Latest / The Breakfast Club / Donnell Jones Finally Tells the Story Behind “Where I Wanna Be”

Transcript

Donnell Jones Finally Tells the Story Behind “Where I Wanna Be” · The Breakfast Club

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: I'm the homegirl that knows a little bit about everything
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: and everybody. You hear that exclusive?
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: You know she don't lie about that, right?
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Lauren came in hot. Hey, y'all, what's up?
• 0:10
  Speaker 3: It's Lauren LaRosa, and this is the second part of
• 0:13
  Speaker 3: my interview with Donnell Jones, legendary R & B singer
• 0:17
  Speaker 3: who just toured down the Versa stage. or tore it up,
• 0:21
  Speaker 3: or did not, or lack thereof, on the Versus stage.
• 0:23
  Speaker 3: He just did Versus. Y'all better leave him alone. We
• 0:26
  Speaker 3: had a great conversation with him.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: I love him. He's a sweetheart.
• 0:29
  Speaker 3: We talk about the man, the myth, the legend, and
• 0:33
  Speaker 3: what made him the R & B singer that he
• 0:34
  Speaker 3: is today. All the things he learned from, the things
• 0:36
  Speaker 3: he wish he had done better.
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: He gets deep. He really rarely does interviews, so this
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: one matters. Let's take a listen.
• 0:42
  Speaker 3: Now, today, we are going to get into a conversation
• 0:45
  Speaker 3: that I know is going to shake the room, soothe
• 0:47
  Speaker 3: the room, all of the things, because joining.
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: Us today, we have Mr. Donnell Jones, fresh off the
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: Versus stage. How you doing?
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: What's poppin'? Not much.
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: It's rainy here in New York.
• 0:59
  Speaker 3: So I was telling him that I was playing some
• 1:02
  Speaker 3: of the music in the studio, just getting ready.
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: It's rainy. But it was the vibe.
• 1:06
  Speaker 3: And my studio techs, they're 23 and 25, so they didn't.
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: Really know the music.
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: But they were like, oh, that's so good.
• 1:13
  Speaker 3: Wow.
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I got records older than them. You know what
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: I'm saying? That's crazy. Yeah, yeah.
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: That's insane. How does it feel when that happens, though?
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: Like when.
• 1:21
  Speaker 3: you have these records that are like, so what's your
• 1:23
  Speaker 3: oldest record? Like how, how old is your oldest record?
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: Um, my, my, my, my first album has now it's
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: 30 years old. So, so, um, yeah, that would be
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: the oldest record. Yep. Yep.
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: Um, I'm 34.
• 1:33
  Speaker 3: Oh, but how does that feel when you have all
• 1:38
  Speaker 3: these different generations who are, you know, discovering your music
• 1:41
  Speaker 3: or not even just discovering, even having diehard fans throughout
• 1:45
  Speaker 3: various generations?
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: Like how was that for you?
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  Speaker 2: It feels amazing. It just lets me know, like, like,
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: We're just carrying on the tradition like our parents did,
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  Speaker 2: you know, like I love my brothers and all those
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: and they're much older than I am. And so, you know, like,
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: but I heard that music because my mama played it,
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: you know, and my grandmother played certain records. And so
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: it just lets me know that it's just being passed down.
• 2:06
  Speaker 3: Well, let's talk a little bit about your background. I
• 2:09
  Speaker 3: know you mentioned your mom playing certain music. You come
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: from a music family, and I know a lot of
• 2:15
  Speaker 3: people probably start off these conversations with you this way,
• 2:18
  Speaker 3: but you come from a music family, and you are
• 2:22
  Speaker 3: a musician, but was that always the goal for you?
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: Did Donnell Jones always want to be an R &
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: B singer?
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  Speaker 2: I did. I can't remember wanting to do anything other
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: than that. I really didn't take it seriously until I
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: got to high school, but But I really can't see
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: myself or I don't even remember thinking about any other
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: particular job I was interested in or anything like that, nah.
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: Wow, okay. So you said you didn't take it seriously
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: until high school. Why was that?
• 2:47
  Speaker 3: Was it because of family pressure or just like now
• 2:50
  Speaker 3: I got to figure something out?
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: Yep, a lot of family pressure. Like, boy, get in
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: there and sing that song. Do that stuff. You know,
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: like when you're growing up, your parents be like, That's just.
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: A black family thing though. Go do that little dance.
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so I mean... At first, it's cool, but it
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: can be annoying after a little bit. You know what
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: I'm saying? But when I got to high school and
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: I started singing songs for girls in the lunchroom and
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: I started getting attention, was when I was like, oh, man,
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  Speaker 2: I really kind of like this attention. So I started
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  Speaker 2: to take it seriously.
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: Got you. Got you.
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: Now, what was the determining moment for you where you
• 3:21
  Speaker 3: were like, okay, career-wise, this is about to take off?
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: I think for me, it was around like maybe 93, 94. 94,
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: I had ended up, well, I met Eddie F. at
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: the time, that's Heavy D's DJ. And he signed me
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: and my group. I had a group by the name
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: of Porsche. And around, like, 94, he was like, yo,
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: I'm working with this new kid named Usher, and we're
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: about to put a project out on him. I want
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: you to come and do some writing for me. And
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: so things changed when I had wrote this song called
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: Think of You for Usher, and it actually came out. So,
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: I mean, that's what changed everything for me.
• 3:58
  Speaker 3: So that's interesting because a lot of R & B
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: artists who have songs as legendary as you do, some
• 4:04
  Speaker 3: of their first moments is maybe those really, really big songs.
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: But for you, it was on the back end.
• 4:09
  Speaker 3: So you understood early the writing, the publishing, and the
• 4:12
  Speaker 3: business part of it.
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  Speaker 2: Well, I was always a songwriter first. That was my
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: first initial thing was songwriting. I love making new ideas,
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: writing songs, and coming up with beats and things like that.
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: Being in a group, I know I could sing, but
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  Speaker 2: I wasn't like the lead singer of the group or
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: anything like that. I was more like in the background.
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: And Eddie kind of like pushed me out there. Like, yo, man,
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: you got to make your own joint and we're going
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: to push you out there.
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: So you did that song for Usher. The song is released.
• 4:39
  Speaker 3: That was from his 94 self-titled album, Usher, correct?
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: Correct. Yep. Yep.
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  Speaker 1: So that song goes.
• 4:46
  Speaker 3: And then after that, you're back in the studio, you're writing.
• 4:49
  Speaker 3: And then is that when the 702 comes about? Or like,
• 4:51
  Speaker 3: what is the arc?
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  Speaker 2: 702 comes a little bit after that. I'm back in
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: the studio. I'm writing songs for myself now. And Ed
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: is like, yo, man, you know what? I'm going to
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: take you down and I'm going to introduce you to L.A. Reid.
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  Speaker 2: I'm going to try to get you signed down there.
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  Speaker 2: So we meet L.A. Reid. I play a couple of
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: songs with him. I sing, I think, Yearning or something
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  Speaker 2: like that off my first album. And he's like, yo,
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: I'm going to sign you to come back with a
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: finished album. We're going to put you out. And that's
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: how I really got my deal with The Face Records. Wow.
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: Wow.
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  Speaker 3: Okay.
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 5:22
  Speaker 3: And then, so when, so okay, now your deal is happening.
• 5:26
  Speaker 3: You're with LaFace Records. You also have the writing stuff.
• 5:28
  Speaker 3: And because your family was in the music industry from your,
• 5:32
  Speaker 3: all the way from your grandmother, grandfather down to your
• 5:34
  Speaker 3: mom and dad, right? Are you knowing kind of like
• 5:37
  Speaker 3: how to set up business-wise? Because is there like a
• 5:40
  Speaker 3: production company at this point or is it just Donnell Jones?
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: It's just Donnell Jones. I mean, my family, like we
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: all sing, but nobody did it professionally. You know what
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: I'm saying? Got you. I'm the first kind of person that,
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: besides my uncle, I'm the first person that kind of
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: actually really did it successfully. And so, like, again, when
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: I met Eddie F., he kind of, like, introduced me
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  Speaker 2: to all the things music business-wise.
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  Speaker 1: And how old were you at this point? When you, like, L.A. re-days,
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: just getting the deal, how old were you?
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  Speaker 2: I think I just turned 20. Wow. Yeah, just turned 20.
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  Speaker 1: So that's, like, fresh, fresh out of high school.
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  Speaker 2: I'm fresh, yep.
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  Speaker 3: I can't even imagine being fresh out of high school
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  Speaker 3: and it being like, all right, I'm about to just
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  Speaker 3: go do this thing with L.A.
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  Speaker 1: Reid, and then boom, I get signed, and then now
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  Speaker 1: I'm writing for Usher.
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  Speaker 3: Did you understand at that time, I mean, L.A.
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  Speaker 1: Reid is L.A.
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  Speaker 2: Reid.
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  Speaker 1: Did you understand at that time what was happening? Well,
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  Speaker 1: we had.
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  Speaker 2: Tried to do it so much in Chicago that our
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: name was already out there in Chicago, but we just
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: couldn't get signed. So when we met Eddie in D.C.,
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  Speaker 2: They had a black radio exclusive convention out there called
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: the BRE. And when we met him, he just fell
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: in love with what we were doing. And, I mean,
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  Speaker 2: I kind of knew I was in a great space
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  Speaker 2: because I started meeting a lot of people and being
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: in those rooms. But when I met L.A. Reid, it
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  Speaker 2: was like, yo, I'm here for sure.
• 7:09
  Speaker 3: Wow.
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  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 7:10
  Speaker 3: So then you start putting out your own projects. Your debut,
• 7:14
  Speaker 3: My Heart, comes in 96?
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  Speaker 2: Yep, 96, yep.
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  Speaker 3: So from 93 to 1996, what were you experiencing, not
• 7:21
  Speaker 3: as just the writer, but as Donnell Jones, the man
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  Speaker 3: that put you in a space where it's like, okay,
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  Speaker 3: I got, knocks me off my feet, in the hood,
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  Speaker 3: like these songs, you're able to put together a full project.
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  Speaker 3: Like there's some life experience there after you get out
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  Speaker 3: of high school, I'm assuming.
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  Speaker 2: Oh, yeah. Yeah. Well, I mean, at that time, I
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: already got two kids. Oh, wow. Okay. I got two kids,
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: you know, I'm a young dad, you know, I'm trying
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: to get a deal. And I'm moving around Chicago a lot.
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  Speaker 2: But again, like I said, we meet Eddie F. So
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  Speaker 2: Eddie F brings us to New York. And my group
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  Speaker 2: is still together at this particular time. So, I mean,
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  Speaker 2: we're doing the runs. We're going to every record company,
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: trying to get signed, trying to sing. And this is
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: around the time when Jodeci was popping. You know, Mary J.
• 8:08
  Speaker 2: Blige just came out. Intro was really dope. And so,
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: I mean, things are really looking up for us at
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: that particular time.
• 8:15
  Speaker 3: So are there any songs that you had early on?
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: Because I know you said you were in a group,
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: but you guys didn't have a deal.
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  Speaker 3: Are there any songs early on from your deal that
• 8:26
  Speaker 3: your group was a part of that people don't know
• 8:29
  Speaker 3: that your group was a part of because we just
• 8:31
  Speaker 3: know you as Donnell Jones?
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, we did a record on Eddie F's
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: Let's Get It On album, which was a compilation album
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: that he put out on Touchables Records. And we did
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: a song on that called I Can Make You Feel
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: Real Good. And not to mention the guys, I mean,
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: they co-wrote In the Hood with me. And Natural Thing,
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: not Natural Thing, I'm sorry, Yearning, they co-wrote that as
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: well with me. So, yeah, they had some input on
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: that album, yes.
• 8:59
  Speaker 3: So what was the transition like going from Donnell Jones
• 9:02
  Speaker 3: and this group to becoming like the solo R &
• 9:05
  Speaker 3: B star, like the conversation is just about you and,
• 9:08
  Speaker 3: you know what I mean, like solo?
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: I mean, it was hard because I didn't intend to
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: be a solo artist. You know, I was I was
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: being sheltered in the group. You know what I'm saying?
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: Like I had parts that I would sing that would be,
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: you know, just my, my particular part, but I wasn't
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: the lead singer. So I was able to be like,
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: like kind of hitting a little bit. And then now
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  Speaker 2: I got to be like the guy. It's like, you know,
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: it was a little difficult, but, but I felt like,
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: you know, it was something that I wanted, I wanted
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: to challenge. And I, and I accepted the challenge.
• 9:37
  Speaker 3: So was it Eddie F then that was like, yo,
• 9:39
  Speaker 3: I think you should do this solo thing or like,
• 9:41
  Speaker 3: how did that happen?
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: Well, what happened was, was, um, We had wrote in
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: the hood. I had took it back to Chicago. He
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: had sent everybody back to Chicago. And so he was like, yo,
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: after I wrote the Usher stuff, he was like, yo,
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: you got these songs, go back and have the group
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: sign them. And I'm going to try to get y'all
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: a deal. Well, the group didn't want to sing the songs.
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: And so he was like, all right, when I got
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: back to New York, he was like, yo, when you
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: sing them by yourself, I'm going to go get you
• 10:04
  Speaker 2: a deal. And that's pretty much how it happened. Like
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: they didn't want to do it. So I just ended
• 10:08
  Speaker 2: up doing it by myself.
• 10:10
  Speaker 3: Has there ever been a conversation with you and the
• 10:12
  Speaker 3: group members? And I don't know, like, you know, where, like, relationship-wise,
• 10:15
  Speaker 3: y'all still good?
• 10:16
  Speaker 2: Or, like, what? Yeah, we still good. I mean, you know,
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: we talked about it. I mean.
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: Has there ever been, like, damn, we wish we'd have
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: just went and recorded?
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, one of the guys passed away. His
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: name is Tobar, you know. Oh, condolences, condolences. Yeah, but
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: the other two guys, I mean, we're really close. We're brothers,
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: and we all know what went wrong, you know what
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: I'm saying? I think, like, when you have a group,
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: everybody has to collectively make these decisions together, and I
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: don't think we were there at that particular time. So,
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: I mean, if it didn't break up then, it would
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: have broke up at some point.
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: Got you. Got you. Okay, so now you are a
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: solo artist.
• 10:51
  Speaker 3: And I'm taking people through it because you don't do
• 10:52
  Speaker 3: a lot of interviews.
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: I was preparing for this.
• 10:57
  Speaker 3: I'm like, it's like Vlad and then you playing space, you,
• 11:00
  Speaker 3: your sister, Nick Cannon, and y'all talking, but y'all ain't
• 11:03
  Speaker 3: really saying much.
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: I'm like, I need more. Like, I like to know
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: what's going on.
• 11:07
  Speaker 3: But it's a good experience though, just being here and
• 11:10
  Speaker 3: kind of like being in the moment and not really
• 11:12
  Speaker 3: knowing everything, just knowing kind of like timeline. So you, like,
• 11:15
  Speaker 3: you're helping us learn everything. you a bit more for sure.
• 11:19
  Speaker 3: But so, you know, My Heart Is Out and that's
• 11:22
  Speaker 3: your debut album. How well does that do? You're charting?
• 11:26
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we're charting. I think we sold like maybe 200,000
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: records on that particular project, a little bit over 200,000 records.
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: And I felt like we could have did better. But
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: at that time, you know, LaFace was willing to give
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: me another shot because they gave me, I mean, usually
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: when you sell that many records or not enough, as
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: far as they're concerned, then they kind of like you
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: out of there. but they gave me another shot. And
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: so we went back in and started working on where
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: I want to be.
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: Okay. So that brings us to where I want to be.
• 11:55
  Speaker 3: First of all, can we just say, I did not
• 11:58
  Speaker 3: know that that song was actually like real life for you.
• 12:02
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that was true. That was true. It was true. True.
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: And it was one of your.
• 12:07
  Speaker 3: So I watched the interview that you did with Nick
• 12:09
  Speaker 3: Cannon and B, and they were talking about how that
• 12:12
  Speaker 3: was one of your kids' moms, right?
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: Like, you guys have, like, four children together.
• 12:15
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we do. We do. We do. I mean, everybody
• 12:20
  Speaker 2: hate me when I tell this damn story, but....
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: Oh, your kids be upset when you tell this story?
• 12:25
  Speaker 2: No, no, not my kids. I mean, they grew up
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: through it. They know it. They know the story. You know,
• 12:31
  Speaker 2: they lived it. But, you know, again... we got together,
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: I was young, you know, uh, we were both young
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: at the time. And so, you know, we ended up
• 12:40
  Speaker 2: having kids together and now I'm in the music industry
• 12:45
  Speaker 2: and I'm getting hit up by all women, all kind
• 12:48
  Speaker 2: of ways and things are starting to change. And so, um,
• 12:53
  Speaker 2: I wrote the record because that's what I was feeling
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: at the time. You know, we, we didn't break up,
• 12:58
  Speaker 2: but that's how I felt. I felt like, you know, um,
• 13:02
  Speaker 2: I got to write this record. Cause I mean like,
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: this is, this is really how I'm feeling. And I
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: figured out that even through writing the record, like most
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: people in the world was going through the same thing
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: I was going through. I just didn't know it. You
• 13:13
  Speaker 2: know what I'm saying? A lot of people felt that
• 13:14
  Speaker 2: same way and didn't know how to express themselves. And
• 13:17
  Speaker 2: that song kind of, kind of did it for them.
• 13:19
  Speaker 2: So I kind of get people that love me for
• 13:21
  Speaker 2: it and people that hate me for it.
• 13:26
  Speaker 3: In real life though, like, I mean, so you guys
• 13:28
  Speaker 3: had that conversation and went through that in real life,
• 13:31
  Speaker 3: and then you wrote the song? Or, like, you wrote
• 13:32
  Speaker 3: the song, and that was kind of how she found
• 13:34
  Speaker 3: out that she was feeling like that?
• 13:36
  Speaker 2: I kind of wrote the song, and then she found
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: out that's how I was feeling.
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: Well, you didn't even tell.
• 13:41
  Speaker 3: I didn't... Did she press play on the radio, and
• 13:44
  Speaker 3: then she hears it, or did you play it for
• 13:46
  Speaker 3: her privately for her?
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: No, we're still living together. We're still together at the time.
• 13:49
  Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying?
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: We're together. I know you lying.
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: No, we're together. You know what I'm saying? We're together.
• 13:55
  Speaker 2: You know, and I mean... I have to write about
• 13:58
  Speaker 2: my life. Cause that's what I'm going like. All of
• 14:01
  Speaker 2: my records, man, that, that, that I put out have
• 14:03
  Speaker 2: been about my life. You know what I'm saying? So
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: I don't know how to do it any other way,
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: but that way. And so, yeah, when she heard it,
• 14:09
  Speaker 2: she didn't, she didn't like it. She didn't, you know,
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: her family had to hear this record on the radio,
• 14:14
  Speaker 2: you know, like it's a lot of factors that we
• 14:16
  Speaker 2: had to deal with. But at the end of the day,
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: I didn't, I didn't leave. I stayed, you know? So
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: the record is, is, is saying that I left, which
• 14:24
  Speaker 2: I mean, you got to add some, some fiction to it,
• 14:26
  Speaker 2: but I never left. You know, I stayed and we
• 14:28
  Speaker 2: worked it out.
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: And are you guys still together?
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: No, no, no, no. We ended up still breaking up.
• 14:35
  Speaker 2: But it was like five years after that record came out,
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: we ended up ending it.
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: Got you.
• 14:39
  Speaker 3: I mean, look, I will say for the people who
• 14:41
  Speaker 3: understand the song, like if they're feeling that way, it's honest.
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: And I think what it is, is.
• 14:48
  Speaker 3: I have this debate all the time and I know
• 14:50
  Speaker 3: a few years back, you probably remember this when people
• 14:52
  Speaker 3: were going through that whole dissecting people's lyrics again.
• 14:55
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: And people were having commentary about whether your song was
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: toxic or not.
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: There were people.
• 14:59
  Speaker 3: Debating like, well, at least he's being honest because a
• 15:03
  Speaker 3: lot of men aren't honest when they're not happy and
• 15:06
  Speaker 3: then they're in a relationship, but they cheating and they're
• 15:07
  Speaker 3: doing other things.
• 15:09
  Speaker 2: Right. Yeah.
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: Go ahead. I'm sorry.
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: No, no, I'm sorry. No, but I was, I was honest. Um,
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: And I think that's what made a lot of people
• 15:18
  Speaker 2: appreciate the song because it was based on a lot
• 15:20
  Speaker 2: of honesty. And it wasn't that, you know, like some
• 15:23
  Speaker 2: of the R & B that we've had in the
• 15:24
  Speaker 2: past been like the fairytale R & B. I give
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: you the sun, the moon, all these stars and all
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: this stuff like that. And this was like straight to
• 15:31
  Speaker 2: the point, something that was real and that most of
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: us go through.
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: Got you.
• 15:36
  Speaker 3: When that started happening, I forget when that was. It
• 15:39
  Speaker 3: was maybe like after the pandemic. It was some years back,
• 15:42
  Speaker 3: but when they were dissecting that song, were you sitting
• 15:45
  Speaker 3: back and watching and like.
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: Oh, Lord, here we go again?
• 15:47
  Speaker 2: I mean, you know, it's the internet, man. How many, it's.
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: Like every so often does that happen where like, it's like, oh, Lord.
• 15:55
  Speaker 2: It does. I mean, what you can't do now but laugh.
• 15:58
  Speaker 2: I mean, it's when they're not talking. So I appreciate it.
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: I know.
• 16:02
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: It's one of the fan favorites, though, for sure.
• 16:05
  Speaker 3: Like, I feel like, do you get that song requested most, like,
• 16:07
  Speaker 3: when you're singing places and stuff like that?
• 16:09
  Speaker 2: I do. I do. I mean, I can't go anywhere
• 16:10
  Speaker 2: without singing that, and without singing that, you know what's up.
• 16:12
  Speaker 2: Those are my two, my biggest records, and people love
• 16:15
  Speaker 2: to hear them. Yeah.
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: Which is crazy, because they're both on the same project, right?
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: They both were on The Breakthrough?
• 16:20
  Speaker 2: Both from the same project, yep.
• 16:22
  Speaker 3: Now, let's talk a little bit about The Breakthrough as
• 16:25
  Speaker 3: an album for you. This was your second album?
• 16:28
  Speaker 2: Yes, it was.
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: So this is your second album. So at this time, what,
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: you're like 21?
• 16:31
  Speaker 2: 21. 22 yeah i'm like i'm like probably i'm 22
• 16:35
  Speaker 2: yeah probably about 22 at that.
• 16:37
  Speaker 3: Time okay so you know what's up from this album
• 16:40
  Speaker 3: first of all it's featuring lisa left eye lopez which
• 16:44
  Speaker 3: is huge can you talk a bit about you know
• 16:46
  Speaker 3: your relationship um and knowing her being able to record with.
• 16:49
  Speaker 2: Her amazing man i mean um just being in the
• 16:53
  Speaker 2: studio with her you know um and being on stage
• 16:56
  Speaker 2: with her i mean it was a Just her energy
• 16:59
  Speaker 2: was amazing. I wasn't in the studio when they did
• 17:02
  Speaker 2: that particular record. Okay. But just her energy on the record.
• 17:07
  Speaker 2: When we came out with that particular record, we already
• 17:09
  Speaker 2: had the hook. We had the music and all that
• 17:12
  Speaker 2: stuff like that, but we didn't have her version of it.
• 17:16
  Speaker 2: And so we was like, you know what we need?
• 17:18
  Speaker 2: We're going to the mix shows right now, but we
• 17:20
  Speaker 2: need a rapper on it. Who are we going to get?
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: And she happened to pop up, you know what I'm saying?
• 17:24
  Speaker 2: And they was like, yo, let's get Lisa. And at
• 17:27
  Speaker 2: the time, it was directly when she had just had
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: the issue with burning Andre's house down and all this stuff.
• 17:34
  Speaker 2: Burning the house, yes. So it was really big. And
• 17:37
  Speaker 2: so it kind of made a lot of people think, like, well, damn,
• 17:40
  Speaker 2: who was he? Since she jumped on his, she's like,
• 17:42
  Speaker 2: who is this guy? So it made a lot of
• 17:43
  Speaker 2: people pay attention to me, definitely.
• 17:46
  Speaker 3: So, like, okay, so that song, it reached number one
• 17:50
  Speaker 3: on the U.S. R & B chart, number seven on
• 17:53
  Speaker 3: the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Big, big record for you.
• 17:57
  Speaker 3: Lisa Left Eye Lopez is on the record. She's huge
• 18:00
  Speaker 3: at the time. So much is happening as an R &
• 18:05
  Speaker 3: B artist because, I mean, that song's big, but then
• 18:08
  Speaker 3: you have Where I Wanna Be. Like, are you thinking
• 18:10
  Speaker 3: about just as a creator, like, okay, I got to
• 18:14
  Speaker 3: do this again after this.
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: Like, these songs became larger than life a bit.
• 18:18
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it did. And I think as a creative and
• 18:22
  Speaker 2: as a songwriter and producer, I think we always try
• 18:25
  Speaker 2: to outdo ourselves.
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 18:27
  Speaker 2: But at the end of the day, we never know
• 18:28
  Speaker 2: what that song is going to be. You know, you
• 18:31
  Speaker 2: can try to make something sound like something else and
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: it just don't hit the same. And so I've never
• 18:36
  Speaker 2: really tried to do that. I just try to make
• 18:38
  Speaker 2: whatever was on my heart and so that that particular time.
• 18:42
  Speaker 3: And when you brought you, you mentioned like you weren't
• 18:44
  Speaker 3: in the studio with Left Eye, but like when she
• 18:46
  Speaker 3: got put on it, the energy was crazy. There was
• 18:47
  Speaker 3: a version without her and one with her. How did
• 18:49
  Speaker 3: she even get brought into the fold? Like y'all just
• 18:51
  Speaker 3: randomly reached out to her? Was she a fan or
• 18:53
  Speaker 3: like how did that even happen?
• 18:55
  Speaker 2: I think that Eddie F, at the time, he worked
• 18:59
  Speaker 2: at LaFace Records. He was also the head of Untouchable Records,
• 19:05
  Speaker 2: which I was on Untouchables and LaFace. And so it
• 19:08
  Speaker 2: just made it more sense to keep it in house.
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying? Because we wouldn't have to
• 19:13
  Speaker 2: go get appearances and all those things like that. So
• 19:16
  Speaker 2: LeFi was perfect for that, you know? And again, like
• 19:19
  Speaker 2: I said, she was, that No Scrubs and all that,
• 19:21
  Speaker 2: all that was really hot during that time. So, I mean,
• 19:23
  Speaker 2: just to have her on the record was amazing.
• 19:27
  Speaker 3: It seems like record label culture back then was, like,
• 19:29
  Speaker 3: so different. Like, I always hear the stories even about, like,
• 19:32
  Speaker 3: Bad Boy. And then you hear, like, all of the, like,
• 19:34
  Speaker 3: Rockefeller stories with, like, State Property. And, you know, it
• 19:38
  Speaker 3: seems like there was, like, a family element, even if
• 19:41
  Speaker 3: the artists didn't really know each other. That is so
• 19:43
  Speaker 3: different than what it's like now.
• 19:45
  Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, if you look at that, video, I mean,
• 19:49
  Speaker 2: Usher came out, he was in the video, Outkast was
• 19:52
  Speaker 2: in the video, T.I. was in the video, some Goody Mob. So,
• 19:56
  Speaker 2: I mean, it was a family atmosphere at LaFace Records.
• 19:58
  Speaker 2: I mean, and they came out and they supported me, definitely.
• 20:02
  Speaker 3: Wow, that time and that era, like, I think it's
• 20:07
  Speaker 3: most talked about But if you think about all of
• 20:09
  Speaker 3: the legends and the icons that came out of that
• 20:12
  Speaker 3: era and the music that still stayed and to this
• 20:14
  Speaker 3: day is being played like it.
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: Just came out yesterday.
• 20:16
  Speaker 3: Like, do you ever sit back and think about in
• 20:18
  Speaker 3: any of the conversations y'all were having in the label
• 20:20
  Speaker 3: or like just experiences that y'all were having in the label?
• 20:23
  Speaker 3: You're like, dang, like being a part of the beginning,
• 20:26
  Speaker 3: like inaugural stages and phases of that.
• 20:30
  Speaker 2: It feels amazing just to be able to look back
• 20:34
  Speaker 2: and be like, damn, you know what? I was on
• 20:36
  Speaker 2: my idol's label, like Babyface. You know what I'm saying?
• 20:38
  Speaker 2: I recently seen him at the Essence Festival, and he
• 20:42
  Speaker 2: sang all of his songs that he had written for
• 20:44
  Speaker 2: other people. And I'm like, damn, man. I was actually
• 20:47
  Speaker 2: really on his label. That's crazy. I mean, I was
• 20:49
  Speaker 2: on the label with TLC. I was on the label
• 20:51
  Speaker 2: with Usher, with all these fantastic people. Even Outkast, man,
• 20:57
  Speaker 2: they just got into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
• 21:00
  Speaker 2: I mean, just amazing, man. LaFace, to me, felt like
• 21:03
  Speaker 2: what Motown used to be in its day. And I
• 21:07
  Speaker 2: can really appreciate just being able to be on that label.
• 21:09
  Speaker 2: It was dope.
• 21:11
  Speaker 3: What was it like as an artist learning to develop
• 21:13
  Speaker 3: your talent? I mean, artist development was a real thing
• 21:15
  Speaker 3: back then, but learning how to develop stage presence. You
• 21:18
  Speaker 3: talk about music videos. Y'all went off in music videos.
• 21:21
  Speaker 3: What was that like that is so different than how
• 21:24
  Speaker 3: it is today?
• 21:25
  Speaker 2: I mean, well, back then, they made us do media training.
• 21:28
  Speaker 2: They threw us to the wolves. Like, hey, all right, well...
• 21:32
  Speaker 2: y'all got these songs coming out, now y'all got to
• 21:34
  Speaker 2: hit the colleges. So they put us on college tours.
• 21:37
  Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying? And quite naturally, when people
• 21:39
  Speaker 2: don't know who you are at first, you know, you
• 21:41
  Speaker 2: get some booze here and there. And when your record
• 21:43
  Speaker 2: come out, then things start to change. So we really
• 21:45
  Speaker 2: went through the trenches and really paid our dues as
• 21:48
  Speaker 2: far as like, just actually really going out and building
• 21:52
  Speaker 2: a fan base from scratch.
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: How insane was it for you?
• 21:56
  Speaker 3: Because I mean, you're at the height of your career,
• 21:58
  Speaker 3: you're young, your label mates and you are becoming some
• 22:01
  Speaker 3: of the biggest faces in music, but you are young, right?
• 22:04
  Speaker 3: So there's a lot of partying. There's, you know, the drinking,
• 22:07
  Speaker 3: the drugs, all of that stuff, right? How was it
• 22:10
  Speaker 3: for you? Because you were also a dad already.
• 22:12
  Speaker 2: Right. But it didn't, I mean, like I still got
• 22:16
  Speaker 2: involved in, in drinking, drinking heavy. I mean, I had,
• 22:19
  Speaker 2: I had a drinking problem for a while. Um, smoking weed,
• 22:22
  Speaker 2: you know what I'm saying? Like, like just, just, It
• 22:25
  Speaker 2: was wild. It was a wild time. You know what
• 22:26
  Speaker 2: I'm saying? And I didn't indulge. I mean, I can't
• 22:29
  Speaker 2: say I didn't. I really appreciated the time that I had.
• 22:32
  Speaker 2: It was beautiful. It was amazing. But, you know, you
• 22:34
  Speaker 2: can't burn the candle at both ends of the, you know.
• 22:37
  Speaker 2: So I had to figure it out.
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: Well, okay.
• 22:42
  Speaker 3: So we keep going and going and going and going
• 22:44
  Speaker 3: with the hits and the hits and the hits. And
• 22:45
  Speaker 3: then something else that I, you know, I'm watching Versus
• 22:48
  Speaker 3: and I was like, oh, yes.
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: It's so hard. Big pun. Donna Jones.
• 22:53
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 22:55
  Speaker 3: That record, I mean, that's not a LaFace thing because
• 22:57
  Speaker 3: he's up in New York at this point.
• 22:59
  Speaker 2: But I lived in New York. I lived in New York.
• 23:02
  Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying? Like, I was a LaFace artist,
• 23:03
  Speaker 2: but I was one of the only artists that was
• 23:05
  Speaker 2: in New York. I moved to Chicago and I came
• 23:08
  Speaker 2: to Jersey and I lived in New York, Jersey area
• 23:11
  Speaker 2: for about eight years. So I was always in that
• 23:13
  Speaker 2: area because, again, Eddie F. was the head of the
• 23:18
  Speaker 2: label I was on, which was Untouchables. And that's where
• 23:21
  Speaker 2: he lived at. And so I came to New York.
• 23:23
  Speaker 2: So I was always in that New York environment.
• 23:25
  Speaker 3: So just running around, being in New York, is that
• 23:27
  Speaker 3: how you ran into Pun? And I'm sure Fat Joe
• 23:29
  Speaker 3: and all the rest of the Terror Squad. And I
• 23:30
  Speaker 3: hear so many stories about, like, we just interviewed Fat
• 23:34
  Speaker 3: Joe on The Breakfast Club the other day. And, you know,
• 23:36
  Speaker 3: with him, you just sit and listen to all the stories.
• 23:39
  Speaker 3: But every time he illustrates that time with, like, you know,
• 23:42
  Speaker 3: when Pun was around and they were running around and
• 23:44
  Speaker 3: doing the things that they were doing, that also seems
• 23:46
  Speaker 3: like some magical times as well, too. But, like, you know,
• 23:48
  Speaker 3: running into Pun and that record coming about, what's the,
• 23:51
  Speaker 3: where are we? Are y'all out and about or... Is
• 23:54
  Speaker 3: it like an Eddie F thing again, or how does
• 23:56
  Speaker 3: that happen?
• 23:57
  Speaker 2: Nah, I mean, well, nah, I'm hot. You know what
• 24:00
  Speaker 2: I'm saying? I got the hottest record in the country.
• 24:04
  Speaker 2: I'm Donnell Jones, and I'm singing, you know, what's up everywhere. So,
• 24:07
  Speaker 2: I mean, upon them, they reach out. They like, man,
• 24:10
  Speaker 2: let's get him on a joint. So, they reach out.
• 24:14
  Speaker 2: I go to the studio. I mean, meanwhile, the studio
• 24:16
  Speaker 2: look like it's like a club. You know what I'm saying? Because,
• 24:18
  Speaker 2: I mean, it's mad people popping bottles. We having a
• 24:22
  Speaker 2: good time. It feels like a club environment. But now
• 24:25
  Speaker 2: I'm in there, you know, just singing my parts for
• 24:26
  Speaker 2: the song. But it was, man, just a beautiful atmosphere, man.
• 24:30
  Speaker 2: Really dope. The environment was dope. Yeah, it was off
• 24:33
  Speaker 2: the chain.
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: What studios were y'all recording at here in New York?
• 24:37
  Speaker 2: The Hit Factory. What was the other one, man? Battery Studio.
• 24:44
  Speaker 2: I mean, we was in most of them downtown.
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: Got you. Got you.
• 24:48
  Speaker 3: I hear a lot of stories about Electric Lady, Daddy's House.
• 24:53
  Speaker 3: Like those are, those are, I know Daddy Sauce was
• 24:56
  Speaker 3: Puffy's studio, but normally when you hear a lot of those,
• 25:00
  Speaker 3: it was a party in the studio. It's normally those places.
• 25:02
  Speaker 3: That's why I asked you that.
• 25:04
  Speaker 2: But yeah.
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 25:04
  Speaker 3: So, so It's So Hard is here. And then you have,
• 25:08
  Speaker 3: You Know That I Love You, Put Me Down. Like
• 25:11
  Speaker 3: there's just, there's going to, there's a lot of records
• 25:13
  Speaker 3: that come, you know, at the height of the success.
• 25:16
  Speaker 3: When you're there and you're making those records and they
• 25:18
  Speaker 3: all are hitting, they all are sticking. What are some
• 25:21
  Speaker 3: things that you're thinking or how are you seeing Donnell
• 25:24
  Speaker 3: Jones transform differently around the world than in the beginning?
• 25:28
  Speaker 3: Like what's the like, damn, this is like out of
• 25:32
  Speaker 3: this world at this point for you.
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: Like what's that moment of realization for you?
• 25:35
  Speaker 2: It's just kind of starting to feel like, wow, like
• 25:42
  Speaker 2: this is a dream come true. Cause I remember those
• 25:45
  Speaker 2: times being in Chicago and, young kid, like, you know, 10, 11,
• 25:49
  Speaker 2: watching all these music award shows and seeing Michael Jackson,
• 25:52
  Speaker 2: all these people on the show. And, like, I imagined
• 25:57
  Speaker 2: being there. And I remember myself imagining, like, that was me.
• 26:00
  Speaker 2: And now I get a chance to, like, be there.
• 26:03
  Speaker 2: You know, I'm at the music awards and I'm nominated.
• 26:07
  Speaker 2: And I'm like, damn, man, like, this is starting. This
• 26:10
  Speaker 2: is so surreal. Like, how does this happen to somebody
• 26:13
  Speaker 2: like me? You know what I'm saying? Because I'm like, yo,
• 26:15
  Speaker 2: I'm I'm a young kid from Chicago. Like, this ain't
• 26:17
  Speaker 2: supposed to happen. So, I mean, like, it just felt
• 26:21
  Speaker 2: like that. Like, wow, man. Like, wow, this is really happening.
• 26:26
  Speaker 2: But life is like that. Life is like that when
• 26:28
  Speaker 2: you put your all into something and you love it.
• 26:30
  Speaker 2: And it doesn't feel like work. It just feels like,
• 26:33
  Speaker 2: you know, I'm just doing what I'm supposed to do.
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: You're winning.
• 26:36
  Speaker 3: I mean, you're nominated for Soul Train Awards during all
• 26:38
  Speaker 3: of this. And the AMA, you won an AMA in 2001, right?
• 26:41
  Speaker 2: Favorite.
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: Soul R & B new artist.
• 26:45
  Speaker 3: So like, it's, it's feeling like I'm this kid from Chicago,
• 26:48
  Speaker 3: but like, yeah, it's larger than life at this point.
• 26:52
  Speaker 2: Yeah. These things are happening, man. And I, I just
• 26:54
  Speaker 2: can't believe it, you know? Um, yeah. How does this
• 26:57
  Speaker 2: happen to a kid from Chicago?
• 27:00
  Speaker 3: What's one thing that Donnell Jones in that moment back in,
• 27:04
  Speaker 3: you know, 99, 2000, what's one thing you wish you
• 27:08
  Speaker 3: knew at that moment that Donnell Jones today in 2026
• 27:11
  Speaker 3: would have told himself?
• 27:13
  Speaker 2: Back then, I think back then I was a little more,
• 27:15
  Speaker 2: as you said, I don't do many interviews and things
• 27:19
  Speaker 2: like that. I've always sheltered myself. I've always been that
• 27:24
  Speaker 2: guy that if there's a party going on somewhere, I'm
• 27:28
  Speaker 2: the one in the back of the corner visualizing. Because
• 27:31
  Speaker 2: I like to watch. I like to see what's going on.
• 27:34
  Speaker 2: I like to analyze the room. And I would have
• 27:36
  Speaker 2: told him, I would have told that young guy, nah, man, participate.
• 27:40
  Speaker 2: Participate a little bit more. Be more active. You know,
• 27:44
  Speaker 2: that's probably one of the best things I probably would
• 27:46
  Speaker 2: have told my younger self. Yeah.
• 27:49
  Speaker 3: What do you think would have, you know, come from
• 27:52
  Speaker 3: it different that didn't happen for you? Like, now that
• 27:55
  Speaker 3: you're looking back, like, why would you have told yourself that?
• 27:57
  Speaker 3: You think there would have been more, like, business opportunities
• 27:59
  Speaker 3: because of, like, relationships? Or, like, what do you feel
• 28:01
  Speaker 3: like you missed out by being that way?
• 28:03
  Speaker 2: I think I missed out on a lot. I think
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: I left a lot of things on the table. I
• 28:08
  Speaker 2: think a lot of opportunities that were presenting themselves would
• 28:12
  Speaker 2: have would have been easier to get. You know, again,
• 28:16
  Speaker 2: like I said, I was one of those guys that
• 28:17
  Speaker 2: was really, really quiet. Really quiet, really, really kind of like,
• 28:21
  Speaker 2: you know, I guess when people, and then when I,
• 28:24
  Speaker 2: I felt like when people seen me, they like, they
• 28:26
  Speaker 2: seen a ghost or something like that. Like, damn, he out? Like,
• 28:29
  Speaker 2: he don't never come out no way. He don't never
• 28:30
  Speaker 2: be around. Like, and so, you know, yeah, I think
• 28:33
  Speaker 2: I would have been a little bit more active, definitely.
• 28:35
  Speaker 3: What's the opportunity that came your way during that time
• 28:38
  Speaker 3: and you were like, uh, I don't know if this
• 28:40
  Speaker 3: is for me, but you today would have, You would
• 28:44
  Speaker 3: have tried it even if you didn't think that it
• 28:45
  Speaker 3: was something that fit.
• 28:47
  Speaker 2: I don't think I've turned down anything that I think
• 28:49
  Speaker 2: that I should have done. But I think that by
• 28:55
  Speaker 2: me not being in the atmosphere or being around prevented
• 29:00
  Speaker 2: things from happening, you know, if that makes sense.
• 29:04
  Speaker 3: But I think that that could have been in a
• 29:05
  Speaker 3: good way, too. Like, it could have been like, you know,
• 29:08
  Speaker 3: like a, you know how people be like, denial is not,
• 29:11
  Speaker 3: denial is delay or, you ever heard that? Like, my
• 29:13
  Speaker 3: grandma always says, like, if you miss an exit, you
• 29:16
  Speaker 3: weren't supposed to, God was directing you somewhere else.
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: You know how the old folks be, right?
• 29:19
  Speaker 2: Like, it could have been that, too.
• 29:20
  Speaker 3: Like, it could have been a protection of some sort
• 29:22
  Speaker 3: as well now, too. I mean, when you look at,
• 29:24
  Speaker 3: you know, some of the conversations that are being had
• 29:27
  Speaker 3: today about back then, you ain't in those conversations.
• 29:30
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's true. No, I wasn't in those conversations. Yes. No,
• 29:36
  Speaker 2: I mean, and and I I guess you can look
• 29:39
  Speaker 2: at it both ways you know I'm saying yeah.
• 29:41
  Speaker 3: Yeah what though like you being a father and you
• 29:46
  Speaker 3: know your kids were always a part of your career
• 29:48
  Speaker 3: even though they weren't front and center how did that
• 29:51
  Speaker 3: ground you and kind of like like help you grow
• 29:54
  Speaker 3: up in the music business even though your kids weren't
• 29:56
  Speaker 3: in the music business Well, I.
• 29:58
  Speaker 2: Had to grow up, you know what I'm saying? Because
• 30:01
  Speaker 2: first of all, I had the type of parents where
• 30:02
  Speaker 2: they was like, you know, very stern, but at the
• 30:05
  Speaker 2: same time, like, yo, if you ain't going to do this,
• 30:07
  Speaker 2: then you got to get out. You got to go
• 30:09
  Speaker 2: do it on your own. So I left home when
• 30:10
  Speaker 2: I was 17, you know what I'm saying, in pursuit
• 30:14
  Speaker 2: of trying to get a record deal. And in that process,
• 30:19
  Speaker 2: having two kids, so I had to grow up really fast.
• 30:22
  Speaker 2: And I had to learn how to, you know, like, okay,
• 30:24
  Speaker 2: you can go do your job out here, but you
• 30:25
  Speaker 2: got to come home, man. You got to get back
• 30:27
  Speaker 2: to the kids. You know, and so that's how I
• 30:29
  Speaker 2: treated my job. Like, it was just a job, you know.
• 30:32
  Speaker 2: I mean, of course, I think when we all get
• 30:34
  Speaker 2: into something like this, the music business, yeah, you know,
• 30:37
  Speaker 2: you get that bubble. Your head starts to feel big
• 30:39
  Speaker 2: and you start to feel like, yeah, I'm this, you know.
• 30:42
  Speaker 2: But eventually that subsides.
• 30:47
  Speaker 3: How were your labels with that, though, right? Because, like,
• 30:50
  Speaker 3: you were also always in very long-term relationships, from what
• 30:53
  Speaker 3: it seems. You had children. But during that time, it was, like,
• 30:57
  Speaker 3: the opposite. Like, they wanted you to just be, like,
• 30:59
  Speaker 3: the single ladies' man.
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: Like, that was, like, the image. That was the brand.
• 31:03
  Speaker 3: Like, so how were you dealing with, how were you
• 31:05
  Speaker 3: balancing the at-home life with the superstar life?
• 31:08
  Speaker 2: I mean, that was difficult, because I had a lot.
• 31:10
  Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying? I had a lot, like,
• 31:11
  Speaker 2: you know, like, they always say, Don't say you got
• 31:14
  Speaker 2: a girlfriend. Don't speak about your relationship. So I had
• 31:18
  Speaker 2: to kind of maneuver in a way where I really
• 31:20
  Speaker 2: couldn't talk about my life at home. Because, I mean,
• 31:24
  Speaker 2: back then they would tell you that the girls, if
• 31:27
  Speaker 2: you got female fans out there, they want to always
• 31:29
  Speaker 2: feel like they can have you. And if they don't
• 31:32
  Speaker 2: feel like that, then they kind of feel like, why
• 31:34
  Speaker 2: am I buying his record? I can't never imagine being
• 31:37
  Speaker 2: with him. But that was the thought process back then
• 31:40
  Speaker 2: of how artists carry themselves.
• 31:43
  Speaker 1: And you were married, you were married for a very
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: long time.
• 31:46
  Speaker 2: Well, I didn't, I didn't, I wasn't married to, to
• 31:48
  Speaker 2: my first. No. I know. I did get married. Yes. Yes.
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: Jasmine, right?
• 31:53
  Speaker 2: Yes. Okay.
• 31:54
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 31:55
  Speaker 3: Cause I looked that up and I was like, okay, 2007.
• 31:58
  Speaker 3: And at the height, the height is like 2000, 2001.
• 32:00
  Speaker 3: I'm like, that was pretty early, not early, but that
• 32:03
  Speaker 3: was like, That was a time where a lot of
• 32:05
  Speaker 3: people probably wouldn't have wanted to settle down or wouldn't
• 32:07
  Speaker 3: have been able to like sit still enough to settle down.
• 32:10
  Speaker 3: So there was something you saw in your upbringing that
• 32:13
  Speaker 3: was like, nah, I need this though.
• 32:14
  Speaker 1: Like I need a grounded family, like a home.
• 32:18
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 32:19
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 32:19
  Speaker 2: I mean, I did feel like that. I ain't gonna lie.
• 32:21
  Speaker 2: I was scared to get married at first. I mean,
• 32:22
  Speaker 2: I probably would have never did it, but something in
• 32:24
  Speaker 2: me was like, you know what, man? Like, yeah. Get married, man. Like,
• 32:28
  Speaker 2: what are you doing? Like, I mean, you always live,
• 32:30
  Speaker 2: you're living a lifestyle as though you're married. Why you're
• 32:33
  Speaker 2: not married? Why you just won't do it? And, uh,
• 32:36
  Speaker 2: and I just equate that back to, you know, doing
• 32:38
  Speaker 2: all of those, the, um, what you call that, man? Um, Like,
• 32:45
  Speaker 2: the press stuff we used to do, and they used
• 32:47
  Speaker 2: to tell us, never mention that you're married. So I
• 32:49
  Speaker 2: always used to think about that, and that's what kind
• 32:51
  Speaker 2: of scared me from getting married. But I was like,
• 32:53
  Speaker 2: you know, man, I need to do this.
• 32:56
  Speaker 1: New project coming. You know, all the songs are streaming crazy.
• 32:59
  Speaker 3: So congratulations on, you know, just that, on, you know,
• 33:02
  Speaker 3: that new discovered audience and everything that is to come.
• 33:05
  Speaker 3: We appreciate you at the latest with Lauren LaRose. I
• 33:07
  Speaker 3: don't care what the people saying. I'm going to press
• 33:09
  Speaker 3: play on where I want to be or where you
• 33:11
  Speaker 3: want to be.
• 33:12
  Speaker 1: Whoever want to be there. We're going to press play
• 33:13
  Speaker 1: after this. Okay.
• 33:14
  Speaker 2: Yes. Love. Appreciate you.
• 33:17
  Speaker 1: Appreciate you.
• 33:17
  Speaker 3: This has been another episode of the latest with Lauren
• 33:19
  Speaker 3: La Rosa guys. I tell you every single episode, y'all
• 33:22
  Speaker 3: could be anywhere with any old body talking about all
• 33:24
  Speaker 3: of the things, but you guys choose to be right
• 33:26
  Speaker 3: here with me, my low riders.
• 33:28
  Speaker 1: I appreciate you. And I'll catch you in my next one.