Latest / Broken Record with Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam and Justin Richmond / Stormzy

Transcript

Stormzy · Broken Record with Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam and Justin Richmond

• 0:15
  Speaker 1: Pushkin. Grime has a rap subgenre first started to bubble
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: up in London in the early OTS. Artists like Wiley
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: and Dizzy Rascal developed an entirely new way of rhyming
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: over lightning fast beats. The style was inspired by sounds
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: popular in the UK in the nineties like garage, techno
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: and jungle. Today's guest Storms is at the forefront of
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: grime's newest generation. He rose to prominence in twenty fifteen
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: after uploading a mixtape like video to YouTube where he
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: was free signed over classic grime tracks. Since then, Storms
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: has released two number one albums in the UK, won
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: three brit Awards, and become the first British rapper to
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: headlined the Glastonbury Festival. Just before releasing his third album,
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: This Is What I Mean, Storms, he met up with
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: Rick Ruben in London for a cover story from ID
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: Magazine's Royalty issue. This is the recording of that conversation.
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: On today's episode We'll Hear Storms, he played Rick songs
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: from his new album and explain why he decided to
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: consider his audience last when recording it, and Storms he
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: talks about how a painful breakup and trusting God helps
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: lead him to a new melodic, soulful sound. This is
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: broken record liner notes for the Digital Age. I'm justin
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: Mitchell from London. Here's Rick Rubin with storms. Since we
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: spoke last, Yeah, you're just starting. I think when we spoke,
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: I don't even know if there were any there was
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: anything you were ready to dive in. It was the
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: day before the first session, the first session that was booked,
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: as in, Okay, I'm going to start my album, and
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: we spoke and it's it's crazy because when we spoke,
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: it's like you just reiterated on what I already knew.
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: But you know, I knew what to do, yes, when
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: I I was focused on it, but to hear you
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: say it was like, okay, yeah, this is definitely what
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: I've gotta do to you know what I mean. So,
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: and the process has been literally everything you said, and
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: I just embody that in every in every way, every shape,
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: every form, in every intricate detail of the process, like
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: it was just considering the audience last and not even
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: Yeah it's funny to say, right, yeah, it's funny to
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: say it, but it's true. It's in service to the
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: audience exactly that you can't think about them. Literally, I
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: feel like there's also this false sense of how re called.
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: It's like a false bravery, and it's like a false
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: freedom when it's like, I'm not considering you, audience, so
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: I'm gonna do all this stuff to show you that,
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: And that's not freedom, do you know what I mean?
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: And I was like, no, what I'm gonna do is
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: I'm not going to consider the audience in the most
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: pure way possible as And it's not like it's not like, hey,
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: I'm gonna defy what everyone thinks about me. It's like,
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: I'm just gonna be so true to myself that I
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: can't consider the audience. And any decision I make about
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: this art that I'm making, just make it true to you.
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: And most of the time what people want is what's
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: true to you. And if you try second guessing yourself
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: to please someone else, it's never real, you know, it's
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: never It's not the best it can be. The best
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: it can be is the thing that you love more
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: than anything exactly, and people like it or not, and
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: it's okay, that's fine, but it's real, you know, it's
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: it's real, it's who you are, and it's the best
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: of yourself and that dictates who your audience is because
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: forever you want to be able to make the music
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: that you want to because otherwise you're always like, oh,
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: what are they gonna like next? What am I? And
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: you start chasing trends and it's and I've always said
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: that is like, for me, that's the most impossible task
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: you see, to kind of try and figure out what
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: people would like isla, especially in the way music moves
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: and trends are slack. The idea of being caught in
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: a race in terms of our gho studo and I'm
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: in there like yo, we gotta make sa that is
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: my worst nightmare. And I've always said if I ever
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: get in that space, I will never do this again,
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: because that's like that feel was that for me, that
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: feels that probably the worst place to be as a creative,
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: where I'm trying to make something to please people who
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: don't even know. I always say the audience doesn't even
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: know what they like, even me as me as a
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: music listener, I never know what I like until I
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: hear it and it connects with me, do you know
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: what I mean? So I always want to just be
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: on this side of defense. Where I'm doing everything for
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: myself and it's been a very selfish process as well,
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: you know what I mean. So I feel like every decision.
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: It's funny because I feel like we had this like
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: essence and culture making the album, and then towards the
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: end of it, well, I got this white board and
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: I started writing loads of quotes, and one of the
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: quotes was a quote that is at the beginning of
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: your book, it's about being in the in the form
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: that allows art to be inevitable. And that was one
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: of the quotes that was on the board and that
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: we was getting to the towards the end of the
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: album process, and we've been We've been super pure in
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: every decision. And then you know when it comes to
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: finish and like just a functionality that comes with finishing
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: a record, and you know the facilitating that comes with
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: finishing a record. And then there's the intro fire and
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: Water that is it's about eight minutes long, and there
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: was there was discussions about like how we do this
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: and how we do that, and I just said, we
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: just got a stick to what we started with, as
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: in what how do we feel? How do you like
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: as and this is all about us. This isn't about
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: anyone else. How do how do we feel? Does this
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: make us feel good? Do we want that guitar stream
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: to just keep going? Do we want that drum to
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: just keep going? Do you want it to stop here?
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: Because it doesn't feel good anymore? And it was just
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: so selfish, but in the most beautiful way. Like and
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: I've always said, I have to love my art more
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: than anyone. I have to love what I make more
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: than more than anyone. It should be my pressures, it
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: should be my pride and my job before the world
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: even cares about it, because, as you said, it's not
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: about whether people like it, which is which is even
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: that's wild, it's a wild place to get to. It's
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: a wild idea, yeah, but it's the job. The job
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: of the artist is to say this is me, this
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: is my work, and you know, hopefully you like it. Yeah,
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: but either way it has to be mine. Otherwise what
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: is it? You know, what else is it? What is it? Yeah?
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: But yeah, it was, it's been it's been amazing. And yeah,
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: I think keeping that same ethos and a big one
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: for me as well as having got in the room. Yes,
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: like every time we went to make music and even
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: just in my life as well, Like I feel like
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: I'm at a stage now where I overstand that what
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: we do, it's like I do not take it for
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: granted to all this day. I always say, like if
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: I'm if, I'm if, I wouldn't have made a song
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: now and it was good. I get back in my
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: car and I can't believe. I can't believe it. I'll
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: play it and I can't believe, Like, Yo, this was
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: because I overstand that this what we do is and
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: it sounds sometimes it can sound like this kind of
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: lack fairytale come by our kind of slap No, Like no,
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: it's real. It's it's real. Like I always say, as artists,
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: a creatives, we we just walk in the studio and
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: just hope to God that some some cool stuff comes
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: out of Like whatever we play, whatever we sing, whatever
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: we wrap, we just hope to God that you do
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: you know what I mean, Like it's not a muscle.
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: We can, of course, we can practice, and we can,
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: but when it's really good, yeah, it's bigger than us
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: exactly exactly one hundred percent. And that's what I've overstood
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: with this process. So go in the studio, and we pray.
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: We asked God to be in the room, Holy Spirit
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: guide us and just wherever comes out like, and it
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: takes a lot of the pressure of myself and the
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: artists in the room because it's like, it's not even us,
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: it's not even us this let this let God guide it. So, yes,
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: you're the vehicle to allow it to happen, hundred percent. Yeah,
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: And it's powerful. It's been very powerful. Yeah, it really is.
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: Let's listen. I'm so yeah, yeah, please, um. I think
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: I always start with just the intro. Yeah, and even
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: let's listen in order. Let's listen. And I was just
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: a little just a little context with because I think
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: this is one of the truest testaments to that the
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: whole culture around the album and how we made it
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: is that we made this song. And for a long
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: time I was writing it on the whiteboard. It was
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: always the first thing I wrote. And then a Progression Castle,
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: who's phenomenal and he executively produced the album as well,
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: and my cousin as well, my cousin Germaine, who's my
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: creative partner. Everyone thought it was the intro, but at
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: first I was like, oh, this song's like very soulful
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: and melodic and vulnerable and very beautiful, and I was like,
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: I don't know if it's the intro, and then I
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: thought to myself, why wouldn't it be the intro. Also,
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: it's about it's about my ex girlfriend, which at the
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: time I made it, she was the most pressing matter
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: on my heart. So I feel like that's why it
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: was the first song I made, because as soon as
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: I've gone to touch the mac, that's like the first
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: thing that's come out of me. And it goes back
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: to that thing in terms of considering the audience last,
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: because what I felt that I was doing is that
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: once upon a time, when I made album, because I'm
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: a rapper, that first tune, I have to you know
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: what I mean? I got a rap and I got
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: the expectations to expectation, do you know what I mean?
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: And that's the kind of thing like as in that
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: doesn't come from a place of art, that comes from
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: a place of maybe ego, like as when I'm starting
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: this conversation, starting this album and I'm gonna show you
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: that I can still and I was like, this album,
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: I had to kill my ego, do you know what
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: I mean? I had to kill my ego and just
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: let my truth speak for itself. So this is why
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: it's the first song on the album, because it was
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: the first song we made and it was definitely at
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: the most present. My answer, it's probably beast for you.
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: It's probably best fed file fire from this prophet match too.
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: Bind I still the ground, and even though it's called outside,
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: it's probably best feed prey to lead us from this drop.
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: If your love is my holy war to God, just
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: let me drowned. And even if you don't, it's fine.
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: I guess you're gonna be figured out. We've got that
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: Champagne love. Don't let it fist it out. I know
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: I bought a water pain you could have did without
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: a few us't never wanted me. Then I'll probably get
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: a bigger house. I was standing by the war. Do
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: we tripple drown running around the circle, just a ward
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: listening to lessons. That's a lesson taught. Second guess is
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: really got you having second force? Second force never hurt nobody.
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: Everybody has them. If you all get Bayway spurs. And
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: I think I missed the touch even more than me imagined.
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: If I saw you right now, I wonder what would
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: happen Orange Gewagon, you can park up on the travel
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: I was meant to be there when you're starting up
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: your left you made your people proud, or starting all
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: that eyes we draw apartment in the skies. I scared
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: my livest cameras and I said, I hope it doubles
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: back on you when I double back. I never double
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: back to rout you. I hate to see you leave,
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: but I'd love to see the back of you. I'll
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: take you out to eat and after that I make
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: a snack of you. I never put my hand on you.
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: It still the biggest fun of you. But for me
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: that color greens and round the beans and Kellorlo. Every
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: single day I close mans and try and channel you,
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: try from memory lane and then I see you by
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: the Ovenue. But it's probably best for you, probably best
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: for you. Far fire from this perfect match too. Burn
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: I stood her ground. And even though it's called outside,
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: thank you, that's beautiful, Thank you very much, thank you
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: sound very free. Yeah that's what. Yeah, thank you, thank you. Yeah.
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: They love it. Yeah, that's yeah, that's how I feel
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: as well. I love it. And it's completely unexpected at all.
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: What I was expecting to hear to start with oh, wicked, perfect, perfect, beautiful,
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: thank you. So it's like three songs and one really yeah,
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: And it was it was always just one song and
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: then yes, and it was another song that got made
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: and then and even then that put into two songs together.
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: At first, like it was what I was saying, you
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: know that sometimes people with art you want to be
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: purposely defiant or purposely and like put and I was like,
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: if it doesn't feel good, we're not going to do it.
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: It's not about that. But then it felt so good
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: and it felt right, and like I was on tour
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: and I was listening to both the songs separately, and
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: I was like, no, this tells a story. This like this,
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: it feels like it's a yeah, it's a continuation of
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: the story. It's beautiful, thank you, And tell me how
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: it happened, Like what was the first thing to happen?
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: Was there a track first or was there a vocal idea? No,
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: So the first thing was it was the first day
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: in studio with me and Progression, and he just played
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: that chord. He played that, He just played the chord
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: the way it opens, Yeah, the way open. And then
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: I just grabbed you know, if I could play something
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: please the first time? He sang, yeah, the first time. Yeah.
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: And this is this is my posts a lot of
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: the time as well, where I just grabbed the marc
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: and whatever feels whatever comes out of me and feels good.
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: I just just always trying to go with that. It's
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: probably best for it's probably best free file fired from
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: this perfect match too. Burner stood the ground, and even
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: though it's called outside incredible, it's probably be speed prey
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: to lead us from this drone. If your love is
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: my holy or talk God, just let me drowned. And
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: even if you don't, in fine paster, don't let me go.
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: What a about the up these days? The kids are
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: that falls, maybe we're off sick. What do I thought?
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: I guess I'll go a bit of balls and everybody
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: in my head of year, my wizard boughs and I
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: feel it in my daddy year my did with Bess
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: Afewers give you, I mean, then I guess I'll get
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: a bigger house anybody. And my buddy this is trip
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: it down pretty and my Putty and my Beckham boys,
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: I Betty your b daddy, you ain't taking talk second
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: guessing is really good. You're having second fours. Second fours
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: never heard nobody, everybody has him. Give you orgasms, baby,
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: where you're spezing? My best sirs. Then I turned into
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: a dragon, but he am a pretty but they bitty
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: bit of Breggan there you ever more than your poker
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: on the drive ready and my buddy in the star
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: to bass Buddy and Mydiddi and Madavid and my dads
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: brought him in the pass, brought him in the dass,
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: the cameras and NASA never back on you, buddy and
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: my daddy and made yam DACKI had a bit of
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: Betty and I hate to see the back of you.
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: Why and the Betty every time I'm make a snaky
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: wherever I am at. Good for me? That better bees,
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: amount of mus and Kelly whatever, the better beers and
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: bears and better better bees or friendship on one of
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: them are funny. It's so much of it is there?
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: Yeah already yea automatic, It just happened. Yeah, And that
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: was the first ever session be done. Casta just played
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: that chord. I grabbed the mic and that's what came out.
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: And at the time it felt like it needed work
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: and it needed to go here, and it just went
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: back to what we said is and that's the feeling.
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: That's how we like you feel. Yeah, we got and
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: a lot of the words even in the even in
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: the verses, a lot of the words of the words. Yeah,
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: it's incredible. Yeah, God was in the room. Definitely, Yeah
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: it is. You can hear you can hear it, because
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: it's like, it doesn't make sense that all this information
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: all of a sudden gets downloaded. You know what I'm like, exactly,
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: It's a lot of information. Doesn't just happen. Yeah it was. Yeah,
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: it was amazing. But that was the first song and
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: we don't we never take it for granted, but it's
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: amazing that when it happens enough, you come to realize
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: if we live in the world a certain way, it happened,
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: like I do you know what I mean. It's on
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: the one hand, it's crazy and on the other hand,
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: happens all the time. It happens all the time. Yeah, amazing,
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: But the feeling never gets old. It's so exciting because
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: we go in like wonder what's going to happen? You
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: never know, you never know, and it's not always good.
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: It can't be definitely. It can't always be, but when
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: it is, it's like, wow, can you believe it? What
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: a great feeling and that feeling of yes, not us,
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: like it's coming through. But yeah, that was. It was amazing, beautiful,
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: What a beautiful song. Thank you very much. Beautiful song.
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: I love that it starts with piano. I love that
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: all the verses there's no drums for any of the verses,
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: which also when there is no drums, you listen to
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: verses in a different way, do you know what I'm saying. Like,
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: when you're listening to a beat with versus, a part
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: of the listener is absorbed in the beat, and we're
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: like looking at how the words relate to the beat.
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: So we're maybe more into the phrasing when it's with
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: a beat, But when there's no beat, it's it's the words.
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: It's only the worst, so you hear them more and
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: they mean more. So I love that that decision. And
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: then when the beat comes in, the course becomes like
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: a chant and that works great. And then when the
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: percussion section at the end comes out, it feels almost
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: like a bridge or outro or whatever, but it feels
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: like just the story is continuing and in an unexpected
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: way as well, because it seems like a traditional song
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: might have ended, but this and we're lucky enough that
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: it keeps exactly it's beautiful, really good, really good. And
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: also another thing interesting is the delivery of the vocals
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: feels very acts. It doesn't sound like a performance. It
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: sounds like we're hearing your inner thoughts. And there's nothing
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: more profound or powerful than you know, like being close
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: enough to hear almost like what someone's thinking. Yeah, and
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: that's what it feels like. It doesn't feel like listen
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: to the rhyme, you know, listen, listen how God I
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: rhy It doesn't sound like that. It's funny you say that.
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: What I had to do with this song in particular
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: was because it was it's it's it's about someone, and
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: it's a real situation. And it's like sometimes in rap
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: somet there's a way if I've made a mistake, there's
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: a way I can say sorry, or there's a way
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: I can say I love you, and I can lack that.
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: I can be cool about it and I can say
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: it and a stylistic but I was like, for the
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: reality of this situation, like I had to I had
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: to kill wherever style or ego lived there and like
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: and really be yeah, and really deliver it and write
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: it in a way that lack. It's almost besides the listener.
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: It's besides it's it's directly from myself to it's like
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: a diarrhetic. It feels very, very personal and again not
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: necessarily expected. Yeah, you know that's that's always a great
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: I love it, beautiful, Thank you. We're gonna take a
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: quick break here and then we'll be back with more
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: from Rick Ruben and Storms. Before we jump back into
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: Rick Ruben's conversation with Storms, here's the title track off
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: his new album, This is what I mean. It's a
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: bigger reparation. What's the old the speculation. I had to
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: close the store for renovations, my cousin said, Storms. I
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: never running out of patience, you know, time to make
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: a statement, time to free my mind and limitations. But
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: that's the majors, that's my form of reparations. They said,
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: you can't slide your treasure to the nation. But what
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: they're gonna do, what they're gonna say. Storms got that
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: source to that Buller Nash talking about the bread like
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: it correlates. I see you looking bothered with your buller
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: face even though we're coming from a coming place. Well,
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: I see it. Stars let me in the red. So
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: give hi him to grow and just give him space
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: and he could be a young black Jimmy Nicks. Oh,
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: this is clean, this is clean. This is what I mean.
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: I said, this is what I mean. All my niggas
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: go it were unanimous, cut from different cluff and different calibers,
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: skill it and it's my two my managers. She got me, calm,
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: handsome man. I'm telling them what hanging off. The banisters
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: told me Who's gonna pay for all the damages? I'm
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: just reckless like the manims to conrector. You're gonna as
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: you to your manazine. I said it from the kids.
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: You shouldn't listen. I manifesting shit, and then it happened.
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: I said that I'm gonna do it. Then it happens
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: up on the minutes. Slapping I shot my brother gets
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: us more than rapping. Shot my sister. Mo he do
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: a fashion. Oh this word that I've been mush put
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: your bray in the position where I'm put. I shouldn't
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: have rap. They don't know about the times I'm led
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: give a fuck out what the timeline said. After your
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: Day streams in the second year shine lighted, I thank
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: God for their life. I'm led they get the rave clean.
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: I heard him saying, grahamy did I'm harry sis the
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: way I found that tread. You got a mainstream mandual business,
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: Well you min my bread with ten million one enough,
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: I make a lifetime pledge a rap. Thank you beautiful,
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: thank you, Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's yeah, it's like a
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: it's it's a lot like I would say that that
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: that song always feels like a sonic explosion of summer
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: sort yeah, but gives it like a spiritual, a spiritual
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: vibe even though it's a dance on. You got that
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: spiritual underpinning. Really beautiful, Thank you beautiful? Had that one happened?
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: That happened. That happened in so many ways. That started
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: off with an amazing producer called Knox Brown and it
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: was P. T J. Progression and like, yeah, we we
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: had this idea for a song that we wanted to
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: I wanted to use that all my favorite artists to like,
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: but use them as paintbrushes, not like as in verses,
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: just use them as they have voices. And their verses
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: as paint brushes. Then we had an amazing, amazing, beautiful
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: writing camp for my studio, and then Jacob Collier came,
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: and then pet J had this insane idea to sample
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: Jacob's voice and make it distorted and a bit uncomfortable
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: and a bit eerie, and then it just became this
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: this epic like, yeah, this epic song. And then Miss
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: Banks is on their Ama Ray Black Sheriff. It was
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: one of those ideas, like the first one I played,
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: that they evolve over time. But the thing that I've
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: loved the most about is that when it's evolving, it's
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: just off a feeling. It's not like, oh, let's do this,
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: because it's just like, Yo, what feels good. Oh let's
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: let's bring that person in, or oh let's do this,
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: or let's put strings here, just whatever feels good. And
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: I always say it needs to strike a chord within
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: my soul and my spirit that makes me say yeah,
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: and it has to excite me and make me feel
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: good and yeah, And then we just add to the
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: palette that if it feels good to throw some red
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: on it, we throw red on it. If it feels
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: good to just blurt some Blue, we Blurst some Blue.
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: So I think that tunes a true testament to that process. Yeah, beautiful,
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: what's next? Thank you? The next song is this song
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: is called fire Babe. Tell me before we play it,
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: play me. Tell me about the tour? Where did you play?
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: I was went to do a world tour, but then
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: pandemic came so then that and The Only Man just
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: tore Europe in twenty and twenty and then this year
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: I toured. It was actually my last album, which came
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: out in twenty nineteen, and it was it was amazing.
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: It was across the UK, Yes, and it was really
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: like the most special tour I've done so far, especially
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: I think because I've not been on social media, like
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: it felt like the first time in a long time.
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: I was with my people, yes, yeah, and it felt
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: like I would come out and every night felt like
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: in a real genuine way. I don't want to sound
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: too cheese, but I felt out O think thank you
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: like for still yes, for still working with me and
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: still supporting me. So and it was beautiful and it
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: was nice because everyone I'd lived with the album for
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: two years now and I didn't want to tour it
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: I really like, I told my team I really didn't
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: want to do it, like, but everyone encouraged me to
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: do it, and then yeah, it was really good because
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: it reminded me as well that this art that we
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: do and the music we do lives. As much as
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: I feel like I live a life away from I
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: don't ever feel I do sometimes, of course, when I
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: walk the streets, so I gold places. But a lot
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: of the time the effect of your art, you don't
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: always feel it if you're just living life, especially the
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: whare I live life. I'm with my family and my
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: friends are to come out and it's like, oh, you
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: don't know this song, and oh you don't want it
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: hit you know what I mean. And this is the
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: first tour as well where I confidently performed all the
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: songs where I'm singing, all the songs that I'm more soulful,
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: all the songs that needed a band. Whereas before I
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: used to talk because my shows are known for high
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: energy Graham and whenever I used to like perform the
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: slower stuff and the more melodic stuff I did used
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: to feel a bit like I used to do this
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: thing where I would perform it and I would have
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: a little section of it, and then as soon as
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: it was done, I would say, ah, but you didn't
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: come in for this, Let's get back to it. And
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: this time I was like, no, I'm not doing that,
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: because that's that's not brave, you know what I mean,
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: That's not brave. Like I've made this music and I
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: loved this music, and I should stand by this music.
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: So we had this big band section in the middle
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: that was probably the big chunk of the soul, like
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: forty five minutes of just soulful, and I just felt
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: it and it just felt beautiful, and it was like,
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: this is this is my music, you know what I mean.
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: I'm not going to shy away from the soul and
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: the and the and the more melodic stuff because that's
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: as much as I'm a grand artist and I'm a
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: rap artist, I'm an artist. I'm a musician. And if
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: I want to sing and I want to jam out
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: with the band and be soulful and be doing my
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: R and B and my gospel, stand on that like
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: and be proud of it. So yeah, this tour was
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: the first time I went out there. And what kind
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: of places did you play? It was an arena tour.
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: I did great. It was I want to say fifteen
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: fifteen dates. We did three or two arenas, which was
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: which was phenomenal that I was like one of the
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: highlights of my life. Yeah. It was up and down
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: the UK and it just felt good like it was like, oh,
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: this is my country and this is my people. That
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: it was amazing beautiful, Okay, lets he was anxious to
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: Yeah it's cool. Um. This song here is called fire Babe.
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: She was standing in her trad and she rose looking
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: like can angel. Her eyes took away my bread and
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: that's when I knew she was mine. Unto the end.
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: My miracle might be plain my heart and soul for
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: the years, because I I just gonna explain, even in
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: the way you love me with your face, my fire
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: bad you keep bringing bright, touch me you and buy
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: me with your fame. She makes everybody go. Then she
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: started dancing on the table. She comes starred stead in
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: order hard how she lights upper something too. My miracle,
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: mind me pain, my mind, soul just expansions. My far band.
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: You keeping to me so beautiful, thank you, beautiful, thank you. Yeah.
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: That one's very special to me. As so melodic and vocal,
• 32:01
  Speaker 1: so vulnerable and real, thank you really good. How about
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: one happened? That happened with one of the most phenomenal
• 32:10
  Speaker 1: singer songwriter as I've ever met, a young girl called
• 32:13
  Speaker 1: Debbie who's actually signed to death Jim as Well. She
• 32:17
  Speaker 1: is the unbelievable And I got in a studio of
• 32:20
  Speaker 1: her and the first there's another song coming later that
• 32:23
  Speaker 1: also she's at the end of the fire water and
• 32:25
  Speaker 1: pull me Water part me. Well, that's Debbie as well, beautiful.
• 32:29
  Speaker 1: And we got into studio and George Moore, a phenomenal producer,
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: started playing these chords, and then we started messing around
• 32:37
  Speaker 1: with some melodies, and then we figured that we wanted
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: to tell tell a story of that first spark when
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: you've met your partner and you're just sewing awe and
• 32:47
  Speaker 1: the slack wow and especially like the relationship hours hours in.
• 32:53
  Speaker 1: I just tried to narrate like the first that first time,
• 32:57
  Speaker 1: you know, when you first meet them and you're very
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: observant of them, that you might go to a party
• 33:02
  Speaker 1: or you're like at dinner and you watch them and
• 33:04
  Speaker 1: you watch how they worked the room. And we just
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: narrated it and described it. And I remember as I
• 33:10
  Speaker 1: was writing it, I was just like my lemonade or
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: my sweet Escape, and I was like, there needs to
• 33:17
  Speaker 1: be a payoff here, like what's what's this? What's the
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: lyric that we can have here? And it was like
• 33:21
  Speaker 1: my fire, my fire baby, my fire and my fire baby,
• 33:25
  Speaker 1: and Google as anyone said this before, I was like,
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: I googled it, and I was like, it would be
• 33:28
  Speaker 1: beautiful if we could coin this term, like as a
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: week like this, we'll call this song fire baby and
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: we'll create especially that's how I think, that's how I
• 33:36
  Speaker 1: feel about my ex as well as an that's a
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: good way to describe it. And I was like, if
• 33:41
  Speaker 1: we can just just coin this new term and just
• 33:44
  Speaker 1: describe it and say you're my fire baby, and like yeah,
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: it felt very beautiful and very honest, and even with
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: the vocal and the music, it's a place where I've
• 33:53
  Speaker 1: always wanted to get to as an artist. Like I
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: feel like I've always kind of sung and explored melody,
• 34:00
  Speaker 1: but I've sometimes I've done it a bit sheepish lee,
• 34:03
  Speaker 1: I've been brave, and like when I look back five
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: years ago, I've been brave and I was trying. I
• 34:09
  Speaker 1: think you even went there exactly. Yeah. I used to
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: dip my toe in and I would sing a bit,
• 34:14
  Speaker 1: and I was like, no, this time, I want to
• 34:17
  Speaker 1: sing that. I want to sing that cow Stevie sings
• 34:19
  Speaker 1: or how Frank Hooshon sings or how Whitney would sing. That.
• 34:23
  Speaker 1: I was a sing as much as because I've come
• 34:26
  Speaker 1: to the conclusion, of course, I will never be able
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: to sing like this, but I can sing in my way.
• 34:31
  Speaker 1: I can sing with my honestly and truth. It's believable.
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: The way you sing it, it's like I know you
• 34:36
  Speaker 1: mean it. Yeah, exactly, yes, and and that's all that
• 34:38
  Speaker 1: that's what that matters. Yeah, yeah, that's what that means.
• 34:41
  Speaker 1: Thank you. Let's keep going. So good. Um, okay. The
• 34:45
  Speaker 1: next one is graduations signing death tream by the way,
• 34:48
  Speaker 1: thank you, thank you. It's it's amazing. It's amazing. Man.
• 34:53
  Speaker 1: You can wear it with a badge, such a badge
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: of honor as well. Man, So cool. Yeah, thank you?
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: Okay and list oh please put you lower your tone?
• 35:30
  Speaker 1: Please could you get off my phone and please leave
• 35:33
  Speaker 1: Megan a loan? I said, please leave Megan alone, because
• 35:37
  Speaker 1: step when you deep at your house, it's never your home.
• 35:39
  Speaker 1: You want to speed. But it's best that you don't
• 35:42
  Speaker 1: under pressure. We fold, let's believe, or protecting your front.
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: I had to let it be known. We eventually grow.
• 35:51
  Speaker 1: I'm a sensitive soul. Please could you pause to applause? Please?
• 35:55
  Speaker 1: Could you let me be floored? And please leave your
• 35:57
  Speaker 1: pain at the door as to your match in this house.
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: And I can't bear anymore. Please spare me your fool. Please,
• 36:04
  Speaker 1: Lord give me the strength to forgive my dad, for
• 36:07
  Speaker 1: he's flowed, and so our master, who I might to know,
• 36:12
  Speaker 1: to not forgiven my new tries. I see it's so
• 36:14
  Speaker 1: annoying cries. But with this pain or rubber with this
• 36:18
  Speaker 1: pain or rather pain, and try and turn this broken
• 36:21
  Speaker 1: picture to something that I ain't. It's paying a rubber
• 36:25
  Speaker 1: hole because it made me who I am sorely time
• 36:28
  Speaker 1: I let it go, I free myself for myself, I
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: free you from regret. I grow on new piece before
• 36:33
  Speaker 1: you rest. And that's the least that you should get off.
• 36:35
  Speaker 1: Think we've both suffered enough. Please of it. That might
• 37:03
  Speaker 1: be my favorite one yet, I'll I'll look at that's yeah,
• 37:06
  Speaker 1: thank you beautiful. That's should be the one thing where
• 37:09
  Speaker 1: to tell everyone to leave the studio and just have
• 37:12
  Speaker 1: some time with it for myself. And it started off
• 37:15
  Speaker 1: an amazing producer call open cuts to he at that
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: sample of it was just quiet singing please, which didn't
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: have the piano. It was just the quiet. Now there
• 37:24
  Speaker 1: was keys, there was keys, there was keys on it,
• 37:26
  Speaker 1: but it was just please. And it was it's even
• 37:30
  Speaker 1: be discussed at the time, but even the word please, like,
• 37:33
  Speaker 1: the vulnerability of it, the desperateness of it, Yes, even
• 37:38
  Speaker 1: even though the many facets of it where sometimes it's
• 37:41
  Speaker 1: just our please could and sometimes you're at your end
• 37:43
  Speaker 1: of your taver and it's just please, like, And I
• 37:46
  Speaker 1: thought of what does please mean to me? And like
• 37:49
  Speaker 1: at the time, it was my please was. It wasn't
• 37:52
  Speaker 1: a defiant it wasn't like a I needed. It was
• 37:55
  Speaker 1: just like a please like and I just let everything
• 38:00
  Speaker 1: roll out with me like and I didn't. I tried
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: not to be I tried not to premeditate it. I
• 38:04
  Speaker 1: just yeah. And it ended up being it always feels
• 38:08
  Speaker 1: that to me, um like a confession, like a confession beef,
• 38:11
  Speaker 1: Like you just go in there and just let it
• 38:13
  Speaker 1: all out. So it was very therapeutic in that sense,
• 38:15
  Speaker 1: very beautiful. Thank you, and the cod just the cycle
• 38:19
  Speaker 1: of chord. It's so emotional. Yeah, it was, it was,
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: it was, yeah, it was. We all knew it was
• 38:25
  Speaker 1: a special moment as well. When when be done in
• 38:27
  Speaker 1: the studio, thank you, it feels like it's like a story. Okay, yeah,
• 38:32
  Speaker 1: that's that's that's all. It feels like that. Yeah, it's great.
• 38:35
  Speaker 1: And even I feel like the beautiful thing is there
• 38:38
  Speaker 1: was no premeditation about it, like yo, like I'm trying
• 38:42
  Speaker 1: to say this, I think, yeah, I just went a studio.
• 38:45
  Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, and just it was that. And that's why
• 38:47
  Speaker 1: I think you've got to give God credit and also
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: the heart credit, because I think sometimes the heart that
• 38:54
  Speaker 1: does what it wants to do, you know what I mean,
• 38:55
  Speaker 1: Like if if we don't get if we don't get
• 38:57
  Speaker 1: in the way, yeah yeah, And as artists, that's that's
• 39:01
  Speaker 1: the best place to be him and you're just letting
• 39:04
  Speaker 1: your memories, your experiences speak for themselves. So yeah, thank you.
• 39:09
  Speaker 1: I'm feeling it. Thank you. That's it. That's it, that's
• 39:12
  Speaker 1: all that. That's what I want. And even when people
• 39:14
  Speaker 1: ask me about this this album, in this phase, the
• 39:18
  Speaker 1: word is just always I just want someone to feel it. Yeah,
• 39:21
  Speaker 1: I just want people to feel it. I don't care
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: about anything calse than someone just feeling it, someone saying,
• 39:26
  Speaker 1: you know, I felt that, because that's that's cool. That's
• 39:28
  Speaker 1: that's what I want. Yeah, so thank you. We have
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: to take one last quick break and then we'll be
• 39:33
  Speaker 1: back with more from Rick Rubin and Storms. Before we
• 39:40
  Speaker 1: finished Rick's conversation with Storms, here's this new song. My
• 39:44
  Speaker 1: presidents are black. God into my flows, heaving in my tracks.
• 39:56
  Speaker 1: My presidents are black. See Jackie on the front, landing
• 40:00
  Speaker 1: riches in the back. Remember when they told us just
• 40:03
  Speaker 1: a rap. Over the years we've been ill advised. They
• 40:06
  Speaker 1: told us just one at a time. That's the biggest slack.
• 40:09
  Speaker 1: A wise man wants asked where all the pairs? And
• 40:12
  Speaker 1: now he's looking at me funny like I took his slash?
• 40:15
  Speaker 1: Or what a last I can't walk with no broken man.
• 40:17
  Speaker 1: They start warring. Never wos the plan? Cool jigger told
• 40:22
  Speaker 1: me Crabs in the bucket, I said, I overstand, so you,
• 40:25
  Speaker 1: my brother, you can hold my hand. You don't know
• 40:28
  Speaker 1: about the combos that we had to chase the rules.
• 40:30
  Speaker 1: Didn't know that I will give my armor left to
• 40:32
  Speaker 1: hope you move. Didn't know we're trying to implement our
• 40:34
  Speaker 1: history through the schools. You can keep the gems. I
• 40:37
  Speaker 1: give you jewels. Ah. We are the needle movers. We
• 40:40
  Speaker 1: are the table ship because they gotta move around us.
• 40:42
  Speaker 1: Can nothing moves about us. It can't be you who
• 40:45
  Speaker 1: found us. We don't need you to crown us. I
• 40:47
  Speaker 1: have to crown before my song. This is the mountain
• 40:49
  Speaker 1: down on. We set up shot, but never close the shot.
• 40:52
  Speaker 1: I give you all the keys or rhyth We know
• 40:54
  Speaker 1: each other. My brother told me, bro, you wasn't known
• 40:57
  Speaker 1: to star, so I got rid of it. I'm smoothing
• 40:59
  Speaker 1: and some cocoa butter fluid. You can it's the community
• 41:02
  Speaker 1: provide or the mobile pool distrack survivor glory be to God,
• 41:06
  Speaker 1: Jehovah Gyra. How can I retire? The devil was a liar?
• 41:10
  Speaker 1: The shaman nigga did care. We made it through the fire.
• 41:13
  Speaker 1: Should have left me out? The politics or no, it's
• 41:15
  Speaker 1: petted cheese and dollar chips. Niggas went from selling weed
• 41:18
  Speaker 1: to scholarships. They're belling means or hollo flips and now
• 41:21
  Speaker 1: they holoflips and get at me. I could be a
• 41:23
  Speaker 1: beat on with you. Let it be I needed you
• 41:25
  Speaker 1: to set me free. I just needed you to let
• 41:30
  Speaker 1: me dream. The pressure down under those my favors from
• 41:32
  Speaker 1: my self esteem. I wonder what they tell raheem black
• 41:35
  Speaker 1: boy fly, black girl fly. We all fly if you
• 41:38
  Speaker 1: try to rub them for their dreams. Of course, UM
• 41:41
  Speaker 1: gonna put a target on your back. Cool cat, But
• 41:44
  Speaker 1: you're leaving you so alone. This is my war. Cray,
• 41:46
  Speaker 1: just careful when you fuck around and take the piss
• 41:49
  Speaker 1: that would be my little broad baby sisters. Have to
• 41:51
  Speaker 1: make a statement just in case it is rare products
• 41:53
  Speaker 1: to the place we lived. Yeah, we're busting all your
• 41:56
  Speaker 1: favorite myths now Oneadays, I pull up on my z
• 41:58
  Speaker 1: Smith from Master with a pen skin tone dark and
• 42:01
  Speaker 1: then you're skin Now you have to pull it up
• 42:03
  Speaker 1: and start again. Tell Michael Gold that we got setting
• 42:06
  Speaker 1: for your nose and we got shampainball from Ways that
• 42:09
  Speaker 1: number ten. No, we're gonna part you through the bullshit.
• 42:12
  Speaker 1: If you make a plaint, I'll reinforce it. If you
• 42:14
  Speaker 1: take a standard, reinforce it. That's what we do. If
• 42:17
  Speaker 1: we beside you then with cheering. This is hashtag murky.
• 42:20
  Speaker 1: This is good engineering. I swear, thank you, love it,
• 42:25
  Speaker 1: thank you, thank you, thank you. The sampled music is
• 42:28
  Speaker 1: so cool. Yeah, it's dropped up. It's really cool. It's
• 42:31
  Speaker 1: the first time I ever heard of Zadie Smith reference. Yeah,
• 42:36
  Speaker 1: I love Zadie, I love it. I love that woman.
• 42:39
  Speaker 1: She's incredible. She's I'm a big, big, big admirer already,
• 42:43
  Speaker 1: and I really wanted to say her name of the lyric. Yeah,
• 42:46
  Speaker 1: I wanted to, like, yeah, I wanted to pay homagin
• 42:48
  Speaker 1: I'm safe with some beautish that's good, and had that
• 42:51
  Speaker 1: one happen. First was the sample. It's a beautiful Swedish
• 42:57
  Speaker 1: artist called Daniello Refana And this song was actually shown
• 43:01
  Speaker 1: to me and hits me right right in my spirit,
• 43:04
  Speaker 1: like yeah, it's it hits me right in my musical
• 43:08
  Speaker 1: spirit in terms of that, it's a perfect song. And
• 43:10
  Speaker 1: I was listening to the song so much, and I
• 43:12
  Speaker 1: showed it to Progression and he with me and Progression
• 43:16
  Speaker 1: Black got very similar music taste as well. Yeah, so
• 43:20
  Speaker 1: when when I played it to him and he was like,
• 43:21
  Speaker 1: what the what the hell is this? And then he
• 43:24
  Speaker 1: sampled it and then yeah, I just rapped And it
• 43:28
  Speaker 1: took it took me some time to figure I always
• 43:31
  Speaker 1: knew I wanted to rap over the beat he made,
• 43:33
  Speaker 1: but it took me time to get to the lyrics.
• 43:35
  Speaker 1: And then when I got to the lyrics, I just
• 43:37
  Speaker 1: had to be in such a place because I'm also
• 43:39
  Speaker 1: in a new place. I'm in a new place as
• 43:42
  Speaker 1: a man. So when I go to rap, I've always
• 43:45
  Speaker 1: just got I said, what do I want to say?
• 43:47
  Speaker 1: It's not about just ramming as yeah killed my ego, man,
• 43:53
  Speaker 1: So I always say, what do I want to say?
• 43:55
  Speaker 1: I can just rap because if you give me a beat,
• 43:58
  Speaker 1: now I can rap. We can do it all day
• 44:00
  Speaker 1: lap And I was like, it's not about that anymore.
• 44:02
  Speaker 1: It's about all I want to say. So I had
• 44:04
  Speaker 1: to figure out what I wanted to say and just
• 44:06
  Speaker 1: be purposeful and intentful with it. And yeah, ended up
• 44:09
  Speaker 1: so that songs called my Presidents are black. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
• 44:12
  Speaker 1: So got to know my flow is heaven in my tracks,
• 44:14
  Speaker 1: my kettles all gold, and my presidents are black. And like,
• 44:17
  Speaker 1: for me, that means a lot to me. Do you
• 44:19
  Speaker 1: know what I mean? That means a lot to me,
• 44:20
  Speaker 1: Like signing to death time, my presidents are black and
• 44:22
  Speaker 1: not I think that's like a It means at the
• 44:25
  Speaker 1: end of the person speaking that's jazzy b from soul
• 44:28
  Speaker 1: to soul, so like it just means it's like we're here,
• 44:32
  Speaker 1: like it's an arrival, and it's like we stand for
• 44:34
  Speaker 1: something so beautiful and to do it over that beautiful
• 44:37
  Speaker 1: piece of music. I love it and it's so cool music,
• 44:41
  Speaker 1: so cool. There we go. That's so it's a black
• 44:43
  Speaker 1: thank you. Um. This next song is called Holy Spirit.
• 45:13
  Speaker 1: If you need a pressure, the pressure from my shoulders.
• 45:24
  Speaker 1: Father helped me hold this because I can't better pressure.
• 45:37
  Speaker 1: If you need a burdens, the burdens are so heavy.
• 45:48
  Speaker 1: The Lord you may be ready to carry you my burdens.
• 46:01
  Speaker 1: If you need a power, the power that's inside me
• 46:12
  Speaker 1: or SMI canno pass by me, mighty goal, my tea,
• 46:26
  Speaker 1: old me close, feel me, give your presence, old me,
• 46:33
  Speaker 1: ghost and spirit farther. God, I found it, God, keep
• 46:43
  Speaker 1: me so rounder. Isn't it amazing that faithful is alway
• 46:55
  Speaker 1: needed to find the missing pieces or even searching for
• 47:07
  Speaker 1: my Jesus times when I felt wifeless, you gave me
• 47:19
  Speaker 1: peace and brother, Oh Door, I don't deserve it. Oh
• 47:30
  Speaker 1: though I'm far from perfect. Head to hold me close,
• 47:41
  Speaker 1: fail me with your presence, oldly ghost and spirited Father God,
• 47:49
  Speaker 1: I found it. Lord, keep me surround, Holy spear. I
• 48:03
  Speaker 1: don't know what this is. It's trying. It's a feeling
• 48:06
  Speaker 1: you give, Oh, Lord, can even and you feel me
• 48:09
  Speaker 1: with places feeling. I don't want to resist old holy
• 48:15
  Speaker 1: stress showing away home. If attas and pray so, yould
• 48:19
  Speaker 1: you you will never leave me straight now. I'm I'm
• 48:24
  Speaker 1: little friend. You're the reason why I pray. Feel me
• 48:30
  Speaker 1: with the often when you hold me in your arms,
• 48:35
  Speaker 1: it makes me feel some type of bad. Don't you
• 48:39
  Speaker 1: be that? But I'm old? Oh? Oh oh, if you
• 48:49
  Speaker 1: need my story? What do you have for me? Oh?
• 48:58
  Speaker 1: Do you have fun? Me? Made me feel so wholeful.
• 49:06
  Speaker 1: I'm just glad I know you. I'm so glad I
• 49:14
  Speaker 1: know you. I'm so glad I know you. Amazing, Thank you,
• 49:27
  Speaker 1: that's beautiful, Thank you very much. The one earlier felt
• 49:30
  Speaker 1: like a confession. This one's like a hymn. Yeah yeah, yeah,
• 49:33
  Speaker 1: very beautiful. And how this one happened? This um, this
• 49:37
  Speaker 1: was this was a time and I really, I would say,
• 49:41
  Speaker 1: reconnected with God. I've always been like from a young age,
• 49:43
  Speaker 1: I've always loved God and known God. But this was
• 49:46
  Speaker 1: like this This felt like a coming of age where
• 49:50
  Speaker 1: I was an adult and I was like, oh, I
• 49:53
  Speaker 1: understand you now, God, I understand how you move and
• 49:57
  Speaker 1: how you work. And like my brother Dion, who's we
• 50:00
  Speaker 1: call him the chord Lord because he is Midas touts
• 50:04
  Speaker 1: when it comes to Keith, so shout out don that
• 50:06
  Speaker 1: we've made so much music together. He's he's actually on
• 50:08
  Speaker 1: those of chats on the album. He just started playing
• 50:12
  Speaker 1: and I just started singing. So that whole melody, literally
• 50:15
  Speaker 1: from the beginning to end, was a one take. Not
• 50:17
  Speaker 1: the lyrics, but just the melody was one take, very beautiful,
• 50:20
  Speaker 1: and the Holy Spirit was in the room and just
• 50:23
  Speaker 1: just caught it and I just went back to filling
• 50:25
  Speaker 1: the lyrics. But yeah, man, it was powerful. Thank you.
• 50:28
  Speaker 1: I love it. There's a lot of piano on the
• 50:30
  Speaker 1: album and it really works. Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah yeah.
• 50:33
  Speaker 1: Another thing that's that's tying it all together. It's just
• 50:36
  Speaker 1: how many chords were here. Yeah, I've never even noticed.
• 50:38
  Speaker 1: I never forced why a bit of piano and it
• 50:41
  Speaker 1: feels really good. That's another thing that makes it feel
• 50:43
  Speaker 1: like almost like a theater piece, like it all is.
• 50:47
  Speaker 1: It all feels glued together, beautiful. Thank you, thank you
• 50:50
  Speaker 1: very much, thank you. And this is the outro. This
• 50:54
  Speaker 1: is the last song beautiful. This is called give It
• 50:56
  Speaker 1: to the War. This is with Debbie as well. Yeah, phenomenally.
• 50:59
  Speaker 1: This was the first song we made together, that the
• 51:02
  Speaker 1: first studio system. And will it likely be the last
• 51:04
  Speaker 1: arm Yeah, yes, yeah, And I've wanted it to be
• 51:07
  Speaker 1: the user from the beginning. And next you're doing good man. Yeah,
• 51:12
  Speaker 1: thank you. I appreciate. I'm appreciate, so happy for you.
• 51:15
  Speaker 1: I appreciate. Thanks so much. Pressure at tension. I'm pushing,
• 51:35
  Speaker 1: but it's getting hard. I'm so closed long bow, God knows,
• 51:42
  Speaker 1: I see you getting darker. There's no give, there's bruises.
• 51:47
  Speaker 1: I'm losing on. This isard is hoarster and I feel
• 51:51
  Speaker 1: low a preet, slow going and give it to the water.
• 51:58
  Speaker 1: Give it to the water, Give it to the water.
• 52:11
  Speaker 1: This walk keeps me flying when i'm straight. This war's
• 52:15
  Speaker 1: gonna Tommy, It's okay. It's flowing and it's showing me
• 52:20
  Speaker 1: the way. Let it fill up the place. The war's
• 52:26
  Speaker 1: gonna wash away the paint. I hear it when it's
• 52:30
  Speaker 1: calling out my name. It's running and it's flooding from
• 52:34
  Speaker 1: my veins. Let it fill up the place. Just focus.
• 52:54
  Speaker 1: The process will show us how to move forward, to
• 52:59
  Speaker 1: look round. It's too loud, the big crowd, but that
• 53:04
  Speaker 1: is an important there's no good. There's bruising. Is I'm
• 53:10
  Speaker 1: losing on this desert? Is arster? Feel up pretty slow?
• 53:16
  Speaker 1: Let go and give it to the water. Give it
• 53:21
  Speaker 1: to the water. Give it to the water. This water
• 53:35
  Speaker 1: keeps me flowing. When I'm straight. The water's gonna tell me.
• 53:39
  Speaker 1: It's okay. It's flowing, and it's showing me the way.
• 53:45
  Speaker 1: Let it fill up the place. The water's gonna wash
• 53:50
  Speaker 1: away the paint. I hear it when it's calling on
• 53:54
  Speaker 1: my name. It's running and it's flooding from my veins.
• 54:00
  Speaker 1: Let it fill up the place. M h. I hold
• 54:19
  Speaker 1: onto the world. Time it sees me from the worlds
• 54:24
  Speaker 1: that God, no wonder I am stronger. Its feeding the hunger.
• 54:38
  Speaker 1: He's keeping behinder, don't they. This boy keeps me flowing
• 54:51
  Speaker 1: random straight. The wood is gonna turn me. It's okay,
• 54:58
  Speaker 1: it's flowing, and it's showing me the rain live out
• 55:03
  Speaker 1: the plain. The war is gonna rush away the pain.
• 55:10
  Speaker 1: I hear it when it's calling, it's running and it's
• 55:15
  Speaker 1: flooding from that's incredible. Thank you, really beautiful, thank you
• 55:27
  Speaker 1: very much, thank you. Yeah wow, Yeah, And I really
• 55:32
  Speaker 1: wanted that to be the out from the from the
• 55:35
  Speaker 1: yeah from when you first made it. So that's like,
• 55:38
  Speaker 1: especially if you think that the story of the album,
• 55:42
  Speaker 1: especially like that chapter of my life. It felt like
• 55:46
  Speaker 1: all I could do was because even when I say
• 55:48
  Speaker 1: give it to the water, I mean give it to God, lack. Yes,
• 55:51
  Speaker 1: it just felt like that's all I could do. Like
• 55:53
  Speaker 1: I've I've I've helped myself accountable. I've I've looked in
• 55:57
  Speaker 1: the mirror. Yes, I've deeped every every detail of my
• 56:02
  Speaker 1: life and was like, okay, at this point, like just
• 56:05
  Speaker 1: give it to God, like free yourself of lack, you
• 56:08
  Speaker 1: know what I mean. So yes, yes, it's a very fitting.
• 56:11
  Speaker 1: It's an incredible it's an incredible chapter in your life.
• 56:14
  Speaker 1: I could feel it. Thank you, And it feels like
• 56:16
  Speaker 1: it all hangs together, it belongs together, and it also
• 56:20
  Speaker 1: frees you up. Now whatever you do next can literally
• 56:23
  Speaker 1: be anything. Thank you. Know it's it's because this is
• 56:29
  Speaker 1: so unexpected that I don't think anyone knows what to
• 56:34
  Speaker 1: expect next, you know what I mean? Like now you
• 56:35
  Speaker 1: open the door that you're truly free and you're gonna
• 56:40
  Speaker 1: make beautiful music. Thank you, and you can and you
• 56:42
  Speaker 1: can do it for a long time when when when
• 56:44
  Speaker 1: you don't have that feeling of it needs to do
• 56:47
  Speaker 1: something for someone else, it's staying true to yourself as
• 56:51
  Speaker 1: easier than trying to please other people over long period
• 56:54
  Speaker 1: of time possible. So this is I'm very happy, thank
• 56:58
  Speaker 1: you so much. It's it's mad you say that because
• 57:01
  Speaker 1: I felt I felt like that as well, and I've
• 57:02
  Speaker 1: said that and I've always said and it's this is
• 57:06
  Speaker 1: the second time we've we've we've spoken and the first
• 57:10
  Speaker 1: time you really confirm something that I've been imminent are
• 57:12
  Speaker 1: in about and like I was like, I'm sure, like
• 57:15
  Speaker 1: I know with this album, I know that that unlocks
• 57:18
  Speaker 1: like whatever freedom I've been looking for, both as a
• 57:21
  Speaker 1: man and as a creative life. Feel like this is
• 57:23
  Speaker 1: like allows me to spread my wings and like yes, yeah,
• 57:26
  Speaker 1: and I feel like before with my heart, I've always
• 57:29
  Speaker 1: I've always been trying to say yo, like this is
• 57:31
  Speaker 1: me and whereas this time I've just said the old lives,
• 57:34
  Speaker 1: put my foot on it, just done it. Yeah, yeah,
• 57:36
  Speaker 1: it's done very pure very pure. Thank you so much.
• 57:39
  Speaker 1: I love it. Thank you. That means the world. That
• 57:41
  Speaker 1: means I love it. And I also will tell you
• 57:43
  Speaker 1: from my perception, if anyone, if any of your fans
• 57:46
  Speaker 1: don't like it, there's gonna be a lot more people
• 57:49
  Speaker 1: who are gonna like it beyond whoever was there before,
• 57:53
  Speaker 1: because it feels like it's just so good that a
• 57:56
  Speaker 1: lot of people are gonna feel us. You know, it's
• 57:59
  Speaker 1: a it works on a human level, that's it perfectly. Yeah,
• 58:03
  Speaker 1: And I've made peace with if if nobody liked it,
• 58:07
  Speaker 1: I'm I've made peace instant. That's It's the healthiest way,
• 58:10
  Speaker 1: it's the strongest way to make art is to know
• 58:14
  Speaker 1: I'm doing my thing. If they like it, great, and
• 58:17
  Speaker 1: if they don't, it's okay. But I'm being true, being
• 58:19
  Speaker 1: true perfect. Yeah, thank you, thank you for listening. Thank
• 58:24
  Speaker 1: you so much for playing it now so ons and lock.
• 58:26
  Speaker 1: This is like in a dream. So thank you so much, man,
• 58:30
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much. That's great. Appreciate you. I love
• 58:34
  Speaker 1: you and you feel it, and thank you for this,
• 58:40
  Speaker 1: really I feel, the listener said, and we do it
• 58:42
  Speaker 1: again soon. Thank you so much. All right, Thank you man,
• 58:46
  Speaker 1: to you, Thank you man. Thanks again to storm Z
• 58:51
  Speaker 1: for talking through his new album with Rick. You can
• 58:53
  Speaker 1: hear this Is what I Mean along with all of
• 58:55
  Speaker 1: our favorite storm Z songs on my playlist at broken
• 58:58
  Speaker 1: record podcast dot com. Be sure to subscribe to our
• 59:01
  Speaker 1: YouTube channel at YouTube dot com slash broken Record Podcast.
• 59:05
  Speaker 1: We can find all of our new episodes. You can
• 59:08
  Speaker 1: follow us on Twitter Broken Record. Broken Record is produced
• 59:11
  Speaker 1: with help from Leah Rose, Jason Gambrell, Ben Holiday, Eric Sandler,
• 59:16
  Speaker 1: Jennifer Sanchez. Our editor Sophie Crane. Our executive producer is
• 59:21
  Speaker 1: Mia LaBelle. Broken Record is a production of Pushkin Industries.
• 59:25
  Speaker 1: If you love this show and others from Pushkin, consider
• 59:28
  Speaker 1: subscribing to Pushkin Plus. Pushkin Plus is a podcast subscription
• 59:32
  Speaker 1: that offers bonus content an uninterrupted ad free listening for
• 59:36
  Speaker 1: four ninety nine a month. Look for Pushkin Plus on
• 59:39
  Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts subscriptions, and if you like our show, please
• 59:43
  Speaker 1: remember to share, rate, and review us on your podcast staff.
• 59:46
  Speaker 1: Our theme musics by Kenny beats On Justin Richmond