Latest / Energy is Currency Podcast / When Passion Meets Purpose: Amani Roberts on Music and Speaking
Transcript
- Alexis: Welcome, welcome back. This is Energy is Currency with Lexi. And today I am with Imani Roberts. I'm super excited for this conversation. I am thrilled to just catch all of these gems. I like this is going to be a gem filled episode. What I'm really excited to tap into is how he has used music as a way of education and been able to translate it in such a really thoughtful way. So I want to give the floor to you. want to welcome you, say thank you for joining us, and just, you know, tell us how you turned your energy into currency. Amani Roberts: Well, thank you very much for having me, Alexis. how I turn my energy into currency, I think it goes back to using the lessons we've learned from some of some of our most favorite musicians, musical acts. Alexis: oooo Amani Roberts: And that's how I try to teach and use those lessons. I mean, anyone you see, or most of our favorite, you know, artists have very many business lessons specifically, and a lot of that applies to our personal lives. our businesses, et cetera. there are many examples. One of my favorites is, you know, the group Earth, Wind and Fire. They took a creative Alexis: oooo Amani Roberts: risk. They took a creative risk and worked with a magician to make the make sure their live shows were legendary. That Alexis: Yeah. Amani Roberts: magician was David Copperfield. So people many people don't realize that he worked Alexis: Hello there. Amani Roberts: with that group. And so that was that's a creative risk. So you can learn about that. Resilience is a very popular topic. Alexis: Yeah. Amani Roberts: I love using the example of the whispers. Because they released their first song in 1964 and it took them 23 years to get their first Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit. So, they took 23 years, they stuck with it. So that's an amazing you know, chapter resilience, reinvention. I like two examples. I think may she rest in peace, Dolly Parton. Great example of someone who's resilient because or not resilient, she is resilient, but reinvents herself. Alexis: Yes. Amani Roberts: She first was a songwriter, then a singer, then a TV show host, then Alexis: Hello? Hello? Amani Roberts: an actress, then she did philanthropy throughout her entire Alexis: you Amani Roberts: life, then had an amusement park. the list goes on. So that's Alexis: Right. Amani Roberts: perfect reinvention. Another example would be if you look at like Belle Biv DeVoe, because they came from New Edition, Alexis: Hehehehehe Amani Roberts: and then they reinvented themselves as a three-person group and had had hits. So that's Alexis: Yes. Amani Roberts: another example I like. So it just it goes on and on just in terms of how I like to use the lessons we see from musicians we love in r personal and professional our lives. Alexis: I love that you make, I love how the references are so natural to you, right? So, you know, I'm about Amani Roberts: Well, I had some practice, so yes. Thank you. Alexis: to ask you, did this, how did we start this well of information? Cause I feel like I'm talking to a library, a musical library right now. Where did this start? What was your first aha moment with music? Amani Roberts: I think my love for music and just the education part well first started when I was a young kid and I heard this group that sounded like the Jackson Five, so I was waiting to record their music on a tape deck back in the day. I'm a little older. And so we had to get the the DJ and wait hours for him to play the song. It ended up being new edition and the song ended up being Candy Girl. And so that's probably where it first started. Then I Give props to my dad who introduced me to music through traveling to soccer games. I was a kid playing soccer. Then he bought Alexis: fuck man. Amani Roberts: me my first 45s, The Little Bitty Records. It was like Rick James Cold Blooded, The Theme from Keynes, and others. So that's kind Alexis: Hope like it. Yeah. Amani Roberts: of where it started. And then it really kind of accelerated when I wrote my second book, The Quiet Storm. And now I just continue to build on it. I continue to learn. you know, fun fact I just learned because I was listening to another. interview with Joe, all that I am, Joe the artist. Alexis: we love Joe over here. Amani Roberts: Yeah. And I think it's the song he No One Comes Close that he originally released, but then the Backstreet Boys covered it. And so he he makes a lot of money off that one song because he wrote it, they covered it, he still gets his writing credits. Just different facts like that that just keep adding up to the story. Alexis: Yeah. Who has been, you're a catalyst musician. Who has been that one person that's like, this is my person. They're speaking my language. Amani Roberts: I would say Mariah Carey, number one. Yeah, yeah. I love Mariah, Alexis: Really? Okay. Amani Roberts: soundtrack of my life. And then number two, Babyface. Absolutely. Babyface, Alexis: Okay. Okay. Amani Roberts: number two. And number three, Mary J. Blige. Alexis: Okay! Amani Roberts: Yeah. And I give Keith Sweat an honorable mention. Alexis: you know what? I was on a train until you said, keep sweat. What we don't give, Amani Roberts: Ha ha ha. Alexis: we don't give Mariah Carey enough credit, right? We know she's hitting the octaves, but when you listen to the lyrics in the song, it's such poetry. It's such a diverse vocabulary. And I'm like, I was such a young girl when Mariah Carey was like on the way to her peak. Okay. So hearing Amani Roberts: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Alexis: her throughout her years in this, I'm singing the songs about, you I'm trying to think of one of her lyrics is off the top of my head, but there's so many that it's like, if you really sit down and think about it, she had seven year olds talk about how they were melancholy and, and trying to hold it together. But also just not even within the lyrics, but her ability to. successfully navigate different races, i.e. musical genres. She would have ODB on one song and then be Amani Roberts: Mm-hmm. Yes. Alexis: hitting the fifth eighth octave on the very next song and then doing covers of old songs all in the same album. just Amani Roberts: Yeah. Alexis: her range was something serious. I do respect why she's your number one. Amani Roberts: Yeah, she crossed over she crossed over hip hop, pop, R and B, Alexis: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Amani Roberts: even a little classic rock, 'cause she did, you know, a couple of remakes of classic rock love songs. And maybe maybe Alexis: Mm-hmm, very thoughtful. Amani Roberts: even yeah, gospel. For sure, gospel, absolutely. And maybe a little touch, a little dash of some country, but not so much. But there's there's some lyrics mixed in there. So absolutely. Yeah. Alexis: Cool, cool, cool. So I see that you're a DJ. How Amani Roberts: Yeah. Alexis: did you transition from, love this, I understand it, I have very good critical thinking behind it. How did we transition that into being a DJ? What was that like? Amani Roberts: Yeah, being a DJ, I remember I first saw Bismarcky back in the day, but he rests in peace. And I said, Alexis: Okay, okay. Amani Roberts: ooh, I want to do what he does, because he set the crowd off. I was at Howard. He he DJ's a party, a Howard party we had. And Alexis: Okay Howard. Amani Roberts: and I was like, ooh, I want to do what he does, but it took me a while to get the courage to go for it. Cause I at first I was incorrect in my thought process that DJing is not a legitimate career, which it very much is. I just took Alexis: Hmmmm Amani Roberts: it just took me a long while to discover that. so At first I was self-taught once I got to LA. Then I went to DJ school, Scratch Academy. Jam Master J from Run D C started Scratch Academy. Alexis: Okay. Amani Roberts: And I went to that school and that really kind of helped build my fundamentals. Had sort of good structure. And then I would just go out and play gigs and practice, you know, and now it's been almost twenty years total of being a DJ. And so I've seen a lot. I've learned a lot. I'm still learning. Alexis: For sure. Amani Roberts: Adjusted to new genres and just keep trying to get better every day. Alexis: I see you got a strong background and I'm hearing a strong appreciation for the R &B and everything. What Amani Roberts: Mm-hmm. Alexis: genre has been the most difficult for you to transition into? Amani Roberts: Hmm. Most what genre's been the most difficult for me to I don't know, like difficult. Alexis: Cause I grew up where it's like, okay, once the beat kits came out, people were saying, you need to make, you should have a live band. We need to keep our live bands. We're not doing that. Then we had techno come in and it was like, this isn't real music. This is just for drugs or hip hop had its own Amani Roberts: Mm-hmm. Alexis: area, own era of this is devil worshiping. Rock had a devil worshiping era. Each genre Amani Roberts: Yeah, yeah. Alexis: of music has come with its own. its own slander and its own, its own set of haters and whatnot to make it, to say it gently. Amani Roberts: Yeah. Alexis: Which one has been like, okay, hmm, has shown you a little bit of resistance. What was that like? Amani Roberts: Hmm. A resistance? I I'm tempted to Alexis: I'm tempted to say. Amani Roberts: say maybe country, but I love a good country ballad, so I can't really say that. And so, you know, country ballads are are some of the best ballads out there. So maybe Alexis: But I can see that's in the tone of the party though. Amani Roberts: Yeah, maybe techno techno music. maybe that would be the hardest one 'cause I just don't I don't really vibe that much with techno or I'm trying to think of the proper genre. I got exposed to when I used live in Miami and I'll think of the specific genre, but I just really wasn't feeling it there. It's kind of a mix techno and that. So I'd say I'd probably go with that, 'cause Alexis: Okay. Amani Roberts: pretty much every other genre I can rock with. Like I love to mix and go and travel between. Alexis: I realized, cause I went to, I don't know if you've seen, did you, have you gone to any of the Kanye's concerts? Any of the, latest ones? Amani Roberts: Mm mm. Not yet. Alexis: Honestly, friend, check it out. I know Amani Roberts: Okay. Alexis: we got a lot of folks that's not dealing with Kanye. I get it. That man comes out, mouth zipped, play your music and then he goes back home. Right? Cool things. But what I noticed at the concert, I was like, he makes a hell of a lot of EDM. it's a lot of oomps, oomps, oomps in all of it, right? And I don't think I really Amani Roberts: Hmm. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Alexis: paid attention to it until it was three hours straight of oomps, oomps, oomps, oomps. I was like, okay. Yes, okay. Amani Roberts: Yeah. Trance. The genre is trance. Trance music is one that that's the that's the genre I might yeah, stay away from. Alexis: What's your, what's your easiest, someone says, okay, hey, I need you to come, I need the crowd to go crazy. What's your go-to song? Amani Roberts: Mm-hmm. well it depends on the crowd, because different crowds go crazy for different songs. Like, you know. yeah. Yeah. So Alexis: We're a Howard alumni gala and it's time to the floor happening. Amani Roberts: So you got before I let go, Frankie Beverly and Mays. Understood. So we got that one going. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. You know, a little, a little candy by Cameo. That'll work. That'll work. You can Alexis: Understood. Okay. Let me go ahead and get on up. right. Amani Roberts: put in some Michael Jackson there for sure. They take, you know, dealer's choice. Alexis: What song? The one that always gets me up is doing the but. Yes. Amani Roberts: yeah, EU. Now that's if you're in DC and we got some DC Naves, then we could play some go-go. We have to go with Junkyard, play Sardines. We can play some rare essence, pieces Alexis: Okay, okay, okay. Amani Roberts: of you. That's the go go genre. That's specific to DC, the DMV. Alexis: Yes. Amani Roberts: We can go all we can go Little Benny and the Masters, Chuck Brown, that's DC go go. That's specific. Alexis: Okay, so what if we switched it up to Chicago? kind of, cause I'm a Chicago house girl. Amani Roberts: you could play some you can play Chicago House for sure. You could play some Chicago House there. We play Kanye respect for for Shock Chicago because that's where he's from. Alexis: for sure for sure. Amani Roberts: play a little common because I Common's from Chicago too, if I recall correctly. Alexis: Mm-hmm. absolutely. Amani Roberts: Yeah, Chicago was the first place where I heard Stevie Wonder's All I Do go off in a crowd because you know Stevie Wonder's from Detroit, so Midwest. That's a Midwest song that rocked Alexis: Mm-hmm. Amani Roberts: out really. I heard that song a consistently when I lived in Chicago. So that's a good one there. Then you have the sh stepping songs for sure. Yeah. Alexis: yeah, for sure. For sure. So you switched into more keynote speaking, leading workshops. There is a huge push for people using their IP to really inspire others. What was the Amani Roberts: Mm-hmm. Alexis: moment that clicked for you where you said, I need to share this in this package. Amani Roberts: I think as I was looking to grow my business and being a professional speaker helps me market the other services I do. And I was able to see how didn't matter who was in the audience. If I were to play some music and tell a song and teach from that piece of music, people paid attention because Alexis: Absolutely. Amani Roberts: you've played the music so you can capture their attention. Like, what's going on here? Then I tell a story, you know, they're like, ooh, okay, that's good. That's good. You know, it could be something like. I want to teach you about persistence. So I'm going to talk Alexis: you Amani Roberts: to you about the Supremes. What's your favorite Supreme song? We get some answers from the audience. I might play you Baby Love, etc. But then I'm going to show you a timeline. It's going to talk about how they were signed to Motown in 1957. For the first year, almost two years, they were only allowed to clap their hands on songs. They weren't allowed to sing backup, sing anything. On Motown, they just were clapping their hands on songs. Alexis: Really? Amani Roberts: Then finally Then finally they were able to sing backups. They sang backup. Motown was a machine, so they were singing backup for hundreds of songs. Eventually they got to release their own music because they came to Motown as a band with their own music. Then they got to release their own music, but they didn't do well at first. They did so poorly that they were called the no-hit supremes inside of Motown, Sland was real. Then they Alexis: The problem is... Amani Roberts: had one song, I think it was their tenth release. One song hit number twenty-four on the charts. And then after that, 11 of their next 14 songs went to number one. So they are a perfect example. If I'm in the all if I'm teaching an audience about persistence, I'm gonna share share with you those stories and how they stuck with it, and then tell you what you can do to be persistent. And so Alexis: How? Amani Roberts: it's just telling stories, stories like that. That so then people remember, what did you learn today at the conference or that speaker? And a lot of times people forget, but they say, no, we had this guy who talked about the Supremes. Now they were persistent and this is what I can do to improve my persistence. So that's my metha methodology. Alexis: That is so powerful because you tap into the frequency of music and then you offer such amazing background information for it. That is man, you swoop in. Amani Roberts: Yeah. Exactly. And it's not always it's not always R and B groups. I have a summer story about like Chapel Rome. You know, Chapel Rome, Pink Pony Club. We play that song. I say, well, did you know? You know, she released that song. Well, first of all, it took her a while. She got signed, moved to LA, got signed, released that song. The song didn't do well at first. So after she released that song, the record label actually dropped her. She had to move from LA back to Missouri. Where she was from, work in a drive-thru coffee place. And then finally she got enough money and courage, came back, signed a different deal with a smaller label. They worked it out. She she collaborated with someone else. That's another lesson I teach. She opened up for Olivia Rodrigo. That helped her escalate and grow. Eventually, because she was persistent and stuck with it and came back. That song that the record label dropped her for, she won a Grammy's Best New Artist. And that song hit over a billion streams, which is rare. And that's another example in more current times about how persistence and resilience wins up. Alexis: Yeah, I love that. I feel like how you communicate and use your platform is how I sound. This is how I think I sound when I've been drinking and someone brings up Kanye or Jay-Z. And I was like, but you don't know in 1995. It ends up sounding Amani Roberts: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Alexis: like, don't know what happened in 1995. But in my heart, I feel like it's Amani Roberts: Yeah. Alexis: coming out how you're saying it. So I'm very impressed with how calm you can be. Because when I do it, it always sounds like I'm yelling. You can see the light go out in people's eyes. Everyone's getting scared. Amani Roberts: Yeah, yeah. Alexis: But I just really, really, really, really, really value your... You have a bank's worth of information when it comes to musical communication. Amani Roberts: Thank you. Alexis: And that's important because music is happening to us all the time. And we may hear a Amani Roberts: Yeah, yeah. Alexis: song for three minutes and 30 seconds. We may even repeat that whole chorus over and over and over in our heads every day. You know, kids know the, Hey Ya song and whatnot, but there's always so much behind what, what's being packaged. And it's important Amani Roberts: Yeah. Yeah. Alexis: for people to see that. Go ahead. Amani Roberts: Another song I'd play at the Howard party if I was DJing would be Never Too Much by Luther. That gets the people out there. And then Luther, see, Luther is a good example of make sure you surround yourself with people who can make you better. Luther Luther sang background for David Bowie. And David Alexis: Did he? Amani Roberts: Bowie heard heard heard him sing. He was singing background for David Bowie. And said and and and he actually pushed Luther to become a solo artist. Alexis: Really? Amani Roberts: David Bowie believed in Luther before Luther believed in Luther. And people don't realize that. And so that's why you need to surround yourself with people who can lift you up and people who believe in you because you're gonna need someone to push you every once in a while in life. And so that's an Alexis: Listen. Amani Roberts: example I use about someone who pushed someone because it's a fact. It's written about in David Boy wrote about it. It's in the Luther documentary. And people don't realize that, but that's a fact. Alexis: Okay, one thing, first things first, Luther ain't got no business being dead. Okay, I feel like you don't get to bring up Luther Vandross without saying that specific statement. So Luther Vandross ain't Amani Roberts: Yeah. Alexis: got no business being dead. Have you, what did you think? What was your opinion of the Earth, and Fire documentary? I felt like it gave, did you see it? Okay, man, I Amani Roberts: So I have not yet. It's on my list. It's top of my list. Alexis: wish I would have loved to hear your perspective. I'm gonna have to have you back on the show as soon as you watch it. So if you watch it tonight, we can talk tomorrow. Amani Roberts: Yes. Okay. I Okay, well go back on the show 'cause 'cause I talk about Earth Wind of Fire in my speeches and I always love to reference the song Reasons, but now I've learned that reasons has a different meaning than I anticipated. So Alexis: So a lot of the earth, and fire things that we had really just taken a heart, right? And just made fact where in fact not fact at all. I think what got me the most was like we will call them the elements and Amani Roberts: Yes. Alexis: all was representing all the elements. This was actually only his birth chart. Like in astrology, this was his singular birth chart. This wasn't him representing. all of the other things. I can't think of the leader's name in this moment, but I wonder how people who are very educated on music and especially that genre of music, how they felt about the documentary, because it was Amani Roberts: Yeah. More. Alexis: a... It didn't feel like a nostalgic summary. It kind of felt like an expose. Kind of like a, Amani Roberts: Hmm. okay. Alexis: you know what I mean? It put the main person kind of on blast, but it didn't, Amani Roberts: Yeah. Alexis: and this is solely my opinion, and I'd love to hear yours once you watch it, but it. Amani Roberts: Maurice White, that's his name, the lead singer. Alexis: They put all Maurice's dirty laundry out there. All of Maurice's Amani Roberts: Yeah, Alexis: dirty laundry was put out. And I, is that honest? Okay. I felt like there were other people within the group who needed more time. Cause okay, very frankly, I'm a hairstylist. I want to see who was doing that man's wheeze. You know exactly who I'm talking about. Laverne, what was his name? Vernell? Verdeen. Verdeen. Yeah. I want to know. Amani Roberts: yeah, yeah, ver yeah, yeah. Uh-huh. Alexis: who was doing his hair. Because the bundles was bundling, okay? This was premium bundles Amani Roberts: Yeah. Alexis: when the stylist was exclusive and you ain't get access. You can't find Bara Deen's hairstylist on the internet right now, you know? So Amani Roberts: Okay. Really easy. Yeah. Alexis: I needed more answers. It left more questions than answers. So I'm wondering how people felt about that one. Yeah, for sure, for sure. Yes, check that one out. Amani Roberts: Okay. To be continued, to be continued. Alexis: It was really, really good. But tell me what you... thought of Luther's or no, no, no, no, no, no. Tell me what you thought of Whitney Houston's collection of biographies. Did you feel like they represented her well? He had about four of them floating around within Amani Roberts: I think that Yeah. Alexis: the last 10 years or so. Amani Roberts: Yeah, I she's tough. Alexis: Also a person who ain't got no business being dead. Amani Roberts: I know, yeah. I need to find a good autobiography book that we I don't know if she wrote one. I don't know if there's a good one out there. I need to read that because that Alexis: What are you doing? Amani Roberts: usually the books the books usually give you more in depth than like a one or two or three hour documentary. Although if there's like a five or six episode documentary, that would be different. So Alexis: Yeah. Amani Roberts: I need to read read an autobiography from Whitney. Just, hopefully we get it to her where it can get through all stages of her life. That would be very interesting to read. That I need I need to find one. Alexis: I think everybody has been piecing together from their perspective, because there was one, there Amani Roberts: Yeah. Alexis: was a main one that I felt like Angela Bassett, the Lifetime one, that one was Amani Roberts: Mm. Alexis: honest, but to your point, it felt too quickly wrapped. But there was one that came out Amani Roberts: Yeah, yeah. Alexis: and it was available on Showtime. It was more of a documentary than a biopic. And that one, and I think it was made by one of her bodyguards. Amani Roberts: Yeah. Alexis: That one was the good one. I think learning Amani Roberts: Okay. Alexis: about her life outside of people who were immediately benefiting from her and whose job wasn't to Amani Roberts: Yeah, yeah. Alexis: protect her, I think that one was an exceptional one to work with. Yeah. Amani Roberts: Okay, yeah, I'll take a look. I encourage all of our legacy artists to write their stories down. Write their and Alexis: Absolutely. Amani Roberts: put them in a book. I I remember Charlie Wilson. He's he's one of my favorite artists, and his autobiography, Uncle Charlie, is phenomenal. And he's Alexis: Okay, now check it out. Amani Roberts: he for sure I have it like back here or whatever. And his where is it? It's up here somewhere here. I gave me two real quick. Can I have a bunch? So, this is Charlie Wilson's, like I am Charles. Yeah. Alexis: He's so handsome. Amani Roberts: So he's good, and he's he's rewriting his, you know, he's continuing to write his his history. And, you know, he's a good lesson in the music business because I'm pretty sure they don't own all the rights to the music that they created when they were with the gap band. Alexis: Mm-hmm. Amani Roberts: And so, but he made more new music now, and he's he learned his lessons and owns more of that. And then this is the Luther one right here. Alexis: He was fine too. Amani Roberts: Yes. So those are two of my favorite auto. I just need to keep reading more. You know, I read Dolly Partons, hers was good. I need just just keep reading them all. And the songwriters too. You read the good songwriters too, because they have more stories than you would anticipate. Alexis: There are two that I love. Do I have them? I so, yes I do. Okay. Two of my favorite books are by, one is by Gucci Mane, his first book. Amani Roberts: okay. Alexis: And then the second one is Juicy J from Three 6 Mafia. Amani Roberts: Okay. Alexis: Juicy J's book was so good because we think about successful rap entertainment, rap businesses. We talk about Jay-Z. We talk about, we used to talk about my guy from, what's his name? Amani Roberts: Well, if you talk about rap businesses, you gotta talk about Master P, he's one of the originators. Alexis: Master P, but we don't give Juicy J enough credit, especially now. now he's in his full circle moment where it makes sense. But Juicy J's book, he was a hardcore entrepreneur selling it out of his car, always owned his masters, owned his distribution. I mean, how Amani Roberts: Mm-hmm. That's the Alexis: many rappers have Oscars? That's not you, Maynard. We know you don't have one. But... Amani Roberts: Yeah, yeah. And also, Alexis: How many actual rappers and rap groups have made it to having an Oscar? That's not always across. I think this common have one, common has one. Amani Roberts: Probably, yeah. I would think. Alexis: I think that's the list. Amani Roberts: Yeah. I'm sure well we gotta think but more yeah, yeah. Huh, we gotta look that up. Yeah, look Alexis: I think that's the list for him. I think that's the list. Amani Roberts: that up. Alexis: But his book was really inspiring because he stayed out of trouble. And it was such a juxtaposition to the music that he was making, right? But he kept his head on Amani Roberts: Mm-hmm. Alexis: straight and he took care of his family and took care of his community. But he was very vulnerable about the grief he was experiencing with people overdosing and dying, about how violent it was in Memphis. It was a really good coming of age story for a black man. One of my favorite books. think Gucci has a really good book. I feel like you can hear his book in his voice. There's no way that you can just read this in a normal voice. You have to read it in his voice because his voice is so distinct. Amani Roberts: Hmm, yeah. Okay. Alexis: But it was a really good. recap of his experiences. He has another book. I haven't gotten the opportunity to read it yet, but it talks about his, his issues with being bipolar and his experiences Amani Roberts: Mm. Alexis: and his manic episodes and just things that I feel like black men, if you're going to sit down and read a book, okay, cool. This is something that's relatable. You can tap into it. You resonate with it, but to your, to your point, he's been able to translate a few of his Musical experiences into lessons as well. So so yeah, two of my favorites two of my favorites, but wait, wait, wait, wait You're an author as well. So forget about the rest of the guys. Tell us about Amani Roberts: Mm-hmm. Alexis: your book of money What's what's your book about because it sounds like you have more than Amani Roberts: Yeah, my Alexis: one Amani Roberts: yeah, my most recent book is called The Quiet Storm, Alexis: Mm-hmm. Amani Roberts: Historical and Cultural Analysis of the Power, Passion, and Pain of R B groups. Alexis: And I'm buying mine a day. Amani Roberts: Get it today. We we talk about the history of RMB groups from the 50s to the 2000s, what happened to the groups, why'd they disappear, what's gonna happen next. You'll get about 10 or 11 groups per per dec decade, yeah, per decade that are That are the top roofs based on record sales, Grammy nominations, Billboard Hot 100 hits, and notable performances. And so you go through. Alexis: Wow, so you have a metric for how you work. Amani Roberts: Yes, yes, an algorithm that that we use to calculate it. And then this is the cover right here. That's what it is right there. The Alexis: Bye. Amani Roberts: quiet storm, you got the groups on the cover, and then you can open it up and you see like all the pictures and everything. And then you got the charts, all that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Alexis: that is awesome. That is awesome. Yeah, y'all, you already got a few of those sold. I'm gonna need a few of those because music is such, Amani Roberts: Bah. Alexis: I love music history. When I saw, Amani Roberts: Yes. Alexis: when you reached out, I was like, this is an absolute yes, for sure. I can't wait to hear Amani Roberts: Yeah, yeah. Alexis: what he's got going. And I feel like this isn't your only title. You had a title before that? Amani Roberts: Right. So that yeah, my my before my first book was called DJs Mean Business. And it takes you through the Alexis: Hehehehehe Amani Roberts: time slots of a DJ set from ten PM to two AM in Hollywood. Alexis: I love this. Amani Roberts: And it relates each 15 minutes to growing a business. For example, you know, the first 10 PM to 10 15, you're at a club, you just want to keep the people there, you want to warm up the crowd. In business, you're trying to identify your ideal avatar. And go from there. We can fast forward to midnight, twelve o'clock is prime time. So you're playing hit after hit, keeping the dance floor packed. What are you doing in business to grow week over week, month over month, year over year? And so it just takes everything 15 minute slots and talks about it like growing a business. Alexis: That is dope. That is, like I said, I am extremely impressed at your ability Amani Roberts: Mm-hmm. Alexis: to connect those dots. Cause there are some people who feel like, I'm an artist. I'm a musician. I don't, I don't function like that. But if you're Amani Roberts: Mm. Alexis: able to speak their language, you can get them to function like that because you have a Amani Roberts: Yes. Alexis: very well-developed, a very unique way of connecting those thoughts. I think it's just brilliant. I think it's brilliant. Amani Roberts: Thank you. Thank you. Alexis: I am absolutely ordered. Where can we get your book? Where can we book you for speaking gigs? How can we get in contact with you? Amani Roberts: So if there are people out here want to book me for speaking opportunities, AmaniExperience.com backslash call, set up a free call, do that. If there's anyone in the audience who and you can order my books all on Amazon or go to the website, AmaniExperience.com. And Alexis: Okay. Amani Roberts: if there are any musicians that are listening and want to talk about their music career and business, maybe I can give them some advice on what they can do to make better business decisions. Love to talk to you. And the same thing, AmaniExperience.com backslash call. And love to chat with whomever is interested. Alexis: I really, really, really appreciate it. So you got your homework. You got to go watch the, I need you to read at least Juicy J's book and then see the Earth, & Fire experience. Man, who ever. Amani Roberts: Okay. The earth one. Okay. Once I finish those those two I'll come back. I'll ask her to come back, yes. Alexis: Yes. Yes, please, please, please, please, please. And this has been so Amani Roberts: Okay. Alexis: great. We can literally, I can sit down and listen to you talk all day. Okay. Do I have stuff to do? Yes. Can I cancel everything? No, but I would, but in my Amani Roberts: Thank you. Alexis: heart, the answer is yes. So yes, I am Amani Roberts: Okay. Alexis: so grateful. Y'all can check this episode and every episode of Energy is Currency. We're on YouTube, Spotify, Apple. Amazon, Pandora, everywhere you podcast, okay? And more communication on how you want to run your business. Listen, personally and professionally, it's blushbizonline.com. But remember, your energy is your currency, so please use it well. Take care, y'all.