112

What up y'all, this is Mike. And I'm Slim. And this is 112, y'all. Yeah, man. We're here with my brother, Slim's brother, your brother, everybody's brother, Sean Stockman. Yes, sir. All right. On that note, baby. On that note. Welcome, everybody, to another episode of On That Note. This is the place where we speak a language we all understand. I am your humblehold, Sean Stockman. And over the course of their career, my guests today have sold more than 20 million records. That's double diamond for you guys to, you know, kind of just let that soak in 20 million records. It's not an easy thing to do even back then, and especially now, in a happening. Worldwide, by the way, toured internationally and helped shape the sound of contemporary R&B. Their influence continues to bridge generations, solidifying them as one of the most iconic male vocal groups of their era. Straight up. Today, they remain a staple of classic R&B performing their catalog of hits for fans across the globe and continuing the legacy they began over three decades. Three. God. God. Ha ha ha ha. Are we that old? Oh, my god. Season. Season. Season. OK. Season. I like that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll take that. All right. All right. We're season. We're season. Yeah, so don't call me old. Yeah, we're season. We're season. They are multi platinum Grammy Award winning R&B icons. Ladies and gentlemen, please give it up for my longtime friends, my brothers, Marvin Slim Scandrick. Yay. And Michael Keith, AKA 112. You did a nice job. Yeah. Yeah. That's what happened. What's happening, fellas? Hey, bro. When I tell you it is such an honor to be here, man. When you first started a while back, I was like, oh, I can't wait. Oh, that's dope. Because we already knew. Like, bro, I said, man, it's destiny. We are going to be on fire, man. Because then just to watch the natural progression of things, man, it's just an awesome thing, bro. And just it's just the energy is just awesome, bro. Well, I appreciate y'all coming through for many reasons. One, as I mentioned, we have a history together. We've known each other for a long, long time. And I guess like the sentiment of the people who have supported this podcast so far, I think people get into the stories. They love hearing stories. And I tried my best to create the landscape where friends like you guys can sit and be comfortable. There's no aha moments. There's no gotcha moments. There's none of this negative stuff. I really try to focus on what the fan or listener or the person that's never heard of you before, right, right, can can get into and be and be intrigued after the conversation is done. Because I don't even call them interviews. These are conversations. Absolutely. Yeah. So so and these are people that like yourself that I respect, that I love and that I admire and I'm a fan of. Yes, absolutely. So so again, I thank you guys for when you saw it getting it. Right. Yeah. Oh, because that's really what it is. It's I think people get it and get what this is and get what we're trying to do, which is why there's been so much love and support because I'm not trying to oust anybody. Right. This is this is about love. This is about music, which is the common bond of all of us. Like I don't care what profession you have, whether you're a singer, rapper, athlete, politician, we all listen to music and we all have our own, I guess you could say, soundtracks. Yeah, exactly. That made us. Exactly. We are. Exactly. And this is the conversation we're going to have today. This is just really just a discussion about what shape to so. So let's get right into it. I like to do a segment in the beginning of every, every show called We're going to go back way back back in the time. Woo. OK. And individually. How did each of you discover your voices? Like musically? Like what did you listen to as children? Let's say as early as 10. That shaped you into wanting to make the decision of I want to pursue singing. Like what was what did you hear in your houses? Like, you know, either one, y'all can go. OK. Well, yeah, I can start. Well, OK. Well, at 10 years old. Yeah. OK, so my mom is evangelist. So OK, I can listen to secular music. OK. So we know where this is going. I blame everything on Mike. This is true. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, you know, before, you know, I met Mike. I was only able to listen to any type of contemporary gospel music or just old school gospel music. So where there will be Doc McKenzie and the Gospel highlights, or I can listen to Take Six, a commission. You know what I'm saying? Like, yeah, like either any of these are artists, Reverend John P. Key and a new life community. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Anything that was like with church, but what it was what was amazing was, you know, groups like Commission, right? Where the songs you knew they were gospel. Yeah. But man, did they sound like they sounded like. That's absolutely shout out to Commission, because if it wasn't for Commission, half of the groups wouldn't have a sound. We wouldn't have a sound. That goes for us, too. Yeah, well, I'm going to tell you right now. We we into that. To that. We actually envy them because in one of those man, listen, one of those albums. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, that's a dream. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, it was all about a dream. That was a dream. And we lived through you. Who was like, you son of a. I was like, you. You. But that was an amazing album amongst all the albums. And yeah, yeah, but that's pretty much how it was. We started started off in church and basically that's how it was. And ran into these guys and then, you know, OK. All right, Mike, what was your journey? For me, man, it was it is I took a different turn, whatever. Because the crazy thing is when you hear me sing, you automatically think church, right? Right. I grew up Methodist. So we didn't really sing a whole lot. We didn't do a whole lot of. Yeah, right, right, right. It was really. We do all of it. So and I feel like, you know, I disappointed a whole lot of people when I tell them that because their assumption is that I'm just hooping and hollering in church stuff. I didn't really do a lot of that. You know, like that came once we got into the industry and stuff. So it was always in me, but it was never really something that I grew up in in church and I sang this. You know, we listen to the gospel music and things of that nature. But really, man, like, here's a crazy day, bro. So I would sing like I would entertain for the family. You know what I mean? So I'd be like five or six years old. The living room is all. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The breeding ground. Like Michael getting that singing. I didn't even want to sing and whatever. They was like, man, I want to sing. Sing what? You know, right? You know, so you wouldn't get your ass whipped. So, you know, you had to entertain. And so I've been an entertainer since I was like five years old. So, you know, the the world looks like they got to be because it's a rose. They're all I see. Oh, yeah. I see. So all the jingles and yeah. Cokas like and all this other stuff. Look, I'm telling my. I was like, Prince. We're all the same. Yeah. Oh, yeah. But that's that's where that's where it started, man. And for me, man, I don't know if you guys remember, but back, you know, when when Looney Tunes, how they will always have those operatic. Yeah. So that a lot of that came from from net. I tell you a quick story. So I'm in high school, right? And I teacher, I'm music teacher. Crazy enough. Her name was Mildred Fawcett of all things. Mildred Fawcett. Mildred Fawcett is the craziest thing, bro. So I'm I'm in the band at this point. Like I'm not even in chorus at this point. But as I'm walking past her class, I'm singing one of those bugs money. La la la la la la la. But I'm really going into it. Like, you know, so she stopped everything. And she was like, which one of y'all were there? And these motherfuckers snitched. It was like, so I'm like, bro, I'm in trouble again. She was like, no, you're my new you're my music class now. You're my new you're my class. Now she took me out of PE. She took me out of. Damn. I had full music classes, bro. Wow. Miss Fawcett. She took me out. So big shout out to her. Shout out to Miss Fawcett. Yeah, she took. But seeing the vision. She saw it. She actually saw it. That's where that's where a lot of that came from. And then like in 90, what was it? In 91, I was introduced to Nirvana and from that point on, it was my music. Yeah, my music vocabulary just opened up to it. So I started listening to Alice in Change, freaking Stone Temple Pilots. Yeah, all good things. You know what I mean? So that because you love the you love the artistry and the freedom that they had that you that don't provide you in the music in R&B. Absolutely. So that's where that that's where that came from. OK, now where did you guys meet? Like initially, where did it all start in high school? Yeah, in high school. We were in high school. I was looking to put a group together. OK, you know, so Duran and I were already because we were around the same age. So we were already in the same class. So we would we would sing with each other like you played a piano and I would sing. And when we got to high school, that's when we met Slim and then that's when we met Q. You know, so that's where that's where the whole group dynamic came from. Bro, listen, let me let me just remind. When I tell you we worship boys to me. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, I don't even know that little brother. I think that's understatement. Listen, listen, man, where's the camera? There's no reason for me to. There's a right here. Right here. OK, there's no reason for me to act on cool, calm and collective. And like this ain't one of our idols in this thing. You know, an R&B God to us, man. But we always had we always quantified music with this tier, right? This this this trifecta. New addition, Joseph C. Boys to me. Don't know if I've trafficked because that it that epitomized when we felt like the music should. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Right, right, right. Oh, that's right. But that's that's how we've always looked. And of course, you know, 12, we always felt like we were that tier underneath you guys. But we've always looked at those three groups as the trifecta, as what it means to be an R&B artist in today's, you know, in today's music, man. And it's like you guys were with the classic records and being able to be anywhere and sing to anybody. Jodice with the with the with the chicken and grits. Yeah, yeah. And then new addition with the overall performance. And one of the most successful groups that ever broke up and was platinum in every group that they would be. Yeah, no one's ever done like that. Platinum and Johnny Gilpland. Yeah, and nobody and that's the only other group, man. So it's like we we make it our mission to pay homage to you guys, man, and just let you know just how important you guys were to one 12 in this and whatever to me. So I appreciate that. And on behalf of my guys, we thank you because it's funny when I knew you could you were coming. I was like, do y'all remember when y'all first sang for us? Do you remember? And the dark studios. Here we go. We were recording. Yeah, we were recording our records. And I think, yeah. And I think Dallas introduced us to you guys. 94 something like that. 93 93 93. Yeah, and Dallas was like, hey, man, these four kids, they call one 12. They sound really good. So he's like, let me hear it. Let's hear him. And right in the lobby. Yeah. Do you remember what y'all sang, though? What did you sing? We sang. What was it? Did you take a seat? Yeah. My God. Yeah. Yeah, listen. When they hit that. Oh. So, so, just so, so, so much. You know what was crazy? That's the song I auditioned to be in the group. Because I didn't know any secular music. So it was just crazy that Mike had the ear of saying, okay, he has an untraditional voice, but hey man, I can work with this. Yeah, right, right, right. So it was just crazy he just gave me this. It was so distinctive, bro. It was just like, it was just like you. Slim, you have one of the most authentic vocal tones. Anybody that, you can be on the radio and everybody instantly knows you. Immediately, immediately. You have- It was like a full circle moment when you guys were auditioning for Michael Bibbett. Yeah, it was, it was. And by the way, tell them about Dallas Austin if you don't know. Yeah, except we didn't design them. So it was like- Was that an option? No, no it wasn't. But you know, it would have been nice. But yeah, but hearing them and the first thing we all said, like the four of us was like, oh, they outta here. It was like, they're outta here. It was like, there's no way that he won't be successful. When they signed up for Time to Bad Boy, we know. Where you guys signed up for Time? We weren't signed. The intent was to be signed to Dallas. To the D.O.R.D. To be signed to Rowdy. To Rowdy Records, right. To Rowdy Records, you know. And- So how did the Bad Boy thing come about? The last minute, well, Puff came down to direct Southern Playalistic Cadillac music for a lot of people, it was a fun fact. He actually directed that for OutKar. So he was out in Atlanta trying to get that sound, what's that new sound that's coming out of Atlanta? And he spent a lot of time underneath Dallas and just filling that vibe and seeing what the vibe was and then it just so happens that our manager at the time was really good friends with Puff and he introduced us that way. So it was an initial conversation at D.O.R.D. He wasn't really filling us in initially. Really? We actually had to prove ourselves to Puff. Which is cool, but- Yeah, because we probably didn't look the part, you had to understand. We're like straight from the hood. So you might catch us in a time where we don't have no haircut. Just okay, okay. I remember there being a poster. I don't know if you remember it, it's at Dallas at D.O.R.D. where the poster had a baby and he had the white shoes on and a diaper and he had his hands like this and it was Bad Boy Records. It said underneath, it said strictly hip hop music. So in our mind, we were like, we can't sign to this guy. He's just strictly hip hop. We're R&B, world. The three people that convinced Puff to sign us was Faith Evans, Kim Porter and Usher. How about that? Yep. Faith was working with Usher on that first album. And we were already friends with Kim because she was close. Yeah, she was close. She was already from Columbus, Georgia anyway. So we were already close there. She co-signed it. She co-signed it. Faith was like, yo, if you don't sign these, if you don't sign these dudes, you're making a big mistake in your life. And Usher was like, yeah, man, go ahead and sign them boys. So that's how that happened. One of the best decisions I'm sure he's ever made just for his label and for his jump off. Absolutely. You guys basically took the whole, just took Bad Boy to another level of respect because he was initially just a hip hop label. But that diversity of bringing that army I'm gonna tell you, and I've said this a million times in a million other conversations I've had is that the number one, and always will be the number one driving force of record sales of women. Period. Period. Yeah. If women don't fuck with you, you are not selling no records. You're not selling any records, bro. So him obviously being, because Puff is a creative genius. Because Puff is a creative genius. He really is a visionary. And he'll see things and creates them. Absolutely. And creates the whole background and storyline and landscape for him. He's always had that understanding of the business, which is why he was so successful. Absolutely. And I'm glad that he signed you guys. I will say this. I mean, Atlanta's always been one of my favorite places. Like we spent a lot of time there. And it's still a very, very much a hotbed for music and producers and songwriters and stuff. But what in the 90s different? Oh man. It was so different, bro. And I know a lot of people from the ATL who are watching this will understand who lived in that era will know exactly what we're talking about. Exactly. Man, it was so amazing, bro. It was amazing. And what we try to tell these young people nowadays because it's so easy to get heard nowadays. Back then, we would have to go to underground just to sing. Just to sing. We'd sit up there and hope somebody knew somebody who knew somebody. Just sit on a corner and just sing. Bro, in the underground, right? There used to be this karaoke machine or whatever. So this is our first demo. So we went to the, we didn't have any money for no real demo or anything like Slim said, bro. We better have haircuts, right? So we caught the bus down to underground Atlanta and we just stayed there the entire day. It was a karaoke machine where you can go in and they would play the music underneath and you would just sing along with it. We asked them not to do it. We just needed a microphone and we just needed to record. So that'll be our demo. So we had the cassette tape and everything, right? Yeah, we did. Had a cassette tape, gave it to them. We was like, bro, can you just record this? And what's the song that we saw, bro? I can't remember that bad boy, but I had. How do I? Oh, it sure was. You sang it so hard to say goodbye to yesterday. And I swelled everything, bro. We had a crowd. We had a crowd. Yeah, everyone from. Everybody came, bro, we was like, we out of here. Oh, yeah, I like them. That's all right. But you know, back then, that's when you, that's how you kind of, I guess, before there was algorithms and social media and stuff like that, we judge stuff based off of real time. Oh, yeah. Reactions. Reaction, bro. From people. So when people felt it, especially y'all live in Atlanta, it was only a matter of time that someone was going to get the word out that, yo, it was these kids. And you know what was crazy about that? You know, one of the cultures of Atlanta was the, the Telet Shows. Yeah. So our Telet Shows were just like, oh my God, it was like concerts. Yeah. The majority of anybody that, if they were Atlanta, if they were really from real Atlanta, they knew about these Telet Shows, they were in it. If they have deals, you can ask any of them. You say anything about the Telet Shows, they were definitely there. We'll show. So we were known, we were definitely known as we started singing. Because the great thing about us was that, the fact that, what would have been our con was our plus. It was like, it was. So that fact that we couldn't afford music. So we had to sing all of our records, our cappella. Our cappella, we had our own. And we were known for it. So people would be nervous. So we had these songs that we had in many chambers. We had a few songs that we just knew. Like you said, like you had a song that you said. Yeah, what we doing tonight, bro? We going to do a Please Don't Go. Yeah, exactly. We're doing it. We're going there, bro. Our cappella version though. So I remember when we won the, what was the big one? The Sharon Showcase. Yeah, it was the Civic Center. So y'all did a version of, I think it was Please Don't Go. Yeah, please don't go. We used to sing it. And so it was our cappella. Y'all did it. And we decided we were going to do it too. So we were like, oh, man, boys demand that. That, man. Appreciate y'all. So yeah, yeah. We're going to do this. We taking that role. And I never forget the feeling that, oh my god. So I had to rush, because I was a first chair celloist. And I had to go and audition for, yes, I played a cello. Yeah. Wow, they do that. Yeah, that's wild. Yeah. But I was headed to compete for the chair, which I got the first chair. OK. But while it was about to, oh, like, they were about to announce it. It was on the radio. Oh, wow. And so I'm sitting on the bus. Like, and I was like, oh, man, that was so much competition. And I don't know. We thought we lost. Yeah, we thought we lost. I didn't think people got us. Like, we thought. They didn't get it, because it was like, it was so quiet. And people were like in awe. It wasn't like they were just like, what in the world that we just experienced as opposed to, now, we're looking at it like, oh, man, they ain't like us at all, bro. Yeah. We're like, man, they just OK. They were flabbergast. Yeah, man. Man, what they said and the winners of the. We were Forte. We were Forte. Yeah. Man, they said, and the winners of this Tyler Show, Sharon Showcase, Tyler Show is. And I'm sitting on the bus. And I'm like, I'm static. No, no, no, no. And it's like, Forte. And they went crazy. And then they played back how we sounded. And I could not believe. I was like, and everybody was looking at me like this. Just. It begins. I was like, it begins. This is how it begins. This is how it begins. This is how it begins. That's right. That's it. No. But wait, wait, wait. You unpacked a lot. First, the group is called Forte. Forte. It was an acronym for ever on route to excellence. Yeah. OK. And it was originally five people there. Right. So when I tell you, bro, we was really like taking you guys and sound. I was about to say your story is. We had a bass. We had a bass player the whole time. But we had a bass singer, rather. But yeah, it was forever on route to excellence. And then we had to change it because rapping for it was out at the same time. We didn't want to be out of respect. So out of respect for them. We were like, man, let's just change it. And we changed it to 112 because that's where initially puff. So we couldn't get into 112 at the time. We were all 16, 17. So we couldn't get in. Right. But Puff was going into 112. And we were like, yo, Puff, like, bro, we ready. We want to sing for you. Like, I ain't seen. We like right here in the rain. We were like, yeah, just sing. And so we started singing. And then for anybody that knows 112 back in the day when it was on Cheshire Bridge, like the crowd, the line will be wrapped around the corner. We used to go. Yeah. And the line went from being around the corner to like a semi circle around us as we were singing and stuff. So he knew then like, OK, I think I might have something with you guys. Oh, that's crazy. Yeah, man. That's amazing. Like it's so dope that like, again, just listen to you guys' stories. You guys were five. I had a former name and then I had this name. Yeah. Just how you guys got discovered. And it is literally parallel to our story. Like just how we came up with our name and how we had a whack name first. Y'all, Forte was dope. Our name was terrible. I would love to hear it. Yeah, it was awful. You never, you don't know the name. You know. You got to say it right now. OK, here you go. You got to say it. Unique attraction. Yes. That's fine. We're going to go. We're going to go. Good night, everybody. Good night, everybody. I know. You ain't. But you know, the thing in Philly was because again, we had talent shows too. Yeah. We were doing. We come from the Philly International Soul Era. So it had to be kind of that type of. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It had to be like show tunes. Right. Right. Because that's what a lot of our groups back then was on. Like real polished, stylistic, OJs, suits. Very crisp. Like that's where that whole energy came from because that's what we grew up on. Because of the Philly sound and what the influence was. So we had to have something that it always had to be two names. Dada, Dada. Yeah. Dada, Dada. So we was like, unique attraction. Yeah. Yeah. We did. We did. We did. We did. We did. We did. We did. Shit was terrible. But we changed it when Nate and I, we were on a telephone and we just talking like we normally do and we listened to the local radio station and the group, well the song Boyz Demen came on the radio while we were talking. So like the new edition. The new edition record. Yeah. And I said, Nate, that should be our name. Whoa. Like that. He was like, why? I said, it just sounds like something. Oh, it's to me. Yeah. It just sounds like something. That is, you know what I mean? Like so. And of course, Mr. Grumpy, I don't like it. I was like, I tell you what, let's just keep it. And if something else better comes, then we'll change it. We'll change it. Yeah. Until then. And it just stuck. And it just stuck. But again, it's real crazy. Does he like it now? He loves it now. Oh, yeah. I bet he does. Yeah, he loves it now. He's good with it now. So you guys got signed to Bad Boy. Mm-hmm. Did you move to New York or did you stay in Atlanta and record the records? Or like, what was the process then? Once you guys got signed? We moved to New York. Yeah, we moved to New York. We moved to New York, which was crazy because like none of us had ever been to a slim because he was on the way to be a pilot. But everybody else had never been on a pilot. Hold on, man. Hold on. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Actually, you dropped two bombs. First, the pilot. Well, first, the cellist thing. Yeah. Do you still play cello? Do you still play it? Well, I'm rusty now. I'm rusty now. But I do have my cello in it and I do plan on like getting it back. What's about to say, man? Like, that'd be so fired. Just to... And you know, like once I get it back, though, I was bad, though. But that's, I'm saying, if you were first chair, you had to have skills. Yeah, I was pretty cool. And I love... So what I used to do was I used to hum. See, I was never in course. I was never in course. Never in course. I was never in course. Never once in course. Interesting. I was very, you know, academically inclined. So, you know, like if one of the classes that I was in, let's say I was in chemistry or physics or something like that. And they went a grade on the curve, kicked me out. Kept me, I would go, you know, because I knew Mike. Right. Because this is after I had got, you know, audition. So now I know where they are. Right. Now, this is after Ms. Fawcett had picked Mike and told him that he had to leave and come in. Right, right, right. So, we... So I was literally in there. So one time we were doing... Allstate. Allstate. Yeah. Course. And I was there. So we might get in trouble because he wasn't really supposed to be... He wouldn't even register. I mean, in the... But this dude was singing the soprano section, the alto section, singing the tenor section. Like he was just... But it was just crazy how at one point this one choir had 112 in it. Yeah. Right. And then from after we had... After we won and after they gave us, you know, my grades or whatever, they had the little, you know, little memo at the bottom or whatever, talking about how the tenor section was amazing. Like, we... You guys' tenor section was just incredible. What were they on? What were they thinking? Yeah. You had 112 in the... Yeah, we were going crazy though. That's what I mean. It was just amazing. But this dude was never, ever inquired, in the choir whatsoever. He was never in the choir. Yeah. But I started flying. So it was a program at... I walked out of George High, like summer program. And it was about flying. So our magnet program was transportation. And I was like, man, last time I checked, you know, a plane is a part of, you know, transportation. Don't give us taxis and buses and stuff like that. Let's push it. I want to fly planes. So you know who else was in the program? Because there was other schools that was in. Myself and Killer Mike. Are you serious? Me and Killer Mike, we had like the higher grades and we were flying planes. Out of here. Yep. And then double Cessna engine planes. That's great. Das freaking crazy. That's crazy, right? A pilot, a cellist. Yeah. I had to make up my mind. What else do you... You had a culinary arts too? I wish. Oh my God. Holy. Yo. But yeah, but I had to make a decision, you know, and it was blessings that, you know, I had that type of option. But then, you know, when they sent the first draft of the record deal, it was like, you made a good decision. I mean, I'm sure you would have been a great pilot. Don't say it too much like that. Because my mom looks at it and she's going to hear this. And as soon as, you know, he gets me in some form of trouble again, I'm sure I'm going to hear this. You could have been a pilot. All that do-opping you doing. You could have. Who would have gotten a real job? You know, you know. You know what I mean? Like, we had a dollar every time we heard that. Oh my God. Yeah, it's crazy. That's crazy. Okay, so, all right. You ditched pilot school. You signed a contract with Bad Boy. You guys moved to New York. In the studio. What was the first song that you guys recorded? The first song we ever recorded was Natterwood. Okay. But you have to understand. When y'all taught us the record, we were still in school. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hold on. That's a lot. They said a lot, right? Okay. Let's get to this part. Oh, yeah. Because that song, y'all killed it, by the way. And the other record that I mentioned. Wanyae was good friends with Tim and Bob. Right? Tim Kelly and Bob Roberts. And they would do a lot of songs together. They were in Doppler in Atlanta. And we were all doing something. I don't know why we were all there. But we stayed in Atlanta anyway. It was probably just to maybe go to a strip club. I don't know. Nice. But we were in Atlanta. And Wanyae called me. He was like, oh man, I'm working on some stuff. Come through. All right, cool. So he's working on this song called Can I Touch You? Yes. Right? Yes. And I'm like, yo, this is dope. He was like, I need you to sing X, Y, and Z. So I go in, I sing the part. And Wanyae had all the chorus. Can I touch you like it feels so good. Like, it's a beautiful record. Everybody know who I'm talking, what I'm talking about. All the 112 fans know exactly what that song is. We cut the demo first. Yes. Yes. Right? We cut the demo. Being Wanyae. So I'm thinking in my head, oh, that's going on a Boyz II Men record. Show. That record is fire. Thank you. That's dope. That record is dope. I was like, it's no way. All right, cool. Yeah. And I was like, yeah, I want you to hear something. I was like, yeah, they sound good, but who are they? I was like, who are you? You came with the name? I was like, I love them for shit, man. You got the record of them, bro. I was legit, man. Yes. I was legit, man. Thank you, Wanyae. I was legit, man, because I was like, I love that record so much. I was like, it's no way you're going to give them all, man. That's us. And they killed it. Let me just say, y'all killed it, man. But I was mad at Juan. I was like, dude, how are you going to do that, bro? Like we had like real like, how are you? Y'all was really beefing them up. Yeah, like, how are you really mad? Like, how are you going to get that record up, man? It's such an amazing record, bro. And just shout out to Tim and Bob, bro, because the dudes made us like get on a trip. Because you know, the first part, you have to sing the first part in one breath. You know what I mean? So a lot of people don't realize that, man. We had to sing that whole thing one breath. So we were like, bro, I don't know if I'm going to prove it. We stopped doing this before the one. But we had to get on a trip. It was a whole nine man and just learn how to sing, bro. Like that's one of the things that we took from them. Not only just how to arrange and because they were taking a, because I think they did 50 candles for you guys and around that same time and stuff too. And we were just in there like, see a lot of world, we heard a lot of the songs that before your album before. The rest of the world. And we were like, bro, we got a lot of work to do. Yeah. So we cannot touch you. Okay. We were like, yes. No, why was on that, that he had a style of writing that prolonged verses like our chorus or something like that. So case in point that. Can I touch you make you feel so good? And then you want me to so sweet? Oh goodness. And I'm so sexy. Won't you come over to me? That was it. Yeah. One breath. One breath. One breath, bro. And then he'll get. Can I speak to you make you feel good? I know you want me to so sweet. Goodness. I'm so sexy. Won't you come over to me? Yeah. That was one style. Yeah. Like, you know, and he loved kind of like doing that whole thing. So yeah. That's why I was like, okay, I couldn't, I had to give it up because y'all was like, okay, they killed it. Yeah. And we trust me. We felt like we had to. We like bro. Yeah. If we don't do this, we're going to be toxic. They go crucifile. They're going to crucify. Yeah. They all represented and they also did a record guys called Not It Were Done that wine also wrote with Tim and Bob and they killed that too. And okay. So can I touch you or rather not it was done was the first song that you guys recorded. When did the single only you come into play and whose idea was it to throw the remix in it with Mace and B, which was genius, by the way. So to go back real quick is that we can't gloss over the fact that Not It Were Done is a derivative from you guys. From the remix. Yeah. A lot of people, to this day, a lot of people don't realize that's where it came from. Yeah. So we just want to, you know, put that out there. That's a good, yeah. That's a great Easter egg. Yeah. A lot of people don't know that. They did not know that, but then now when we put it out there, it was like, son of a gun. Like you, you know, we were talking about it before you walked in. I had no idea. Yeah. And I know my music. Yeah. We did a remix to Uh-Ah. Yeah. And we kind of rewrote it. And now that we're done, what are you thinking? Right. So, so, so, yeah. Juan took that part and made it. Now that we're done, what are you thinking? Body so soft, you're getting so thinking. Like, I mean, yeah. And they smashed that too. But anyway, that was dope Easter. Only you was actually like one of the last songs that we, that we recorded for the album because it was so R&B, heavily R&B. It initially puff was like, yo, like what's going to separate y'all other than Slim and, which was genius, by the way, to make him sing a lot of the leads because like you said, his voice was so distinctive. It just made sense and trust me. We all had to have that conversation. We all sat down with Puff and he was like, yo, I'm making him y'all lead singer. We all know that y'all can sing lead, but I'm making him the lead singer and because this is the music business. Right. And everybody has to play a role. Like if you're the Chicago Bull, somebody has to be Michael, somebody has to be Scott. Were you open to that initially or were you guys kind of like, Yeah, how did that play out? It took because we were all lead. The whole premise of 112 at the time was just we all were lead singers. Yeah, no weak links. So, no weak links. So, no weak links. So in our mind, we were like, we're going to be one of the groups that can allow each one to sing on the same level if not better. Which album did it display that? The album did do that. Yeah, yeah. But him being, that was strategic. Him being the lead singer was definitely strategic. So initially, that was, I don't want to say push back, it was some trepidation at first. Yeah, yeah, sure. At first, you were like, come on, bro, just stand the third with him. So, because when we were in the before we got signed, Slim didn't do a whole lot of leads. Not at all. He didn't really sing a whole lot of lead. Didn't care. Yeah, so he was more like doing like the high like doing those little intricate parts, man. Intricate parts, you know. That just made people like, okay, we just took it to the whole another level. He was the cherry on top, if you will. Yeah. And then Puff heard him was like, nah, he's all lead singer. Yeah. And that was again, that was some, you know, some trepidation at first. But then once we'd realized that he was right because at the time Drew Hill was coming out. But what was it? La Day was coming out at the time. As yet was coming out. Yes. At the time. And so it was a lot of what was going to separate 112 from all these other groups. You know what I mean? So it just made sense for us to go in that route. That was one. The other thing was, y'all need to sing over up tempo beats. Yeah. Hip hop beats. We fought him on that because we were like, man, it's going to cheapen our sound, man. They ain't going to take us seriously because back coming from our age in our era, when on records, you had a what side? You had an A side and had a B side. And all the B side was like, there was the music that you like. But yeah, we're going to experiment with that. We're going to sing a little up tempo this time and third whatever. But at the end of the day, the A side, we're all the ballads and stuff. So in our mind, we were thinking we're going to be, it's the alpha to be nothing but B side, you know, without this up tempo stuff. So him and his genius, he was, he gave us this little nugget and it was like, bro, listen, when y'all sing these up tempo records, don't sing them like an R&B record. When you go, right, right, right. Don't do out because you got to think as though I'm in a club drunk and I'm trying to holler at a girl. Yeah. You're going to be in that girl. You're not going to whisper in that girl. Yeah, doing. Yeah, right. Number one, you're going to, boy, get out of my ear with all this. Right. But you can sing, girl, I want to be with you, no one else, only you. You know what I'm saying? Hey, we didn't rehearse that. We didn't rehearse that. Not one time. Not one time. Keep going, keep going. Not one time. Okay? Yeah. Wow. Thank you. Thank you, Grammys. We love y'all. We love y'all. But yeah, but that was the genius behind it. And when he broke it down, man, we were like, you know what? We were like, you know, we're going to be in the middle of a bitch. He got us again, man. So that was, that was the whole gist of it, man. And so the first version of it, we liked it. It wasn't hard enough. You know, so we went to Stevie and was like, Steve, you got to give us a remix to the one that he big shout out to Stevie J too. Because he did the original and the end of remit. Like, bro, we need something harder, bro. Like we just, we got to embrace that hip hop element as well. And that's where the remix came in. And at the time, Mace, Mace with, we thought Mace was with the locks at the time. We could have sworn he was like, so we going to put all of them on it? Like this place. But he was like, nah, Mace. Why is he saying Mace with the locks at the time? Because he just hung out with them. Like he was just, every time you seen the locks, you already, you always saw. They were around each other. They were just around each other. Just, you know what I mean? In the hip hop scene in New York. So we always thought that they were just a group. The locks was, he was just a part of it. He was just branching out and doing his own thing. Going to find out he was, you know, he was his own artist. But, but big, he heard the record and immediately it was like, you know, I'm jumping on this record. You know what's so crazy though? We wrote that song five times only for us to come back to. To the original. To the original. And that was the first thing we wrote. Okay. Okay. We tell us some studio one on one. So Puff used to always do this to us, bro. He'll like, we'll be in the studio. Big shout out to daddy's house. We'll be in daddy's house like two in the morning, just slaving over this, this one song. Right. Like man, we got to get this song right, man. For dude, come in and he comes in and he comes in. Do it over. Do it over. You know what I mean? So he comes in and listen to the record. No, no, no, no, I need, I need y'all to put, you know, this, this is, you know what I'm saying? I need y'all to put this little, this is, and we was like, and the first couple of times we would just, all right, man. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Once we got wind that it was just, you know, all we had to do was just let him say, get, say his piece. Yeah. And then when he comes back and he like, yeah, so play that record again. Did y'all change it? Yeah. Yeah. We changed. We changed. Yeah. Listen to it. Yeah. And he played it. And he was like, yeah, yeah. That's what I'm talking about. That's what I'm talking. That's exactly what I'm saying. He changed. Right. Right. 19 times. Y'all got smart. Real quick. Real quick. I'm like, I'm like, we singing all this stuff over. Crazy. I'm not. We doing all this. No. Because we layered everything, bro. And this is before Pro Tools. So you had to pull the, and then go back in. And they had to cut the reel and all. and all that. We would see one, okay, what a camera. Okay, yeah, so 112 was from that era of the real, bro. Like the actual, the real, where they had to cut it in, and cut it and glue it together. Like we're from that era, man. So we like, man, we're not re-singin' all this stuff over again. So we got on real, we caught on real quick, man. Like, hey bro, just let do, you know, get it, get his rocks off with it. Boom, yo, that's hot. Boom, we keep it in push. But like he's sl- We did this on like five times. You realize that a lot of record executives have ADHD too. Man, listen. And a lot of stuff that they claim that they know, and all this other stuff, they don't know shit. Because they're so inundated with a bunch of stuff. And just like you said, they just want to feel like they, it contributed. Yeah, they were part of it. Make them feel like they contributed, make them feel good. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, you did that. Yeah, yeah, bro, that was you. Yeah, that was all you. Thanks to you. That was it, bro. Listen, that was you. That was all you. You said that like, we just want to recognize that. You got it. You were nowhere in the studio. Nowhere in the studio. But hey. But you know what? Hey, man. Hey, that's right. You like it, I love it. Yeah, exactly. So that's where it was. But yeah, only you was like the last song that we recorded for that album, man. Such a bang. Yeah, man. How far apart was the remix and the original? Was it pretty quick? It was like, I would say six weeks. Yeah, it was like, it wasn't long at all, bro. Yeah. Yeah, we needed it. But at that time, that was Puff was notorious for it anyway. Yeah, exactly. We're going to take the song we're going to remix. We can't do remix, can't. He already knew that we were going to remix. We already knew that we were going to remix that song. My favorite song on that album was... Just a Little While. Oh, yeah, that was... I knew it, yeah. For a little while longer. It's a little while. I'm coming home to you. I mean, you got it so sweet. You know what I'm saying? But yeah. I'm coming home to you. I mean, you got it so sweet. You know what I'm saying? But yeah. I'm coming home to you. You know what I'm saying? I used to love that. I used to run that. Man. That record. And it's crazy. So you see how I was singing the first verse, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So who do you think I was... I had my way. My way. Yeah, the transition from the nap to the pause. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Sing it. Sing it. I wonder why you loved it so much, Sean. I wonder why you liked it so much. Couldn't have been you. No, we couldn't have enjoyed. I'm teasing you. Teres nigga. Teres nigga. Teres nigga. Teres nigga. No, I'm telling you. Like, that, again, the 90s was so dope because it was all inclusive. Yeah. Like, everybody was bigging up each other. Mm-mm. It wasn't about any type of, or level of competition, or anything. Like, everybody supported each other. That's why I loved the 90s so much. It was not out of just nostalgia, but thinking about the support system. I'm like, there'd be times where me and the guys would find out that, say, silk is in town. I can Philly. Yes. And one of the guys would call us up, hey man, we're going to be in such, yeah. So back then we had carte blanche so we could park into the venue, you know what I'm saying? And pull up, sit on the side of the stage, watch them perform. Hey, we got a special guest showing up, he's screaming, I wave. You know what I'm saying? Sit back down and that's the brotherhood. That's the brotherhood, exactly. That's why the 90s was so long. And we still have it. That's the beauty of it, man, that camaraderie is still there, man. Like we genuinely look out for each other, man. It's so many times. This show is proof that that brotherhood still exists. 100% They wouldn't be here if they didn't feel that way about you. Yeah, absolutely. Literally. And it's all DNA. I mean, in a sense of the same way we feel about New Edition, like New Edition inspired us and we inspired others. And that's how it's supposed to be. It's progression. Yeah. You know what I mean? And succession. It's one of those things where it's like you want, you root for these other guys because it's like they represent who we are. And that's all we wanted at the end of the day. Nowadays the industry is so me, me, me. Exactly. That's why I say that all the time. But they're not winning. And that's why they're not winning. That is a, it gotta be a prime example as to why the industry has fallen off the way that it has. And I'm not coy about it. It's really bad. It is, bro. How music has taken such a turn for the worse in a sense of, yeah, you know, there are different type of opportunities. I wouldn't even say more, but just different types of opportunities. But if you notice that the artists are becoming less and less a priority. Absolutely. Absolutely. And it's more about the caricature and the image of that upset person and not the artistry of it, man. It's ridiculous. It's crazy right now because like I'm a Grammy voter. So I'm going down the list and I'm looking at it and it's like... You don't even know who they are. Yeah, you. Who's that? For your consideration. Yeah, right. Yeah, right. Okay, here we go. What's the camera? I'll go and see if it's... I'm gonna get this somebody. I'm gonna get this somebody. But real talk, bro. Just looking at it, man. There's no delineation between R&B and hip hop anymore, bro. Like it's all this one thing, man. And it's like it makes it extremely difficult for the artists who may not have the kind of fan base that a hip hop artist may have. That they have just as much talent, if not more, and they get shunned and they get just put to the wayside or get categorized as some other genre of music. And it's just R&B, man. It's just that true R&B. And nowadays it's watered down. Not to say that award shows is all and be all of it, but it's just... That's just a microcosm of what's going on in the industry. They're not valuing... With a focus on R&B. They're not valuing R&B the way that... But now you look at it now, look. The award shows are being canceled. Yeah. There aren't hardly any award shows, especially Black. Yeah. Yeah, because they used to have the source used to have... Yeah, you had to have all these... B.T. Awards... B.T. Awards. We look at that. Where's the Soul Train Awards? Soul Train Awards, man. It's crazy. It's really crazy right now, man, because there is a watering down effect of music. As long as they got the streaming and... What happened to A&R? What happened to artist development? Where are those things, man? Where are those things, man, to make an artist someone that transcends just the music and someone who's an icon? All the icons went through the same process that we went through. They went through A&R. They went through the development. They went through the waking up and going straight from the gym to rehearsals and stay there for the rest of the day. They did it. Nobody's doing it now. Do y'all think it'll ever get back to that level of discipline for artists? Considering that, it's so easy now. You can just put a song and an app and it'll make it for you. Here we go. Right. What do you think needs to happen for artists to get back into the focus of becoming... to become artists with longevity opposed to just the flavor of the month? I think that with what we went through, when we came out, it was one way, right? Man, our albums, especially with our first album, your albums came out before Google. And I look at the situation of like, okay, we knew we had to adapt to what we had to adapt to. Now, I kind of look at the artists and say, hey, look, okay, their talents are definitely there. I can name a pleather of them that I absolutely love. You know what I'm saying? There's some talent out there. There's some great talent out there. Now, what I would love is for the mindset to change from me, myself, and I to we, us, and our. So just the spirit and just the whole thing of a group. You love the person to your left or the right of you as much as you love yourself. And you didn't care about how much you made. It was more of how we sound and what that brought our brand to. Now, we all understand how everything is set now. Everybody's like me, me, me. And what about, you know, everybody's singing for... They're not singing for each other. They're singing to push themselves out. So yeah, as soon as artists start figuring that part out and then the powers that be, the engine that runs behind the labels and stuff starts embracing the fact that, hey, let's go back to the old school way of certain things. I'm not saying that, not elevate. I'm all for the whole chat GPT things, especially if you don't cheat the situation. You know what I'm saying? Because it can be used as a tool. Yeah, because it can be used. Like I just seen that there was an invention that a couple of labels were about to invest in where they can see where the chat GPT can't be taken too far. You know, so you can, you still have to be able to write, to compose, to put things together. You know what I mean? Like what we did. You know, so, but you know, let's get the adaption. That's great. Let's keep some form of, I would say, principle more code to what music is supposed to be. And then just keep certain things in. That's how. Do you think the black group will come back in resurgence? I hope so. I used to be hopeful, but because of everything that's on the answer, everything that's going on in music, it's extremely hard, bro, to like look at it now. I used to be hopeful, bro. Like I said, man, it's cyclical, man. Everything's going to come back around. Yada, yada, yada. It's kind of hard, man, because being in the group, because the world we live in that is like you, like Slim said, is me, myself and I. And in a group, you have to sacrifice something like we were talking about earlier. Like Slim sung a lot of the leads. The rest of us had to, you know, we had to take a backseat to that. That's a sacrifice, man. And I don't think a lot of these kids are unwilling to even think about that, let alone and the reason why I'm not as hopeful as I used to be about it, because every era, right, we pay homage to the one before us. I don't see that nowadays. I don't see any of these kids now. They'll take our music and they'll try to remix it and do that. But as far as like, you know, paying homage and just paying it forward, like that's, I don't see a lot of that. There's a disconnect. Sports has become the same way. Yeah. The NBA guys aren't paying homage. They're calling plumbers. Right. Yeah, that's wild. Right. That's crazy. Yeah. So that's a disconnect, man. That's a disconnect from this industry, this world. And honestly, I don't feel like these kids understand what it means to actually grind and actually go through something in order, because their deals nowadays is based off of, you know, I'll tell you why. You guys made it easier for them to do what they do. I'll give you that. You guys. You guys made Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan. It made it easier for the guy at the end of the bench to make $15 million a year. The most energy ever made in the year was 20 million. Right. Now you got guys making 80 million. Right. Just 15, 20 years later. Even with that, even with us, like say the IZZ brothers, when they paid the way for the earth, wind and fire and so forth and so on, they still paid homage. They still went back and said, because the process was still the same though. Boy, it's a million. The grind was still there. The first time 12 is here. You know what I mean? So that was, that's how we, you know, so we acknowledge that these kids nowadays, like there is a disconnect between that era and the era that they are in now. And I think because everything is handed to them. So I'm not saying that they're not grinding. I'm not saying that they're not working. I'm not saying that they're not working hard, but that initial grind that comes from sacrifice. I can't tell you how many birthdays we've missed or how many funerals we've missed or you know, like family reunion or just things that your child walking down the aisle, you know, graduation wise and things of that nature, man. It's like, it's so many things that you don't realize you have to sacrifice in order to be successful in the music industry and to see that now. It's like, it's a disconnect, man. Like it's definitely a disconnect. Yeah. There's a really big issue with young kids not appreciating what came before them and looking at it as old. So it's no longer useful. That's really the problem. Whereas they don't understand that the wisdom comes from going back and seeing how these particular artists, groups, singers, producers, songwriters were successful. The reason why music sounds the way that it does and it has no weight is because it's not based off of anything. They're just hitting pads and keys and not really connecting with what is soulful, just what's sonic. So if it's a beat and if it has an 808 drum and somebody may be singing or mumbling some shit, then that's good enough. And they haven't been taught how to create actual bodies of work and actual music. But most of it is because for some reason someone told them that they don't need to. And part of it has a lot to do with the money. Just like you mentioned. Here we go. It ruins a lot of things. And it makes people feel a false level of security. Oh, I made this. So I'm successful. I'm the shit. Can't nobody tell me anything because, and mind you, congratulations, but you don't understand the minutiae of how you're going to stay in business. You're going to go out at this moment in time that you're making all this money. You're being exploited. Oh my God. You don't understand what it is to go to that next level because the people that are exploiting you ain't teaching you because it doesn't benefit them to teach you. Because they're making this grip off of you now and they're getting this bag off you now with the plans to move you away and to find somebody else that is less expensive and more hungry. Because it's really the industry sped up because even back then when we were doing our thing, labels started getting tired of us because we started demanding more because we were selling records. And rightfully so. Right. But they don't like that. They don't like it at all. Of course. They don't want that. They don't like it at all. The budget went from half a million to four million. Right. So now they're like, damn, we in the... So sometimes they'll come up with or contrive stories or come up with ways to get you out of the way. Whether it's they start to plant negative energy from different industry people to make them seem like, yo, these dudes is assholes. They this, they that. The label was difficult. Oh, yeah. The label was difficult. The label you is... That's the call. Gotta get them out the way. That's the industry. But that's the industry. And it's the oldest trick in the playbook. Let's paint them to be idiots. Right. Let's get the people on our side and allow us to push them out the way and then we'll just find a cheaper version of them. Exactly. Or try anyway. They go back real quick. The only you remix. I wanted to know more about the remix. We're big because obviously he passed away right after that, right? Maybe within a few months, right? 96, 97. Yeah, he died in 97. Yeah. How was that working with him? Did you guys get to work with him at all on that remix? I know I took a little curveball, but I really wanted to go back and let you guys talk about that. No, no, we can circle back, man. Yeah, it was awesome working with Big. We throw the word genius out way too often. Yeah. Nowadays, it's like, oh, they did something. Oh, that was genius. Like go. Yeah, exactly. We throw that word. And then we throw out the word and everybody's a goat. To this day, that bar was on my mind. Because I have my definition of goat. But this dude in every sense of the word was a lyrical genius, bro. When I mean that, we saw it firsthand. It was a session that we had at Daddy's house. It's the Neve SSL and the pre-production room. 112 was in the pre-production room and we were recording something for the first album. Little C's came in and was like, yo, Big won a hollet, y'all. So we were like, I bet. Because Big really loves 112. Really loves 112. You go to that Life After Death album? Yeah. Yeah. Like listen to that. How many times? Like, I mean, he loves 112 because he really is a fan of 112. He really loves 112. And respected. You know what I mean? So we go into the room from here up. Nothing but weed smoke, right? So we can't see anybody. We can't really see anybody in there. It's Amiens. Yeah. So you know, it's a little color. Little color. Little vibe. Little vibe in the room. So it's Big. He's sitting behind one of the desks. We have the engineer, Junior Mafia's in there. I think Jay-Z and Charlie Baltimore, they was over in the corner. This is like, what, the early 90s or something like that? Yeah. Yeah. Nice. Yeah. Like, you know, around that time. And so he's going back and forth. He was recording this album. He's smoking, bro. He's not saying a word to anybody. Like Junior Mafia, they're bouncing around. They're talking to everybody. They're just bonking. They're a little kid. That's why. Like, they were just, everybody was just having a great time. Everybody was drinking. They were smoking. You know, 12 was in there like, bro, how we gonna sing later on? But Big wanted to send out for some reason, man. So a couple of hours go by and again, this man hadn't said anything. He just sat there and he was just rolling them up. Just, boom, roll up, boom, roll up, boom. Three, four hours later, Dool says, I am ready. And the engineer like ready for what? Like, you know, he goes into the booth and records, I got a story to tell. Off the don't. No paper. No paper. No nothing. So when I did it, he was listening to everybody's story. So the one, my 112 CD blast, like that came from us being in the room with him and he saw us in and he put us in the story. I got a story to tell. So like that's where that, the whole thing came from. So we saw that firsthand. So that's my, when I hear genius is applied knowledge and applied skill at that moment in time, right place, right time, bada bing, bada boom. That was, that was something amazing. I never saw that. I never saw that before. I've always heard stories about that, like about him not having pen and paper. It's real. And him being able to just kind of, because I heard Nas tell a story about, he was doing a record with him and, you know, Nas is busy writing. He comes into the studio and just spits off his verse. And Nas said he just left. He was like, this is ridiculous. That's him, bro. That is real. Like we are here to tell you that is 100% real. Where were you guys when you heard the news that he passed away? Here's the scenario. So Big actually was supposed to leave and go to London that same night. Right. The same night that we left to go to, we had to catch a red eye. He was going to catch a red eye to go to London, but for some reason he stayed in Cali. After we did the award show, first thing Big told us, because he was like, what up, like you can go back and look now. He was like, yo, what up Cali or what up LA with it? And they started booing him. And then once we did the award with him, he turned around and was like, bro, let's get the hell out of here. You know, because you could feel the energy. You know what I mean? A lot of people don't realize it. We were in the middle of that East Coast, West Coast thing. Correct. Correct. You know what I mean? So they had love for us out here in Cali, but it was love. It was on pause. Yeah, y'all were still signing the battle. You know what I mean? So it was that kind of deal. We left. We got in our vehicle and we went to the airport. And we landed. That's when we heard that big head got shot that night and he died. And shortly after the guys recorded a dedication song, I'll be missing you. Whose idea was it to create this particular record? Who orchestrated it? I think it was, I think it was Puff. It was Puff. But actually, we had the first one. Remember? We did one with the other. We had different variations. The first one was actually Teddy Pendergrass. Yeah, it was that. Yeah. Miss you, miss you. So that was actually the first version of that. And then we did Cry On. Cry On. We did that. That was a dedication that we did. So that was, yeah. Cry On. Oh, wow. Yeah. So we did. So people don't, a lot of people didn't realize that we did it. Now we did it like a acapella version. Yeah, we did. It was really nice. Now do these demos still exist? I think they do, bro. And you know what's crazy? They put it on the compilation. They did put it on the compilation. Yeah. Yeah, Cry On is on the YouTube. Yeah, YouTube that. But you know who has a lot of our stuff? Tim has a lot of our stuff. Tim has a lot of our stuff right now. I ain't in front. Like why are we talking about songs that hasn't been heard? That was a song that y'all had done. I heard it on a dat. You know what I'm saying? It was a little bit of a Dallas Austin. I think records like I was like, I can't believe that you and me, Depart is so, so, so, so, so easy. I'm trying to remember. I'm trying to remember. You decided to come back to me. I'm trying to remember what it is. Oh, show me the way into your heart and I will follow. It was a, give me a sign to reassure you're all I need. But it didn't come out. No, I, yeah. That was a song that me and Mike wrote, McCary. Yeah. I feel your pain and take away all your sorrow. Yeah. And I heard it like one or two times and it stuck in my head. Yeah, that might have been it, I think so. Yeah, exactly. From the first time I saw your eyes, I stood in a motionless train. So, oh God. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like Tim and Bob became like the extended members of Boys to Men after World. So it was one of those things where we just kind of, whenever we had studio time, we just sat and just vibed out and just made records. That's how We did it. Vive and came out. Oh, that was, yeah. We were in the studio, literally how the song went. We were just sitting there spending the labels money because we didn't know what we were doing at the time because we were just shooting the shit. We didn't know what we were going to do creatively and Tim just got on the beat. That's how I go. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, It just might be, like, because that's what we were doing. And I wrote the first verse, cooling in the studio, you know how the story goes. Oh, bobbing our heads to the tune, where we're about to do it. Like, literally just singing what was going on at that time. So yeah, like, and that's the type of energy y'all know. Y'all know Tim and Bob. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's how we do it all the time. The majority of our stuff came from just them sitting there. We were just sitting there. And then just be like, yeah. Smile, like, that came from just Tim. They just just bob just playing the guitar, man. Yes, just going up, bro. Yes. Man, it's crazy. Exactly. Let me let me see if Tim answers the phone. He doesn't. He's on blast. We're going to leave it in the end. Oh, yeah. But show me. See if he answers. Not you or my friend. I'm like, he's watching it ring as we speak. Yeah, he's. All right. Now, see, if you don't answer the phone and you watch this this episode, it's one more phone number. Let me let me see. Let me see. OK, I was there. Now you call them. See, you see, you see. Trying to have a moment. I'm trying to have a moment. Tim. Tim. OK, here we go. Here we go. Here we go. This is the beauty of a podcast. You can do this. Here we go. Yeah, let's see. Here we go. Yeah. Now he's a Sean and Slim. Yeah, he's like, let's go. Now he's scared. Yeah. He's like, man, he's going to answer out of fear. Right. Hello. Yeah, hello. He ain't answering, bro. All right. It's all good. OK, OK. Well, anyway, we're going to shout Tim Kelly and Bob Robinson out to some of the greatest producers ever who created not just great records for us, but create for so many other people. To Mia, to Cisco, to Bobby V. Yeah, Bobby V. Like John B. Like they put their work in. But so you guys are celebrating 30 years, man. 30 years, bro. Crazy. How's it feel? Are your bones cracking yet? Are you? Oh, yeah. That's been going on. Oh, that's been going on. Yeah, yeah. Big shout out to BIOFreeze, bro. Pain's in the back of your knee for some reason. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Why does my eyelash hurt? You know what I mean? Like, what is the science behind that? It hurts for no reason, man. But yeah, that's the 30 years, man. Like we're here to just let everybody know, man. We don't take that lightly, bro. To say you're doing something great for 30 years is something. Yeah. Man, it's unfathomable, man. Like sometimes you just got to sit back and just take it all in. We didn't really go in thinking that we hoped that we would have a long career. But everybody knows, like, what's the music for R&B? Like, three, four years? You know, three or four years? And that's one of five if you really, you know what I mean? So just to say that, you know, people have been rocking with us for 30 plus years, man. That's just, it's just a testament to how good God is. Yes, yes. And you guys are celebrating that, right? Yes. Oh, you're going out on a road. Like, tell us all about it. What's going on? Yes, so we have our Room 112 world tour. We're starting in Stanford, Connecticut. When is it? November 12th. November 12th. Yes, so. Bang in. Yes. If you don't know, like, everybody pay attention. Go on Ticketmaster or go on our website. And you know what I mean? And you can go get your tickets. We're definitely going to sing pretty much all of the songs that you all know, you all know us for, and the songs that you all love us for. Yeah. And so, you know. It's for the fans. Yeah, this one's for the fans. It's not just the hits, it's the album cover. No, it's all good. Man, listen, bro, if we had a, again, if we had a dollar, every time they wanted us to sing, you know, and I don't even want to say what songs they want us to sing. Right, because they're going to be on the, you know, they're going to be on the, you know, the comments. Just make sure y'all read the comments when we post this. This is going to be all kinds of songs. They can tell us how many songs, man. It never fails how many songs they tell us. Why don't y'all sing just a little while? Why don't y'all sing? Can I touch you? Why don't y'all sing? So yeah, but we have total and we have case on the tour. Oh, super double. So it's just 90s and the Saljo. Shout out to the homie case. Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it's going to be awesome, bro. Like, we look forward to it. So is it going to be new music too? Or like, are we coming out with new records? Well, we do have, because I have a new record out. It's entitled, Somebody to Love. Okay. And a record's doing it. I just saw it. It's on a hot R&B, an airplay. I'm on the charts. Hey, hey, hey. So that's amazing, you know, because I'm doing it independent. So I was about to ask you, are you doing this independent? I'm literally doing this independent. So how do you feel about doing it this way? And why did you do it this way? Opposed to just signing to a label? Like, I love the fact you're doing independent, but give us an understanding as to why you went this route. Well, for me, you know, my whole equation is like, DJs make the world go round. So in our career, the majority of the records that are on the radio that pit-paste the bills, they were ran by DJs. We sung up-to-poe records. You know, we were very blessed that they all did great. It was just one of those things where, you know, you saw at the beginning of your career when everything's up, you know, you're going up, you had the DJs. Even when everything started trying to level out and you're going down, you had your dips, it's like a roller coaster. Guess who was always around when the money wasn't there or whatever? The DJs. The DJs determine who had the hits. So that's what I've done. I mean, so big shout out to all the DJs, all the core DJs, DJ DJs. They still matter, man. They all matter. All the real DJs out there and they really embraced my record and they just said, hey Slim, no, we got you. That's what's up. You know what I'm saying? And that was a crazy thing about the whole Soul Fly situation. I was told in a late with that, you know, it's not a hit, but you know, we're committed to, you know, finding that special record. And I'm like, not the committed. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Please not the... Hit you with the script. But I never forget, you know what I'm saying? My boy, a big shout out to Tony Neal, you know what I'm saying? And I hit him up and I said, man, so and so said this. He said, man, I don't give a... Right, right. Man, don't you listen to nobody in a cubicle? You feel me? We out here on the street. You know what I'm saying? You tell them, you give me four weeks and then you tell them, look at the charts. Make some kind of bet. Make them eat dry salad. Right, right. It was like, you know what? That's torture. That actually happened. That actually happened. That actually happened. That actually happened. That actually happened. That actually happened. So, you know what I'm saying? So, that's what's up. So, yeah, so put it out there like that. That's the reason why I did it independent. Okay. And I mean, you know, it's great because the veil has been lifted and I think a lot of labels are understanding that they really don't matter as much anymore in the overall ethos of how we consume records, how we produce records and all of that. It's literally the wild, wild West out here and it could be a good thing and it could be a bad thing. But if you're smart enough like yourselves, you're able to kind of like flip it what benefits you because you all have a fan base. Right. 20 million records. Exactly. So, anytime something comes out that you know you're going to have at least a solid number of people. That is going to be at least curious enough to download it and to listen to it. So, what you need a label for. Exactly. You know, especially in this part. We know we know we know the same people that you know they could probably pick up 100% and probably want to talk to you more because they know where you're coming from and there's no BS with what it is your intentions. Like you're just what the conversation is. Exactly. Let's get the business done. Exactly. Let's have some fun fellas. Okay. I think we've been having fun. Oh, we've been having a great time. Oh yeah, that is been fun. Let's have some fun fun. All right. This is, this can be individual. It could be collective, whatever. Okay. The top five favorite groups. We kind of have a inkling of where you're coming from but let's expand it a bit. It doesn't have to be R&B. It could be rock. It could be pop. It could be shoot. It could be bluegrass. Exactly. We already talked about it. And then the two. So then, okay. Mike, no, but you brought it earlier. Here we go. That's my point. So that's why I'm like, give us, okay. I'll give you an R&B category. How about this, take new edition boys to men and Jodice out. Okay. Those are your goals anyway. All right, cool. Yeah, take us out. Okay. Because we already know that. Jodice and new edition now? Yeah, take it out. Take your goals out. I'm five biggest artists from, okay. Take your goals out. Oh man. Okay. I'll give you my five. I'll give you my five. So, and I know two of these might be yours too. Take six commission. Okay. Let's go. Let's go. I would say Nirvana for me. Let's go. And let me see who. You got two more. Got two more groups. Two more. And then Slim, we want yours. Okay. Earth, wind and fire. Let's go. Let's go. I'll see that. He would go. I'll take one of you. You took your five. What you're saying? Look, I'll give you another rock band. I'll give you, I'll give you System of a Down. System of a Down, though. See, this is next. I'll give you System of a Down. Alright. This is your top five. See, that is a crazy five. Okay. That's nuts. Come on, Slim. So, take in the big three out, right? Take in the big three out. So, then, we got to start. No one did this. No boss, no man, no Joseph. But I'm going to start with commission and then I'm going to throw in take six. Okay, so yeah. That's cool. So, we got the two. So, let's see. It could be anything. It ain't got to be. It's got to be anything. Okay. I would throw in, okay. I'm going to go with the, oh, see, I was just about to do that. I said, oh, wait, wait, wait, wait. This is why I love going first. He's about to say something. He's like a sneeze. Just say it bro. Just go for it. Because I want to throw in a Jackson five. Yeah, okay, there you go. Why did you hesitate with that? No, no, because I don't have but five picks. You are honorable, man. Dig deep, dig deep. Okay, I'm going to go hard. Okay. I'm going to get a... Give us a rap group. Give us a rap group. Oh, a rap group? Yeah, a rap group. Okay, well, give me... Oh my God, you know what I'm saying? Got me in Atlanta, got a group out there. Yeah, because you're going to give me Outkast and give me... Okay, that's four. That's four and give me... My boys, you know what I'm saying? Dr. Dre and EZE and... Oh, hit it anyway. Yeah, you know what I'm saying? Okay. Because I'm a hardcore Raiders fan. You feel me. I feel so over for you. I believe in therapy. I thought you liked winning. You won an ice cube. This is not indicative of any other... Bro, we love it. Listen, honorable mention, Toto. I like them. Africa is one of my favorite records. Toto is awesome. Yeah, it's one of my favorites. So, yeah, so please don't feel god with me. It just starts going wild. Impact. Do we have fire? Yeah, we have fire. You said mint condition? Yeah, I love mint condition. We could go on and on. Has there been any friendly rivalries or not so friendly rivalries with any groups? Okay, so... Here's my disclaimer, man. Okay, so... When I set about to make this whole... Like, if I told you that the idea of verses came from us back in the early 2000s, you probably wouldn't believe me. Truth of the matter is that the whole quote-unquote beef that we had with Jagged Edge was actually contrived by 112. Like, we actually was planning to... Okay, so the mind frame was, let's get them and 112 together like kind of like a boxing match. You know what I mean? Verses, you know what I mean? But the thing was, we never told them that this was our plan. So that's the part that we did... That's the part that we did. Yeah, we took that part out, man. The important part was left out. It would have gone way better had we just told them. Had we just told them as opposed to... But we felt like it would be more authentic if they really felt the ways about the fact that they were going to give it their all. We were going to give it our all anyway, but we felt like it would be more authentic if they actually felt like we had beef with them as opposed to us telling them, hey, man, we're going to go out and act like we really beef with y'all. We never really did, man, because we actually did a lot of jagell. I'll tell you later though, because we did, because when they asked, we talked. So the idea was to go song for song. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because we knew that they were able to do it. For sure, the fan base were from Atlanta. They were from Atlanta. So all the elements were there for us to have this kind of quote-unquote rivalry and whatever. And to this day, Drew Hill still... Every time we see Cisco, he feels the way about that. He's like, man, we were the group that y'all got to go back and forth with. Because that didn't come in in 96. Big shout-out to them. And super creative, man. Super intelligent, man. Super creative just group, man. That was crazy, man. But those two groups, man, those were the two... Yeah, definitely, yeah. You know what? In honor of all the groups, let me list them. This is Payin' Homage and Shoutout. And please, if I forgot your group, charge it to my head, not my heart. Shoutout to New Edition. Shoutout to Joe DeCee. Shoutout to 112. Jagged Edge. Next, Silk. Y'all can join us. Shy. Man, there's so many of them. As yet. Profile. My brother's from Jersey. East Side High. Oh, true. No, not true, but shoutout to Drew. Riff. Give me... What's My Boys? Shoutout to Color Me Bad. Yeah, intro. Shoutout to Intro. Shoutout to Men Condition. Shoutout to... We missing some people. We missing some... Oh, my God. Full Force. I love them. New Kids on the Block. We got Insync. Backstreet Boys. Shoutout to... Oh, man. O Town. Shoutout to O Town. H town. H town. H town, exactly. Shout out to him. What about 98 degrees? Shout out to 98 degrees. Thank you, that's who I was trying to figure. Shout out to him. For one of them at home. He's doing it. I'm trying. I know I'm missing some folks, but. Bro, I got a funny story about in sync when we first met. Then we were at a basketball tournament. And we were all getting ready to go out and play it. And then Justin came right over that to us. And he was like, hey, bro, I just want to say, God to charm my misery. And then the entire group just got started. That group starts like, what? They were like, bro, we steady y'all. Trust me, we steady y'all. Oh, that's love. I was like, that's crazy. That's love. That was crazy how they did. You just. I loved it. No, in sync are real ones in a sense where they were real students. Like they weren't just guys that a lot of people would try to put them in that category of just being like cutie boy band guys. But they really, they say they can really get it. So, you know, they understood the concept of like real notes and stuff. They wasn't a 135 notes. You know, 100%. 100%. So shout out to all those groups that I mentioned. And again, if I forgot you, it's not. Don't take it personal. Please God. And we're only talking about male R&B, not female R&B. We were just specifically talking about male. Big shout out to the female artists as well. Shout out to InVogue. Shout out to Total. Shout out to TLC. Shout out to Xgate. SWV. Shout out to the ladies. The ladies. We were just talking about male R&B groups. So please don't go into the comments. Sean, what's your top five groups? My top five groups. Outside of your goats, which is basically their goats. Yeah. All right. So taking any out of the equation. And Jodicy. And Jodicy because they'd definitely be in my top. I would say the Jacksons, the Temptations. Take six. Nice. That's three. Is that three? That's three. Go to a rock genre or alternative. Oh, Metallica. And this is where the fifth is always the hardest. The Beastie Boy has got enough credit. Shout out to the Beastie Boy. Oh, man. The Beastie Boy has got enough credit. It did not get enough credit. Yeah, yeah. So that's my five. The Beastie Boy. Nice. Oh, yeah. Beastie Boy is off the mark. And this is, please don't take it the wrong way, because it's definitely not honorable mention in the traditional sense, but public enemy too. And oh, and shout out to Black Street. Oh, come on. Come on. There we go. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I knew I was missing somebody. That's the guy. Yeah, we got a guy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because that's crazy. Black Street guy. Yeah. Yeah, because Damien be mad if I'm here. He'd be calling the white. Damien. I got a man, Damien, but I'm calling the white. I'm shouting you out, bro. He calling you right now. So that's how we doing it, bro. Yeah, right, right. Yeah, Damien. No, no, no. Yeah, no, you're in there. You're shouting you're in there. I was talking about Tony, Tony, Tony. Tony, Tony, Tony. Tony, Tony, Tony. Come on, Dick. Yeah, come on. Exactly. Rest in peace, Dwayne. You know what I'm saying? Yes, man. Just amazing. So again, a lot of dope groups that came specifically, you know, particularly from the 90s. I might say. There was something in the water doing something. Yes, it was. It was a lot of pop. OK. Last question. What are your what's your favorite restaurants? What each of you? Ooh. Give me one. I like maestros. Maestros is great. Maestros is great. That's a standard as far as good food is concerned. Yeah, I like maestros. Yeah. Like my favorite, favorite to go to? Yeah. Why don't you know you're going like I'm going to to get it in. I know I'm going to have a good meal and then leave happy. Ooh. See, that depends on what type of mood I'm in. You know. Because, you know, this might stretch from Nobu to, you know what I'm saying, varsity. He's my guy. That's no way. So, you know what I'm saying? So he rich. That's what it is. He rich rich. Ha ha ha. Because I got a question. Yeah, I got a question. What do you think it is? OK. Yeah, OK. All right. So what's your favorite restaurant? What's your favorite restaurant? I'm going to give Nobu for $1,600. Nobu is great. Malibu? Which man? Yeah, which one? Malibu or? Hollywood or Atlanta? No, I'm talking about Atlanta. OK, because they got to do one. OK, cool. And I went up and I went up to the right. You know what I mean? OK, so y'all in your individual restaurant having a meal just came from the show. OK. Had a great show. Y'all did y'all thing. And get your favorite table. And you look in the entrance and in walks a younger version of yourselves. Nice. They were looking for you. They needed to glean some wisdom from their older selves to understand what to look forward to in the future. So they sit down, cross from you, and they're looking, waiting for you to tell them something. What would the older slim and the older Mike tell the younger slim and the younger Mike? Who's first? I go. Go ahead. I would tell my younger self to enjoy every second of what's going on from the beginning to the end. Enjoy the struggles. Enjoy the ups. Enjoy the downs. And I would say, don't be so naive. I'd be so don't be so naive. Because the younger slim was, if you said I love you or if you said you were family or whatever, I really thought that's what you meant. And I took as that. And I will always say, look, it's reciprocity, brother. You definitely, just the way you pour, you need to be filled. You know what I'm saying? That part. You know what I mean? And I would just say, hey, when all else fails, whatever you go through, when all else fails, put trust in God. I like that. Yeah, I'm stoked. That was dope. I would tell younger Mike, don't let anyone ever dim your light. Don't let nobody dim your light. Don't ever sacrifice who you are for anyone else. And that's really how I felt career-wise and just personally. I would always put other people first. And I really feel like, man, now I definitely am in that world now where it's time to start loving self. Self-love. You know what I mean? It's time to start loving. Because you can't love anybody else if you don't love yourself. God, we say that all the time. And it's all clichés, things of that nature, man. But this is like now in my 40s, I'm actually starting to understand what that really means. Not so cliche. It's not so cliche. And I wouldn't say it because to me, it sounds so cliche at first. But now that I'm older and I'm seeing these different things and I have kids now that are in their 20s and they're starting their own paths and things of this nature, man. It's like you can't take for granted these moments that will never be here again. None of us will ever be at this moment here again. Like once this is gone, this is gone. We create new ones. But this moment will never be a take advantage of that, man. Never let anybody dim your light. And like you said, leave everything up to the most high, man. And I think you'll be all right. God bless you both. Thank you all for being such solid human beings, as well as just solid artists. There are very few people, and maybe that's just how it's supposed to be, I guess, that I not only do I respect, but I like. Absolutely. Absolutely. That's important. That I sincerely just like as humans, as us being on a road together in certain circumstances, and always showing sincere, authentic love and admiration each of us. I think everyone has seen in this particular episode how much we love each other, not just from a personal standpoint, but musically. Like we study each other. We learn certain things from each other in the whole night. Energy never lies. The energy never lies. And even in this self-indulgent world, dynamics like this is still very possible. Everybody's so hell bent on starting beefs and wanting to create controversy and negativity and all those other things. Whereas you get to your destination quicker if it's in a positive route. Again, when I say this, I mean it. I appreciate Slim first off for reaching out and saying that he wanted to be a part of the podcast. And we kept correspondence with each other. And I told him, whenever you guys are in town, just let me know. And it's no rush. And he reached out. He was like, yo, we're going to be in town. This such and such a date. We worked it out. And here we are. But that's what real friendship, that's what real authentic admiration and love comes from. Just support, friendship, and just allowing each other to a safe space for everybody to be themselves. Brothers, I thank you. I appreciate you guys. God bless you on your tour. Be safe out there. Yes, sir. And I hope to catch y'all at some point, because it goes from November to February. We have a show here in LA as well. When is that? It's about a week before you start yours. So you'll probably be here. OK, because yes, we're going on tour with New Edition. Yes. And Tony Braxton. Yes, amazing. Yeah, so hopefully I won't be somewhere rehearsing or something like that. But if so, you know I'm there. Yeah. Thank you. And I'm coming to support and show love. We appreciate you, brother. Yes, sir. We appreciate you. Ladies and gentlemen, can y'all please give it up for 112? Thank you so much. Hey, y'all. And that was on that note. Hope you guys enjoyed it. And if you did, here's a couple more videos for you to check out. Do not forget to like, comment, and subscribe.