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Before Yo! MTV Raps: The Real History of Soulbeat & Chuck Johnson | SWAY’S UNIVERSE
Apr 21, 2026
Explore the deep roots of Bay Area hip-hop media and the legacy of Soulbeat in this insightful interview. Chuck Johnson, a true pioneer in the industry, joins the show alongside Theo Oliphant to discuss the evolution of Oakland television and the upcoming Tupac Day celebrations. 🎤
Throughout the video, Chuck shares incredible stories about the rise of Soulbeat and how it served as a catalyst for iconic shows like Video Music Box and Yo! MTV Raps. The discussion highlights the vital importance of media ownership, infrastructure, and preserving hip-hop history through digital archives. You will also hear about Chuck's transition from music television to major sports production and his work in political activism through the Wake Your Game Up campaign. 📺
A major focus of this conversation is Tupac Day, scheduled for June 16th. This event honors the legacy of Tupac Shakur through a day of service, a benefit concert, and community health initiatives. Theo and Chuck explain how the foundation is providing essential health screenings for blood pressure and diabetes to address health disparities in the community. Whether you are a fan of classic 90s hip-hop or interested in community advocacy, this episode offers a wealth of knowledge and inspiration from the heart of the Town. 🕊️
Chapters
0:00 Intro / Chuck Johnson and the Soulbeat legacy
2:50 History / Black owned television and Soulbeat origins
5:40 Influence / Connecting Oakland media to Video Music Box and MTV
8:30 Mentorship / Training the next generation of television producers
11:15 Production / Moving into sports broadcasting with Fox and CBS
14:00 Activism / Voter registration and the Wake Your Game Up campaign
16:45 Infrastructure / The value of ownership and digital libraries
19:30 Archives / Rare stories featuring Jay-Z and Westside Connection
22:15 Tupac Day / Celebrating the day of service on June 16th
25:00 Health / Community screenings and addressing silent health issues
28:10 Reflections / Personal memories of Tupac Shakur and his anthems
30:16 Conclusion / Final thoughts and credits
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
That's the voice of Chuck Johnson.
0:02
>> [cheering]
0:02
>> When I tell you he's a pioneer in this
0:04
hip-hop thing worldwide, he is.
0:07
He played a very intricate part in the
0:09
rise of the Bay Area and it getting the
0:12
type of exposure and visibility that
0:14
other markets had at a time when we
0:16
didn't have the resources. So, we did
0:18
what we do in the Bay. We start creating
0:20
our own resources.
0:21
>> Yay.
0:22
>> The platform that this man has been
0:23
powering for decades is called Soul
0:26
Beat.
0:27
And to put it in perspective, uh this
0:30
man has interviewed everybody. I can't
0:32
name everybody he's interviewed,
0:33
Heather, but the Fugees, Erykah Badu,
0:37
Master P, Fat Joe, Goodie Mob, The
0:39
Luniz. Um he's been a producer on BET,
0:43
uh BET's Hyphy Week. Remember BET's
0:46
Hyphy Week, Mike Lucci? You were You was
0:48
You was getting hyphy to it, Mike Lucci.
0:49
>> Hyphy.
0:50
>> All right. Um he he's done everything.
0:53
He's worked with uh Judge Mathis, one of
0:55
my favorite people on TV.
0:58
Um he's worked with the city of Oakland,
1:00
man. He worked with they call the
1:01
hip-hop mayor that he deemed. He was a
1:04
media consultant and community uh
1:06
liaison at Oakland City Hall. He's still
1:08
working with Oakland City's Hall. Um
1:11
he's done so much and um I I want to let
1:14
him get a chance to tell his story. And
1:16
and he's here to promote today Tupac
1:18
Day, the day of service and benefit
1:19
concert for the Tupac Amaru Shakur
1:22
Foundation on June 16th, which he
1:24
invited me to be a part of and I I so
1:26
gracious- graciously uh accepted that
1:29
invite. I It's not enough time to tell
1:32
you about Chuck Johnson. I'm going to
1:33
have to have him come back and so we
1:35
could dig into his story a little more.
1:38
Uh but he brought his partner with him,
1:39
Phil.
1:40
>> All right. All right.
1:40
>> And tell us about Phil, Chuck.
1:42
>> Tio. Tio in the building with me, man.
1:45
And mind mine is uh
1:46
uniquely enough, man, uh I've been
1:48
utilizing my my hip-hop prowess, so to
1:51
speak, in different levels. And uh one
1:53
of the levels was actually tapping in
1:54
with City Hall. And uh Tio was there
1:57
already in City Hall. And uh he was dope
2:00
because he understood what's called
2:01
public-private partnership.
2:03
>> Mhm.
2:03
>> Like he understood how to bring business
2:05
to the city. And uh he was actually,
2:07
believe it or not, shout out to OG uh uh
2:10
former congressman and mayor Ron
2:12
Dellums.
2:12
>> Mhm.
2:13
>> He actually was like his speech coach.
2:15
Like he really was the guy behind the
2:18
curtain making things happen in the city
2:20
during that time. So me and Theo been
2:22
together for the last 16, 17 years.
2:24
>> Uh-huh.
2:24
>> So it's Theo. I call him Theo, but it's
2:26
Theo um Theo Oliphant.
2:28
>> All right.
2:28
>> Theo Oliphant, man, welcome to the show,
2:30
brother.
2:31
>> Welcome. Welcome. Mutual.
2:32
>> I'm going to I'm going to make a
2:34
statement um that it's just a point of
2:37
hip-hop history. Uh my brother Ralph
2:40
McDaniels, Video Music Box. Horse, you
2:42
know Video Music Box. Heavy, you know
2:44
Video Music Box.
2:46
>> Uh to put things in perspective, when
2:48
Lionel would talk about Soul Beat and
2:50
how much of an influence it it's been on
2:52
the music business,
2:54
you have Video Music Box, which is the
2:56
most iconic video platform to come out
2:59
of um hip-hop to me. Um prior is the
3:03
catalyst to what we know as Yo! MTV
3:06
Raps. If it wasn't for Video Music Box,
3:08
there would be no MTV Raps. Give that a
3:11
big round of applause, right?
3:13
>> Amen.
3:14
Gratitude.
3:15
>> But as I understand it,
3:18
if there was no Soul Beat
3:22
to become the catalyst
3:25
from Video Music Box,
3:27
there would be no Yo! MTV Raps.
3:29
>> Mhm.
3:30
Wow.
3:30
>> Now, I know a lot of people on the East
3:32
Coast are saying, "What are you talking
3:34
about?"
3:34
>> Come on.
3:34
>> There was nothing before Video Music
3:36
Box.
3:37
>> Yeah.
3:37
>> Chuck Johnson,
3:39
tell us that history and why it is this
3:41
so.
3:42
>> Wow.
3:43
Well,
3:44
let me let me give us a little brief
3:46
history about blacks in television and
3:49
us on owning television networks
3:51
ourselves.
3:51
>> Please do.
3:52
>> shout out watch this. Shout out to uh
3:54
WGPR
3:56
channel 62 in Detroit.
3:59
That was the first black owned
4:00
television channel in the country.
4:03
Three years later, Chuck Johnson having
4:05
a relationship with them
4:07
created Soul Beat 1978.
4:09
>> Wow.
4:10
>> Uniquely enough, that's how kind of you
4:12
know how they sometimes we say Detroit
4:14
is our cousins. It really started from
4:16
that period where they started trading
4:19
content with each other.
4:21
Oakland would have content airing in
4:23
Detroit, Detroit would have content
4:25
airing in Oakland. So, that's where it
4:27
started in the 70s.
4:29
Now,
4:30
the reality is is Ralph, that's my guy.
4:32
Shout out to Ralph. I actually went to
4:34
his birthday party in New York last year
4:36
at the Berkeley at the Brooklyn Bowl.
4:38
Those who are in New York know what
4:40
Yeah, yeah. So, I pulled up to pay
4:42
homage to him. And bottom line is he let
4:45
me know, man, I came to Oakland to
4:47
something was known as the Fresh Fest.
4:50
And I heard about this thing called Soul
4:51
Beat in Oakland. And then it inspired me
4:54
to really go and develop the Video Music
4:57
Box. So, yeah. We we all connected, man.
5:00
I'm You know, I'm I'm a connector, man.
5:02
I I You know, I'm not trying to pop our
5:03
collar. I'm trying to say that it's
5:05
hella dope that Ralph actually gave me
5:07
that story of the real.
5:09
>> So, you're saying that hip-hop video
5:12
programming started in Oakland?
5:14
>> Yes, sir. If you [laughter] If you want
5:16
to If you want to say that, yeah.
5:21
But
5:22
>> You know, this right That's the clip
5:23
right there.
5:25
>> [laughter]
5:26
>> No, but no, seriously,
5:28
when I got started in my in my foray of
5:31
developing the TV show, the first people
5:33
that I heard about was Ralph. Then the
5:35
second I think was Yo! MTV Raps, you
5:37
know what I'm saying with Shout out to
5:39
my guy Fab Five Freddy. And it's it's
5:41
such a blessing, man. I still I I
5:43
actually talk to Fab Five Freddy and uh
5:45
Ralph to this to this day. And so they
5:47
actually became my peers. But But when I
5:50
was a young cat uh sitting in Oakland
5:52
watching you on TV raps when he
5:54
basically came to to LA and was hooked
5:57
up with NWA or when he went to Houston
5:59
to go with the Geto Boys, I think I
6:01
found my identity of something that I
6:03
think I can do for hip-hop. I didn't
6:05
know how to rap. I didn't know how to
6:07
make a beat, but somehow I just kind of
6:09
liked that host thing. I thought I could
6:11
have a good conversation with the
6:13
artists and preserve the culture.
6:15
>> Mhm.
6:15
>> And so from that point somehow some way
6:18
uh I met Mr. Chuck Johnson. It was It's
6:21
It was such a fluke how I met Mr.
6:22
Johnson, but he gave me a shot to become
6:25
an intern at SOB. The first year
6:28
he made me an intern. Youngsters I you
6:30
know
6:31
ain't nothing wrong with being an intern
6:33
because then they'll respect you.
6:34
They'll see that you really had the
6:36
chops and the interest to learn the
6:38
game. And so for a year he basically put
6:41
me through I don't know if y'all
6:42
remember Google this youngsters of The
6:43
Karate Kid.
6:44
>> Yeah.
6:45
>> Daniel Daniel son and Mr. Miyagi.
6:47
>> Of course.
6:48
>> [laughter]
6:48
>> Uh Chuck was Mr. Miyagi and I was I was
6:50
Daniel son. And he used to he took me
6:52
through all of these different rigorous
6:54
uh trials and made me learn the game of
6:57
television. Whether it was editing,
6:59
whether it was actually becoming a
7:00
programmer, uh I became a host of the
7:03
show. So it's like he taught me all of
7:05
the tools that I needed to produce a TV
7:07
show. And basically the rest was
7:09
history. I started out just you know
7:11
having a conversation with the culture
7:13
taking live phone calls.
7:14
>> Yeah.
7:15
>> Playing music videos. Now mind you, this
7:17
is my main thing I want the culture to
7:18
know.
7:19
I wasn't just on some Bay Area West
7:21
Coast [ __ ]
7:22
>> Nah.
7:22
>> I was on some hip-hop [ __ ] Like I love
7:25
New York. I loved uh the the South. I
7:28
loved all of that music. And sometimes
7:30
keep it real the the West wanted me to
7:31
just play West Coast. You know use those
7:33
slots for the West. I was like nah man I
7:35
I I [ __ ] with Raekwon. I I I rock with
7:38
all of those different artists. So it It
7:40
just important for me to make a real
7:41
hip-hop TV show, not a rap show, even
7:43
though it was called the rap show with
7:44
Chuck.
7:45
>> Right.
7:45
>> I really had the essence of hip-hop in
7:47
me, you sweat.
7:48
>> And then you start branching out like
7:49
you've done a lot of work outside of
7:51
outside of Soul Beat. When did that
7:53
first start happening?
7:54
>> You know, once once I stopped with Soul
7:57
Beat, I was just at a pause in my life
7:58
like what's next? And then next thing I
8:00
know I ended up in a union, man. I was
8:02
working with Fox Sports and CBS. Next
8:05
thing I know I'm working at like Super
8:06
Bowls and basically I worked at the
8:08
World Series. So I was just in this
8:10
union for like 15 years. And it gave me
8:13
another bar of understanding like
8:15
production value.
8:16
>> Mhm.
8:17
>> I'm now working for the highest level.
8:19
And so I just said, you know what? Let's
8:20
kind of bring those worlds together. And
8:22
so it it is what it is, man. I had a
8:24
chance to actually put together what's
8:27
called a hip-hop voter registration
8:28
campaign.
8:29
>> That's right.
8:29
>> And it's called Wake Your Game Up.
8:31
>> Mhm.
8:31
>> Now
8:33
>> You hear that, Mike Music?
8:34
>> Yes.
8:34
>> Okay.
8:34
>> Yeah, Wake Your Game So watch this, I'm
8:36
going to give y'all a quick story. With
8:37
Too Short.
8:39
Short One time I was at at his studio.
8:41
You know, it's a typical day at Short's
8:43
studio. You know, it's the weed, the
8:45
drinks, the gangsters, the girls. We
8:47
were shooting pool. It was all kind of
8:49
vibes. And next thing I know Short out
8:52
of the blue was just like,
8:53
"Chuck, what's up with them politics,
8:55
nigger?"
8:56
Like in other words, he had an interest
8:59
in politics. And I was just stuck
9:01
looking like, I just came here to kick
9:02
it. Now you want to get politically
9:04
involved? And so I said, "Tell you what,
9:06
Short, if you really want to learn I got
9:09
invited to go talk to some youth at
9:11
what's called Elmhurst Middle School.
9:13
You know Elmhurst?
9:14
Uh And
9:16
he was like, "Nah, I'mma show up. I'mma
9:18
I'mma go with you." And and also shout
9:20
out to Mr. Fab. He was listening to this
9:22
exchange with me and Short. And he was
9:24
just like, "Nah, I want to learn more
9:25
about this political component or this,
9:28
you know what I'm saying? Political
9:29
process. You know what I mean? And so I
9:31
just tried my best to make hip-hop make
9:35
a difference in different spaces.
9:37
>> Wow, man. Chuck Johnson, he just
9:39
curtailed that story, but he's done a
9:41
Look, he he's going to be another
9:43
interview another time because we could
9:46
dig into his story, Chuck.
9:47
>> long history.
9:48
>> history.
9:49
>> But I'm curious though, Chuck. When
9:52
All right, we talk about Video Music Box
9:54
cuz I grew up on the East Coast. We I
9:56
found out through Soul Beat from Sway
9:58
and Lunelle. I never heard of it until I
10:01
met them.
10:02
And then there's Yo! MTV Raps, right? Do
10:05
you feel like
10:07
at some point MTV or those should have
10:10
reached back because
10:12
I would have loved to have learned more
10:15
about a Soul Beat. Like I would have
10:18
loved to have
10:19
found out about some of these Oakland
10:21
artists or artists from cuz I didn't
10:23
know the difference between like Too
10:25
Short and N.W.A. What's the Bay? It was
10:28
all California to me. You know what I
10:30
mean? And I realized hearing from Sway
10:32
and Lunelle at the time, the Bay
10:34
[clears throat] is very
10:35
specific. You know, like that's a whole
10:38
different world from Los Angeles. Um I
10:40
feel like MTV should have reached back,
10:43
you know, and just said, "Y'all can do
10:45
this thing here focusing on these
10:47
artists, you know, from this area." But
10:49
that was never done. Not even on Yo! MTV
10:52
Raps. I feel like you had to be
10:55
commercially successful to get to that
10:57
Yo! MTV Raps stage. That's just my
10:59
opinion. I'm not knocking Ed Lover or
11:01
Dre or the producers at the time, but
11:03
that's what it felt like to me.
11:04
>> Well, well, at that time, if we going to
11:06
keep it real cuz again, we talking about
11:08
30 years ago. So we should be able to
11:10
just keep it real about the story,
11:11
right? I think I think it was because
11:13
whether it was an indirect or direct, it
11:15
was competition. Again, we were Soul
11:17
Beat. We we had commercial inventory to
11:20
fill, too. So what we had advertisers
11:22
that we were trying to go after as well.
11:24
So it was like cuz keep it real, we had
11:26
Shout out to California Music Channel,
11:28
CMC.
11:29
>> I worked on there.
11:30
>> Where were you doing? What were YOU
11:31
DOING?
11:32
>> [laughter]
11:33
>> UH-HUH.
11:38
>> [laughter]
11:39
>> SO SO SO AGAIN, KEEP IT REAL, SWAY WAS
11:41
at CMC and we were Soul Beat. So whether
11:44
it was Def Jam or just other different
11:46
people when they said, "Okay, I got a
11:48
budget that I can maybe put in the Bay
11:50
Area." We got to figure out is we giving
11:52
this some money to CMC? Is we giving
11:54
money to K
11:56
Is we giving money to Soul Beat?
11:57
>> Politics.
11:58
>> Yeah, the politics behind the politics
12:00
is what I call it.
12:01
>> Right.
12:01
>> And so the bottom line is I think it
12:03
just wasn't that time like how right now
12:06
we can go back and reflect, give flowers
12:08
where it's due. Back then it was kind of
12:10
like everybody was trying to lock down
12:11
their own block.
12:12
>> Yeah.
12:13
>> Everybody was locking down their own
12:14
block.
12:14
>> And working at MTV, those folks weren't
12:17
trying to give credit to the the people
12:19
who deserved the credit. I know that
12:21
firsthand. So and that's not adding Dre
12:24
in the the whole that's nothing to do
12:26
with the whole their host. It has
12:27
everything to do with the executive
12:29
producers.
12:30
>> Cuz technically Ralph should have been
12:32
>> Ralph should have been
12:33
but they wanted to make it seem like
12:35
this was an idea that they came up with.
12:37
You know, maybe that's uh what we what
12:39
we call that Mike? What's the term for
12:41
that when people weren't from the
12:42
culture of not of the
12:44
>> Uh culture culture
12:46
appropriation.
12:47
>> Appropriation yeah, we saw
12:49
appropriation. Um but we got we we also
12:52
got Theo here and this is why I think
12:54
you you do focus on on building
12:56
ownership and long-term infrastructure
12:58
within the culture and infrastructure
13:00
isn't something that we tend to invest
13:04
in.
13:04
>> Right.
13:05
>> If we invested in the infrastructure,
13:07
we'll be we would have so much [ __ ] of
13:10
you, uh you know, I want the data.
13:12
>> Right.
13:12
>> Right?
13:13
>> Okay.
13:13
>> Okay, can you speak to that?
13:15
>> So Chuck and I were working together in
13:17
the city of Oakland and he still was um
13:20
you know, producing original content,
13:21
doing stuff like Hyphy week and so
13:23
forth. And so when he would he'd say,
13:25
"Hey man, I'm meeting with CBS next
13:27
week. Can you uh come to the meeting
13:28
with me because he knew I was a lawyer.
13:29
And I was like, "Yeah, I'm with that.
13:30
I'll go to the meeting with him at CBS
13:32
and meet with him and advertising
13:34
agencies." And I saw what
13:36
I saw the uh the network that he had and
13:38
the opportunities that he had. And I was
13:40
like, "We just need to put a little
13:40
polish on it cuz you got the hip-hop
13:42
connections. You got the culture uh
13:44
piece. And let's put a little legalese
13:47
to a little polish to it." And so, we
13:48
just been work We've been rocking for
13:49
the last 16, 17 years.
13:51
>> For the last 16 And so, how valuable And
13:53
then I want to get into um Tupac Day.
13:56
But how valuable now And this is why is
13:59
that is it that the Soul Beat, you know,
14:01
library
14:02
>> That's right.
14:02
>> Um how valuable is that now? It's more
14:04
valuable today than it was then, right?
14:06
>> Right. No, absolutely. Yeah, there's
14:09
you know, people talk about '90s fine
14:11
and '90s culture and all that. And it's
14:13
just really relevant because uh people
14:15
understand and recognize and relate to
14:17
that foundation. So, having this uh this
14:20
library, having this um
14:22
this dope repository of all this
14:23
information and all this, you know,
14:25
these digital assets is really valuable.
14:28
And so, that's a lot of what we're
14:29
bringing to light. And people really
14:30
resonate with that. So, it
14:32
there's there's a movement and there's
14:34
the uh there's a movement behind it. So,
14:35
it's not just the moment, but it's a
14:36
whole movement of embracing our culture,
14:39
embracing the history, and uh and
14:41
leveraging that.
14:42
>> Right. And And then again, it's so crazy
14:44
how these young folks These young folks
14:46
love the '90s. The I I always get asked
14:49
about {quote} my hip-hop stories from
14:52
the '90s. If I could just give one right
14:54
now, it would be the moment I actually
14:56
still have this footage. I'm actually
14:58
trying to figure out is it Patreon where
15:00
I'm going to put it. But uh one time I
15:02
had uh Mack 10 and WC. Shout out to
15:05
them. They came through to the show. And
15:07
they basically presented to me, "Hey, we
15:09
about to drop this album called Westside
15:12
Connection. We're going at the East
15:14
Coast dudes that don't [ __ ] with us. We
15:16
love the ones that rock with us. But the
15:18
ones that don't, we we putting it on
15:19
blast."
15:21
I'm in the back of my mind saying, "Oh,
15:22
I got a special guest coming from the
15:24
East Coast in an hour." His name was
15:26
Jay-Z.
15:28
>> [laughter]
15:33
>> SO, JAY, I GOT I GOT A chance to get get
15:36
ready. I think I think it was shout out
15:38
to Russell Gatewood or something.
15:42
Somebody was like, "Hey, this dude named
15:43
Jay-Z want to come through. Is it cool?"
15:46
And believe it or not, y'all, it was it
15:48
was Kareem Burke, Jay-Z, and Dame Dash,
15:51
and Dame Dash's son, Little Boogey. They
15:53
drove, to my understanding, from the
15:56
East Coast to the West Coast to promote
15:59
Reasonable Doubt, which is 30 years
16:01
later right now.
16:02
>> And now he's celebrating that at the
16:03
Yankee Stadium.
16:04
>> Yeah, so so Jay, I still got that
16:06
footage of this talk. Uh
16:08
>> [laughter]
16:08
>> the point was is that right then and
16:10
there moment, I was trying my best to be
16:12
a catalyst for love and hip-hop cuz I
16:15
just heard what I just heard, you know,
16:16
which was valid with with, you know, Dub
16:18
C and Mack 10 was putting down, but I
16:20
also knew I had this love for hip-hop as
16:22
a whole. So, I tried my best to present
16:25
Jay cuz keep it real, at that moment,
16:27
Jay wasn't known yet. He was still on
16:29
Payday. He was still on Payday. You know
16:31
what I mean? So, he was still trying to
16:33
figure out his groove, and I got a
16:35
chance to interview him. I still got
16:37
that interview to this day, and we're
16:38
going to put it out.
16:39
>> Classics, man. Chuck D Johnson is here.
16:41
Al Shear Olyphant is here as well. And
16:45
uh well, we they came to promote We're
16:46
going to have you come back, Chuck.
16:48
You right. You see, I just wanted to
16:49
give him a prelude. Right. And I'm super
16:52
proud of this man and all that he's done
16:55
and all that he continues to do. And
16:57
right now, the Bay Area is on fire, you
17:00
know, with Kehlani winning that Grammy.
17:03
>> Two of them things, Chuck.
17:03
>> Ryan Shout out to Ryan Coogler.
17:05
>> Ryan Coogler winning that Oscar. Lisa
17:07
Leo winning the double gold medals. And
17:11
the Warriors winning the the play-in
17:13
last night, man.
17:14
>> Oh, man.
17:15
>> That dude got married.
17:16
>> Ryan and De'Aaron, come on.
17:17
>> The Warriors back.
17:18
>> Come on. We're killing it right
17:19
>> now. The Bay Area, Heather.
17:21
But also, we're talking about We're here
17:23
to talk about Tupac Day. Tupac is so
17:26
loved and revered, and it's hard to
17:29
believe he passed in '96.
17:31
>> Yes.
17:31
>> And and so now, yeah, right? And so 30
17:34
years later,
17:36
we're doing this thing called Tupac Day.
17:39
What is this, Chuck, and how can people
17:41
get involved, and how can people show
17:43
up?
17:43
>> Come on. Come on.
17:45
Uh shoutout to Set Shakur, Pac's sister,
17:48
and Ray Luv and the whole Tupac Amaru
17:51
Shakur Foundation.
17:53
Bottom line is I've been working on this
17:55
process, man, damn near 10 years, man.
17:58
It was started in 2016. Oakland
18:00
established the Tupac Day in Oakland,
18:03
and I presented the proclamation to Set
18:06
and just let her know I'm I'm inspired
18:08
by doing an experience with this day,
18:10
you know? And one thing led to another,
18:12
we we finally came to a conclusion like
18:15
this is the year, man. Cuz if it's ever
18:16
going to be done, it's going to be this
18:17
year. And so her main thing was Chuck,
18:20
hey, I want to get this peace pole
18:22
enacted in a So you was there as the
18:24
host when we did the street signing for
18:27
Tupac. In that same park, they want to
18:29
put together what's called a peace pole.
18:31
And then we're going to also do a day of
18:33
service because she wanted again that
18:35
side of Pac to be remembered as well.
18:37
You got the hit 'em up side, but then
18:39
you got the dear mama side, you got the
18:41
part that loved his community. And so we
18:43
want to start the day off with a day of
18:45
work within the community, and then
18:47
we're going to close it down, shut it
18:48
down that night with a hell of an
18:49
experience with all of the artists
18:51
that's a part of his, you know, history,
18:53
and then also artists that's inspired by
18:55
him.
18:56
>> Mhm.
18:56
>> And this is taking place June 16th.
18:58
>> June 16th on his birthday. He'd have
19:00
been 55 years old.
19:01
>> Wow.
19:02
>> Wow, man. And then there's a platform
19:05
right there that people could go to as
19:07
well?
19:08
>> Yeah. So one of the things in terms of
19:10
the day of service that uh the
19:11
foundation wanted to provide for the
19:13
city of Oakland is um in partnership
19:15
with or organizations like Kaiser
19:17
Permanente and and um Roots Community
19:20
Health, people will be able to get uh
19:22
healthcare services on on the scene.
19:24
They'll be able to get uh blood pressure
19:25
testing. They'll be able to get uh
19:27
diabetes screening. And so we realize
19:29
that there's a disproportionate impact
19:31
of some of these things on black people,
19:33
on our people. And so we wanted to as
19:35
part of the day of service do something
19:37
that would have an impact, you know,
19:39
beyond that day.
19:40
>> That's so good.
19:40
>> what we talk about with the movement is
19:42
providing healthcare for for the people.
19:44
And and that's that's a big part of the
19:46
family's legacy as well.
19:47
>> Yeah, that's amazing. And June is men's
19:49
health month, so it's right on time.
19:51
>> Yeah. All right, Mike, you want to chime
19:52
in a little bit?
19:54
>> Yeah, um
19:55
I think it's important you could target
19:57
the the blood pressure. Can you talk a
19:58
little bit about that?
19:59
>> Yeah, um that's one of the uh when we
20:02
look at why um
20:05
black men have uh have a lower uh life
20:07
expectancy, uh a big part of that is um
20:10
high blood pressure. And a lot of people
20:12
are unaware of it. And and even if we're
20:15
you know, we maybe think we're healthy,
20:17
but this is a silent uh thing that
20:19
really affects our our lives. And for uh
20:22
men and women. And so a lot of times
20:23
people don't realize they may have high
20:25
blood pressure. And those things can
20:27
lead to strokes and other complications.
20:29
And so we want to be uh get out in front
20:31
of that and provide people with with
20:32
access to screening and awareness and
20:34
those kinds of things. So that's a
20:36
really important thing, yeah.
20:37
>> And for more information go to
20:38
2pacday.com or uh soulbeatnetwork.com as
20:42
well.
20:42
>> Why is this so important to you though,
20:43
Chuck? Like what was your Did you get a
20:45
chance to meet Pac back then?
20:47
>> You know what? I I didn't ever I never
20:49
really met Pac.
20:50
>> Mhm.
20:50
>> To be if I'm going to be a honey, I I
20:52
only saw Pac one unique moment in Vegas.
20:55
Uh he was leaving uh the 662 club with
20:58
Suge. And I was literally just parked
20:59
and I was walking down the street
21:01
walking towards the spot. Literally Pac
21:03
and Suge drove past me like and just
21:06
stared at me type [ __ ] And and it was
21:08
like I was so caught in the moment I
21:09
couldn't yell out hey I'm FROM EAST
21:10
OAKLAND.
21:11
>> [laughter]
21:13
>> I WAS TOO IN THE MOMENT. I MEAN YOU KNOW
21:15
WHAT I MEAN? IT was the Rolls Royce. It
21:17
was Pac and Shug going in.
21:19
>> Music video
21:20
>> And the music and it was like they was
21:21
driving like 10 miles an hour. And I'm
21:23
just staring and they just staring and
21:25
they was like you going to say
21:26
something? Well you ain't going to say
21:27
nothing so we going to keep going. But
21:28
for real what what really hit me man is
21:32
uh Pac [laughter]
21:33
Pac was like
21:35
I I feel like not only was I a fan of
21:37
him, I feel like he was me. I feel like
21:40
it was parts of his journey I felt
21:42
really connected to it. Cuz we got to
21:44
talk about 1996. 1996 I was I had a TV
21:47
show. I was playing his music videos. So
21:50
I was really right there in the culture
21:52
um understanding all of the moments and
21:54
all what was happening. And so Pac just
21:57
mattered so much to me. You know what I
21:59
mean? And then just keep it real I love
22:01
the idea of supporting his foundation.
22:04
>> Right.
22:04
>> Because this I'm going to keep it
22:05
keeping it 100. You know said let me
22:07
know hey some of your favorite artists
22:09
that you would think should be helping
22:11
not exactly helping every day. Um some
22:13
of the people that you would think you
22:15
know could drop a million dollars and
22:17
make something happen is is not exactly
22:19
happening. So I just said you know what
22:21
we we just going to empower ourselves.
22:23
You know shout out to Ray Luv and uh we
22:26
just going to do our damn thing with his
22:27
with his uh with his legacy man.
22:29
>> That's right.
22:29
>> And I'm glad to be a part of it. I'm
22:31
glad y'all y'all re you know asked me to
22:33
be a part of it. It was it was it was
22:35
necessary.
22:36
>> That was that was come on man that was
22:37
easy. You know? I mean cuz again look
22:40
what do you remember about that street
22:42
signing day? Because everybody pulled
22:44
up. Every it's hard to get everybody
22:45
that pulled up. Whether it was Hammer
22:47
whether it was E-40
22:49
Richie Rich
22:51
like all of these dudes they they're
22:53
just not easy to bring into one element.
22:56
And it took Pac to do that.
22:58
>> Right.
22:58
>> You can't get them all in the same room.
23:00
Right. Everybody got something they're
23:02
doing and that's what I remember because
23:03
when we were younger,
23:05
when Rich and and and all of us short
23:07
and you know, Hammer uh when when we
23:09
were younger, we were all trying to get
23:11
in the same room.
23:13
You know what I mean? So, we all got a
23:14
story to tell. But anytime MC Hammer
23:17
shows up
23:18
>> Real.
23:19
>> it's town
23:21
business. You know, you know it's
23:22
official, you know it's important, you
23:25
know, and what you do is important and
23:27
what you're doing is important because
23:29
if we don't do it, our history will be
23:32
erased.
23:33
>> That's right.
23:34
>> And and that was really the main reason
23:36
why I do what I'm doing. And even I
23:38
mean, Sway, it's been 30 years, man.
23:40
>> 30 years, bro.
23:41
>> It's I'm you know, I mean, while we're
23:43
here, shout out to Sway, man. He was the
23:45
first
23:46
person that I was like in my region that
23:49
did this hip-hop video show [ __ ] at a
23:51
such a high level. And he he made me
23:54
like, okay, this is the bar I got to
23:56
raise my [ __ ] if we're going to really
23:58
do it. So, Sway Sway, you know,
24:01
I told him that even shout out
24:03
it was about two early 2000, I went to
24:05
New York. Shout out to Steven Hill, man,
24:07
from BET invited me to actually try out
24:10
for Rap City
24:11
>> Mhm.
24:11
>> and also 106 & Park. And so, I ran into
24:13
Sway and I was just like, Sway, man,
24:15
it's a reason why I'm in New York. You
24:17
were you were a big reason for that,
24:18
man.
24:18
>> Wow.
24:19
>> You were you were really a catalyst that
24:20
I that I paid a lot of attention to.
24:22
>> were they were planning him out. They
24:23
were holding him in the TRL line.
24:26
>> [laughter]
24:28
>> Yeah, yeah, so watch this. I'm outside
24:30
of MTV and I'm talking to the security
24:33
dude like, "Hey, man, here, look at my
24:35
license plate. I'm from Oakland. I mean,
24:37
my driver's license. I'm from Oakland,
24:38
man. I really know Sway." And the dude
24:40
literally for 15 minutes, "Yeah,
24:41
EVERYBODY KNOWS SWAY."
24:43
>> [laughter]
24:45
>> SO, THEN LITERALLY SWAY WALKED past in
24:47
the lobby and I said, "Sway."
24:49
And so, he walked over there and he was
24:50
like, "Chuck, what the [ __ ] are you
24:52
doing out here?"
24:53
>> [laughter]
24:53
>> Cuz he he just was like, "Damn, your
24:55
hustle ain't got you all the way to New
24:56
York. So, they say I know I'm on the on
24:58
the 29th floor.
25:00
>> That's right.
25:00
>> Uh uh MTV with him meeting the Kurt
25:03
Loder's and all of the producers and he
25:06
uh I watched him do like three or four
25:07
shows of Direct Effect where you know,
25:09
Fat Joe, Ja Rule, everybody was there.
25:12
So, he just he just welcomed me in
25:14
there, man. And I And then, the last
25:16
part was a couple of months later, he
25:17
turned around and did MTV My Block.
25:19
>> That's right.
25:20
>> Which was the hyphy part First time
25:21
hyphy got introduced to the culture. And
25:24
just like a little brother, so to speak,
25:26
I was I called Keep It Real I called
25:27
Steven Hill. Keep It Real I was I called
25:29
Steven Hill like, "Hey, man, I think you
25:30
need to go check out this My Block cuz
25:32
it's the hyphy movement about to come
25:34
and BET need to have a part."
25:35
>> Right.
25:36
>> A week later, Steven Hill said, "Hey,
25:37
I'm bringing in my man uh what was it?
25:39
Mad Links?"
25:40
>> Uh-huh.
25:40
>> Shout out to Mad Links.
25:42
>> Shout out to Mad Links. That's our
25:43
brother.
25:43
>> Mad Links and my man Malik was a
25:44
producer. They He brought them out.
25:47
Bottom line is they was thinking about
25:48
doing hyphy week for like two to three
25:49
days. But because I you know, I'm from
25:51
the town, I'm from the Bay, I got them
25:53
like 40 different interviews, end up
25:55
being an actual six-day series from like
25:58
Monday to Saturday. And it was
26:00
considered one of the top 10
26:02
highest-rated series in Rap City
26:04
history.
26:05
>> Wow.
26:05
>> Wow.
26:07
>> You're welcome, Steven Hill.
26:09
>> [laughter]
26:10
>> But nah, for real, bottom line is this
26:12
is all about Pac Day. And like I said, I
26:14
look forward to coming back and just
26:16
sharing more hip hop history and
26:17
>> Yeah, you come back and let us talk with
26:19
you.
26:19
>> Pac is the the moment. If I could ask
26:22
any If I could just get my little
26:24
interview back myself, what was if just
26:26
come to mind, what is your top two or
26:29
three hip hop I mean, Tupac songs? Like,
26:31
what is your top three?
26:32
>> Um
26:34
>> [snorts]
26:34
>> So, I'mma start with Swag and maybe
26:35
y'all two got time to think about it.
26:38
>> Um Dear Mama
26:40
was one that I really liked because of
26:43
um
26:44
uh he talked about his mother. I thought
26:46
he made powerful I thought he wrote
26:48
powerful songs at that time. Ambitionz
26:51
of a Ridah
26:52
um is another one. The one he did with
26:55
Method Man.
26:57
>> I got my mind
26:58
>> Mind up, yo.
27:02
Having 4G. I mean it's like it's dude,
27:04
you can't ask me that.
27:06
I can name a thousand of them, man. But
27:09
but a lot of his songs were beyond
27:11
songs, right? They were anthems and
27:15
You know, I think he was a powerful
27:17
songwriter, very passionate person. His
27:20
apartment was right down the street. I
27:21
used to hang out at his apartment from
27:23
where we did put the sign up.
27:24
>> Right right there off of right off of
27:25
MacArthur.
27:26
>> Yeah, right off of MacArthur. And I
27:27
remember we used to open up for Digital
27:29
Underground, King Tech and I. We
27:31
performed one time at the Omni in North
27:32
Oakland. Yeah, remember the Omni?
27:35
We opened up for them and Pac used to
27:37
always show up to the radio station and
27:40
him and Atron used to bring his music
27:42
and me and King Tech would listen to
27:43
music before it was released and say,
27:44
"This is the song." You know, "So many
27:47
tears." or something, you know, "This is
27:48
the song." And so my my
27:52
my memory of him is like I said, I keep
27:54
a my avatar on my WhatsApp is me, Pac,
27:57
and DY from the Bombs.
27:58
>> Wow. Okay, so DY from the Bombs. How
28:01
about you ladies? What's what's your Pac
28:02
moments?
28:03
>> I would say
28:05
My my song
28:07
Changes. I love I love Changes and I
28:10
don't I don't think a lot of people
28:12
realize um
28:15
Jersey in particular, cuz that's where
28:16
I'm from, um
28:18
had an interesting relationship with
28:20
Pac. There was rumors that his father
28:22
was from Jersey and so we had an
28:25
affinity for Pac. But Keep Ya Head Up I
28:29
believe
28:30
Pac gained 5 million female fans alone
28:34
just from that song in the region of New
28:36
York, New Jersey, Connecticut area. That
28:38
song was like he was speaking directly
28:41
to us with Keep Ya Head Up. So, those
28:43
would be my two favorite Pac songs.
28:45
>> Keep Ya Head Up was going to be on my
28:47
list too, but California love.
28:53
HE JUMPED ON THAT TRACK.
28:55
>> BELL, FRESH OUT OF JAIL, CALIFORNIA
28:57
DREAMING.
28:58
>> And and I feel like Pac helped to shape
29:00
like what I was looking for in a
29:02
partner. Even though I was young as
29:04
hell, but he presented masculinity as a
29:07
duality for me. Because when you first
29:09
like look at Pac or when you hear about
29:11
his perception from others, you feel
29:13
like he has this armor,
29:15
but the armor isn't necessarily to
29:18
always like be fighting someone. It's
29:20
also to protect his heart. And then once
29:22
you do get entrance to it, you see all
29:25
of this poetry that's within. So, yeah.
29:28
>> Yo, Chuck D I want to thank you for the
29:30
work you doing. Don't forget 2 Pac Day
29:32
of Death Service and Benefit Concert for
29:35
the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation, June
29:37
16th. Citizens go to 2pacday.com and see
29:41
what they got going on. We'll be
29:42
celebrating the 30th anniversary of his
29:44
album All Eyez on Me,
29:46
uh his 55th birthday. Chuck brought me a
29:48
Soulbie blazer. THIS IS CLASSIC.
29:50
[screaming]
29:52
YOU CAN'T WIN BREAKER, RATHER YOU CAN'T
29:53
GET THAT. HEY, you bring the ladies
29:54
something, man?
29:55
>> Don't do that. Why you don't put them
29:57
on? Come on now.
29:58
>> Come on now.
29:59
>> You killed me.
30:01
I'M WEARING A SWAYZE JACKET ANYWAY.
30:03
>> YEAH, YOU KNOW, pretty much. Yo, thank
30:05
you. Theo, thank you for the work you
30:07
doing. Chuck, thank you for the work you
30:09
doing, brother.
30:09
>> 2pacday.com and sobibnetwork.com.
30:12
>> Y'all get up on that.
#Arts & Entertainment