grammys.

[Joe Crack]

How crazy is that? I just did a song show with it two days ago, and they had people with bald heads in the crowd. I thought it was attacking the aliens. That's like his merchandise. Oh, yeah, yeah. You buy some, right? They look like aliens. I said, y' all too far from home for the aliens to attack Fresno, California. I gotta be in the Bronx shooting up. I can't be out there. They're going to turn me into the Vato Loco. I was like, yo, I'm too far from home for all these alien motherfuckers in the crowd. Like that shit, Buzz Merch is bald heads.

[Jada]

Bald heads that you put over your head.

[Joe Crack]

Yes.

[Neo]

Like the skull. Like the skull.

[Joe Crack]

You look like the sleeve stacks and shit like that your all the way. Like, it's weird.

[Neo]

That's when you all you made. Yo. When you become a Halloween costume, that's when you know you made it.

[Joe Crack]

Man, I'm Oz epic. I'm most epic every Halloween. I'm most epic. I don't know, but the crowd ain't Halloween. Mo zic. Every Halloween.

[Jada]

Oh, you put the box, you cut the thing, you got the epic.

[Neo]

Yeah.

[Joe Crack]

Every year. I'm Joe Zeppet. I'm battling. You talk about country. I'm battling your jelly roll. Skinny like a.

[Neo]

Right now look.

[Joe Crack]

You seen jelly Roll lately?

[Neo]

Not lately. Nothing.

[Joe Crack]

Sex symbol. He up there. He taking my slot right now. Pause, pause.

[Neo]

This is impossible.

[Jada]

Oh, he was just recently on Casa and Knott's Mafia now.

[Neo]

Yeah, man, what was that experience like? I'm the young.

[Jada]

Jeez.

[Neo]

I mean, I felt like the old nigga in the room. I really did just. It was. It was castanetted that literally did not know who I was. I had a. I had a T shirt on with. With Neo on the T shirt. Not me, but Neo from the movie the Matrix. And the nigga didn't know who that was. I'm like, yo, how old are you?

[Jada]

What was that, Candy garnish?

[Neo]

He was like. He was like 15, 16. I'm like, golly.

[Joe Crack]

All right.

[Neo]

But no, it was cool. It was cool. Cause Kai is like. Like, you could. You could tell he got like. Dude got a marketing and business mind for real. Like, he's serious with that. But it was a cool situation. Like, I've done, you know, the sit down on the couch in the studio audience and all of that, and the. You know, it's all organized and shit. But in there, it's like, whatever he think he gonna say it, whatever the little niggas behind him think, they gonna just say it. And that's just. And you gotta rock with it.

[Joe Crack]

That's what people are not understanding. People from my era are not understanding.

[Neo]

Now.

[Joe Crack]

These young kids don't give a fuck about you on IG with your filter, with your disk. They don't want the fake shit. They want up in front of them on a stream. They want to see if it's real or not. If you diss and this and that, all that fake shit that you could stage and shit like that, that's no longer. The motherfucker took homeboy, the world's fastest man.

[Neo]

That nigga had.

[Joe Crack]

He had movies with him chasing gorillas. And your man I was speed, blew his ankles off in front of every. They don't want the face no more.

[Neo]

Times.

[Joe Crack]

They are not going for the fake. These young kids, they want to know, all right, you could do it. You could do it. Yeah. Hey, if you didn't do it, nice try. But we know the real. That's what the stream is all about. But I tell you one thing about Kasana. They all young, but they all know to book Leo, Kim Kardashian. All the people of our age group is on there. Kevin Hart, Snoop, they not fucking dumb. They know who got the real fans that tune in so they could play all that young shit. But they all tapping into that culture too. You know what I mean? So don't think we ain't that.

[Neo]

Straight up.

[Jada]

Know what is your boy kiss Joe Crack. Check it out. We got a Patreon. You can get exclusive clips. You can get early access to the episodes. A lot of surprises bowling and subscribe biggest in the game Patreon things coming in from Joe and Jad on part of this you know there right now cuz it's free. He giving you the first one for free. That is going to be a little different. Go over there right now. Join J. Patreon.

[Joe Crack]

Let's get it wild wild west let's get it.

[Matt Jones]

Hey, this is Matt Jones and I'm Drew Franklin and this is NFL Cover Zero. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining and twice a week that is exactly what you're going to get. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game. What was that? Looks like something that should not be sold.

[Joe Crack]

Oh my.

[Matt Jones]

So that was my other big Colts takeaway.

[Joe Crack]

They sold that.

[Matt Jones]

Yes. Might want to go back to the Colts stadium. Yeah, I might want to go back to the drawing board on that.

[Joe Crack]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

I thought the shape we had with pretzels was working pretty well. It's worked for generations. We're just here trying to enjoy it. We hope you all will join us throughout the year. And let's go. I hope I'm as youthful as Pete Carroll is at his age. He's a young 73. He is a young 73. He is spry, I would say. I wouldn't fight him. I would Listen NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.

[Hunter]

I'm Hunter, host of Hunting for Answers on the Black Effect Podcast Network. Join me every weekday as I share bite sized stories of missing and murdered black women and girls in America. There are several ways we can all do better at protecting black women. My contribution is shining a light on our missing sisters and amplifying their disregarded stories. Stories like Tameka Anderson. As she drove toward Galvez, she was in contact with several people talking on the phone as she made her way to what should have been a routine transaction. But Tameka never bought the car and she never returned home that day. One Podcast one Mission Save our girls. Join the search as we explore the chilling cases of missing and murdered black women and girls. Listen to Honey for Answers every weekday on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Matt Jones]

I'm Dan, he's Ty. Hello. And we're the Solid Verbal College football Podcast. College football season is here and you know what that means. Your team is going to break your heart three times probably before Halloween.

[Neo]

Uh huh.

[Matt Jones]

But fear not, the Solid Verbal will be right there with you through every soul crushing loss and impossible comeback. Join us all season long, all year long, as we ride the roller coaster of this ridiculous sport. Whether you're a die hard fan or a casual observer, we'll help you make sense of all the chaos and of course, celebrate the madness. Tune in for previews, recaps, bits you you won't hear anywhere else, and all the emotional support you need as a college football fan. We don't just love college football, Ty, we live it. Listen to the Solid Verbal college football podcasts on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Joe Crack]

In early 1988, federal agents raced to track down the gang suspect of importing millions of dollars worth of heroin into New York from Asia. We had 30 agents ready to go with shotguns and rifles and you name it.

[Matt Jones]

But what they find is not what they expected.

[Joe Crack]

Basically your stay at home moms were.

[Neo]

Picking up these large amounts of heroin.

[Joe Crack]

They go, is this your daughter?

[Jada]

I said, yes.

[Neo]

They go, oh, you may not see her for like 25 years.

[Joe Crack]

Caught between a federal investigation and the violent gang who recruited them, the women must decide who they're willing to protect.

[Matt Jones]

And who they dare to betray.

[Neo]

Once I saw the gun, I tried.

[Joe Crack]

To take his hand and I saw.

[Neo]

The flash of light.

[Joe Crack]

Listen to the Chinatown sting on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or anywhere you get your podcasts. Yo, Neo, I gotta keep it real with you, right? Because lately being that we're podcasters now is crazy because all the artists, not you, but all the artists seem to come in here and don't want to talk about what everybody want to hear them talk about out there. You got four wives.

[Neo]

Yes, indeed.

[Joe Crack]

What kind of pressure do you buy? Is it like Muslim, do you gotta buy the same bag for the same.

[Neo]

Like, you know what? Mine is mine.

[Joe Crack]

You definitely gotta have a bag to have four wives you have.

[Neo]

I mean, eh, would, okay, it's, there's a mindset that the woman has to have in order to be able to share men, you know what I'm saying? Like, it's literally gotta. She literally gotta think a different way. If you got four women that want Birkin bags, you got the wrong four, like, straight.

[Joe Crack]

So they got a different mentality.

[Neo]

It's community. It's family. It's like everybody doing something. It's like a village where everybody do something. Everybody got a job. You know what I mean? If you the only person taking care of everything, you're doing it wrong. That's not how it's supposed to go. Everybody's supposed to kind of pitch in together. Like, I have seven kids on my own, you know, One of them got a daughter, other one got two kids. And it's like, okay, so I don't have seven kids. I got nine kids. And that's fine because we all come together. Like, this one's washing dishes, this one's changing diapers if it need be. This one's doing that. Everybody does.

[Joe Crack]

You did it the traditional way.

[Jada]

Yeah. I gotta ask. Did you have to do. How'd you. How'd you. Did you have to do an interview? How the hell did you know? How did you do this?

[Joe Crack]

Was you on tour? Just like, all right, she could be part of the family.

[Neo]

She could be like, how did you do it?

[Jada]

How did you do it four times?

[Neo]

So, okay, so after my. After my divorce, my very public, very ugly divorce, I realized that just through being dishonest, I hurt a lot of people. I hurt a lot of people. And I decided at that moment, I don't ever want to be the reason nobody feel like they never can. So from that moment, I was like, I'm going to just keep it a buck with everybody about everything. Be it good, bad, ugly, whatever. I'm going to keep it a buck, all right? Don't ask me if the dress make you look fat. If you don't really want to hear the answer. Cause I'm going to tell you straight up, right? So one of the ones that I'm with been around a little longer than the other ones. So I basically just sat her down. Like, listen, you know I rock with you. We've been rocking for forever through this, through that, we've been rocking. I love you. I do. But it ain't just you. I'm also rocking with this one and this one.

[Joe Crack]

So a man could love more than one woman. Absolutely.

[Neo]

Absolutely.

[Joe Crack]

I just want him to say, yo, Tay, y'.

[Neo]

All.

[Joe Crack]

Jada, I'm throwing you out this motherfucker. Yo, Jada, let him Answer the fucking question. I didn't say no. Got four w. You ain't got four wives.

[Jada]

You ever see somebody interrupt and then tell you to be quiet?

[Joe Crack]

You can love more than. You can love more than one woman.

[Neo]

This is.

[Hunter]

The.

[Joe Crack]

Men won't say. Married men won't not say that. This is this. Men won't say.

[Neo]

They can't because.

[Joe Crack]

But you got more. So that's how it goes. What do we call that in America?

[Neo]

Like, it's. It's polygamy.

[Joe Crack]

Real.

[Neo]

It's polyamory if you're not married. It's polygamy if you're married. And polygamy is illegal in a lot of America.

[Joe Crack]

So it's poly.

[Neo]

Poly. Yeah.

[Jada]

A lot of bark and a lot of pink horsepower in the cabinet over there.

[Joe Crack]

Listen, first of all, me, I'm abused. I'm abused. Like, I'm lyrically abused. Some of my friends come to the house, they fucking. They go and light candles for me. Like, I'm sitting there like Al Bundy, and I'm, like, watching tv. It's very hard to get me upset. But for them doing that shit at the same time.

[Neo]

But see, it don't happen like that. It don't happen like that. Cause I'm very, very, very adamant about drawing a line in the sand. It's like, listen, I'm gonna hear you out. I'm gonna let you say what it is you need to say. But once we start going here, you lost me anyway, so you might as well not.

[Joe Crack]

When I was thinking about asking you this question, I'm thinking, so what you got, like a giant bed? Like a big fucking jack and a beanstalk.

[Jada]

Alaska king ass.

[Joe Crack]

I need that shit.

[Neo]

King is like, yo, Grinch booked me.

[Joe Crack]

In the last King King.

[Neo]

Only two double kings together, like promoters.

[Joe Crack]

Double king promoters get in the basket.

[Jada]

I only think I heard of California is something else. I heard it. I never heard of Alaskan.

[Joe Crack]

I never heard of no shit like that. Joe. Fat Joe deserve an Alaskan king. No, Fat Joe deserves an Alaskan king.

[Neo]

I can shoot you a number because, mind you, you can't buy an Alaskan king. You gotta get it made. You gotta. You gotta get somebody to make.

[Jada]

They gotta come there and build it. They gotta build it. They gotta build it.

[Joe Crack]

It's like a giant bed.

[Neo]

Yes.

[Joe Crack]

Yo, What? Yeah.

[Neo]

Fits about eight.

[Jada]

Comfortable with this guy.

[Joe Crack]

You're an inspiration, Neil.

[Neo]

I like it.

[Jada]

I like it.

[Joe Crack]

Willing to live vicariously through you.

[Jada]

That's it.

[Joe Crack]

And hopes it works out.

[Neo]

Everything is good, man. Everything is good. Again, we have problems. Just like. Just like monogamous relationships. All that shit is real. You gonn argue over stuff. But again, at the end of the day, as long as you are head of household and everybody understands that, then arguments don't last long. Like, you know, I'm. Again, I'm g. Let you get it out. I'mma let you say what you got to say. I'm going hear you. But once it's done, it's done. And we not good. We're not good.

[Joe Crack]

You think a broke man can have four women in the lasting if he.

[Neo]

Do it the right way? Because again, it's not so listen, all women ain't going. It's not going to work.

[Joe Crack]

They're not rocking with that.

[Neo]

It has to be a certain kind of woman. She got to have a certain mindset if she gonna do it. Because if she's the kind of woman again that she need birthdays and all this.

[Joe Crack]

What's the question?

[Jada]

I got two questions. How far apart? Cause you know how you said you had one that was with you for a while? How.

[Neo]

What was the age difference or.

[Jada]

No, no, no. How quick did it take to get the other three on board?

[Neo]

It wasn't long. It didn't take a long time. It was.

[Jada]

It all feel safe in grass.

[Neo]

I kind of set up a dinner. I told her one that I want you to meet. I want you to meet the other ones. Initially it was just three, so I told her one that I wanted her to meet the other two. I set up the D where the.

[Joe Crack]

Last one come from.

[Neo]

She's one of my dancers. She's the newest. Yeah, yeah, she's one of my dancers.

[Jada]

So country inspired.

[Neo]

Yes, sir.

[Jada]

It's gonna have some country, but it's still gonna have some of that.

[Neo]

Yeah, yeah. I can't not be me. But it's like everything that I love about country music mixed with what it is that I normally do. Speak on Friday. Yeah.

[Jada]

And you got the tour and the Vegas residency coming. Yeah, man.

[Neo]

Yeah, man. I'm proud of that. Grew up in Vegas.

[Jada]

Definitely flying in for that at the.

[Neo]

High school in Vegas, the whole nine. So to be able to go back and do something like that, I could live in Vegas.

[Jada]

You know, we got songs together. So when after it gets, you know, Usher gave me a call, I figured you could give me a call. Say less Ms. Hayton over here.

[Joe Crack]

Nah, nah. Bit me hating over here with him. No, I'll come with him. Yo, I'll come with him. What do you want me to do? I come with. I'm. I'm attached. They think I bring Jadakiss with me. I walk into Wawa 7 11. Yo, is Jada like, yo, bro, you.

[Jada]

Got me like a rest. Like, I'm in the pot.

[Joe Crack]

I'm in a bank of chip with him or something. Like, what the y' all think he comes here?

[Jada]

It's included pack.

[Joe Crack]

Still packing. Still pull up. Yo, Neo, man. Five of your favorite artists of all time. And I'm gonna make it even easier for you. I'm gonna say songwriters. No, no, group groups. Groups.

[Neo]

Five groups. That's hard.

[Joe Crack]

R B.

[Neo]

Let's go. Songwriter. Five. Five.

[Joe Crack]

What you did you want songs?

[Jada]

Let me get your best. Five songwriters. Or just at least, you know. This is a hard question.

[Neo]

So baby face Smokey Robinson.

[Joe Crack]

Smokey was writing all that?

[Neo]

Jonte Austin. My God, Jonte is a monster. The dream.

[Joe Crack]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Neo]

And the fifth. Gotta go with Lionel Richie. Yo, niggas don't understand.

[Joe Crack]

Well, niggas don't say, he's a nigga, nigga.

[Neo]

He. No, no, no, no, no.

[Joe Crack]

Like, before you go in with that, because I. I love Lionel Richie, but I've had this argument with some real street R and B singers that they don't rate him because they feel like he was lollipop or something.

[Neo]

Nah.

[Joe Crack]

What do you think?

[Neo]

Nah, Nah. Okay. So Lionel stuck the Commodores and then went over into the. Like. Lionel Richie took Publisher of the Year two years in a row. Not a publishing company. Lionel Richie by himself. That's an award that goes to publishing companies. Publisher. Look it up. Publisher of the Year. Lionel Rich.

[Jada]

Twice.

[Neo]

Twice.

[Joe Crack]

I love that.

[Neo]

Mean, that man was putting numbers on the.

[Joe Crack]

But I've had this argument with, like, people. You would. That's because.

[Neo]

That's because he didn't keep it R and B. Like, he. He went R and B, then he went pop, then he went country. He like, hello, if you got that.

[Joe Crack]

You'Re supposed to do that you're looking for. No, no, no, no, no, no. I love Lionel Rich.

[Jada]

They just can't do that part right there. Hello. Let me see.

[Joe Crack]

You know how this shit go. Hip hop, R and B. It's always a debate.

[Neo]

Of course.

[Joe Crack]

So I'm sitting down with some of the most respected R and B singers of all time. And I'm surprised when Lionel come up. They like, yeah, he ain't like. You know, he. I'm like, huh?

[Jada]

They mad.

[Joe Crack]

Lionel fucking Richie.

[Neo]

They mad cats. Feel like. Cause you do one thing well, you're supposed to stay there, and it's like, nah. What if you do six things? Well, like, how am I not? If I'm given the gift, I'm gonna use it. Like, Lionel Richie could write. Write R B, but he could also write pop. He could also write country. He could do all that. So why would he not do it?

[Joe Crack]

No, no, no. You can't front on Lionel Richie's for that at all. You name some serious ones. Smokey Robinson did sound. Might be my favorite songwriter. You know, that's the weirdest one, right? We cool with a lot of people, but, you know, I'm actually cool with Baby Fit. That. That's. That's. No, don't throw the shit. He come to my birthday party and sing at my birthday. Don't do that. You're gonna lie. Don't throw that. Don't throw that. Don't throw that. You're gonna look crazy out here. You look crazy with Joey Badass. Now you say Baby Face. I go to dinner with Baby Face all the time. He's my friend. This is what I'm trying to tell you. He's one of the weirdest relationships I have. Am I lying? Did he yet. Oh, there you go. Called Cap on the cat. You was there? Didier, yo, that's my guy. Like, what do you. He's the one.

[Neo]

Oh, yeah.

[Joe Crack]

That Joe Crack. Cannot believe I'm cool through this whole journey. It's like, I sit down and have dinner with Babyface, and Babyface want to hear the stories. Kappa. Nah. Babyface be like, yo, Joe, tell me some shit. Yo, this. This. They all do. You know what I'm saying? They want that shit, that sauce, man. You know what I mean? Nah, I'm telling you the truth. What do you want me to do? I said, you seen Lil Boosie the other day on the interview? Nah.

[Jada]

What he said?

[Joe Crack]

Oh, he said he a big fan of our show. He said, I know Joe about to say some shit.

[Jada]

We need him on here, man. We need Boosie Badass. Call us up, man. Come on.

[Joe Crack]

Atlanta, right? Atlanta. If we looking from the outside in, right?

[Jada]

We need to go to Atlanta.

[Joe Crack]

Atlanta's with. I want to go to Atlanta. Can we go to Atlanta?

[Neo]

Got some new ventures.

[Joe Crack]

I love Atlanta.

[Jada]

You got some new ventures? You started a golf line?

[Neo]

Yeah, man. Yeah. Olago sport. So my manager, Tango, talking about earlier, he's been playing golf forever. Been trying to get me out there, and I never. I just. Like, I'm young. I don't play golf. Like, the pants is weird. I'm not doing it, but he actually Got me out there. One time we went to. Who was it? Reggie Jackson's tournament, right? And mind you, Reggie Jackson's golf tournament is not a regular golf tournament. Like, every hole, they're giving away Jordans. Like, every hole is something different. So, like, I'm like, is this what. He's like, this ain't how golf normally is. But, yeah. So I fell in love with the game. So I'm like, all right, listen, if I'm gonna do this, I'm not wearing that shit, bruh. Like, these dicks look nuts. Sorry. They look nuts. I'm not doing it.

[Joe Crack]

So you gotta make your own.

[Neo]

So we. He's all right. He was like, all right, we'll start a line. So we got bags. We got. We got, you know, clothes and shoes. The whole nine. It's coming together. Next. I'm seeing how some stuff. Stuff. You know, some stuff.

[Joe Crack]

Heraldo Martinez. Did you know that?

[Jada]

Who the hell is that?

[Joe Crack]

Reggie Jackson.

[Neo]

Mr. October.

[Joe Crack]

Reggie Jackson went to Spanish, changed his name to Reggie Jackson by Heraldo Maldinez. Google that shit. I ain't lying to you at the time, but it wasn't cool to be.

[Jada]

Spanish as long as I was alive. His name was Reggie Jackson.

[Joe Crack]

Well, you better go ask Denzel Washington who told me. That's for the Hernaldo Maltinez. Okay? And we got love, Reggie. I'm from the Bronx. That's Ms. Stephen Jackson. Reggie Jackson did all that work in the Bronx. One day I see him and I go, oh, my God, Reggie Jackson. I try to go. I get held back by Denzel Washington. He said, you're Joe. Denzel Washington is like, I don't think you should be running up to that guy. I said, what do you mean? He said, that's where Maltiness. He denounced the Latinos when he was winning. He didn't want to say the Spanish.

[Neo]

Wow. Oh, wow.

[Joe Crack]

I don't fucking know. I don't know.

[Jada]

So is Reggie Jackson other niggas, Jack?

[Joe Crack]

I also think. I also think, to Reggie Jackson's credit, I also think I was in Houston at the 50 Cent weekend. That basketball shit I was coaching, he confronted me. Somehow. You heard the story. This ain't the first time I say it. Somebody came in front of me, Yo, Joe, what's up? I was like, yo, what's up, Reggie Jackson? I think he wanted to get into the conversation of, we might need Reggie Jackson on this bitch right here so he could explain to us that the other nigga's dead. Yeah.

[Jada]

That Martinez ain't in the hall of Fame. Reggie Jackson.

[Joe Crack]

Reggie Jackson's in the hall of Fame. Fact in the game, right? That crazy, man. It really is. Yo, Neo, my brother, man. We thank you, man, for coming, man.

[Jada]

Smack the album.

[Neo]

Oh, we got a little snippet or something.

[Jada]

I take that. Okay, cool.

[Joe Crack]

Your country taste, it's always beautiful. Yeah. Let's play the song. What's it called?

[Neo]

It's called Simple Things. Oh, you put on that makeup, Spend an hour on your hair, high heels and that brave dress with a slit right up to there. And I don't mind, but sweatshirt, ponytail and smile suit me just fine.

[Joe Crack]

I could do this country right here.

[Neo]

You'll get in the kitchen, make a meal fit for a king. Burn your hands and cut your fingers just to feed me, girl. And I appreciate. But I'd equally praise a sandwich that you made. You could search your whole life Never to find what's standing right in front of you. It's always a simple things. The way you laugh, it's the way you cry to your friends favorite song. Life is all the in betweens. The flowers you find on the uphill climb that keep you moving on. And after you stop chasing it's when you find out all that really made sense. It's a simple thing.

[Jada]

It's always a simple crazy.

[Joe Crack]

Holy.

[Neo]

Thank you.

[Joe Crack]

You have made me a country music fan. Neo, you have made me a country music fan.

[Neo]

Love, brother.

[Joe Crack]

That was amazing. Any genre right there. That was crazy.

[Jada]

Appreciate that.

[Neo]

Appreciate that, Appreciate the love.

[Joe Crack]

Crazy.

[Neo]

So coming soon, I thought. I think we're driving this. Are we driving this year? Are we waiting till next you single.

[Jada]

This year album next year.

[Joe Crack]

You're gonna wear the sombrero for the rest of the year. That's a fact.

[Jada]

And when is the tour supposed to start next year?

[Neo]

I think the tour is top of 2026. Yeah, I think me and Akon, Moving fire.

[Joe Crack]

Oh, with Akon?

[Neo]

Yeah, man, that's that shit right there.

[Joe Crack]

You know, I toured Africa with Akon. Africa with Akon. All right, when we get acorn it, we're gonna get him here. Kiss.

[Jada]

I didn't say nothing.

[Joe Crack]

Matter of fact, I'm gonna play it over there. Nah, nah, I'm telling you. I went on tour in Africa with Akon. That shit was the illest shit I ever seen in my life. No flags. Oh, congratulations on Dallas. I had the whole stadium cursing them out in the fucking hurrah. Nah, we was in la. Me, Pitbull, Little John and the Yin Yang twins. And I had the. He had a Dallas shit I had him shitting on him. I was like the Dallas, the whole. He was a good sport about. I was surprised Rich wasn't cursing the whole crowd out. Yo, Neo, man, you always with baby Tata over there?

[Neo]

Yes.

[Jada]

Cool V, man.

[Joe Crack]

Cool V. Yo, my brother, man. Yo, what. What's it feel like being Tata's little brother, right?

[Jada]

Yo.

[Joe Crack]

No, no. Ladies and gentlemen, hold up, hold up, hold up, hold up. Go. Come in, come in, come in, come in.

[Jada]

Leave my man alone.

[Joe Crack]

So many years I thought he was Tata.

[Neo]

Yeah, he get that a lot.

[Joe Crack]

You know what I'm saying? I got. Yo, listen. So many years. I see. Then he realized, nah, I'm not. I'm not Tata.

[Neo]

Yo, all of them look exactly alike. They all look all exactly alike.

[Joe Crack]

But you're not twins.

[Neo]

No, you just look the same.

[Joe Crack]

Well, anyway, brother over there, you got the right one with you, brother.

[Neo]

Yeah, man.

[Joe Crack]

Neo, thank you for blessing the couch. Like KISS says, there's always legends. But there's different legends I'm noticing. And everybody's a legend but you. Definitely what you've brought to the world in terms of happiness. Cause I gotta that I'm a movement by myself.

[Neo]

Yes, sir.

[Joe Crack]

But I'm a force when we're together. Mommy, I'm good all by myself.

[Jada]

Come on.

[Joe Crack]

But maybe you. You make me better.

[Jada]

You make me better.

[Joe Crack]

Oh.

[Neo]

Wow. Brother as well.

[Joe Crack]

This ain't that. That ain't.

[Jada]

This is cracking. Kiss, give it up for Neo. Thank our guest for the day. Joe and Jaylen, we love you.

[Hunter]

I'm Hunter, host of Hunting for Answers on the Black Effect Podcast Network. Join me every weekday as I share bites stories of missing and murdered black women and girls in America. Stories like Erica Hunt, a young mother vanished without a trace after a family gathering on 4th of July weekend, 2016. No goodbyes, no clues, just gone. Listen to Hunting for Answers every weekday on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Matt Jones]

Hey, this is Matt Jones and I'm Drew Franklin, and this is NFL Cover Zero. We're just here to try to give.

[Joe Crack]

You an NFL perspective a little bit different.

[Matt Jones]

Did you see the Colts Pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that. What was that?

[Joe Crack]

Oh, my.

[Matt Jones]

We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining. And twice a week, that is exactly what you're going to get. Listen to NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Dan, he's Ty. Hello, and we're the solid verbal college football podcast. Tune in for previews, recaps, bits you won't hear anywhere else, and all the emotional support you need as a college football fan. Join us all season long as we ride the roller coaster of this ridiculous sport. Listen to the solid verbal college football podcasts on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We don't just love college football, Ty. We live it.

[Neo]

I'm the homegirl that knows a little.

[Hunter]

Bit about everything and everybody.

[Neo]

Lauren LaRosa. You hear that Exclusive?

[Matt Jones]

Lauren came in hot.

[Hunter]

I came in telling the truth. Every day I'm bringing you the latest in entertainment. Breaking down the headlines you can't stand. Stop talking about and giving you my very unfiltered take on the biggest stories in the industry. From exclusive news. And y' all know I got it. To us breaking down the interviews. Cause y' all are my co hosts now. I'm giving you the deep dives on some of the biggest moments in pop culture.

[Joe Crack]

Oh, my God.

[Hunter]

Listen to the Latest with Lauren LaRosa, weekdays on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.