Bell Biv DeVoe

Up next is Red Flair and his new band. Oh my god, I'm back again. On that vacation, oh everybody spin. Gonna bring new games, gonna show you now. New game party, find new... Dropping hits every week, find the new slots. On that vacation tonight. 18 plus be gamblerware total. That's right! Hey, what's up y'all, it's me, Sean. And what you about to check out? It's probably one of the best conversations I've ever had. It's with my brother, it's Bell, Biv DeVoe. Now, you're gonna see part one right here. But if you want to check out part two, you gotta join the Patreon community on that note. So make sure you do that and you'll be able to see part two. But in the meantime, enjoy part one. Hey, what's up? This is Bell. Bell. DeVoe. And this is on that note with Sean Stockman. Now you know. Yeah. Welcome, welcome, welcome, everybody, to another exciting episode of On That Note. Of course, this is the place where we speak a language we all understand and that is music. Now, before we get into this amazing conversation, make sure y'all join the On That Note Patreon community. All you got to do is just go to Patreon, look for On That Note, hit the subscribe button and you own. All right. And you'll get exclusive videos, you'll get exclusive footage, pictures, you know, all that personal stuff that you can only get from the On That Note Patreon community. Now. My guests today are three guys. I call personally the anchor. Of the greatest group of all time. These gentlemen are the true definition of what being an artist is all about, throwing all caution to the wind and expressing themselves in a way that exudes pure emancipation and a shedding of the old skin and embracing the new skin, which actually was who they always were anyway. They went from being the guys who predominantly held the routines down to actually being the biggest rock stars of their whole crew. They showed that they were the most avant-garde, the most musically progressive, the grittiest, the sexiest and the most fun. Even today on their current New Editions Way tour, their songs get some of the biggest reactions. Am I right? You're right. I think so. I mean, it's OK. Y'all can put your chest out on this. It is my honor to have this conversation with my brothers. Ladies and gentlemen, please give it up for Ricardo Bell, Michael Lamont Bivens, Ronald Boyd Devoe, Jr. Aka BBD, a.k.a. Bell, Biv Devoe. Now you know. Now you know. Now you know. Well, Sean, Sean, that's you said the anchor. You said the anchor. And I just picture the anchor and what it does, of course, like just holding things steady, right? And firm when you don't want it to move, you lower the anchor. But then you see the one side of the anchor and the other side. And then the middle that's attached to the chain. And you got three right there. And I was just visualizing that. That's big. That's powerful. You might need to, you know, a bit of one of our businesses have to be the anchor. You got to be. I'm just saying. Thank you for that. We're going to pay you just a little bit of publishing on it. Just give me a shout. I'm good. A little bit of publishing. I'm good. I'm good. How y'all feel? Man, I feel good, man. Good. Yeah. How's touring? Oh, my God. How's touring going? How's how's that? Is fun. Yeah, the tour is as you know, have fun. Most importantly, have fun. If it's not something that you love to do, then you shouldn't be doing it. Ultimately, everything else is a stepping stone to get to doing what you love to do, to do it at the highest of levels with two acts, you know, that have done it in the same capacity. You know, boys to men and Tony Braxton. And to know that this was something that we spoke into existence probably 15, 20 years ago, like we wanted to do a show of this magnitude, like the Motown reviews. You know, how do we put Diana Ross and Smokey Robinson in the temps and the four tops on one stage and the Jackson's on one stage. And so to know that it took four decades plus, you know, and for you guys to do everything that is amazing, that you were able and still able to accomplish, you know, and Tony on top of that and how that intertwines within a night of excellence. It's fun and it's impactful, you know, to me. Yeah, it was it was all in God's timing. It's just like you said, like we we would we talked about this for a long time. And there were feelings about it because we wanted it to happen at certain points. I'm speaking more on behalf of my own crew or whatever. But it just wasn't time. Right. It wasn't time yet. So so this this was the perfect time. And and because of it, you know, I'm going to say it with every conversation we have with anybody in our media crew, like this tours is one of the top five tours, grossing tours in the United States right now. Right. Like so that's a clap. That is a clap. That is a clap. That's a clap. Come on. So, you know, we're we're really touching some some folks in a real way. And I've heard nothing but great things about it, not just from my family or whatever, but from people online and people talking about it. Like I don't know. I guess we meant to do it. But organically, it's become an experience. Yeah, right. But everybody people are leaving exhausted. Right. Right. Happily. You know, tired. Come back. Feed her bunions activated. Take her and everything else. How many more shows do I have to be able to catch another one? Yeah. Right. So I think we did the people, the public, a service. I do too. I think we didn't try to be different. We just wanted to be ourselves. Y'all's records are y'all's records. It's just that you're performing in a different room and it's smashed in with new editions, music and Tony's music and the stage. You know, and it's rehearsal. So all of the things we committed to last year that people have seen the tuition this year, because you could go on tour, but you don't have to practice to go on tour. You could just show up. And that ain't what we did. And you know, when we and our rehearsal, we could get damn there at the end of the joint and someone could mess up and Brooke could just rewind the tape and you got to go back to the top. Yeah. And that kicks us in. I asked when we're doing it, but we understand the regiment to excellence stops after rehearsal. Exactly. Exactly. And that that's really the tie that binds us all, specifically the two groups, because we're so tightly interwoven with just how we were brought up as entertainers in this business, both start in his teenagers and being developed by the same core group of people who all taught us the same thing. So it was almost like being on an all start team. You know, you kind of go in and you do your practice in two days. You do rehearsal, whatever. And you just hit the field, which is our state. So, you know, again, it's it's it's been a pleasure. It's been a pleasure in so many ways to be a part of something like this, because this is rare. And I don't say this to be pretentious. I'm, you know, I don't want people to think that every time I mention the tour that I'm boasting a puff in my chest out to some degree, I am. Because I'm proud of it. And I don't think there's anything wrong with that. But this is a special moment in music history and not just black music. Yeah. This is this is this is music. That spans all genres, all age groups, all colors. Yeah. And and we're doing that. And again, I'm just very proud and and and and honored and humbled to to to be here. You know, I'm saying, absolutely. I think from this point on, tours from this point on beyond won't be the same. But with the way people approach putting together a show and putting together packages for sure for shows, because now, you know, with the success of it, people have an expectation of what they want to see when they come. Right. And it's like, we look at it like that, like, OK, you've been, you know, you guys, you tour all the time we do as well. And bringing something different and being the challenge of being able to bring certain artists together at the right time in their careers is challenging enough. That's the caveat, ain't it? Exactly. Because the bottom line is is like, yeah, people can put packages together. But I think what makes ours different is one, our connection, our history. Yes. So there's that added element. Right. And the most important element is that we actually like each other. Yeah, exactly. Good thing. That's hard to do. That's hard to do. When when with acts of a certain caliber that demands certain things and certain attention. That now having to split it. That could be a problem for some. Oh, yeah. Oh, definitely. Even I mean, every aspect of it of how you put the show together, like us walking into rehearsal and just surrendering to the process and listening to Brooke, you know, following his lead about everything, you know, because we all have our experiences. We all have our own ideas of how we think it should go, but kind of just putting all that to the side and saying, OK, Stro, we just we're going to follow your lead. We trust you in here. We might give our opinions here and there. But to just be able to do that after being going 30, 40 years in the business to surrender all of that to just listen to some one person say, this is just how it's going to go. Yeah. That's a challenge in itself. Yes, that just speaks on the respect that everyone has for certain people. Like no one's trying not to do. No one's trying to do everything. Right. Like delegation is important and everybody knows their role. Right. That's deep rooted relationships. No, bro. Right. Deep rooted relationships. Johnny and Tony, you know, being from the DMV area and going back as far as they go is the reason why this is easier, you know. And like you said, for her to have the level of success that she's had, you know, she doesn't have to listen to anybody at the end of the day. But she sees new addition and she sees what Boyce and Men has done. And she has a relationship with somebody that's internal to us. And she has a respect for what uncle's done as well. Mr. Brooke Wade Payne and knowing his level of like that you you raise the bar and then you raise the bar so much higher. That's the level that he thinks on, you know, and that he's blessed you guys. He's blessed us. And there was no way that anyone really could come into this fold and deny that to a certain extent. But, you know, if your ego is not in check and we've talked about other artists that were potentially ones that would possibly fit on this tour, you know, but ultimately it landed exactly where it needed to land. And the three that we have. And I know you were going to say something like, no, I was going to say on that note. Right. Yeah. The idea, besides smashing up and coming together, this is the first tour that Ben has not been on stage with. Right. Oh, we've never toured like that ever. You know, so to have a clean stage because of all of the moving parts is different because we're used to turning around going, yo, yo, pluck, pluck it up. But money's way over there now. So you got to take a walk to go see Jean before you could just turn here and with the one to right. And I think that was something else that makes it feel special because it's us up there. But I was also going to say what I love when you said no one's trying to be out of their lane. It when you just go down the line, Ronnie, Bobby, Ricky, myself, Ralph, Johnny, Nate, Sean, Wangye, Tony, those are 10 names that bring something to the table. And that's the part that I love the most. Everyone earns their keep. There's nobody not trying to cater to their audience because we all have our own audiences when you go through the lobby, you might see your face on the woman, the ranch face. Somebody rocking the sporty rich hat or chick had a baseball jersey with Rick's name around someone on their leg, a Bob's jacket. Right. And all of that stuff is special. Yeah. And I think that's what makes the tour special. Is that you bring all of that to one. And what we did is took the 10 people and say, listen, no, you're not you. You're not you. You're not you. We are we. Yes. Right. Right. Right. Right. And again, that's to your point, to your point and to your point. This is why this is special because it's deeper because because you're going to see it if we haven't already seen it. Yeah. The money grab. Right. Yeah. The the you know, the land grab. Oh, they did it. Hey, who can we call? Let's put them together. All right, cool. You know, let's let's go and chat GBT. Who would be from analytics and algorithms? Who could be like, right? Right. Right. Right. That corny shit. Right. And it's going to be a lot of people that is going to do corny shit. Yep. Because because they're trying to chase was organic. Right. It's organic. It was so full. This episode is sponsored by Better Help. May is mental health awareness month. And it's a good reminder to check in with yourself. Not just when things are falling apart, but when life starts to feel heavier than usual. Sometimes you're carrying stress, pressure, decisions, family stuff, work stuff. You don't even realize how much space is taken up in your mind until it starts keeping you up at night. And the truth is, nobody has all the answers by themselves. Sometimes just having someone to talk to, someone who can listen, understand and help you sort through what you're feeling can make a real difference. Better Help connects you with a fully licensed therapist and they do the initial matching work for you based on your needs and preferences. That match isn't right. You can switch to a different therapist at any time. Better Help has over 30,000 therapists and has served over 6 million people globally with an average rating of 4.9 out of 5 for live sessions based on over 1.7 million client reviews. You don't have to be on this journey alone. Find support and have someone with you in therapy. Sign up and get 10% off at betterhelp.com slash on that note. That's better H-E-L-P dot com slash on that note. One of the things that speaks to what Mike was talking about in rehearsal in January, you have our dances, you have Tony's dances, you guys are your own dances. And let's give it up for boys and men, ladies and gentlemen. Yo, I talked to my brother. Today, my brother Rob and he said, yo, boys and men, like, you know, they dance like they've been dancing that way since day one. Honestly, you know, I mean, him watching you guys is progression and all of the above. Like he notices the difference. But the dancers, right? We got our six, you know, they have their six. But Mike, you know, came to the table and said, yo, this is a piece mission. Like it's not about competition. Like he said, we're one, yo. Like this is we got to do this for us at the end of the day. And if there's any other mentality, it's not going to work. We needed to check itself at the door. Yeah. Yeah. At the end of the day. I just want to say that. That's real talk, big bro, because that was important. Because if you let that shit get into what we're doing, it's going to fuck it all up. The crew's done shit. We don't need that. We don't have blown up in major ways. And I was from day one. As soon as I seen them, I said, listen, it ain't y'all against them. Y'all are together. Yeah. And hopefully Brooker put us all on a song together. But we can't talk about that because we don't control the flux. We just make sure we do what we do. And I was going to say to what Rob said about y'all, like to me. Watching them work. Like I be cracking up too. Right. Because they are killing it. It's so hotel-filled. Like it makes me so proud. Yeah, you know where I'm at with it. I'm like, yo, you know what I'm saying? Like whatever, whatever, we here now. Right? Right. Right. So I'm smiling, waiting the creep out to do my part. But I get dressed so fast, I can't miss the breakdown. Shit, I be right go. I can't miss it. And it's so electrifying because y'all is like, y'all hitting that level. Y'all like 90 miles per hour. Let's say that. There are acts that we've been out with. And let's say the 4 Sim D's. Where we just had to really be on our double A game. Like OK, we seen a lineup. OK, this is an easy knife for us. Like we know we're going to kill it. But with certain people, and it lends to that. Like when we see you guys under the stage, we got the monitor right there. And just watching your professionalism and how you took something that was like whole and turned it into the diamonds. And where you guys are through the residency and your ups and downs, we've all been there. Like even BBD, there were times where there were 150 people in front of us. And this basically outdoor empathy that could have probably had five or six thousand. But to see that and to revel in that and to really, I don't even know if that's the word or not. But on that note, to watch it and to feel like, OK, when it's our time, we got to get out there and be sharp. Because our guys are taking heed. They're practicing. You got to show up to your sound checks. You know, you're making sure your sound is right and all of the above. Like those kinds of things are inspiring to us when we may be falling off of our A game sometimes too. And I'm going in a live right, unless you're going right. Go ahead, bro. Remember when we was in Vegas and we had the little conversation and I said, you know what makes it special? From all of the trials you all did performing and making sure besides the singing, which we know was the craziest shit in the world. Right. Working on that stage persona, the Vegas and what you were saying, what you was going to lose to some of the things you all had to go through to build back up your audience. Right. That's almost like a boxer in the gym. Sparring, right? Waiting for the big fight. Right. And then I said, it wasn't supposed to happen then. Because the Sean, you are now back in the 90s. Isn't that same entertainer? Absolutely. Right. Remember, we was talking about anything and I said, so what makes it special is you all have grown into what was being put in front of you years ago. You own it now. Each one of y'all own y'all's identity and it comes across that way. Right. And then when you match that up against Tony and us, that's what also makes the show explosive because everybody is at the level that you're supposed to be on to be on a tour like this. Rep your shit. Show what you all about. Be the ultimate entertainer. And always remember when the song is over, what you do, take a beautiful bow and that shit with class. Right. And that's what we was talking about. And that's what y'all represent in them suits. Like with Ron saying y'all represent class and it's entertaining to us because we're getting dressed and we watch it y'all every night. And we're watching Tony. So it makes it when y'all toss us the ball. Yeah. We come with that shit because we just see your say. That's what we doing. Exactly. All right. I mean, I won't I won't even run and say that part of the motivation is knowing that y'all are watching. Yeah. Like y'all y'all would have catalyst for us and we don't make that a secret. Like so it's one of those things where when we know that big bro's is watching. We got to we got to pump it out. And not just for you guys, but for the people that love you guys, too. Because we know that your folks right will also be looking. That's right to see. Let's keep it above. You know what I'm saying? They go. And any fans coming to the show saying, All right, what these what these dudes trying to do. All right. So we in our way say this. Yeah. You know, so so so when when people do leave, they go, All right. Right. All right. They still may not give it all the way up, but it's still it's still kind of like they like they do. OK. OK. Listen, listen, listen, it's all good, though, because we understand the nature of this. And we understand that people they they endure or rather they they they take us in. Personally, you know, any for life is it's personal. Oh, yes. I'm saying they got love for the legacy. Just like our boys, man, we call them soldiers. You know, they're like they they they take this personally. You know what I'm saying? So and we understand that as they should. So we don't we don't deflect it at all. We welcome it because that's what you taught us. Yeah, there's a Zan. Like when when when we go on stage, like, we used to do this, right? We be on stage, say that we about to perform with with with Joe to see, right? Oh, talk about Joe. The station. Yeah. Joe, my business is an end. You know, he's an antagonist. Yeah. He'll come on stage. He'll come in the back in the dressing room. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Them boys, Joe to see they killed it. I don't know what you're gonna do. Y'all better do something. I don't know. Like they they had the crowd go. I mean, I said, I said, them niggas is walking with chains on stage. Remember, they had that long chain. They was why I said, I'm niggas is coming for. What y'all gonna do? And then then go, all right, peace. So we left with that. So the four of us are sitting there like. OK. Yeah. So the killer instinct. Yes. Yeah. Came from you guys. Because whether it's on our senior, whether it was in a live show, whatever. We saw y'all like murder state. Like, that's the truth. Like, we we we are cut from that claw. Right. And we know the difference. We know what it looks like. Like when y'all hit a step when y'all stays, we like, oh, like they going. Oh, look at them. They going for a look at these boys. You know, saying like you could tell. So you know what's interesting? I want to see if he remembers this slick round. You you did have someone in our group that you admired. And that was your guy in the audition. Have you ever told that person who it was? Do you remember what you told me? No. Do you know who you picked? Who the pit? He's right here. Yeah. Well, of course, because. Did you ever tell him why? Not well, here's why. Because again, I'm a student. So it's like, I just don't watch the lead. I watch everybody. And what I was always most impressed about Ron is that. Not only does he hit execute every step. But it's the swag that he does behind it. Like when he's doing the the the backup steps or whatever, it's with such a precision and energy. And then when you did the Belbib Devote thing. It was more like, all right, here he comes. He's standing out. And I saw myself in. You know what I'm saying? Like we kind of have the same. Yeah. Sensibility. Yeah. If you know what I'm saying? Like like like bloomers. Yeah. Like paying attention to the leads. Just not quite comfortable, you know, but still adding value. Yes. Right. But yes. Coming into it. And in my group, I was kind of the middle child. You know what I'm saying? You had Nate who had that polarizing personality. Right. Juan. Yeah. Stratosphere. Yeah. And Mike with the voice. Right. Right. So I was like. Who am I? You know what I'm saying? Like with within the interim of all these. I meant boy. Yeah. Right. With all of these huge personalities. Here, I'm the skinny kid. You know, so that's why I kind of tried to excel, whether it was in a performance and even in the studio. Like, you know, Kuliha Harmony was predominantly Nate with the writing, but the two album was predominantly me. I was in the studio. I was I was here. I was a studio rat. I was producing. I was trying. I was trying to find my. I want to share this. Yeah. That's. I'm going to read this conversation. I mean, my wife's favorite singer and she is so excited when she catches the rose. I don't know how excited she needs to be. She's my. But. But she is. You are her favorite singer. Man, I appreciate that. Thank you, Mrs. DeVoe. Yes. I'm still threading. I'm bringing it. OK, go ahead. I just don't think people know this. It reminds you, I haven't asked one question yet. No, check it out. That is. So I'm threading this. I'm threading it. Really? So when he played the album. And he heard Kuliha Harmony, this is what you don't know. He listened to little things mean a lot. And he said, this guy got a ill tone. That's what he was talking about. Hmm. Hmm. You remember? He was talking about Sean. Yeah. And y'all never had no real interaction. So out of all of those joints, that's the record that he went to, which was really your only real record leading like that. Yeah. Right. And I don't think y'all ever realized y'all found each other. But I don't know if y'all ever told each other. No, no, no. Now I'm going to give you the play. OK. So we in stage and we're doing the poison, right? And I said, you know what? Yeah, I see what you did. We don't have enough with our crew. Right. So I said, check this, Ron, I'm not going to do that part with you no more. What did I say? Yeah, yeah. I said, yo, go get with your man. Right. Right. So now you get to live that. Right. You two get to do poison daily. Move it in slow, right? Yeah. You happy as shit up there with a team. You rocky as shit, Sean. Like you the ultimate partner, right? I'll be split stock. Yeah. You doing this shit. And then I went to Big Bro. I said, listen, I'm going to take Nate. We're going to go up here. I'm going to put him with me on my rap. So we moved the group around. So what was the show I came to you, bro? What did I say about Juan? I said, are you OK with? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I said, Rick, you OK with Juan taking that last chorus? Absolutely. Then that way we have the interaction. Yeah, exactly. And that's how we all end up at the end of the show. It was dope as even when he helped, allows me to do the intro to poison, whatever. Again, this is what people wanted to see. Yeah. That's what I'm saying. It just wasn't just us performing. Like it's the actual organic interaction. You know, that's what I'm saying. People after us is going to have a tough time, fellas. Yeah. Yeah. Because this is real. Like this isn't just about the look. Right. It's literally about the way we grew up together. In some way, shape or form. So that's hard to duplicate. Yeah. Again, you're going to see a lot of land grabs. Mm hmm. People trying to duplicate this because it's successful. But this is successful in a totally different way. Exactly. You know what I mean? So again, I lit. We can go on and on. But it's like, you know, I'm going to ask some questions. Yeah. I ain't asked one question. I got it. I promise. OK. But you know, but now this is good, man. And again, I'm glad that we were able to chop it up in this way and have this type of conversation because, you know, we're all busy men and we all live in different places and stuff like that to actually sit. And I don't look at this as an interview. This ain't an interview. This is more or less a conversation with people that I appreciate. So this isn't. So when I ask questions, y'all answer them however the hell y'all want. This is not a formal thing. We amongst family, everybody here know each other. You know what I mean? So there's no need to feel guarded at all. So but anyway, I like to start. Well, we started like 45 minutes ago, but I like to start off my questions with a segment I call we going to go back way back back in the time because what a lot of people, well, maybe now I want to say that what I don't know is who inspired y'all to be musicians because one, I want to start around 10, 10, 11 years old for everybody. And I want to start with you, because I know your ambitions was to be a point guard. You wanted to be a baller. A ball player. Kind of like one of my best friends, you know, him and Bob had the thing. So I'm living through Rick, you know, which was our first lead singer? Yeah, you know, right. And any grade on the wing had a hell of a jump shot. So if I'm playing ball with him, I'm going to give him the rock because Rick got a mean jump shot. And Bob was with me playing ball on my team. So I really didn't have as much musical influence. But the only way I felt music was when we played in the parks, the DJ would play the joints in the layup line. So my first kind of interaction was music was warming up before the game and listening to hot joints because of the DJ, but not to do a talent show or to be a singer or anything. It was being around Rick and Bob. They kind of helped me get there. Rob? Mine was my uncle Brooke. My earliest memories are hearing blue magic and the stylistics around the house. And then ultimately seeing him put these groups together, the transitions and the untouchables and even this 16 girl group that he had called body construction. Just seeing them come into my grandmother's apartment right there in the projects and his gift to make these kinds of things happen. That was my initial inspiration to want to get into it. Yeah. Nick? Pretty much from the age of 10, my mom had this big floor modeled record player that, you remember, played the 45s and had the eight track and all of that on there. Just listening to whatever she was playing from Lou Rawls to Larry Graham to Lakeside, the Bar Cays and me and Bob, our older brothers hung out together. So that's how we met. And so we would just get together and vibe on music or whatever all the time, just whether at each other's house was playing different songs and pretending that we were in the band, playing the bass, hopping around and all of that. And then one day after, we all played in this 13 and under basketball league, myself, Mike and Bob. And after one of the games, we went to this talent show like on a matinee like during the day was like at a local bar, but during the day they opened it up. And it was packed. It was my first time there. And we saw these five guys come on and they had on these dungareed outfits, you know, with bell bottoms and they saying the temptations can't get next to you. And the girls were just going crazy. And I just remember us looking at each other going, that's what we got to do. We never talked about if we could sing or dance. We just saw those girls going crazy and they were a little older. They were like 15, 16, 17. And we just like, yo, we got to do that. And someone told us that Brooke was their manager and their choreographer. We struggled with each other with who was going to go and ask Brooke if he could work with us and Mike got the short straw. He went up to him and asked him, we were hiding behind the corner peeking around. I was like, get up. And then on, you know, the rest. Yeah, because I always like I like to hear because I've heard everybody's perspective so far in the group as far as like how the group got together. And it's pretty accurate as far as like the continuity. But yeah, so you guys, you, Bob, you and Bob got together. Where did Ralph come into play? Where did Ron come into play? Like, well, how did the whole amalgam come together? Well, Rick, I'm a go because it comes to you. The real thing is this. I was in another group that I knew nothing about. I couldn't do what they wanted me to do. They were my God brothers. OK, so I'm in this group and I'm supposed to do the breakdown, the dance and park to make the people scream. I didn't understand under that. So because of the gym, I knew that's what Bob could do. So I asked Bob to join this group called the intruders. So Bob and I are in the intruders together because his thing was to take the heat off of me, something I couldn't do. Right. And in the meantime, me and Rick is close through balls. So as you create in me and Bob with the intruders, then we go to J.P. You you add in your piece now. So exactly. So, you know, me and Mike, we play, we lived in Orchard Park, but he lived on the other side of the projects. Me and Ralph lived on the other side. That first group, when we got together with New Edition with Brooke, it was myself, Mike, Bob, a guy named Travis and a guy named Corey. OK. And all we did was rehearse. We never did a show. Brooke moved away and we we broke up. Once that group broke up, me and Ralph started singing together because we were in a drill team together and the director of the drill team was like, can you guys sing? And he would just put us together and we would sing and go do little shows. And Brooke got back in town, Mike and Bob came back, said, yo, Brooke is back. We should get the group back together. And I was like, I bet I know this kid named Ralph would be perfect. And so from that point on, it was the four of us. Got it. Just four of us. Got it. We auditioned other members. Nobody, you know, could fit until one day we go. And this was after we. Y'all started recording after we started recording. I wanted it to be five because he was a big fan of the Jackson 5. I heard this story after the fact. Exactly. Of course, I wasn't in a group. I was wondering it to be five. We just couldn't find a member. One day we're at rehearsal at Bobby's house and Brooke brings Ron. And I'm like, you know, this is like my nephew and Ron just like he just fit right in like a glove, like his personality, the way he was hitting the steps. We were like so happy because we always wanted to be a five man group. But finding that other member, he just fit right in like a glove. So who's, you know, and that was it. So we'll wait. OK, before you say, you know, I have a list intro. No. Imagine being in the group with the great Ricky Bell, the great Ralph Trezzement and the great Bobby Brown. I'm just back there by myself. Trying to keep up with some of my damn show. Don't understand. Right. So the day he came, I was his first hug. I was like, thank you. Right. Because now I have a friend. Right. Right. Right. Right. Because the one thing Ron didn't do was sing. Yeah. Right. Ron's audition was a strictly step. Right. He never had to hit a note. I was like, hmm, right. Come on back here with me. And we started our dynamic. We started our dynamic shift. Right. Then we was trying to introduce them to our projects because he had a little resistance. Yeah. Niggas didn't fully accept them. Right. Right. And then you come in. Go ahead, Ron. The ladies love me though. Right. Right. I had a couple haters. Right. But no. He was trying to play ball and now you're coming into your shit, Ron. Now you take the ball. You're playing ball on the crates. Yeah. You almost got into a tussle. Yeah. Yeah. With Brian, you know. Yeah. You know, there was a bully in the project. That was definitely trying to put his weight on me. Right. And I'm like, yo, Mike, you better tell your men something. Better tell your men something. I said, you know, I know I'm on y'all's territory and everything, but I'm not going to take too many more of these. Right. But nah, it's for me, it was that moment. Me pulling on my uncle's coattail over the years, trying to figure out if he was going to put me in one of these groups. Yeah. Yeah. And then finally him coming to my house on Corbett Street. And Corbett Street was a notorious block, you know. And Mike knows a whole lot more about that than I do, as far as kind of gang activity and all that. But I knew, you know, these guys, I grew up with these guys to a certain extent around that time, you know, for a couple years, I was there. But for him to come and just teach me this routine, you know, the day before I went down to Bobby's house to perform with the guys. It was a Michael Jackson. It was a Jackson 5 joint. I don't remember which one it was. I wish I knew which one it was because that's a special song, of course. Yeah. But to be able to fit in. And then that same mentality that we meet, you know, and even Mike, just trying to figure your way out from that moment on, you know, there was an embrace, there was a hug. Yeah. And I was like, OK, I see Rick, I see Bobby, I see Ralph, I see Mike on the court, like, you know, all these cats shining. And I'm just, you know, trying to find my way and figure out how I'm going to fit in and that starts the journey. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. That's crazy. All right. So now the groups together, you already chord with Maurice, he giving y'all joints, Candy Girl and Jellies Girl. Right. I think that was the first song that y'all recorded. That's when I was taken. There's a couple of other joints. I'll come out with the record. It explodes. What was the energy like now, Ron? That you got a hit record on the radio. Candy Girl. Yeah. It comes on the radio. I run, I'm living on Womback Street right now. This is kind of close to Humboldt Ave, right? Moving back into the city. And I hear the song on the radio. And for some reason, I run out of the house in excitement. I can't even hear the song anymore. But I'm running up and down the street. Just screaming like, what is on the radio? I come back in and my first thing was to call somebody, you know, I don't know if it was probably Mike at first. His line was busy because he's probably trying to call Rick. Rick's line is busy because he's calling Ralph. So, right, that excitement, it starts there. And then before you know it now, we're in a Lincoln or we're on Eastern Airlines, you know, going, yes, going up to New York City. It started with driving, of course, and maybe even taking the bus at or the train at times to New York City on Friday night, Saturday night. And it was about three to five clubs a night, starting at 1230 at night. Kids, we're we're 14 and 15. We're 14 and 15 in New York City. Yes. The first show was in Brooklyn, right at Broadway International. So if I could take the picture, right, right. This is cocaine. This is guns. Yeah, yeah, yeah. This is possibly prostitution. This is this is fun. This is excitement. This is music. This is culture. This is all of these things. And we're thrust in the middle of that, you know, three to five times a night. You know, as teenagers, how do you excite this crowd in New York City? And you know what they say? If you can make it there, right, you know, you can make it anywhere. And we had to do that initially playing candy girl, maybe even jealous girl, a couple songs at night. Yeah, you know, and that's how it started. Like, OK, you know, you want to you want this? We're about to put you directly into the fire. She know, it's crazy. I thought Ron was going to say it, but that story is dope. And that's really what it was. But while we was making the record and Maurice was trying to figure out how it was interesting because he didn't have a part. If you listen to the rap, she walked so fancy, looks so sweet. My girl's like, you know, all of us have our parts. Bob did some eloquent at the end of the rehearsal. What did he say, Ron? He said, well, what about Ron? He's like, Maurice was like, you know what? That's it right there. We need to get you in there to say that. We he's going to say she's bad. She's bad. I know she's bad. I know she's bad. Now, that's one of the hottest shits in the whole day. And it's the last part of the record. Yeah, it's like an anticipated part. Like, oh, here it comes. Then it just sets the rhyme off. And you know, the last third of the song. And that's what it was that made Candy Girl so special. Yeah, is that like what Rick was saying when Ron came to the rehearsal. That was he's a member. But because Bob's heart and realizing what was five of us, but only four of us got apart. That one little line was the last piece that solidified the journey. Man, let me let me tell y'all something. Like, I don't know if y'all did the same type of activity in Philadelphia. But I know y'all been through the city multiple times and y'all had that thing locked up. Girl, I like love Rick. I was so mad at him. So mad at you, bro. Like, I'm gonna say I love Ricky. Had the button in the whole nine yards and I'm like pissed off because I'm like, who are these? Who? What? You know, I mean, then here and you know, Ralph, what is Michael Jackson, Paul Seto and the whole nine? I was like, so, you know, it made me stand up and pay attention because, I mean, I'm sure y'all know. But y'all had the country. Like just wrapped up like y'all, y'all music, the style to what y'all did, everything just inspired so many of us kids to want to do, you know, the same type of thing. So but with that, you guys had the success. I've been running around and y'all ran into a. Kind of a slight wall. There was an issue. One of the guys, Barris Ford. And y'all had to come to. A difficult decision. Like, how was that? Moment in you guys' career, first off, tell us what led up to that. You know what, I'll start. You know, there's a certain time in our career where all we did and it started with Brooke, all we knew to do was to follow direction. You know, went to rehearsal with Brooke. This is what you're doing. These are the songs you're doing. This is who's going to sing that part, whatever. It transferred to, you know, we work with this management company, Jump and Shoot. And working with those guys, it's like, again, we follow direction. A lot of times we jump on the plane with moving around. We didn't even know where we were going at the time. Yeah. And so during the time when we're staying in California, we're staying in Hollywood at these kind of apartments. And, you know, we did everything. And we would do all our promotion. We recorded every time we went to California, we were there. And, you know, Bob was hanging out, you know, with certain people, you know, doing this thing. And the way that this, you know, we would go to, say, vocal rehearsal, right? Bob would get there, fall asleep, being in the studio under the speakers, he fall asleep because he's been up all night. Right. He would just start missing shows and things like that. And, you know, our managers came to us one day and the way the way that it was presented to us, at least from my experience, was like, if you don't make this decision, everyone's you're out, like you have no deal, like everything is over. So it was just presented in that way. And to me, not knowing what I know now, right at that time was like, shit, I don't want to have to go back to the projects. I don't want, you know, so it's basically like you're presented in a way where you're not even leaving me a choice. You know, like he has to go, you know, and and with that said, they'll give him another shot like on his own. But right now, you know, he has to straighten up his life. And if you don't, and the people that he's hanging out with and the life that he's leading or whatever, he's about to destroy all of this for all of you. Yeah. OK. You know, so that's what was my experience was like, well, you're not leading me a choice. I guess he has to go then. Got it. Yeah. So because of that, that, you know, that situation you had to make a vote. Yeah. Right. I can correct me if I'm wrong. This is I'm just asking these questions. Um, you had to make a vote. And according to. Sources, it was Bell Bib DeVoe. That made the vote to. Exclude Bob from the group. That is that correct? Um, fix it. I don't. I remember, I remember, I remember there being a vote. Like Mike and Ricky, they have the elephant memories. Right. I remember voting. I don't remember anybody upstanding from a vote. You know, I thought it was unanimous, honestly, my record, my recollection, but, you know, I can't sit here and say that definitively. That's what happened. But what I recall, it was unanimous because of the pressure. As Ricky alluded to, that was put on a table. It's like, OK, this is all or nothing. This is the decision that is the crossroad in your life. Yeah. Right. You either have this dream or you don't. Yeah. Yeah. That's the way I remember it. OK. I understand that everyone has their own experience. 100 percent. 100 percent. Perspective is important. Right. Exactly. And mine was probably a little bit different because, you know, Bob was with me a lot before we got to Ralph from Rick. So we had a different relationship. Like, me and Bob used to do shit. Eight, nine year olds shouldn't be doing. Right. You know, he was running with me with my God brothers. And I kind of put a little bit in my story, but I didn't want to. I got kids now, so I couldn't say, look at daddy at nine with that bottle of O.E. Right. Right. Right. Right. So I kind of saw. They're going to see it now, Michael. They're a little older so they can take it. That's right. Just don't play for the grandkids when they come. When you're 18. Yeah. And I was part of the reason part of the reason Rick's mom never let me stay over his house. Exactly. I could never stay at Rick's house. No. Like, hell no. Right. So I'm a real project kid too. Right. Right. Right. So I think I think with me and Bob, because we was probably so ill in our own ways, right, that the buildup was, you know, we got to fighting on stage against each other. And I just felt like I was losing my friend. You know, and I didn't know how to tell him like this ain't what I remember between me and you. Yeah. Right. Yeah. So even when the white managers was going to say this shit, one of them said to me, I know this is going to be tough because I know you guys are friends, Mike, but we're going to bring you out to a restaurant and bring this up. And I still just thinking about the fight we just had in Oakland in front of 10,000 people. Yeah. And he like hurt my feelings. And he knew why he hurt my feelings because, you know, everyone saw it with the microphone and, you know, Bob was extending telephone man. And, you know, members was like, yo, Mike, if you do that shit one more time, we're going to go right in the coolant now. Right. Right. And I'm up there and I'm like, no, we can't do that shit. And everyone kind of faced the band. Yeah. And Bob took that motherfucker microphone and threw it up in the air and almost came right down on Bro's nugget. But I pushed him out the way so the joint fell on the floor and he left. I'm like, damn, what's wrong? Right. So then my shit comes when you got a girl who, Nick, I was all night for my shit. Right. I only got the littlest parts in the world. Right. Right. Right. So I'm excited. Me and Ron got our rap and then Bob just comes out there beatboxing with a shirt off in the jacket. I'm like, what the fuck? Right. Right. Right. And so we just, yeah, yeah, what he had up the road, right? It was the road. So we just go behind the drum and we getting it in. And so before I have made the decision, I'm already in an emotional another state of mind. Sure. Sure. And I just felt like, as like Rick said and Ron said now, I don't know if we even understood how to really rock with that. Yeah. Right. Because something in that we could have done different. Sure. Right. Absolutely. And I just feel like when I think about it, like we could have changed his life for the worst. Right. You understand what I'm saying? Because we control that. And I'm caught up in another emotion. I ain't really give a fuck about what the manager is. I'm talking. I'm losing my friend, my brother, and we ain't even on the same shit no more. So my answer was for a different reason, more so than their reason. Yes. Yes. And I just wish we was sharp enough. We are now to say, no, motherfucker, he don't go. You go. Right. Right. Right. But that's how we would play it now. And as a matter of fact, not but with one more album, bro. Yep. Them niggas was out. Right. We got rid of them. Right. Right. Right. Management team at this time. Yeah. There was a there. I do remember a lot of tears, you know, in that room, you know, when we had to make that it was not an easy decision. That's why I just. Sure. Talked about it. It was not an easy decision. But in hindsight, I mean, listen, you know, like, how does Bobby become Bobby? Yeah. Right. It's almost like, you know, the apple falling, the fruit falling from the tree to be able to make its own tree. Yeah. And, you know, if in hindsight, man, God's plan is better than ours. Yes. Exactly. 100 percent. 100 percent. Right. And that that's that's what really the question was about, because we all know the end of the story. Right. Right. I'm saying like the end of the story is all that matters. Like you said, what we're feeling now. So what it was. But yeah, because a lot of people. They have their opinions about stuff. And, you know, their opinions don't matter. It's really about the human part of that ordeal. Because again, I mean, you even got to be in a group. You could have a family and have an altercation or some sort of outing with a family member that you felt close to. That's that's that's emotional. And that's something that that every one of us has gone through in some way, shape or form. On that note, yeah, you all been through that 100 percent. You know, you know the story, but I'm asking because we're in this decision making, member leaving. How did you feel within your situation and how you felt about it? Let me tell you something. And I've said this story and a lot of people, again, fuck what people think because y'all weren't there. Right. And I'm saying, let me just say that. But I remember when we first got our deal with Arista through L.A. Reed, when he was president at the time, I remember being on the elevator and all of this has a purpose. I'm pointing for me, saying this because at that time I was feeling the tension. You know, Mike was McCary was kind of like on his own thing, kind of doing his own thing. He was always kind of the oddball anyway. But we embraced that, you know what I'm saying? We love Mike for that. But he was he was kind of doing his own thing and it started to become a little tense. So we get in the elevator and I turn to him. I said, Mike, you know, I'm the quiet one. But this is, I guess you could say, if it was a movie, this is my character development. I'm starting to come out now. You know what I'm saying? I'm starting to come out of my shell. And I'm like, I said, Mike. You ain't even got to be my friend. I said, just come to work. I said, that's all you need to do. You ain't got to be my friend. We ain't got to hang out. We ain't got to do any of that. Yeah. I did this brother that that's feeling the energy. So I said, just come to work. All right, all right. His low voice. I got you. Then come to work. Right. There were television appearances and stuff that he wouldn't show up and shows and stuff like that. But the thing that broke the camel's back and I'll try to keep this brief. The straw that broke the camel's back was we had a show in Romania. Right. We were all at the airport. Mike's limo driver comes to the airport with no Mike. He was like, well, what's going on? Well, I went to his house and his wife at the time waved the car away. Wow. Now, mind you, Nate was tired of his shit. Wanyay was tired of his shit. Right. And I was kind of still the one that like, oh, Mike, come on, come on, come on. That moment I was done. Right. I was done. I was like, OK, this is just disrespectful. Not to mention we got the flight of fucking Eastern Europe with a promoter we never did work before with before that may have us trapped in the fucking country. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like I didn't pay for three. I paid for four. Right. So all of these things were going through my head. Fortunately, it worked out. The promoter was happy. The people were happy. Everybody was happy. But I was still mad. Right. So we get home and I'm like, I'm done with Mike. I'm done. So this is when my wife was pregnant with my twins. Uh, Mike had a, you know, people know that he had a really bad back issue. But there were things that just weren't adding up. Like you can't fly a plane, but you drove from Philadelphia to Toronto or wherever it was. And again, if Mike, if I'm getting it mixed up, but you kind of understand where I'm coming from in a G wagon. Now, if anybody knows anything about a G wagon back in the 2000s, it was like riding on a box of crates. Right. Right. Like it was no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. It was rough, but you got a back problem. So you can't show up to our stuff, but you can take a four, five, six hour drive. And a G wagon. I was like, come on, Mike, this, this, this ain't adding up. So anyway, he knocks on my door. I acted like I wasn't home, you know, because my wife was pregnant with my mother-in-law. I was like, I'm not trying to do this one. So I just kind of kept it quiet. Wanyay literally lived two minutes from around the corner. He calls me 10 minutes later. You know, man, Mike's here. It's like, all right, I'll be over. All right. So drive over. Mike's sitting on the couch with a smile on his face. I'm pissed. Right. So I'm sitting across from him. And I was like, he's like, what's up? What's up, Slim? I was like, what's up, man? He's like, because he heard about this big gig that we was about to do in Japan with big money. Right. So he was like, when are we going to Japan? And I'm making the story short. I said, when we going to Japan, I said, we ain't going nowhere. Right. So we joined a little bit back and forth. He was like, yo, give me the number to Johnny. Right. He was our manager at the time. I was like, I ain't got it. I ain't got the number. Right. I had to know. But I was, I ain't got the number. So making all the stories short. Wanyay goes upstairs. So me and Mike are still talking. I guess I said something to piss him off. You know what I'm saying? So he walks up to me, grabs me by my shirt, picks me up and slams me on, on Wanyay's kitchen table. Wow. So just the bad back, dude. Wow. Right. So I'm thinking of all of this while all of this is happening. My back is sore. You know what I'm saying? I'm blocking punches. You know what I'm saying? The whole thing, right? So Wanyay gets him off. And I say, yo, bro, you out the group. That was it. So, so that's the story. And, and, and after all of that, I was one of the least people to want them to want to see him go because I saw what was going on. But I didn't want it to happen. But he pissed me off. You know what I'm saying? And it was like to the point where I was like, come on, man, like I'm riding with you, bro, bro. Right. So to, to your point, I lost a friend. Right. At that point, because I'm bugging out over the fact that first off, this dude lifts me up and slamming me on my man's table and broke it. Sean, I heard that story. Yeah. I'm, I'm more like bugged out that you're sharing it because we never talked about it, but I heard that. And that like hurt me a little bit too. Cause I knew at that point, y'all were missing separation and conversation. Cause it led to that situation. Right. And that's kind of like what happened with us. You know, sometimes when you get in the game and you're not around your day ones, you create shit and you make decisions emotionally. Yes. Instead of that person being there, that understands each person individually to show you how to work through it. And Brooke wasn't with us when we was dealing with that with Bob. So we were missing a day one. And I know if I was in that house, that shit would have never happened because or Khalil, right? Right. Or someone, you know, one of us, right? We would, uh, wait, hold pause. Boom, boom, boom, boom. Let's talk about it. Still hearing your feelings. Trying to understand where he's going wrong and why are you not being where you need to be. Just those things. And I'm glad we're talking about it because not only is this a family conversation, hopefully it's something other people could learn from. You keep a day one. It's so fucking important. Yeah. Cause this shit becomes some other shit. Yeah. It, for real. And I think, you know, my, my constellation was from with the other two dudes, you know, in the group who, you know, one witnessed it. Nate was on his way. He didn't make it in time. But, you know, Juan seeing the whole situation and was like, yo, this, this is some different shit. And I think that's really when things started to shift in my mind. Like we were already guarded from just past experiences and things that happened, but this really set me off to the point where now I'm like, I'm a different dude now. Cause I'm like, yo, this, this is not panning out the way that I thought. I thought we were all going to do this together. All right. But again, better is the end of a thing than beginning of a thing. Like if anybody has witnessed the new additions way tour on certain cities, Vegas or LA or Philly, you've seen the four of us join back together again. Needless to say, we good. And I want everybody to know that. Like, yes, we went through all of those things and we had our little struggles and beefs or whatever you want to call it. Um, but at the end of the day, we're still brothers and we still love each other. And that'll never change. But family fights sometimes. It's like with new addition, like family fights. Sometimes we get into altercations and disagreements. It's okay. And this is what we're trying to say. You know what I'm saying? But real quick. This is just part one of this amazing conversation that I'm having with my brother's bell bib de vo part two is soon coming. So make sure y'all lock into that one. All right. Love y'all. We'll see y'all next time. Hey, what's up, y'all? I hope you enjoyed part one of the bell bib de vo convo. Now remember, if you want to check out part two, you've got to join the on that note patreon community. So do it right now. You'll be able to see part two of what was going down. All right. See you there.