Raz B on the B2K Break Up, Banging on Orlando Brown, Lil Fizz Dating Omarion Baby Mama & More

36:03you know i mean you know keep you keep you believing in yourself and staying true to yourself you know because life is a journey right definitely jeez um so at what point like like do you remember what year you guys broke up and yeah we broke up things starting to get shaky probably got started to get shaky around like late 2003 okay and uh you know right before the movie came out you got served yeah it came out like january yeah and um the group was really you know at that time really doing our own thing because we had to record it we were supposed to record well it got recorded somehow uh a soundtrack album the whole album a soundtrack i.e yeah maybe like five or six songs okay you know and typically we'll be in the studio whether amari's doing the leads or not but we'll all be in the studio collaborating but that you know that was kind of weird we started seeing some things kind of like you know we started to get a little older and we started to inquire about you know different business things and you know i think now that we're older and mature, we probably should have went about them in a different manner.

37:00So what would you say was the biggest factor? Was it like label slash industry slash money shit or was it like personal shit between you guys? I think it was everything. I think the fame, not just the fame, but I just think everything that come along with the world, right? Because this is essentially B2K is a commodity, right? And this is what the world is exchanging, right? It's the world that's based off of exchange, right? So, you know, now, you know, things are coming in and, you know, people are not feeling that you know energy is being justified and this and that and things are not fair then you got these people pulling over this guy and it's pulling over here so it's just like it just gets complicated and messy yeah especially if you're spending years of your life on the road literally giving up your privacy giving up like everything in order to make this thing work right right and then at some point you kind of realize that you're not really making money like the way that you assumed you were going to, that's gotta be a tough moment.

37:54Yeah. Yeah. So those are, those are the moments. And then, you know, and then, you know, I believe brotherhood stuff, that stuff could get worked out. That's the easy stuff. Not us, but it's the politics that kind of makes our stuff sticky where our stuff kind of really, our stuff could have been worked out. You know what I mean? So that's why I'm so excited about this moment that we have now for completion. And like, no, we're talking about, I mean, we're, we've announced a tour, but we're getting ready to launch the dates and stuff and going to start the campaign for the tour that starts in fall.

38:24Is it fall or spring? February. And it's about completion, bro. You know what I mean? I'm excited because it's something that we get a chance to finish. I'm excited, bro. I'm looking forward to it. No, definitely. I want to ask more about that and everything. Would you say that the group was stagnating at all in terms of commercial success or were you guys kind of at the high point? No, no. The group was definitely not stagnated at all. We were getting ready. That next album probably would have been at least 3 to 4 or 5 million copies. We had just shipped 700 ,000 copies over to the UK. We went from doing a bunch of TV and interviews to now we're doing performances at clubs and arenas.

39:07It's starting to bubble. I feel like B2K would have that next album. We had our first number one Hot 100 record with Bump Bump Bump. You know what I mean? So like And that's all these both these albums came out in the same year Right oh that's crazy you know what I'm saying so we dropped the first album in March March 2001 then you come back you drop another one December 10th Yeah These guys were just fucking maximizing on their money Like You know what I mean Yeah but so did you So you guys filmed Or you did everything for you got served But then by the time the album Or by the time the movie comes out You're already actually broken up or how did this ago yeah like you know there's some intricate parts but like around 2003 we had just came back from doing our promo run for bump bump bump in the uk uh-huh right for the new album for the second album yeah and at the time before we left i think we just finished the contracts when we got back we shot we shot the movie that could have been like late 2003 that was a big year for us right um and then the movie so between those last five months things started to crumble apart you You know what I mean?

40:13And I remember us showing up at the premiere. We didn't show up together. You know, Mario and his security and all these people, they walked in and we, the three of us came. And, you know what I mean? You know, the way they was promoting the movie, it was them over there promoting the movie. And it was us over here promoting the movie. It was just, you know, things were different. Did people seem like they understood? Because nowadays the fans are picking through your social media with a fine tooth comb. They're noticing before you want them to know. They just wanted to see us together. I believe they you know as time You know unveiled it you know Was revealed like people were able to you know You know put their story together What they think but it's a lot of moving parts When you got a group that's generating millions of dollars A lot of success you know some people think It's always oh well this guy's jealous of this guy This you know it's so many moving parts You know what I mean that's why I feel like B2K could like We could really do a freaking Biopic like I feel like and it would be It would have to be four separate parts Because everybody's life you know what I mean I'm curious to know you know what you know like Amari side or other boys and you know some of my stuff is played out you know publicly or whatnot but you know I feel like you bring all that shit together is what makes people still want to see the group I watched a whole Netflix series about Wham what the fuck is that I don't even know yeah George Michael had a group called Wham okay George and they actually had an unbelievable number of huge hits uh which people forget about it because it was like corny ass 80s music but hey you know they had crazy huge records big following i'm just saying that like i think b2k probably could get more views than wham so i feel like for sure that's oh no probably something like that coming yeah no that bro listen you know that's it's been a conversation but respectfully each each gentleman in the group would have to obviously what i was saying produce their hey guys we're saying it out now obviously you have to produce your story you'll be solely responsible for it and then we would have to collectively agree which we will and all have to sign off on each other's so we all are you know representing you know and putting out the right narrative and where everyone's being seen in the proper light that they want to be seen in which i'm sure we work together i'm sure we could figure something like that out i think that would be dope right were you surprised by how big uh you guys served oh hell yeah became oh jesus christ yeah it's like literally like a cult classic yeah So, you know, you know, shout out to my family.

42:30You know, he's out there doing some some amazing films and stuff like that. And, you know, having that opportunity to be a part of you guys served like that was huge. The movie was called Dance and the movie was originally written for Genuine, which was Elgin. Leah, which was a Leah. Wade, Wade Robinson. Dave, which was Dave Scott. Rest in peace, Dave Scott. And and, you know, it was a dance movie about battling. Right. And it was so dope because the timing of it was so. remember I said how the group was played strategically the timing and the alignment was just so perfect that was almost f***ing what 86 I'll have to do the math on that from 86 to 2004 like that was like the new era of breaking if you think about it you know what I mean and the world goes like this I don't feel like break dancing has really had a pop culture moment like that you don't think break oh you said pop culture no yeah like nobody like something that makes everybody stop and pay attention to this like small subculture you don't think breaking did that back in the day?

43:25No, I'm saying since you guys served. Oh, since that whole. Yeah. Oh, okay. Yeah, because you guys served, bro. When I seen you guys serve on South Park, I was like, oh, this shit's out of here. I sat back and said, I was like, this is, you know, then you got, they made dance flicks. They're making spoof films of it. I mean, that was chief. Was there anybody involved who was like, you know what? This movie's fucking huge. Let's keep this B2K thing going. We still have more work to do. There was a lot of people that tried to step in to make that happen. I think the damage was done at the time. I remember sitting down with Steve Harvey.

43:59I remember, you know, there's been conversations where, you know, Amari probably had an opportunity too where he could have said, you know what, I'm going to do this solo album and I'm going to go back and do Beach. Okay. I feel like there's a bunch of different parts, but it was so much damage and I feel like there was a lot of growth that needs to transpire from everybody. And I like where we're at today. Do I think we left a lot of money on the table? Hell yeah. Jesus. And not just about the money. I look at people and shout out to Chris Brown and the Stadium Tour. I look at people and their supporters being able to grow with them.

44:29Imagine all those years you just keep working. You get to grow with them. You got 12 albums. Oh, come on, bro. You telling me you're not in the stadium? Yeah. It's not just about the money, but we do get in the business for the love, but gotta have the money. Would you say it was an ego thing that stopped you guys from being able to do it? Or was it because ultimately Omarion just wanted to do his solo no I don't think it was none of that I think for I think no I I would like to believe that it was a lot of moving parts that didn't necessarily involve us like I said earlier brotherhood stuff could be worked out right if my boy want to do a solo album like cool we can go in there and support you on your solo project you know same thing Fizz had a record deal Omarion had a record deal you know I feel like there was a way that things probably needed to be handled you know what I mean with all of the politics personal relationships transitionings you know big movie coming out these are so many moving parts you know what I mean so it's like you got different people different managers agents different executives you got different people in your ear that were in your circle you're super famous you got some bread you know I would have to say it was you know inevitable I mean we always talk about how groups don't really work in hip hop like would you say it's true in large part for R &B as well?

45:50Would you say people would try to break groups up or try to kind of like self-destruct them? Let's say okay, most people say okay, well groups are going to only have two albums per se. You know what I mean? Do people start looking at the solo artists? I knew Amari was going to go solo before the group even started. You know what I'm saying? You know what I mean? So for us, we all knew that. I mean, he was already a solo artist. He already had a Pops commercial. He was already you know a backup dancer and doing you know commercials and like he was he was moving he was working right you know i mean so i knew he was going solo um i know he was really sad about it because i didn't think he was ready to go solo because there's a way maybe he wanted to do it it would have been nice i mean he had a very successful run you know i mean very successful run and that's that's really good for him you know but imagine if you know we were all dropping solo records you know like i think there's an idea where we the pandemonium album we dropped five different covers.

46:46Everyone had their first cover. I believe there's an idea floating around about all of us having our own solo albums. I thought that would have been dope if each B2K member dropped their own solo album, dropped them at the same time with a B2K album. Never seen it done. Yeah. So that's the type of creative shit we had around us. You know what I mean? And, you know, if they can get the Fizz solo album done, and if they was able to get the Mariana album done, I mean, I was happy for everybody. Is there an extent to which, too, it's also like well shit we've been chopping this money up three ways or more once you count the managers and labels whatever but like if i work on my solo career i don't even need to be anywhere near as big as the group because i'll be getting 100 of the money or you know whatever i split with the label or whatever but like was that part of it too because it's like a lot of times you think of that like imagine being in wu-tang and you're going on tour and you got to split the money 10 ways you know what you would have to i was never you know big on going solo right so i wasn't really thinking about that and i'm a share i believe in sharing right and i want everybody to win i don't like i really don't win unless we all win right like and you know maybe i won't say that but like if that stuff's not been planted in your brain how are you already thinking about that you know i mean as a human it could pressure mine do i think that was driven in our group i don't i don't i don't believe that because we knew we were growing as a family you know i'm saying like let's build an empire and eventually people will go off and do other things that they would like to do but it's like keep the keep the mothership you know i'm saying yeah together yeah i mean i see that even with the podcast the thing is that anybody who's experiencing any level of success is going to have people around them right we're trying to convince that person right that they should not be part of a larger entity because like the idea of being independent and going solo is so attracted to people and i 100 understand that but also it's like people who don't really have shit going on i think a lot of times look at a person who's doing well in the music industry and it's kind of like well whether they could verbalize us with words or not they're kind of like well if i contribute to blowing up this thing then i'm going to prosper in some way because i'm going to be able to be more involved in your career whereas if you're part of this group then your career is kind of in the hands of the group and the leadership there i mean there's a lot of things i mean you have to think about what's best for you at that time right you know i mean i'm sure a lot not just in B2K's world, but I'm sure in a lot of situations.

49:28I was just thinking while you were talking about this the whole time, I just kept thinking about Bohemian Rhapsody, the whole movie, right? And I'm sitting there watching Freddie Mercury. He took the solo deal for$4 million. I think about Justin Timberlake's moment. I wasn't in the group. I don't know exactly. But let's say if Justin's, as an artist, he's growing and evolving, and he's doing more music, and maybe the other guys, they're not as interested at that time. Because everyone's kind of going off to college. Everyone's kind of went on, and they're trying new things. but what are this guys still in the studio what are this guys still dancing you know i mean you know i believe that some a lot of times people get victimized and that may not be necessarily the case right because if i'm justin and like i'm like yo um adam i need you to you know pull up to the studio we cutting this record you know or the stuff that we were doing i'm not feeling that like i'm on some like i'm i'm used to i'm really tapped in you know because maybe this was just a you know you know it's different that's like well michael like you know do you think michael was like wanted to go solo because he was like because it was the money was there or was he really you know did he really not want to be in the groove did he really not you know the things pushing away was it really his dad was the music that he was doing felt more him like you know what i mean maybe this is stuff that they didn't want to try like it's interesting because in retrospect with somebody like michael jackson or beyonce it's kind of like we've seen them go on to experience such insane levels of success right it's kind of like of course you had to leave your group in order to experience that level of success but what we don't really think about is like well what if that success had been like contained within the group that is fire you know do you think i'm oh that's a good one like what if beyonce's biggest records were her in destiny's child doing it yeah destiny's child probably be the biggest female r &b group of all time do you see so that ties back to what you said earlier you think it's outside do you believe it's outside influence that causes that to want to separate them because they want to pull you into another circle because imagine if she just never did solo and she never did any solo album and she just stayed in a group I don't think she would have not been just successful but people because she's the lead singer or you get that emphasis already put on that stage people are already gravitating to you and putting you out that's like if you came and I'm like well I'm not taking this opportunity if I'm not they want me to uncover a vote by myself but I'm not gonna do it without you still force your group she could have forced her she's i mean her group is still there but she could have forced her group the entire time if she wanted to yeah but ultimately that question that's really dude i mean but isn't that for one human being like we we do want to get into our own self like you build your pro you look i mean like okay you work with this company you did this in the past this is your shit yeah don't you want to get in your own bag basically imagine if when i started this it had been me and two other dudes doing all the interviews but then as time goes by, it kind of starts to feel like, oh, like, I'm the guy that's like really getting the good interviews and maybe these other two dudes were just dudes that made sense for me to be doing interviews.

52:26Maybe the world does that shit. I mean, that's always what happens. Yeah. That's just pure outside influence. Yeah. But even like, all right, let's say like Boyce Dement is still, okay, Wanya did some stuff solo, but Boyce Dement is still fucking popping. They fucking eating. They're going to it right now. Yeah. They're still eating. I mean, honestly, maybe part of the problem maybe part of the thing is is i remember when boys demand were fucking huge and i'm the biggest selling boys group of all time but i don't think i could have told you the name of one of the members as just a fan oh which is kind of different than like destiny's child where it's like she was just like i didn't know the other two but i knew beyonce that's just deep yeah this is the politics of groups you know this is a whole like documentary We can really get some boy groups and sit some people down and interview them.

53:17This is deep. Guys and girls. Exception to the rule rap-wise. That would be crazy. Rest in peace to takeoff. But before takeoff passed, the Migos seemed like the group that was going to stay together forever. But they were all so similar. So on the same page. They're like related. They had a lot of the things in place that would keep them bonded together. Now granted even that They just grew up Well Takeoff Pass It seemed like they was already Wrapping it up before they did that last record That last record felt like the goodbye record Alleged girl drama They all did their solo projects right before Takeoff Pass a couple years before that They were together what 15 years Probably something like that I remember 2010, 2011 they came in All these different groups man they just go through this shit I mean, it's ongoing and I believe people like groups.

54:14That's why we're seeing a success of these these these these these K-pop groups right now. Yeah. Well, OK, but there you go. That's it. It is great. You want to make a group. You go to a country that does not really. They got like six, seven cats. And they don't really care about like individuality in the way that Americans do. In America, everybody is all about free expression and creativity. you go to asia it's like oh there's a lot of uh concern for being a good member of society a good part of the team part of the group it's less individualistic you go you go to china you just don't see people wearing weird clothes just for an example you know but you go to a party in you know la everybody got a weird outfit everybody's trying to stand out people don't really want to stand out as much there so i feel like the group thing makes a lot more sense to them it's it's real organized and from from the perspective of what we've seen the past what 30 35 40 50 years yeah like with groups and wearing all the same clothes and shit man this road just changed yeah america's different man that's fact so okay the group was is there a moment where you really break up or is it kind of slowly you separate and just go you're like where there's some moments there was a blowout fight there was definitely some moments like no no fist was thrown but there was some arguments that you know maybe a show you know uh there was you know uh you know um but i feel like our arguments once again trickled out from the politics of the business you get it because we no one had a problem with some i i knew when this guy was doing something solo or this guy was on so i don't believe we had that many problems that we couldn't work out i feel like it was the politics of the business and the agendas of of what how the world is pulling you know i mean there's just ways to go about things do you remember the last time that you guys were all together before you spent a long period of time apart obviously you're around each other now but yeah yeah no yeah i um i remember those times it was sad you know especially as brotherhoods felt like our brother was being taken away or or you know i mean or we were going away it was just very very very very very sad time but i do remember some of those so some of those times so you what becomes of your life at that point like what's your day-to-day become you dorm we like when like when you are having coming off this huge success, you have to say to yourself, how do I continue to work?

56:33In this business, you got to handle your politics properly, right? I can't be, you know, you, you, you got to move in silence, you know, things you probably, you know, you'll be rewarded openly. So I say that to say that, like, you know, when you have a bad breakup like that and it's involved in politics and business companies and record companies, that can make it a little difficult to try to move in the same business that you were strategically put in. Yeah. Right. So, you know, I think, you know, all of that is lessons learned, right. And growth and with growth and maturity, you know what I mean?

57:03You, you, you, you'll get to understand that the group B2K was like, you know, I said earlier, the previous tour was very successful. And we're hoping for the same success, if not more, you know, for this tour and to be able to, you know, be able to go back on tour 20, 20 something years later, you know, for a three or four year run, you know, that was the impact that, that, that, that group had made at that time. So, you know, once again, that's a testament to our bond, our brotherhood. I believe we're going to call it Tour Boys for Life. That could be a working title. Tour Boys? No, Boys for Life.

57:36It's off a title track from our sophomore album. Yeah, that's hard. But so did you start working on your solo career right away? And like, how did that kind of go? That was crazy. I was talking to a friend the other day. I realized Tony Draper, shout out Tony Draper. He had put$750 ,000 on the table for a project. I flew up to meet with Dave McPherson, who actually was very instrumental in signing the Backstreet Boys. He was the president of our company. And I went and met with him. He's like, I didn't know you wanted to do an album. And I was like, I don't think I knew either. You know what I mean?

58:09Maybe I want to do one because, you know, things is popping right now. Well, if someone else in the group is going to do their own album, I want to do my own album. I mean, two people are doing albums now. Yeah. You know. Well, am I going to be the guy who doesn't do an album? Yeah. So I don't really know if I really. And then, you know, I was in heavy talks with cash money, Slim and Baby. That was pretty, that deal almost got done. And there was a few other opportunities out there. I don't know if I really want to pursue a solo career. I'm more an entrepreneur, behind the scenes guy. Like, I'm the guy that likes to find the money.

58:36You know what I mean? Like, for example, like this relationship, you know, first point of contact, I had introduced this relationship with this touring company to, you know, my circle and my culture. You know what I mean? And shout out to the Millennium Tours. I feel like, you know, I was very instrumental in, you know, introducing and finding the money. Definitely. You know what I'm saying? So I like the business, you know what I'm saying? Because like, like you can tuck me off. Like I like real estate. Like, you know what I mean? I like brokering deals. You know what I mean? Like I like consulting.

59:05You know what I mean? Pay me. Listen, pay me my consultant check. You know what I'm saying? But you have that mentality even then? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Like I've always been able to sustain myself. Right. And if I got to get in front of the camera, like, you know, I'll get in front of the camera. but like I was in China for seven years. I knew how to survive. I was selling songs and I know this producer. Okay, cool. Yeah. I can get this song for you for like, you really want 40, but I can get you for, you know, for this price. Okay. So the group breaks up in that. How long until you go to China?

59:32Oh shit. I went to China when I was probably like around 25. Okay. Wait, was that 25? I don't know. Wait, how long? No, not 25. I came back when I was 32. Maybe it was a 32 or 33. Maybe it's around to around 25, 26. The group broke up around. I was like 18 and 19. Okay. You got 19, you got 20 You got like 5 or 6 years Probably 5 or 6 years What were you doing during those 5 or 6 years? That's a good question What was I doing during those 5 or 6 years?

1:00:02Probably a little acting here and there. I was still getting appearances. There was still a bus. There were some royalty checks that was coming in, which was pretty cool. And I, you know, I feel like I was more so getting a grasp of trying to get a grasp of everything that was transitioning in my life and how I want to move and what I want to go. You know what I mean? Because you still got to say, OK, yeah, I can be, you know, I have some success. I can be invited here, do this, do this. but what is the next piece of product that I'm going to put on the marketplace? What is that I want to do? And I believe a lot of the things that I wanted to do were more humanitarian related.

1:00:35Like we have, we have, we put in place, which is called the B2K cares foundation. So I've always been wanting to do things like that. I did see myself at a lot of different churches and revivals and I see myself at speaking engagements. And I feel like that's one of, that's like a person's pinnacle, like, like almost like, almost like the pinnacle of your career. You know what I mean? It's like to speak and share your knowledge. Right. So I just, I was trying to get a grist one because it was so much shit coming at me. What exactly I wanted, what exactly it is, what exactly it was or is that I wanted to do.

1:01:06And, um, but I managed to survive. I managed to like be a hustler. I managed to make money, you know what I mean? And I believe that comes from entrepreneur spirit for my mom, bro. Um, shit, I was pumping gas, shining shoes, uh, selling oil, selling incense, like, you know what I mean? Like whatever it is, buying and selling. That was really cool in China. Cause I would, you know, I would, you know, source products obviously china obviously china is opening up right now yeah showing you you know the market wait but so how'd you first get introduced to going to china the reason why i'm so curious yeah there's some real shit i've had uh i've like seen a few people in my life who kind of like restarted at some point and like went to china right right right right and just kind of had like you know that was like a rebirth for me in a way yeah that was like a real like i went there ah what yeah i'll have to go back and do some do some math but when i went um um no the first opportunity well i always like china i always like you know you look look at some shit baby china like so you're like okay so that energy is already there so now you're manifesting this somebody like you know presents an opportunity to you say hey yo there's a concert the first concert is going on at the great wall of china with this company called btb communications they brought in how uplinger who produced how live a and it was called the wall of hope concert so uh those are those out there that want to look it up it was called the wall of hope concert and i was working really close with them.

1:02:25At the time, they didn't have talent attached to the project. They proposed to B2K. I believe we were playing at this NBA entertainment league. Did you ever play on that? No. It was at Santa Monica. Everybody, Justin Timberlake, everybody used to play on the shit. Celebrity game type. Yeah, we had our refs and it was called the NBA E, right? So it was pretty cool. But that's where I met that guy. I can't remember his name. Forgive me, bro. But they just wanted to sign a letter of intent. You know, typically we have a letter of intent that can help move things forward. B2K I felt like was a group that could headline something like that you know I mean not me by myself I'm not trying to put myself down but I wind up even though the group didn't want to do it I wind up staying going to the office with them helping them you know find other talent working really close with them because I wanted to be a part of this opportunity I wind up not going could have still went wind up not going because they promoted ran out of money my lawyer and the agent worked out where I could still go host the show I don't think they just let me perform but I could host the show which was pretty cool I should have went but they wasn't going to be able to pay me and I'm like damn because the guy was telling me like bro make sure you lock in your payment get everything done and it just it just felt like the show was falling apart another promoter stepped in to buy it you know and if I had this really good lawyer named Lee Young who let him understand the value that I brought to the project during the time so you know the best thing to do is to honor it that didn't happen I said it seven years later bro somebody hit me up about going to China and my uncle was like bro if it being God's will you go back to China right dude hits me up it wasn't the best deal but I took it and I started performing out there it wasn't the best deal wasn't the best living conditions I remember I lost my voice for like a week and a half this fucking male dude and I was in the I was staying in the house this flat and it was a DJ the people that worked at the club was like a residency gig it was a DJ two DJs and myself that worked there and it was crazy because these other dancers they had their own apartment their flats was like plush so when i got there not that i was looking for some superstar treatment because i didn't i didn't think anybody knew me over there right you know i mean but i was able to grind show my talent and create so many opportunities for myself i mean bro i was i was making really good money in china bro and then yeah oh yeah man yeah just from performing then i then i get down to guanjo and i'm start going i'm now in ewu and i'm starting to you know hey hey, could you source this product for me?

1:04:44For sure. I got a friend to put my money on top. Get that shit to mail it out. I was doing that for years. Some days I think about going back to that business and really, I was just doing it on the wing. Really organizing it and making it what it could be. Now the market is open. I'm happy that people are going out to China and opening up and making their money because entrepreneurship is everything. There's no reason anybody shouldn't have a back. No, yeah. There's no reason. If you understand American culture and Chinese manufacturing and their market and everything, there's like crazy infinite opportunities that are there before you.

1:05:25I mean, shit. You can buy and say, yo, you're like, yo, Raz, I need this. I'm like, let me source this product for you. You like this one? Like, I'm going to send you four different samples. Yeah. All right, this is my price, and I'm transparent. I'm like, this is what I'm doing, and this is my fee. Yeah. Because I'm from like the bike industry. It adds up, bro. And in the bike world, I've known some of the bike companies who have one of their employees move from here to China. And they live down the street from the factory just so that they can be in and out of that bitch every day talking to the factory about exactly how they want things done.

1:05:53Let them speak Chinese. And that, too. I know a guy who made his wife learn Chinese. Bro, he's tough. She spent seven years learning Chinese. And let me tell you this. I'm sure they made a lot of. I'm sure they did very well for themselves. She left his ass, too. Damn. Wow. I know, right? probably because she was making her learn Chinese nah bro you know what I mean they call them bosses they say laobans yo you know what I mean the bosses out there she probably got snatched up I mean yeah shit let's hope not oh shit man okay so you stay out there for how long like seven years I came home the first room was four years I came home for like 27 days and then I went back for another three years okay you know i mean and remember i told you i said i found the money right at that time i'm like i start talking about shit on twitter i'm like it was it's been a little over 10 years i think it's about time this group get back together oh yeah it's like now or never type shit and people really reacted to that people reacted and some promoter reached out to me that's the one who did all the millennium tours he's doing the the new edition tour and voice demand so you know i mean so you know and i call that just from believing man so now now i'm in china i come back now i got offer yeah was it you know what i'm saying was it hard to get the rest of the group on board that took about two years two years that took about two years yeah that took about two years and i was back in china on the ground with the money but i gotta move through you know and thank god i had somebody you know shout out to my man gary man shout out to you know he was he believed you know me and he worked with me to help make it happen it was difficult and we had there's a lot of different pieces that needed to be oiled and massaged to make that happen so i mean at that point at that point you guys have not spoken for seven years way longer i'm sure i'm sure people we've seen each other here and there okay moments but like on a consistent base on a consistent basis no no because you didn't really have like a reason to hate each other right no we hate each other i think there's just miscommunications yeah yeah and like all that stuff like everyone's healed matured and and and communicate and express and moved on but in order to get the tour to work was it like was it just you kind of like calling people and texting people or was there like other people on the back end trying to make it happen or well when you got yeah when you got the promoter who believes right who's already allowed for me to be the first point of contact allow for me to you know maneuver it and and put the piece in place and connect the right sides that's going to help bring it like Demir Leffridge.

1:08:26Like when I had the first meet, when I'm back, you know, I know who to strategically bring, right? So I got Demir, you know, now I got, you know, J-Bug and I got Fizz, you know what I'm saying? That's his manager. So it's like, if he can smell it out and vet it out and say, okay, this is good. Maybe, maybe, maybe one of the other group members would be like, oh, okay, cool. Maybe I'll have this guy strategically talk to this one and say, yo, this is real. Now you got this one talking to this one. Okay, well, well, Amari wants to adjust this deal out to make it, you know, for this and that, you know what I mean?

1:08:54so and then Amari goes on tour but you know in my mind I brought opportunity to my circle you know what I'm saying now let's figure out how we massage it so yeah and then you know of course you know that brings me favor because you know I just want what's fair remember I told you I like to share I want what's fair do I feel like like some people say yo did you like ask for like a you know bonus or this no the bonus for me is seeing my group members make some money the legacy being fulfilled Amari going home having some solo tours and I'm happy that I was able to contribute to my brand. This is the same guy we're about to go out on tour with seven years later.

1:09:30And I'm about to do very well on this tour, right? So I'm just happy and I'm just grateful. So then when you guys actually go on tour, are you is it hard to all get on the same page? No. Weird to get back to? It's business. It's about everybody approaching the situation as professionals and as adults. And maybe at times I felt like I didn't approach that situation. I probably approached it the same way I had, you know, the way I left it. Like the way I left when I was like 19, me and Jay Boog was talking about, I believe he probably referenced that to me. I'm sure that came from him, but that was the approach with, with that.

1:10:02Right. So I just thought that, uh, you know, you know, with this approach, you know, I once had some time to grow up and mature and understand and, and, and, and, and get married and have more kids and, and understand, you know, this is business, but we're having so much fun with each other. We're joking in our group chat, you know what I'm saying? Cause we didn't have one of those for years. I would always look up like, damn, NSYNC got a group chat. i wish we'd get ours so yeah like i i think i i'm probably the one that made it because it's a weird thing that happens where like i've seen this just happen so many times in the music industry where there's a group you're together and like you're together because of friendship and there's a lot of ego and passion mixed up in it and everything like that and people have things they want to do with their career and their time etc right right and then you fast for 10 15 20 years whatever it is and a lot of times the group is able to just kind of come together and say look we're all grown-ups we all are hustling working in some capacity this is clearly the thing that we could do that could make the most money during x period of time yeah let's take all of the pride put it aside and let's just come together it doesn't matter if we like each other let's just do what we got to do yeah i think we had to like each other it's tough to dance and sing on stage with someone you hate i mean you know that's funny you said that i'm gonna talk to the guys about this i think we really deep down the side we had to like each other to even want to do it you know the business because like i hear a lot of groups say you know you know there's some groups don't even talk to each other at all yeah uh and you hear about people going on tour and have separate buses yeah everything and you're kind of like oh y 'all don't even have to be friends.

1:11:47You know what? It is business, but they're deep down inside. The stories that we share, there's only the four of us that can share these stories with each other. So the fact that we, you know, got our group chat, we, we, we sharing stories and, you know, it's a moment in time that we shared and we get to hear each other's stories, which is pretty awesome. You know what I mean? So I don't, I, you know, I love my brothers. I don't, I don't take none of them for granted, you know, being, you know, my experience in my life and how I grew up and, you know, being on my own at a young age and I've experienced foster homes and group homes very for sure a few times but when you're out of the home and you know you you're growing up you know these people become your family you know so for me I took it I took it really hard but I'm just happy where we're at so you don't think this would work if you guys secretly completely hated each other it had to be some level of appreciation too much love there yeah it was too much magic I would I would I would I would have to disagree.

1:12:38Yeah, I don't think it would work. Definitely. But so how many times have you guys gone on tour now that you're back on the road? Well, shit. I mean, before we did the run of the tour seven years ago, that was 16 years in the making. Oh, okay, okay. Yeah, we were broken up for a minute. Yeah, yeah. But I was consistent with the pursuit. Yeah. It was the right time. I believe it was the right time. You had me pushing, you had the fans, all the supporters that wanted to see us finish what we needed to finish. So I just feel like I feel like that was a good business at that time. I feel like this one is more there was love there.

1:13:12Of course, we know we look, but I feel like there's even more like I feel we I feel like we're we're back. Yeah, I mean, yeah, that's what I feel. I feel like B2K is back. I feel like we're going to possibly create some more opportunities and create more projects besides this tour. I don't know what yet, but I feel that that's my that's coming from me. And I hope that's the case. I mean, just imagining this scenario and all of these big personalities on tour and all of this past tension and stuff, I'm like, wow, the no alcohol policy is probably a really good idea. Because that's how these personalities are going to collide.

1:13:46Yeah, bro. I've had some experiences in the past in my life where you tap that little alcohol, people start talking shit. You don't necessarily fight, but you talk shit. Just keep that shit up. Keep that away. Yeah. No, I've seen that a million times where there'll be, all right, a bunch of street dudes together, bunch of gangsters together. Bro. You throw alcohol in the mix. Like, they could all be hella cool, hella polite, hella civilized. You throw alcohol in the mix. It's a totally different story. I'm trying to tell you. I've seen this happen many times. Listen, same here, dude. Same freaking here.

1:14:20Definitely. See, all this stuff is like, these are really good questions. So it's like, man, documentary would be crazy, bro. Yeah. I would love to do that. I feel like that's, I feel like a lot of lesser groups have got the documentary treatment. That new edition one was crazy. Yeah. I've seen a few. You haven't seen it? No. It's worth a watch. I just watched the Beach Boys one. I watched theirs. Why not? It was great. It was on Disney+. Okay. It was pretty fascinating just to see America change so much throughout the course of their career. Right. And it's just wild to see them kind of trying to keep up with the trends and everything.

1:14:55because at that time it was like you saw america through the beach boys go from like super straight laced everybody's wearing matching outfits every song is okay right after the beatles then the beatles come out and the beatles are straight free expression crazy psychedelic we're doing drugs we're wiling out and the beach boys tried to fall in line with them and they had a crazy rivalry for a long time it was pretty but the beach boys i mean they can stay torn right i'm sure i'm sure they probably still tour today maybe The main dude died like last year. Early this year. That sucks. And that's why motherfuckers need to reunite.

1:15:29Because you never know when that's coming. When somebody dies, then this opportunity is kind of gone. Yeah, that's kind of sad. I mean, we've seen a few groups that's tried to continue. After that is tough. It's kind of rough. It's kind of hard. Yeah. It's kind of hard. That would be tough. Okay, so at one point, R. Kelly helped you write some songs, or what was your relationship with him? That ties into politics. That ties into, we met him, you know, being in the industry. When we first went to go meet him, it was because we knew we was about to start working with him. That came from Dave McPherson.

1:16:04Also, there was a request back in the day. I would always say I couldn't wait to work with other producers. We had our InHarks producers, but there's other producers that I knew that was like the Timberlands, the Pharrells, the R. Kelly's. I knew those people were out there, and they would probably give us a smash hit. so I was super happy that I had an opportunity to through Dave McPherson you know he was working with R. Kelly at the time he had him put a few records on us he did like three or four records for us three or four or five records for us and smash so you got to see him sitting in the studio writing that?

1:16:38not that that record was already that record was originally R. Kelly's record really? he put that in the vault when he was doing all the politics he had. You know what I mean? Baby, turn around, let me see a sexy booty go bump, bump, bump. Right. I believe that was in the vault. So did you get to actually see him as a songwriter or was it always just kind of delivered to you? I've been to see him a few times, but no, it was always like him chilling or him coming to watch us do the vocals or something like that. But like, now a custom record he made, I wasn't there, but a custom record he made for B2K was Girlfriend.

1:17:15Oh, okay. Wow. What a Girl Wants. And

1:17:24I want to say Bump That and there was this mother movie, the other song he made, it was called Dance. Which was supposed to be the first single for, and you can hear that record online. That record was originally for B2K for the You Gotta Serve soundtrack. But R. Kelly got so many records in the vote, you know which ones he were custom made for us. Like, you can hear it because he's like, you know, I'm a Gemini. Raspi. You can tell he's in the character of creating these two songs for the artist, and you can tell with records that was probably in his catalog. As far as you know, did he write most of his own stuff as well?

1:17:55Yeah. See, that's crazy. He's got to be one of the greatest songwriters in history. Yeah, I believe he's super phenomenal. He's super phenomenal. He had other writers come in, too. Little Ronnie wrote Same Girl for him and Usher and shit like that. Little Ronnie, I need a record, man. What was it like being around him back in the day, though? Did you see anything interesting or it was pretty whatever no i never seen anything crazy i was um you know we played basketball or we were there we played basketball i think he was playing basketball his team we were at the same we went to where he plays basketball we you know hung out at his house um that was pretty cool because uh i remember we flew back from you from the uk and uh we had showed him the girlfriend video so he was like yeah this is dope you know i mean because we had uh mr biggs in there we picked up the whole kind of like uh you know mr bigg story you know i mean so in the video Amari's you know he gets his girl's number Mr.

1:18:47Biggs pulls up picks up his daughter he's like yo stay away from my girl my daughter he's like you've been warned Mr. Biggs is like I mean big boy is like stay away from his daughter you know what I'm saying so and then we got like Will Smith being our godfather and you got so that was pretty cool so he enjoyed that moment I know he was going through a lot of stuff but he was really cool I asked him I was like yo man you mind if I record because we were all like in his boxing gym and we were hanging around and before I left I just gave him the tape and I said yeah just give me a copy whenever you whenever you get a chance but you know we see him in the studio like yo we we in Chicago we about to pull up you know we about to go to um Cheesecake Factory you want anything yeah bring me some of the mashed potatoes so I was cool and I had a great relationship with him I would always call him and ask for you know you know ideas and different shit like that or have I seen him in the club he would never like walk past me make me feel like a peon he'd be like yo shit walk in with me type shit so I was a real nigga was it like When the documentary came out about him, did he watch it?

1:19:45Who, me? Yeah, was that something you tried to just... I've seen some clips. Okay. But for the most part, humans go through things. Humans make mistakes. And I believe anybody can be forgiven and move on with their life if they're putting in the work to be real. Do you think he got a raw deal, or do you think that he was kind of what they described him as? Man, I don't know, man. You just didn't really have the firsthand experience? Yeah, I mean, I've never experienced anything like that. But, you know, I mean, God forgives you. You know, you move on in life. You know what I mean? No, definitely.

1:20:19It's a wild fall from grace when you think about just, like, how huge he was. I mean, realistically, his songs, despite his cancellation or whatever, have kind of been resistant to a lot of that. You still hear them. Bro, you can hear R.K.E.L.D. records everywhere, bro. Yeah. So, yeah, man. It's life, man. Yeah, no, definitely. It's crazy. Why do you have beef with Wack 100? I didn't even know about this. I don't beef with Wack 100. He said that? I don't think he said that. I think my friend Remo helped me put together questions. He snuck that one in there. You know Wack respectfully. I think, this is my opinion, he be trolling a lot.

1:20:58That's what I think. You know him more. I know him. You know him. Do you think he be trolling? It's a thin line. because he believes a lot of the crazier shit that he says. A lot of the things that people are the most... I think he'd be trolling sometimes. Yeah, yeah. Because he always wants to say, I don't lie. I never lie. Point out a time that I lie and then you'll point out a time that I lie and it'll be like, I was trolling. That's different. I was trolling. We know whack's a G. We know he's gangster. We know he put in his word, but I feel like there's also like that whack and then I feel like there's the entertainment whack.

1:21:27That's just my own personal opinion. Yeah. You know what I mean? But I love him. I respect him. That's my dude. Like if I need him to do something for me or he needs me to do something, like we get to it yeah i'm respecting man yep for sure um i have to bring this up but there was a clip that went viral oh shit of you and our good friend orlando brown getting into a intense verbal exchange and some gang terminology was thrown out there and this was very shocking to i think to a lot of people and that's funny i mean i feel like there was an effort made to strip this from youtube at some point too because it's kind of tricky to find the clip oh my god bro you know uh man we did uh we did bad boys that was that was a what a hell of an experience i believe i came back and i was super drunk i left the set and i came back and i was super drunk and um i guess i started like i wanted to have a regular i wanted to have a conversation with him but i was really but i was probably too drunk but i was i wasn't serious at all you know what i mean but it was more like you my little brother i've been knowing you for a while um you are talking about a conversation that me and you had on camera with these people there's a miscommunication probably shouldn't try to have that conversation while we're drunk because now like you said you put the liquor in it now they don't know if I'm serious or if I'm not serious because I wasn't going to do anything to them you know what I'm saying I wasn't going to fight them I'm a producer on the show by the way as well so I'm also thinking producing a scene as well so cuz blood I ain't no gangbanger that shit came out however it came out it was pretty funny and he probably started it right no the thing was is that like I'm producing the show we trying to get to the bag on the on the thing so all right let's do the boxing thing lemmy's like cool let's do the boxing thing i'm like let's do the studio thing lemmy's like cool let's do the limping you know um because i don't believe like if i'm gonna be fighting come on the show to fight all right yo yo don't you think they should take those rings off i mean i know niggas is fighting but don't you think like what is this you know i'm saying because i'm gonna call some niggas and we gonna like you know i'm saying them niggas got that shit dangerous and i'm not like i've been in the game for a long time so it's like i don't want nobody hitting on me you know what I'm saying so I had to compose myself and I just felt like that conversation that me and Orlando was having in order for me to produce a good show I actually got a real booking that's not staged that's not fake I got a real book and I'm trying to tell a dope story what if we all hey Raz brought a booking to the table it's for x amount of dollars and we all split it don't take it and turn a situation I could be wrong but don't take it and turn it and make it to tell everybody else as if you know Raz is trying to get more money and now it's now it's turning it's like a telephone game so now it's turning something else which gets messy that causes another story because everyone on that show is trying to ultimately create their storyline not necessarily just for camera time but they're trying to tell a story right you know i'm saying somebody thought that like i didn't put it on a bottle so they needed a reason to try to approach me you know i'm saying i just i just kind of watch how that show played out uh i enjoyed the experience i made a lot of money i made a 300 grand from from the show and uh and then sometimes when you get so invested in a show now you're creating stuff and creating problems that really there was no problems there in the first place which ultimately creates good tv because now you got now you allowed yourself to get sucked into the mess okay so you're like from that sort of area in crenshaw and like something just kind of got triggered in that moment where you were like you know what i gotta go back and look at the clip okay i mean yeah but i know like people say cuz and blood all the time but i have no affiliation but you could say triggered nah i wouldn't nah i wouldn't say so well i almost saw the version of that didn't say blood didn't like sorry i'm talking didn't say blood he's like hey blood yeah and i was like probably hey co like it was probably like kind of like yeah but okay i saw the i almost saw the real life version of that go left here because orlando was here okay and it was the day that it was the day that we did the episode with him and four extra is that the dude when he called him and out of his name he was joking yeah but okay so before that it wasn't even on camera forex comes in he got like four homies with him okay all from rolling 40s oh wow and one of them walks right up and is like saying what up to orlando and orlando said right up what up blood kind of aggressive like a little bit not and he immediately hits him with the like hey this crip i ain't no blood like like it got real awkward for a second a couple people had to be like no no no no no no they like that like you They shut it down, but it was kind of like a weird moment where it was like, okay, Orlando, you probably, you got to be careful.

1:26:24Yeah, I mean, like I said, I came back up and said drunk. Yeah. Create some good TV. At the same time, like, you know, people can take it all out of context when you are trying to articulate yourself and you're drunk. Definitely. That's a good one. What's your relationship with Orlando at this point? How do you feel about the head space that he seems like he's in? You know, we worked together on the show. I've seen Orlando. I'm happy for him to just continue to grow, right? And he seems to me, from what I've seen, he's in a great head space. My relationship, I wouldn't say we have much of a relationship.

1:27:07We don't talk all the time. But if I see him or if he reaches out to me and he needs me within reason, me or my team, we'll try to support how we can support. I believe he got his million dollar chicken going on right now. What is that? I believe he's selling chicken. You know what I'm saying? He's an entrepreneur. Other than that, we work together on a show. That's that. Shout out to Orlando. I think he should get into acting though. He should get back into acting. Somebody should give him a TV show. He should get back into acting. A podcast would be good. The nigga's funny when I seen a dude on Funny Marco's show.

1:27:46uh-huh like he's just funny yeah no but i mean he seems like he's got some substance abuse issues there i feel like that might stop him from being a great actor do you believe he had experiences in the past and he's passed that or do you think those that's something that's current i think that's current oh man yeah okay wow that's not good because i've kind of seen him come in here like pretty normal okay and then pretty quickly turn into a very different version of himself and It didn't seem like he was just putting on a character. It felt like. Oh, okay. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know if it's liquor.

1:28:17I don't know if it's anything else, but. Okay. Well, Orlando, you need to come back up here and clear that up, man. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, we on that ass, Orlando. Hey, man, people just care about you. Yo, I want to see you back acting, bro. Get back in front of the screen, bro. That's where you belong. Do you think you could whoop him in a fight? We had a boxing match on the show. Oh, shit. Remember when I said he was his name? We boxed. Orlando's funny. Atlanta was producing too he was like man it's the time you didn't get me back you knocked me out I was like bro I'm not gonna knock you out we just boxed we sparred we tagged each other a few times and you know like you know I wanted to go on that show that I got some integrity even got drunk over the night or two and got pissed off but you know but if motherfuckers keep putting your hands on you it's like okay do you retaliate do you know do you get bloody with these do you fight like we're like where is this going because where I'm from we don't just fight we're fighting somebody's gonna have to break us up because someone's not getting up type energy or we're going to fight till we're tired.

1:29:13You know what I'm saying? I'm not going to lose. Maybe I'm going to pick something up. Maybe we'll cut your ass. You know what I mean? No, seriously. If you fight for your life and you get dominated, you're not going to pick this up and maybe hit a motherfucking head? I don't know. I'm just saying. I mean, you know, shit. I may have to you know. Why not? I need to get up out of here, but for the most part, I know if I was in the moment, I'm stopping because I'm not trying to go to jail. It's not that serious. I would probably just do something to get away. I'd rather run, but it's not that serious.

1:29:45Come on, bro. You ever been sued for hitting somebody? I guess I have not, but I've thought about it a lot. But a security guard actually hit someone and we had to... Everybody spent a lot of money. That's the real bullshit. When you pay someone to be around you to protect you and then you end up having to pay for his bad decisions. I wish he didn't hit him you know what I mean because I think he just could have held him back but he put up the baton and was like so no I didn't actually have to pay that lawsuit thank god actually but courts you know 15 grand a year this and community service all that shit like you know what I mean it all adds up after a while brother no definitely that's happened when I was young okay so when the thing was going on with Omarion where Lil Fizz was dating his baby mom at a certain point that made the touring thing untenable i'm assuming like that that pressure that tension like what role did you play in i didn't play no role in none of that so we're trying to be the peacemaker all that stuff man all that stuff was in the past okay you know what i'm saying so that's old news now yeah all that stuff was in the past man okay see that that's what i'm talking about though when i say that like in order to have the group go on the road you got to be able to basically like take the friendship part out of it it's still business i mean all right from my own observation i sat back and i watch everybody was professional everyone still got up there did their job and went home you know i mean so yeah maybe at that time i don't think with the way the group was i don't that's not the i think we operate better when we're in the space of we're not just coming here for work because it's business like you know i mean this stuff that we're putting together now is so magical and it's so dope you know i mean because a lot of those things that's in the past has been addressed i mean you know i mean a lot of these stuff be just miscommunications but then we have media involved it could blow it up and now everyone has an opinion and perception of what this may be yeah i mean i remember when that was like the most viral vlad tv clip of like that year that shit was huge i mean hey man it's all it's all water under the bridge yeah yeah totally um okay i only got a couple more questions good we just chilling man i'm happy to be here is there a b2k album possibility there's a con but there's a strong conversation about that really yeah i would i believe that b2k needs some music to actually go on this tour right we have some nostalgic records that's cool maria some hits i think that's great as well you know i mean but if you add like if you added a few like even an ep or a single or two i think that would spice the tour up yeah that would be dope i don't know maybe i don't know if people really want to hear music from b2k records not really selling nowadays i I mean, you know, so it's kind of like it was truly it would it would it would it would it would be truly for true.

1:32:30Like, no, no, no. A good record is a good record. You can get new fans and new supporters. Right. So but, you know, initially you have to come for the diehards. I would like to see that happen. And I do. I see a lot of energy behind like, you know, when the Backstreet Boys are in sync or going on tour and shit like that. It feels like a lot of these, uh, the women that are going, you know, they're, they're in their forties and they're just like, and they think it's so cool because like, you know, realistically during your teenage years or whatever, like you only get so many groups or artists that you're going to be nuts over.

1:33:05And a lot of people by the, by the time they hit 1920, they're, they're just not getting into new music like that. So like that time period of their life is so important that it just holds reverence in their mind. It's a blessing. It's a blessing bro It's a blessing I'm excited bro I'm serious If you want to come to the show in LA let me know I actually really do LA, Oakland, Vegas I'm sure we're going to do Arizona On the west coast Just pick which one Definitely Have you ever made love to a former fan Or a current fan who goes to one of these tours Are you above f***ing a fan? That's a TV show it's a fucking good one yo you can call it a buff I mean it's a decision you know there's a lot of integrity that we were raised with to not you know but I will tell you this I remember the very first time I fucked a fan and a condom busted too and I was like this is exactly what I get I shouldn't have never did this you know what I mean it was crazy let me tell you the coldest one bro I woke up and she was gone I said yo this is crazy but I was like 18 or 19 and you never heard back about this?

1:34:21I had never seen a chick you know what I'm saying I just want to know who she is I'm just curious like what was going on I think I was just probably so excited that was remember I told you that that was our last tour before we broke up we went to Chili's and we ordered drinks like we were starting to get older starting to experiment and stuff like that that's I believe I can't speak for everybody else but that was like I remember the first time I actually had sex with you know one of my supporters it's pretty easy to get it to I'm sure you're a wild boy too man I was on the internet man I was like this guy's a rock star Adam's a rock star bro this is the same guy he's a lot of people's heroes out here here's the thing by the time a woman is you know 35 40 sexually they know what they want and that's the audience that you guys are performing to on these tours, I'm assuming.

1:35:17So it's like, you got a whole room full of women who realistically, like, they don't need to be told what to do. They know what they want. They want these motherfuckers on stage putting back down their throat. Oh, you know what? They fantasize. They want to cook for them. They want to, you know, Beach of K was like, you know, I think my boy Baby Blue said this, and I'm going to say this wrong, and I'm going to get it. I'm going to text him to Dex. I want to get this right. But he was like, Beach of K was like, he broke down Bow Wow. B2K was like their first boyfriend or Bow was like their first crush.

1:35:48B2K was like their first boyfriend. And Pretty Ricky was like their first fuck. You know what I'm saying? And then Chris Brown, it was like... You know what I mean? So there's levels... Because B2K was still clean. We were talking about, go back and start our first record at 15 or 16. You know what I mean? If we got to see a few more albums, we might have got to see a little bit edgier side of you. So they was already fantasizing before that image gets... tarnished you know what I'm saying but uh I mean they love us you know I'm saying so they they they come out and they support and I that's prices and I believe that's you know the world the way the world is and everything has been like isolated and divided and even though you know uh individually people got their own followers and I like it that way anyway because like what Chris Brown went through in his life and his career came a point where the line was going to be drawn and now he only has his followers that's all you really want anyway don't you just want your supporters you need the coat.

1:36:45I mean, shit. I mean, they just showed out for him. Best thing you can have. They just showed out for him. If you're the type of artist or the type of creator who can put out a shirt and sell a thousand shirts. Oh, that's good money. Go on tour and sell a bunch of tickets all over the country or drop a project and your fans actually support it. I mean, nothing compares to that. Because if you got that, then you really don't really need the label. You really don't need the shit. That's the bag right there, bro. That's the bag right there. So no, you know salute to everybody out there you know pushing the culture forward you all the artists you know r &b is popping right now i mean rappers you know accountability is everything everybody just needs to just keep growing up facts wait for real for real whereas b man what else you want the people to know about that you got going on no i just really i just wanted to come pull up you know here you know i was like i was you know i was honored to have the opportunity to come up here like yeah i mean your shit is like popping bro you know what i mean and just to be able to come and like check in with the people you know i mean let the people know like you know i'm in a good head space you know i got married you know i took some time off did some you know some a lot of therapy you know what i'm saying and really you know went back to address some childhood traumas in my life from you know with my mom and so on and so forth and i'm just happy to be in the space that i'm at and because of that things are coming my way you know i'm saying like deals are closing left and right i'm great the beats okay tour and this opportunity this opportunity and i feel like you know as at 40 years old just turning 40 this year i feel like i've arrived as a grown man I'm not dead you know I'm saying I'm not sprung out on drugs you know I'm saying and I'm you know I'm happy to be thriving and you know you know paving the way for other artists to keep going so other than that man I'm just chilling we just came to check in tour coming real soon we got a crazy commercial promo dates about to drop really soon bro and like I said I got tickets for you in the family bro let's do it man I appreciate you man much love my guy no jumper coolest podcast in the world check us out on YouTube TikTok Instagram etc like comment and subscribe we out Yeah.