Wyclef Jean: The Untold Fugees & Pras Legal Issues, Bringing Jay-Z/Nas to Europe & Solo Legacy 🎤
Jan 16, 2024
Step into the world of hip-hop royalty as Wyclef Jean, the legendary backbone of the Fugees and acclaimed solo artist, opens up on "Sway In The Morning" about the untold stories shaping the Fugees' legacy and his own monumental career. From powerful activism to chart-topping hits, Wyclef's journey is one of music, mission, and mastery. 🎤
Dive into this exclusive interview where Wyclef bares it all - his dynamic with Lauryn Hill and Pras, the band's transformation over the years, and the seismic impact their music has on multiple generations. Discover the secrets behind their timeless anthems and witness Wyclef's undying passion for progress as he discusses his latest initiatives toward generational wealth and social change.
Hear firsthand about the studio sessions that birthed iconic tracks, the influence of their Haitian roots on global hip-hop culture, and how Wyclef's relentless pursuit of musical excellence led him to work with giants like Quincy Jones and NASA. Yes, NASA! 🚀
If you're a fan of raw, unfiltered storytelling that challenges the status quo, this is a must-watch. Join the conversation with one of hip-hop's most influential figures—don't miss a beat of Wyclef Jean's powerful narrative about the fusion of beats, bars, and the pursuit of a better world.
Subscribe now to "Sway's Universe" for more groundbreaking content that pushes boundaries and calls out the real issues. For the latest in hip-hop, social change, and exclusive interviews with industry icons, keep it locked right here. Get involved in the culture. #WyclefJean #FugeesLegacy #HipHopIcons
CHAPTERS:
0:00 - Wyclef Jean Introduction
1:02 - The Fugees Formation
4:17 - Jerry Wonda Collaboration
7:01 - The Booga Basement Studio
9:17 - Pras Michel Insights
14:52 - Wyclef on “Paper Right” & Wealth
18:48 - Wyclef's Early Career & Fugees Legacy
23:04 - Wyclef Jean Upcoming Projects
27:40 - Touring Tips: Dos and Don’ts
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
I said it before one of the most
0:01
talented people to ever come through our
0:03
coaster goes by the name of y c Jean one
0:06
of the most talented producers to ever
0:08
come out of our culture goes by the name
0:09
of w CLE Jean one of the most powerful
0:12
activists ever come out of our culture
0:14
goes by the name of why CLE
0:16
Jean understand me I've seen this man
0:19
through erors hea the
0:20
[Applause]
0:22
be yo I tried to tell you earlier today
0:25
how important the sway and King Tech
0:27
show was Sway and I'm I'm so glad you
0:29
shared that story
0:30
about clef and the Fuji coming through
0:32
there and being a part of that history
0:34
thank you absolutely man and since then
0:36
multiple Grammy Awards on the BET
0:39
humanitarian award a Vanguard award from
0:41
the NAACP nominated for a golden Global
0:44
award come on man he's been doing it um
0:47
in Haiti they awarded him with the
0:49
national order of Honor in Merit to the
0:51
rank of grand officer why CLE John is
0:54
here citizens why cleff is
0:58
here he's here
1:01
M I was in the
1:03
bay when y'all were in the bay and I
1:06
flew to the bay to see Tony Tony Tony
1:11
they were performing y'all were they
1:13
were at what where did y'all perform at
1:15
in San Francisco you remember what venue
1:16
it was uh oh just recently oh just
1:19
recently Stadium yeah it was in the
1:21
stadium yeah and I had to choose between
1:24
y'all and the Tony but this was their
1:26
last show uhhuh and I figured I'mma see
1:29
CLE and again you are I'm going see
1:31
y'all again you know that yeah but I had
1:33
a friend that went to Y show and said it
1:35
was Bonkers she said it was amazing like
1:39
she was in a dream right and I love
1:42
seeing that you know I love seeing that
1:45
uh when Miss Hill and you all get
1:46
together how is it different though from
1:49
when we talk about the you know Blended
1:50
on reality days to now like it's how's
1:53
the dynamic Chang do you have to listen
1:55
to her now no no no I think that you you
1:59
know when we was younger like Bano used
2:02
to say like the Fuji is the Rolling
2:03
Stones you know the hip-hop Rolling
2:05
Stones um we came in the game like just
2:08
band orientated like the whole Vision
2:10
was like what happens when you take the
2:12
suburbs in the hood and you put it
2:14
together and we share that information
2:16
and um and I think that we all all three
2:18
of us are insanely musically like
2:20
musical musically like so um and again
2:25
um the best thing about uh the word
2:28
reconciliation is when you when you
2:31
learn how to forgive you know I remember
2:33
this when I met Mandela um and um so my
2:37
first question you just said that real
2:39
lightly happen around the corner or
2:41
something like go ahead go ahead go
2:44
ahead yeah so I know like
2:48
light Nelson you had you checked me on
2:51
that he was like
2:52
[Music]
2:55
FL no so like one of the questions I I
2:58
really asked Mandela was was like yo
3:01
like I don't get this forgiveness Court
3:03
thing you know what I'm saying like cuz
3:04
it's about that an eye for an eye like
3:06
somebody do something to Minds I'm going
3:08
to do something to yours that's just
3:09
naturally but he was like yo man the F
3:11
the power of forgiveness is a big thing
3:13
and I think that when you see the Fuji
3:15
on stage is that what you're feeling is
3:18
that reconcilation it's like if you had
3:21
problems with someone like you could
3:22
turn around and give them a hug and be
3:24
like we good now right cuz the world is
3:27
missing that and what happens is Fuji
3:29
used to make you feel good and sort of
3:32
like so you have that thing that's
3:34
missing it's like you know you show up
3:37
and and whether if it's a 18y old or a
3:40
60 year old person it's the same energy
3:43
um and you don't get that in shows it's
3:45
like the 18 year olds are going on today
3:47
shows and um I remember one place we was
3:50
at it was the Fuji and Travis Scott
3:53
Travis was in one Stadium packed to the
3:56
to the ground Fuji's in one Stadium
3:58
packed to the ground and then the shows
4:01
are over everyone's leaving and you
4:04
could just see like the two generations
4:05
like as they come together and the only
4:08
thing that really separated us was the
4:09
stadium right yeah um so um that's sort
4:12
of like the energy um it it definitely
4:15
is amazing um something that you create
4:17
and then my cousin Jerry Wonder come on
4:19
Jerry Wonder salute to Jerry Wonder Man
4:21
you know like we call Jerry wonder the
4:22
fourth Fu um we also had John Forte John
4:26
Forte salute that guy too man and I I
4:29
don't think people understand um the the
4:32
Fuji like because um the story is very
4:35
deep you know John Forte was someone who
4:38
got pardoned by George Bush right you
4:41
know what I'm saying too and I don't
4:42
think that now this is long before like
4:44
Kodak and my brother Wayne like I'm
4:46
saying like so imagine like hip hop
4:50
getting pardoned by George Bush so um
4:53
and this is like the refugee camp so I
4:56
would say like you know we we because
4:58
like we authors that never talked about
5:02
the the idea of like we from the gang
5:05
bang yeah we from the communities with
5:08
The Pimps and The Prostitute like we
5:10
from that so we just felt like we had to
5:12
author it in a different formation so to
5:15
to to go back and to see that even like
5:17
The Outsiders you know The Outsiders
5:20
came out um that's ay that's a jersey
5:23
thing Nation records rough Nation record
5:25
so it was
5:26
definitely yeah but but think about it
5:28
so when we talk about The Outsiders we
5:31
can't talk about The Outsiders without
5:32
talking about
5:33
Eminem he was influenced yeah so you
5:36
have a whole thing like with The
5:37
Outsiders in Eminem Like Pace one uh
5:41
young Z slang tongue rip so again the
5:45
the connection of the Fuji thing is a
5:47
very deep it wasn't it literally like
5:50
the way that I could explain the Fuji
5:52
when I look at the NWA story is very
5:55
similar because like you know me and
5:58
Jerry we was in Hood in he storring and
6:01
we took my uncle's basement and we
6:03
literally like in the middle of the hood
6:05
and dead smack you got the basketball
6:07
court in the back with the one uh with
6:10
that Rim that one and and the pit bulls
6:13
right and The Rock wers and then behind
6:15
that you got a crack house so and then
6:17
we have the studio so it's sort of like
6:19
um when we look at that and then that
6:21
studio was open to everybody so the outs
6:24
would come through cuz my thing was just
6:26
like coming from my daddy's church I was
6:28
like the the the the Doctor Dre of of
6:31
you know what I'm saying because I was
6:32
like man I really if I could figure out
6:34
a way to do like beats and you know the
6:37
drug dealers could just pay me so I
6:38
don't have to sell the drug you
6:40
know so I I just started doing these
6:42
beats and like you know what I'm saying
6:44
y'all want a demo man I got yall you
6:45
know and it was a big thing to get there
6:47
was something called a DAT like it was a
6:49
little d a digital audio tape and you
6:51
could take that and be like yo when you
6:52
get to RCA to them anrs you real happy
6:55
you got your dad you can play that um
6:58
just to say yeah it was incred
7:00
in man [Â __Â ] you just ended really quick
7:02
man I thought I was ready to go the
7:04
nextory I hear what you're saying cuz it
7:06
was so much
7:07
history is that the booger basement that
7:10
people were referring to sometimes yeah
7:12
that's the booger basement so the booger
7:13
basement I literally give everybody
7:16
their names you know what I'm saying
7:17
Jerry Wonder El Boogie I give you know I
7:19
mean um cuz like El Boogie Miss H like
7:22
you know I mean she bought Boogie to it
7:24
like Nina Simone Jerry one day he would
7:26
bring a A vibe to it um we so have prize
7:30
and people so it was so crazy um this is
7:32
a funny story about the to so y'all see
7:35
how I look right yeah like Benjamin but
7:38
like I reverse in ag yeah I saw you
7:40
doing the the the upside down push-ups
7:43
and all that yeah but that's that that's
7:45
just the project I me that's just the
7:46
DNA you know you flip on the mattress
7:48
that ain't going to go away but it's
7:50
sort of like um what I had a phrase I
7:53
was I would call us like the old young
7:55
[Â __Â ] right so it's like
7:58
so
8:00
what a
8:01
hybrid so so we're we're we're rocking
8:04
and we start with vocab mhm and then
8:07
El's out there like you know I start and
8:10
I'm behind and she start one two the
8:13
crew you know and I would come out and
8:17
um in the beginning and it was crazy
8:20
because people didn't even recognize me
8:23
in the very very beginning it was like
8:25
if you was a Fuji fan you was looking
8:27
for some guy with some dreads you know
8:30
what I mean so you have an image of 35
8:32
cuz you you missed this is when I also
8:35
realized like a Fuji fan missed an
8:38
entire W cleff yeah they missed they
8:41
never got to see hipstone lie they don't
8:42
know what Maria Maria is they don't know
8:45
I have an entire $10 million catalog
8:49
albums that is all Europe that they
8:51
don't know right so it was sort of like
8:53
when when when Miss was like why was you
8:56
know what I'm saying and then prize
8:58
comes out and just looks the same and it
9:01
was Ill because when prize came out
9:02
prize does look the same prize just look
9:04
straight up the same like prize the way
9:06
he looked then he look he looked the
9:08
exact same and um and the audience
9:10
erupted and it was just like that love
9:13
energy um it's just can't it can't be
9:16
matching it can't be duplicated is is
9:18
prize going to be okay we we we we' read
9:21
the headlines about some of his legal
9:23
complications is he going to be okay so
9:26
you know what is a funny thing is is
9:30
there's an amplification of what y'all
9:33
see online and y'all can amplify it as
9:37
big as y'all want that's what because
9:39
you can't get caught up in the illusion
9:42
of the internet right because you got to
9:45
understand if if if if I may as someone
9:48
who's an ex-presidential
9:49
candidate of a
9:52
country right and has put himself in the
9:55
line of fire so when I said I was going
9:57
to be president of Haiti there was no
9:59
Donald Trump there was no Kanye saying
10:00
they was going to be president I ain't
10:02
talking about America I say Haiti where
10:05
they just assassinated a Haitian
10:07
president right Y and we still trying to
10:09
get Justice for that so there's what you
10:13
see and then there's what's behind the
10:15
curtains you know what I mean um I do
10:18
believe that prize is going to be okay
10:21
because I feel like the amplification of
10:24
what happened versus like what's behind
10:26
closed doors is two different things so
10:28
I do believe that um he's going to come
10:30
up on top okay salute to my brother
10:33
prize I can't help I'll be remiss if I
10:36
didn't ask seeing you guys you know on
10:38
stage and to your point like when y'all
10:40
did the show at the Southshore sea port
10:44
two years ago or something or Lauren did
10:46
her show Miss Hill did her show and
10:48
y'all came out um I was with my daughter
10:51
who was 21 at the time MH who was like
10:55
Daddy you got to give me tickets to this
10:56
show crazy and I hate asking people for
10:59
tickets right so my daughter like I'm
11:02
like damn you know you you want to go
11:04
that bad daddy you know she's reciting
11:06
songs The Whole Nine and to your point
11:09
man we sat and saw that show man and it
11:11
bugged me the [Â __Â ] out that me and my
11:13
daughter are singing the same lyrics and
11:15
I'm looking at her like how do you even
11:18
intergenerational intergenerational look
11:20
how crazy this is a full circle moment
11:22
susette Williams Uzi who's my best
11:24
friend that's her son who now course
11:27
that's my family out family and to know
11:30
the music and rocking is to what you're
11:32
saying is true we just keep having these
11:34
full circle moments with y'all's music
11:36
it's it's insane so so did y'all catch a
11:39
VI like I don't know is there some um
11:42
new Fuji music in the making did y'all I
11:44
mean all I could do is I could tell you
11:46
we definitely caught a big Vibe okay
11:48
feel me like not a little Vibe what I'm
11:51
saying like like what they say I got to
11:54
put an accent that yeah I'm on a big
11:56
Vibe
11:57
big like actual actual
12:01
recording like actual recording I could
12:04
just tell you the Vib the vi you you
12:08
come up with how many remixes you w the
12:12
you know keep saying it I mean I could
12:15
remix the vi big Vibe big
12:18
Vibe um just to say like the Synergy is
12:21
dope I'll tell you one thing that when
12:24
we was performing what was amazing about
12:27
the Fuji one of our I don't know if it's
12:29
a cheat code or whatever but literally
12:32
the Synergy of the Fuji is there's a a
12:35
Mystic energy that's on the stage and so
12:39
we're not like tied to like a band that
12:41
would say aptin or protols or like okay
12:45
this is going to be the set and then
12:46
you're you're like locked into a 90
12:48
minute set where you got to go this song
12:51
literally has to be the next song I'll
12:53
give you an example so we're in the west
12:56
coast and I call out my brother Wayne
12:59
and and you know big shout out to my
13:01
Libra brother that's like my brother you
13:03
know what I'm saying so and um and he
13:06
comes so he's going to be you know what
13:07
I'm saying so we we say okay he gonna
13:09
and Wayne gets there early right so then
13:12
I'm like okay so we got to get Wayne in
13:14
early to to the vibe So Ready or Not For
13:17
example that should probably be towards
13:19
the end right yeah Wayne's there so
13:23
literally or off the top just start
13:26
ready or not and now it's not the Fuji
13:28
version yet it's going to be a Wayne
13:30
version of ready or not it didn't exist
13:32
it'll never exist again um be real yeah
13:37
be real you know what I'm saying Cypress
13:39
Hill just out of nowhere um Black
13:42
Thought from The Roots um and it's
13:45
endless freeway and it's endless um I
13:48
would say another thing which was amaz I
13:50
remember like being in Brooklyn we
13:52
didn't bring Bobby schmir out right in
13:54
Brooklyn he's there like he shows up and
13:56
boom boom boom he's in the crown and
13:57
having an amazing time and out of
13:59
nowhere he hears his beat drop but it's
14:02
the lyrics to Fuji over right so this is
14:05
what I'm saying like this is how I say
14:07
you celebrate like culture and I mean no
14:10
one can really do that but us you know
14:13
what I'm saying to you so that's sort of
14:14
like and then the cheat code is while
14:16
this is
14:17
happening music is being created on
14:19
stage yeah like real time that don't
14:22
exist you see what I'm saying and that
14:24
was a lot of the stuff that you used to
14:26
hear or hear it's sort of like what I
14:29
was telling Miss Hill the other I was
14:30
like yo I can hear the sound of the
14:32
stadium again and that's when I'm most
14:34
dangerous so it's like so so like
14:38
2024 you hear the production like back
14:41
like I felt I got the bug and I said
14:42
okay it's I cuz music is something like
14:45
you got to feel and you got to hear it
14:47
and when you hear it it comes from a
14:49
different place man so so we up why CLE
14:52
Sean is here the new single is paper
14:54
right did did paper paper right get your
14:57
paper right about generational wealth uh
15:00
it's the new single you did a
15:02
performance on Jimmy Fallon yes sir um
15:04
you got Lola Brook is on there FL J is
15:07
on there yes yes sir yes capella gray is
15:09
on there Pusher T is on there but this
15:12
is a song with purpose yeah well well
15:14
the first thing is the first record is
15:16
2024 which is very important and um so
15:20
in my producers bag and in my brain it
15:22
was like okay 54% no matter how you see
15:26
people acting like they balling a black
15:28
folks don't have no retirement plan
15:31
right period so I think we got to just
15:33
kill that facade and talk about that
15:35
reality um and you could be making money
15:38
at a young age but like the older you
15:40
get the more the reality happens right
15:43
and the reality comes like okay do you
15:45
have a saving so the key um I was
15:47
approached by TIAA to come up with a
15:50
record that could talk about
15:52
generational wealth wait who TI who's
15:54
that yeah that that's the company that
15:56
basically you know um
15:59
it deals with it it it it focuses on the
16:03
idea of retire this this chapter of the
16:07
company which is um tsha who's the CEO
16:10
this chapter of the company focused on
16:12
how they could present retirement to a a
16:17
population of 54% in the sense of how do
16:22
we deal with this and focus on policy
16:26
and legislation but how can we reinvent
16:30
the idea of this danger that we see so
16:32
this literally is a CEO of a of of a
16:36
company who who feels passionate about
16:37
this to say okay um so that was the
16:40
approach because you can have insurance
16:43
companies for example or different
16:44
companies but there's not companies that
16:46
literally catered towards black folks
16:48
black and brown folks so this was like
16:51
how can we
16:52
reinvent the idea of echoing yo black
16:56
people y'all gonna be in trouble so the
16:59
idea of echoing that coming to me was
17:01
like yo man we know like you know how to
17:03
do music and get the message across
17:05
without being preachy um so in this
17:07
process um see I combined with Amazon
17:11
and I think that every stream right a
17:13
dollar right a dollar every stream goes
17:16
back to the uh the
17:17
organization first generation investor
17:19
so every stream of this song A dollar
17:21
goes back to first generation investor
17:23
and and so first generation investors
17:25
which is amazing now think about that
17:27
again like the youth so it's like you
17:30
can't just tell the youth for example
17:33
dude want to open a barber shop you say
17:34
okay man you got the American dream just
17:36
make it happen no man like we literally
17:39
got to put that investment back um also
17:41
we have to hold big companies
17:43
accountable to helping being part of
17:46
this generational wealth so and we're
17:48
able to do that and um and again I would
17:52
say this kind of a record so here's the
17:55
the thing I look at my daughter that's
17:56
18 all the way to my generation and I
17:59
said how can this message be translated
18:01
in a in a cool way so Lola Brook yes
18:05
Lola Brooks She's a c we love Lola Lola
18:08
is amazing yeah that's our girl Pusher
18:10
FL J it was like um capella gry taking
18:13
the culture the combination of the
18:15
culture right and then I'm My Own DJ KH
18:18
right you know me and C came out
18:20
together like you know I ain't going we
18:21
the best I should be like oh I C so just
18:24
taking a culture and putting it forward
18:27
and every time you This Record paper
18:29
right um You definitely going to bounce
18:31
to it the energy is right the messaging
18:33
is right but the track is fire the yeah
18:35
the track is fire congratulations on
18:37
this and to me this is where the the the
18:39
the this is where we are in our careers
18:42
uh why CLE John is here and so make sure
18:45
you support uh the song paper write uh
18:48
um Tracy Mike y'all want to jump in yet
18:50
go for you know I'm wondering clef have
18:52
you always been a humanitarian and very
18:56
Community oriented the reason why I
18:58
asked that is because in the
19:00
entertainment industry especially as an
19:02
artist and America in general is very
19:05
individualistic right and it's like okay
19:08
what can I get sometimes when you're um
19:10
on the path to fame there's so much
19:12
pandering to self to self to self to
19:15
self um and so I'm wondering how did you
19:19
have to Fashion yourself to think about
19:22
the collective more or was that
19:25
something that was always a Nate to you
19:27
well I that's definitely a good question
19:29
I always say all you got to do is go
19:30
back to the DNA Fuji's first album
19:33
blonded on reality the first song is a
19:35
poem to the clue Club clan um and so uh
19:40
can you imagine that a record company's
19:42
giving you a money and they get album in
19:43
the first song
19:45
is sometime I think Blended on reality
19:47
ain't do good cuz you know clue CL was
19:49
like n we ain't putting that out that
19:51
might have been true though that was
19:53
like the first joint was like you know
19:55
um to say that then the second part of
19:57
it is coming from a third world country
19:59
yes like so by the time I got to America
20:01
I was 10 years old and we lived in the
20:04
projects right now anybody that really
20:06
know me know know me like and I'm going
20:09
say this once I am probably one of the
20:12
most gangsterous individuals that you'll
20:14
ever run into anyone that knows me knows
20:17
knows me the power of an individual is
20:19
not having aund [Â __Â ] with you the
20:22
powers of an individual is in the pen
20:25
right because always remember that
20:27
because with the pen
20:28
I can make 100 [Â __Â ] come for you right
20:31
so think about that so what they do is
20:33
they reverse that facade on us so they
20:36
be like no you need to to roll with with
20:38
an Entourage you need you know how many
20:40
people get killed through this process
20:42
so coming up like I said I used to look
20:45
from the project window I was on the
20:46
roof with the project with my little
20:48
brother and we look like what we going
20:49
to do in America right yeah half of my
20:51
family deported some be went in prison
20:54
it was like so what's the narrative what
20:56
how you going to break the cycle Fuji
20:59
Jay-Z Nas if they're listening I mean
21:03
everybody know we all came up together
21:04
yeah Fuji brought Jay-Z and Nas to
21:07
Europe right so and and why because fui
21:10
brought Jay-Z and Nas to Europe yeah
21:12
yeah the the Jay-Z was Nas open up for
21:14
the Fuji yeah what year was that in the
21:16
90s of course but again but I ain't like
21:20
it's just factual but the the reason why
21:23
you probably don't hear us talk about
21:25
this kind of stuff it ain't really
21:27
important but the part of it that's
21:29
important is why was it important to go
21:31
to Europe because Hip Hop was moving and
21:35
we always wanted them to have the right
21:36
information and Nas was the right
21:39
information and Jay-Z was the right
21:41
information cuz you know when big [Â __Â ]
21:43
is happening fake [Â __Â ] come in so we
21:45
always wanted to be part of that real
21:48
[Â __Â ] so as we move forward um in this
21:52
generation my warning constantly is it's
21:55
better to move in silence to move move
21:58
quietly to get what you need done in a
22:01
proper way because if you try to be loud
22:04
about anything um at the end of the day
22:07
it's a long game you see when uh Elijah
22:10
Muhammad right said that the white man's
22:13
a devil he ain't talking about the white
22:17
man it's the analogy right the analogy
22:20
of someone playing you for the long game
22:25
right and the long game is now because
22:28
it looks like you could be looking like
22:29
you getting it you getting it but in the
22:31
long run you get blocked and you get
22:34
stopped right so this is like that
22:36
messaging that we got to make sure that
22:37
we get a youth like early so like cuz
22:41
right now think about it every two weeks
22:43
another rapper killed and to my daughter
22:47
she's immune to it it almost like the
22:49
culture has became the norm to who's
22:52
going to get shot this week so it's
22:54
important us as Gatekeepers um to really
22:57
rock that so that's how we've think the
22:58
way I'm thinking now that's how we
23:00
always thought okay white C John we got
23:02
a few minutes so we're going to speed up
23:03
a little bit Mike mes what you got yes I
23:06
love that uh hip hop has turned 50 and I
23:08
know that you said you have the Benjamin
23:10
Button Vibes and and you look absolutely
23:11
amazing and young and Youthful and I
23:13
heard that you said that you can hear
23:14
the stadium now right and you and you
23:16
caught the vibe I'm just wondering
23:18
coming off of paper write 2024 what is
23:22
rclo John thinking about in terms of
23:24
material what would what would your
23:25
topics be like what's on your mind I
23:28
know you can hear the stadium maybe from
23:29
production perspective but yeah when I
23:31
hear the stadium I hear from a World's
23:33
perspective Stadium you know what I'm
23:35
saying like we have different crisis
23:37
around the world that we have to unite
23:39
you know the Middle East we have a
23:40
crisis um Africa we have a crisis
23:43
Chicago we have crisis Africa we got
23:46
crisis so when we talk about what do we
23:48
talk about um there's a lot to talk
23:51
about and let's start with the idea of
23:52
how we get back to World Peace how do we
23:54
respect each other you know what I'm
23:56
saying and how do we not fake the facade
23:59
of what's going on if something is
24:01
murder let's call it murder if
24:03
something's right let's call it right if
24:04
something's wrong let's call it wrong so
24:06
um in saying that I I I hear that side
24:09
of the stadium but then I hear the other
24:11
side I hear the dance culture you know
24:12
what I'm saying to you know I used to
24:13
pop lock break lock you know what I'm
24:15
saying I can hear what the bounce needs
24:18
to be um things like that and it from a
24:20
production aspect I can hear the 808s
24:23
different you know what I'm saying like
24:25
in the stadium it rings different so I
24:27
had to adjust the wave of the sonics
24:29
like I hear things like that but keep in
24:31
mind so people was like yo why cleff man
24:34
are you how do you feel man because uh
24:37
in the course of history you know they
24:40
don't consider you one of the top you
24:43
know top five rappers of all time how do
24:46
you feel about that now what's funny
24:48
about that is sued knows put me up
24:51
against anybody when it comes to lyrical
24:55
Json I came up like that but as a young
24:58
being live off the top as a young kid
25:01
when I went to school I left Brooklyn I
25:03
went to Jersey and my my my teacher saw
25:06
me in an auditorium like playing piano
25:09
Circ circle of fifs very difficult I
25:11
didn't know how to read music she was
25:13
like where you learned that I said I
25:14
could hear it in my head and she was
25:16
like tomorrow you going to start Jazz
25:18
and classical music and I was like well
25:20
she was like how many instruments you
25:22
play I said 14 and then so now the
25:26
original W CLE instrument you could
25:28
watch it Eric B and rock Kim video Don't
25:30
Sweat the technique that's me on upright
25:32
base so this
25:35
is that's you playing that that's me
25:37
doing a f u yes sir sozy I'm barely
25:43
17 don't swe the technique yeah don't
25:46
sweat the that's me right there on
25:47
upright base that's me right there
25:49
that's you playing this that's me on on
25:51
um the video doing the fingering yeah so
25:54
listen he doing the fingering in the
25:55
video but listen how did I get to do the
25:57
fingering okay this is very important
26:00
because in high school I was a jazz
26:01
major so in the video you can't have
26:05
like a fake person doing the finger in
26:07
so I was a big fan of rock cim and I saw
26:09
him on the page that was doing a video I
26:11
took my upright base my man took his
26:14
drums and we literally went to this
26:16
video shoot without an idea of like we
26:19
could be in a video do you see the
26:21
hustle yeah I got a big ass upright base
26:23
on the train man so I I carry this big
26:26
ass base and I get in front of there and
26:29
we get inside of this video and do like
26:32
you know the fingering I said of course
26:33
I know the song I know the fingering and
26:36
when you watch this video that's why
26:38
when I when I used to go to music videos
26:40
I used to just hang with the extras and
26:42
I'd be like yo I'm the most famous extra
26:44
cuz nobody nobody knew who I was I got
26:47
like 10 shots do you know how I ain't
26:49
why CLE John in that I'm like my first
26:51
name now you know so just to say I
26:56
didn't want to be the top five rappers I
26:58
wanted to be the top five composers in
27:02
the universe like gerswin or Quincy
27:04
Jones so my thing is I'm obsessed by
27:07
rappers I'm obsessed by the talent but
27:10
for me um I want to go down as a
27:12
composer I'm telling you I'm the first
27:14
rapper to ever play Carnegie Hall with a
27:17
full philarmonic Orchestra like so so
27:21
imagine that so we go from there to now
27:24
so it's so important for you to know
27:26
your position and history and make sure
27:27
that you write it down right man why joh
27:30
man I'm hearing stuff I didn't know I
27:33
thought you knew that was I KN
27:35
that I just like the flanket bigger than
27:37
it is don't sweat the technique I'm
27:39
going do two more questions DB what's
27:41
your question yeah just going back to
27:42
helping the youth avoid the pitfalls of
27:44
you know things and decisions that we've
27:46
uh done coming before them what would
27:48
you say are some of the dos and don'ts
27:49
you've learned as a solo and uh touring
27:51
as a band like like the tour life what
27:53
would you say are some of the dos and
27:55
don'ts I would say that the tour life is
27:58
very important that you keep your nose
28:00
clean you feel what I'm saying to you so
28:03
and I could tell y'all that like no
28:06
capping I still look like myself I ain't
28:08
lose nothing but at 20 you know what I'm
28:11
saying like you you got a million
28:12
dollars on a bid and then everyone's
28:14
doing lines of cocaine you feel what I'm
28:16
saying LSD icid everything you could
28:19
think about right so it's sort of like I
28:22
really was like it was hard for me to
28:24
touch that stuff because I used to watch
28:27
being sold in the community and I used
28:29
to see what it did to folks so the [Â __Â ]
28:31
scared me straight up from the top so
28:32
what I tell the the the I look I ain't
28:35
hear like I ain't going to tell you like
28:37
I ain't never tried anything like that
28:39
would be so at the end I ain't going to
28:40
cap but at the end of the day it's
28:42
important that you don't fall into that
28:45
Victim Because man my whole entire
28:48
industry if I could tell you one thing
28:50
about the toour life and the fast life
28:53
man drugs and alcohol is like beyond the
28:56
devil and I've watched it completely
28:58
destroyed so what I try to tell the
28:59
youth is like just especially now with
29:02
the pills you know what I'm saying every
29:03
time you take a pill it's like you you
29:05
you're thinking and nine times out of 10
29:07
most of the kids that you hear talking
29:09
about taking a pill maybe they taking
29:11
one but the actual um the audience
29:14
that's listening to it because they're
29:15
saying they taking 20 at once you know
29:17
what I'm saying the kids do it true so
29:19
um so again man just try to keep your
29:21
nose clean you heard all right um Ray
29:23
love who you brought with you man
29:25
brought JK ma from JK Ma
29:28
camera he had that no love record last
29:30
year JK Ma I know who you are come on JK
29:33
get his
29:34
man man in the morning man don't jump
29:39
into the question baby let BK in it bask
29:43
in it you feel what's up up man who tell
29:46
them who you where you from tell us a
29:48
little your history man all my name is
29:50
JK Matt I'm from my gy Alabama and you
29:53
know I grew up in music my mom was a
29:55
piano Prodigy my dad was was on a rock
29:57
and roll band I play eight different
29:58
instruments ni and you know I had a
30:01
record blow up last year shout out to
30:03
shade45 they they spending it the first
30:05
time I heard on the radio was on sh45
30:07
come on that's what we do man yeah I
30:09
love showing love for real but you know
30:12
uh I got a question
30:14
though so in terms of longevity you feel
30:18
me you know beside like he was talking
30:20
about artist dying and stuff besides
30:21
that though how do you feel like someone
30:23
like me I'm 24 you feel me how do you
30:25
feel like somebody like me stays around
30:26
the game well I mean you just said the
30:28
first thing is like you you you play
30:31
instruments right so automatically if
30:34
you play them instruments you know that
30:35
put you in a category of the W clefs the
30:38
Quincy Jones the gershwins that
30:39
automatically that means that you ain't
30:41
just doing music like you actually doing
30:43
music and the longevity of the music the
30:46
360 is this here's the here's the cheat
30:49
code let me get to you so when when when
30:52
my friends was worried about having
30:54
music on the radio I was like we can
30:56
have music on the radio while I do music
30:59
for film while I was doing music for
31:01
films then I was doing like um life
31:03
Eddie Murphy Martin Lawrence I was doing
31:05
Hotel Rwanda this was nothing on the
31:07
radio then I was looking at it and say
31:09
okay not only can I do music film then I
31:11
was like hold up I'm sitting here with
31:14
these freaking Engineers right and these
31:17
dudes are just mixing jingles and they
31:20
making like 200k just mixing a jingle
31:23
then I was like hold up I got to start
31:24
writing some Jingles started writing
31:26
some Jingles building the so look at the
31:28
game like a 360 do not look at it like
31:31
try to get every part of the money cuz
31:33
you don't have to leave no money on the
31:35
table you know you literally could make
31:37
not just albums where you singing
31:39
literally think about like Mission
31:41
Impossible like you could score Mission
31:43
Impossible if you had that opportunity
31:45
so that's how you got to think big big
31:48
wor I appreciate that likewise you do
31:49
music for the shot right oh wow shout
31:52
out to my girl Lena way you see another
31:54
example right and you see I don't even
31:56
talk about it so so to show the Sha I
31:59
was Bor in to do the score for the Sha
32:02
so I'm like the the again the composer
32:04
coming in doing that jazz for the shot
32:06
and I have a a platform I'll put you on
32:09
after this it's called s mlag and it's
32:11
for composers like you like we the
32:13
different ones you know what I'm saying
32:14
like we be like we want to do it all so
32:16
I look forward to
32:17
rocking what's next for you brother
32:19
what's next for you congratulations
32:21
what's next for you oh what's next for
32:22
me I got this new sing coming out called
32:24
roll up samples that uh ludic Chris roll
32:27
out that's what I've been playing on i'
32:29
been I grew up on samples I grew up on
32:31
Tri call Quest wuang I'm a young cat but
32:34
my folks is on that you
32:36
feel so like I grew up on that so I
32:39
really like playing with the samp that
32:40
just really speaks to me and I like to
32:41
make records that can make people feel
32:43
make people move you feel me and I can
32:45
touch on touchy subjects all that love
32:47
it say your name man JK Matt you feel me
32:50
come on look at them man look at this yo
32:52
you know what you're GNA have to send me
32:54
some secret records I can't tell you for
32:56
who they are but it sound like you got
32:57
the pause you got it right come on man
33:00
need some of that production hey any of
33:01
the jingles you wrote we would know man
33:03
I wrote so I was we was talking about
33:05
the movies right so um so here's here's
33:08
another fact check uh Google um black
33:11
black um Black Friday um I had partner
33:15
up with Google and I wrote like 20
33:17
Jingles just for blackowned companies
33:20
when Black Friday was coming out so if
33:21
you Google that you can definitely check
33:23
that out B I'm going to put you up on
33:24
last thing right so they going to think
33:27
you crazy like so for example you know
33:29
how crazy they think I I'm about to say
33:31
something it's about to mess everybody
33:32
up here you can Google this right NASA
33:35
called me nasau Rockets right NASA NASA
33:40
yeah NASA hit me up like yo CLE yo
33:43
listen man we sending a rocket to space
33:45
right and then what it's going to do is
33:47
it's going to record all these sounds
33:48
then we going to bring the sounds from
33:50
space back to Earth we ain't going to
33:52
let too many people hear that but what
33:53
we want to do is know if you could put
33:55
those frequencies in music and then
33:57
start a healing mechanism through the
33:58
music so there's a record called borrow
34:01
time now when you listen to this record
34:03
borrow time the mechanism in the sonics
34:05
that's coming through it is from space
34:07
now remember the reason why I told you
34:09
this is now as crazy as this sound the
34:11
greatest healing natural healing that we
34:14
as human have is natural vibration you
34:16
can heal yourself they don't tell you
34:18
that but Google that so I just want to
34:19
tell you the more crazier they think you
34:21
are that's when you up to something you
34:23
heard I love it man give it up for white
34:26
clap
34:27
JK that was some gay JK M come on man
34:30
welcome to the show bro welcome welcome
34:32
welcome congratulations share your
34:34
social all my S everything is J period K
34:38
perod MAAC you feel me J K Ma Ray love
34:42
the legend of Bay Area Legend thank you
34:44
Ray yo C uh Ray family with Pac and
34:48
everybody E40 uh we're we're we related
34:51
as well and when we did the renaming of
34:54
Pac a street renamed it into PAC name um
34:57
in Oakland California Ray love called me
35:00
and asked me to moderate that whole
35:02
ceremony that that's a that's a insanely
35:05
amazing respect to that when we landed
35:07
in e4s Bur I did hit him up you know
35:10
what I'm saying and I was like yo we we
35:11
have a show that it' be honor to come
35:13
out and um and he was uh he was uh he
35:16
was like man he like I would love to
35:17
come he was on the other side so again
35:19
respect 100% cuz like as far as like the
35:22
culture I think even the way you
35:24
influence us you know what I mean like
35:26
just the idea of like that social
35:27
mechanism has to just be part of it you
35:29
know what I mean all right I'm about to
35:31
bar with him offline yo Frack yo Frack
35:34
yo shout out to Frack yo CL on the
35:36
cipher with you baby JK back he going
35:39
Cipher with you too all right give it up
35:41
for Frack man thanks for coming through
35:43
today man that was great said I'm
35:45
chilling we had a great week this week
35:47
shout out to all the citizens all the
35:48
guests Kevin Hart Daniel CA yeah
35:51
Stanfield okay Kane Robinson the
35:54
director James James Samuel
35:57
John paper right man I need y'all to
35:59
rock that to play again man I'm going be
36:02
texting you every like two days yo play
36:05
every day hold up hold up watch this
36:07
torch can you play that every day facts
36:10
there it
36:12
is I love you brother every time man hey
36:15
we still doing this baby they can't stop
36:17
this come on man you can't stop nothing
36:20
y'all know where to reach us y'all have
36:21
a great weekend stay on the right side
36:23
of positivity I need everybody in the
36:25
room to make some noise
36:28
everybody have a great weekend uh we'll
36:30
be back God will in front of next week
36:32
and on that note citizens please support
36:36
this song this song is for the Youth yes
36:38
all right and anytime you stream this
36:40
song there will be money that will be
36:42
donated dollar a dollar that'll be
36:44
donated toon y know Jeff Basil's got
36:46
money yeah first generational investors
36:49
um this is paper write by white cleff
36:51
and we got oh thank you to the team
36:53
great show great week this week DB torch
36:55
Kanani mik Muse Heather be and Tracy and
36:59
on that note we got nothing left to
37:04
[Music]
37:07
say
#Arts & Entertainment


